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Chapter 840 - Magic Staff

Just when Shi Feng noticed Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger, the two
of them caught sight of Shi Feng.

"Brat, I don’t know how you suddenly appeared here, but since you’ve
come to this place, you can only consider yourself unlucky," Thunder
Tiger, who had hidden his identity and appearance, said when he suddenly
saw the similarly anonymous Shi Feng. Taking the initiative, he walked
towards Shi Feng. "All this waiting around has made me annoyed. Old
Stranger, you better not make a move. I’m gonna use this brat here to
relieve some of my stress."

"Sure, but the equipment he drops will belong to me," Ordinary Stranger
laughed.

Ordinary Stranger had discovered Shi Feng’s presence the instant Shi
Feng had appeared. Initially, he had thought that a powerful enemy had
shown up. However, after some close observation, he did not sense any
threat coming from beneath the Black Cloak. On the contrary, he had
noticed many holes in Shi Feng’s defense. If not for Thunder Tiger
declaring his claim, Ordinary Stranger would have long since taken
action to remove this ant.

However, even if the opponent were an expert, it would not matter.

Thunder Tiger was a top-tier expert of King’s Return. Currently, he was
already Level 38. Placed in Star-Moon Kingdom, his Level would rank
within the top ten. Not to mention, he was fully geared in Level 35
Dark-Gold Equipment. His maximum HP was as high as 14,600. His combat
standard was also at the Refinement Realm already. Dealing with two or
three ordinary experts simultaneously would be child’s play for him.

Even if the opponent were an expert of the same combat standards,
Thunder Tiger was a Refinement Realm expert of King’s Return. The Guild
had long since presented the Berserker with a Berserk Skill. As long as
Thunder Tiger activated this Berserk Skill, he could kill a Refinement
Realm expert easily. He could even defeat a Flowing Water Realm expert.

In the off chance that Thunder Tiger was no match for this new arrival,
Ordinary Stranger himself could still back up the Berserker.

If he and Thunder Tiger worked together, they would be practically
invincible in Star-Moon Kingdom. Only Zero Wing’s Black Flame and Ye
Feng could cause them to feel fear. No one else was worth mentioning.

As soon as Ordinary Stranger finished speaking, Thunder Tiger retrieved
a two-handed saber from his back and used Charge at Shi Feng.

When using Charge, controlling the sudden increase in speed was
extremely difficult for ordinary players. As a result, they would
usually reveal flaws in their attack. However, Thunder Tiger was
different. He had long since mastered this Skill. By adjusting his
center of gravity, he had managed to apply his increased speed to his
attack, creating his own charging slash.

He had transformed a system-generated Skill into a personal Skill.

Not only did his saber speed up, but the power contained within it also
increased. Even a Shield Warrior of the same Level would have to retreat
several steps, breaking their stance.

Boom!

As the two-handed saber landed, sparks scattered into the surroundings.

A silver one-handed sword actually stopped Thunder Tiger’s
lightning-fast saber.

What?! Thunder Tiger was shocked as he stared at Shi Feng standing
steadily in his original position.

The charging slash getting blocked did not come as a surprise to Thunder
Tiger. However, this was his first time to encounter an enemy who could
remain standing steadily after receiving his charging slash. Even Broken
City, an Elder of King’s Return, had to retreat half a step after
receiving this attack of his. This situation was simply inconceivable.

"Tiger, be careful! We’ve got a tough one!" Ordinary Stranger warned
hurriedly after realizing that their enemy this time was no common
player. As he began casting a Spell, he added, "We’ll deal with him
together."

"I understand." Thunder Tiger’s expression had turned serious as well,
the contempt he felt before disappearing completely. He promptly used
Whirlwind Slash in an attempt to drive Shi Feng away.

However, as soon as he started swinging his gray saber, a streak of blue
light struck his weapon. A crack in space also appeared along the path
the blue light had taken.

Peng!

Thunder Tiger felt his hands going numb as his saber came to an abrupt
halt. It felt as if he had just struck an iron wall. Immediately after,
however, a powerful impact shook him, forcing him to retreat four steps
before he could stabilize his body.

Damage of -1,338 points appeared above the Berserker’s head; he had
instantly lost close to 10% of his HP.

"Who are you?" At this moment, even if Thunder Tiger were a fool, he
would understand that the man before him was definitely stronger than
himself.

In just a single exchange of Skills, he had lost over 1,000 HP. Shi
Feng’s Strength could practically rival a Chieftain of the same Level.

Before Thunder Tiger could react, a streak of blue light instantly
slashed his body. Although the Berserker had tried to defend himself
with his saber, he was simply no match for the speed of the sword light.

-7,151.

The Lightning effect having triggered, Shi Feng’s attack instantly took
away half of Thunder Tiger’s HP. The Berserker himself also went flying
over ten yards away.

"Who am I?" At this time, Shi Feng laughed. "You dared to come and find
trouble with Zero Wing, yet you still ask who I am?"

Hearing Shi Feng saying so...

Whether it was Thunder Tiger or Ordinary Stranger, both of them
immediately shuddered as a name appeared in their minds.

Sword King Black Flame!

Why is he here? Ordinary Stranger’s expression darkened, his heart
roiling with confusion. Their operation this time was top-secret. They
had even placed a Soul Lock on the targets of their ambush. The two
women should have no way of contacting anyone from Zero Wing. Hence, the
possibility of them encountering Black Flame here was practically
nonexistent. Yet, now, Black Flame had appeared before them.

However, Ordinary Stranger gave no further thought to this matter.

Since Black Flame was here, there was only one thing they could do right
now.

Escape!

They had next to no chance of winning against Black Flame in a direct
confrontation. Their only hope for resisting Black Flame was to meet up
with the Falcon Legion.

In the next moment, Ordinary Stranger waved his staff and cast the Tier
1 Spell Summon Flame Spirit.

A Level 38 Special Elite Flame Lizard appeared immediately.

Following which, he used one of the Activatable Skills of his Magic
Staff, Undead Sacrifice.

Suddenly, the Flame Lizard let out an agonized wail as the red flames
covering its body turned into an emerald green, its body doubling in
size. Its rank had increased from Special Elite to Lord as well.

[Undead Lizard] (Undead, Lord)

Level 38

HP 3,600,000/3,600,000

Such a powerful monster was more than enough to deal with a top-tier
expert. Moreover, as a Summoner, he could form a Soul Link with his
summoned creature, which allowed him to transfer 50% of the damage he
received to it.

However, Ordinary Stranger knew quite well that even with the Undead
Lizard, Thunder Tiger and he were still no match for Shi Feng. They had
a very clear understanding of just how powerful experts of Shi Feng’s
standard were. He had summoned the Undead Lizard only to delay Shi Feng.

The Undead Lizard was a speed-type monster. At the same time, it
possessed multiple Control Skills. It could surely pin down Shi Feng and
give them an opportunity to escape.

"Retreat!"

Ordinary Stranger waved his staff and shot Elemental Bullets at Shi
Feng. Simultaneously, he willed the Undead Lizard forward to attack Shi
Feng.

Thunder Tiger no longer held back, either, as he activated his Berserk
Skill, Heart of Fury. The Skill instantly increased his Strength by 80%,
his Endurance by 50%, and his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50% for
two minutes. After activating his Berserk Skill, Thunder Tiger turned
around and fled without hesitation.

Looking at the oncoming Elemental Bullets and Undead Lizard, Shi Feng
sneered and said, "Don’t you think it’s a little too late to be escaping
now?"

Saying so, he abruptly stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 841 - Taboo Skill’s Might

"You’re not getting away."

Shi Feng deflected the Elemental Bullets using Killing Ray while
activating one of the Abyssal Blade’s Skills.

Abyssal Curse!

Immediately, a black magic array appeared on the ground. With Shi Feng
as the center, it covered a radius of 30 yards, instantly enveloping the
Undead Lizard, which was the size of a small house, as well as Ordinary
Stranger and Thunder Tiger. Endless streams of black mist flowed into
their bodies.

"Not good! It’s an AOE Control Skill!" Ordinary Stranger frowned. Right
now, it felt as if his body was stuck in quicksand. He could not move at
all. He had never imagined that Shi Feng would have such a trump card as
well.

At this moment, not to mention him, even the Lord ranked Undead Lizard
was immobilized. As a result, Shi Feng had readily broken through the
Lord’s defensive line and was currently charging rapidly at them.

"Tiger, delay him; buy me some time." Ordinary Stranger no longer tried
to hold back as he activated his Berserk Skill, Mana Detonation, his
Attributes increasing by a large margin. At the same time, he used
Mental Exemption, becoming immune to all Control effects for five
seconds. He then began chanting an incantation, causing the surrounding
Mana to churn violently.

Thunder Tiger nodded in response to Ordinary Stranger’s instructions.
Activating Brilliant Will, he removed the Control effect of Abyssal
Curse, then shifted in front of his Summoner companion.

"Come! Let me have a look at the abilities of the Sword King!" Thunder
Tiger bellowed as he stomped down, shattering the ground underfoot. He
then swung his two-handed saber abruptly at the Swordsman rushing
straight at him.

Tier 1 Skill, Storm Slash!

Over a dozen wind blades flew at Shi Feng, every one of them targeting
his blind spots. Unlike the normal attacks of players, the wind blades
of Storm Slash appeared simultaneously. There was no time-lag between
each attack, preventing Shi Feng from evading them entirely.

Moreover, Storm Slash was a Skill that could not be blocked, only
dodged. It was an extremely rare Skill of the Berserker class.

This Skill was also the trump card Thunder Tiger usually used to kill
experts of equal standards.

For players who did not know the intricacies of this Skill, they would
generally defend themselves with their weapons. The outcome of doing so
would be these players receiving the strikes of the dozen or so wind
blades. Currently, Thunder Tiger had his Berserk Skill activated. The
destructive power of his Storm Slash could easily instant-kill Shi Feng.

"Try to block it if you can!" Thunder Tiger could not help but sneer as
he saw Shi Feng remaining steadfast in his charge forward.

Unfortunately for Thunder Tiger, he had grossly underestimated Shi
Feng’s understanding of God’s Domain.

When the wind blades arrived before Shi Feng, he was already within 20
yards of Thunder Tiger. He promptly used the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant
Strike.

Suddenly, Shi Feng vanished before the wind blades of Storm Slash and
reappeared in front of Thunder Tiger, faint arcs of electricity circling
Shi Feng’s body.

Thunder Tiger panicked. He instinctively executed Whirlwind Slash.

However, before the Berserker’s Whirlwind Slash could complete even half
a rotation, numerous blue arcs of lightning devoured him whole. In the
next moment, Thunder Tiger’s HP dwindled at a rate visible to the naked
eye until it finally hit zero.

How is he so fast?! Thunder Tiger’s eyes widened as he looked at where
the strikes had landed. He simply could not bring himself to believe
that what he was seeing was real.

He had activated his Berserk Skill. He should have received significant
improvements in speed, yet he still failed to keep up with Shi Feng’s
swords. Not to mention his body, before his eyes could even react, the
Swordsman’s swords had cut through him multiple times.

This was definitely his first time witnessing such speed.

Standing a short distance away, fear similarly covered Ordinary
Stranger’s face. He had never dreamed that Thunder Tiger would not
manage to delay Shi Feng for even a short while despite having activated
his Berserk Skill.

Fortunately, Shi Feng was still roughly ten yards away. The time it
would take for the Swordsman to reach Ordinary Stranger was more than
enough for him to finish casting his Spell. At that time, although the
Spell would not kill Shi Feng, at the very least, it would help buy
Ordinary Stranger time to escape.

"Huh? Where is he?" During the brief moment Ordinary Stranger was lost
in his thoughts, Shi Feng, who had been standing in front of Thunder
Tiger, actually vanished.

Hua!

Suddenly, Ordinary Stranger felt a pang at his heart. Without him
noticing, a longsword wrapped in blue electric arcs had emerged from his
chest.

"You!"

Turning his head around, Ordinary Stranger discovered Shi Feng standing
right behind him. He had actually failed to notice the Swordsman
approaching him altogether. It was as if Shi Feng’s presence was
completely nonexistent.

Seeing his HP decreasing without any signs of stopping, Ordinary
Stranger was at a loss for words. He and Thunder Tiger were both
top-tier experts of King’s Return. They could easily become top-class
existences in any kingdom they went to. Although he had long since known
that he and his Berserker companion were no match for Shi Feng, he had
never imagined that the gap between them was actually so enormous.

At this moment, even if he related everything that had happened here to
someone else, most likely, nobody would believe him.

Although Ordinary Stranger still wished to say something, he was already
out of time as his vision suddenly turned gray, his body falling to the
ground. When he died, he dropped two pieces of cloth armor.

"There were actually two Refinement Realm experts. It’s no wonder Rain
and the others were no match for them." Although Shi Feng had failed to
discover the identities of Thoughtful Rain’s assailants, he clearly
grasped the combat standards of the two from the battle just now. With
the strength of those two players, they would be hard-pressed to find
any opponents capable of opposing them. Unfortunately for them, they had
encountered him today. Not to mention, he had even activated a Tier 2
Taboo Skill to deal with them.

Following which, Shi Feng picked up the items that the two dropped. He
then summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and headed straight into the
Crystal Maze.

---

Deep inside the Crystal Maze, the members of the Falcon Legion were
currently busy clearing out the Crystal Wolves blocking their path. They
were moving increasingly closer to the lair of the Crystal Wolves.

"These two beauties sure know how to run. They’re hiding wherever there
is danger. However, let’s see how you’ll continue escaping once you
enter the lair of the Crystal Wolves," Quirrell muttered as he switched
his footwork. Like a black gale, the dagger in his hand struck at a
Level 45 Special Elite wolf.

Without giving the Special Elite wolf any opportunity to react, Quirrell
landed blow after blow with his daggers. Although the Special Elite
tried to resist, none of its attacks could connect with the Assassin’s
body. Little by little, Quirrell plundered away the Special Elite’s HP,
wielding the pitch-black daggers in his hands rapidly. A short moment
later, the Special Elite wolf, whose HP had been in the hundreds of
thousands, fell to the ground. From start to end, the wolf had never
once managed to land a hit on Quirrell.

"Team Leader Quirrell sure is amazing. His skill level has improved
again. In the Guild’s next class competition, his ranking will no doubt
increase once more," a nearby Level 37 female Assassin said, her face
filled with admiration as she looked at Quirrell.

"Don’t make a fool of yourself. Team Leader Quirrell has very high
expectations. With your standards, do you think you will be able to gain
his favor? Let’s just hurry up and clear away these Crystal Wolves.
Otherwise, they’re going to call for more reinforcements. If we make
Team Leader Quirrell angry, we’ll definitely suffer miserably," a Level
37 male Ranger criticized.

The female Assassin, who possessed an above average appearance and
figure, remained unperturbed by the Ranger’s comment. Instead, she
retorted, "Hehe, so what if I’m trying to gain his favor? If you were as
capable as Team Leader Quirrell, I would try to gain your favor, too."

In the opinion of outsiders, once one became an inner member of a Super
Guild, a wonderful future awaited them.

In reality, however, this was a big misconception.

Super Guilds were far crueler than other Guilds. The competition among
its inner members was extremely intense. All those who managed to become
a part of the middle management of the Guild were indeed experts among
experts, dragons among men. They were experts who could easily wipe the
floor with the so-called top ten newcomers of the virtual gaming world.
This strength was also the reason why the various Super Guilds paid no
particular attention to the super newcomers of each year.

Meanwhile, as long as Quirrell improved just a little bit more, he could
enter the middle management of King’s Return. At that time, he would
become a celebrity-level character, enjoying endless fame and glory.

"Team Leader Quirrell, something happened! Ordinary Stranger and Thunder
Tiger are dead!"

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 842 - Ye Feng Arrives

"They died?"

When Quirrell heard the report, he quickly called out the system team
window.

Sure enough, among the list of team members, both the names of Ordinary
Stranger and Thunder Tiger had turned gray, which meant that the two of
them were no longer alive at this time.

When the other members of the team heard this, they promptly checked
their team windows as well.

They simply could not bring themselves to believe what they were seeing
was true.

Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger were both top-tier experts in their
Guild. Their strength was equal to Quirrell’s. If the two of them worked
together, even a team of ordinary experts would be helpless against
them.

It was truly hard to imagine that these two experts had died.

"Leader, should we head back and take a look?" an Assassin asked. "We
can’t just let someone kill the members of King’s Return and do nothing
about it. If we don’t deal with this matter properly, the other Super
Guilds will surely make fun of us."

"No. Just traveling back to the entrance will take us more than half an
hour. By that time, the enemy would have long since disappeared,"
Quirrell said, shaking his head. "Moreover, we don’t have a clear
understanding of the situation over there. First, find those two women.
We’ll talk about what to do next after we’ve gotten rid of those two. If
the enemy is capable of killing both Stranger and Tiger, we cannot
underestimate their strength. It is highly likely that the enemy is a
powerful team that came here to grind. It won’t be too late for us to
deal with them after we complete our mission."

In Quirrell’s opinion, even a Great Lord ranked monster would not be
able to kill Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger. No doubt the two of
them had died at the hands of other players. Moreover, the enemy had to
have very large numbers. They should also have many top-tier experts
among them. Otherwise, with the two’s strength, at least one of them
should have survived.

As the number of opponents was high, resolving this matter would
definitely be time-consuming. Their primary mission was to kill Zero
Wing’s core members. They would risk letting their targets get away if
they chose to deal with this new enemy first. The losses greatly
outweighed the gains. Now that they were close to completing this
mission, they naturally could not give up halfway.

Following which, Quirrell and the other members of the Falcon Legion
continued to move deeper into the lair of the Crystal Wolves, defeating
one pack of Crystal Wolves after another.

"Leader, I found the two women’s footprints up ahead. Judging from the
tracks, they should have moved through here only recently," an Assassin,
who had Detection activated, said as he looked at the light-blue
footprints on the ground.

These light-blue footprints showed that players had passed through this
place before. However, these footprints were visible only to players
using the Detection Skill.

One could make rough judgments based on the size and brightness of these
footprints. The brighter the footprint, the more recently it was left
behind.

"Good. We can finally put an end to this game of hide-and-seek."
Quirrell revealed a cold smile as he looked at his map.

As Quirrell said so, the members of the Falcon Legion began slowly
walking in the direction indicated by the Assassin.

"Rain, what should we do now?" Blue Bamboo, who was hiding in a crack in
a rock wall, asked nervously as she looked at the slowly approaching
Falcon Legion, her hands tightly clenched around her staff.

They were currently Level 39. If they died now, it would take several
days of hard work to make up for the loss.

"There’s nowhere else to hide. When the time comes, we can only make a
last stand." Thoughtful Rain was also out of ideas. Previously, they had
used up their Instantaneous Movement Scrolls to escape from the sudden
ambush. Afterwards, to shake off the pursuit of their ambushers, they
had no choice but to hide inside the Crystal Maze. Now, however, it
seemed that all their efforts were still in vain.

As the eighteen members of the Falcon Legion moved increasingly closer,
Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo began casting their respective Spells,
resolved to fight to their very last breaths.

"Rawrr!"

When the Falcon Legion was roughly 100 yards away from Thoughtful Rain
and Blue Bamboo, a roar suddenly resounded throughout the cave. The
members of the Falcon Legion halted their steps as they turned to look
for the origin of this roar one after another.

They immediately discovered a tiger the size of a house slowly
approaching them, step by step, the paws of this tiger covered in
pitch-black flames.

Surprisingly, there was actually a person sitting on top of this giant
tiger. However, as this person wore a Black Cloak, the members of the
Falcon Legion could not discern this person’s appearance or identity.
They could only tell that this person was a man.

