Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God - Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Holy Grail Knights

When Shi Feng arrived at the location Stabbing Heart had provided, he couldn’t even find a shadow of Martial Union.

“Where are they?” Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings. Aside from a dozen or so Three-tailed Scorpions, not a single player occupied this flat, sandy area. “Was there an error in the information Stabbing Heart gave me?”

Shi Feng thought the possibility of such an error was low. After all, the Assassin’s Alliance was a top-tier, second-rate Guild; there shouldn’t be any significant errors in their information gathering. Moreover, Stabbing Heart had been so confident in providing the information, so he must have had a basis for his confidence.

“Forget it. I didn’t have much hope of finding them immediately in any case,” since Shi Feng was not in a hurry, he started searching around the surrounding area. If Martial Union had already entered White River City, Stabbing Heart would have notified him at the first notice. However, there was not a huge possibility for Martial Union to enter White River City right now as even Stabbing Heart’s team had yet to enter the city.

Time passed, little by little.

More and more players reached Level 10, each of them entering White River City, one after another.

Right now, the majority of the players who entered White River City were the elites and upper echelons of Guilds. There was only a small amount of teams consisting of independent players.

Most of these independent players had purchased the White River City Guidebook, and they all admired its creator.

“Leader, this Ye Feng is truly amazing. The information he wrote in this Guidebook is so detailed. Fortunately, we bought the luxury version. The introductions in the simplified version were overly brief, and it only helps one get a general understanding of White River City. Meanwhile, the luxury version mentioned plenty of locations with good quests meant for specific classes. Thanks to it, I’ve accepted plenty of valuable quests.”

“I know, right? It is all thanks to team leader’s wisdom for buying the luxury version. If I didn’t know that Ye Feng had personally penned this guidebook, I would even think that the game officials had published it. I really wonder what Ye Feng’s previous profession was to possess such powerful observation skills.”

“That Ye Feng indeed has some skills. Originally, I had simply intended to purchase the guidebook as a reference; I never thought that the information was all true. I was shocked after we arrived at White River City. It was worth the 20,000 Credits. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t willingly sell this information even for 50,000 Credits. Not only does the information require time to arrange, but this is also first-hand information. I can’t imagine why Ye Feng would willingly sell all of this for only 20,000 Credits.”

In front of the Teleportation Hall of White River City, a non-Guild team consisting of ten-plus elite players happily chatted while waiting for their other companions.

“Hmm? An independent team?”

At this moment, Gentle Snow emerged from a Teleportation Gate, spotting this merry team of players. She felt slightly surprised by the sight. At this time, aside from those elite teams of large Guilds, there was even an independent team who had reached White River City. This was an extremely rare sight, and it illustrated this team’s strength.

“I know who they are. Five years ago, these players were very famous in a relatively sizeable virtual reality game. They were known as the Holy Grail Knights at that time.

“Although they aren’t a Guild, and their numbers never exceeded a hundred players, every member of their team was extremely skilled. Their battle prowess was extremely frightening. Their leader, War Wolf, even had the reputation as the strongest Warrior in the game. During those days, not a single Guild in the game that dared provoke them. However, for reasons unknown, their team disbanded, and plenty of their members stopped playing the game.”

“The remaining players then went on to become the upper echelons or core members of first-rate and second-rate Guilds. The Holy Grail Knights is a legend of sorts in the virtual gaming world now.”

When the Shield Warrior, Ghost Chop, who was knowledgeable about these independent players saw the average-looking Shield Warrior standing amidst those players, his expression suddenly turned solemn. This person was indeed War Wolf, the past team leader of the Holy Grail Knights. Back in those days, Ghost Chop had admired and respected this man; thus, he chose to play as a Shield Warrior as well. He then turned to Gentle Snow, slowly starting his recollection.

“I see,” Gentle Snow could not help but notice War Wolf.

Five years ago, she had yet to experience virtual reality games. Hence, she did not know that such a person had existed.

“Snow, are you thinking of recruiting him into Ouroboros?” Zhao Yueru asked with a smile when she noticed Gentle Snow’s moved expression.

