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Chapter 500 - Exclusive Control

White River City, Overwhelming Smile’s Guild Residence:

“Vice-Leader Youlan, I’ve finished my investigation of the Candlelight
Trading Firm,” a Level 23 male Assassin reported upon entering
Overwhelming Smile’s meeting room.

“Who started it?” Youlan asked in a hurry.

Currently, Overwhelming Smile suffered in the field battles against Zero
wing. Their daily Coin expenditures were also quite significant.

Although Underworld had increased their investment in Overwhelming
Smile, funds in particular, it was truly not easy to convert Credits
into Coins. Despite spending a massive amount to purchase Coins, the
Guild’s supply barely maintained balance with its consumption.

In the beginning, Youlan had not expected that repairing equipment would
cost so much.

However, her thoughts changed as the Guild’s death toll continued to
increase. Dying once might not cost much, but after two or three deaths,
the Guild members had spent practically all of their remaining Coins.
Afterward, in order to repair their equipment, these Guild members had
no choice but to choose Coins as compensation.

This situation had immediately given Youlan, who had initially been
quite confident, a huge headache. She wished she could choke Black Flame
to death.

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They had already paid out more than 1,000 Gold as compensation, not to
mention the amount of Credits they had compensated.

Moreover, it wouldn’t be long before the Guild had to pay compensation
solely in Coins. After all, if players did not repair their equipment,
they could not go out and level up. If their equipment became scrap,
they would have to purchase new equipment to serve as a replacement.
However, good equipment was not easy to obtain. Every piece of a
player’s equipment had been earned through blood and sweat; losing even
a single piece was a painful loss. If they lost every piece of equipment
they had on them...

Hence, before the Durability of their equipment reached a critical
point, even if players had to purchase Coins with Credits, spending
their entire fortune, they had to repair their equipment.

However, there was one point that confused Youlan greatly. Though
Overwhelming Smile’s losses were very heavy, Zero Wing’s losses should
not be any less. Not to mention, Zero Wing was not using Credits as a
form of compensation at all. Its consumption of Gold should be
significantly higher than theirs. Yet, even until now, not only had Zero
Wing showed no signs of lacking money, but it was also spending more
money than before.

It was inconceivable!

From the information Youlan had overheard, she knew that, aside from
constructing the best Smithy available, Zero Wing had also purchased
several sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment. At the very least, they would
have to spend more than 2,000 Gold on these purchases. Not to mention,
there was also the Gold they had to give out as compensation for the war
of attrition.

Even Underworld would find it difficult to spend so much in such a short
time.

Youlan could only see one end, Overwhelming Smile withdrawing from White
River City, if things continued like this in their war of attrition.
Hence, they needed to make a major change now. They must find a way to
earn a large sum of Gold.

If one wanted to earn a large sum of Coins in God’s Domain, the only way
to do so was through trade.

Although the Guild Quests published in the Guild Residence were a large
source of income, that potential was nothing compared to the money one
could earn through trade.

Although the various large Guilds of God’s Domain possessed a lot of
Gold, compared to the countless players in God’s Domain, this sum was
insignificant. Even if Overwhelming Smile only earned 1 Silver from each
of the millions of players in White River City, the total would be
several tens of thousands of Gold.

At that time, they could easily afford a war with several other large
Guilds simultaneously, much less afford to deal with a single Zero Wing.

In White River City, the most powerful trading firm was currently the
Starstreak Trading Firm. Not only did the Firm occupy a strategic
location, but it also possessed Land in the seven cities surrounding
White River City, allowing it to sell items to players in eight cities
and earn tons of Gold daily. The amount the Firm earned each day was
enough to make one drool.

Unfortunately, the Starstreak Trading Firm was an NPC’s property, not a
player’s. Despite exhausting all of their means, the various large
Guilds in White River City were unable to form a cooperative
relationship with the Starstreak Trading Firm. In the end, they could
only give up on their endeavors and try to open up their own Shops.

However, White River City’s ordinary Lands were not particularly
valuable. Currently, the various Guilds had all set their sights on the
golden Lands of the city and were consistently accumulating money and
raising their Reputation to achieve that goal.

Now, however, the Candlelight Trading Firm had appeared and purchased
two golden Lands ahead of the other Guilds. Although the Candlelight
Trading Firm was not a match for the Starstreak Trading Firm, with the
Basic Strengthened Armor Kits and the full range of products, it, too,
stood among White River City’s top trading firms. Over time, if the
Candlelight Trading Firm introduced several other items that players
direly needed, it would definitely surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm
and become the number one trading firm in White River City.

Moreover, unlike the Starstreak Trading Firm, a player had established
and owned the Candlelight Trading Firm. That signified the possibility
of cooperation.

Thus, Youlan had sent her subordinate to investigate the firm.

“I heard that the manager there is a young woman named Melancholic
Smile. Moreover, she is a forger, and was once a forger employed by the
Starstreak Trading Firm,” the male Assassin said slowly. “In addition,
aside from that woman, two other Starstreak forgers seemed to have
defected to Candlelight as well. The three of them produced the Basic
Strengthening Armor Kits.”

“Good, you’ve done well.” Youlan smiled. “Melancholic Smile. This is my
first time hearing this name. There really are a lot of capable people
in White River City. It seems that I’ll need to make a personal visit to
the Candlelight Trading Firm to have a chat.”

Overwhelming Smile wasn’t the only Guild with such thoughts. Several
other large Guilds also began to eye the Candlelight Trading Firm.

Such a thriving trading firm was no different from a large gold mine
that could provide their Guilds with various resources. If they could
obtain the trading firm, they could instantly raise their Guild’s
strength by leaps and bounds.

---

Meanwhile, Shi Feng once again had over 10,000 Gold in his pockets, and
he began to reconsider the plots of Land in Star-Moon City again.

Currently, as the Underground Arena was not particularly popular, the
Candlelight Trading Firm’s business there was only passable. Attracting
the attention of Star-Moon City’s players would be far easier if he set
up a Shop in the city’s central district.

Unfortunately, as Lifeless Blade was only an ordinary noble in Star-Moon
City, he could only purchase ordinary Land; he did not qualify to
purchase the Lands in the central district and golden areas of Star-Moon
City.

I need to think of a better way to raise my Reputation! Shi Feng tried
to recall information relating to Star-Moon City’s resources.

After he pondered for some time, Shi Feng’s eyes suddenly shone.
Immediately, he hailed a horse carriage and hurried to the Palace.

Star-Moon City was Star-Moon Kingdom’s core, so it was not easy to raise
one’s Reputation here. If players relied on Reputation Quests, it would
take them ages before they could become a Baron of Star-Moon City.

For this reason, many players had given up on the notion of doing
business in Star-Moon City and had shifted their aim towards other
cities instead.

However, there were many players in Star-Moon City. There was bound to
be a few amazing characters amongst the millions of players. In the
past, there were several independent players who had taken the lead and
managed to become Barons, even Viscounts, before the various large
Guilds. In the end, these independent players had claimed a few good
Lands for themselves, taking the opportunity to make a fortune. The
monthly rental they received was enough to allow them to live in luxury
for the rest of their days.

Despite being independent players, these few individuals were not
ordinary characters; they were not penniless individuals. Instead, they
were relatively wealthy individuals. They had been relatively famous in
several other virtual reality games and had earned large sums of money
during their time playing those games.

Meanwhile, through a special method, these people had managed to grind
large amounts of Reputation Points in a relatively short amount of time,
quickly becoming Barons. After this incident was revealed, these players
had become the envy of every player in Star-Moon City.

That method was very simple. Players needed to purchase some supplies
with Coins, then contribute these supplies to a certain Grand Duke to
receive Reputation Points for Star-Moon City. Unfortunately, the
conversion ratio of Coins to Reputation Points would make any ordinary
player curse the system.

However, Shi Feng did not lack money right now; he only lacked time.
Even if it were a more expensive method, he would still employ it.

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Chapter 501 - Grand Duke Hartfield

The lights shone brightly outside of Star-Moon City’s Palace. At this
moment, the street adjacent to the Palace looked as if it held a
large-scale celebration; a crowd of players exploded with excitement.
Players filled both sides of the street, shouting and selling their
wares.

Star-Moon City was different from the other ordinary cities in Star-Moon
Kingdom. The traffic here was constant, with players coming and going
from other kingdoms and empires. Hence, unlike in other cities where
players could only set up their Stalls once every three or four days in
specified areas, players could set up their Stalls in Star-Moon City
every day. Only, a fee was required to set up a Stall; it was not free.

Even with the fee, a large number of players were still willing to set
up their Stalls to sell items rather than using the Auction House and
paying a heavier fee. Even if they sold their items at a lower price
here, they could still make a higher profit.

Normally, players would only choose to sell their items through the
Auction House if they were in a hurry for money or they wished to obtain
a better price for rare and precious items.

As the items sold at Stalls were much cheaper, many independent players
and large Guilds would come here to purchase the materials and items
they needed.

Shi Feng had come to this place precisely to purchase some supplies.

The method of exchanging Coins for Reputation Points was, in reality, a
Special Quest found in Star-Moon City. To players who focused on raiding
Dungeons and grinding monsters to level up, they might never discover
this Special Quest. However, to players who leveled up slowly and
focused more on enjoying the game itself, it was not particularly
difficult to find the quest. As long as they listened for information in
the capital city, they could obtain some clues leading to the quest.

Meanwhile, this clue was that Grand Duke Hartfield’s daughter had fallen
ill and was in urgent need of a large amount of Herbs.

The quest only required one stack of Ordinary Herbs. Upon completing
this quest, players would receive a certain amount of money and EXP.
Meanwhile, players could accept this quest indefinitely. Unfortunately,
the amount of money and EXP wasn’t quite worth the value of the Herbs.
In the past, wealthy players who wished to level up quickly had spent
money to increase their EXP through such quests. Even so, they did not
invest a lot of money in this method of leveling. After all, Coins were
very valuable during the initial stages of the game. Nobody would spend
them foolishly.

In the past, as everyone had been convinced that this Special Quest was
merely a method that allowed one to exchange money for EXP, a few insane
individuals, who had not wanted to level up in the fields, began to
purchase Herbs in bulk, turning them in to complete the Special Quest.

In such a way, these individuals each traded in 1,500 stacks of Herbs,
reaching a critical point of this quest.

When a player traded in 1,500 stacks of Herbs, Grand Duke Hartfield
would no longer reward said player with money and EXP. Instead, the
Grand Duke rewarded the player with a Thank You Gift.

One could obtain a variety of items from this Gift. Among them, there
was a 10% chance to obtain a Reputation Book. When used, the Reputation
Book would give the user a certain amount of Star-Moon City Reputation
Points.

This was why Shi Feng had come to this bazaar to purchase Herbs in bulk,
either Ordinary Herbs or Rare Herbs.

After making a round through the bazaar and investigating the general
prices of Herbs, Shi Feng began shouting through the trade channel,
“Buying Ordinary Herbs, 40 Copper per stack; Rare Herbs, three Silver
per stack! Will buy as many as you have!”

The trade channel was a unique channel only available in bazaars. Any
players in the bazaar could receive the messages sent through this
channel. However, players who wished to shout their messages needed to
pay a fee of 1 Silver per message. Though the length of each message was
limited to 100 words, it was a valuable promotion tool.

With this, Shi Feng could save himself a lot of trouble.

The amount and prices of Herbs at each Stall varied greatly. If Shi Feng
had to visit every Stall in the bazaar, even if he exhausted himself to
death, he would only acquire a small amount. Hence, rather than haggling
with every Stall owner, he might as well offer to purchase Herbs at an
average price. Naturally, interested players would hunt him down to sell
their goods.

Shortly after Shi Feng’s announcement, a large number of players rushed
towards him.

“Boss, how many Herbs do you want to buy?”

“Big Brother Swordsman, look! I have excellent quality Herbs! I can even
lower the price if you buy them in bulk!”

The players that had hurried over all looked at Shi Feng like hungry
wolves. They crowded around him, rushing to sell their Herbs. Their
intensity far exceeded Shi Feng’s initial expectations.

“Alright, alright, no need to rush. All of you, line up and trade with
me.” Shi Feng smiled as he motioned for the crowd to calm down.

Sure enough, players’ enthusiasm in the capital city is a lot more
intense.

However, after giving it some thought, their enthusiasm was only
natural. Players were currently busy with leveling and were not
particularly enthusiastic about Lifestyle classes. Although Guilds
nurtured their own alchemists, the Guilds could easily supply the amount
of Herbs their alchemists needed. They didn’t need to purchase any.

More importantly, the crowd was so excited because the demand for Herbs
was usually quite low. As useful potion recipes were extremely rare,
demand for Herbs had dropped even further. In addition, Star-Moon
Kingdom was not a Herb-poor kingdom, resulting in the prices of Herbs
remaining relatively low.

Despite there being 20 Herbs in each stack, Ordinary Herbs only sold for
40 Copper per stack. Even Rare Herbs only sold for three Silver per
stack. One could imagine just how worthless Herbs were.

Yet, even with such low prices, few people were willing to purchase
Herbs, which explained why everyone was so excited to see Shi Feng.

Players would frequently encounter Herbs while adventuring, and they
would usually collect these Herbs to sell in bulk at a later time.

Now, these players’ actions benefited Shi Feng.

In a short moment, Shi Feng had purchased 2,000 stacks of Ordinary Herbs
and 200 stacks of Rare Herbs, spending 14 Gold in total. To other
players, this might be an astronomical sum, but to Shi Feng, this was
only a drop in the bucket.

“Sorry, but my bag’s full. Everyone, please wait here for a while. I’ll
come back to purchase more in just a moment.” Shi Feng hurriedly turned
and ran towards the Grand Duke’s mansion.

Reluctance filled the crowd’s eyes as they watched Shi Feng’s departing
figure. However, when they heard that he would return to purchase more
later, they all chose to remain there, quietly awaiting his return.

At this time of year, there were simply too few players willing to
purchase Herbs. Now that one such player had emerged, how could they
easily give up on this opportunity? They would wait a few hours if they
had to, not to mention a few minutes.

The Grand Duke’s mansion was only a short distance from the Palace; the
journey there only took Shi Feng a dozen minutes or so.

After entering the Grand Duke’s mansion, after the Level 150 Great
Steward’s introduction, Shi Feng arrived before the Level 200 Grand Duke
Hartfield. After a brief conversation, Grand Duke Hartfield began
telling Shi Feng the problem burdening his daughter.

After which, Shi Feng received the Special Quest to acquire Herbs. He
then retrieved the Herbs from his bag, one stack after another.

For every stack of Herbs Shi Feng turned in, he received 20 Copper and
2,000 EXP in return. Though Shi Feng took a loss of 20 Copper with each
exchange, he did not pay it any mind.

Compared to forging, his leveling speed from handing in the Herbs was
several times faster. As soon as he gave the Grand Duke the Herbs, he
immediately received EXP. The process was very fast and convenient.

In mere moments, Shi Feng had turned in 1,500 stacks of Ordinary Herbs,
earning a total of 3 Gold Coins and 3,000,000 EXP. In less than half an
hour, Shi Feng’s experience bar rose significantly.

Earning 3,000,000 EXP in half an hour was an incredibly efficient way to
level up. Unfortunately, after turning in the 1,500th stack of Herbs, he
only received a Thank You Gift for every subsequent stack of Herbs he
turned in.

As there were still a large number of players waiting for him to
purchase their goods, Shi Feng wasted no time as he turned in all of the
Herbs in his possession. Unlike Ordinary Herbs, he would receive ten
Thank You Gifts for each stack of Rare Herbs. In terms of money, it was
much more worthwhile to trade Rare herbs for the Gifts instead.
Unfortunately, Rare Herbs were too scarce.

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Chapter 502 - Twilight Treasure Chest

Shi Feng traded all of his Ordinary Herbs and Rare Herbs for Thank You
Gifts in one fell swoop.

Suddenly, Shi Feng noticed that Grand Duke Hartfield’s gaze had changed
slightly.

The Grand Duke’s originally stern expression seemed to have softened
significantly.

Was I just imagining things? After Shi Feng’s brain activity had
improved, his five senses and intuition had become extraordinarily
sharp.

Advanced NPCs of God’s Domain possessed very high intelligence; it was
even higher than ordinary players’. It was especially true for a Level
200, Tier 3 NPC like Grand Duke Hartfield. Although Hartfield might not
be as strong as Magistrate Weissman, not even Weissman dared to offend
the Grand Duke.

Hartfield was the only Grand Duke throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, while
the others were just Dukes. In Star-Moon Kingdom, his position was only
below that of the King and equal to that of the kingdom’s Grand
Marshall, Adolf Cerret. Working with the Grand Marshall, they protected
the kingdom from both inside and outside threats.

If Shi Feng could form a relationship with Grand Duke Hartfield, it
would greatly benefit his future development in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Forget it. It’s best to just focus on raising my Reputation.

Shi Feng shook his head to clear his mind. He then departed from the
Grand Duke’s mansion and returned to purchasing Herbs.

The Thank You Gifts did not take up a lot of space, with each stack
holding up to 1,000 Gifts. Shi Feng had received a total of 2,500 Gifts,
which took up only three bag slots.

Upon arriving at the bazaar in front of the Palace...

Sure enough, the Herb-selling players had not moved. The moment these
players noticed Shi Feng’s return, they immediately rushed over to
welcome him.

In moments, Shi Feng’s bag was filled to the brim once more. He then
returned to the Grand Duke’s mansion and began to trade the Herbs for
more Thank You Gifts.

After spending several hours ferrying Herbs from the bazaar to the Grand
Duke’s mansion, Shi Feng had purchased close to half of all the
available Herbs in Star-Moon Kingdom, his total expenditure exceeding
400 Gold. Originally, Shi Feng had hoped to continue purchasing Herbs.
However, his high-profile actions had attracted a lot of attention, and
many people had begun secretly investigating the reason behind Shi
Feng’s purchases.

After all, no Guild lacked Herbs. Even if a Guild were trying to nurture
a large number of alchemists, there should be no need for such a massive
supply.

It should be about time to call it quits. Shi Feng glanced at the
several Assassins spying on him from a distance.

He would not give any of these people the slightest of opportunities to
discover his intentions. Every time he visited the Grand Duke’s mansion,
he would look for a secluded location before disguising himself. Even if
his trackers were quite capable, without a particularly high-ranking
Identification Skill such as Omniscient Eyes, it would be impossible for
them to see through his disguise.

In reality, Shi Feng did not have to pay these people any heed. Even if
they discovered this Special Quest, no Guild would willingly spend so
much money to earn some EXP. To be safe, however, Shi Feng still
disguised himself to avoid these players discovering the method of using
money to earn Reputation Points just yet.

After he finished purchasing his last batch of Herbs, Shi Feng departed
from the bazaar and randomly picked a restaurant to enter. After using
the Demon Mask to disguise his appearance, he boldly strode out of the
restaurant and headed towards Grand Duke Hartfield’s mansion.

Inside the Grand Duke’s abode, Shi Feng habitually walked up to the
Grand Duke and took out the final 1,000 stacks of Ordinary Herbs and
1,000 stacks of Rare Herbs from his bag, trading them all for Thank You
Gifts.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a system notification reached his ears.

System: Grand Duke Hartfield’s Favorability increased by 30 points.

Sure enough, this Special Quest is not as simple as it seems. Shi Feng
grew slightly excited upon seeing this system notification.