"A player?" A hint of fear woke in Quirrell’s heart as he looked at this
cloaked man riding the giant tiger.

He had already used an Identification Skill, which confirmed that the
man on the tiger was indeed a player. Then, this situation could only
mean one thing.

The mysterious player before them was at least Level 40. As for the
giant tiger, needless to say, it was this player’s Mount. Moreover, its
quality should be very high.

Currently, in God’s Domain, the top ten players on the Ranking List of
empires were only Level 39. Quirrell had yet to hear of anyone reaching
Level 40. Since this mysterious player had managed to attain such a
Level, needless to say, his strength was extremely extraordinary.

"Leader, that person is coming over. What should we do?" a Level 37
Ranger asked somewhat anxiously.

The Ranger could feel significant pressure coming from the Demonic Flame
Tiger before them.

However, the player capable of possessing such a Mount was definitely
even more powerful.

For a time, the members of the Falcon Legion were at a loss as to what
to do.

"Let’s find out what his goal is for now." Quirrell did not hurry in
making a decision.

Although they had the advantage in numbers, the fact that the other
party dared to walk over all by himself showed that he had no fear of
them whatsoever. Otherwise, he would have long since turned around and
left.

When dealing with such an expert, making rash decisions was not wise.

"Isn’t that Big Brother Ye Feng’s Mount?" The giant tiger gave Blue
Bamboo a great sense of familiarity. However, she was also somewhat
uncertain. After all, the likelihood of them encountering Shi Feng at
this place was abysmally low.

"That’s right. That is indeed the Demonic Flame Tiger." Thoughtful
Rain’s eyes flickered with joy. She had never thought that they would be
able to meet Shi Feng here. However, after a brief moment of joy, her
heart filled with anxiety.

After all, she could tell that the Falcon Legion was specifically
targeting the core members of Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was someone
important in Zero Wing’s upper echelon. He was sure to be one of the
Falcon Legion’s targets. If they found out Shi Feng’s identity, they
would immediately jump him for sure.

Every member of the Falcon Legion was an expert. Many in the legion were
capable of defeating Gunfire and Death Wind in a one-on-one. Among them,
the leading Assassin, Quirrell, was incomparably powerful, trouncing
even the experienced Death Wind in just a few moves.

Shi Feng would definitely end up in an extremely dangerous situation if
these eighteen experts surrounded him.

Just as Thoughtful Rain was thinking of a way to warn Shi Feng...

Seated atop the Demonic Flame Tiger, Shi Feng looked down at Quirrell,
who stood at the head of the team, and asked, "So you’re the ones
looking for trouble with Zero Wing?"

When Quirrell heard Shi Feng’s question, his expression suddenly
changed. He immediately understood Shi Feng’s objective. Moreover, he
was very certain that Ordinary Stranger’s and Thunder Tiger’s deaths had
something to do with Shi Feng.

"Kill him!" Quirrell abruptly retreated and activated Stealth.

Hearing his command, the members of the Falcon Legion sprang into
action. The three Shield Warriors of the team abruptly shifted to the
forefront, the healers retreated, the Assassins entered Stealth, and the
magical classes began chanting their Spells. Everyone reacted with
practiced motions.

"What is Big Brother Ye Feng trying to do?" Blue Bamboo could not help
but gape when she witnessed this scene.

"Let’s give him a hand. I’ll help open a path for him. Blue, you heal
him," Thoughtful Rain said hurriedly.

However, as the two of them rose from their hiding place, a gigantic
crimson magic array appeared on the ground where the Falcon Legion
stood.

This Skill was none other than the Aura of Fire’s Skill, Firestorm.

Suddenly, flames devoured the Falcon Legion. Despite the three Shield
Warriors of the team reacting very quickly and activating Shield Wall
the instant the flames appeared, when bathed in the violent flames, the
three of them still lost over half of their HPs in the blink of an eye.
Naturally, the other classes fared much worse.

By the time the flames dissipated completely, the entire area had turned
into a scorching hell.

Just like that, thirteen out of the eighteen players died.

All at once, the situation of the Falcon Legion took an abrupt turn.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 843 - Showing Off One’s Trivial Skills before a Master

At the sight of his companions reduced to ashes, Quirrell’s mouth
twitched slightly. This large-scale destruction Spell came all too
suddenly.

Evidently, Shi Feng had long since been prepared to cast the Spell while
he was approaching them. He had only voiced that question earlier to
tempt them into attacking him and draw them into his trap.

They did not have any time to evade this surprise attack at all.

If not for Quirrell being near the edge of the Spell’s coverage, he
would not have been able to utilize the brief invulnerability Wind Steps
provided to rush out of the flames in time. At this moment, he would
have most likely suffered the same fate as his thirteen other
companions.

"Leader, what should we do?" a Level 37 Elementalist asked softly.

"We’ll retreat!" Quirrell replied, gnashing his teeth. Although he
didn’t want to back off, since the man before them was capable of
defeating Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger, just the five of them
would not be able to do anything to him at all.

Previously, they had eighteen players on their side—enough hands to
activate a magic array to suppress their opponent. Now, however, that
plan was no longer viable. If they remained to fight, the only outcome
would be a complete team-wipe.

"Don’t think you can escape that easily."

Shi Feng smirked slightly as he looked at Quirrell and the others
gradually moving away from himself. With quick steps, he approached the
closest Level 37 Elementalist.

Previously, in order to survive his Firestorm, these players had already
used up all their Lifesaving Skills. It would be near-impossible for
them to escape him now.

"Don’t hold back when going up against him! I’ll pin him down! Ranged
classes support me!" When Quirrell saw Shi Feng approaching them like a
gale, he hurriedly activated his Berserk Skill, and his Attributes
increased by a large margin. He then used Shadow Steps to appear
directly behind Shi Feng and stabbed his fanglike dagger at Shi Feng’s
heart.

Absolute Strike!

This was the fastest and most powerful Skill of the Assassin class. In
addition to Quirrell’s flawless movements, there was practically no
time-lag between the activation of Shadow Steps and Absolute Strike. It
was simply impossible for ordinary players to guard against his attack.

Moreover, after Quirrell activated his Berserk Skill, the power and
speed of his attack were both boosted to inhuman levels.

The Elementalist at a distance also shot one Fireball after another at
the locations Shi Feng dodged to, his coordination with Quirrell
seamless.

The Ranger standing on the other side likewise sent a barrage of Frost
Arrows at Shi Feng, his attacks accurately targeting the Swordsman’s
vital points.

Looking at the coordination of the three players, even Thoughtful Rain
and Blue Bamboo, who rarely fought other players, could tell that their
enemies were very powerful. Immediately, panic appeared on their faces.

All at once, however, Shi Feng disappeared. Quirrell’s and the others’
attacks all struck air.

"Where is he?" Quirrell hurriedly observed his surroundings. Suddenly,
his eyes widened as he rushed at the distant Elementalist, shouting,
"Dodge, quickly!"

At this moment, Shi Feng had already appeared behind the Elementalist
using Silent Steps. He then violently swung the Sacred Sword in his
hand.

A streak of blue light flashed.

Dang!

Although the blue light was fast, when it landed on the Elementalist’s
body, it moved no further—as if it had struck an impenetrable wall.

Ice Barrier? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he looked at the
Elementalist, who was currently covered in a layer of ice. The
Elementalist looked just like an ice sculpture right now. Ice Barrier
was the strongest Lifesaving Skill of the Elementalist class, providing
the user with invulnerability for eight seconds. However, after
activating the Skill, the user would not be able to do anything else.
This Skill was extremely rare. Generally, finding one or two people who
had learned the Skill, out of 100 expert Elementalists, was unlikely.

Helpless against this Skill, Shi Feng could only shift his sights to
someone else.

However, just as he started searching for a new target, a blue magic
array appeared above his head. In the next moment, the rumble of thunder
echoed in the cave. Quirrell, who stood at a distance, also revealed a
cold sneer on his face.

This magic array was the result of him using a Tier 2 Magic Scroll,
Thunder Hell. Not only would the Spell deal a frightening amount of
damage to a certain area, but it could also prevent players within the
affected area from wielding any of their Skills. It was a Magic Scroll
that was meant to counter experts in particular.

"Die!" Quirrell shouted as he guided arcs of lightning to descend from
the sky.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

Arc after arc of lightning descended from overhead, turning a radius of
20 yards into a world of thunder and lightning. Any player caught within
the region of Thunder Hell would not survive. Only the Elementalist, who
had activated Ice Barrier beforehand, would remain unharmed by the
Spell.

"Hahaha! Team Leader is still the best!" the Ranger laughed proudly as
he looked at the flurry of lightning bolts crashing before him.

Players were fated to remain as only players. Even if they had extremely
high Attributes and combat standards, actual field battles did not rely
on just these two things. External tools still had great influence on
the outcome of a battle.

Even if Shi Feng possessed Attributes rivaling those of a Chieftain of
the same Level, if he could not use any of his Skills, he would
definitely succumb to the destructive power of a Tier 2 Spell with the
pitiful amount of HP he possessed.

Seeing the lightning storm devouring Shi Feng, Quirrell breathed out a
sigh of relief as well. Although Shi Feng’s Silent Steps had surprised
him somewhat, the latter must not have expected him to possess a Magic
Scroll that was meant to counter expert players. Only, this Magic Scroll
had a relatively long activation time. However, the Elementalist just
happened to earn him quite a lot of time.

"Alright, you guys are next." Quirrell then shifted his gaze towards the
distant Thoughtful Rain.

"Aaah!"

At this moment, the previously celebrating Ranger suddenly screamed as
numerous streaks of blue light bloomed on his body. The Ranger’s body
then collapsed to the ground, a piece of equipment dropping off his
body.

"How did you manage to escape?!" Quirrell’s eyes nearly fell out of
their sockets at the sight of Shi Feng standing behind the dead Ranger.
Moreover, the Swordsman was entirely unharmed.

"Do you think you’re the only one who has a Magic Scroll?" Shi Feng
smirked as he picked up the dropped equipment.

The appearance of Thunder Hell had indeed shocked him. Fortunately, he
always carried around plenty of Magic Scrolls when he went
out—especially the lifesaving Instantaneous Movement Scroll. Although
the Magic Scroll had a Cooldown of ten minutes, the scroll boasted
instantaneous activation. It was an item specifically meant to counter
Control Skills.

"Just who are you? Why are you targeting us?" Quirrell asked, his
complexion deathly pale.

However, while Quirrell was posing his question, he was also making
subtle gestures, signaling the two other Assassins in Stealth to circle
around and ambush Shi Feng.

The two stealthed Assassins nodded silently. They then began approaching
Shi Feng with light steps. Both of them were experts capable of melding
their actions with their environment. Even a top-tier expert would find
it difficult to discover them while they were in Stealth.

"Trying to divert my attention?" Shi Feng laughed as he shook his head.
He then turned around without any warning and used Thundering Flash.

Several arcs of lightning streaked across space. Immediately, two
figures emerged in the path the lightning arcs traversed. They were none
other than the two stealthed Assassins whom Quirrell had signaled to
before. At this moment, both their bodies fell to the ground abruptly,
both their HPs having already hit rock bottom.

Shi Feng had activated Omniscient Eyes as soon as the battle began.
Hence, he could see the two stealthed Assassins approaching him as clear
as day. He had only pretended not to notice them. However, now that they
were taking the initiative to present their lives to him, how could he
possibly refuse their offer?

"You..." Quirrell’s complexion darkened significantly when he saw this
scene.

"Alright, now you’re the only one left," Shi Feng said in a low tone.

"Only me?" Quirrell was inwardly confused. There was clearly an
Elementalist still present. Why would Shi Feng say that he was the only
one left?

In the next moment, a crimson dart appeared in Shi Feng’s hand. He then
threw the dart at the Elementalist stuck inside the ice.

Flame God’s Fury!

The instant the duration of Ice Barrier ended—before the Elementalist
could even react—Blazing Meteor had already appeared before him. Shi
Feng’s grasp on time had reached perfection. Right after, flames
devoured the Elementalist completely, reducing his body to a pile of
smoldering ash.

"Just who are you?!" Quirrell asked, fear painted across his face.

After he had set up so many traps, even the apex experts in his Guild
would have succumbed to death by now. Yet, as if he had been playing in
Shi Feng’s palm all this time, none of his traps had worked on Shi Feng.
Just thinking up to this point made his heart shudder in fear, a sense
of powerlessness spreading throughout his entire being.

"Do you have any last words?" Shi Feng asked softly, not bothering to
answer Quirrell’s question. Instead, he slowly walked towards the
Assassin, step by step.

For each step Shi Feng took, Quirrell unconsciously retreated by a step
as well.

Despite his Berserk Skill being active right now, Quirrell was not the
slightest bit confident he could win against Shi Feng. Meanwhile,
Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who were watching this scene, were both
stupefied.

"I am part of King’s Return’s Falcon Legion! Are you trying to make an
enemy out of King’s Return?!" Quirrell demanded, gnashing his teeth.

He did not wish to die. The Guild’s class competition was rapidly
approaching. If he died now, the loss in Level, equipment, and Skill
Proficiency would have a significant effect on his performance in the
competition.

Now, his only choice was to reveal his identity.

Previously, the reason they had concealed their identities was to avoid
letting Zero Wing take preventive measures against them. With their
identities unknown, their subsequent operations would flow much more
smoothly. Now that everyone except for himself had died, there was
naturally no need to continue hiding this fact.

Moreover, the stronger an expert was, the more knowledgeable they were
about how powerful Super Guilds were. If the opponent still dared to
make a move even after he revealed this fact, this person would
definitely be a fool.

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 844 - Field of Swords

"What? Don’t believe me?"

Upon seeing Shi Feng showing no signs of stopping, Quirrell hurriedly
took off his Black Cloak and displayed his King’s Return Guild Emblem.

This sight momentarily stunned Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo.

"Why is someone from a Super Guild targeting us?" Thoughtful Rain was
confused as she looked at the King’s Return’s emblem. She no longer
possessed her previous joy at seeing Shi Feng defeating the Falcon
Legion. On the contrary, she felt somewhat worried, instead.

Although she had come into contact with virtual reality games only
recently, she still knew just how powerful an existence a Super Guild
was.

In current society, virtual reality games had over a century of history
already. The Super Guilds of virtual reality games were just like major
celebrities. In the real world, one often saw news coverage of these
existences. Hence, it was difficult for one not to know about them.

Among them, King’s Return operated slightly differently from other Super
Guilds. The Guild would occasionally recruit expert players. Regarding
popularity, King’s Return greatly surpassed the other Super Guilds. One
could frequently hear news of certain powerful experts joining King’s
Return. Hence, Thoughtful Rain had a certain degree of understanding of
the Guild, and she knew just how wide the gap between Zero Wing and
King’s Return was. Whether it was in terms of member count or number of
experts, the two Guilds were on entirely different levels.

If a war were to break out between their two Guilds, it would be a
disaster for Zero Wing.

"No wonder you guys dared to take action against Zero Wing’s members in
Star-Moon Kingdom! So you’re a member of King’s Return." Shi Feng
finally understood what was going on. Because he had rejected King’s
Return’s previous offer, the Guild was now targeting Zero Wing’s core
members. However, he immediately smiled at Quirrell and asked, "But
don’t you know who I am?"

Saying so, Shi Feng stored away his Black Cloak and revealed his
original appearance.

"Ye Feng?!" Quirrell’s mouth slackened when he saw Shi Feng’s
appearance. He simply could not bring himself to believe this was true.

Ye Feng was not as famous as Zero Wing’s Black Flame and was an
existence known only among the major powers of God’s Domain...

But when speaking of strength...

Ye Feng was someone who had defeated Sirius, one of the Wolf Kings of
the Battle Wolves Guild. After the fight at the Dark Arena, King’s
Return had even created a database specifically for information on Ye
Feng. Quirrell himself had watched the battle video between Ye Feng and
Sirius, learning from it.

Hence, Quirrell recognized Ye Feng right off the bat.

However, although he had indeed recognized who his opponent was, his
complexion turned even uglier than before.

Damn it! Why is my luck so horrible! To think I would actually encounter
him here! At this moment, Quirrell was regretting the fact that he had
revealed his own identity. If he had not exposed himself, he might still
have a chance of surviving. Now, however, nothing he said would get him
out of this situation alive.

Although he still had his Vanish Skill, even if he was stupider, he
could tell that Invisibility Skills were useless against Shi Feng.
Otherwise, Shi Feng would not have struck at the stealthed Assassins
behind him without even the slightest bit of hesitation.

If even Stealth was ineffective, then wanting to escape in front of such
an expert was nothing more than a pipe dream.

King’s Return had done detailed research on that battle at the Dark
Arena and made a rough estimation of the Attributes of the two fighters
already. In terms of Basic Attributes, he was considerably inferior to
Ye Feng. Not to mention, speed was also one of Ye Feng’s strong points.

Quirrell’s face darkened at the sight of Shi Feng rushing over.

"Damn it! To think that I would have to use that opportunity now! I
definitely won’t forgive you, Ye Feng! I will definitely massacre every
core member of Zero Wing!" Quirrell bellowed. He then took out a purple
crystal ball from his bag while continuously spewing venomous curses.
"Just you wait! I, Quirrell, will definitely make you regret this day!"

In reality, the real reason he did not wish to die was the crystal ball
in his hand.

This item was something he had obtained unexpectedly after completing
one part of a chain quest. It was a one-time-use item. Moreover, it
could only be stored in his bag and would drop upon death.

This item could directly transfer its user to a special space. Based on
his research, that special space should be a sacred training ground
capable of allowing players to improve their combat techniques and
standards. Its effects should be even better than those of a Secret
Technique tablet his Guild possessed. This item was something he had
kept to himself.

Originally, he had intended to wait until he had grown stronger and had
hit a bottleneck before going to that special space, because based on
the information he obtained, that space was extremely dangerous. If he
went there too soon, he would only be wasting this opportunity. Hence,
he had always done things with great care, avoiding dangerous situations
as much as possible. He had never expected that he would actually be
forced to enter that special space due to the mission this time.

This crystal ball was his greatest opportunity to join the Guild’s upper
echelon. Now, however, Shi Feng ruined all of his plans.

How could Quirrell not be angry?

Suddenly, an endless amount of Mana rapidly flowed into his body. A
crack then appeared in the space behind him. Like a black hole, the
spatial crack sucked the Assassin towards it.

"You think you can get away?" Shi Feng smiled with disdain. He switched
the Aura of Fire to the Aura of Time and then activated Absolute Time.

Suddenly, the Mana within a radius of 100 yards stilled. The Mana
surrounding Quirrell’s body also dissipated abruptly. Following which,
the crack in space started mending itself.

"No!"

Quirrell was momentarily dumbfounded. In the next moment, his eyes
turned bloodshot as he abruptly executed unique footwork and transformed
into three identical copies of himself. These three copies then charged
at Shi Feng maniacally.

The three indistinguishable copies of Quirrell continuously circled Shi
Feng.

"Die!" All three Quirrells bellowed as they held their daggers in a
reverse grip and stabbed them at Shi Feng.

Like a black whirlwind, the pitch-black daggers struck at Shi Feng from
all directions.

Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who were watching this scene from afar,
were stupefied.

They understood clearly that the phenomenon of the black whirlwinds they
were seeing right now was not a result of a system-generated Skill.
Instead, it was the result of a combat technique used by the player
himself.

This was the first time they had seen such a situation. They were
utterly clueless as to how the Assassin had achieved such a feat.

Compared to Quirrell, the experts they had encountered before were
simply weaklings. It was no wonder Death Wind and Gunfire fell at
Quirrell’s hands in just a few moves. He was practically a monster in
human skin.