“Although this person seemed to lack spirit at first glance, he seemed as deep and profound as an ocean at the same time. Moreover, the equipment he’s wearing is all Mysterious-Iron rank, though his weapon slightly lacks as it is not Secret-Silver rank. However, it should be extremely difficult for an independent team to have such a geared Shield Warrior, so it clearly displays how powerful the members of this team are. Meanwhile, a team leader capable of leading such a team is not a simple character. If we can recruit him, it should be of great help to our future Dungeon raids,” Gentle Snow did not directly deny Zhao Yueru’s question. Her previous intentions of recruiting Shi Feng as a subordinate were already dashed.

Unfortunately, she could not see through Shi Feng, as Shi Feng’s entire being was shrouded in mystery. The guidebook he had sold her further solidified this fact. She was greatly shocked when she arrived at White River City. Using the luxury version of the guidebook as a comparison, Gentle Snow came to fully understand the value of the exclusive guidebook Shi Feng had sold to her.

If the other first-rate Guilds discovered this guidebook, they might even start an all-out war with Ouroboros to snatch it away. Gentle Snow had estimated the true value of this guidebook to be five million Credits or more.

After all, within the super-luxury guidebook, there was information pertaining to the problems one would usually face when developing a Guild. The guidebook also touched on the topic of how to develop and strengthen a Guild. Moreover, it mentioned the daily quests available that could raise a person’s reputation in White River City. Such information could allow them to surpass the other Guilds greatly, and that was not something that could be purchased with a measly five million Credits.

Even now, Gentle Snow did not dare reveal this information to any other person; she did not wish to bring a calamity upon herself.

Due to this reason, Gentle Snow had become fully aware of just how much of a danger Shi Feng was. If she was already in so much danger just by becoming friends with him, what kind of consequences would she have to face if she accepted him as her subordinate? Gentle Snow no longer dared dwell on the consequences.

Shi Feng’s provocation of tens of Guilds presented a prime example. Fortunately, they were all unrated Guilds as the leveling secret did not hold much attraction to the true major Guilds. After all, the upper echelons of these Guilds knew many secrets, and they had a great understanding of God’s Domain. These Guilds were much stronger than those half-assed, unrated Guilds.

There were no bugs in God’s Domain. Even if there were one, the system would discover and correct it immediately. If there truly were a leveling secret, the only possibility was killing monsters of a higher level or carrying out high-level quests to obtain massive amounts of EXP.

Only experts or players with exceptional equipment could achieve the former.

As for the latter, it was clearly an unrepeatable situation because such high-level quests would have great limitations and rarity; not everybody could receive such quests. They might even be Rare or Unique Quests.

Thus, all of the rated Guilds did not have a particular interest in this secret that was not really a secret. On the contrary, they were much more interested in the White River City Guidebook. However, since Shi Feng had wisely offered the information for sale, these rated Guilds would naturally not look for trouble with Shi Feng. They also did not have so much time on their hands, unlike those half-assed Guilds.

Shi Feng belonged to a category of people so intimidating that they possessed few friends. To put it another way, without sufficient strength, friendship with Shi Feng was an extremely dangerous endeavor. As for the War Wolf before her, there was not much danger in building a friendship with such a person. Moreover, with such great strength, it would be an utter loss not to recruit him.

“Go. Let’s go and strike up a conversation with them, then,” seeing that all the members of her team were already present, she opened her mouth and spoke.

Chapter 194: Flame Demon

White Sand Ruins.

“Martial Union is simply too much! They don’t respect any of us independent players at all! When I grow stronger, I’ll take revenge on those bastards!”

“Shh! Shut up! Didn’t you see Martial Union kill those other two parties simply for speaking up?”

“We can’t do anything about this. We aren’t as powerful as they are, so we can only give way and take a step back.”

“If I was a member of a third-rate Guild, I don’t believe that Martial Union would dare kick us around like they just did.”

“Leader, why don’t we just join a large Guild? With our current technique standards, we should be able to join a large Guild.”

“A Guild, is it? Indeed, we should consider it. However, let’s talk about this after we enter White River City. The Assassin’s Alliance is currently the strongest Guild in Red Leaf Town, but when we get to White River City, the Assassin’s Alliance would only rank above average at best. There are still a bunch of first-rate Guilds we can choose from.”

One of the six-man parties Martial Union had chased away started a discussion as they searched for a new grinding location.