The higher ranked an NPC was, the more difficult it was to raise their
Favorability. The fact that he had increased the Grand Duke’s
Favorability just by spending around 400 Gold was completely worth it.

However, giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng felt that this
result was quite reasonable. After all, he had already earned close to
120,000 Thank You Gifts. If each stack could hold 1,000 Gifts, that was
close to 120 stacks. Currently, the prices of Herbs were only this cheap
due to the fact that players of God’s Domain were still low-leveled and
did not have much use for them. If Shi Feng waited two more weeks or so,
the money he would have to spend to earn 120,000 Thank You Gifts would
most likely increase by several folds...

If the Grand Duke had nothing to say even after such a huge
contribution, his heart was definitely made of stone.

“Young Adventurer, thank you for your enthusiastic contributions. With
this many Herbs, I can extract a sufficient amount of Herbal Essence to
cure my daughter. To show my gratitude, you may use those Thank You
Gifts to trade for the treasures I usually store inside my treasury,”
Grand Duke Hartfield said happily.

“Your Highness Hartfield, it will be my honor,” Shi Feng replied,
immense joy filling his heart.

Originally, Shi Feng had intended to open the Thank You Gifts he had
amassed in one sitting. He had never expected the Gifts to have such a
purpose. Most likely, not even those several wealthy players in the past
had exchanged as many Herbs as he had.

“Steward, take this adventurer to have a look,” Grand Duke Hartfield
said.

“Yes,” the Grand Steward answered before leading Shi Feng to the
treasury on the third floor.

The Grand Duke’s treasury was heavily guarded. The six white-robed
knights guarding the entrance were Level 200 Tier 3 Judgement Knights.
Not to mention, there was even a Tier 5 magic array protecting the
vault. Even a Tier 4 class would require a significant amount of time to
break through such a powerful magic array.

Upon entering the treasury, Shi Feng discovered that the place looked
very much like a museum, with many treasures on display.

“This is the list of treasures. You are allowed to redeem the Gifts for
any of the items inside.” The Grand Steward passed a list to Shi Feng.

There were not many items available for exchange on the list. However,
Shi Feng was not surprised.

Grand Duke Hartfield’s Favorability towards him was only 30 points. The
fact that the Grand Duke was willing to let him trade his Thank You
Gifts for treasures was already a considerable outcome. If he wished to
trade for every item in this treasury, he would need to raise the Grand
Duke’s Favorability towards him to at least 300 points.

Shi Feng then examined the list of items. Sure enough, every item was
very basic. The majority consisted of weapons and equipment that were
close to his current Level, whereas the quality of the items ranged
between Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, their prices were
not cheap. Even the most basic piece of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment
required 1,000 Thank You Gifts. If converted to Coins, it would cost 4
Gold. If not for the Herbs he bought being cheap, 1,000 Gifts would cost
eight Gold or more.

Moreover, these Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment were all
individual pieces and not Set Equipment. To Shi Feng, these items did
not serve much purpose.

Just as Shi Feng felt that he had nothing to gain here, he suddenly
discovered the name of a very familiar item at the bottom of the list.
“Isn’t this the Twilight Treasure Chest?”

The Twilight Treasure Chest had been very famous in God’s Domain. It was
also referred to as both the Treasure Chest of Luck and the
Indiscriminate Treasure Chest. Only Elite monsters that were Level 30
and above had a very low chance to drop the Twilight Treasure Chest.

As for why it was called the Indiscriminate Treasure Chest, the items
one could obtain from it were extremely random. One might only receive
two or three Copper and some trash items. One might also receive Epic or
even Fragmented Legendary items. In general, the items one could get
from the Twilight Treasure Chest relied heavily on luck.

In the past, the majority of the players who had obtained this item
would promptly toss it onto the Auction House, selling it for around one
Gold rather than opening it themselves.

On the other hand, each Twilight Treasure Chest only required 100 Thank
You Gifts to redeem. In other words, each Twilight Treasure Chest would
cost Shi Feng 40 Silver, which was significantly cheaper than its price
in his past life.

“Luck?”

When Shi Feng looked at the Twilight Treasure Chest, he suddenly
recalled the Icarus’s Heart around his neck. This was a godly tool that
could instantly raise his Luck by 25 points.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 503 - Yin-Yang Walker

Shi Feng looked at the Twilight Treasure Chest and pondered his
situation carefully.

Currently, he had nearly 120,000 Thank You Gifts on him; they were
definitely enough to raise his Reputation to a sufficient level.

The Luck Attribute could be applied in various aspects. Aside from
monster drops, Luck also played a significant role in opening treasure
chests and gift boxes, though the effects were not as prominent as they
were with drops.

However, Icarus’s Heart only gave Shi Feng 5 points of Luck under normal
circumstances; that amount was too little to make a significant
difference when opening treasure chests.

Based on Shi Feng’s understanding of the Luck statistic, 5 points would
not even double his drop-rate when opening a treasure chest.

Meanwhile, the Twilight Treasure Chest was famed for being a miser of
good items.

Only by activating Divine Providence and boosting his Luck to 25 points
would his chances significantly improve when opening a treasure chest.
However, Divine Providence only had a duration of 30 seconds, whereas
its Cooldown lasted one hour.

“Let’s decide after I raise my Reputation,” saying so, Shi Feng began
opening the Thank You Gifts.

Each Thank You Gift only required one second to open.

Shi Feng opened ten Gifts in a row. Aside from obtaining some Copper
Coins, he also obtained two Reputation Books, the Gifts yielding far
more than he had expected.

Each Reputation Book could raise the user’s Star-Moon City Reputation by
1 point. Unfortunately, the book could not be traded. Otherwise, Shi
Feng really would sell them to the public.

However, these Reputation Books’ effects weakened as a player’s
Reputation grew. Below 100 points, the book would raise a player’s
Reputation by 1 point with a 100% success rate. After reaching 100
points, there was only a 60% chance. At 200 points, that success rate
fell further to 30%, 20% at 300 points, and 10% at 400 points. When a
player’s Reputation reached 500 points, there was only a 3% chance to
increase their Reputation by 1 point when using the Reputation Book.

To become a Baron, players required 500 Reputation Points.

To become a Viscount, players required 1,000 Reputation Points.

If Shi Feng hoped to become a Viscount by relying on the Reputation
Books, he would have to expend a staggering number. As for becoming a
Count, which was one rank above a Viscount, that was practically
impossible.

That was because a player needed 3,000 Reputation Points to become a
Count.

“The effects of just having 5 points of Luck is really quite good. I
wonder if it will be possible to obtain the Mastery Book?” Shi Feng
grinned.

With 5 points of Luck, his chance of obtaining Reputation Books from the
Thank You Gifts was indeed higher than other players.

However, other than Copper Coins and Reputation Books, there was also an
extremely small chance for players to obtain Mastery Books.

Mastery was something very important to any player in God’s Domain.
Taking Shi Feng for example, as his Mastery was very high, his basic
attacks dealt more damage compared to other players. If he could raise
his One-handed Sword Mastery’s rank to a Basic Sword Master, he could
increase his basic sword attack damage by 30%; that was 10% more than an
Advanced Swordsman.

With a 10% difference in basic attacks, the skill damage difference was
even higher. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was only dozens of points away from
becoming a Basic Sword Master.

If he could obtain Mastery Books, he could advance his combat power
further. By the time he went to the Ancient Battlefield to sharpen his
techniques, he would also obtain better effects.

Shi Feng then began to open the Thank You Gifts frantically.

One hundred... Three hundred... Five hundred... One thousand...

After spending several hours, Shi Feng opened more than 10,000 Thank You
Gifts and obtained a total of 2,000 Reputation Books. In addition, he
had also luckily obtained eight Mastery Books.

Each Mastery Book could give him 1 Mastery Point with 100% certainty.

“Will Divine Providence have an effect on the increase in Reputation?”
When Shi Feng thought about how, after his Reputation reached 100
points, the Reputation Books no longer gave him 1 Reputation Point with
100% certainty, then meant that luck was involved.

Since luck was involved, then it was definitely related to the Luck
Attribute.

Shi Feng grinned slightly as he activated Divine Providence. Suddenly, a
faint golden glow covered Shi Feng’s body as if he had received a
blessing from heaven as he became the absolute focal point inside the
entire treasury.

Immediately, Shi Feng began to activate the 2,000 Reputation Books.

The activation process of a Reputation Book was very fast. The book
would activate with a single click. Shi Feng could gain many Reputation
Books in just 30 seconds.

In the next moment, Shi Feng’s finger transformed into an afterimage.
With Shi Feng’s speed, he could click dozens of times every second.
Following which, Shi Feng heard the ringing of a continuous stream of
system notifications.

System: Congratulations! You have gained 1 Star-Moon City Reputation
Point!

System: Congratulations! You have gained 1 Star-Moon City Reputation
Point!

System: Congratulations! You have gained 1 Star-Moon City Reputation
Point!

...

Thirty seconds later, of the 2,000 Reputation Books Shi Feng obtained,
only a little more than 700 remained. Meanwhile, Shi Feng’s Reputation
in Star-Moon City had also risen to 436 points; he was only 64 points
away from becoming a Baron. The Divine Providence’s effects were
remarkable.

“Sure enough, it is effective,” Shi Feng immediately grew excited.

Using this method, he could save a large number of Thank You Gifts. At
this rate, not to mention becoming a Viscount, he could even give
becoming a Count.

Hence, Shi Feng frantically opened Thank You Gifts once more. It just so
happened that Divine Providence was on Cooldown during this period.

An hour later, Shi Feng began another round of clicking Reputation
Books.

Thirty seconds later, Shi Feng’s Reputation rose from 416 points to 578
points.

Following which, Shi Feng continued opening the Thank You Gifts.

After opening more than 30,000 Gifts, Shi Feng’s Reputation had finally
reached 1,000 points, becoming a Viscount of Star-Moon City. In
addition, he had also obtained a total of 21 Mastery Books.

Originally, Shi Feng still intended to continue raising his Reputation.
However, seeing as there were less than 90,000 Thank You Gifts
remaining, even if he used Divine Providence, it would not be enough for
him to become a Count. Hence, Shi Feng gave up on the notion.

However, this result had already surpassed Shi Feng’s initial
expectations. Normally, 120,000 Thank You Gifts might not even be enough
for him to become a Viscount.

In this aspect, Divine Providence had truly played a significant role.

However, now that Shi Feng had 21 Mastery Books, as long as he strived,
he could raise his One-handed Sword Mastery to 150 points, reaching the
standard of a Basic Sword Master. Hence, Shi Feng continued the process
of opening the Thank You Gifts and had even used Divine Providence to
aid him in his endeavor.

After opening another 10,000 or so Thank You Gifts, Shi Feng accumulated
a total of 48 Mastery Books.

Immediately, he upgraded his One-handed Sword Mastery to the standard of
a Basic Sword Master, his basic damage increasing by 30%.

At this moment, Shi Feng had less than 80,000 Thank You Gifts remaining.
At once, Shi Feng exchanged all of them for Twilight Treasure Chests.

Each Twilight Treasure Chest cost 100 Thank You Gifts. In the end, Shi
Feng had gained close to 800 Twilight Treasure Chests. He would have to
spend close to 800 Gold if he bought so many anywhere else.

After Divine Providence’s Cooldown completed...

“Twilight Treasure Chest, you better not disappoint me!”

Shi Feng took out nine Twilight Treasure Chests and set them on the
ground. Taking a deep breath, he immediately activated Divine Providence
and swiftly began activating the treasure chests before him.

As time passed, the silver colored treasure chests inlaid with purple
crystals were swiftly opened.

One chest... Two chests... Three chests...

Finally, Shi Feng managed to open the nine Twilight Treasure Chests
within 30 seconds.

The nine Twilight Treasure Chests released a colorful brilliance as
their lids were removed, making the entire treasury shine beautifully.

Shi Feng then began collecting the items inside the treasure chests.

As Shi Feng collected the items inside the sixth Twilight Treasure
Chest, he suddenly froze. With disbelief, he retrieved a beautiful
chestplate that gave off both a black and white glow.

“Yin-Yang Walker!”

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 504 - Tier 1 Set Equipment

In God’s Domain, one could obtain a wide variety of items from the
Twilight Treasure Chest. However, the chance of obtaining good equipment
was incredibly small.

As for set equipment, don’t even think about it.

Yet, the armor called Yin-Yang Walker before Shi Feng was indeed a part
of a set equipment.

For a moment, Shi Feng even questioned his own vision.

If it were any other set equipment, at most, Shi Feng’s good luck would
have surprised him. However, the Yin-Yang Walker was different. It was a
special set equipment just like the Warfire Set Equipment.

However, if Shi Feng had to decide which set was better, without a
doubt, it would be the Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment before him.

Although the Warfire Set Equipment could be upgraded to Fine-Gold Rank,
the Yin-Yang Walker was a Tier 1 Set Equipment.

A Tier 1 Set Equipment was an exclusive set for Tier 1 classes. Although
it had no grade, its boost to a Tier 1 player’s combat power even
surpassed Dark-Gold Set Equipment. However, a Tier 1 Set Equipment also
possessed heavy restrictions as only designated classes could use it.
Moreover, the set would bind to a player when equipped, and it could
neither be dropped nor traded. However, it could be destroyed if its
Durability reached zero. Moreover, the repair fees for a Tier 1 Set
Equipment could rival those of Epic ranked weapons and equipment.

Despite having so many restrictions, a majority of the experts in God’s
Domain loved these sets.

However, it was extremely difficult to obtain a Tier 1 Set Equipment, as
only Level 20 or higher Great Lords had a chance to drop them. Both
Great Lords in the fields and in Dungeons had the same drop-rate. Tier 1
Set Equipment was also known as the best set equipment, other than Epic
Set Equipment, available for Tier 1 players. It truly lived up to its
name.

The minimum level of a Tier 1 Set Equipment was Level 20, and its
Attributes would increase alongside the player’s level to Level 50,
which was when players could Class Change from a Tier 1 class to a Tier
2 class. If a player had a Tier 1 Set Equipment when they carried out
their Tier 2 Class Change Quest, the quest would undoubtedly be easier
to complete.

Shi Feng then appraised the Yin-Yang Walker’s chestplate.

[Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment]

Level 20 - Level 50

Equipment Requirement: Tier 1 Guardian Knight

Set consists of five parts: head, chest, hands, legs, and feet.

Binds when equipped.

Set effect

Two-piece effect: Defend skill increased by 3 Levels, Defense increased
by 10%, damage received reduced by 15%, and healing received increased
by 15%.

Four-piece effect: Endurance increased by 15%, and Strength increased by
10%. Obtain Yin-Yang Shield skill: Cast a magic shield on yourself,
reducing all magic damage received by 60% and gaining immunity to all
control effects for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

Five-piece effect: Receive one stack of Yin-Yang Energy every time
damage is received. After 30 stacks, Yin-Yang Power skill can be
activated: Hatred increased by 100%, all attacks deal holy damage, all
Guardian Knight skill effects increased by 50%, and all Attributes
increased by 15% for 24 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

If I can gather the complete set and give it to a Tier 1 Guardian
Knight, tanking Bosses in large-scale Team Dungeons will be a breeze.
Shi Feng inwardly sighed as he read the Yin-Yang Walker’s set effects.

Obtaining even a single piece from the Twilight Treasure Chest was
already nearly impossible. Trying to obtain the complete set would be a
miracle.

“The effect of having 25 Luck is better than I expected.” Shi Feng was
utterly satisfied. He then looked at the large number of Twilight
Treasure Chests in his bag, chuckling, “With so many Twilight Treasure
Chests, I refuse to believe that Divine Providence won’t net me any
other good items.”

Shi Feng had already decided. As soon as the Cooldown of Divine
Providence completed, he would use it to open the treasure chests. With
more than 700 Twilight Treasure Chests, even if he could not earn back
the cost of all the Herbs he had bought, he would not suffer too huge of
a loss, either.

Soon, Shi Feng collected the remaining items from the treasure chests
and stored them in his bag.

Other than the Yin-Yang Walker, the nine Twilight Treasure Chests only
yielded ordinary items. Shi Feng had only obtained a few Silver Coins
and some rare materials, as well as a forging design to create the Light
Stone. Although it was a forging design, it wasn’t very valuable; it was
not worth even 30 Silver.

This was because the Light Stone Forging Design was quite common. It had
a chance to drop from any Level 40 or above Maps.

However, God’s Domain’s current players were very much in need of Light
Stones.

The Light Stone was a consumable item that could illuminate a certain
area as if it were daytime. In the darkness of night, any monsters
caught within the Light Stone’s radius would lose their night-time
advantages. The item allowed players to grind monsters freely and level
up during the night.

To players who wished to level up quickly, even the darkest night was a
time to level up.

Light Stones were practically necessary for players out in the fields,
hence why the drop-rate for the item’s forging design was relatively
high. Only, players would find it very difficult to obtain the forging
design at their current levels.

“Light Stone?” A light flashed in Shi Feng’s eyes. He felt that this was
a good opportunity to make a fortune.

As long as he sold them, the Light Stones would be well-received.

Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm relied on the Strengthened Armor
Kits to draw customers from the Starstreak Trading Firm. If he added
Light Stones to the Firm’s available products, it would definitely boost
the Firm’s competitive edge.

Light Stones were easy to produce. Moreover, the materials it required
consisted of cheap and common items such as Advanced Stones and Magic
Essences. Hence, Light Stones were easily affordable by the majority of
the players, unlike the expensive Strengthened Armor Kits that only a
small number of players could afford.

In addition, there were only three people producing the Strengthened
Armor Kits right now, and their success rates were only at 30%. It was
not enough to satisfy the demand of so many players. As for Light
Stones, even an Advanced Forging Apprentice’s success rate would be
higher than 30%. Only, the Light Stone Forging Design was not something
players below Level 30 could obtain.

If Shi Feng could acquire a large number of Light Stone Forging Designs,
the Candlelight Trading Firm could take Star-Moon Kingdom’s entire
market by storm. The Candlelight Trading Firm had plenty of Advanced
Forging Apprentices. As long as they had a sufficient number of forging
designs, they could mass-produce the Light Stones. Not only could they
supply the players from White River City and Star-Moon City, but they
could also provide an endless supply to other cities as well.

At that time, even counting their money would become a laborious task.

“In any case, I have nothing better to do right now. I might as well
grind for some Light Stone Forging Designs.”

Shi Feng grinned. Immediately, he recalled several maps suitable for
grinding Light Stone Forging Designs. Although those maps were all Level
40 and above, Shi Feng had the Ignore Level effects provided by the
Magic Weapon Abyssal Blade, the Dragonclaw Set Equipment, and the Golden
Stigmata. Combined, he could ignore up to 45 Levels. In addition to Shi
Feng’s own Level, he could take on a Level 70 monster should he choose
to do so. Only, the Attributes of a Level 70 monster were a bit too
powerful. Even if Shi Feng could damage these monsters, they could kill
him with a single slap.

However, against monsters below Level 50, he could definitely make an
attempt as long as they were not Chieftains or Lords.

Shi Feng then headed to Star-Moon City’s City Hall to purchase a
valuable golden Land. While Shi Feng had focused on raising his
Reputation, the Dragonscale Set Equipment he had placed in the Blackwing
Auction House had finally sold out. In addition to the money Shi Feng
had earned through the Candlelight Trading Firms, he now had over 20,000
Gold in his pockets.