So he’s finally using his specialty, Whirlwind Strike? This sudden
development did not surprise Shi Feng. After all, Quirrell was no
stranger to him. In the past, Quirrell had been titled the Whirlwind
Assassin. Although he had not been particularly famous during the early
stages of God’s Domain, upon his promotion to King’s Return’s middle
management, he began improving rapidly. In the end, he had even managed
to become an Adjudicator of King’s Return. His strength back then had
been extremely overbearing.

Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng chose to activate Thunder God’s
Descent, which increased his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 150% and
damage dealt by 50%, as well as decreased all damage received by 50%.

Facing the stormlike dagger attacks, Shi Feng madly brandished his two
swords.

Immediately, sparks scattered as the clangor of metal clashing against
metal echoed throughout the surroundings multiple times.

Shi Feng had already reached the Void Realm. He had long since exerted
his five senses to their limits. He read his surroundings like an open
book. Even if it was an attack that was invisible to the naked eye, Shi
Feng could still clearly perceive it and execute a timely response.

In the next moment, numerous streaks of blue and silver lights bloomed
around Shi Feng’s body, forming an inviolable field. As long as the
black daggers entered this field, they would immediately get repelled.

Since Quirrell had his Berserk Skill activated, the Assassin was
superior to Shi Feng in Strength. Hence, Shi Feng would lose around 200
HP following each clash of their weapons. Fortunately, with Thunder
God’s Descent, Shi Feng still had a clear speed advantage, so none of
Quirrell’s attacks managed to penetrate his defense.

Aside from blocking all of Quirrell’s attacks, Shi Feng would also
occasionally strike back at the Assassin, reaping a large chunk of the
latter’s HP.

In reality, Shi Feng could have ended the battle instantly. However, he
wanted to improve his own techniques by fighting the Assassin. Hence, he
had not bothered using any of his Berserk Skills to increase his
Attributes.

How can this be?! Why can’t I hit him?!

The more Quirrell fought, the more fearful he became. Despite having
already activated his Berserk Skill, his Basic Attributes surpassing Shi
Feng, he could not break through Shi Feng’s defense no matter what. On
the other hand, Shi Feng managed to strike at his vital points time
after time, whittling his HP chunk after chunk until it finally zeroed
out.

As Quirrell fell reluctantly to the ground, he also dropped several
items.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 845 - Five Great Legacies

When Quirrell died, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who had watched
quietly from afar, were astonished.

When they looked at Shi Feng again, shock filled their eyes.

They felt as if the man before them was a stranger; this was the first
time they ever truly understood Shi Feng’s strength.

Those two were simply too strong!

Words alone were no longer sufficient to describe this level of
strength. This was the first time they had ever witnessed such an
intense battle. Their eyes had not been fast enough to keep up with the
combatants’ speed, let alone their bodies. If they had fought Quirrell,
the battle would’ve ended as soon as it had begun.

In the end, however, Shi Feng was still superior.

"Big Brother Ye Feng is so strong! If I had even half of his skill, I
could defeat Autumn Goose!" Excitement filled Blue Bamboo’s eyes as she
stared at Shi Feng.

Thoughtful Rain could not help herself from laughing when she heard her
friend’s words.

When they were usually out in the fields adventuring and questing, Blue
Bamboo was always lazy. She was never particularly interested in
fighting and would generally stay in the back to heal the members of
their party. Although they had advised her many times to brush up on her
combat techniques, she never bothered to do so. Instead, she usually
replied by saying that it would be fine so long as she had good
equipment and that she didn’t need good combat techniques.

Thoughtful Rain had never thought that the girl would be mesmerized by
this one battle’s combat techniques.

"Alright, enough daydreaming. Let’s head over there. It’s too dangerous
to stay here," Thoughtful Rain said, laughing.

---

She Feng began to collect his loot.

Naturally, an elite squadron from King’s Return, led by an expert like
Quirrell, possessed excellent equipment. Every piece of equipment they
dropped was Level 35 Dark-Gold quality. Each item was worth dozens of
Gold. In total, he had gained several hundred Gold’s worth of equipment.

"Huh? What’s this?"

While Shi Feng looked over the loot he had placed in his bag, he
discovered a glowing, purple crystal ball. Among the many weapons and
equipment that dropped, it was eye-catching. Moreover, Shi Feng felt a
faint hint of pressure from this crystal ball, a very familiar pressure.

Divine Might!

It was a special power that only Gods could wield.

"This is interesting." Shi Feng took out the crystal ball and observed
it carefully.

[Spatial Transfer Orb] (Consumable)

Able to send one player to a mysterious Otherworld. This item can only
be stored in the bag. Drops upon death.

There were very few items in God’s Domain capable of sending players to
an Otherworld.

Based on Shi Feng’s understanding, every item that could transfer
players to an Otherworld was considered an absolute treasure. Even an
Epic item was not as valuable.

In God’s Domain, an Otherworld was the equivalent of a Dungeon. Only,
this Dungeon was a lot larger than generic Dungeons. Otherworlds also
offered far more bountiful rewards.

The lowest reward one could obtain in an Otherworld was an Epic item.
Some people had even obtained Fragmented Legendary items in the past,
while others earned Super Skills and such. To put it simply, all of the
rewards one could gain in an Otherworld could significantly improve a
player’s strength.

It’s no wonder why he had tried so hard to live. He obtained a chance to
head to an Otherworld. I wonder what rank this Otherworld is? When Shi
Feng recalled the Quirrell’s deranged expression as the Assassin fought,
he could not help but chuckle. He would have fought desperately to live,
too. Quirrell hadn’t been particularly famous in King’s Return during
the early stages of the game, either. However, after joining the Guild’s
middle management, his progress had suddenly skyrocketed. It was as if
he had become an entirely different person. His progress might very well
be related to this thing.

There were many Otherworlds in God’s Domain. Based on the Main God
System’s categorization, Otherworlds fell into Common, Epic, and
Legendary rank, with each one being larger than the previous. Each rank
also offered players greater benefits. A Common Otherworld alone could
massively impact a player’s growth. By visiting a Common Otherworld, an
ordinary player could instantly become an expert. There was no need to
mention Epic or Legendary Otherworlds.

However, the majority of the Otherworlds in God’s Domain were Common
rank. Even so, many desperately wished to encounter one, but alas, many
failed.

In the past, when players had discovered Otherworlds, the various large
Guilds had frantically searched for clues relating to them in the hopes
of nurturing a large batch of their own experts. After all, there were
innumerable Guilds in the virtual gaming world. Not every one of them
could nurture their own experts. With such a golden opportunity
available, the various large Guilds could not let it slip through their
fingers.

In the past, a top-tier expert had sold an opportunity to go to an
Otherworld at an auction.

Although the Otherworld in question had only been Common rank, the
various large Guilds fought over it like a pack of wolves. In the end,
Summer’s Emerald, a first-rate Guild, had won the transfer tool for
15,000 Gold. Everyone who had participated in that auction had been
stunned. After all, during that time, a single Epic item had only sold
for around two or three thousand Gold. With that much money, one could
easily purchase five or six Epic items.

One could also use 15,000 Gold to purchase a good plot of Land. Yet,
Summer’s Emerald had used that money to purchase a Common Otherworld,
which was the equivalent of a single Epic item. Wasting so much money
was the epitome of foolishness.

Yet, nobody could have ever imagined that, in the end, Summer’s Emerald
would profit from the exchange.

The Guild had only obtained a single Epic Weapon, which was worth
roughly 6,000 Gold, from the Common Otherworld. That had been far less
than the money it had spent. However, thanks to the adventures in the
Otherworld, Summer’s Emerald had also gained a Void Realm expert. The
outcome had made many Guilds regret not fighting harder during the
auction.

From then on, transfer tools to Otherworlds became extraordinarily
precious.

Even Shi Feng, who had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, had
invested a long amount of time before he had gotten his hands on a
Common Otherworld transfer tool. Although he had not experienced
breakthrough during his visit, his combat techniques had improved
significantly.

What a strange transfer tool. It doesn’t have a rank displayed. Even
after observing with Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng had not discerned the
purple crystal ball’s rank. This was the first time he had encountered
such a situation.

However, although there was no rank displayed, the crystal ball reminded
Shi Feng of something.

Otherworld transfer tools.

This was a good option to cultivate Guild experts.

The general populace had yet to learn of Otherworlds. They were also not
well-known by the various large Guilds. Hence, none of the Guilds were
bothering to look for clues regarding Otherworlds.

Although Shi Feng only knew five or six clues, no one else had obtained
any of these Otherworld transfer tools. He could head out to search for
them. Once he obtained these Otherworld transfer tools, he might be able
to increase the number of Zero Wing’s Refinement Realm experts.

As Blue Bamboo walked over, her eyes practically shone as she looked at
Shi Feng. Patting her ample chest, she said, "Big Brother Ye Feng, it is
truly a blessing to meet you here! If not for you, Rain and I would have
suffered. From today on, I’ve decided to work hard to improve myself!
Big Brother Ye Feng, can you teach me how to fight, please?"

"I only hurried over here after hearing from Autumn Goose that you were
ambushed. Fortunately, I made it in time. It is a good thing that you
wish to learn how to fight. Unfortunately, as I am not a Cleric, I am
not particularly clear as to how Clerics should fight. However, I can
have Violet teach you. Her combat standard ranks at the very top of our
Guild." Shi Feng chuckled.

"Really?!" Blue Bamboo’s eyes flashed with excitement when she heard
this. She had only made the comment as a joke. She knew full well just
how busy Shi Feng was. How could he possibly have time to teach her?
However, she had not expected to get a chance to learn from her idol.
She felt as if she were dreaming.

"Of course. When have I ever lied?" Shi Feng nodded. "By the way, why
did you two come to the Crystal Forest? Didn’t you already finish your
quest?"

"We thought we had finished it. However, after I handed the quest in, I
received another special quest that requires me to collect a Crystal
Heart. However, we have yet to obtain it," Thoughtful Rain explained.

"Crystal Heart? What kind of quest is this?" Shi Feng was slightly
surprised. He knew how to obtain the Crystal Heart; one had to kill the
Crystal Wolf King. The quest was not easy to complete alone.

Thoughtful Rain then sent Shi Feng the quest details.

"How did you receive this quest?!" Shi Feng could not help his shock
upon reading the quest introduction.

The quest Thoughtful Rain had accepted was no ordinary quest. Rather, it
was one of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Five Great Legacy Quests.

The Witch’s Sin!

-   Prev Chapter
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Chapter 846 - Witch’s Sin

When Shi Feng read the quest introduction, he wondered if he had read it
wrong.

However, after reading it a few more times, he was 100% certain that
this quest was one of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Five Great Legacy Quests.

"Is this quest very difficult?" Thoughtful Rain asked when she saw Shi
Feng’s shocked expression.

"I can’t say for certain, but it should be more difficult than an Epic
Quest," Shi Feng explained. "Just for the first phase of your quest, you
have to kill the Crystal Wolf King to obtain the Crystal Heart."

There were many Legacies in God’s Domain.

However, in Star-Moon Kingdom, there were five Legacies know to be the
strongest. The Witch’s Sin was one of them. These Five Great Legacies
were all Peak Legacies. Unfortunately, there was no concrete method to
triggering any of these Five Great Legacies’ quests. It was highly
possible for one to trigger the quest after completing an ordinary
Quest.

Those who encountered these Five Great Legacy Quests were extremely
lucky. They were the system’s pampered children.

After all, Peak Legacies were extraordinary. As long as one succeeded in
their class change, they would improve their strength tremendously.
Until now, throughout Zero Wing, only Shi Feng and Violet Cloud had
managed to obtain a hidden class. One could just imagine how rare hidden
classes were.

However, stumbling upon one of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Five Great Legacies
and completing one were completely different matters. Most importantly,
there would be frightening consequences if one failed the quest after
accepting it.

Those who failed a Basic Legacy Quest would, at worst, be barred from
logging into the game for a certain amount of time. They could continue
challenging the quest once they were able to log back into the game. As
for Legacies that provided hidden classes[1], players only had one
chance. Failing these Legacy Quests usually resulted in a single death.
However, the punishment for failing the Five Great Legacy Quests was
extremely severe. Not only would one lose three Levels, but they would
also enter a Weakened state for ten days.

However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The worst part about
failing one of the Five Great Legacy Quests was that one would
permanently lose some of their Luck Attribute...

The Luck Attribute was a Hidden Attribute. Normally, it was difficult to
increase the Attribute by one or two points. If a player permanently
lost some of their Luck as a result of failing the Legacy Quest, it
would massively impact their performance in various aspects such as
their drop-rate when opening Treasure Chests and grinding monsters.

Due to this, the Five Great Legacies of Star-Moon Kingdom had been
extremely famous in the past. There was only a thin line separating
heaven and hell.

On the surface, they were known as the Five Great Legacies. Secretly,
however, players knew them as the Five Great Curses.

In the past, many players had obtained the Five Great Legacy Quests of
Star-Moon Kingdom. However, based on Shi Feng’s knowledge, Gentle Snow
was the only one who had completed one of the quests. He had never heard
of anyone else. One could just imagine how difficult the quests were.

Correspondingly, however, when Gentle Snow had obtained one of the Five
Great Legacies, she had risen to fame in God’s Domain instantly. In
field and Guild battles, she had killed plenty of top-tier experts and
had even killed apex experts. Unfortunately, she had suddenly
disappeared from the game, and the incident became one of God’s Domain’s
unresolved mysteries.

If Gentle Snow had not left God’s Domain, many people speculated that
she would have become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in Star-Moon Kingdom.
Many players could not help but sigh at how unfortunate the situation
was.

Hence, when Shi Feng saw that Thoughtful Rain had accepted the Legacy
Quest for the Witch’s Sin, he was both excited and worried.

"More difficult than an Epic Quest?" Thoughtful Rain’s eyes widened when
she heard this, and inwardly, she smiled bitterly.

Up until now, she had completed many quests in God’s Domain, so she
understood one thing very well. The more difficult a quest was, the more
difficult its punishment for failure would be. There was nothing good in
accepting a quest that was beyond her abilities.

A player would suffer if they failed an Epic Quest. If she failed a
quest that was even more difficult than an Epic Quest, she did not dare
to imagine the consequences awaiting her.

"There is no need to get too hung up about it. The quest has a time
limit of three months. You still have three months to grow stronger and
complete this quest. During this period, how do you feel about training
with the Guild’s main force?" Shi Feng asked.

Even Shi Feng didn’t know the finer details of the Five Great Legacy
Quests. However, since it was a Legacy Quest, Shi Feng was sure of one
thing: players had to rely on their own strength to pass the quest’s
final phase. If one were strong enough, it would not be too difficult to
complete the Legacy Quest.

Based on what Shi Feng remembered, Gentle Snow had completed her Legacy
Quest when she had reached the Flowing Water Realm.

As long as Thoughtful Rain could also reach the Flowing Water Realm, she
should have no problems completing the final test. At that time, Zero
Wing would have another player with a hidden class.

"I can join in the training?" Thoughtful Rain could not help her
surprise when she heard Shi Feng’s offer.

The treatment Zero Wing’s main force enjoyed was far from ordinary. The
Magic Crystals they received each day alone even made experts like
Autumn Goose drool.

One could use Magic Crystals to challenge the Trial Tower inside the
Divine Colosseum and improve their combat standards. The Magic Crystal
was an absolute hard currency. However, it’s supply was low, and it was
difficult to obtain even if one had the money.

Large Guilds would generally supply their main force members with around
three to five Magic Crystals each day. However, Zero Wing gave its main
force members 15 crystals per day. In other words, Zero Wing’s main
force members could challenge the Trial Tower up to 15 times each day.
Even the members of large Guilds could not catch up to their development
speed.

Moreover, based on what she had heard, Zero Wing’s main force members
also got to watch all sorts of battle videos. These battle videos
included expert battles that were not available on the internet. In
addition, they could also spar against top-tier experts like Fire Dance.

However, the most amazing part about being a member of Zero Wing’s main
force was the rumored Hundred Berry Wine.

Although she did not know the purpose of the Hundred Berry Wine, she
knew that even the main force members fought over this item like crazy.
Some were even willing to trade a large amount of Guild Contribution
Points and Magic Crystals for it. However, those who obtained the
Hundred Berry Wine would never trade them. Instead, they consumed the
beverage secretly. One could just imagine how valuable the item was.

"Big Brother Ye Feng, can I train with the main force as well?" Blue
Bamboo asked sweetly as she batted her eyelashes.

"Sure, but let me say this first: you two are only reserve members. If
you fail the exam three times, you’ll be kicked out of the team," Shi
Feng strictly informed the women.

"Thank you, Big Brother Ye Feng! When Autumn and the others hear about
this, they will die from envy!" Blue Bamboo could not help but giggle
when she thought about the benefits the main force members enjoyed.

"Right, how long will it take before you two are released from your
locked state?" Shi Feng asked.

"Roughly two hours," Thoughtful Rain replied after she took a look at
her status window.

Although their enemies were already dead, the Soul Lock debuff was in
effect. They were still stuck in a combat state and could not use a
Return Scroll to leave.

"Blue, have you learned the Dispel Skill?" Shi Feng asked Blue Bamboo.

Cleric’s Dispel Skill was not mainstream. Moreover, the Skill was
relatively rare. Very few Clerics had it. However, this Skill had a
miraculous effect when raiding certain Bosses.

Dispel could remove a positive buff from an enemy. To Bosses who loved
buffing themselves, this was the equivalent of yanking out their fangs
and claws. The Crystal Wolf King was one such Boss.

"Mhm. I bought one from the Auction House and learned it already," Blue
Bamboo said and nodded strangely.

"Good. Has it reached Tier 1 yet?" Shi Feng had dealt with the Crystal
Wolf King many times before. If one used a Tier 0 Dispel, at most, they
could remove a few Tier 2 buffs. Only a Tier 1 Dispel could remove buffs
from Tier 3 Skills.

"This... not yet. I don’t use this Skill very often," Blue Bamboo
answered awkwardly.

"Take these Magic Scrolls. When the time comes, use them before you use
Dispel," Shi Feng said. He then took out five golden Tier 1 Magic
Scrolls from his bag and handed them to Blue Bamboo.

These five Magic Scrolls were Spell Amplification Scrolls. Each one
could upgrade a Spell up to Tier 1.

"Big Brother Ye Feng, what am I supposed to do with these?" Blue Bamboo
was even more confused now.

"We’re getting ready to kill the Crystal Wolf King, of course," Shi Feng
responded casually.

"Kill the Crystal Wolf King?" Blue Bamboo was stunned. Thoughtful Rain
was also at a loss for words.

They had already seen the Crystal Wolf King. It was a Level 50 Great
Lord. With just the three of them, challenging it would be tantamount to
suicide.

However, ignoring the two women’s shock, Shi Feng retrieved two
contracts from his bag and began to chant an incantation.

"Emerge!"

Immediately, two Teleportation Magic Arrays appeared on the ground.

Following a flash of silver light, two figures, a man and a woman,
emerged from the two magic arrays.

These two were none other than Kite and Anna, Shi Feng’s Personal
Guards.

TL Notes:

[1]hidden class: Only the classes provided by Intermediate Legacies and
above are considered hidden classes, as mentioned in Chapter 378.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 847 - Strength that Surpasses Tiers

"NPCs?"

Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were surprised when Kite and Anna
suddenly appeared.

Both Kite and Anna radiated an intense aura.

They felt suffocated as they stood so close to these two NPCs.

After not seeing them for some time, they sure have grown a lot. Shi
Feng was quite satisfied when he looked at the handsome Kite and
charming Anna. Both are Level 60 now. As expected of Dark-Gold Guards.
Their growth rate sure is fast.