They had experienced, first-hand, the strength and usefulness of a Guild. If they did not join a Guild, they could only compete with other independent players over locations with scarce resources when these Guilds occupied all the valuable leveling locations.

“Excuse me, but do you know where Martial Union is?” Shi Feng had been searching the White Sand Ruins for quite some time, having no luck of finding any traces of Martial Union. At this moment, however, he had overheard these passing players discussing Martial Union, so he asked them.

“Yeah, we know it. What business do you have with them? Don’t tell me; you’re not trying to join Martial Union, are you?” the leader of this party nodded. However, when he noticed that Shi Feng was an independent player with both his name and level hidden, aside from trying to join Martial Union, what other reason could a player like Shi Feng have to look for Martial Union?

Hearing that the player in front of them intended to join Martial Union, the other members of the party instantly shot glares filled with killing intent at Shi Feng. The rage they had from Martial Union’s oppression had yet to subside. If it were not for Martial Union having the advantage of numbers, they would have long since started a fight with Martial Union.

From the conversation Shi Feng had eavesdropped on before, he knew that Martial Union had bullied these players. Hence, their hatred towards Martial Union should be intense. In addition to their party leader’s words about Shi Feng wanting to join Martial Union, the other party members’ moods would naturally sour.

If he dared claim that he intended to join Martial Union, these players might charge at him without hesitation.

“I’m not trying to join Martial Union. I’m looking for Martial Union because I have some business with them. I wonder if you can tell me their current whereabouts? Here’s an inquiry fee of 1 Silver Coin,” Shi Feng smiled, taking out a Silver Coin.

To average players, their daily income would, at most, range around several tens of Copper Coins. Even if these veteran players banded together to form a party, their total earnings would be around one to two Silver Coins. Hence, an inquiry fee of 1 Silver Coin was not a small amount to them.

What a rich fellow. The party leader’s eyes shone when he saw Shi Feng offer a Silver Coin as an inquiry fee. He then spoke in the party chat, “Brothers, this is a fat sheep! If we harvest him and earn some money, we might be able to cover the repair fees for all our weapons and equipment! Do we kill him or not?”

“Kill him! Why shouldn’t we kill him?! This bastard is obviously related to Martial Union. As long as it’s someone related, we can’t let them off!”

“We’ll follow leader’s decision.”

The other party members all voiced their support.

“It seems that this fellow has a deep connection with Martial Union. Martial Union had badly tormented us few brothers, and rage still fills our bellies. Since you have some connections with Martial Union, and you are so rich, shouldn’t you pay us some compensation in place of Martial Union? We don’t want a lot; just leave behind 20 Silver Coins and all of your equipment; then I’ll tell you Martial Union’s location. How about it?” the Guardian Knight party leader said with a cold laugh.

With that said, the other party members also started moving forward, their faces carrying cold smiles as they closed in on Shi Feng.

“I said I don’t have any connections with Martial Union. I’m only looking for them for some business. Whatever has happened between you and Martial Union has nothing to do with me. If you guys aren’t going to tell me where they are, so be it. Please move aside,” Shi Feng said.

“This, I understand. However, it is still your fault for mentioning Martial Union to us. If you don’t agree to our demands, we can only use you to relieve some stress. Although we don’t know your level, it should still be around Level 8 or Level 9. If you lose a level right now, you will probably lose one to two day’s worth of effort. You should think through your options,” the party leader jeered, his hands retrieving the gladius and shield from his back.

Shi Feng couldn’t help but laugh when he heard these words.

Pitiful people were bound to have a hateful side to them. Although these players endured Martial Union’s bullying and oppression, when the tables turned, didn’t they act just as Martial Union had?

“Little fool, what are you laughing at?! I’ll smash your face into a pulp if you keep laughing!” an Assassin bellowed.

“Didn’t you guys want money? I’ll pay the fare for your trip down to hell!”

Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade as he said so. Immediately, clear-blue flames covered the body of the Abyssal Blade.

Shi Feng had no room for pity for players like these.

Shi Feng brandished his two swords, and instantly, countless sword images filled the sky, surrounding these players.

Although these independent players had good techniques and were also relatively powerful in terms of strength, they were simply too weak compared to Shi Feng. Before any of them could react, the sword images made pincushions of their bodies.