Thus, Shi Feng decided to buy one of the plots of Land beside the
Star-Moon Bank for 16,000 gold. However, as Shi Feng was a Viscount, he
received a 10% discount on his purchase. Even after constructing a new
branch of the Candlelight Trading Firm, he had not even spent a total of
16,000 Gold.

After he had finished his business in the City Hall, Shi Feng took a
horse carriage to the Teleportation Hall and teleported to the Twin
Tower Highlands, a Level 45 map with the highest drop-rate for Light
Stone Forging Designs.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 505 - Domineering Melancholic

White River City, inside one of Candlelight Trading Firm’s forging
rooms:

Melancholic Smile was currently busy forging Basic Strengthened Armor
Kits.

There were simply too many players in White River City. With just the
three of them producing the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, it was
impossible to satisfy the demand of so many players. Had they not
produced a large number of the kits early on, their supply would have
long since depleted.

“Sister Smile, there are two people on the first floor looking to
discuss business with you.”

“I understand. Like the others, have them wait in the reception room for
now. I’ll head over once I finish my work.”

“But, one of them is claiming to be Overwhelming Smile’s Guild Leader.”

“Overwhelming Smile’s Guild Leader?”

Melancholic Smile could not help but pause.

As one of the tyrannical Guilds in White River City, it was far ahead of
other Guilds. Their funds and member count were also plain for all to
see.

A Lifestyle Guild’s direction of development was completely different
than Combat Guilds’. In other words, there should not be any conflicts
of interest between the two.

However, a Lifestyle Guild did not possess any combat capabilities. When
producing certain items, plenty of rare materials were required.
Meanwhile, many of these materials dropped from Dungeons. Hence,
Lifestyle Guilds would usually cooperate with some Combat Guilds.

In such a relationship, the Combat Guild in question would be
responsible for supplying the rare materials, while the Lifestyle Guild
would offer some discounts and give priority on sales of certain items
to said Combat Guild.

“Hahaha! Just in time,” Melancholic Smile said. “I’ll head over there
now.”

Saying so, Melancholic Smile tidied up the materials on the table and
headed downstairs.

---

In the reception room on the first floor, many of White River City’s
Guilds had sent representatives to the Candlelight Trading Firm to
discuss potential cooperation. However, when a man and a woman entered,
the entire reception room’s atmosphere sank.

Everyone in the room immediately focused their attention on this pair of
new arrivals, the woman in particular. Practically every Guild in White
River City knew who she was.

This woman was none other than the Guild Leader of Overwhelming Smile’s
White River City branch, Youlan.

“The Candlelight Trading Firm sure knows how to treat its guests, to
actually make us wait here with other Guilds.” Feng Xuanyang swept a
glance at the reception room, frowning slightly with discontent at the
Firm’s arrangements.

Youlan did not comment on Feng Xuanyang’s statement. Instead, she only
sat down and waited quietly.

Although Overwhelming Smile was a powerful Guild with ample funds, the
Candlelight Trading Firm was no ordinary existence, either. The fact
that it had been able to purchase two of White River City’s golden Lands
in such a short time displayed the Firm’s powerful backing.

A short moment later, Melancholic Smile entered the reception room.
Immediately, the atmosphere in the room relaxed significantly as the
occupants promptly stood to welcome her, smiling.

“Everyone, please sit,” Melancholic Smile said after glancing around the
room.

Every player in this room was a big shot at the peak of White River
City. Melancholic Smile never thought that the day would come where she
would become one of these supreme characters as well. Before this, she
was merely a Forging Apprentice who Guilds would casually chase away,
someone who relied on forging to earn some meager living expenses.

Regarding these high-ranked managers from various large Guilds, they
were all existences that she would have only admired from a distance.

Yet, now, every one of these powerful characters greeted her with
fawning smiles. Compared to her previous life, it was as if she was in
an entirely different world.

When Melancholic Smile considered this, her thoughts immediately
switched to the man who had helped her rise to this position. If Shi
Feng had not been willing to accept her back then, she would most likely
have still worried over her day-to-day life. She would still be one of
the Lifestyle players at the bottom-layer of White River City, rejoicing
over earning one or two Silver a day. In contrast, when dealing with
hundreds, or even thousands, of Gold, her current self could maintain
indifference.

Before her were the upper managers of the various large Guilds in White
River City. Among them, there was even the Guild Leader of Overwhelming
Smile. One could just imagine how much pressure one would feel from
having to discuss business with these people. Yet, Melancholic Smile,
who had never encountered such a scene spoke as naturally as if she were
sipping tea while enjoying light conversation.

“Seeing as everyone present wishes to cooperate with us, I will make
things simple. We at Candlelight Trading Firm only have one
requirement,” Melancholic Smile calmly said. “You must sell all of the
materials your Guilds have collected to us. Everything. We will purchase
these materials at 60% market value. In return, the Candlelight Trading
Firm will give your Guilds a discount on your purchases here. The
discounts available range from 5% up to, but not limited to, 15%. In
addition, we will reserve some of the rarer items for you, giving you
priority to purchase them.

“If you accept these terms, you may sign the agreement that has just
been given out. If not, then you may leave.”

Melancholic Smile’s statement was firm and confident.

The managers of the various Guilds immediately sucked in a breath of
cold air, every one of them falling silent upon hearing the woman’s
conditions.

This was fraud!

If they sold all of the materials they had obtained to the Candlelight
Trading Firm, what would be left for their own Guilds?

Moreover, the purchase price was only 60% of market value. Wouldn’t they
be better off selling their excess materials to the public?

Most importantly, they could only receive meager discounts of 5% to 15%.
Their Guilds wouldn’t gain much benefit from such a small discount. In
the end, wasn’t the Candlelight Trading Firm getting the better end of
this deal?

“I’ve already said my piece. You can take your time to think it over.
However, note that I will take back the contracts in thirty minutes.”
Although Melancholic Smile could feel everyone’s murderous gazes, she
paid them no heed. Instead, she simply turned to leave.

It was as if her actions had said, “If you want to sign, go ahead. If
not, get lost.”

Suddenly, the various representatives, who had been so confident, fell
mute.

“Wait a minute!” Feng Xuanyang suddenly stood with a cold expression on
his face. He glared at Melancholic Smile, sneering, “Don’t you think you
are going too far with your demands?

“You should know that there are many materials that only Guilds like
ours can obtain;, independent teams are simply not strong enough to
provide a supply. If our Guilds join hands to cut off Candlelight’s
supply, do you really think you can continue doing business?”

Shocked, Youlan rushed to her feet, advising, “Young Master Feng has
gone a little too far with his words; I ask for Miss Melancholic’s
understanding. However, we have all come here with the intent to do
business; there should be a process of negotiation at the very least.
The way you cut us off will not benefit either side. Why don’t we sit
down and discuss things properly?”

Everyone in the reception room nodded in agreement.

If every Guild refused to sell their materials, how could Candlelight
Trading Firm hope to continue its success in White River City?

At the end of the day, a Lifestyle Guild was still a Lifestyle Guild;
they were born to lower their heads to Combat Guilds.

“Hahaha! Your statement is indeed reasonable!” After thinking it over
for a moment, Melancholic Smile nodded as she looked towards Feng
Xuanyang and Youlan. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Although what you’ve
said is logical, I stand by my decision! Moreover, from this point
onward, I retract Overwhelming Smile’s contract! You two may leave now!”

“You?!” Feng Xuanyang’s eyes immediately became bloodshot as he nearly
spat blood in rage. If not for the fact that they were still in the
Candlelight Trading Firm, with the owner of the Firm having absolute
control over and being an invincible existence inside this place, he
definitely would have killed Melancholic Smile by now.

Youlan was similarly stunned by Melancholic Smile’s words.

Meanwhile, the upper managers of the various large Guilds were also
stupefied by this situation...

In White River City, Overwhelming Smile was only second to Zero Wing.
Yet, Melancholic Smile had dismissed them with just a few words, showing
no pretenses at all.

This was simply too domineering!

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 506 - Towers of Death

After Melancholic Smile finished speaking...

After a few moments, everyone in the reception room came back to their
senses. However, they still stared at Melancholic Smile with surprise.

Youlan had never expected things to develop in such a way.

Melancholic Smile’s performance had completely surpassed Youlan’s
expectations. Her firm rejection was even more unusual.

“Miss Melancholic, I believe we have a misunderstanding,” Youlan said
after calming down. “Overwhelming Smile is not here to seek cooperation,
but to invest. I believe that Miss Melancholic knows about Overwhelming
Smile’s financial prowess. With our help, the Candlelight Trading Firm
will have no issues obtaining materials or funding.

“At the end of the day, Candlelight is not a Combat Guild, so its
development is limited; it is restricted by the city. Candlelight might
become White River City’s number one trading firm, but you can’t just
remain in one city and not branch out to others, right? After all, White
River City’s player population is not infinite, and you can only earn so
much.

“I admit that Candlelight is very wealthy. However, purchasing golden
Lands in other cities requires sufficient Reputation Points there.
Meanwhile, how can Candlelight hope to compete with the Guilds that have
been developing in said cities since the very beginning? By the time
Candlelight’s personnel gains sufficient Reputation in other cities,
other Guilds will have long since purchased the best plots of Land
available.

“However, after we invest in Candlelight, the trading firm will not face
such a restriction. Overwhelming Smile has plenty of personnel in other
major cities, including the several cities neighboring White River City.
As long as we have enough Gold, we can purchase the most valuable Land
in every city throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and establish the Candlelight
Trading Firm all over the kingdom, saving you a lot of time and
manpower.

“Is Miss Melancholic really not interested in such an opportunity?”

Youlan spoke confidently as she offered the attractive conditions. She
had also hit the nail on the head by pointing out the Candlelight
Trading Firm’s weakness.

Meanwhile, the fact that Youlan was able to make such a statement so
confidently was all because of Overwhelming Smile’s backer, Underworld.
This was a feat that no other Guild could ever accomplish, even
first-rate Guilds.

Youlan’s offer sorely tempted the other managers of the Guilds in the
reception room. Only, they were somewhat disappointed that the
Candlelight Trading Firm would no longer be theirs.

They could already imagine the Candlelight Trading Firm’s flourishing
future. One side had the advantage of manpower and resources, while the
other had Coins and popular Shops. The cooperation between the two was
practically a match made in heaven.

Youlan really is amazing. It’s as expected of someone fancied by
Underworld’s elders. Feng Xuanyang, who had initially been overwhelmed
by his rage, silently praised Youlan as he listened to the woman. He
snuck a peek at Melancholic Smile from the corner of his eyes, his heart
filled with joy when he saw her silence.

To a trading firm, particularly a trading firm with hot-selling
commodities, what they needed the most was not materials, but a market
to sell those commodities. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile just so
happened to be capable of providing that market. This method of
persuasion was far more effective than any threat.

At this moment, Melancholic Smile opened her mouth and spoke, “Your
conditions are tempting, but you may leave now. Everyone else, you have
thirty minutes left to consider our offer. If you do not wish to
cooperate, you may leave. I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t
accompany you any longer.”

Saying so, Melancholic Smile left the reception room, never once turning
back. From the moment she had entered the room, she had acted as if she
did not care about any of the representatives.

“Is she really not tempted?” Youlan was stunned.

With such huge potential profits, no sane trading firm would reject
their offer. Even if Melancholic Smile rejected them eventually, it
should be based on too harsh conditions. Yet, before they could even
state their conditions, she had turned them away...

Just what sort of situation was this?

Before Youlan could make sense of the situation, the upper managers of
the other Guilds began signing their contracts, having already thrown
their cooperation conditions out the window.

Watching this, Youlan suddenly came to a realization.

Melancholic Smile had displayed her might, killing the chicken to scare
the monkeys[1]. They just so happened to be that “chicken.”

Feng Xuanyang had also realized their situation. This had all been due
to him voicing his rejection, becoming Melancholic Smile’s target as a
result. Despite this revelation angering him greatly, regret filled his
heart. Just why had he been so eager to shoot off his mouth?

As for encouraging Overwhelming Smile to face off against the
Candlelight Trading Firm, that was simply impossible. Lifestyle players
did not leave the city at all. If they remained in the city, who could
do anything to them?

Lifestyle players were unlike Combat players, who relied heavily on
their Levels and equipment. Even if Lifestyle players were killed until
they fell back to Level 0, so long as their Lifestyle Skills remained,
they would feel no effect whatsoever.

“It seems that we can only hasten our own firm’s establishment,” Youlan
sighed. Things were becoming much more troublesome than she had
initially expected. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm had also given
her a reminder. “I have heard that Maple City’s branch almost has enough
Reputation. We might as well develop our trade in Maple City. Moreover,
the Lands there are much cheaper. If we form an alliance with the other
cities to target the Candlelight Trading Firm, sooner or later, we can
defeat it as well.”

“Okay, leave that to me.” At this moment, murderous intent filled Feng
Xuanyang’s eyes. Watching Melancholic Smile’s departing figure, he
revealed a sinister smile as he said, “Though the trading firm itself is
unwilling to cooperate, I refuse to believe that every worker is of the
same opinion. I’ll poach every single one of Candlelight’s forgers.
We’ll see how long Candlelight lasts, then.”

If a trading firm did not have a supply of goods, customers naturally
would not visit it. It would be useless even if the trading firm
occupied one of the city’s golden Lands. The fact that the Candlelight
Trading Firm had become White River City’s number one trading firm so
quickly was completely due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits.
Otherwise, how could it possibly surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm?

---

While Feng Xuanyang plotted ways to poach Lifestyle players from the
Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng had arrived at the Twin Tower
Highlands.

The Twin Tower Highlands was a Level 45 to Level 50 map. It could be
considered a country within a country. Unlike the monsters in low-level
maps, the monsters here were mostly intelligent Orcs that fought and
lived in tribes. If players were not careful, rather than hunting their
prey, they very well might become prey themselves. To God’s Domain’s
current players, the Twin Tower Highlands was definitely a forbidden
land. Aside from the level suppression, the difference in Attributes was
already quite vast.

However, Shi Feng did not care about any of that. His own Attributes had
long since surpassed the standards of the current players.

It was especially true after he had equipped the Fragmented Legendary
ranked Heavenly Dragon’s Breath. In terms of Attributes, he could easily
match Level 40 ordinary players.

Without level suppression, a 5 Level difference in Attributes was
nothing to Shi Feng.

Fortunately, Shi Feng was very familiar with the Twin Tower Highlands.
He had arrived at the core area of the Twin Tower Highlands, the Towers
of Death, without so much as encountering a single monster.

Dark clouds hid the tops of the two tall towers, preventing one from
seeing them with a single glance. A thick layer of death also surrounded
the towers as cold wind billowed around them.

Tall ramparts surrounded the massive Towers of Death. An army of Orcs
patrolled the walls. Overall, the Towers of Death look like an
impregnable fortress.

This was the best location for Shi Feng to grind for the Light Stone
Forging Designs.

“This should be it.”

Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and the Ring of Nothingness and flew up to
the tall walls. Sweeping a glance over the numerous Level 47 Orcs below
the ramparts, a grin appeared on his face.

TL Notes:

[1] killing the chicken to scare the monkeys: Chinese idiom that gives
the meaning of - to punish an individual as an example to others.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 507 - Explosive Power

Not only did the Towers of Death resemble a fortress, but there were
also tens of thousands of monsters wandering inside their walls. It was
simply impossible to infiltrate without a large team of more than a
hundred players.

However, it was also why the Towers of Death were a good grinding spot.

Although the Common Monsters, the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors, behind the
wall seemed to be covered in steel-like muscles, in reality, their
strength was only an illusion; they were actually quite weak. Moreover,
they were all melee monsters. As long as a team had several powerful AOE
classes, the Towers of Death would become a leveling heaven.

[Hot-blooded Orc Warrior] (Orc, Common Monster)

Level 47

HP 30,000/30,000

To players of a similar Level, these Orc Warriors were very easy to deal
with. To Shi Feng, who was only Level 26 right now, they were just as
easy to defeat.

The only challenge was the fact that these Hot-blooded Warriors normally
moved in groups of 100 or more, with an Elite-ranked Hot-blooded Orc
Captain leading each company. The Orc Captains were much larger than
their Common counterparts. They were fully protected by a suit of plate
armor and wielded a war saber and large shield in each hand. Most
importantly, these Orc Captains had an aura effect that could increase
the Attack Speed and damage of nearby Hot-blooded Orc Warriors by 30%.

[Hot-blooded Orc Captain] (Orc, Elite Rank)

Level 48

HP 200,000/200,000

Even a 50-man team would struggle against such a company of Orcs. As for
20-man teams, they could only escape for their lives.

Teams that came to grind here would usually eliminate the Orc Captain
first, sending several Assassins with high burst damage and a
bombardment from the ranged attackers, getting rid of the Orc Captain in
the shortest amount of time possible. That way, the Hot-blooded Orc
Warriors would be fish in a barrel, easy to annihilate.

However, Shi Feng’s level was too low right now. It would be very
difficult for him to charge into the group of Orcs and kill the Orc
Captain swiftly, hence why Shi Feng had flown up to the ramparts.

The ramparts were very tall, and it would not be easy for one to reach
the top quickly, especially Common Monsters like the Hot-blooded Orc
Warriors. Monsters like them could only use the only staircase.
Moreover, it was a long way from the bottom to the top of the stairs,
and it would take the Orc Warriors quite some time to reach the top of
the walls. The Orc Captain, however, was different. The Captain’s
strength was impressive, and he could easily reach the top of the walls
with just a few jumps.

In the past, many people had used this method to grind Orcs and level
up.

After Shi Feng positioned himself on the rampart, he switched the Seven
Luminaries Ring’s Aura of Wind to the Aura of Fire. Simultaneously, he
activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, pale blue flames suddenly covering
his entire body.

With the effects of the Aura of Fire and the Ice-Blue Devil Flame
combined, his damage instantly increased by 60%. The combined effects
were no weaker than when he activated a berserk skill. Moreover, these
effects lasted indefinitely and had no side effects whatsoever.

He then took out the Blazing Meteor and threw it at a Hot-blooded Orc
Warrior.

Xiu!

The Blazing Meteor streaked across the air like a shooting star,
instantly striking at a Hot-blooded Orc Warrior who patrolled below the
fortress walls.

-904.

Although there was no level suppression, a Level 47 monster was far
superior to a Level 20-plus monster regarding both Defence and Attack
Power. Shi Feng only had the Attributes of a Level 40 or so ordinary
player; his damage was very limited.

“Intruder!” the Orc Warrior bellowed angrily as he turned towards Shi
Feng on top of the wall.

Immediately, the entire company of Hot-blooded Orcs also discovered Shi
Feng. However, as the wall was too large, they could only frantically
dash towards one of the distant staircases.

The armored Hot-blooded Orc Captain, unlike his allies, simply bent his
legs and jumped. In just a moment, the Orc Captain had jumped up to half
the height of the wall. The Captain stabbed his saber into the sturdy
wall. Using his saber as a foothold, the Captain jumped once again,
reaching the top of the ramparts. His robust and powerful hand grabbed
and tugged on the chain wrapped around his wrist. In the blink of an
eye, the saber, which was connected to the chain, returned to the Orc
Captain’s hand.

The entire process was smooth and only took an instant. The Orc Captain
was like a martial arts expert who could walk on walls and fly through
the eaves of buildings.

However, Shi Feng was not the slightest bit surprised by the Orc
Captain’s actions. Elite monsters’ intelligence and combat techniques at
this Level were not the slightest bit inferior to the professional
fighters in real life. In some aspects, these Elite monsters were even
more amazing than professional fighters.