It was especially true for Anna’s improvement speed. Despite having
become his Personal Guard a little later than Kite, she had caught up to
her companion’s Level. Moreover, she had become a Tier 2 Summoner.

In God’s Domain, it was not that easy to nurture a powerful Personal
Guard.

First and foremost, one required a large sum of money!

As Personal Guards were NPCs, they required far more EXP to level up
than players. If players frequently brought their Personal Guards when
they went out to grind, this would only hold back the NPCs’ growth rate.

If players wanted to let their Personal Guards level up and improve
quickly, they had to let these Personal Guards accept quests at the
Adventurer’s Association on their own. However, money was required when
Personal Guards accepted a quest. Moreover, depending on the rank of the
quest, the fee would also change. Although these Personal Guards would
receive money, EXP, and other rewards after completing the quest, the
player would receive none of it.

This was because Personal Guards would use the money they earned to
purchase their own equipment and items. Unlike players, who had to
obtain powerful equipment by raiding Dungeons, Personal Guards could
purchase such items from the Adventurer’s Association or NPC-run weapons
and equipment shops. However, Personal Guards could only use the money
they earned themselves.

Hence, the first step to nurturing Personal Guards was to increase the
amount of money they possessed, and they had to complete a lot of quests
to obtain that money.

In the Adventurer’s Association, the quests Personal Guards could accept
were categorized into Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold,
Dark-Gold, and Epic rank. The higher the rank the quest was, the more
abundant the rewards were. Likewise, the fee players had to pay would be
higher as well.

Currently, a Level 60 Bronze Quest required an application fee of 5
Gold, 10 Gold for Mysterious-Iron, 20 Gold for Secret-Silver, 40 Gold
for Fine-Gold, 80 Gold for Dark-Gold, and 200 Gold for Epic.

As to whether the Personal Guard in question could complete the quest,
that depended on the Personal Guard’s strength. For example, a Bronze
Guard would have a 70% chance of completing a Bronze Quest, but they
would only have a 40% chance to complete a Mysterious-Iron Quest and 10%
chance for a Secret-Silver Quest.

However, one could increase a Personal Guard’s combat power through
their equipment, increasing their quest success rate. Unfortunately, one
needed time to gather the required resources.

However, Anna and Kite were different. Their innate potential was
Dark-Gold rank. Even in basic equipment, they had a 50% chance of
completing a Dark-Gold Quest. As long as their equipment was up to date,
their success rate for completing a Dark-Gold Quest could easily exceed
80%. After their strength reached a certain degree, they could even
challenge an Epic Quest.

Only, Epic Quests were not readily available. That depended on the daily
updates of the Adventurer’s Association’s quest list.

As Shi Feng’s Personal Guards could accept much higher ranked quests
than other players’ Personal Guards, their leveling speed was much
faster.

"Ye Feng, are we really going to deal with the Crystal Wolf King?"
Thoughtful Rain asked somewhat worriedly as she watched the
high-spirited Shi Feng.

Although the two Level 60 Tier 2 NPCs were very powerful, the Crystal
Wolf King was a Great Lord, an existence equivalent to a Tier 3 class.

"Relax. I’ve already investigated the Crystal Wolf King. The Boss’s
Skills are buff-oriented. As long as Blue casts Dispel on it, our forces
will be enough to take it down," Shi Feng explained, chuckling.

This was not the first time he had dealt with the Crystal Wolf King. The
Wolf King was powerful because of its speed. Even a top-tier MT of the
same Level would find it difficult to respond to the Wolf King’s
attacks. In addition, the Boss had a stackable Gain Skill that allowed
it to grow stronger the longer it fought.

If they did not deal with this Gain buff appropriately, they would be
annihilated.

However, if they dealt with the Boss’s Gain buff properly, with the
strength of two Dark-Gold Guards, they should have no problems taking
down the Crystal Wolf King.

Following which, Shi Feng led Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo to a cave.

A strong gale accosted the small team at the cave’s entrance. As they
stepped into the cave, they heard the howling of a wolf. The howl echoed
throughout the cave, causing the cave walls and floor to tremble.

In the next moment, a towering figure emerged from the depths of the
dark, spacious cave.

The figure stood over ten meters tall. Baring its snow-white fangs, a
hint of bloodlust flashed in the figure’s crimson eyes as it overlooked
Shi Feng’s group. The figure’s body was made entirely of crystals, and a
green glow flashed where its heart should have been.

[Crystal Wolf King] (Elemental Being, Great Lord)

Level 50

HP 21,000,000/21,000,000

"Kite, you’ll tank the Wolf King. Anna, you’ll act as support. Blue,
focus on healing Kite," Shi Feng immediately commanded.

As Shi Feng gave his orders, the tall and robust Kite transformed into a
gale as he dashed towards the Crystal Wolf King.

Kite only had 750,000 HP. Compared to the Great Lord, that was
practically nothing. The Crystal Wolf King swung its razor-sharp claws,
sending numerous streaks of silver light flying at the Sword Master. The
silver lights were so fast that no ordinary player would have time to
react.

However, rather than dodging, Kite unsheathed his two swords and
brandished his weapons.

Peng... Peng... Peng...

The Guard shattered the flying, silver lights.

Kite released a low growl, and the two swords in his hands released a
dazzling, blue glow. He then swung the weapons forward violently.

Tier 2 Skill, Wind Fang!

The two massive, blue fangs transformed into two streaks of light,
instantly piercing the Crystal Wolf King’s body.

"Aooo!"

The Crystal Wolf King screamed in pain and retreated by two steps, two
damages of over -100,000 points appearing its head. However, Kite was
not done with his attacks. Immediately, he appeared before the Great
Lord.

The Crystal Wolf King was furious. Baring its fangs, it swung its
massive paw at Kite so fast that one could only see black shadows move
towards the Sword Master.

Boom!

The earth shook.

However, the Wolf King’s paw never made contact with Kite’s body.
Instead, Kite blocked the attack with one hand. Kite then countered with
a slash towards the giant paw’s joint.

A streak of blue light struck the Wolf King’s paw, causing the Boss to
lose over 20,000 HP.

"Big Brother Ye Feng, your Personal Guard is so strong!" Blue Bamboo’s
eyes widened with surprise as she watched the fight.

She had seen many powerful Personal Guards before. However, all of the
Tier 2 Personal Guards she had seen had even struggled to deal with a
Lord, not to mention a Great Lord. They also required players’
assistance.

Yet, Kite could block this Great Lord’s attack with a single hand.

Shi Feng was similarly shocked.

He had never thought that Kite would be this powerful. The NPC had
already grown to be capable of withstanding a Tier 3 monster’s attack.
He even had slightly higher Strength than the Crystal Wolf King...

Only now did Shi Feng understand why those Super Guilds in the past had
been so desperate to obtain a Dark-Gold Guard. If Kite was this strong
right now, how powerful would he be when he reached Tier 5?

While Shi Feng watched, astonished, Anna, who stood a short distance
away from the Crystal Wolf King, also began to attack. When her chanting
came to an end...

Suddenly, a brilliant light filled the dark cave.

A massive, golden magic array had enveloped over half of the cave.
Anna’s aura also grew by multiple times. Even Shi Feng, who stood far
away from the Summoner, had trouble breathing in the dense aura.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 848 - Frightening Dark-Gold Guard

What is this Spell?

Shi Feng could feel the aura around Anna strengthening. Right now, it
felt as if a Tier 3 NPC was standing before him. This was the first time
Shi Feng had seen such a Spell.

Tier 3 NPCs were generally tasked to defend a city. Even in a major city
like White River City, they would be considered top-class individuals.
Players would find it difficult to meet one.

Shi Feng immediately called out Anna’s Skill Menu.

What?! She’s grasped a Tier 2 Curse already?! Shi Feng was extremely
shocked when he saw the list displayed on the Skill Menu.

Anna’s growth potential was incredible.

Previously, Shi Feng had checked Kite’s Skill Menu. Although the Sword
Master had learned quite a number of Tier 2 Skills, he had picked up
just one Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Moreover, he had obtained this Taboo Skill
only after completing many quests. In contrast, Anna actually already
possessed two Tier 2 Curses right now.

Moreover, one of them was even a Curse Shi Feng had never heard before.

Song of Summoning!

Not only would the Curse forcefully upgrade the caster to Tier 3
temporarily, but it would also summon a Golden Giant, a Tier 3 creature.

In the next moment, an endless amount of Mana began gathering at the
center of the golden magic array.

After roughly three seconds, the large supply of Mana condensed into a
Golden Giant over ten meters tall. The giant was fully equipped with
golden armor, and it carried a giant golden axe on its back.

[Golden Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord)

Level 60

HP 30,000,000/30,000,000

Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the Golden Giant.

Anna’s performance was simply terrific. Despite being only a Tier 2 NPC,
she was already capable of summoning a Tier 3 creature. Moreover, Anna
herself had also reached the standard of a Tier 3, albeit temporarily.
With this, dealing with a Tier 3 monster of the same Level would be
child’s play for her.

In the next moment, the Golden Giant charged at the Crystal Wolf King
and swung its golden axe. However, the speed of the Giant’s axe was not
particularly fast. As a result, the Wolf King managed to block the
weapon in time using its paw.

Boom!

The impact of the collision sent the Wolf King flying, and then its body
slammed heavily into the ground. The paw it defended itself with
trembled uncontrollably as well. At this moment, when the Wolf King
looked at the Golden Giant, its eyes were filled with fear.

Not only had the Crystal Wolf King gone flying from this frontal clash,
but it had also suffered over -5,000 damage from the resulting impact.
If the Wolf King had not blocked the Golden Giant’s axe, the damage it
received from the Golden Giant would have definitely exceeded the damage
Kite had inflicted.

A single Golden Giant was already more than enough to deal with the
Crystal Wolf King. After including Kite’s targeted strikes at the Wolf
King’s weak points, the Crystal Wolf King immediately fell into an
absolute disadvantage. In the end, it could only accept its fate,
serving as a punching bag.

It seems my plans were unnecessary. Shi Feng laughed involuntarily as he
looked at the Crystal Wolf King’s constantly decreasing HP.

He finally got to experience how those players had felt when they
obtained a Dark-Gold Guard of their own. Initially, he had still planned
on taking action himself. Now, however, it would seem that his plans
were utterly superfluous. If he were to join the fray as well, he would
be bullying the Crystal Wolf King.

However, he had to admit that it indeed felt awesome to have a Dark-Gold
Guard!

He could practically level up even while lying down and doing nothing.

Even if he were a player who did not know how to fight, he could simply
rely on his Personal Guard to help him level up.

It’s no wonder those players back then had invested all their money into
nurturing these Dark-Gold Guards. Shi Feng could not help but think back
to those players who had been lucky enough to obtain Dark-Gold Guards in
the past. It turns out that the difference in strength is actually so
massive.

Logically, if one possessed such a powerful guard, grinding, leveling
up, and earning money should be a piece of cake.

After all, Field Bosses were practically walking ATMs to players with
Dark-Gold Guards. Generally, Guilds would have to organize large
expeditions to raid these powerful Field Bosses. They even had to make
enormous sacrifices to take down these Bosses. On the other hand, the
only task players with Dark-Gold Guards had to do was search for Field
Bosses. They could leave everything else to their Personal Guards to
handle.

Even if it took two or three days to locate a single Field Boss, once
they killed the Boss, its loot would be all theirs for the keeping.
Their income would definitely be far above that of experts of God’s
Domain.

Yet, in the past, any player that possessed a relatively good Personal
Guard in God’s Domain was extremely poor.

This was because these Personal Guards were no different from a
bottomless pit. If the equipment and Skills of a Personal Guard did not
improve along with the increase in their Levels, then raiding Field
Bosses of the same Level would become much more dangerous. After all,
unlike NPCs, monsters didn’t need equipment. As long as their Levels
increased, their Attributes would increase significantly as well. In
contrast, a Personal Guard’s strength was not dependent on just their
Attributes. They also relied heavily on their equipment and Skills. They
needed to continually improve themselves in order to go up against
Bosses of the same Level.

When players died, at worst, they would lose a single Level and a piece
of equipment. However, the death of Personal Guards was different. Not
only would they lose many Levels, but their revival would also take a
very long time. Not to mention, the cost of reviving Personal Guards
could sting even top-tier experts. Hence, to reduce the possibility of
their guards dying, players in the past would try to increase the
strength of their Personal Guards as much as possible.

Time flowed by quickly. While under the observation of Shi Feng and the
others...

Since Blue Bamboo had dispelled all the Gain buffs cast by the Crystal
Wolf King on itself, its HP quickly fell to 30%. Right just then, the
Wolf King’s crimson eyes suddenly gave off a bloody glow, its
half-transparent crystal body gradually turning crimson as well.

"Blue, hurry up and use the scroll! Rain, you and I will join the
battle!" Shi Feng instructed hurriedly.

Once the Crystal Wolf King’s HP fell below 30%, it would stop using the
Tier 2 Buff Skill and start using the Tier 3 Gain Skill, instead. Just
the first stack of the buff could increase the Wolf King’s Strength and
speed by 10%, while subsequent stacks would further enhance its Strength
and speed by 10%, up to a maximum of 30 stacks. In other words, the
Crystal Wolf King’s Strength and speed could increase by as much as
300%. At that point, even a Grand Lord of the same Level would not be a
match for it.

Hence, they needed to finish off the Crystal Wolf King before things got
out of hand.

Only, its Gain buffs stacked up very quickly. It would gain a stack once
every 10 seconds. If nobody removed this buff, in just two minutes’
time, the Crystal War Wolf’s strength could rival a Grand Lord.

"Got it!" At this time, Blue Bamboo retrieved a Magic Scroll from her
bag and began amplifying her Dispel.

As the first stack of buff got removed, Shi Feng activated Heavenly
Dragon’s Power and began attacking from the Crystal Wolf King’s side.

Thundering Flash!

Chop!

Earth Splitter!

Thunder Flame Explosion!

...

One Skill after another landed on the Crystal Wolf King, each one
dealing around -10,000 to -20,000 damage to the Great Lord.

In contrast, Thoughtful Rain was not faring particularly well. The
Crystal War Wolf was an Elemental Being, so it possessed relatively high
Magic Resistance in addition to its own Defense. Thoughtful Rain’s
attacks very rarely dealt over -3,000 damage to the Great Lord.

When the Crystal Wolf King’s HP fell below 3,000,000, Kite executed the
Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Hurricane’s Descent. Anna also stopped holding back
as she cast the Tier 2 Curse, Judgment of Light.

A gray cyclone promptly appeared in the sky, and like a sharp blade, it
stabbed directly at the Crystal Wolf King. As for Anna’s Judgment of
Light, when she completed the Curse, it called forth a Battle Angel into
the battlefield. The moment the Battle Angel appeared, she threw a
sacred golden spear at the Wolf King.

Boom!

-1,045,137.

-1,274,646.

Instantly, two massive damages appeared above the Crystal Wolf King’s
head, forcing an agonized howl out of the Great Lord. The Wolf King then
fell to the ground, its body paralyzed. It had obviously suffered
massive injuries from the two attacks and entered a Weakened state for a
short period.

The tremendous amounts of damages thoroughly stunned Thoughtful Rain and
Blue Bamboo.

Naturally, Shi Feng would not let this golden opportunity pass. He
immediately activated Divine Providence followed by Flame Burst.

When he finished executing his fifteen consecutive attacks, the Crystal
Wolf King collapsed to the ground, its body completely motionless.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 849 - Alchemy Equipment

With the Crystal Wolf King’s death, everyone’s experience bars rose by a
large margin.

Shi Feng reached 41% of Level 40, while Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo
were now only 20% away from Level 40. They would have to grind for just
one more day, at most, to bridge this final gap.

However, compared to the EXP they obtained, Shi Feng paid much more
attention towards the Wolf King’s loot.

The Crystal Wolf King was the guardian monster of this map. Moreover,
this was the first time it had been killed. Its loot would naturally be
much more bountiful than usual.

Sure enough, among the ten items dropped, five were rare materials.

As for the remaining five, three were Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment and
one was the Crystal Heart that Thoughtful Rain required. With this
Crystal Heart, she would be able to proceed to the next phase of her
quest.

The Witch’s Sin was a Chain Legacy Quest with a total of five phases.
Unlike other Legacy Quests, where one simply had to obtain a Legacy tool
and activate it, the Witch’s Sin allowed one to enter its Legacy grounds
and undertake the final trial only after the completion of a series of
quests. It was much more troublesome than the Legacy Quests of other
hidden classes. However, it was also one of the easiest Legacies to
encounter.

Sure enough, the loot this time is good. Shi Feng smiled as he held up a
deep-blue crystal bottle.

This crystal bottle was neither a weapon nor equipment that combat
players sought. Instead, it was an item that was in demand among
Lifestyle players, particularly alchemists, because this crystal bottle
was Alchemy Equipment.

[Azure Ocean Crystal Bottle] (Alchemy Equipment, Secret-Silver Rank)

Increases the alchemy success rate by 5%.

Although the crystal bottle only increased the success rate of alchemy
procedures by 5%, for comparison, a complete set of Mysterious-Iron
Alchemy Equipment provided a total increase of only 8%. Meanwhile, the
complete Azure Ocean set could increase the alchemy success rate by 12%.
It was a set that was highly desirable even to Master Alchemists.

Although Shi Feng currently had only a single bottle, this item would
suffice to help an Intermediate Alchemist get promoted to Advanced
Alchemist quickly.

After reaching the Advanced Alchemist standard, an alchemist could begin
producing all sorts of rare intermediate potions such as the
Intermediate Fire Resistance Potion and Intermediate Ice Resistance
Potion—the value of these potions would skyrocket once the Eclipse Gate
opened. Unfortunately, the Candlelight Trading Firm simply had too few
Advanced Alchemists at the moment. Now that Shi Feng had obtained a
piece of the Azure Ocean set, it would help a lot in addressing this
problem.

After killing the Crystal Wolf King, Shi Feng did not remain idle.
Instead, he led Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo around the Crystal
Forest, killing Chieftains and Lords, using this opportunity to gather
the other set pieces of the Azure Ocean set.

Finally, around the time when the Soul Lock on Thoughtful Rain and Blue
Bamboo disappeared, he obtained an Azure Ocean Test Tube, which
increased the alchemy success rate by 3%, after killing a Lord ranked
Boss.

Shi Feng lacked just two more to complete the set. However, seeing as it
was getting late, he had to bring Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo back
to the city first. As for the remaining two set pieces, he could only
put off collecting them for the future.

---

White River City, at an open-air restaurant close to the Candlelight
Trading Firm:

Players and horse carriages constantly traveled down the street outside
the restaurant, every one of these players in a hurry to raise
themselves to Level 40.

All of this was due to the sudden appearance of a Mount in White River
City.

This incident had whetted the appetites of White River City’s players
for Mounts.

At the same time, the number of players trying to join Zero Wing had
further increased. Previously, everyone had considered Mounts to be just
another mode of transportation. However, after seeing the Demonic Flame
Tiger, everyone came to understand one thing...

Mounts could also assist players in battle. This was especially true for
a Mount like the Demonic Flame Tiger. Its mere presence was enough to
make one shudder. One could just imagine how much more help it could
provide in combat.

"That tiger Mount sure is cool. It would be great if I could have one as
well."

"Stop dreaming. Someone on the forums is offering to buy the Mount for
eight million Credits right now. Even so, many people are still
ridiculing that person."

"Ridicule? Why? That’s eight million Credits we’re talking about! If I
had that much money, I wouldn’t have to work for the rest of my life. If
I were the owner of the tiger Mount, I would definitely sell it!"