Aside from the Guardian Knight party leader, the remaining five party members died within an instant. Moreover, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame destroyed all of their equipment.

Even though these players had relatively high levels, the equipment they wore was of very poor quality. They only had six or seven pieces of Bronze Equipment each, and none had even a single piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Under the Ice-Blue Devil Flame’s might, none of their equipment could survive even one hit, and it all immediately became nothing more than scrap.

“So? Are you willing to tell me Martial Union’s whereabouts now?” Shi Feng looked towards the party leader, smiling calmly as he spoke.

That party leader was dumbfounded. The person before him could actually produce fire all over his body, and his attacks were so fast that none of them could even react.

At this moment, the party leader only had one thought about his situation; he had met a demon. Moreover, it was a fire demon capable of controlling flames!

“I’ll speak! I’ll Speak! Martial Union is at a nearby sunken land to the southwest! There are also plenty of cavities around the area!”

“Very good. You may go now.” Shi Feng immediately extinguished this party leader’s life. He then advanced towards Martial Union’s location.

By the time these independent players revived back at Red Leaf Town, they immediately filled the skies with their screams of anguish. Not only did they lose a level from dying, but all their equipment had also been destroyed. Not to mention leveling up, they could not even go out into the fields to kill monsters now.

Suddenly, a rumor about a flame demon in the White Sand Ruins spread. The rumor stated that the flame demon wore a black hooded cloak, and he revealed no personal information. The demon also had two sharp swords hanging from his waist; one was black and the other, white. The rumor also mentioned that if players did not quickly answer this flame demon’s question, they would die and lose all their equipment. One wouldn’t even have the chance to shed tears of regret when that time came.

However, Shi Feng, the origin of this rumor, was not aware of any of this.

“I’ve finally found you, Unstable Devastation.”

At this moment, Shi Feng stood atop a tall slope, looking down at the hundred-plus players currently butchering several dozen Three-tailed Scorpions. These players were all Level 9, and they were not far from reaching Level 10. On the other hand, Unstable Devastation, who currently commanded from the rear of the team, had already reached Level 10.

The reason why he had reached Level 10 with such speed was that he was not in a party with these elite players. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation killed the monsters that had their HP lowered to a critical point. Due to the rules of God’s Domain, Unstable Devastation would receive 60% of the total EXP from the kill; Thus, he reached Level 10 ahead of the other elite players.

Chapter 195: One Against One Hundred

“You, lure some more monsters over. With such a good leveling spot, I want to charge to number one on the Ranking List and teach the other Guilds in the Alliance the strength of Martial Union,” Unstable Devastation spoke in the team chat.

“Yes,” the several Assassins replied.

Right now, Fire Dance still occupied the first place on the Ranking List. However, the second place had already changed.

However, it wasn’t because Fire Dance and the other’s leveling speed was slower than the other players. They were simply busy doing quests. These quests were all Rare Reputation Quests, and they could obtain relatively large amounts of White River City Reputation by completing them.

In God’s Domain, if players wished to have an official class when they reached Level 20, they could only apply at the Class Association in the various large cities. However, players required a certain amount of reputation before doing so. Hence, the first task Shi Feng wanted Blackie and the others to accomplish after they entered White River City was to do these Rare Quests and quickly raise their reputation. By the time they reached Level 20, they would be able to change into their basic classes immediately.

If they discovered this fact only after they reached Level 20, they would have to waste a lot of time earning sufficient reputation, which, in turn, would delay their progress.

Just as Unstable Devastation excitedly hunted Three-tailed Scorpions, Shi Feng had also arrived at Martial Union’s healers’ position using the Ring of Nothingness.

Nobody would ever think that a single independent player would take the initiative to seek vengeance upon a Guild’s elite team. After all, this was simply an overestimation of one’s own abilities.

However, Shi Feng dared to do just that because of his sufficient strength.

Unstable Devastation was Level 10, and the others present were all Level 9. There was a 5 level gap between them and Shi Feng. Moreover, equipment that could ignore an opponent’s levels were extremely rare at this stage of the game. These conditions allowed Shi Feng to easily sweep the floor with this group of Level 9 players.