The Hot-blooded Orc Captain looked at Shi Feng, who was 10 yards away,
with a bloodthirsty fury in his crimson eyes. Raising his shield, he
used Charge and dashed towards Shi Feng.

The Orc Captain was over two meters tall. With his mass and speed, he
was like a small car rushing towards Shi Feng. One could just imagine
the consequences of such a collision.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Purgatory Power, raising his
damage by another 30% and Attack Speed by 100%. He then dashed forward
to meet the Orc Captain’s charge head-on.

Just as the Orc Captain was about to send Shi Feng into a Fainted state,
at the moment between life and death, Shi Feng used Silent Steps. Not
only had Shi Feng avoided the Fainted effect of the Orc Captain’s
Charge, but he also managed to appear behind the Orc Captain.

“Die!” Shi Feng shouted. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade and the
Purgatory’s Shadow in Shi Feng’s hands released a powerful blinding
light. The crimson flames that covered both swords caused the
surrounding temperatures to soar.

Flame Burst!

Dazzling streaks of light shot out from Shi Feng’s hands, piercing the
Hot-blooded Orc Captain’s armor.

The Orc Captain’s armor could stop neither the scorching heat of the
flames nor the sharp edges of the swords. The blazing Abyssal Blade
easily penetrated the sturdy armor, stabbing the Orc Captain’s vital
point.

-9,120, -18,160, -9,234, -27,548...

Frightening damages appeared above the Hot-blooded Orc Captain’s head,
one after another. In the blink of an eye, the Orc Captain had lost
close to half of his HP.

The Orc Captain bellowed at the damage he received. Responding quickly,
the Orc Captain used War Stomp, causing all enemies within a range of
six yards to enter a Fainted state for three seconds.

However, Shi Feng, who had already grasped the Flowing Water Realm, had
long since seen the Orc Captain’s intentions. The instant the Orc
Captain lifted his leg, Shi Feng swung his sword.

Abyssal Bind!

When the Orc Captain’s feet were only several centimeters from the
ground, nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground and bound the
Captain, restricting all of his movements.

Taking this opportunity, Shi Feng launched a barrage of attacks towards
the Orc Captain. Due to Abyssal Bind reducing the Orc Captain’s Defense
by 100%, Shi Feng’s Flame Burst skill became even more powerful. Now,
each attack dealt around -20,000 damage, while double critical hits
dealt around -40,000 damage.

Before Shi Feng could exhaust the twelve instances of Flame Burst, the
Hot-blooded Orc Captain was already dead, dropping a few Silver Coins
and a piece of equipment.

From beginning to end, Shi Feng took less than 4 seconds to kill the
Hot-blooded Orc Captain.

Meanwhile, only now did the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors finish climbing the
stairs, reaching the top of the rampart. However, there were still more
than 60 yards between them.

After collecting the drops, Shi Feng used Skywheel Sword on the Orc
Warriors who were 40 yards away from him. Golden divine swords descended
from the sky, sealing the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors in a radius of 20
yards for four seconds. At the same time, the Orc Warriors each received
over -4,000 damage, while some received close to -10,000 critical
damage. With a single attack, the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors lost close to
half of their 20,000 HP.

While the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors ceaselessly bellowed with anger, Shi
Feng followed up his attack with Firestorm.

Suddenly, heavenly fire descended from the skies, annihilating the
company of Orc Warriors. Items scattered across the ground around the
Orc Warriors’ corpses.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng’s experience bar rose at a rate visible to the naked
eye.

Shi Feng marveled at the dropped items on the ground. “Fragmented
Legendary items and Epic items really are frightening.”

Originally, Shi Feng thought he would have some troubles dealing with
these Hot-blooded Orc Warriors. Now, it would seem that he had worried
for nothing.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 508 - Successive Promotion

After defeating the first batch of Hot-blooded Orc Warriors, Shi Feng
had a preliminary understanding of his current strength.

He was now confident about what he should do and how far he should go.

Previously, he had chosen to lure the group with the least number of
Orcs as a precaution. Later, so long as he did not lure two groups at
once, he should be able to defeat an army of two or three hundred Orcs.
With this, his chances of obtaining the Light Stone Forging Design
should be significantly higher.

“There sure are a lot of dropped items,” Shi Feng muttered as he
arranged the loot from the Orc Warriors.

He had picked up a total of 6 Silver. That was more than half a day’s
earnings for an elite player. The Orc Warriors had also dropped plenty
of scrap items and materials. In total, he had earned nearly 12 Silver
from killing a single batch. If a piece of Level 40 Bronze Equipment
dropped, he could instantly earn another 80 Silver or more.

However, this result was only due to Shi Feng’s 5 points of Luck.
Otherwise, it was impossible for a group of Orc Warriors to drop so much
money and so many items.

Following which, Shi Feng continued searching for patrol teams that he
could take on while he waited for his Skills to Cooldown. Firestorm, in
particular, had a long Cooldown of five minutes.

As soon as the five minutes were up, Shi Feng would immediately lure
another wave of monsters.

Shi Feng required less than thirty seconds to take care of a wave of
Hot-blooded Orc Warriors. In other words, he could clear one wave every
six minutes, and ten waves in an hour.

As the Orcs were Level 47 monsters, they already gave abundant EXP. In
addition, as Shi Feng was challenging monsters of a higher level, he
could obtain bonus EXP of up to 20 times. Despite Shi Feng’s class
doubling the amount of EXP he required to level up, in little more than
an hour, he reached Level 27. To reach Level 28, he just needed to
continue grinding for another hour or so.

Although the amount of EXP he received was indeed frightening, Shi Feng
was more excited over the fact that he had obtained two Light Stone
Forging Designs.

With two forging designs, he could nurture two gold mines.

Also, when Divine Providence’s Cooldown completed, Shi Feng stopped to
open Twilight Treasure Chests, acquiring plenty of good items. Among
them were some recipes for potions such as the Intermediate Strength
Potion, Basic Protection Potion, and Basic Magic Damage Potion. These
were all potions that players around Level 40 would commonly use. Only,
the recipes for these potions were impossible for current players to
obtain.

In addition, Shi Feng had also obtained some Level 30 Secret-Silver and
Fine-Gold Equipment, which he intended to use to replenish the Guild’s
Warehouse.

While Shi Feng enjoyed his grind, Melancholic Smile suddenly contacted
him. Through the screen, Shi Feng could tell that, though Melancholic
Smile seemed somewhat tensed, there was a hint of pride and excitement
in her eyes.

“Guild Leader, just as you predicted, Overwhelming Smile paid us a
visit, though I’ve already chased them away. The other Guilds have also
agreed to cooperate with us,” Melancholic Smile said slowly. “Also, just
as you expected, after we chased them away, they immediately began
contacting our Guild’s Forgers and Forging Apprentices. Although Uncle
Ironheart and Cocoa rejected their offers, many of the Forging
Apprentices in the Guild were unable to resist the tempting offers and
have already applied to dissolve their contract with us to join
Overwhelming Smile.

“From what I learned from those Forging Apprentices, it seems that they
are heading to Maple City to develop themselves.”

Although Melancholic Smile had tried to dissuade those who intended to
leave, there were bound to be some who could not resist Overwhelming
Smile’s astronomical offer. Melancholic Smile could not force these
people to stay.

Fortunately, Shi Feng had long since prepared for such a situation. All
Lifestyle players who joined the Horizon Alliance were required to sign
a contract. Under this contract, the Horizon Alliance would provide all
materials, forging designs, forging rooms, and other necessities for the
Lifestyle player. The Lifestyle player could also obtain a certain
amount of commission from the items they made. This commission would be
determined according to the Lifestyle player’s skill level. The more
skilled they were, the higher their commission would be, with the
highest possible being 20% of profit.

However, these generous benefits came with a condition. Any Lifestyle
player wishing to dissolve their contracts was required to erase all the
Lifestyle classes they had taken on. In other words, upon leaving the
Horizon Alliance, these Lifestyle players would have to start all over
again. That way, it would be impossible for these poached players to
benefit other Guilds in a short amount of time. Only, due to their past
experiences, it would cost less for other Guilds to nurture these
players.

It was not easy for a Lifestyle Guild to nurture a Lifestyle player. The
initial investment included materials and forging designs, particularly
those rare forging designs. These items required immense effort to
obtain. So, how could they possibly let others take advantage of them?

Any Lifestyle player who had learned rare forging designs was also
required to compensate the Horizon Alliance for this loss.

Normally, few Lifestyle players would willingly choose to develop
themselves elsewhere. However, with Overwhelming Smile’s reckless
poaching, there were bound to be some who could not resist the
temptation.

“Heading to Maple City, huh?” Shi Feng pondered for a moment before
saying, “It seems that they plan to develop trade in Maple City before
joining the competition in White River City.”

Although Overwhelming Smile had been nurturing their own Lifestyle
players all this time as well, without their own Shop, it was not only
very inconvenient to sell their products, but the cost of the items
would also increase. In particular, by selling their items through the
Auction House, they would incur a massive processing fee. For small
items, they might not even recover the cost, let alone make a profit.

Maple City was Overwhelming Smile’s domain. It was very easy for the
Guild to develop its trade there, and the same went for acquiring Land
and Reputation. By the time Overwhelming Smile possessed sufficient
capital, it would be a lot easier for it to deal with the Candlelight
Trading Firm. At the very least, both sides would be on equal footing.
Afterward, Overwhelming Smile could just use the simplest way to deal
with the Candlelight Trading Firm: wage a price war.

“They want another war of attrition?” Shi Feng could not help but laugh.
Unfortunately, Overwhelming Smile no longer possessed such an
opportunity. Shi Feng then said, “Smile, instruct someone to begin
purchasing Advanced Stones and Magic Essences in bulk, and don’t just
buy from White River City; buy from other cities as well. Buy as many as
you can. However, this must be done secretly; do not let other Guilds
discover our actions.”

Although the Candlelight Trading Firm held a significant advantage due
to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, the production volume for the kits
was simply too low; it lacked competitiveness. However, it was a
different story for Light Stones.

“Okay, I’ll head out and buy them myself right now,” Melancholic Smile
said.

After Shi Feng gave his instructions, he resumed grinding for more
forging designs.

For the next several dozen hours, Shi Feng grinded the Hot-blooded Orc
Warriors like a madman. During this time, his experience bar rose
rapidly, his level increasing from Level 27 to Level 30. His leveling
speed was simply unmatched.

However, compared to the EXP spent on increasing his own level, Shi Feng
had expended even more EXP on the Seven Luminaries Ring. He had leveled
up the Seven Luminaries Ring twice, upgrading it to Level 7.

Just as Shi Feng was about to investigate the Level 7 Luminaries Ring’s
new power...

Suddenly, the gates of the Towers of Death opened. In the next moment, a
roar that shook even the heavens emerged from behind the gates. As the
roar grew louder, Shi Feng saw a massive Orc walk out. This Orc wore
exquisite armor and had a black cape draped over his back. Upon the
appearance of this massive Orc, the Orcs outside the Towers of Death
went into a frenzy. It was as if they were welcoming the arrival of
their king.

“Why has the Orc King appeared here?” Shi Feng could not help his
surprise.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 509 - Mythic

The valiant and extraordinary Orc King slowly walked up to an altar
before the Towers of Death, constantly muttering incantations as he
approached the pitch-black altar. Suddenly, countless blood-red runes
emerged from the altar. The sky also dimmed as strong winds blew.

Countless Hot-blooded Orcs gathered beneath the altar. If one looked
down from the ramparts, they would discover a black mass of tens of
thousands of Orcs within the fortress walls...

After these Orcs gathered around the black altar, they fell to their
knees and prayed.

This spectacular scene amazed even Shi Feng.

“Just what are they trying to do?” Shi Feng was utterly confused.

The Towers of Death of the Twin Tower Highlands were, in reality, a
Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon. In the past, Shi Feng had raided this
Dungeon many times, so he had a relatively good understanding of the
Towers of Death.

However, today was the first time Shi Feng had seen something this odd.

In particular, the Orc King who had emerged from the Towers of Death was
the Final Boss of the Dungeon, Orc King Tresik.

When challenging the Hell Mode difficulty of the Dungeon, Orc King
Tresik was a Level 54 Grand Lord.

Meanwhile, the Orc King Tresik standing on the altar right now was a
Level 60 Mythic Monster.

Monsters in God’s Domain occupied multiple ranks. From weakest to
strongest, these ranks were: Common, Elite, Special Elite, Chieftain,
Lord, High Lord, Great Lord, Grand Lord. Standing above Grand Lord was
Mythic.

[Orc King Tresik] (Mythic Monster)

Level 60

HP 90,000,000/90,000,000

Upon seeing the Orc King’s information, even Shi Feng could not believe
his own eyes.

A Mythic Monster!

A Mythic Monster was slightly stronger than even a Tier 4 class.
Moreover, with that ridiculous amount of HP, any Tier 4 party of the
same level that attempted to raid Orc King Tresik would be beaten
senseless. At the very least, a 50-man team of Tier 4 players was
necessary to raid the Orc King.

Tier 4 classes already stood at the top of God’s Domain. It was
extremely difficult to reach this tier, so how could it possibly be easy
to gather fifty Tier 4 players? Not to mention, players could only begin
challenging their Tier 2 Class Change Quests at Level 50; they were
still far from reaching Tier 4.

To players below Level 60, Orc King Tresik was practically invincible.

However, it was because of this that Shi Feng’s interest grew.

The Final Boss of the Towers of Death had actually left the Dungeon to
pray. Moreover, the Boss’s rank had risen to Mythic.

There was no way Shi Feng could grind the Hot-blooded Orcs at the
moment. The area beneath the ramparts was packed with Warriors and
Captains right now. If he attacked any one of them, he might attract
every monster beneath the walls, including the Orc King Tresik.

They would annihilate him, leaving no room for escape.

“I’m interested to see just what this is about.” In any case, Shi Feng
was not in a hurry. He took a seat in the corner of the wall and
observed the situation at the altar.

However, the Orcs’ prayer was relatively long.

Even after over half an hour, these Orcs continued to pray.

Out of frustration, Shi Feng began arranging the contents of his bag.

After grinding for dozens of hours, Shi Feng had lost count of how many
Hot-blooded Orc Warriors he had killed. The items they had dropped had
nearly filled his bag. Had he not thrown away some of the worthless
scrap items, not even his Super Large Bag would be able to hold all of
the loot.

Shi Feng had to admit that the Towers of Death were indeed an efficient
place to farm Light Stone Forging Designs. With the addition of his 5
points of Luck, his harvest was even more frightening.

In total, Shi Feng had obtained 141 Light Stone Forging Designs. He had
also collected close to 30 Gold and some random scrap items and
materials. If ordinary players came here to grind, they could definitely
make a fortune overnight.

Thirty Gold Coins!

Although the value of Gold Coins continuously depreciated, each Gold
Coin was still worth more than 7,000 Credits. In other words, Shi Feng
had earned nearly 210,000 Credits in a single day!

However, none of these were Shi Feng’s greatest prizes.

His most valuable gain was the promotion of the Seven Luminaries Ring
and the equipment he had obtained from opening treasure chests.

After upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring to Level 7, its skills all
received massive transformations. If not for the ring’s information
labeling it as an Epic item, Shi Feng would have thought it was a
Fragmented Legendary item.

[Seven Luminaries Ring (Replica)] (Ring, Epic Rank)

Level 20 - Level 80 (Current Level: 30)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 200

Attributes will be adjusted according to user’s level.

Strength +64, Agility +60, Intelligence +52, Endurance +60, Vitality +55

Damage +10%

Maximum HP +15%

Ignore Levels +10

All skills +2 Levels.

All items level requirement reduced by 5 Levels.

Additional Skill-

Seven Luminaries Aura: There are seven different Auras: earth, water,
wind, fire, time, illusion, and space. Only one Aura can be used each
time, and there will be a Cooldown of one minute when changing between
Auras.

[Aura of Earth]

Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

Defense increased by 60%.

Damage taken reduced by 55%.

Activatable Skill-

Absolute Defense: Become immune to all damage for 5 seconds.

Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds

[Aura of Water]

Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

Received healing increased by 100%.

Cast Consumption reduced by 50%.

Activatable Skill-

Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 30% HP every second for 40
seconds.

Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds

[Aura of Wind]

Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

Movement Speed increased by 60%.

Attack Speed increased by 60%.

Agility increased by 50%.

Activatable Skill-

Wind Rider: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 220%
for 24 seconds.

Cooldown: 2 minutes

[Aura of Fire]

Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

Damage increased by 50%.

Target’s Defense reduced by 60%.

Activatable Skill-

Firestorm: Inflicts 1,000% damage within a range of 30*30 yards for 6
seconds.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

[Aura of Time]

Level 7 (Requires 500,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 40%.

Enemies within a 150-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and
Attack Speed reduced by 40%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 50%.

Activatable Skill-

Absolute Time: Prevents enemies within a radius of 100 yards from using
any skills or tools for 24 seconds.

Cooldown: 2 minutes 30 seconds

[Aura of Illusion]

Level 7 (Requires 500,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

All Attributes increased by 40%.

Enemies within a 200-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced
by 40%.

Activatable Skill-

Fantasy World: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 20% of Magic Damage
received will be converted to healing to recover player’s HP for 20
seconds.

Cooldown: 3 minutes

[Aura of Space]

Level 7 (Requires 500,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8)

Immunity to all control and restricting effects.

Activatable Skill-

Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of
600,000 yards.

Cooldown: 4 minutes

After the Seven Luminaries Ring’s promotion, just one of its Auras could
rival the Attributes of a Fragmented Legendary item. Meanwhile, the
Seven Luminaries Ring had seven interchangeable Auras. Calling it a
Fragmented Legendary item was by no means an exaggeration.

Aside from the Seven Luminaries Ring, Shi Feng valued the Tier 1 Set
Equipment he had gained from the Twilight Treasure Chests.

First, Shi Feng obtained another two set pieces of the Yin-Yang Walker
Set Equipment for Tier 1 Guardian Knights, putting him at a total of
three set pieces.

In addition, he had also obtained the Mana Storm Set Equipment for Tier
1 Elementalists. Unfortunately, he only had two set pieces.

He had also fortunately obtained three set pieces of the Dark Melody Set
Equipment for Tier 1 Assassins.

He had one set piece of the Forest Guard Set Equipment for Tier 1
Rangers.

He had also gained two set pieces of the Hurricane Set Equipment for
Tier 1 Swordsmen.

Finally, he obtained one set piece of the Brave Heart Set Equipment for
Tier 1 Shield Warriors.

Shi Feng had only gone through a small portion of the Twilight Treasure
Chests in his possession. It was fully possible for him to collect a
Tier 1 Set Equipment for every class.

Suddenly....

“Why has the sky darkened?”

While Shi Feng had been busy organizing his bag, he suddenly realized
the light had dimmed, visibility becoming even poorer than during
night-time. Taking a look below the ramparts, he noticed that a change
had finally occurred at the black altar.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 510 - God Descends

At this moment, the black altar radiated a blood-red glow. In the
darkness, it was an extraordinarily eye-catching.

The ground surrounding the altar also began emitting plumes of bright
red mist. A small cyclone that had appeared above the alter tugged the
mist towards its core. Gradually, the space in the storm’s center
gradually began to crack.

A moment later, this spatial crack formed a portal.