"Do you think that Mount is worth only eight million? Although some
Guilds have managed to get their hands on Mounts as well, those Mounts
are just Bronze rank, with very few being Mysterious-Iron rank.
Currently, rumor has it that the tiger Mount might be a Dark-Gold Mount.
If that’s true, it’s the highest ranked Mount currently known in God’s
Domain. Instead of it being just a Mount, it is a symbol of one’s
identity. Most likely, eight million Credits isn’t even worth 10% of
that Mount."

"These people are just insane. I’m having a headache just trying to earn
40 Gold. Who knows when I’ll be able to save up that much money? It
would be great if the Mounts were cheaper."

"Of course there is a cheaper alternative. A Guild Mount costs only 25
Gold. However, you’ll need to join a Guild with a Stable first.
Currently, Zero Wing is the only Guild in God’s Domain that has a
Stable. The number of players trying to join Zero Wing every day has
nearly filled up Zero Wing’s Residence to the point of bursting. If I
had known something like this would happen, I would’ve tried to join
Zero Wing sooner."

"Zero Wing really is amazing. Right now, even Super Guilds have yet to
construct their own Stables, but Zero Wing has done so already. In a few
years’ time, Zero Wing might even become a new Super Guild."

While the players on the street were busy chatting, a handsome young man
wrapped in a Black Cloak wore a gloomy expression on his face as he sat
in the open-air restaurant.

"Zero Wing sure is something. It’s no wonder they dared to oppose King’s
Return," the tall and beautiful woman seated beside the handsome youth
said, a faint smile on her face. "It’s been too long since our Guild has
made a move. It seems that people have started to forget how frightening
we actually are."

In the minds of ordinary players, Super Guilds were merely Guilds with
long histories and plenty of experts. They did not understand the truly
formidable aspect of Super Guilds.

The reason why Super Guilds were powerful was not because of their large
number of experts and vast resources, but more due to the quality of
their experts.

The Falcon Legion sent to kill the core members of Zero Wing was the
best proof.

The Falcon Legion was a legion of experts King’s Return had secretly
nurtured. Every member of the Falcon Legion could rank among the top
experts of a first-rate Guild. The more powerful members were even in
the Refinement Realm already. Going up against multiple top-tier experts
of first-rate Guilds at the same time would be a piece of cake for these
Refinement Realm experts.

Now, not only had King’s Return sent a 20-man team after Zero Wing’s
core members, but the Guild had also assigned Quirrell, one of the team
leaders of the Falcon Legion, to lead it. In addition, Ordinary Stranger
and Thunder Tiger even accompanied the team. Both these men were
Refinement Realm experts. With such a force, annihilating Zero Wing’s
core members would be child’s play.

Of course, King’s Return’s intention was not to exterminate Zero Wing
but to give it a warning.

"Hopefully, Zero Wing will learn their lesson after this little warning.
If they still dare to stand against me, their core members won’t be the
only ones to die next time," Hell Fiend stated, a cold glint flashing
across his eyes. "Sinned Heart has already departed from his Guild
Residence and is currently heading over. It should be time for us to
meet that Guild Leader of Zero Wing."

It would indeed be difficult for King’s Return to thoroughly exterminate
Zero Wing in one fell swoop. However, other methods could be used to
deal with the Guild slowly. The simplest way was to repeatedly kill the
upper echelons of the Guild. If the Guild’s upper echelons were
frequently killed, their deaths would negatively impact the growth of
the Guild. If the situation was prolonged, Guild members would lose
faith in their upper echelons. In the end, members would start quitting,
which would, in turn, weaken the Guild.

This was also the reason why the various Guilds were afraid of Super
Guilds.

Just as Hell Fiend was about to head to the Candlelight Trading Firm,
twenty cloaked players appeared before him. These twenty players were
none other than Ordinary Stranger’s group.

"Well? Did you finish the mission?" Hell Fiend asked softly as he looked
at Ordinary Stranger, who stood in the lead.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 850 - Hell Fiend’s Shock

"Why are you all quiet?" Hell Fiend asked sternly as he looked at
Ordinary Stranger’s team, which remained silent.

However, Hell Fiend’s follow-up question still failed to elicit a reply
from Ordinary Stranger and the others. Instead, their heads hung even
lower, their complexions becoming extremely gloomy.

"Did you, or did you not complete the mission? Have you all become
mute?" Hell Fiend asked suspiciously.

Whether it was Ordinary Stranger or Thunder Tiger, both of them were
usually chatterboxes. Yet, now, neither of them had uttered even a
single word. How could he not find this situation odd?

After a long period of silence, Quirrell finally stepped forward and
answered in a low tone, "We didn’t complete the mission."

"You didn’t complete the mission?" Hell Fiend was momentarily stunned.
He then looked at Quirrell and demanded in a deep tone, "Tell me exactly
what happened."

Following which, Quirrell and Ordinary Stranger made a full report to
Hell Fiend.

After hearing their recollection, Hell Fiend fell silent.

Praying Lotus, the beautiful Level 39 Oracle dressed in sacred white
robes who was standing beside Hell Fiend, also revealed an astonished
expression.

The reason for her astonishment was not because Quirrell and the others
had died. Instead, it was because of who had ambushed them. Although
Ordinary Stranger had guessed that the cloaked man was Black Flame,
Quirrell had personally seen the cloaked man’s true appearance, and he
could say with 100% certainty that their ambusher was Ye Feng.

Ye Feng was someone who had long since entered the list of "targets to
pay attention to" of Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. He was
ridiculously strong; even if Hell Fiend were to take action himself, the
outcome of the fight would be uncertain. Hell Fiend’s chances of
suffering defeat might even be higher than Ye Feng’s.

Hence, it came to her as no surprise that Ye Feng had killed Quirrell
and the others.

If this were normal times, she could still chalk it up to Quirrell and
the others having extremely bad luck. Unfortunately, things were not as
simple as just having bad luck, and this was the part that gave her and
Hell Fiend a headache.

The movements of the Falcon Legion were kept top secret; even Hell Fiend
himself had been in the dark. For the mission this time, only the 20
players on the team had known the details. Hence, before the team had
made its move, it was impossible for Zero Wing to have known about the
ambush. Moreover, when Quirrell and the others had taken action, they
had even used Soul Lock on their targets. Their ambush targets had no
way to get news out unless they died and logged out of the game.

As for Ye Feng appearing at that location by coincidence, that was also
impossible.

After all, Ye Feng had ridden around White River City on his Mount for a
long time, causing a huge commotion in the city. When Quirrell and the
others took action, Ye Feng had still been in the city. Hence, Ye Feng’s
appearance at the Crystal Forest was definitely no coincidence. It was
certain that he had only rushed to the rescue after finding out about
the incident.

However, just how far away was the Crystal Forest from White River City?

By the time Ye Feng arrived there—even with a Mount—the Falcon Legion
should have long since finished their targets.

Yet, that was not the case.

Not only had Ye Feng slaughtered the Falcon Legion, but he had even
managed to save his companions. The speed of his mobilization was simply
staggering.

This meant that dealing with the members of Zero Wing would be much more
troublesome in the future. If they were not careful, they might even end
up suffering a huge loss. However, they also could not afford to send
out their Guild’s apex experts. These people usually had their own tasks
to handle. How could they possibly have the time to play around with an
upstart Guild?

Moreover, if they really did dispatch these experts, doing so would turn
their Guild into a laughingstock for other Super Guilds.

"It’s no wonder even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is helpless against
Zero Wing. It turns out that they still have such a card to play. Good!
Very good!" Hell Fiend exclaimed, his mouth twitching in anger. This
move of Zero Wing had foiled his plans considerably.

"Hell Fiend, are we still going to meet with Black Flame?" Praying Lotus
asked.

Their initial plan had been to teach Zero Wing a lesson and let the
Guild know what kind of consequences awaited it should it offend King’s
Return. Now with the Falcon Legion’s defeat, they naturally lost their
deterrent against Zero Wing.

"Go! Of course, we’re going! If Sinned Heart thinks he can get that sum
of money, he can forget about it!" Hell Fiend declared, bloodlust
shining in his eyes. With a resolute tone, he added, "Since we can’t do
this subtly, we’ll just use force to convince Zero Wing! I don’t believe
an upstart Guild with no backing won’t submit to King’s Return!"

Saying so, Hell Fiend had Ordinary Stranger contact Zero Wing.

---

White River City’s Teleportation Hall:

Suddenly, several white flashes appeared inside the building as Shi Feng
and the others returned to White River City once again.

"What a pity! It would be great if we could continue grinding for a few
more hours," Blue Bamboo said in disappointment as she looked at her own
experience bar.

During their time following Shi Feng around, their leveling speed simply
left one speechless.

With two Personal Guards capable of overwhelming a Great Lord present,
dealing with those Chieftain and Lord ranked monsters was extremely
relaxing. The Crystal Wolves they slaughtered as they traveled around
the Crystal Forest also boosted their experience bars significantly.
Currently, she was only 5% away from reaching Level 40.

At most, she would need an hour’s worth of grinding to bridge that final
gap.

Level 40 was a relatively major milestone in God’s Domain. Throughout
their travels, Blue Bamboo had eyed Shi Feng’s Demonic Flame Tiger with
longing. Unfortunately, she had yet to reach Level 40, so she could not
even give riding Shi Feng’s Mount a try.

In God’s Domain, Mounts could generally carry two people at the same
time. If a Mount was of a sufficiently high rank, it could even
accommodate three people at once. A Dark-Gold Mount like the Demonic
Flame Tiger could bear a maximum of three people. However, the riders
had to be Level 40 or above.

After exiting the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng summoned the Demonic
Flame Tiger once again.

The Demonic Flame Tiger’s cool and massive body immediately attracted
the gazes of the passersby.

"I still have something to take care of, so I’ll be leaving first. If
you encounter any problems in your quest again, just contact me or Aqua
and the others," Shi Feng said as he jumped onto his Mount. He gave the
Demonic Flame Tiger a tap and then sped towards the Candlelight Trading
Firm.

After Shi Feng departed, the players on the streets promptly shifted
their gazes towards Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo.

"Are those two beauties members of Zero Wing?"

"I saw them talking to that Mount-riding person just now. Could that
expert be a member of Zero Wing?"

All sorts of ideas started popping up in people’s minds.

Many beautiful female players also started looking at Thoughtful Rain
and Blue Bamboo with eyes filled with envy and admiration. Although they
were acquainted with many experts, compared to Shi Feng, those experts
were simply noobs. On the other hand, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo
actually managed to make friends with an expert like Shi Feng.

"It would be great if I can get a Mount that’s as cool as Big Brother Ye
Feng’s. At that time, my classmates will definitely die of jealousy,"
Blue Bamboo said as she looked at Shi Feng’s departing figure
admiringly.

However, Thoughtful Rain, who stood beside Blue Bamboo, did not have
such thoughts in her mind. Instead, she was currently pondering how she
could go about improving her strength.

Shi Feng’s battles had truly widened her horizons. She had never
imagined that there would actually be such a huge difference between
players.

---

Candlelight Trading Firm, second-floor reception room:

"Hell Fiend, are you really going to do it?" Praying Lotus asked, a
frown on her face. "If you do so, we’ll suffer significant losses as
well."

"I’ve already said that I absolutely will not let Sinned Heart get that
money! If Black Flame is really resolute in opposing me, I will let him
know what regret tastes like! Let’s see if he thinks opposing me just
for a stranger like Sinned Heart is worth it or not!" Hell Fiend sneered
and nodded decisively.

As Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus were waiting quietly, the doors to the
room opened suddenly.

Shi Feng, who was currently in the guise of Black Flame, slowly walked
up to Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 851 - Book of Disaster

"So he is Black Flame?"

Hell Fiend began carefully observing Shi Feng as the Swordsman
approached him.

Although the general public did not have a clear grasp of Black Flame’s
strength, practically all experts from Super Guilds knew just how
powerful the man was.

Ranked 51st on God’s Domain’s Experts List.

Although the rankings on this list did not measure the exact strength of
an expert, they were still useful as a reference.

Someone ranked 51st on the list was unquestionably an expert who could
rank at the top in any Super Guild.

Moreover, the fact that Black Flame had managed to develop an upstart
Guild like Zero Wing to its current state showed that he was strong in
more than just fighting.

While Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus were observing Shi Feng, Shi Feng was
also observing the two.

Whether it was Hell Fiend or Praying Lotus, both of them had been very
famous experts in the past. It was especially true for Hell Fiend.
During the initial stages of God’s Domain, he had already become an
Adjudicator of King’s Return.

The title of Adjudicator was not just for show. It represented King’s
Return’s apex combat power. Even the weakest Adjudicator was a Void
Realm expert. In addition, there was also an age restriction.

Candidates for Adjudicator could not be over 30. In other words, no one
over 30 years old could take part in the exam to become an Adjudicator.

Hell Fiend had managed to become one at such a young age. Ten years
later, he had even become a Tier 6 Mage God that everybody knew of.

As for the female Oracle, Praying Lotus, she was similarly very amazing.

Although she could not compare to Hell Fiend, she had similarly been
promoted into one of King’s Return’s Adjudicators a year or so later. In
the end, she had even become a Tier 5 Red Priest. Her combat power back
then had reached the peak of Tier 5. She had been an existence that
countless experts looked up to.

Shi Feng had never imagined that the two people looking to talk to him
would be them.

"What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng asked in a deep tone as he
looked at Hell Fiend. "You can’t be trying to get me to give up on the
trade, right?"

"Actually, we are. The reason we’ve come looking for you this time is
indeed to have you give up on that exchange. If you give up now, our
previous agreement will still take effect." Hell Fiend nodded. He then
took out a tattered old book from his bag. Smiling confidently, he said,
"You can take a look at this thing here. If you are not willing to give
up on the exchange, it won’t be the Falcon Legion taking action the next
time. Instead, I’ll make use of this item. You don’t wish to see any
accidents happening to the Stone Forest Town that you’ve arduously
developed, right?"

This ancient book was very old. There didn’t seem to be anything special
about it. Its cover had long since been ruined. However, if one tried
hard enough, one could still make out the faint words written on the
book’s cover.

Abyss Summoning!

The instant Shi Feng saw these words, his heart involuntarily shook.

This book was a nightmarish item in God’s Domain. This book itself was a
disaster.

In God’s Domain, the human race was constantly at war with the Abyss.
However, it was not that easy for the Abyss to invade the continent of
God’s Domain. Abyssal monsters needed to travel through an Abyss Passage
to enter God’s Domain en masse.

It was extremely difficult to open an Abyss Passage.

Nevertheless, this ancient book could simply do so.

This ancient book was an item monsters from the Dark Abyss[1] had
specifically sent over. The reason for doing so was to have the people
residing on the continent of God’s Domain use it. The book would then
act as a marker that allowed abyssal monsters to open a passage to God’s
Domain much more readily.

The opening of an Abyss Passage would mean that endless abyssal monsters
would surge into God’s Domain. At that time, many kingdoms and empires
would fall to the invasion.

Shi Feng had never dreamed that Hell Fiend would actually possess this
item.

No wonder he’s so confident! So he still has such a trump card. Shi Feng
was momentarily at a loss for words as he looked at the ancient book on
the table.

If an Abyss Passage opened close to Stone Forest Town, it would indeed
bring about the destruction of the town. However, opening an Abyss
Passage was no laughing matter.

In the past, a player had similarly used one such ancient book to open
an Abyss Passage. The abyssal monsters that came out had ended up
destroying an entire kingdom and even spreading to several neighboring
kingdoms.

The Glory Empire was only a short distance away from Star-Moon Kingdom.
With the scope of the Abyss Passage, the Glory Empire would naturally
suffer from the invasion. In such a case, King’s Return would not escape
unscathed, either.

However, this ancient book had one more secret that was not mentioned by
the system.

"If you don’t mind losing Stone Forest Town, you can go ahead and trade
with Sinned Heart," Hell Fiend laughed.

This ancient book was extraordinarily precious. Originally, he had not
intended to use it for such a matter. After all, it could be used to
deal with other Super Guilds in the future. Now, however, with the
situation as it was, he couldn’t care less about wasting the book.

However, he did not believe that Shi Feng would be so foolish. How could
a measly five plots of Land possibly compare to Stone Forest Town?

Contrary to Hell Fiend’s expectations, however, Shi Feng shook his head
and said very seriously, "Sorry, but I still refuse. If you wish to use
this ancient book of yours, go ahead."

When Praying Lotus heard Shi Feng’s reply, she stared at him with an
expression of disbelief on her face. Thinking that the man did not
understand the severity of the situation, she hurriedly exclaimed,
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you have to think this through carefully!
That’s Stone Forest Town we’re talking about, not an NPC city! Do you
think you can fend off an endless wave of abyssal monsters?!"

This ancient book was extraordinary. Just the price to activate the
Abyss Passage would cost them significantly. It would be a complete
waste to use it on a small Guild like Zero Wing.

"I’ve considered this very clearly. If you don’t have anything else,
please leave. I still have many things I need to tend to," Shi Feng
said. Then he stood up and left.

At this time, both Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus were stunned.

A lunatic!

Black Flame clearly had a mental problem!

Or did he think they would not actually carry out their threat?

"Good! Black Flame, I applaud you! You are the first person to have
earned my admiration since entering the virtual gaming world! Since you
insist on doing so, I’ll fulfill your wish, then! I will definitely make
you regret your decision today, Black Flame!" Hell Fiend laughed
maniacally as he looked at Shi Feng’s receding back. "We’re leaving!"

Following which, Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus departed the Candlelight
Trading Firm.

"Guild Leader, will helping Sinned Heart really be worth it?" Aqua Rose
asked curiously as she looked at Hell Fiend’s departing figure.

She had watched everything that happened very clearly from a secret room
beside the reception room.

After all, two important figures from King’s Return had come. How could
the Vice-Leader of Zero Wing possibly be absent from this situation?

Although Sinned Heart was a good-natured person, they were merely
acquaintances. If Shi Feng were to abandon Stone Forest Town just
because of a promise, it would be the epitome of foolishness.

However, Aqua Rose also understood that it was precisely due to this
personality of Shi Feng’s that she had agreed to join Zero Wing back
then. If Shi Feng were someone who readily bowed to threats, he wouldn’t
have so many people placing their trust in him right now.

"Do you think I’m doing it just because of Sinned Heart?" Shi Feng could
not help but laugh. "If Hell Fiend really does open up an Abyss Passage
near Stone Forest Town, then I would have to thank him."

"Thank him? The Abyss Passage will call forth an endless wave of abyssal
monsters. How could Stone Forest Town possibly defend against so many
monsters?" Aqua Rose asked, confused.

"Gains and losses correspond in God’s Domain. That ancient book is both
a disaster and an opportunity. Just like an Epic Quest, while terrific
rewards are possible, the punishment for failure is similarly
terrifying," Shi Feng explained, smiling. "Hopefully, Hell Fiend doesn’t
disappoint me."

Hell Fiend could not know about the true secret of the ancient book.

This secret was something that players had found out only after God’s
Domain had experienced such disasters multiple times.

Shortly after Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus left, Shi Feng similarly
departed the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, to avoid attracting too
much attention, Shi Feng hailed an advanced horse carriage and headed
towards the Library.

Previously, due to Thoughtful Rain’s matter, he had not managed to deal
with the golden tablet’s quest. Now that he was done with that matter,
he naturally could not leave the tablet quest alone.

However, after arriving at the Library, before Shi Feng could head to
the entrance of the building, a beautiful figure suddenly intruded into
his path, blocking him.

Taking a closer look, Shi Feng discovered that the person blocking him
was actually Youlan of Underworld.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, you really are difficult to find. May I know
if you have time for a private chat?" Youlan asked softly, smiling as
she looked at the cloaked Shi Feng.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 852 - Sacred Grounds

"Your ability to find someone is really amazing," Shi Feng said.
However, his attention was currently not on Youlan. Instead, he was
surveying his surroundings. However, even after careful observation,
nothing in particular drew his eye. He did not detect anybody trailing
him.