Just as the healers of Martial Union were about to replenish the HP of the frontline players, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before them. Shi Feng cast Thundering Flash, the skill instantly devouring the group of panicked healers. Frightening damages of over -500 appeared on every healer’s head, and some even received critical hits of over -1,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, a majority of the healers died.

However, due to the healers standing relatively spread apart, there were three who managed to remain unscathed after Shi Feng’s attack.

Shi Feng immediately used Wind Blade and charged over. He used Chop on one of the shocked healers, killing them instantly. Shi Feng then continued to brandish his sword at the two remaining healers, reaping their lives with a few sword strokes.

“Ye Feng!” Unstable Devastation bellowed, countless veins surfacing on his forehead.

“Unstable Devastation, haven’t you been trying to find me all this time?” Shi Feng faintly smiled as he looked at Unstable Devastation. Regarding the hundred-plus players standing around Unstable Devastation, glaring at him, Shi Feng paid no attention to them at all. “Now that I’ve arrived, I wonder if you’ve prepared to die yet?”

“Kill me? I’m afraid that you’re the one who won’t leave this place alive! I lost to you the previous time because you had a higher level. This time, however, I am Level 10 as well! Do you think that I’m still afraid of you? Everyone, get him! Kill him!” Unstable Devastation smiled disdainfully, immediately commanding all of his subordinates to get rid of Shi Feng. Unstable Devastation did not believe that Shi Feng could leave alive when faced with his team of over a hundred elite players, not to mention, manage to kill him.

The players from Martial Union revealed sneers as they looked at Shi Feng; they all thought that there was a problem with Shi Feng’s head. However, they didn’t mind teaching Shi Feng a lesson.

One against one hundred?

Did he really think he was Superman?

In the past, the players from Martial Union that surrounded Shi Feng were mostly normal members. There were only a few elite members of the Guild present at the time; hence, Shi Feng caused such a massacre. This time, however, they were all Martial Union’s elites, and they were all Level 9 players. Ye Feng would only meet one end today – Death!

Suddenly, tens of spells launched at Shi Feng.

The other remaining tens of Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, and Swordsmen charged towards Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the Assassins entered Stealth, waiting for their chance to strike.

Faced with the attacks of dozens of mages, Shi Feng dared not be careless. He immediately activated Windwalk and the Tier 2 Life Shield before proceeding to charge at the incoming wave of players.

As Shi Feng’s speed was extremely fast; very few of the tens of spells hit Shi Feng. In the end, only three or four spells actually managed to deal damage to Shi Feng. Unfortunately, these spells were all fire-type and ice-type spells such as Fireball and Frost Arrows. With Shi Feng’s resistances, these spells managed to cause less than -10 damage each. In addition to the Life Shield absorbing a portion of the damage, the actual damage these spells caused was less than -6 points.

All of the mages were shocked.

“Even if it is a tiny amount of damage, beat him with all you’ve got! There has to be a limit to his HP! Without any healers, he won’t last long! Melee classes, spread out and be careful of his AOE skills!” Unstable Devastation was similarly shocked. However, after giving it some thought, even if Shi Feng had an insanely high Defense, he still wasn’t a Boss. There was bound to be a limit to his HP. Even if they only dealt damage in the single digits, with tens of them continuously attacking, how long could Shi Feng last?

Watching his HP fall continuously, Shi Feng clearly understood that he could not hold on for much longer. The difference in Attributes was simply not enough to overcome the strength of over a hundred elite players.

“Almost…” When the distance between Shi Feng and the crowd from Martial Union shrunk to less than 20 yards, Shi Feng took out an Intermediate Frost Grenade, tossing it at them.

Martial Union noticed Shi Feng throwing an item. However, since it was not a skill, they did not pay it any heed.

Instantly, the Intermediate Frost Grenade exploded, releasing a shroud of cold air, covering a 12-yard radius. The cold air froze the players for 3 seconds and dealt -400 damage to every one of them.

The shroud of cold air swallowed more than half of the melee players.

“MTs, activate your lifesaving skills! Mages, increase your firepower and controlling skills! We must not let him get near the frozen players!” Unstable Devastation hurriedly shouted.

The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights immediately activated their Shield Walls and Protection Blessings respectively after receiving the command. However, deep in their hearts, they were extremely clear that these skills were absolutely useless in front of Shi Feng. They merely used these skills in the hopes that, with their increased durability, Shi Feng would instead choose to go for the other players first.