The instant the spatial portal was complete, the area around the Towers
of Death froze. It was as if a separate, miniature world had formed
around the Towers of Death, and no object from the outside world could
affect anything that occurred inside this place.

All of Shi Feng’s communication with the outside world was blocked as
well, every name on his friends list having turned a dull gray; he was
unable to contact anybody.

The surrounding air felt as heavy as mercury, and Shi Feng felt as if
his every action was heavily restrained.

Inside this region, Shi Feng felt like a candle flickering in the wind;
his life could be extinguished at any moment.

Meanwhile, this was all due to the horrific pressure from the spatial
portal.

“Just what is inside that spatial portal?”

Shi Feng widened his eyes in shock. He tried to glimpse at what was
inside the spatial portal, yet, as if a strange power shrouded the
portal, not even Shi Feng, with his extraordinary dynamic vision, could
see anything inside it. However, there was one thing that his brain
urged him to do right now.

Escape!

The pressure leaking from the spatial portal was sufficient to freeze
the entire space surrounding the Towers of Death and create a separate
world.

This was the first time Shi Feng had ever encountered such a situation.

While Shi Feng struggled to recover from his shock, the hundreds of
thousands of Orcs surrounding the pitch-black altar suddenly turned into
blood mist.

Moreover, the transformation had been completely silent.

The originally crowded fortress around the Towers of Death had suddenly
become a ghost town.

The abrupt change was enough to instill utter terror.

For a time, the blood-red runes around the alter forcefully sucked in
the blood mist, intensifying the runes’ glow. Simultaneously, the portal
above the altar grew, the pressure it emitted increasing as well.

The air that had previously felt as heavy as mercury now felt as dense
as fine steel. Now, Shi Feng could not move in the slightest.

“Is this Divine Might?” A possibility suddenly flashed in Shi Feng’s
mind.

Divine Might... It was something that Shi Feng had felt more than a few
times before. As long as Divine Might was activated, any players within
the affected area would receive various sorts of suppression. Moreover,
the wider the gap in tiers, the greater the suppression would be. Only
players of the same tier would be unaffected by Divine Might. However,
of all the Divine Might Shi Feng had experienced before, not one had
rendered him completely incapable of movement.

Before Shi Feng could reflect more on the situation, the Orc King Tresik
finally finished chanting his incantation. Suddenly, the area around the
Towers of Death fell eerily silent.

Shi Feng noticed hints of excitement and longing on Tresik’s ferocious
face.

At this moment, the spatial portal blotted out the area above the black
altar. If the portal descended now, Shi Feng did not doubt that it would
devour the massive black altar whole.

However, the black portal did not descend. Instead, the portal released
a loud sound resembling the cracking of glass.

It was as if something inside the portal were trying to smash its way
through the mysterious power surrounding it.

Shi Feng began to have a bad feeling about this.

If a God truly descended, then he would die with 100% certainty.

A God possessed extremely acute senses. Even over a
thousand-yard-distance, a God could discover a player long before that
player discovered said God.

In the past, plenty of players had been very interested in Gods.
Unfortunately, many Tier 4 players had not been able to get even 3,000
yards close to the Gods before the divine beings swatted them like
flies. Meanwhile, Tier 5 players had survived the wrath of Gods, but
only Tier 6 players qualified to challenge them. Even then, they only
‘qualified.’

At this moment, Shi Feng was less than 2,000 yards away from the altar.
If a God descended, it would discover him immediately and send him to
his death with a single slap.

“It shouldn’t be able to descend, right?” Shi Feng could feel that the
mysterious power surrounding the spatial portal was already at its
limits.

In the blink of an eye, a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky
suddenly emerged from the portal. In the face of this hand, even the
massive altar seemed like a small toy.

Fortunately, the instant this hand descended, countless golden chains
suddenly emerged from the sky. These golden chains immediately bound the
hand, preventing it from moving.

“The Chains of Order!” Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden
appearance of these fine chains. “Sure enough, it is impossible for a
God to appear here.”

Although the golden chains were thin, they contained an immeasurable
amount of power. Even Gods could not fight these chains.

Yet, this massive hand abruptly twitched, and a single item fell from
its palm. This item released a dazzling golden glow that illuminated the
entire fortress around the Towers of Death.

The moment this item landed in front of the Orc King, the gigantic hand
in the sky retreated through the spatial portal.

Peace returned to the Towers of Death.

“Did that God break open the spatial portal just to give the Orc King an
item?” Shi Feng was utterly stunned.

An item that was obtained from a God through the sacrifice of hundreds
of thousands of Orcs... Even if Shi Feng could not clearly see what that
item was, but judging from how the Orc King had willingly made such an
immense sacrifice, it was definitely an extraordinary treasure.

If he could steal it...

However, Shi Feng promptly shook his head, removing the thought from his
mind.

Only those who wanted to give up on life would attempt to steal an item
from a Mythic Monster. It would be no different than trying to steal
from White River City’s Magistrate, the Tier 4 Great Wizard Weissman.

Just as Shi Feng was about to turn and leave...

A figure suddenly came flying towards the Towers of Death from a
distance. The figure flew at a tremendous speed, several times faster
than even Shi Feng when he had Wind Rider activated. In just a few
seconds, the originally seed-sized figure grew to the size of an
ordinary human.

“Sky Knight?” Shi Feng could not help his shock. The new arrival was
actually a human NPC.

Moreover, it was the Tier 4 hidden class, Sky Knight.

His body exuding a multicolored brilliance, the Sky Knight immediately
charged towards the Orc King.

Meanwhile, as if receiving the arrival of a great enemy, the Orc King
Tresik immediately tried to collect the flashing golden treasure.

However, the Sky Knight had obviously prepared for this situation. With
a shout, he pointed his sword towards the heavens.

Suddenly, a titanic golden sword appeared above the Orc King. This
golden sword then transformed into a streak of light as it descended
towards the Mythic Tresik.

Shi Feng’s jaw dropped.

This Sky Knight actually knew the Tier 4 forbidden move, Firmament
Flash.

Forbidden moves were Taboo Skills in God’s Domain. Firmament Flash was
labeled “Taboo” because the skill possessed overly destructive power. In
addition, the skill was extremely difficult to learn. Classes of the
same tier had no way of learning it.

The Tier 4 Firmament Flash could rival even a Tier 5 skill. Even though
the Orc King Tresik was a Mythic Monster, an existence slightly above
Tier 4 classes, when facing an attack with the might of a Tier 5 skill,
it had no choice but to protect its life first.

The Orc King Tresik immediately unsheathed his blood-red greatsword.
Releasing an angry roar, a frightening aura suddenly surged forth from
his body. It seemed as if the Orc King had activated a berserk skill
that boosted his strength to an astonishing degree. He swung his
greatsword, sending a streak of blood-red light slashing at the
descending holy sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, the land around the Towers of Death shook. It was as if the
end of the world had arrived.

“What!?” Shi Feng was stunned.

The Orc King Tresik had actually defended against the Sky Knight’s
Firmament Flash.

At this moment, however, the Sky Knight already stood before the golden
treasure, his hand stretching out to snatch the item.

Just as the Sky Knight was about to grasp the golden treasure, Shi Feng
suddenly noticed a mocking grin on the Orc King’s face.

“Ah!”

The instant the Sky Knight touched the golden treasure, he suddenly
released a tragic scream. Suddenly, his body transformed into countless
particles of light...

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 511 - God Crystal

A Tier 4 Sky Knight had been a tyrant qualified to rule over a large
city, yet such a dominant existence had died without offering even the
slightest of resistance.

Shi Feng even wondered if he were hallucinating.

“Is it a trap specifically targeting the Sky Knight?” Shi Feng watched
the dispersing particles of light, inwardly relieved.

Prior to this, he had even considered stealing the treasure from the Orc
King Tresik.

Fortunately, he had given up on that idea. Otherwise, he would have lost
his life just like the Sky Knight.

The trap could instantly kill a Tier 4 Sky Knight, not even leaving
behind a body. It was clear that this trap’s damage was not ordinary.

Although players would not face true death, the consequences of such an
attack definitely would not end with just the loss of EXP and equipment.
It was highly possible that the players would be affected as well.

At the very minimum, players’ immortal souls would receive damage,
preventing them from logging into God’s Domain for a time.

However, this was still not the most severe possibility. In some
circumstances, players who died might even have to delete their accounts
after reviving.

It was possible that the Sky Knight’s death fit into this category.

After the Sky Knight died, Tresik kept his blood-red greatsword and
slowly walked towards the treasure. Looking at the treasure with its
golden divine glow, a grin on the Orc King’s ferocious face.

Tresik then began chanting his incantation once again. Suddenly, golden
runes formed around the treasure, wrapping around the item, as if
sealing it.

“Is it not a trap?”

As Shi Feng watched the Orc King’s actions, it was clear that the trap
was not meant for the Mythic Monster. Instead, there should be something
special about the treasure that prevented others from touching it.
However, as the Sky Knight had not known this, he had been erased out of
existence.

Since the Orc King knew that he could not touch the treasure, he knew
exactly what kind of item that treasure was, hence why he sealed it.

“Should I take this risk?” Shi Feng hesitated.

Before, as the Orc King and the treasure were too close, by the time Shi
Feng made it to the treasure, the Orc King would have already claimed
it. However, now that the Orc King sealed the treasure, he had a chance
to steal it.

Shi Feng could take the opportunity while the Orc King was busy to sneak
over. And as the treasure was sealed, he could steal it.

However, Shi Feng had also witnessed the Orc King’s power.

Tresik had managed to block even the Firmament Flash, which had the
power of a Tier 5 Skill. Dealing with a Tier 1 player like him would be
child’s play for the Orc King.

It was possible that, before he could even arrive before the treasure,
the Orc King’s greatsword would have already devoured his life.

Moreover, escaping after he collected the treasure was also a problem.

With the Orc King Tresik’s Attributes, even if Shi Feng’s speed were
several times faster, he would not escape from the Orc King’s clutches.

Seeing as the number of golden runes surrounding the treasure had
gradually increased, it was clear that the time remaining for the
completion of the treasure’s seal grew shorter and shorter. Shi Feng
looked at the Seven Luminaries Ring wrapped around his finger. Suddenly,
he activated Gravity Liberation and jumped down from the wall. He then
made a dash for the black altar.

It would be a pity if he did not at least try to steal a treasure that
could tempt even a Tier 4 NPC.

Moreover, after the Seven Luminaries Ring had upgraded to Level 7, the
Ring’s Skills had undergone massive improvements. Shi Feng could totally
give stealing the treasure a try.

Above the black altar, Orc King Tresik focused on chanting his
incantation. Meanwhile, Shi Feng slowly approached the altar.

A Mythic Monster’s perception range was not as wide as a God’s.
Normally, that range was around 100 yards. Hence, Shi Feng still had a
chance. If the Orc King’s perception range were any wider, Shi Feng
would have no choice but to flee.

When Shi Feng was about 100 yards from the Orc King, he halted his
steps. Sure enough, the Orc King had yet to notice his presence. Shi
Feng then walked along the distance of 100 yards, searching for the
location closest to the treasure before settling down and waiting for
the moment the treasure’s seal finished.

Line after line of golden runes hovered around the treasure. This was
the first time Shi Feng had ever witnessed such a complicated sealing
ritual.

Just as the sealing process was about to end, Shi Feng immediately used
Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger secretly run over to and wait at
the other side.

Time slowly passed. Shi Feng’s heart began to beat furiously.

He was but a lowly Tier 1 class. Moreover, this was his first time
trying to steal an item right from under the nose of a Mythic Monster.
One mistake would definitely end with his death. Though Shi Feng did not
mind losing a little EXP, he was deeply afraid of losing his equipment,
particularly the Seven Luminaries Ring and the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath.
Neither of these items were bound to his character. After he died, there
was a very high possibility of either of these two items dropping.

However, if he unequipped these two items, he would lose his edge to
steal the treasure. It was a gamble.

While Shi Feng waited quietly...

After the Orc King chanted the final verse of his incantation...

Suddenly, the countless runes wrapped around this treasure. In the next
instant, the golden divine glow that had originally surrounded this
treasure disappeared, revealing a simple and unadorned crystal ball.

When Orc King Tresik’s eyes landed on this crystal ball, the excited
smile on his face became even more prominent. However, just as the Orc
King was about to step towards the crystal ball, Shi Feng’s doppelganger
abruptly dashed towards it. The doppelganger was extremely fast. It had
taken only an instant to cross the distance of 100 yards.

“A little Tier 1 ant dares to try for my God Crystal?

“Die!”

Orc King Tresik revealed a disdainful sneer as he unsheathed the
blood-red greatsword from his back. Transforming into a flash, Tresik
suddenly appeared before Shi Feng’s doppelganger.

Even though the doppelganger had already activated Windwalk, it was
still as slow as a turtle compared to the Orc King. Tresik felt nothing
but disdain for a Tier 1 ant like Shi Feng. Hence, the Orc King decided
to annihilate this little rat to avoid any taint to his God Crystal.

Without waiting for Tresik to take action, the doppelganger activated
Defensive Blade.

Shi Feng’s deductions had indeed been accurate.

The difference in Attributes between them was simply too massive. Before
the doppelganger could even raise its sword to defend itself, Tresik’s
greatsword struck the doppelganger.

Although Shi Feng had grasped the Flowing Water Realm and had even
learned Flowing Water Acceleration, there was a qualitative difference
between himself and the Orc King Tresik. In front of absolute power, all
tricks were useless. The Orc King’s Attributes were dozens of times
higher than Shi Feng’s. Even if Shi Feng’s techniques were more
impressive, their effects were limited.

In the blink of an eye, Defensive Blade’s block charges had been
exhausted.

Immediately after, a streak of red light cut across the doppelganger.
Truly, without being able to resist, Shi Feng’s doppelganger had been
defeated.

However, while Tresik dealt with the doppelganger, Shi Feng had already
activated Windwalk and used a Speed Scroll. He had even activated Blade
Liberation, increasing his Agility by 80%, and activated the Additional
Skill of the Flame Boots, Flame Rush, increasing his Movement Speed by
an additional 100%.

At this moment, Shi Feng was faster than even wind itself.

By the time the Orc King killed the doppelganger, less than 20 yards
remained between Shi Feng and the treasure.

“Despicable!” Tresik immediately discovered Shi Feng. Spinning around,
he dashed towards Shi Feng.

Although Shi Feng was very fast, two to three times faster than his
doppelganger, compared to the Orc King, however, he was still as slow as
a snail.

Sure enough...

Just as Shi Feng was around three yards away from the treasure, Tresik
suddenly appeared behind him, his greatsword swinging down at the little
rat.

However, Shi Feng had long since prepared for this moment. Before this,
he had activated the Aura of Earth. At the instant he was discovered, he
used Absolute Defense, becoming invulnerable for five seconds.

Now that Shi Feng was invincible, he did not have to worry about any
attacks towards him. While shouldering the Orc King’s attacks, he
grabbed the crystal ball and stuffed it into his bag.

Tresik grew indignant at this sight; the violent aura that surged forth
from his body caused even Shi Feng to grow breathless. If he were not in
an invulnerable state right now, he would have long since died.

With the God Crystal in hand, Shi Feng immediately swapped the Aura of
Earth to the Aura of Space and activated Space Movement. He then jumped
into the spatial crack that appeared and left the Towers of Death.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 512 - Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Darkness arrived in God’s Domain once more. The lights in White River
City shone brilliantly.

After the night had arrived, aside from a small number of experts and
elite parties grinding in the fields, the majority of players could only
head back to the city to rest.

While it was lively in White River City, the liveliest area, without a
doubt, was the Candlelight Trading Firm.

As for the reason behind the Candlelight Trading Firm’s popularity, that
was due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits.

Although the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits were not as powerful as the
Basic Mana Armor Kits, the latter was simply too scarce. It could not
compete with the large number of Basic Strengthened Armor Kits available
at the Candlelight Trading Firm every day.

Inside a high-class bar a short distance from the Candlelight Trading
Firm...

Feng Xuanyang sat on the second floor open-air terrace, gazing at the
Candlelight Trading Firm with a smile on his face.

“I want to see just how long you can hold out,” Feng Xuanyang laughed,
his expression clearly displaying his arrogance.

Initially, Feng Xuanyang had been slightly worried that the Candlelight
Trading Firm’s flourishing business would show no signs of ending. If
that were so, it would not be easy to deal with the Firm in the future.
However, during the process of poaching the Firm’s workers, Feng
Xuanyang had discovered a secret, a fatal weakness of the Trading Firm.

And that secret was that only three people in the Trading Firm knew how
to produce the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit.

With just three people, it was simply impossible to satisfy the demands
of the large number of players in White River City. Even if it were
possible, a long time would be required to do so. By then, players would
have outgrown their need for the kits.

Knowing this fatal secret, Feng Xuanyang began to spend large sums of
money to purchase the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, buying as many as
he could.

First, he wanted to deplete the Candlelight Trading Firm’s stockpile. As
long as the Firm no longer had any Basic Strengthened Armor Kits
remaining, the Firm’s popularity would fall and limit its business.
Although he had to invest a massive sum of Coins, the Basic Strengthened
Armor Kits he bought were not completely useless. On the contrary, they
were particularly helpful when raiding Team Dungeons.

Secondly, aside from striving to establish their own Guild Residences,
the various Guilds in Star-Moon City also strived to accumulate
sufficient money to purchase the city’s golden Lands. Other than that,
these Guilds were also continuously raiding large-scale Dungeons,
improving their Guild’s Popularity and equipment.

Meanwhile, other than giving the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits to his
own teams, Feng Xuanyang also set aside a portion, selling them to other
cities.

There was no Candlelight Trading Firm branch in other cities, so there
were no Basic Strengthened Armor Kits available there. With Underworld’s
channels, Feng Xuanyang had sold these kits to the various Guilds of
other cities. When these Guilds saw the kits, they fought tooth and nail
to purchase them. As a result, he made a huge profit by reselling the
kits.

It was truly killing two birds with one stone. Not only could he deplete
the Candlelight Trading Firm’s stockpile of armor kits, but he could
also profit from reselling them. How could this possibly go wrong?

However, as he celebrated his plan, he had also gained a deep
understanding of how fearsome the Candlelight Trading Firm was.

Fortunately, the Candlelight Trading Firm was only in White River City,
and there were only three forgers capable of producing the Basic
Strengthened Armor Kits. Should the Trading Firm ever resolve these two
problems, it could definitely dominate Star-Moon Kingdom’s market. At
that time, who could possibly compete with the Candlelight Trading Firm?

Feng Xuanyang could not hold back his envy.

“Why isn’t the Candlelight Trading Firm mine?” Feng Xuanyang held a deep
hatred towards Melancholic Smile.

If the Candlelight Trading Firm had agreed to cooperate, it would have
been his possession by now. With the money he could earn through the
Trading Firm, his position within Underworld would also soar. At that
time, those currently above him would be at his beck and call.

“Hmph. Did you think that, just because you refuse to sell the Trading
Firm to me, I would be helpless against you? The Firm will fall into my
hands!” Feng Xuanyang could already picture the moment he grasped the
rights to the Candlelight Trading Firm, and it would only be a matter of
time before all of Underworld’s power in Star-Moon Kingdom would fall
under his control. At that time, it would be child’s play to deal with a
Combat Guild like Zero Wing.

Just as Feng Xuanyang enjoyed the wine of victory, a slightly chubby
middle-aged man in pompous clothing sat down beside him.