Moreover, in a city, many players chose to wear a Black Cloak to avoid
exposing themselves. Hence, cloaked players were not an uncommon sight
in a city.

Despite that, Youlan had still managed to locate him.

At this moment, Youlan wore a set of luxurious purple robes, a glowing,
silver staff clasped in her hand. The staff had many runes engraved on
it, and Shi Feng could faintly feel the ambient Mana gathering around
it.

Youlan’s Level was similarly extraordinary. Currently, she was already a
Level 39 Summoner.

The current first ranking player on Star-Moon Kingdom’s Ranking List was
only Level 38, yet Youlan had already reached Level 39. Her leveling
speed was already on par with the experts of Super Guilds.

"Guild Leader Black Flame is overpraising me. Why don’t we find a quiet
place to sit down and have a chat?" Youlan revealed a meaningful smile.
"I have some intelligence that I know will certainly interest Guild
Leader Black Flame."

"Intelligence that will interest me?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh
when he heard Youlan saying so.

He had already mingled in God’s Domain for over a decade already. In the
past, he had even been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. The
information he had regarding God’s Domain far surpassed that of any
current player or Guild.

Right now, most likely, only the secrets gathered by Super Guilds could
possibly interest him.

"Isn’t Guild Leader Black Flame interested in the Holy City of Titan?"
Youlan asked as she revealed a confident and provocative smile.

"How do you know about the Holy City of Titan?" Shi Feng was greatly
shocked as he looked at Youlan.

The Holy City of Titan was one of God’s Domain’s major secrets. Even in
the past, not many players had known about the Holy City. It was a place
that independent players had no chance of ever visiting. Even those who
knew about the existence of the Holy City would not necessarily be able
to go there. Only an extremely few large Guilds were capable of visiting
it.

Generally, only first-rate Guilds and above had the ability to get to
the Holy City.

Although Shadow had been a second-rate Guild in the past, it was only
after joining hands with many Guilds, as well as having the powerful
Immortal Light Guild of that time taking the lead, that Shi Feng had
managed to get a glimpse of the Holy City of Titan.

The Holy City of Titan was originally a city where the Titans resided.
It was once an extremely powerful city, capable of going up against even
Gods. However, after the war between the Gods, the city had weakened
significantly. Even so, it was still much more powerful than the current
Four Great Empires of God’s Domain, and was roughly Blackwing City’s
match and greatly respected by the various kingdoms and empires of God’s
Domain.

However, the Holy City of Titan was different from Blackwing City.

Blackwing City was more of a place for players to conduct trade at.
Titan City, on the other hand, was a place meant for nurturing players.
It had been titled a sacred training ground by many players. The reason
for this was because the Mana density at Titan City was much denser than
in most locations in the outside world.

Aside from being a sacred training ground for combat players, Titan City
was also a sacred ground for Lifestyle players. Due to the excellent
environmental conditions there, Lifestyle players would have their
production success rates improved considerably. In addition, the chance
of obtaining Lifestyle designs at the grinding spots around Titan City
was much higher than at other locations.

Hence, many Lifestyle players yearned to visit the Holy City of Titan.

However, Titan City was not a place that just any player could visit.
Similar to Blackwing City, one needed to obtain a pass. However, the
drop-rate for Titan City’s pass was much lower than Blackwing City’s.
Moreover, only Level 30, 100-man large-scale Team Dungeons or above had
a chance of dropping the pass.

Although Shi Feng had thought of going to Titan City, until now, not a
single team in Zero Wing had managed to obtain a pass for Titan City.

In Shi Feng’s opinion, though, this was a very normal occurrence.

The drop-rate for that item was simply too low. Obtaining it in Level 30
or Level 40 Dungeons was practically impossible. Only after reaching
Level 50 would 100-man Team Dungeons have a slightly higher possibility
of dropping the pass. Even so, the probability was only one in one
thousand. In other words, one had to raid one thousand 100-man Team
Dungeons to obtain a pass to Titan City. Moreover, the drop-rate for the
pass was unaffected by one’s Luck Attribute.

Hence, Shi Feng had excluded the Holy City of Titan when thinking of
ways to nurture Guild experts. That method simply relied too heavily on
luck.

"It seems Guild Leader Black Flame really does know about Titan City.
That will make the following discussion easier." Youlan smiled. "I have
a pass to go to that place. Have I managed to catch your interest now?"

"You’ve got me." Shi Feng could not help but laugh. He had never
imagined that this woman before him would actually be so capable.

A pass to the Holy City of Titan!

The value of this item far surpassed that of an Epic Weapon. In the
past, some Guilds had even been willing to pay 20,000 Gold just for a
pass. Unfortunately, no Guild was willing to sell this item. After all,
the value of going to Titan City was far above 20,000 Gold.

Following which, Shi Feng followed Youlan to a high-class restaurant.
The restaurant was located in the Noble’s District, so the prices here
were way beyond the means of independent players. As a result, Shi Feng
and Youlan were the only players within the restaurant.

Inside a quiet VIP room on the second floor, Shi Feng and Youlan quietly
sat facing each other.

"Miss Youlan, I’m very curious. With Underworld’s power, you guys should
have a high chance of getting through the entrance trial. Why have you
come looking to cooperate with me?" Shi Feng asked curiously.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, surely you jest! Underworld has existed for a
long time already. Like those Super Guilds, the power structure inside
the organization is very complicated. Everyone has their own opinions
and motives. For example, Feng Xuanyang and I are under different
superiors. How could Underworld possibly compare to a straightforward
organization like Zero Wing?" Youlan laughed. "This Titan City’s pass is
something I just happened to chance upon. Nobody in the Guild has found
out about it yet. However, with my own abilities, it is very difficult
to get through the entrance trial. In addition, I only have three
chances to challenge the trial. I won’t gain anything if I fail all
three chances. Hence, I thought of asking for your help, Guild Leader
Black Flame."

"So that’s the case." Shi Feng found Youlan’s words readily convincing.
After all, if even Ouroboros had faced such problems, what more an
organization like Underworld? "Then, what kind of remuneration are you
prepared to give me in return for my help, Miss Youlan?"

"Since Guild Leader Black Flame knows of the Holy City of Titan, you
should also know of the value of a pass to the city. As long as we get
through the entrance trial, I’ll give 30 slots to you. How about it?"
Youlan said, gnashing her teeth in reluctance.

A single pass could allow a maximum of 100 players into Titan City.
However, the difficulty of Titan City’s entrance trial was very high.
With just her subordinates, she was unlikely to pass it. They needed the
help of several powerful experts. Otherwise, she would not be willing to
offer so many slots.

"That won’t do. I want half. I can’t help you if you don’t give me half
of the slots." Shi Feng shook his head.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, this is simply daylight robbery! I am only
trying to borrow a few experts from your Guild, yet you want half of the
slots. I might as well rely on myself to get through the trial if this
is your price," Youlan countered as she glared at Shi Feng. She had
never imagined that Shi Feng would be so black-hearted. If Shi Feng were
not someone known to keep his word, she would have long since sought out
other experts. Then, she wouldn’t have to give away any of her limited
slots. Just paying some Coins would suffice.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 853 - Entrance Trial

Youlan took a deep breath. In a very determined tone, Youlan said, "I’ll
offer five more slots at most."

Based on her investigations, Titan City was an excellent location to
nurture Lifestyle players.

Nowadays, the impact Lifestyle players had on the game was increasing.

The various large Guilds were all investing heavily in Lifestyle players
in the hopes of nurturing many more powerful Lifestyle players. It was
especially true for forging and alchemy Lifestyle players.

In addition, enchanting, tailoring, engineering, and other fields were
also becoming increasingly important in the game.

If she could nurture a group of high-ranking Lifestyle players, she
could use them to earn large sums of money in the future. Hence, every
slot to Titan City was of utmost importance, as these slots would become
the capital for stabilizing and elevating her position in Underworld.

"I believe that Miss Youlan should’ve challenged the entrance trial once
already. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come looking for me. So, I’m sure
you are very clear about how difficult the trial is. It is not a problem
that can be resolved easily with just a few more experts. If you fail
all three challenges, then the pass will automatically become invalid.
At that time, not to mention 50 slots, you won’t even get a single
slot." Shi Feng had no intention of changing his mind.

The slots to enter the Holy City of Titan were equally important to the
Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, the trading firm had many more
members to nurture. A meager 35 slots were far from enough. Even if he
missed out on this chance, at most, he would just have the Dark Gods
Legion and the main force raid more 100-man Team dungeons.

In the various NPC cities in God’s Domain, even in imperial capitals,
the only locations that could improve a Lifestyle player’s production
success rate were Workshops. However, Titan City was different. Aside
from Workshops, there were also Research Rooms meant for various
Lifestyle classes. Not only could these Research Rooms increase a
player’s improvement rate, but the production success rate increases
were much higher than even in Special Workshops.

As long as the Candlelight Trading Firm nurtured a large number of
Advanced Forgers and Alchemists, it would be able to produce many more
rare products, particularly Strengthening Devices and various items that
increased Fire and Ice Resistance.

Since the time Shi Feng left Blackwing City, the selling price of the
Strengthening Device at the Blackwing Auction House only increased and
never decreased. As long as the item appeared in the Auction House,
someone would immediately purchase it.

Previously, he thought that 2,000 pieces would be around the amount the
market could stomach. Now, however, it seemed that even the additional
3,000 pieces he had scheduled to sell would not be enough to satisfy the
market’s appetite. Even before these 3,000 Strengthening Devices sold
out, he had already accumulated over 30,000 Gold. He was earning far
more than his initial projections.

At this moment, Shi Feng could not help but wish he could make more
Strengthening Devices. Obtaining the design for the item was not much of
a problem. After all, he only needed to raid Level 50 or above Great
Lords to get them. With a godly Skill like Divine Providence, one out of
every handful of Great Lords he killed would definitely drop the design.
The problem was that, even if he managed to obtain a large number of
designs, the Candlelight Trading Firm did not have that many Advanced
Forgers to learn them.

"Are you absolutely confident of clearing the entrance trial?" Youlan
frowned. She had never imagined that Shi Feng would have such a deep
understanding of the entrance trial.

The difficulty of Titan City’s entrance trial was greater than even that
of a 100-man Team Dungeon. Otherwise, she would not have come looking
for Shi Feng. She would have long since monopolized the entry slots
herself.

"I won’t say absolutely, but I’m at least over 70% certain," Shi Feng
laughed.

He had visited the Holy City of Titan multiple times in his previous
life, so he was very familiar with the Holy City’s entrance trial. The
system set the difficulty of the trial based on the Levels of the
players undertaking it, so players would always feel that the trial’s
difficulty was the same, regardless of when they challenged it. Getting
into Titan City depended on the overall strength of the team.

With Zero Wing’s current strength and his understanding of the trial, he
was far more than just 70% certain of making it to Titan City.

Youlan fell silent upon hearing Shi Feng’s words.

Even with Underworld going all-out, its chances of getting through the
entrance trial was far from reaching 70%. Worse, if she were to attempt
it with just her own team, her success rate would be 20% at most.
Moreover, the pass gave only three chances to challenge the trial. She
had already failed once. If she relied on her own team, it was simply
impossible for them to get through it.

Indeed, just as Shi Feng had said, if she could not clear the trial,
then this pass of hers would be worth nothing.

Moreover, looking at Shi Feng’s calm and confident behavior, he did not
seem to be boasting.

Demand for Advanced Lifestyle players was continuously increasing
nowadays. The sooner she could nurture more Advanced Lifestyle players,
the greater the advantage she would hold in the future. She could not
afford to sit still and wait for her team to grow stronger.

In the end, Youlan could not help but sigh as she conceded, "Alright. As
long as you manage to clear the entrance trial, I’ll give you 50 slots.
However, I also have a condition. You need to clear the trial within
three days."

"Deal. I’ll have to make some preparations first. I’ll contact you when
the time comes." Shi Feng’s thoughts paralleled Youlan’s. The sooner
they entered Titan City, the better.

Moreover, many rare designs were obtainable only at the Holy City of
Titan and nowhere else.

Following which, the two of them established a contract between
themselves.

Shortly after Shi Feng left, an Assassin youth entered the VIP room.

Fully garbed in silvery-gray leather armor, this Assassin should be
roughly 18 or 19 years old, based on his appearance. However, his Level
was extremely high. He was actually Level 38—far beyond the reach of
ordinary experts right now.

"Big Sis Youlan, aren’t we giving Zero Wing a little too much? That’s 50
Advanced Lifestyle players we’re talking about. Who knows how much money
we’ll have to spend to nurture that many Advanced Lifestyle players?
Won’t it be fine if we look to Heaven’s Burial or the Star Alliance for
help, instead? These two Guilds aren’t beneath Zero Wing in terms of
strength. Moreover, we also wouldn’t have to pay such a huge price if we
employ their help." The Assassin youth was very furious about the
conditions Shi Feng proposed.

"The Star Alliance and Heaven’s Burial more or less possess a connection
with Underworld. If we get them to help us, the possibility of the
others from Underworld finding out about Titan City is very high.
However, we won’t have such a problem with Zero Wing," Youlan said,
shaking her head. "Besides, Zero Wing is filled with experts. They’ll
have a much higher possibility of clearing the entrance trial. Being
able to enter Titan City securely is much more important than saving a
few more slots for ourselves."

Although the Assassin youth did not make any further retort to Youlan’s
words, he inwardly still felt very dissatisfied.

Back when they had entered the entrance trial, they had all been
brimming with confidence.

They had all thought that the trial was just a small matter.

However, once the battle began, they found out that their thoughts had
been too optimistic.

The entrance trial was not something a 100-man Team Dungeon could
compare to. The two were on entirely different levels. Even if Zero
Wing’s experts challenged the entrance trial, the outcome would be the
same.

---

White River City’s Library:

After Shi Feng entered the Library, he immediately made his way to the
top floor of the building.

Compared to the last time he had come here, the security in front of
Star-Moon Hall was much stricter. Tier 3 Knights filled the place. Even
his identity as a Demon Hunter would not have gotten him entry into the
hall. If not for his identity as a Count of White River City, the most
he would have been able to do now was stand at the entrance of the hall.

Walking inside, Shi Feng was immediately greeted by the sight of the
white-robed Sharlyn sitting before a table and quietly observing a
floating crystal ball. Magic arrays encircled her as she radiated an
incredibly powerful aura. Even Shi Feng found himself paralyzed when
bathed in this aura.

A fourfold magic array?! An expression of disbelief appeared on Shi
Feng’s face. It would be understandable if this pressure he was feeling
was due to a Domain released by an NPC. However, Sharlyn did not have
her Domain out right now. This pressure he was currently experiencing
was only a side effect of the Mana gathered at the magic array. Just
what kind of Spell is this? It is actually this strong!

At this moment, there was an image displayed inside the crystal ball.
Meanwhile, this image was none other than the scene of the Blackwing
Auction House under the effects of Space Freeze.

The crystal ball had completely locked on to the appearance and aura of
the mysterious youth back then. His every action was clearly replicated
in the crystal ball.

However, when the mysterious youth vanished from Blackwing City, the
crystal ball suddenly cracked and shattered into countless tiny pieces.
In the end, the broken fragments of the crystal ball ignited into silver
flames before disappearing into nothingness.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 854 - Ancient Spell

"Soul Fire!" Shi Feng’s expression immediately tensed when he saw the
burning flame.

This was not his first time to encounter this flame.

Soul Fire was a flame capable of causing great damage to players,
inflicting extremely severe death penalties—even more severe than having
their Immortal Soul absorbed.

To put it simply, Soul Fire was a flame that players should avoid coming
into contact with at all costs.

As the crystal ball disintegrated into nothingness, the silver flames
immediately transformed into a leopard over two meters tall. Burning
silver flames covered the leopard’s entire body, and wherever its four
paws stepped, the stone floor underfoot became molten magma. Anyone
seeing this scene would feel their hearts shudder and would try to get
as far as possible from the silver leopard.

However, Shi Feng could not run away even if he wanted to.

The oppression of the fourfold magic array aside, the leopard itself was
an extraordinary Level 200 Mythic monster—the equivalent of a Level 200
Tier 4 NPC. Such a monster could instantly kill any current player.

Even if Shi Feng were at his peak during his previous life, the only
thing he could have done if he encountered such a monster was run away
as fast as he could.

Fortunately, this leopard formed from Soul Fire did not seem interested
in Shi Feng. Instead, its pitch-black eyes stared at Sharlyn, who was
lounging on a reading chair. In the next moment, the leopard transformed
into a streak of silver light as it pounced at Sharlyn.

The leopard was so fast that Shi Feng did not even manage to react
before it appeared in front of her.

"What a feisty little cat you are! I was just looking into your owner’s
movements, yet you actually came all this way to pick a fight," Sharlyn
said, eyeing the silver leopard pouncing at her as if she was just
looking at a cute little animal. Suddenly, her left arm turned into a
blur as she grabbed the silver leopard by the scruff of its neck.

In the next moment, something unbelievable happened.

The silver leopard, which was originally over two meters tall, actually
began shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye, until it was no
larger than a little kitten. No matter how hard it fought, it couldn’t
escape Sharlyn’s grasp. The only thing it could do was bare its tiny
fangs and swipe its puny paws at her while emitting threatening hisses.

Following which, Sharlyn took out a crimson crystal ball and did a short
chant. The silver leopard then transformed into a streak of light and
entered the crystal ball. Trapped inside the crystal ball, the silver
leopard still tried struggling, but its efforts were all for naught. It
couldn’t escape the bindings of the crimson ball.

Shi Feng was incomparably stunned as he witnessed this scene from a
distance.

Sharlyn had actually just played around with a Level 200 Mythic monster
as if it were a toy. Rather than a Tier 5 Red Priest, she seemed more on
the level of a Tier 6 God.

"So you’ve come." After Sharlyn was done dealing with the silver
leopard, her golden eyes slowly shifted towards Shi Feng. Smiling
faintly, she said, "After not meeting you for some time, I see that
you’ve landed yourself in yet more trouble. Before you have even dealt
with the matter of the Lord of Balrogs, you have earned yourself yet
another curse. I really don’t know whether you’ve been blessed by the
Goddess of Fate, or fancied by the Goddess of Misfortune."

"Cursed?" Shi Feng frowned. He then gave himself a thorough look as well
as checked his status window. However, he did not discover any
abnormalities with himself.

"Don’t bother. Ordinary mortals won’t be able to detect it." Sharlyn
shook her head lightly. She then walked up to Shi Feng. Stretching one
of her flawless fingers towards him, she began drawing one line of
divine runes after another.

Like golden ribbons, the glorious, golden divine runes wrapped around
Shi Feng. As the number of divine runes increased, the Mana fluctuations
surrounding him began weakening. After a short moment, his surroundings
were devoid of Mana.

This form of Mana nullification was different from the Silencing Skills
used by players, which only froze the flow of Mana. What Sharlyn used
thoroughly erased the existence of Mana.

With the absence of Mana in his surroundings, Shi Feng felt as if his
brain was suffering from oxygen deficiency. Momentarily, his vision
blurred a bit. His mind grew somewhat dizzy as well, his control over
his body dulling slightly.

But in the next moment, a silver chain with the thickness of a finger
appeared, extending from Shi Feng’s chest. When this chain went beyond
the Mana nullification field, it quickly became invisible once again as
if it had never existed.

"What’s this?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise.

This was his first time seeing such a situation. Moreover, with the
appearance of this chain, he could clearly feel himself continuously
weakening.