“Young Master Feng, may I know why you have called me here today?”
Although the middle-aged man was only Level 10, barely reaching the
minimum requirement to enter a city, his body radiated a distinct
shrewdness. In particular, those beady little eyes of his greatly
resembled that of a wily old fox.

“How is the progress of the task I assigned you?” Feng Xuanyang asked
softly.

“Young Master Feng, rest assured, I have already discussed things with
many members of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Although only over a dozen
or so Advanced Forging Apprentices have officially defected to our side,
many have expressed their intentions of doing so. I believe that in the
near future, many more Advanced Forging Apprentices will willingly
defect to our side. At that time, the Candlelight Trading Firm will show
signs of supply shortages. When the Firm’s popularity falls, it will
become even easier for us to poach its members. If they run out of
workers, even with a good Shop and the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits,
expansion will be impossible.” The middle-aged man chuckled.

“Good, you’ve done well. As long as you succeed, you will receive your
fair share of benefits.” Feng Xuanyang nodded with satisfaction.

---

Meanwhile, inside one of the forging rooms of the Candlelight Trading
Firm, Melancholic Smile frowned, obviously worried.

Just moments ago, several more Advanced Forging Apprentices had
requested to dissolve their contracts. Moreover, these few Advanced
Forging Apprentices all held rare forging designs.

Although these people had to pay a compensation fee that was over a
dozen times the value of the forging designs they had learned, it was
still a massive loss for the Candlelight Trading Firm. It had not been
easy for the Firm to get its hands on these forging designs. Without
these commodities, how was the Firm supposed to retain its customers?

“Truly despicable. I didn’t expect to have nurtured so many traitorous
bastards. I should never have let these people learn those forging
designs.” Melancholic Smile gnashed her teeth. She deeply regretted
focusing on these people, supplying them with rare forging designs and
allowing them to become Advanced Forging Apprentices so quickly.

Suddenly, Shi Feng opened the door to the forging room and entered.
However, due to his silence, by the time Melancholic Smile had noticed
him, he already stood right in front of her.

“Guild Leader!” Melancholic Smile called out in surprise. “Why are you
here?”

“Look at how distracted you are. Did you encounter some trouble?” Shi
Feng asked, laughing.

Shi Feng was in an extremely good mood. After stealing the God Crystal
from the Mythic Monster Orc King Tresik and escaping with his life, he
had made a beeline for White River City, afraid that the Orc King would
catch up to him and finish him off. Now that he had returned to White
River City, even if the Orc King did catch up to him, it was impossible
for him to invade the city.

“Guild Leader, I’m useless... I failed to live up to your
expectations... To think that I have been nurturing so many ungrateful
bastards....” Regret filled Melancholic Smile’s eyes. Shi Feng had
entrusted so many rare forging designs to her and had even repeatedly
stressed that she should only let those who were trustworthy to learn
them, yet, in the end...

Listening to Melancholic Smile’s mumbling, Shi Feng could not help but
laugh.

“So, that’s what’s going on!

“No problem. Although we lost some rare forging designs, haven’t we
earned several million Credits in return?” Shi Feng smiled calmly. He
then took out a wad of forging designs, tossing them onto the stone
platform. “Since Overwhelming Smile wishes to poach our Advanced Forging
Apprentices who have learned rare forging designs, let them have at it.
If they can afford it, let them poach as many members as they want. I
welcome them to do so.”

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 513 - Mysterious Crystal Ball

Melancholic Smile had never before seen any of the numerous forging
designs scattered across the stone platform.

“This...” Melancholic Smile was stupefied. No words could describe her
shock. “Guild Leader, I’m not dreaming, right?”

She was a forger in her own right, so she knew how valuable these
forging designs were.

While the forging designs that could be purchased from the Forging
Association were not particularly valuable, forging designs obtained
elsewhere were. This was due to the designs’ low drop-rates. However,
ordinary forging designs were not enough to nurture a forger; hence the
forging designs were so expensive. It was especially true for the
forging designs that had very low drop-rates and were meant for
producing highly useful items; the prices of such forging designs were
astronomical.

Aside from that, there was one more type of forging design that was even
more valuable such as the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit Forging Design.
Currently, aside from the Horizon Alliance’s three copies, no one had
them. Moreover, nobody knew where to obtain these forging designs. As a
result, they were even more valuable than Epic Equipment.

Regarding the currently available forging designs, Melancholic Smile had
practically learned all of the designs that were available. Even if she
hadn’t, she at least knew about them.

However, she had neither seen or heard of any of the forging designs
that Shi Feng had scattered all over the table before.

Taking a casual glance at the forging designs, Melancholic Smile’s eyes
shone brilliantly.

Every item these designs produced was an item that players needed
desperately at this stage of the game.

“A majority of these forging designs detain instructions for the Light
Stone. There are also some meant for Level 25 to Level 30
Mysterious-Iron and Secret Silver Equipment. You can let any Advanced
Forging Apprentice learn the Light Stone Forging Designs.” Shi Feng
chuckled. Slowly, he said, “However, only the three of you can learn
these equipment forging designs. You can also leave some to serve as a
reward for the members who become Basic Forgers, but all those who wish
to learn them must renew their contracts. If they want to leave the
Horizon Alliance, fine. But they must first compensate the Guild twenty
times the value of the forging designs. If Overwhelming Smile wants to
poach our members, let them have at it.”

Shi Feng had long since guessed that Overwhelming Smile would try to
poach their Lifestyle players.

These Forging Apprentices had initially joined with the intent of making
a living for themselves. Since Overwhelming Smile was willing to offer
an absurd salary in addition to shouldering the compensation, many would
naturally be tempted.

Before this, Shi Feng had repeatedly told Melancholic Smile to be
careful when recruiting members precisely because he wished to avoid
this situation. He had also done so with the intention of informing
Melancholic Smile of the severity of the matter.

Not even the gods could see through the human heart, let alone mankind.

Only through experiencing hardships could one grow.

There were many things that one could not learn from the experience of
others. Only through experience could wisdom be earned. Now that
Melancholic Smile had personally experienced such a situation, in the
future, she would definitely be more thorough when selecting talented
players.

Currently, he had a large number of Light Stone Forging Designs on hand.
If Overwhelming Smile would willingly pay the price to poach the
Alliance’s members, Shi Feng welcomed them to do so. The Light Stone
Forging Designs were very common. In the past, each forging design only
sold for several Gold. Moreover, that was when most players had reached
Level 45; these forging designs were not particularly valuable.

Only, current players’ levels were not high enough yet to obtain them,
resulting in their value increasing significantly. Based on Shi Feng’s
initial estimates, each Light Stone Forging Design should be worth
around several dozen Gold.

If he wished to acquire more Light Stone Forging Designs, he could
obtain a ton of them any time he wanted. This way, he would not have to
wait for the profits of the Light Stones to slowly roll in. Just the
20-times compensation Overwhelming Smile had to pay for poaching each
member could make a ridiculous amount of Credits. He could make a
fortune just by selling Advanced Forging Apprentices.

“Guild Leader, I will definitely be more careful when selecting who I
allow to learn these forging designs.” Melancholic Smile was immensely
excited when she looked at the Light Stone Forging Designs scattered
across the stone platform. However, her greatest joy was due to Shi
Feng’s forgiveness and encouragement.

“It’s fine; just pick them at random. Even better, choose those who
already have the heart to defect to Overwhelming Smile. Let Overwhelming
Smile poach as many as they can. Otherwise, how will I make money?” Shi
Feng laughed.

“But...” For a moment, Melancholic Smile wanted to dissuade Shi Feng.
However, when she looked at the forging designs on the table, she
suddenly came to a realization. “I’ll carry out your orders, then, Guild
Leader.”

To others, the Light Stone Forging Design might be a treasure. However,
judging from Shi Feng’s behavior, it seemed that they were not valuable
in the slightest. Only, others did not know this yet. They would be
senseless fools if they did not profit off of Overwhelming Smile’s greed
while they had the chance.

A moment later, Melancholic Smile had picked out three Advanced Forging
Apprentices. Of them, two seriously considered defecting to Overwhelming
Smile. They only held out for the right price. Hence, Melancholic Smile
decided to give them this opportunity.

In reality, there were many others with the same intentions within the
Horizon Alliance. However, to convince others of the Light Stone Forging
Designs’ rarity, she could not allow too many people to learn it at
once. An item was as valuable as it was rare. If she did so, the Light
Stone Forging Designs would lose their value.

As long as these two Advanced Forging Apprentices learned how to produce
the Light Stones, their personal value would immediately skyrocket. In
addition to the two’s willingness to defect, Overwhelming Smile would
try to poach them at all costs. After all, not only would they deal the
Candlelight Trading Firm a blow, they could also steal two of the
Trading Firm’s highly valued “talents.”

As Melancholic Smile took care of the Light Stone Forging Design
situation, Shi Feng had arrived at his own exclusive forging room. He
had set up a private forging room for himself in every Candlelight
Trading Firm. Other than himself, no one was allowed into these rooms.
He wanted to ensure that he would have access to a forging room at all
times.

Inside the quiet forging room, Shi Feng carefully retrieved the God
Crystal from his bag.

The translucent crystal ball on the stone table looked simple and
ordinary. No matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary crystal
ball. However, Orc King Tresik had sacrificed hundreds of thousands of
his subordinates to obtain this treasure. Moreover, this treasure had
even managed to kill a Tier 4 Sky Knight, who had learned a forbidden
move, instantly. The crystal ball’s worth was clear.

“Just what is this thing used for?” Shi Feng could not see anything
special about the orb despite observing it carefully for a long time.

Moreover, the God Crystal’s information stated that it was only a Common
item. Aside from that, no other information was displayed. It was also
not in an Unknown or Unappraised state.

“Is there some hidden information about it?” The more Shi Feng thought
about it, the more he felt it was possible.

There were many amazing items in God’s Domain that might look ordinary,
but in reality, contained power that could even shake the heavens.

In the past, there had been a player who had purchased a piece of
dilapidated armor at a bazaar, only to discover that the armor was
actually an Epic ranked armor. Such situations often occurred in God’s
Domain.

Only after triggering special conditions could one reveal the true value
of a treasure.

Shi Feng then used Omniscient Eyes.

After more than half a minute had passed, however, there was still no
reaction. He could not glean anything more about the crystal ball.

“Is the level of my Identification Skill insufficient?” Shi Feng
muttered in surprise. “It can’t be. I recall Sharlyn saying that the
Omniscient Eyes activated using the Golden Stigmata is the second most
powerful Identification Skill in God’s Domain. Do I need other items to
activate the God Crystal’s true function?”

Shi Feng suddenly had the urge to puke blood.

After wasting so much effort to steal this item, he could not actually
use it; he still needed to fulfill some special requirements. Yet, he
had no clue as to what those requirements were. It was utterly
frustrating.

“Hm? Doesn’t it look a bit like the dark blue crystal ball I got from
the Eternal Courtyard?” After the improvement to his brain’s activity,
Shi Feng’s memory had become extraordinary. Thus far, he had not been
able to do anything about the dark-blue crystal ball. At this moment,
seeing as both items were crystal balls and were related to Gods, if
someone told him that the two items were unrelated, Shi Feng would not
believe them.

Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng left the forging room immediately
and rushed towards the Bank.

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Chapter 514 - Divine Might

Inside Overwhelming Smile’s Guild Residence in White River City...

“What did you say?” Feng Xuanyang abruptly slammed his fist down on the
table. Furious, he said, “Those bastards suddenly raised their price? Do
they take us for fools?”

“Young Master, please calm down,” the slightly chubby, middle-aged man
advised. “They have not raised their prices without reason, but because
they have the capital to do so.”

“Capital? Advanced Forging Apprentices like them? Overwhelming Smile has
no shortage of individuals of their caliber!” Feng Xuanyang’s brows
furrowed, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Although his family was successful, he wasn’t the only one competing to
become the successor. He had joined Underworld precisely because he
needed the organization’s help to achieve his goal. Meanwhile, upon
discovering God’s Domain’s unique standing through Underworld’s inside
information, he had immediately snatched the chance and invested in the
virtual reality game. As long as he could create a legacy for himself,
the matter of becoming his family’s successor would be set in stone.

He had spent such a large sum of money to poach these people only
because he wished to wound the Candlelight Trading Firm. Due to the
ongoing war with Zero Wing, Overwhelming Smile’s daily gold expenditure
was massive. Hence, all of the money spent on dealing with the
Candlelight Trading Firm right now was his. His liquid funds only
amounted to several hundred millions of Credits, so he could not
squander it.

Although Advanced Forging Apprentices were indeed rare, with the money
he possessed, he could easily hire dozens of Advanced Forging Apprentice
NPCs from the Forging Association. It was much easier and cheaper than
poaching Advanced Forging Apprentices from the Candlelight Trading Firm.
Not only did he have to offer these people high benefits, but he also
had to pay an astronomical compensation fee. Moreover, even when these
forgers joined him, they were useless with their Lifestyle Skills reset
to zero.

“Young Master Feng, the two I mention are somewhat special.”

“Special?! Just because they are special, they dared to raise the price
we have agreed upon by three times?! Do they really consider themselves
true Forgers?!”

“Young Master Feng, although they are not forgers, they have recently
learned a rare forging design; they can now produce Light Stones. A
Light Stone is an item that enables players to grind and level even
throughout the night. With it, players will not be limited by time.
Moreover, it’s quite cheap to produce Light Stones, so it is a very
lucrative product. Meanwhile, among the Advanced Forging Apprentices of
the Candlelight Trading Firm, only three have learned it. So, naturally,
they raised their prices.”

“Light Stone? There is actually such a thing? Have you confirmed how
they managed to obtain its forging design?”

When he heard about the Light Stone’s function, Feng Xuanyang
immediately realized how massive its value was. If he could obtain the
forging designs for them, he would not need to spend money to poach the
Candlelight Trading Firm’s members. He could simply rely on the Light
Stones to defeat the Candlelight Trading Firm and dominate Star-Moon
Kingdom’s market.

“The Candlelight Trading Firm is keeping that a secret, so low-ranking
members like them have no access to that information. However, I have
sent someone to investigate the Light Stones. Though, it would seem that
the Candlelight Trading Firm only has a limited number of Light Stone
Forging Designs. Otherwise, they would not only allow three Advanced
Forging Apprentices to learn them.

“Moreover, I have also heard that the three Forgers of Candlelight are
not producing the Light Stones, focusing on producing the Basic
Strengthened Armor Kits. It is quite possible that the Trading Firm is
too busy and has decided to allow its Advanced Forging Apprentices to
produce the Light Stones instead. In other words, it is possible that
Candlelight only has three Light Stone Forging Designs. If we can poach
two of them, it would be a massive blow to the Trading Firm.”

“You’re right. If Candlelight is allowed to produce a large amount of
Light Stones, they will become more difficult to deal with.
Unfortunately, man’s schemes are inferior to those made in heaven!
Melancholic Smile, that damnable woman! She actually dared toy with this
young master! Now, I’ll show her what pain means! I don’t care what it
takes, poach those two! We’ll be even better off if you can lure the
last one as well!” When Feng Xuanyang recalled Melancholic Smile’s
arrogance, he could not help but laugh.

“Young Master Feng, rest assured, we already have those two in the bag.
Only, the last one is rather obstinate. His price might be a lot higher
than the others’. In addition to Candlelight’s latest contract, our
expenditure this time might exceed 50 million,” the middle-aged man said
cautiously. After all, this was not a small sum of money. They had to
spend 50 million Credits just to poach three people, with a majority
consisting of the compensation fee. Based on his initial estimates, the
Light Stone Forging Design should be worth nearly 100 Gold. If they
poached all three forgers, they had to pay a compensation fee of 6,000
Gold.

“Just do it. It will be worth it if we can drag all three of those
forgers to our side,” Feng Xuanyang said as he gnashed his teeth. If he
could steal both man and forging design, he would have done so in a
heartbeat. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm wouldn’t be so stupid.
Even fools knew how precious one-of-a-kind products were. Such items
could significantly increase a Shop’s competitive edge.

Following which, the middle-aged man left the meeting room to negotiate
with the Advanced Forging Apprentices.

---

Meanwhile, at White River City’s Bank, Shi Feng had already rented a
Private Warehouse for himself.

If a player wished to store a truly precious item in God’s Domain’s
Banks and wanted no one else to know of it, they had the option of
renting a Private Warehouse and private room. Without the owner’s
permission, nobody was allowed inside the Private Warehouse. However,
unlike the Public Warehouse where the daily fee was only several Copper
Coins, renting a Private Warehouse was not cheap.

Inside a Small Private Warehouse, players had 30,000 item slots. Each
day’s rent was 30 Silver, and there was a minimum rental period of one
month, which would be a total of 9 Gold. There was a discount if players
rented the Warehouse for three months, but even then, they would still
have to spend 25 Gold.

A Medium Private Warehouse had to 100,000 item slots, and the daily fee
was 1 Gold Coin. Renting for one month cost 30 Gold while renting for
three months cost 85 Gold.

A Large Private Warehouse held up to 500,000 item slots, and the daily
fee was 4 Gold Coins. Renting for one month cost 120 Gold while renting
for three months cost 350 Gold.

Normally, ordinary players would not rent a Private Warehouse at all.
However, as players reached higher levels, it would become much easier
to earn Coins. Many players who conducted business would usually rent a
Private Warehouse.

Shi Feng had rented two Large Private Warehouses without hesitation.
Moreover, he had rented both for three months. One was for himself,
while the other was for the Guild.

This way, Aqua Rose and the others would not have to worry about spies
from other Guilds while retrieving items of great importance. Such
incidents had not been uncommon in God’s Domain in the past. There were
many Guilds that had not rented a Private Warehouse, and as a result,
other Guilds had learned some of their secrets.

As a precaution, Shi Feng had to rent one for the Guild, no matter what.

Shi Feng then entered his Private Warehouse. Rows of cabinets lined the
warehouse’s interior neat and orderly.

Shi Feng immediately moved all of the items from his Public Warehouse to
his Private Warehouse. The Private Warehouse was very human-like, and
immediately, it intelligently categorized all of the items, saving Shi
Feng the trouble of arranging them himself.

Shi Feng then opened a cabinet. Inside the cabinet, there was a single
dark blue crystal ball. This crystal ball was none other than the one
Shi Feng had obtained from the Eternal Courtyard. However, this crystal
ball was too powerful. Even with Shi Feng’s extremely high resistance,
he lost 1,000 HP every second just by coming into contact with it. If
ordinary players touched it, they would most likely die on the spot.

“Death upon touching?” Shi Feng recalled the situation when he had
obtained the deep-blue crystal ball. Suddenly, he came to a realization.
Wasn’t it the same situation when he had stolen the God Crystal from the
Orc King?

Only, as the God Crystal had not been sealed yet, the Tier 4 Sky Knight
had died instantly when he touched it.

“I wonder if it is possible?” Shi Feng was slightly nervous as he took
out the God Crystal from his bag. Carefully, he placed it inside the
cabinet, beside the dark-blue crystal ball. He wanted to see just how
these two crystal balls would react when placed together.

The instant Shi Feng placed the God Crystal inside the cabinet, the two
crystal balls suddenly released a blinding glow, illuminating the
Private Warehouse. The powerful pressure the two orbs gave off had
caused Shi Feng’s body to feel heavy.

“Divine Might!” Shi Feng could not help his shock.

Right at this moment, the sound of a system notification rang out by his
ears.

System: Do you wish to remove the seal and merge the two Crystal Balls?

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Chapter 515 - Legendary Item

After hearing the system notification, Shi Feng felt both stunned and
hesitant.

Both the dark-blue crystal ball he had obtained from the Eternal
Courtyard and the God Crystal he had stolen from the Orc King were
extraordinarily precious items. They were even more valuable than an
Epic item.

Yet, he was required to merge them...

If he agreed, he would lose one of the two items.

To a reincarnated soul like Shi Feng, Epic items were not particularly
precious. As long as his team was sufficiently strong, he had plenty of
ways to obtain more Epic items. However, one could not obtain items
above Epic rank with strength alone. A certain amount of luck and
opportunity were required as well.

If he disagreed, he would have to look for some other way to activate
the two items.

“Forget it; let’s just go for it.” Shi Feng gnashed his teeth as he
agreed to the merger.

Suddenly, the two crystal balls transformed into two bubbles of liquid.
The crystal ball Shi Feng had obtained from the Eternal Courtyard
transformed into a blue liquid, whereas the transparent crystal ball Shi
Feng had stolen from the Orc King transformed into golden liquid. The
two liquids then merged, and as if they tried to devour one another, the
newly formed liquid turned blue in one moment and gold in the next.
Meanwhile, the Divine Might exuded by the both grew stronger as more
time passed.

“Is this really a merger?” Immersed in the Divine Might from the two
liquids, Shi Feng’s discomfort was unbearable.

After several minutes of resisting each other, the two liquids finally
became one.

The dark-blue crystal ball from the Eternal Courtyard had emerged
victorious.

After merging, the shape of the crystal ball had also changed. Instead
of a crystal ball, it was now a dark-blue metallic cup. Countless tiny
blue runes were engraved around the cup’s exterior. There was also a
faint purple ring of light flowing around the cup. At this moment, the
cup’s Divine Might was far stronger than the one Shi Feng had felt
before.

“So powerful!” Shi Feng exclaimed.

He even dared to guarantee that this was the most powerful item he had
ever seen. Even the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon’s Breath
was far from matching this blue metallic cup.

If not for this place being a Private Warehouse, he would have
definitely caused a commotion inside the Bank’s hall. Meanwhile, any
players caught within the blue cup’s Divine Might would find it
impossible to move. After all, if even a Tier 1 Blade Saint like himself
struggled, Tier 0 players didn’t have a prayer.

If he could control this blue cup, he would have no problems dealing
with even an army of thousands of elite players.

Immediately, Shi Feng checked the cup’s information.

However, just after Shi Feng clicked to check the cup’s Attributes, he
received -5,000 frost damage, even with his finger still a distance
away, instantly losing half of his HP.

“Damn, isn’t this a little too intense?” Shi Feng looked at his
completely frozen hand, a layer of purple frost covering his entire arm.
If his finger had moved even a little closer to the cup, he would most
likely have lost his life on the spot...

Shi Feng then took a look at the cup’s Attributes.

[Holy Grail] (Legendary Item)

Legend has it that the Holy Grail belongs to the Goddess of Life and
that it holds the power to bestow eternal life. However, after Ragnarok,
the God of War had destroyed the Holy Grail and placed it in the Eternal
Courtyard. The Holy Grail’s restoration requires sufficient God’s Power.
Only with an Eternal Heart can one truly hold the Holy Grail.

Activatable Skill-

Power of Evolution: Sacrifice one’s own Life Force to evolve an item of
the player’s choice. However, there is a small possibility that the
evolution process will fail. An evolved item’s quality cannot exceed the
Fragmented Legendary rank.

Cooldown: 10 days

By the time Shi Feng finished reading the cup’s Attributes, his jaw hung
to the floor.

Legendary Item!

This was the first time he had ever actually seen one.

Although the Holy Grail was neither a weapon nor a piece of equipment,
among the various types of items found in God’s Domain, tools such as
the Holy Grail were the most difficult to obtain; they were far rarer
and more precious than weapons or equipment.

Moreover, looking at the Holy Grail’s description, it was obvious its
rank could still be increased. However, he needed Power of God to do so;
items such as the God Crystal should be able to supply it.

However, looking at the streams of light overflowing from the Holy
Grail, Shi Feng could not help but laugh bitterly.

Although he had completely unsealed such an amazing item, he could not
touch or control it.

Shi Feng had also never heard of an item called the Eternal Heart
before. Just how and where was he supposed to obtain one?

Fortunately, he could still use the Power of Evolution. After all, he
didn’t have to control the Holy Grail to use the Skill. He only needed
to sacrifice some of his Life Force.

The term “Life Force” referred to a player’s HP. For all Shi Feng cared,
the Holy Grail could have as much of his HP as it wanted.

“Hm? That’s not right.” Shi Feng thought it over for a moment, feeling
that something was amiss.

A Skill capable of evolving an item...such an OP Skill should not only
require a sacrifice of HP. Even the Skill’s 10-day Cooldown was
insignificant.

God’s Domain always followed the rule of equivalent exchange.

However, this was obviously not an equivalent exchange. Otherwise, even
if the success chance wasn’t 100%, having an opportunity to obtain a
Fragmented Legendary item once every ten days was still astounding.

Obviously, Shi Feng wanted to try it.

The Holy Grail had a Cooldown of ten days. If he did not activate it
now, wouldn’t it be a waste?

“Which item should I evolve?” Shi Feng looked through his warehouse and
bag, feeling very indecisive.

He only had one chance to evolve an item every ten days. If the item he
evolved now had little use to him, he would suffer a huge loss.

“Should I evolve the Seven Luminaries Ring?” Shi Feng could not help but
stare at the Seven Luminaries Ring around his finger.

As the Replica of a Godly Relic, it was already frighteningly powerful,
even at only Epic rank. If the ring were upgraded to Fragmented
Legendary rank, it would be godlike.

“No.” Shi Feng immediately shook his head.

If he upgraded the ring to Fragmented Legendary rank, the Equipment
Requirement would definitely soar. He wouldn’t be able to equip the
ring. The impact on his current strength would be painful. Moreover, Shi
Feng did not doubt that the success rate of evolving an item to
Fragmented Legendary rank would be abysmally low. It would be a huge
pity to waste an opportunity to evolve an item.

The best choice he could make right now was to evolve a Dark-Gold item
to an Epic item.

With this idea, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the Purgatory’s Shadow. As
a Dark-Gold Weapon, if he could promote it to an Epic Weapon, then it
would increase his overall combat power significantly. At that time,
even Summer Sunshine would easily suffer defeat at his hands.

As the leader of a Guild, however, his first and foremost priority was
to increase his Guild’s strength. Currently, his personal strength was
sufficient. Even if he became slightly stronger, it would not impact the
Guild.

Suddenly, a streak of light flashed past Shi Feng’s eyes.

“That’s right! How could I forget! There’s still the Icarus’s Heart!”
Shi Feng laughed.

If he evolved Icarus’s Heart, it would help the Guild tremendously. Just
the meager five points of Luck it provided had allowed him to obtain so
many Tier 1 Set Equipment.

If he could evolve Icarus’s Heart further, raising the Luck it provided
even a little, couldn’t he obtain even better items?

Although Icarus’s Heart was already capable of evolving, he needed the
souls of Lord ranked monsters to do so. Even so, based on Shi Feng’s
estimates, he should only be able to evolve Icarus’s Heart to Dark-Gold
rank at maximum. After all, it was an item he got from a Dark-Gold
Treasure Chest; it was utterly impossible for him to obtain an Epic
ranked necklace.

“I’ll choose you.” Shi Feng smiled as he removed Icarus’s Heart from his
neck. He then adjusted the Seven Luminaries Ring to the Aura of Water
and activated Life Bloom, healing himself. Previously, he had received a
significant amount of damage just by approaching the Holy Grail. He
would have to touch it again, so he had to heal himself back to full HP;
he could not afford to miss any.

In a moment, Shi Feng’s 10,000-plus HP recovered to full.

Shi Feng then tapped on the touchscreen that was very close to the Holy
Grail, choosing to use Power of Evolution.

The instant his finger collided with the touch screen, Shi Feng lost
7,000 HP. However, Life Bloom quickly regenerated a significant amount
of the missing HP. Only when he recovered to full HP did Shi Feng
proceed to select Icarus’s Heart as the target of evolution.

System: Are you willing to permanently lose 400 HP to evolve the
Icarus’s Heart?

“Crap, that’s the requirement?!” Shi Feng could not help but curse. It
was actually a permanent loss?! No wonder it could allow an item evolve
to a maximum of Fragmented Legendary rank!

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Chapter 516 - Successful Evolution

In God’s Domain, aside from leveling up, it was extremely difficult for
players to obtain permanent Attributes.

Losing 400 HP, or the equivalent of 20 Endurance points, would
significantly weaken a player.

Even Shi Feng would mourn the Attribute loss, let alone other players.

However, despite having seen the true side of the Power of Evolution,
Shi Feng still chose to sacrifice 400 HP, albeit begrudgingly.

Although 400 HP was precious, it could not beat being able to upgrade
the Icarus’s Heart to Epic rank. Moreover, Shi Feng knew of several
methods to increase his Endurance permanently; he could easily make up
for the loss he suffered now.

Shi Feng then clicked “Agree,” and suddenly, the strength of the Holy
Grail’s Divine Might soared.

In the next moment, strands of green light flowed from Shi Feng’s body
and into the Holy Grail. After the Holy Grail absorbed 400 HP from Shi
Feng, it fired a purple ray at the Icarus’s Heart.

Immediately, the Icarus’s Heart released a brilliant golden glow,
forcing Shi Feng to shut his eyes.

After the golden radiance faded, Shi Feng opened his eyes and looked at
the Icarus’s Heart, discovering that the necklace now emitted a faint
purple glow.

“Was it a success?” Shi Feng was somewhat nervous as he examined the
necklace’s Attributes.

If it had failed, then he had permanently lost 400 HP for nothing.
Moreover, he would also have to wait for ten days before the next
sacrifice.

However, after investigating the Icarus’s Heart’s Attributes, Shi Feng’s
tightened fists relaxed as excitement quickly overtook him.

That’s right; it was a success!

[Icarus’s Heart] (Necklace, Mysterious-Iron Rank [Can be evolved])

Equipment Requirement: All Attributes 120

Level 20 - Level 80 (Currently Level 30)

All Attributes +18

Luck +7

Additional Skill -

Divine Providence: Temporarily increases player’s Luck by 25 points for
30 seconds.

Cooldown: 45 minutes

Evolution Condition: Absorb the Life Force of 300 players to evolve to
Secret-Silver Rank. (0/300)

After evolving, Icarus’s Heart’s rank had upgraded from Bronze to
Mysterious-Iron. The Luck it provided had increased from 5 points to 7
points. Aside from that, Divine Providence’s Cooldown had decreased from
one hour to 45 minutes. This would save Shi Feng a lot of time.

However, the best improvement by far was the change to the Evolution
Conditions.

Originally, the Icarus’s Heart required Shi Feng to kill Lord ranked
monsters. Moreover, it required 100 kills. Lords were extremely rare,
and Shi Feng would have to waste a lot of time to kill 100. Now that the
conditions had been adjusted, Shi Feng only needed to kill 300 players
and absorb their Life Force instead.

A Lord was very difficult to find, but players crowded the streets.

As long as Shi Feng worked hard, he could upgrade Icarus’s Heart to Epic
rank very quickly. At that time, he would gain massive profits from
opening the Twilight Treasure Chests.

At the thought, Shi Feng could not help but grow restless.

If not for the ongoing war with Overwhelming Smile, he would have
struggled to find opponents. Now, however, his target was clear. He
would use Overwhelming Smile’s players as sacrifices for the Icarus’s
Heart.

Now that Overwhelming Smile’s White River City branch has been defeated,
it won’t be easy to find large groups of players. I might as well make a
trip to Maple City and have a look at the situation there. After some
consideration, Shi Feng felt that Maple City was the best location to
take action.

Overwhelming Smile had already become Maple City’s overlord. The
Overwhelming Smile members there had nothing to fear within the region
of Maple City. It would be far easier for Shi Feng to find targets there
than in White River City.

Shi Feng then slipped the Icarus’s Heart over his head and headed for
White River City’s Teleportation Hall.

Shi Feng very much looked forward to upgrading the Icarus’s Heart to
Epic rank. Not even the night in God’s Domain could hinder Shi Feng’s
yearning.

The sooner he upgraded the necklace to Epic rank, the sooner he could
obtain better items from the Twilight Treasure Chests. One could obtain
even Epic items from the Twilight Treasure Chests. If he could get his
hands on several Epic items, he could help the guild tremendously.
Naturally, he would upgrade it sooner rather than later.

As for the matter regarding the Light Stones, he fully trusted
Melancholic Smile’s capabilities. Shi Feng believed that it wouldn’t be
long before the Light Stones raked in a massive income.

Just as Shi Feng arrived before the Teleportation Hall, the sound of his
communicator rang near his ears. The caller this time was none other
than Gentle Snow, who had been busy consolidating her power as the new
Guild Leader of Ouroboros.

Although Gentle Snow had chased away her biggest competitor, Cao
Chenghua, the resulting internal struggles within Ouroboros had resulted
in the first-rate Guild falling apart. If Gentle Snow wished to
consolidate her power, she would need to spend a lot of time and effort
to do so. In addition, a more powerful opponent, the first-rate Guild
Star Alliance, lurked, waiting to strike.

Shi Feng had never thought that Gentle Snow would have the spare time to
contact him with the burdens she currently shouldered.

“Guild Leader Black Flame, may I ask if you have the time to speak right
now?”

In the video call, Gentle Snow still wore the calm and elegant smile she
usually displayed. She looked like a goddess that was high above
mortals. It felt as if she were in control of everything. However,
though she appeared completely fine on the surface, her act did not
deceive Shi Feng.

He could feel that Gentle Snow had grown frailer than before. Seeing a
superwoman like Gentle Snow so exhausted, one could just imagine how
terrible Ouroboros’s current situation was.

However, giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng felt that such an
outcome was expected. Gentle Snow had just taken control of Ouroboros.
The number of people she could trust was limited. Meanwhile, after
ruling Ouroboros for so many years, Cao Chenghua would not give up so
easily after being kicked out of his position. In addition to a great
enemy like the Star Alliance threatening the Guild, it would be very
difficult for Gentle Snow to cope.

“Miss Snow, there is no need to mince words. Our Guilds are allies, so
feel free to speak your mind,” Shi Feng spoke candidly.

Gentle Snow revealed a bitter smile on her pure and delicate face upon
hearing Shi Feng’s words. “Guild Leader Black Flame’s senses are as
sharp as always. I’ll speak openly, then. I’m calling about the
Candlelight Trading Firm that suddenly appeared on one of Star-Moon
City’s golden Lands and the Candlelight Trading Firms in White River
City. I can’t think of anyone in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom other than
you who is capable of launching such firms.”

“That’s right; I am indeed the founder.” Shi Feng did not try to hide
it. To begin with, he had no need to do so.

He had spoken with Gentle Snow about his plans to establish a Lifestyle
Guild long ago. Back then, he had hoped to utilize Ouroboros’s fame to
promote his Trading Firm. Even without Gentle Snow’s call today, he had
prepared to seek her help to promote the Candlelight Trading Firm at an
appropriate time.

As a first-rate Guild, Ouroboros had a large number of members scattered
across Star-Moon Kingdom. Practically every major city in Star-Moon
Kingdom housed the Guild’s members. There were even branches in other
kingdoms. If the Guild helped with promotion, the Candlelight Trading
Firm’s business would flourish.

However, the supply of Basic Strengthened Armor Kits simply could not
meet the demand. Even if Ouroboros promoted the Firm right now, it would
not significantly increase the Firm’s income; hence Shi Feng had decided
to hold off on seeking Gentle Snow’s help for the moment.

“Excellent; this will make things easy. I want to invest into the
Candlelight Trading Firm. I don’t want a lot of shares; 20% will do.
Naturally, I will compensate you appropriately. The compensation will
include 30% of Ouroboros’s shares, as well as funds, channels, and
materials, which will allow the Trading Firm to develop quickly.

“What do you think of my offer?”

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 517 - Fate Makes Fools of the People

One had to admit that Gentle Snow’s proposal was tempting.

Even Zhao Yueru and the Elders of Ouroboros standing beside Gentle Snow
were shocked by her offer.

After all was said and done, Ouroboros was a bona fide first-rate Guild
and possessed a massive fortune. The Guild had only achieved its current
status after striving for many years. Although the Guilds’ internal
struggles were serious, the Guild itself was still frighteningly strong;
second-rate Guilds were still no match for it.

Yet, just for 20% of the shares of a Trading Firm, Gentle Snow actually
intended to trade 30% of Ouroboros’s shares for 20% of the Trading Firm,
in addition to providing various funds and channels. This decision was
simply insane.

“Snow, have you gone mad? You only hold 50% of Ouroboros’s shares right
now, yet, you’re actually going to give Black Flame 30%? What will you
do if Black Flame joins hands with Cao Chenghua?” Zhao Yueru persuaded
her friend softly.

Although Zhao Yueru trusted Black Flame, 30% of Ouroboros’s shares was
simply too important. If utilized properly, Gentle Snow could easily
persuade more of the Guild’s Elders to her side. That way, Cao Chenghua
would not be able to impact the Guild so easily. Utilizing the Guild’s
shares to boost Gentle Snow’s strength and solidify the Guild was far
more valuable than obtaining 20% of the Candlelight Trading Firm’s
shares.

“That’s right, Young Madam Snow; you have to consider this carefully.
Those shares are the last resort left by Young Master for you to keep
Cao Chenghua in check. Although Cao Chenghua can no longer play God’s
Domain, in the real world, his authority in the company has not been
affected in the slightest. If you give those shares to someone else and
lose this protective talisman, he can easily join hands with the other
shareholders of the company to oppose you,” a man nearing his fifties in
butler clothing similarly attempted to persuade Gentle Snow.

“You don’t have to say anymore. I know what I am doing.” Gentle Snow
shook her head, waiting for Shi Feng’s reply.

She was no fool. She knew this was not a worthwhile transaction. Even
so, she insisted on conducting such a trade to deepen the relationship
between their two Guilds.

Although she was the Guild Leader of Ouroboros and one of the major
shareholders of the company, neither her authority nor her words were of
any use. Unfortunately, although she had tried to nurture plenty of
people herself, there were too few capable personnel under her command.
It was especially true for experts in God’s Domain.

Cao Chenghua had managed Ouroboros for many years now, so he had
previously had the time and resources to nurture plenty of experts.

Due to her premature victory over Cao Chenghua in God’s Domain, he had
decisively ordered all of the experts under him to abandon the Guild. In
addition, Cao Chenghua had also roped in many of the Guild’s Elders and
had secretly been transferring personnel out of the Guild, gradually
splitting Ouroboros in half.

If Ouroboros split in half, then the shares she had on hand would be
meaningless. Hence, she might as well use it to pull Zero Wing to her
side.

Although Zero Wing seemed only to occupy a single city right now and
looked to be inferior to many second-rate Guilds, Zero Wing’s city had
the second highest population in Star-Moon Kingdom. That was far better
than occupying three to five minor cities with a population of only
several hundred thousand players.

In particular, after seeing Ye Feng’s and Violet Cloud’s performance...

Although Zero Wing was still a fledgling Guild right now, Gentle Snow
had seen Zero Wing’s small, but sharp, fangs. When the time was right,
Zero Wing would rip apart all enemies in its way and become Star-Moon
Kingdom’s overlord.