"This is your curse. This silver chain is a Soul Chain, and it is bound
to your soul. You can consider this a parting gift that mysterious youth
left for you when he escaped," Sharlyn said, her cherry-red lips hooking
up into a smile. Chuckling softly, she continued, "How about it? Are you
feeling a little anxious now?"

Shi Feng could not help but roll his eyes at Sharlyn. Even if he were
stupid, he could tell that this curse was no trifling matter. A single
mistake could very well send him to the Netherworld. Problems related to
the soul were the most frightening thing to players. After all, failure
to deal with such problems would not end with just suffering a simple
death. It was very likely that his entire account would be crippled. How
could he not feel anxious?

"Can this curse be removed?" Shi Feng asked.

In response, however, Sharlyn spread her hands in a gesture of
helplessness.

"Even you can’t remove it?" Shi Feng was far more shocked now.

Sharlyn was definitely one of the strongest NPCs he had ever encountered
in his entire gaming career in God’s Domain. If even such an NPC was
incapable of helping him, one could just imagine what a stinking pile of
trouble he had landed himself in this time.

"This thing here is a Soul Chain. It is a Super Spell that has been
passed down since ancient times. I am not a God, so how can I possibly
remove it?" Sharlyn rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. Snappily, she
continued, "However, you don’t have to fall into despair, either. There
are two methods to remove this curse of yours. The first method is to
remove the curse using force, while the second method is to kill the
person who placed this curse on you. Since you can’t remove the curse,
the only option left for you is to kill the person who had cursed you in
the first place."

Shi Feng was immediately rendered speechless.

He wanted to, but did he have this kind of ability?

Not to mention himself during his peak, even a Tier 5 apex expert would
have a small chance of defeating that mysterious youth. Most likely,
only Tier 6 God-ranked players would be capable of dealing with him.

However, God’s Domain was currently in its infant stages. There was not
a single Tier 2 player in existence yet. So, just where was he supposed
to find Tier 6 players?

"Relax, I’m not telling you to kill that youth yourself. With this weak,
little body of yours, a sneeze from that person would blow you into
smithereens. All you need to do is find his whereabouts." Sharlyn could
not help but giggle as she eyed Shi Feng’s slightly ugly complexion.
"Although I’ve used a Tracking Spell, that person is extremely adept at
hiding his trail. Even I can’t locate him. However, you are different.
The other end of the Soul Chain wrapped around your body is in his
hands. As long as you follow the Soul Chain, you will be able to locate
him easily. At that time, all you need to do is contact me."

System: Legendary Quest "Lost Magic" accepted.

Quest content: Locate the youth who has cursed you. Rewards unknown.

"But how will I find him? If I’m not inside this magic nullification
field, I won’t be able to see the chain at all." Shi Feng was inwardly
at a loss for words after hearing the very simplified system
notification.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 855 - Absorbing Soul Fire

Upon hearing Shi Feng say so, as if she had long since prepared for
this, Sharlyn promptly handed the crimson crystal ball with the silver
leopard inside it to him.

"With your current standard, sensing the Soul Chain is naturally
impossible for you. However, this thing here can help you," Sharlyn said
as she pointed at the imprisoned silver leopard. "This thing is a Soul
Beast formed using Soul Fire. As long as you absorb its Soul Fire, you
will naturally be capable of seeing the Soul Chain."

"Will I be able to control Soul Fire if I absorb it?" Shi Feng could not
help but grow excited as he looked at the imprisoned leopard. "But how
can I possibly absorb it? It’s a sentient Tier 4 being, not a Mysterious
Flame."

Soul Fire!

It was the nightmare of countless players.

Back at the Dark Den, Shi Feng had witnessed the Great Demon Knettel
using Soul Fire to instantly reduce Discipline Paradise to Level 0,
forcing the Guardian Knight to restart his progress in the game.

Meanwhile, Soul Fire could be categorized into two types: black
destruction and silver creation.

The one used by the Great Demon Knettel was Black Soul Fire, which
possessed frighteningly destructive power. As for the Soul Fire before
Shi Feng, it was of creation. Although it was not as powerful as Black
Soul Fire in terms of Attack Power, it possessed the ability to alter
and mend souls.

Both of these two flames were Mysterious Flames that were exceptionally
hard to come by.

As far as Shi Feng knew, no player had managed to control either kind of
Soul Fire, even after a decade had passed in God’s Domain.

If a player truly managed to control a Soul Fire, regardless of which
type it was, they would become the nightmare of all other players. They
would become an existence much more frightening than even a player
capable of absorbing Immortal Souls.

Now that Shi Feng had a chance to absorb such a flame, how could he not
get excited?

"Absorb a Soul Beast?" Sharlyn laughed involuntarily. "Are you tired of
living? With your body, aren’t you afraid of exploding? I’m having you
absorb only the Soul Fire this Soul Beast is releasing right now.
However, even if it is just radiated Soul Fire, there’s no way you can
absorb it with your current standard. The outcome will be the same even
though you possess an Immortal Soul. I do know another method that can
help you absorb the radiated Soul Fire. Only, you need to search for a
Mysterious Flame to do so. Moreover, it needs to be a Tier 2 Mysterious
Flame at the very least. Otherwise, you won’t be able to suppress the
power of the Soul Fire and will end up burned to ash.

"Hence, the only one thing you need to do now is find a bunch of Tier 2
Mysterious Flames. If you manage to absorb the Soul Fire, you will also
be able to weaken the corrosion effect the Soul Chain has on your soul.
That will buy you time to search for that mysterious youth. Otherwise,
with the current state of the Soul Chain, you only have another 27 days
before you become that person’s puppet.

"Well, there’s nothing to worry about even if you fail to find that
person. At that time, I’ll personally grant you relief, permanently
erasing you from this world. At the very least, you won’t have to become
that person’s puppet."

"I only have 27 days if I don’t have the weakening effect of the Soul
Fire?" Shi Feng frowned slightly. He had never thought that he would
have so little time. Who knew where that mysterious youth had gone to
hide?

After all, the place the mysterious youth had disappeared from was
Blackwing City. He could very well appear in any country in God’s
Domain. He might not even be in any country in God’s Domain. He might
have distanced himself far away from human society and traveled to a
remote place like the Top of the World.

God’s Domain was simply too massive. Even with a chain guiding him,
locating the mysterious youth in just 27 days was impossible.

"That’s right. Hence, you need to absorb Tier 2 Mysterious Flames or
above and absorb the Soul Fire as soon as possible. This way, you’ll
have a little more time." Sharlyn nodded. Very seriously, she continued,
"Alright, hurry up and go search for Tier 2 or above Mysterious Flames.
When you’ve managed to absorb one, come and find me. I’ll tell you how
you can absorb the Soul Fire."

"It’s fine as long as it is a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame?" Saying so, Shi
Feng summoned the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. A dark-blue flame immediately
manifested above his right palm, its appearance causing the ambient
temperature to decrease gradually.

To forgers and alchemists, Mysterious Flames were priceless treasures.
Unlike top-tier weapons and equipment, which could be obtained easily
through raiding Dungeons and Field Bosses or completing quests, one
needed to investigate every map carefully to locate a Mysterious Flame.
Finding one within a short span of time was not a feasible task.

Besides which, a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame was something capable of
inciting a great war between various large Guilds.

It was not something that could be found in just twenty-odd days. Even
Super Guilds would barely be capable of such a feat.

Fortunately, Shi Feng had known the exact whereabouts of the Ice-Blue
Devil Flame and had secured it for himself as soon as possible.
Otherwise, this quest would truly be his doom.

Thinking about it now, he had indeed made a wise decision to secure the
Ice-Blue Devil Flame back then.

When Sharlyn saw the deep-blue, burning flame, an expression of surprise
appeared on her face.

"The Ice-Blue Devil Flame, a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame. This is a flame
that only places filled with death are capable of producing. Just how
did you manage to obtain it?" Sharlyn asked, greatly surprised as she
looked at Shi Feng.

"I just happened to discover it when I was traveling by the Hundred
Ghost Forest." Shi Feng gave a casual reply.

"You really have been blessed by the Goddess of Fate. The Hundred Ghost
Forest was cursed by the legendary Black Witch. That Black Witch was a
considerably amazing existence—and only a step away from becoming a God.
The curse on the Hundred Ghost Forest might not be a problem to a
weakling like you, but to powerhouses, that place is an absolute
forbidden ground due to the curse." Sharlyn could not restrain her
laughter. "Since you already possess the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, then you
indeed possess the qualifications to absorb the Soul Fire.

"There are two things you need to do when absorbing the Soul Fire. The
first thing is control the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and have it wrap around
the radiated Soul Fire. You need to envelop the Soul Fire completely.
There must not be even the tiniest of leaks. If you fail to do so and
get contaminated by the Soul Fire, even though you are a heaven-blessed
individual, you will similarly suffer.

"The second thing you need to do is the most crucial part when absorbing
the Soul Fire. After you have completely contained the Soul Fire, you
have to absorb it into your body. Afterwards, you need to fuse the
Ice-Blue Devil Flame with the Soul Fire. However, the Soul Fire is too
strong. The fusion needs to be a certain ratio. If the proportion of
Soul Fire is too high, the merged flame will damage you. If it is too
low, you won’t be able to display the power of the Soul Fire. Balance is
a must. As for how to achieve that balance, you will have to depend on
yourself for that.

"I will set up a magic array to carry out this fusion for you. While
inside this magic array, you’ll have an easier time guiding this fusion.
Once you grasp that sensation, you’ll have a much easier time wielding
the Soul Fire’s power in the future."

After saying so, Sharlyn began reciting incantations as her hand drew
line after line of divine runes continuously.

A short moment later, the several thousand lines of divine runes drawn
transformed into a golden fourfold magic array, brightly illuminating
the entire hall.

"Alright, give it a try," Sharlyn said as she pointed at the golden
magic array on the ground, an exhausted cast to her face. Evidently,
forming this fusion magic array had not been as easy as she made it
look.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 856 - Basic Control

Star-Moon City, Teleportation Hall:

A group of cloaked players suddenly appeared inside the building.
Standing at the head of this group were an uncloaked young man and
woman. The instant these two appeared, they immediately attracted the
attention of many players.

"Aren’t they Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus, experts of King’s Return?"

"Why would they appear here?"

"As expected of a Super Guild. Their levels and equipment are simply too
amazing. Both of them are fully equipped in Level 35 Dark-Gold
Equipment. That staff Hell Fiend is carrying is actually Epic ranked.
The difference between us is just too massive. I wonder when I’ll be
able to wear a full set of Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment?"

"Could King’s Return be looking to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom?"

Experts of King’s Return were practically bigtime celebrities in the
virtual gaming world. Not to mention, neither Hell Fiend nor Praying
Lotus had bothered to hide the special effects of their equipment.
Hence, many players quickly managed to determine the ranks of the two’s
equipment, which immediately prompted a discussion among the onlookers
as they cast envious gazes at the two experts.

Currently, mainstream players had yet to reach even Level 35. Only the
elite players of large Guilds had mostly attained this level. Being able
to have a complete set of Secret-Silver Equipment was also a very
amazing achievement already, yet these two experts from King’s Return, a
Super Guild, had already reached Level 39. They even sported the current
best weapons and equipment from head to toe.

An Epic Weapon. This was definitely the first time these ordinary
players had seen such an item. There had been no news of such a weapon
appearing in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. One could just imagine how
frighteningly powerful a Super Guild was.

Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus paid no attention to the looks they were
receiving as they walked directly towards an outgoing teleportation
array.

"Hah, look who it is." Hell Fiend came to an abrupt halt, his gaze
shifting towards an Elementalist waiting to use a teleportation array.

"Hell Fiend? Why are you here?" The Elementalist youth also noticed Hell
Fiend. Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, his expression
immediately darkened as he asked, "Could you be trying to threaten Zero
Wing?"

"Sinned, it seems your luck is quite good. You actually managed to find
a trustworthy ally. However, don’t celebrate too soon. Your fate has
long since been determined. Nothing will change no matter how much you
struggle," Hell Fiend sneered in disdain. He then turned away and left.

"A trustworthy ally?" Sinned Heart hid his confusion as he looked at
Hell Fiend’s departing figure. "Could Zero Wing have rejected Hell
Fiend’s offer?"

He had never seen Hell Fiend lose his composure to such an extent
before.

Inwardly, he breathed out a sigh of relief. The goodwill he felt towards
Zero Wing also increased significantly. Not many people would dare to
resist King’s Return, much less offend the Super Guild, just for a
stranger.

"Hell Fiend, are you really going to use the ancient book?" Seeing Hell
Fiend’s hurried steps, Praying Lotus anxiously advised, "Don’t let your
anger get to your head. Even if you utilize the ancient book’s power,
Sinned Heart will still get that sum of money. At that time, you will
have wasted the true value of the ancient book."

"Of course, I know this. Lotus, do you actually think I’ve let my anger
overwhelm me? I haven’t forgotten our primary goal in coming here.
Although I said I was going to utilize the ancient book’s power, when
did I say that I was going to use it on Stone Forest Town?" Hell Fiend’s
mouth hooked up into an evil smile. "At that time, whether it is Black
Flame or Sinned Heart, both of them will suffer."

"You’re not using it on Stone Forest Town?" While Praying Lotus was
happy that Hell Fiend was not letting his anger get the better of him,
his words also confused her.

Stone Forest Town was Zero Wing’s treasure trove. If they destroyed the
town, they could undoubtedly deal Zero Wing a severe blow, wiping away
one of the Guild’s major advantages in Star-Moon Kingdom.

But if Hell Fiend was not planning on using the ancient book on Stone
Forest Town, just what was his intended target?

"You’ll see when the time comes." Hell Fiend smirked.

---

Inside White River City’s Library, Shi Feng continued to try to fuse the
Ice-Blue Devil Flame and the Soul Fire. However, the difficulty of
merging two Mysterious Flames was extremely high. Despite numerous
attempts, Shi Feng still ended up with only failure.

The first step of wrapping the Ice-Blue Devil Flame around the small
bundle of Soul Fire was no problem for Shi Feng. At this point, Shi Feng
could control the Ice-Blue Devil Flame like an extension of his arms and
legs. Shi Feng had already reached the Void Realm, so his perception
towards his surroundings was already flawless. Hence, completely
containing the Soul Fire was a walk in the park for him.

However, the second step, which was the fusion of Mysterious Flames, was
extremely difficult.

Fusing the flames in the correct ratio was many times more challenging
than threading a string through a needle hole.

It was meaningless if Shi Feng fused too little Soul Fire with the
Ice-Blue Devil Flame. However, if the proportion of Soul Fire was even a
tiny bit too much, it would scorch him. At that time, not only did he
suffer excruciating pain, but he also fell into a Weakened Soul state,
causing his Basic Attributes to decrease. Each time he got burned by the
Soul Fire, he would lose 1% of his Basic Attributes. Although 1% was not
much, after numerous failures, the accumulated amount was still very
frightening. Currently, he had already failed 34 times in a row, which
diminished his Basic Attributes by 34%. Fortunately, this reduction was
not permanent, only temporary.

Even so, he would have to wait two natural days to recover fully.

This really is difficult. After experiencing many failures, Shi Feng had
more or less identified the ratio required to maintain a balance.
However, knowing the fusion ratio was one thing. Accurately fusing the
flames in correct proportion was another thing altogether. In the
future, if he had to go through a similar process to utilize the Soul
Fire without the assistance of the fusion magic array, the difficulty
would be more than ten times higher.

For example, if his permitted margin of error with the magic fusion
array was at 0.1%, then without it, his margin of error would only be
0.01%. It would be significantly more difficult for him to utilize the
Soul Fire’s power. After all, players were not machines. They couldn’t
achieve such precision. It was the same even if Shi Feng’s brain
activity had already improved substantially.

Only now did Shi Feng understand why, even after a decade had passed in
God’s Domain, despite there having been a few God-ranked experts who had
managed to obtain Soul Fires, not a single one of them had managed to
truly control the Soul Fire they had. If he was already having so much
trouble controlling just a strand of the Soul Fire’s power, just how
difficult was it to completely control the Soul Fire?

However, after going through so many attempts, Shi Feng had also gained
something else.

And that was control!

Before this, Shi Feng had only been focused on improving his control
over his own body and the surrounding environment, always thinking of
ways to push his five senses to their very limits. However, he had
always done so through actual life-and-death battles. He had never truly
calmed his heart.

He had never noticed before, but now that he was paying attention he
realized that his previous way of controlling his body and the
surrounding environment seemed somewhat barbaric. Previously, he had
been just like a sprinter, constantly placing an ultra-high load on his
body while he fought. His control had no smoothness or flexibility
whatsoever. However, after experiencing the fusion process multiple
times, his control over his body had subtly improved. He could now
extend and retract his power much more smoothly and naturally than
before.

This unexpected benefit overjoyed Shi Feng.

He had never imagined that he would gain such a bonus from combining two
Mysterious Flames.

With the continuous improvement of his control, Shi Feng finally
succeeded in merging the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and Soul Fire on his 45th
try.

System: Congratulations! You have gained basic control over the Soul
Fire. You are now able to utilize the basic abilities of the Soul Fire.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 857 - New Class

Hearing the crisp sound of the system notification, Shi Feng let out a
deep sigh of relief.

He was supposed to challenge the Holy City of Titan’s entrance trial in
three days. If his Attributes had decreased any further, he would have
to wait until he had fully recovered from the Weakened Soul state before
he could do so.

He did not wish to miss out on this opportunity to visit the Holy City
of Titan.

With 50 slots to enter the Holy City, he could get quite a number of
Intermediate Alchemists and Intermediate Forgers promoted to Advanced
rank. If he let this opportunity slip by, who knew how much time and
resources he would have to expend to nurture so many Advanced Lifestyle
classes? Moreover, with these new Advanced classes, he could greatly
increase the production volumes of Strengthening Devices and Ice and
Fire Resistance items.

In the current God’s Domain, the importance of Lifestyle players was
increasing by the day.

For example, large Guilds such as first-rate Guilds initially nurtured
their own Lifestyle players. Now, however, in order to increase their
competitiveness, these Guilds had now begun to recruit Lifestyle players
as well. Moreover, the conditions they offered were exceedingly
munificent. Currently, even ordinary Lifestyle players received benefits
equivalent to those of Guild elite members. If their standard was
sufficiently high, they could even receive a core member’s treatment.
This situation was something unimaginable a few weeks ago.

As a result, players who originally intended to rely on field combat to
get by in God’s Domain had started considering switching careers and
becoming a pure Lifestyle player, instead. After all, playing a
Lifestyle class had its own benefits. Only, the status of Lifestyle
players was not particularly high previously, and the treatment they
received had only been subpar at best. Hence, most players would
generally choose to fight monsters. Now that the situation had changed,
players who did not excel at combat were exploring various Lifestyle
classes.

With the large influx of Lifestyle players into the market, the
competition between Lifestyle players had intensified further. The
number of Advanced Lifestyle players was also much higher than before.
If not for the Candlelight Trading Firm having a massive advantage like
the Special Workshop, which allowed it to attract and nurture plenty of
talents, the trading firm would not have been able to maintain its
position as Star-Moon Kingdom’s number one trading firm.

Although Shi Feng had long since anticipated this situation, he had
never imagined that it would happen so quickly.

Without the advantages the Candlelight Trading Firm had accumulated
before, as well as its possession of popular and exclusive products, the
trading firms run by other large Guilds would have surpassed it already.

Based on Melancholic Smile’s latest report, the Heavenly Trading Firm
opened by Heaven’s Burial was growing the quickest. In just a short
dozen days or so, Heavenly Trading Firm had become one of Star-Moon
Kingdom’s Six Major Trading Firms. Recently, it even surpassed
Overwhelming Smile’s Overwhelming Trading Firm to become the second
largest trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom.

It was also precisely because of this demotion that Youlan was in such a
hurry to enter Titan City.

After all, when judging the strength of a trading firm, aside from
products and traffic, the crucial factor would still have to be the
number of Advanced Lifestyle players it had.

"Not bad. Now that you have basic control over the Soul Fire, you should
have a much easier time searching for that person," Sharlyn said as she
walked over to Shi Feng. After thoroughly sizing him up, she nodded and
added, "Unfortunately, with just basic control over the Soul Fire, you
can only weaken the effects of the Soul Chain slightly. At your current
state, you have roughly 54 days to find that person. However, as your
control over the Soul Fire improves, the weakening effect it will have
over the Soul Chain will also increase, and you’ll gain more time to
find that person."

"How can I improve my control over the Soul Fire?" Shi Feng asked
curiously.

Although he could tell that he had only basic control over the Soul Fire
and hence still had room for improvement, the Soul Fire’s introduction
made no mention of how he could improve his control.

"Simple, look for other Mysterious Flames and absorb them. The Soul Fire
is no ordinary Mysterious Flame. The power of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame
can only allow you to exert the Soul Fire’s power to this extent. If you
wish to improve, you’ll need more Mysterious Flames to suppress the Soul
Fire. The higher the Mysterious Flame’s Tier, the better. However, Tier
2 is the bare minimum," Sharlyn explained.

"I need more Mysterious Flames to improve?" Shi Feng was immediately
rendered speechless.

Mysterious Flames were not Bronze Equipment. They were far from easy to
obtain.

There were indeed many Mysterious Flames located within Star-Moon
Kingdom. There were even several just within the region of White River
City. However, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was the only Tier 2 Mysterious
Flame Shi Feng knew the whereabouts of. He had no clue where to find the
other Tier 2 Mysterious Flames.

Although Shi Feng knew of the whereabouts of a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame,
that place was a secret location. Moreover, it was not somewhere a
player of his current standard could go to at all. At the very least, he
needed to reach Level 60 or 70, as well as achieve his Tier 2 class, to
obtain that Tier 3 flame.

With just 54 days, accomplishing such a feat was simply impossible.

It seems I’ll have to have Aqua notify the Guild members to gather
information on a few Mysterious Flames as soon as possible, Shi Feng
thought to himself.

A Legendary Quest was no laughing matter. Shi Feng also did not think he
was capable of finding the traces of that mysterious youth in his
current state. The mysterious youth’s strength exceeded Tier 5.
Moreover, seeing as the quest provided him with a way to extend its
duration, this indicated that this quest was not one he could currently
complete.

Just the difficulty of locating and obtaining a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame
was no lower than an Epic Quest’s.

Based on the statistics players had collected on God’s Domain in his
previous life, an Epic Quest took anywhere from a few days to one or two
months to complete. For Legendary Quests, however, players could take
anywhere from two or three months to even three or five years to
complete.

The system’s main goal right now was to have him delay for time. If he
could not locate a sufficient number of Mysterious Flames and failed to
delay for enough time, it would be equivalent to him failing the quest.
In the end, he would become someone’s puppet. At that time, his only
option would be to delete his account and start all over again.

This was the frightening aspect of Legendary Quests. It was not
something an Epic Quest could possibly compare to.

Following which, Shi Feng shook the thought of the Legendary Quest out
of his mind and calmed himself. He then began testing out the power of
the Soul Fire.

In the next moment, a silver flame appeared in each of Shi Feng’s dark
pupils. The feeling he gave off also changed abruptly.

Previously, when Shi Feng intentionally hid his aura, he appeared to be
as calm as the great ocean. When he was not hiding it, the feeling he
gave others was like an unsheathed sword, sharp and domineering. Now,
however, even though he had made no attempt to draw in his aura, he had
an air about him that was similar to an iceberg’s, silent and cold. One
would shiver inadvertently when bathed in this aura. Not a hint of
emotion could be found within Shi Feng’s eyes. There was only cold
rationality present. It was as if nothing in the world could affect his
composure right now.

Is this the power of the Soul Fire? Shock filled Shi Feng’s heart as he
observed his surroundings.

Previously, when he activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the Mysterious
Flame only increased the damage of his fire- and ice-type Skills.
However, when he activated the Soul Fire, although he did not receive
any improvements to his damage or Attributes, his mind felt calm like
never before, to the extent that he even found it frightening.
Currently, everything in the world was just like data to him.

Aside from absolute calm, the world before Shi Feng had also become
silver and white. He could see no other color through his eyes.

Meanwhile, in this world of silver and white, he could see the Soul
Chain wrapped around his body very clearly. He could also see it
extending out of the hall and beyond.

Just as Shi Feng was thinking of testing this newfound power of his, the
sound of a system announcement entered his ears.

System Announcement: A new expansion pack, "Abyss Invasion," has been
triggered. The Twin Towers Kingdom has been assaulted by the Abyss, and
abyssal monsters have begun invading the surrounding countries. When the
time comes, players can participate in the Abyss War. After accumulating
a sufficient amount of Merit, players can class-change into a new class.

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 858 - Fallen City

When the system announcement appeared, every player in God’s Domain was
stunned.

There was nothing surprising about the launch of a new expansion pack.
After all, this was not the first time something like this had happened.

However, the mention of a new class piqued everyone’s interest. A new
class being offered as a reward showed that this new class undoubtedly
possessed an advantage other classes did not.

If they managed to class-change into this new class, they might receive
warm welcomes from the various large Guilds, just like those who managed
to obtain hidden classes.

This thought tempted a lot of players. Very quickly, many began planning
to travel to the Twin Towers Kingdom to hunt abyssal monsters and earn
large amounts of Merit.

---

Meanwhile, at the Twin Towers Kingdom’s Snow Field City...

At this moment, hordes of abyssal monsters, both in the air and on the
ground, surrounded Snow Field City completely.

The strength of these monsters varied, their Levels ranging between 50
and 200. What current players could do against these monsters was very
limited.

Fortunately, Snow Field City possessed a defensive magic array that
could easily envelop the entire city. As a result, the horde of abyssal
monsters could only roam outside the boundary of the magic array and
continuously bombard it with attacks.

The sound of explosions echoing throughout the entire city instilled
fear and despair in the players there.

"Can this magic array really hold?"

"This is an NPC city’s magic array. It should be able to. Otherwise,
what will we players be able to do against those monsters?"

Just as the players inside Snow Field City were debating about the
city’s defensive magic array...

Kachik.

A crack suddenly appeared in the magic array above the city.

Along with the appearance of this crack, the magic array also began
destabilizing.

"Not good! The magic array is collapsing!"

Nobody knew which player shouted, but these words triggered a stampede
as the players on the street fled for their lives. Every one of them
rushed towards the city’s Teleportation Hall in an attempt to leave Snow
Field City.

After all, these abyssal monsters were different from the ones found in
the Abyss Battlefield. The abyssal monsters in the Abyss Battlefield
were orderly, sorted based on their Levels, and players could choose
which area to go to, depending on their own strength. Now, however, even
monsters with Levels in the triple digits mixed in with Level 50
monsters.

With just their strength, the players would be killed instantly, losing
a Level.

The hardships of leveling up were the pain of all players. Nobody wished
to die a pointless death. They would have to spend several days
recovering from such a loss.

"Hahaha! Let’s see what Sinned Heart will do in this situation!" Seated
in the largest open-air restaurant of Snow Field City, Hell Fiend
laughed with great joy as he overlooked the entire city, a delighted
look on his face.

Immortal Light’s base of operations was Snow Field City. If the Guild
wanted to earn large sums of money, it could only do so at Snow Field
City.

If Snow Field City were to fall to the abyssal monsters, the loss would
not only uproot Immortal Light’s foundations but also drag down the
value of the city’s Lands. Nobody would want the Lands here anymore.

Even if Zero Wing kept its word and was willing to purchase those five
plots of Land, how much could the Lands of a city captured by monsters
possibly be worth?

However, the thing that made him feel happy the most would still have to
be the scope of the Abyss Summoning. Not only did it cover the entire
Twin Towers Kingdom, but it also affected several neighboring countries,
including Star-Moon Kingdom in the west. The Abyss Summoning would
definitely impact Star-Moon Kingdom’s eastern region—which also happened
to be Zero Wing’s territory. At that time, Zero Wing would similarly
suffer, losing all the advantages it had piled up to the abyssal
monsters.

"Hell Fiend, we should leave as well. That magic array won’t last for
much longer," Praying Lotus said hurriedly as she looked at the
gradually collapsing magic array in the sky.

"Relax. As long as you’re by my side and neither of us actively attack
those abyssal monsters, they won’t try to attack us," Hell Fiend said
nonchalantly.

Using the Abyss Summoning, he had opened an Abyss Passage. As a reward
for his efforts, he had obtained a strand of the Abyss’s power.

To others, the abyssal monsters might be extremely dangerous. To him,
however, these monsters were practically his allies.

---

White River City’s Library, Star-Moon Hall:

The system announcement was repeated three times, the contents of the
announcement resonating in Shi Feng’s ears.

Hell Fiend activated the Abyss Summoning in the Twin Towers Kingdom? Shi
Feng was slightly surprised.

Originally, he had thought his provocation would prompt Hell Fiend to
use the incomparably precious ancient book on Stone Forest Town. He had
never thought that the Elementalist would give him such a surprise. Now,
it would be somewhat difficult for him to take advantage of the
situation.

The Abyss Invasion indeed posed an enormous threat to the country the
invasion occurred in. Players residing in said country wouldn’t even be
able to level up normally. They would be forced to give up the leveling
spots they were familiar with and head to safer locations, instead.

However, this invasion was also an excellent opportunity for players to
earn large amounts of Merit.

Merit could be used to exchange for large numbers of magic array and
siege tool designs, as well as to increase Guild Popularity
significantly. It also provided players with a huge opportunity with
class-changing into a new class.

This new class was known as the Demonblade Knight. Not only was it a
class that possessed the characteristics of a Berserker, making it
extremely strong in melee fights, but it also had ranged attacking
capabilities. Although the Demonblade Knight was neither a match for the
Berserker class in a melee nor a match for Rangers and Elementalists in
a ranged battle, the combination of these two modes of attacking
increased the class’s survivability in battles significantly. After all,
in both field battles and Dungeons, Bosses boasted a wide array of
attack patterns. Dealing with these Bosses with just a single mode of
attack was not easy.

Players who loved to fight both in a melee and at range would choose
this class without hesitation.

"Just who is the fool who actually dared to open an Abyss Passage!" At
this moment, Sharlyn’s complexion had turned extremely ugly, a wrathful
flame burning in her eyes. Shifting her gaze to Shi Feng, she said, "I
have some matters I need to deal with. If you manage to absorb another
Mysterious Flame, you can come here to look for me."

After saying this, Sharlyn immediately disappeared from the spacious
hall.

"It seems someone is out of luck." Seeing Sharlyn disappear, Shi Feng
could not help feeling some pity for Hell Fiend.

How could the power of the ancient book sent from the Abyss be that easy
to obtain?

God’s Domain was fair.

Although the ancient book could grant a player power, this power came
with its own risks as well. It would be fine if an NPC of the human race
did not catch the player who had used the ancient book. The consequences
of capture, however, would not be one bit inferior to the penalty for
failing a Legendary Quest.

Shi Feng couldn’t care less about the trouble Hell Fiend had just landed
himself in, though. After all, he still had to thank him. Without these
abyssal monsters, the members of his Guild wouldn’t have the opportunity
to class-change into a Demonblade Knight.

Following which, Shi Feng quickly left the Library and hurried back to
Zero Wing’s Residence.

Although he had previously received news that Sinned Heart was already
waiting for him at the Residence, he had wanted to absorb the Soul Fire
as soon as possible. Hence, he had not gone to meet with him right away.
Now that he had gained basic control over the Soul Fire, it was about
time for him to meet up with Sinned Heart.

---

Zero Wing’s Guild Residence:

"How could this be?!"

Inside the reception room, Sinned Heart was currently walking around
aimlessly, a very ugly expression on his face. His thick eyebrows were
tightly knitted together, his heart filled with anxiety. This was
especially so after he received the message from his Guild, which
notified him that Snow Field City had already fallen into chaos. Many
players had died horrible deaths at the hands of the abyssal monsters,
and Snow Field City was no longer a place where players could reside
now.

Upon hearing this, Sinned Heart sank into deep despair.

If Snow Field City had already fallen into such a state, then the Lands
of the city might as well be worth nothing.

Just as Sinned Heart was trying to figure out a solution to his problem,
Shi Feng entered the reception room.

-   Prev Chapter
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Chapter 859 - Design of Astronomical Value

At this moment, Shi Feng was using his original appearance instead of
disguising himself as Black Flame.

When Sinned Heart saw Shi Feng walking over, even his usually calm self
grew slightly nervous.

His reaction wasn’t just because of the matter of Snow Field City.
Rather, it was due to the massive pressure he felt from Shi Feng like
nothing before.

The last time he had met Shi Feng, he could clearly sense a hint of
danger coming from the Swordsman that made him feel as if he was
standing before a ferocious beast. Now, however, instead of danger, he
felt relaxed while standing in Shi Feng’s presence. He could not feel
any threat coming from the Swordsman at all.

Sinned Heart had experienced many things since childhood, so he was very
knowledgeable about one thing.

The true danger was not the one that could be perceived but rather what
could not be perceived.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Shi Feng apologized. "Let’s go carry out
the exchange right now, then."

"Brother Ye Feng, I wish to change the contents of our exchange. Will
that be alright with you?" Sinned Heart said, having given the matter
some thought.

"Change the contents of the exchange?" Shi Feng feigned surprise. "What
changes do you wish to make?"

"I believe Brother Ye Feng must have already heard about what happened
in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Currently, you could say that Snow Field
City is already finished. The Land there has naturally become worthless
as well. Brother Ye Feng, you’ve treated me so sincerely all this time,
so I naturally can’t take advantage of you," Sinned Heart said. He then
took out a tattered, old drawing from his bag and unfurled it on the
table. "I’ve never told anybody about this item before. Originally, I
had planned on using it to make a comeback. Now, however, I wish to sell
it to you."

At Sinned Heart’s tense expression, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the
drawing on the table.

"Engineering Locomotive!" Shi Feng could not help his surprise.

There were three major fields of expertise in God’s Domain, namely
forging, alchemy, and engineering.

Under normal circumstances, engineering did not play a particularly
large role. However, as the level of expertise of engineers rose, the
variety of items they could produce, which were of great importance to
players, also increased. As a result, the value of engineers would also
grow.

One of the reasons why engineering became popular in Shi Feng’s previous
life was the need for Mounts.

Mounts played an extremely crucial role in a player’s life in God’s
Domain. However, Common ranked steeds were simply too ordinary, both in
terms of appearance and performance, and could not satisfy the needs of
the general populace. Moreover, many players were independent, so they
couldn’t obtain a Guild Mount. Acquiring a Mount through other means was
also very difficult. As a result, engineering Mounts became extremely
valuable.

Engineering Mounts could be categorized into multiple ranks, with the
lowest being Bronze rank, and the highest reaching Dark-Gold rank.
However, the design for a Dark-Gold Mount was almost as rare as a
Legendary item. The materials needed to produce it were also extremely
rare, making it difficult to mass-produce the Mount.

However, a Bronze Mount was different. Although the design for it was
similarly very hard to obtain, the materials needed to produce it were
not particularly rare. As long as one had a sufficient number of
Advanced Engineers, one could definitely mass-produce Bronze Mounts.

Meanwhile, the design before Shi Feng just happened to be the design for
a Bronze Mount.

Only Field Bosses had a chance of dropping this item, and even the Luck
Attribute would not affect its drop-rate. Meanwhile, its drop-rate was
lower than even that of Titan City’s pass.

Nevertheless, Sinned Heart had miraculously obtained it.

Could this be the reason why he had managed to develop Immortal Light so
quickly in the past? Shi Feng could not help but think back to the past.
Despite being an upstart Guild, Immortal Light’s rise back then could
match even Zero Wing’s of today. In the end, it had even managed to
stand shoulder to shoulder with first-rate Guilds.

One of the main reasons why Immortal Light had managed to develop so
quickly back then was its immense funding. However, nobody actually knew
how Immortal Light had obtained that funding. Everyone had simply
assumed that the Guild had found a powerful backer.

In hindsight, there was over an 80% chance that Immortal Light had
obtained its funds by utilizing this engineering design.

Only a Bronze Mount design could possibly help a Guild earn that much
money. Even the Strengthening Device was far from comparable.

After all, the value of an item like the Strengthening Device would
decline sooner or later. However, the demand for Bronze Mounts was
inelastic. It was one of the necessities in God’s Domain. Its value was
not something other tools could compare to.

In terms of monetary value, a single Strengthening Device was currently
worth around 10 Gold. It would be fortunate if the item could sell for
four or five Gold once it became commonplace in the game. A Bronze
Mount, on the other hand, was worth several hundred Gold. Just a single
Bronze Mount was worth dozens of Strengthening Devices. Moreover, one
did not need to fear that a Bronze Mount wouldn’t sell.

"How much do you want for it?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at Sinned
Heart.

"Twenty thousand Gold!" Sinned Heart stated after giving it some
thought.

Twenty thousand Gold was enough for him to deal with the problems
plaguing him. He could also use the money leftover to migrate his
Guild’s base of operations to a new location.

"I believe you should understand what kind of situation Snow Field City
is currently in. It would simply be impossible for Immortal Light to
continue developing in the Twin Towers Kingdom under the current
situation. How about joining Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked in a low tone.
"Moreover, even if you all try to develop elsewhere, with a single word
from King’s Return, there won’t be any place that will welcome Immortal
Light’s presence. However, if you guys join Zero Wing, you can realize
your ambitions without having to worry about King’s Return. What do you
think?"

To Shi Feng, although the engineering design was important, Sinned Heart
and his group of experts were much more valuable.

"Have us join Zero Wing?" Sinned Heart immediately fell into deep
thought. Judging from Hell Fiend’s behavior before, he could tell that
Zero Wing was truly powerful. After all, even someone like Hell Fiend
could not do anything to Zero Wing. If Immortal Light joined Zero Wing,
it would indeed allow them to develop safely without worry. However,
Sinned Heart still shook his head as he said, "Brother Ye Feng, thank
you for your kind intentions. However, I still wish to develop Immortal
Light together with that band of brothers of mine."

Shi Feng had expected Sinned Heart to reply in this manner. Hence, he
offered another proposal, saying, "If this is so, how about having Zero
Wing invest into Immortal Light? Our side will ask for just 50% of your
Guild’s shares. In return, Zero Wing will supply you all with large
amounts of funding and resources. Aside from the 20,000 Gold for the
design, we’ll grant you a starting capital of 50,000 Gold, in addition
to 30,000 Magic Crystals. Afterwards, we’ll also continue providing you
with Coins and Magic Crystals. This much should be enough to let
Immortal Light develop in any city. Zero Wing also won’t interfere with
Immortal Light’s development. What do you think?"

Sinned Heart was momentarily stunned when he heard Shi Feng’s offer.

"Brother Ye Feng, you’re joking, right? With this much funding, not to
mention Immortal Light, even buying 50% of a second-rate Guild’s shares
won’t be a problem," Sinned Heart said.

He felt both moved and shocked right now.

Immortal Light was currently at its lowest point. Practically nobody
felt optimistic about Immortal Light’s future, much less want to invest
into the Guild.

Before this, he had always heard other people mentioning how rich a
Guild Zero Wing was. He never imagined that the Guild would actually be
wealthy enough to casually throw out tens of thousands of Gold and Magic
Crystals. With this much funding, Immortal Light would be able to become
a second-rate Guild quickly.

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