At this moment, just the fact that Black Flame had managed to establish
a Candlelight Trading Firm on one of Star-Moon City’s golden Lands
displayed the man’s capabilities and power.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng was similarly stunned by Gentle Snow’s proposal. He
had never expected Gentle Snow to make such a tempting offer.

However, Shi Feng still shook his head and said, “Miss Snow, your offer
is indeed very tempting. However, please allow me to refuse.”

“Refuse? Why?” Gentle Snow asked in disbelief, her beautiful eyes
widening with shock.

Her proposal was no different than shoving money at Shi Feng’s face. If
Zero Wing and Ouroboros joined forces, not only could they make up for
each other’s deficiencies, but it would also become more convenient for
their two Guilds on their paths to becoming the overlords of Star-Moon
Kingdom. She could not fathom why Shi Feng would reject such a proposal.

“As I understand it, I know that you hope to deal with Ouroboros’s
internal problems quickly, but I do not want Zero Wing to get mixed up
in the internal struggles of other Guilds,” Shi Feng explained.
“However, I have another proposal that Miss Snow might be interested
in.”

“Another proposal?” Gentle Snow could not help but ask curiously.

“It’s very simple. Miss Snow simply needs to bring Ouroboros’s members
into Zero Wing. I can give Miss Snow 15% of Zero Wing’s shares.”
Although Shi Feng’s voice was utterly calm, his words were astoundingly
shocking.

“Are you trying to annex Ouroboros?” Gentle Snow said, slightly
indignant.

Ouroboros did not belong to her entirely. Originally, it should have
been her brother’s. Only, due to her brother having an accident, Cao
Chenghua had taken the opportunity to weasel his way to the top. And all
this time, she had been thinking of a way to help Ouroboros recover its
past glory, so how could she possibly agree to merge Ouroboros and Zero
Wing right now?

“Is there a difference?” Shi Feng countered. “Ouroboros exists only in
name now. Although you have acquired the position of Ouroboros’s Guild
Leader, you do not possess the corresponding authority. Sooner or later,
Ouroboros will split in half, so why not join Zero Wing instead?”

Shi Feng had his own considerations regarding Ouroboros.

In reality, Ouroboros was not all that important to him. The only reason
he had decided to offer 15% of Zero Wing’s shares was solely due to the
war goddess herself, Gentle Snow. Everything else meant little to him.

In the past, Cao Chenghua had defeated Gentle Snow. With the entire
Guild pitted against her, it was only natural that she had lost. Aside
from Gentle Snow’s most trusted followers, not a single person had stood
with Gentle Snow. How could she have won?

Even if her own abilities were amazing and her strength famed throughout
God’s Domain, the people’s aspirations could not be easily swayed just
by strength alone.

Although Shi Feng had helped Gentle Snow win the competition this time,
her fate had not changed much. In this life, she was simply the one
standing on the righteousness rather than Cao Chenghua. Even so, the
majority of Ouroboros’s members were still Cao Chenghua’s subordinates.
He could just withdraw his men and form his own Guild. Only, the price
he would have to pay would not be small.

However, Cao Chenghua had no other choice.

In the end, Ouroboros would disband.

What point was there for Gentle Snow to strive so hard? It would be much
better for her to take the opportunity, while a small portion of the
Guild still supported her, to join Zero Wing.

Time crawled by.

Both sides silently looked at each other.

At this moment, complex emotions filled Gentle Snow’s heart.

She had won the competition, but lost the Guild.

This sentence fit her situation perfectly. Despite her desperate efforts
to preserve the Guild, at the end of the day, she could not escape her
fate.

“Fate makes fools of the people!”

Gentle Snow quietly exclaimed. She then looked at Zhao Yueru and the
several Guild Elders beside her. They were all people whom she trusted
the most. By the time Cao Chenghua extracted all of his underlings from
Ouroboros, the Guild would only exist in name. At that time, it would be
very difficult for the Guild to continue in Star-Moon Kingdom.

After all, Ouroboros and the Star Alliance were sworn enemies. Even if
Ouroboros only existed in name, the Star Alliance would not let it off
the hook. Only when the Guild had thoroughly erased Ouroboros from God’s
Domain would it rest.

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Chapter 518 - Breaking the Balance

After some time, Gentle Snow released a small sigh.

Shi Feng could see the helplessness Gentle Snow struggled with through
the screen. However, her reaction was only natural. After all, who would
willingly merge the Guild they had spent an endless amount of effort to
establish with another Guild?

However, Shi Feng had his own considerations as well.

Even if Zero Wing and Ouroboros were allies, the Guilds resided in two
different cities. And as no one could predict the future, both Zero
Wing’s upper management and its Guild members had to keep up their guard
constantly. In order to avoid adding to Zero Wing’s worries, the best
result would be to annex Ouroboros.

It was truly hilarious.

A little Guild like Zero Wing actually dared to annex a first-rate
guild?

However, Shi Feng possessed the strength and confidence to succeed.

Zero Wing currently possessed many experts. There was also a continuous
supply of funds from the Candlelight Trading Firm, so Zero Wing could
afford to annex a gigantic existence like Ouroboros. Moreover, after
receiving Ouroboros’s trade channels, the Candlelight Trading Firm could
profit further.

In addition, after operating in the virtual gaming world for so many
years, Ouroboros must have accumulated plenty of old customers, who were
very rich and willing to spend lots of money in virtual reality games,
as well as corporate sponsors. Otherwise, the Guild would not have such
an impressive income.

Zero Wing Workshop was currently still developing their customer base.
If the Workshop could claim Ouroboros’s old customers, it could very
quickly earn large sums of Credits, unlike the Workshop’s current state
where it was without a stable income and required Shi Feng to look for a
source himself.

“Guild Leader Black Flame, I need some time to consider this matter,”
Gentle Snow said after calming down. “Since Guild Leader Black Flame has
no intentions of selling the Candlelight Trading Firm’s shares, may I
purchase some Coins from you?”

Although there were plenty of people selling their Coins on the virtual
trade center, the available volume was very small. Moreover, every other
Guild in the game was also attempting to purchase Coins in bulk, making
it practically impossible to purchase large sums. Thus, Ouroboros could
only rely on its own money-farming teams to cover the Guild’s daily
expenses.

“Miss Snow, you should know how tight the various Guilds are for Coins
right now. However, if you’re only interested in purchasing a small sum,
there should be no issues. May I know how much you are looking to buy?”
Shi Feng asked.

Although he had spent quite a lot of money already, both the Starstreak
Trading Firm and the Candlelight Trading Firm provided him with a
significant daily income. He could easily sell one or two thousand Gold.

“I don’t want much; 5,000 Gold will do,” Gentle Snow stated after giving
the matter some thought. “I can transfer 50 million Credits for them
immediately.”

With 5,000 Gold, she should barely be able to stabilize Ouroboros’s
current situation. If she established a Guild Residence and gave the
Guild members some hope, it would make it more difficult for Cao
Chenghua to lure players away.

“Five thousand? Miss Snow, you think too highly of me.” Shi Feng smiled
bitterly. “How about this; I can sell you 2,000 Gold at market price.
However, I will require Ouroboros’s help to purchase a few plots of Land
in Star-Moon Kingdom’s top ten cities and to promote the Candlelight
Trading Firm.”

Coin’s market value constantly depreciated. Currently, 1 Gold Coin was
worth about 6,000 Credits. One could roughly purchase a piece of Level
25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment or Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment with
that kind of money.

Gentle Snow’s offer to purchase 5,000 Gold at 50 million Credits was far
above market value. However, even if she had 50 million Credits, she
couldn’t even purchase 4,000 Gold, much less 5,000. Otherwise, those
corporate giants would have long since bought up all the available Lands
in major cities.

One could say that Coins were at their peak value right now. If one
could purchase a good plot of Land now, they could earn back the money
spent by ten, or even dozens, of times. These massive corporations
naturally would not hold back from spending their Credits.
Unfortunately, such a thing was simply not possible.

“Two thousand Gold?” Gentle Snow was immediately stunned.

Before, she had only mentioned 5,000 Gold with the intention of probing
Zero Wing’s bottom line. Throughout God’s Domain, there was not a single
Guild that was capable of revealing 5,000 Gold, yet Shi Feng had just
casually mentioned that he would sell her 2,000 Gold.

Two thousand Gold!

In order to acquire so much money, she would have to spend several days
relentlessly trying to purchase Coins and draft the Guild’s
money-farming teams and her confidants. On the other hand, even after
purchasing so many golden Lands, Shi Feng could still afford to sell
2,000 Gold.

His financial prowess was unmatched...

“Is it not enough?” Shi Feng pondered for a moment before saying, “I can
offer you 3,000 Gold at most. If it is still not enough, you will have
to look for other avenues yourself.”

Gentle Snow had helped him plenty of times, so he would not kick her
while she was down. He would help her to the best of his abilities so
long as it was within his capability.

Although he had a lot of money, he needed that money to purchase Lands
and set up Shops in other cities. Besides that, he also needed to leave
some for the Guild in case of emergencies.

“Thanks, I’ll transfer the money to you right away,” Gentle Snow said,
inwardly feeling overjoyed. With 3,000 Gold in addition to the 2,000
Gold she currently had on hand, she would have enough to purchase a plot
of Land and establish Ouroboros’s Guild Residence, as well as maintain
the Guild’s daily expenses. This way, Cao Chenghua would find it far
more difficult to tear the Guild.

---

After Shi Feng sold 3,000 Gold to Gentle Snow through the virtual trade
center, he then teleported to Maple City.

Maple City was also considered a major city in Star-Moon Kingdom’s
Eastern Region. The city had nearly one million players. This was also
one of the reasons that many people had an optimistic opinion of
Overwhelming Smile.

Aside from a few small Guilds, Overwhelming Smile was the only large
Guild residing in the city. It had already chased any major competition
out of Maple City. One could say that Overwhelming Smile had fortified
itself in Maple City. It would be very difficult for other Guilds to
cause even the slightest bit of trouble here.

At this moment, as Shi Feng wandered through Maple City’s; streets the
majority of the players he saw on his walk consisted of Overwhelming
Smile’s members. Every one of these Overwhelming Smile members flaunted
their arrogance, and players of other Guilds could only do their best to
avoid standing in the way.

“Overwhelming Smile has set up a Trading Firm in Maple City! The Shop’s
name is Overwhelming Trading Firm, and it’s in the central district! The
items there are much cheaper than the ones in NPC Shops! They also offer
plenty of items that are not available in NPC Shops! If everyone is
interested, please go take a look!”

Many Overwhelming Smile members loudly promoted the Overwhelming Trading
Firm, attracting many players’ attention.

After all, player-owned Shops were far better than NPCs’. In particular,
none of the NPCs’ Shops sold Whetstones. Normally, they could only
purchase such items from Forging Apprentices. Unlike White River City,
Maple City did not possess a Starstreak Trading Firm that allowed
players to purchase many items not normally found in NPC Shops.

“Overwhelming really is the dominant force here. Unfortunately, that
will only hold true for now.” Shi Feng currently sat under a small
outdoor pavilion, sipping wine as he observed the lively streets of
Maple City.

In a moment, a middle-aged man close to his forties arrived before Shi
Feng. Respectfully, he said, “Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. My name
is Liang Chen. Guild Leader snow has sent me to you. Here is the
agreement stating that I will purchase Land on your behalf. Please look
through it.”

“Thank you for your efforts.” Shi Feng received the agreement and gave
it a quick glance. After making sure that everything was in order, he
signed his name and said, “Let’s head to the City Hall and proceed,
then.”

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Chapter 519 - Silent Massacre

Inside Maple City’s City Hall...

At this moment, Liang Chen, the person whom Gentle Snow had delegated to
assist Shi Feng in purchasing Land, was utterly stupefied.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng had purchased a plot of Land located in the
central district of the city that cost over 2,000 Gold. Immediately
after, he established a Luxury Shop for 1,000 Gold. In total, Shi Feng
had spent over 3,000 Gold in a span of just a few breaths.

Liang Chen was someone whom Gentle Snow trusted absolutely, so she had
already shared her knowledge regarding Shi Feng.

Hence, Liang Chen knew that Shi Feng had sold Gentle Snow 3,000 Gold not
long ago. Otherwise, he would not have exposed the fact that he already
had enough Reputation in Maple City to become a Baron.

Although Maple City was not as good as White River City, the number of
players who had reached the Reputation of a Baron was still extremely
low. There should only be two or three such players throughout Maple
City right now.

Previously, Shi Feng had spent 3,000 Gold. Now, he had spent over 3,000
Gold once again. This level of wealth far surpassed Ouroboros.

With such financial prowess, who could possibly challenge Zero Wing in a
war of attrition?

Only now did Liang Chen finally realize why Overwhelming Smile, a Guild
that had managed to dominate Maple City, had failed to defeat Zero Wing,
and why Zero Wing was publicly acknowledged as White River City’s number
one Guild.

The other first-rate Guilds’ upper managers believed in their hearts
that, although it was no match for Zero Wing in White River City,
particularly in terms of the number of experts each Guild possessed,
Overwhelming Smile would still emerge victorious. After all,
Overwhelming Smile possessed ample funds, whereas Zero Wing was a Guild
with no background or capital at all. At most, Zero Wing could only hold
out for a bit longer.

However, now that Liang Chen reexamined the situation...

Even three Overwhelming Smiles would not be enough to defeat Zero Wing.

It seems the sky in Maple City will change soon, Liang Chen inwardly
sighed.

After learning more about God’s Domain, the various Guilds had obtained
a general understanding of its rules. If a Guild wanted to become an
overlord in the game, they required three things; experts, financial
prowess consisting mainly of Coins, and member count.

Among these three points, member count was the least important as it was
very easy to increase a Guild’s population. As long as a Guild possessed
sufficient financial prowess, they could increase their member count
indefinitely.

God’s Domain was different from past virtual reality games where member
count was a Guild’s top priority. In past virtual reality games, the
differences between each individual player were simply too small. In
these games, numbers equaled power. If one person was not enough, then
they could just send a group. If a group was not enough, then they could
send a hundred players. Sooner or later, they were bound to exhaust
their enemies to death.

Unfortunately, God’s Domain was different; a single top-tier expert
could single-handedly dominate an entire region. Moreover, unlike in
past virtual reality games, the top-tier experts of God’s Domain were
not easily produced. In the past, one could easily become a top-tier
expert if they had sufficiently powerful equipment. Now, however,
players needed sufficiently powerful combat techniques to qualify as a
top-tier expert.

Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile was far behind Zero Wing regarding both
experts and financial prowess. The result of the confrontation between
the two Guilds was already self-evident.

In reality, so long as Overwhelming Smile hurriedly established their
trade and earned large sums of money through it, they would have a
fighting chance. Only, now that Shi Feng had arrived, how could
Overwhelming Smile contend with Star-Moon Kingdom’s Chief Forger with
its few Lifestyle players? Moreover, the Candlelight Trading Firm
possessed three bona fide Forgers; they were several times more powerful
than Advanced Forging Apprentices.

The Candlelight Trading Firm also possessed the tactical weapon known as
the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Simply put, Overwhelming Smile stood
no chance of victory whatsoever.

After Shi Feng obtained some information regarding Maple City from Liang
Chen, he hurried towards the city’s Teleportation Hall.

From the information Liang Chen had given him, Shi Feng basically knew
all of Overwhelming Smile’s elite members preferred grinding locations.
He could use this chance to sacrifice these players to the Icarus’s
Heart.

Guilds’ elite members were different from ordinary players. When night
arrived, ordinary players would usually return to their respective
cities to rest or log out of the game, whereas elite players would
continue leveling out in the fields. Because of their equipment or
combat techniques, elite players had no reason to fear the monsters at
night. Only, their leveling speed would slow somewhat this time of day.
Even so, it was much better than others who could not level up at all.
Even if their leveling speed were slower at night, they would gradually
widen the gap between themselves and other players. As a result, the
levels of Guild elite members were usually a lot higher than ordinary
players.

Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile’s main grinding location was the Dragon
Ridge.

Dragon Ridge was a Level 25 to 30 leveling area. The monsters inside
consisted of Dragonmen. Dragonmen were born with thick scales and had
inherited the unparalleled Strength of Dragons; they were natural-born
warriors. Moreover, as they were a small branch of the Dragon race,
Dragonmen also had an innate love for collecting treasures. Hence,
Dragonmen had significantly higher drop-rates. There were also many
quests available in Dragon Ridge that required players to deal with the
Dragonmen, so many players loved to level here.

However, Overwhelming Smile monopolized the high-resource areas within
Dragon Ridge. So, other players could only complete some Kill Quests for
Dragonmen in areas with low monster populations.

Shortly after Shi Feng teleported to Dragon Ridge and was in the midst
of searching for Overwhelming Smile members, Melancholic Smile suddenly
contacted him.

“Guild Leader, I’ve completed the task you gave me. Sure enough, they
tried to steal all three Advanced Forging Apprentices who have learned
the Light Stone Forging Design, regardless of cost. In the end, all
three defected,” Melancholic Smile said excitedly.

With all three Advanced Forging Apprentices poached, that meant the Firm
had received the compensation for three Light Stone Forging Designs.
They had earned nearly 50 million Credits, just like that. As for the
loss of the three Advanced Forging Apprentices, Melancholic Smile was
utterly unaffected. After the Candlelight Trading Firm had developed
itself, the benefits it provided its members were extremely good. The
Firm’s Forgers also received an unlimited supply of materials. As long
as they worked hard, they could earn a lot of money. Hence, many Forging
Apprentices had arrived to apply to the Firm. Among them, there was no
lack of Intermediate Forging Apprentices. As long as the Firm nurtured
them a little, it would have another batch of Advanced Forging
Apprentices in no time.

Although Overwhelming Smile had successfully stolen many players from
the Candlelight Trading Firm, the Firm’s Advanced Forging Apprentice
count had not decreased since its establishment. On the contrary, they
had accumulated more forgers...

“Good.” Shi Feng similarly smiled. With this sum and what he received
from Gentle Snow, he could soon carry out his expert training plan.
“Right, how many Light Stones have been produced so far?”

“I have secretly recruited dozens of Advanced Forging Apprentices in
other cities, and they are frantically producing Light Stones in their
respective city’s Forging Associations. They are still unfamiliar with
the production process at the moment, so their production is somewhat
slow. Even so, we already have several hundred Stones. In one or two
days, we should accumulate up to 20,000 pieces,” Melancholic Smile said
confidently. “At that time, Candlelight will become a household name. I
guarantee that Candlelight will become Star-Moon Kingdom’s number one
trading firm.”

Melancholic Smile had spoken these words not out of arrogance, but
because the Light Stones’ value was simply immeasurable. Both elite
players and ordinary players could afford them. Considering the number
of players producing the Light Stones right now, they could supply
several cities’ worth of players.

After Melancholic Smile finished her report, Shi Feng had stealthily
arrived at the inner region of Dragon Ridge.

At this moment, one could see lights flickering occasionally through the
dark and quiet forest, coupled with the sounds of explosions. The cause
of these phenomena was none other than Overwhelming Smile’s elite
players grinding Dragonmen.

These Overwhelming Smile elites were very organized. Forming groups of
twenty, the team of one hundred took turns battling the Dragonmen army.
They fought with great efficiency. While one group fought, the others
would rest and remain vigilant of their surroundings, preventing other
monsters from ambushing them.

“You guys will be it.” Shi Feng smiled.

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