Meanwhile, the mages standing at the rear line started casting controlling spells, one after another. They used spells such as Ice Walls and Ice Spheres to prevent Shi Feng from closing in on the frozen players.

Shi Feng simply smiled. Using Silent Steps, he instantly arrived behind these mages. With the Ice-Blue Devil Flame covering his entire body, he sent Thunder Flame Explosion blasting down on these mages. The Elementalists and Cursemancers who were within the range of Thunder Flame Explosion were instantly wiped out of existence. Moreover, those who received critical hits of over -2,000 damage also had their equipment destroyed.

A few Elementalists with quick reactions had immediately activated Frozen Circle, coupled with a Blink. They intended to slow Shi Feng down as they fled for their lives.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng reacted even faster than they did. He activated Defensive Blade and Dark Violent Dance. Gaining immunity to the Frozen Circles, Shi Feng waved the flaming Abyssal Blade in his hand. A streak of deep-blue flaming sword aura landed on one of the escaping Elementalists 10 yards away, dealing over -1,000 damage and instantly killing him. Simultaneously, the two Summoners in front of him also received damage from the attack, instantly losing over 400 HP.

Shi Feng then continued with a barrage of attacks. As a result, deep-blue flames annihilated the mages within a 15-yard radius.

“Kill him! Don’t be afraid; we have more men on our side! He only has half of his HP remaining!” Although Shi Feng only had half of his HP remaining right now, Unstable Devastation had lost much of his confidence. Even so, he did not stop sending out streak after streak of Frost Arrows and Fatal Shots. However, Shi Feng had dodged every one of them. In addition to the sudden appearance of Shi Feng’s flame transformation and terrifying AOE damage, Unstable Devastation already had the notion of escaping for his life. However, he needed to observe the situation further before he made his decision.

“Half HP, is it?” Shi Feng calmly smiled. He then proceeded to take out his next trump card from his bag.

[Intermediate Recovery Potion]

Instantly recovers 800 HP after use.

Cooldown: 1 minute

In White River City, players were only allowed to purchase five Intermediate Recovery Potions each day, and each bottle cost 3 Silver Coins. It was an item meant for a crucial time.

Shi Feng downed the bottle, his HP instantly recovering to full. At this sight, Martial Union’s players were instantly afraid.

They had sacrificed dozens of players to take away close to half of Shi Feng’s HP. Yet, Shi Feng’s HP was full once again. Moreover, the scorching flame that surrounded his body greatly increased his battle prowess. Just by closing in on him, the durability of their equipment constantly fell. Faced with such a situation, their confidence instantly sunk into a bottomless pit.

Chapter 196: Devastating Strike

The elites of Martial Union, who had originally looked down on Shi Feng, had started to panic now.

What did a full HP Shi Feng mean? Martial Union’s elites already had the experience deeply ingrained into their bodies, so they understood what it meant.

Compared to only losing a level after dying, their current situation was far graver. As they had spent all this time grinding monsters, their equipment and weapons’ durability was almost depleted. If they received an attack from Shi Feng right now, that little durability would decrease even further, and their equipment and weapons might even be destroyed. This was much more frightening than simply losing a level.

If they lost a level, they could recover it through grinding. However, it would be a different story if they lost the equipment and weapons they currently relied on. They had only managed to collect all these items after much difficulty, and compared to regaining a single level, it would be much more troublesome to recover these items. There was even the possibility that they could not recover these items at all.

“Ye Feng, don’t go overboard! It won’t be beneficial to either of us if you continue your actions! It is not too late for you to leave this place right now! In the future, we will mind our own business, and we will each walk our separate paths!” Although Unstable Devastation felt dissatisfied, Shi Feng’s strength was simply too frightening. He could only grit his teeth and take a step back in this matter.

If he lost everything he had right now, his dreams of rising in Martial Union would also vanish.

“Overboard? These are your last words?” Shi Feng laughed at the absurdity.

He truly could not understand Unstable Devastation’s thought process. Did he think that, after slapping someone across the face, everything could be settled just with a simple apology?

Hearing Shi Feng’s contempt, Unstable Devastation felt humiliation for the first time. He had already taken a step back, yet, Shi Feng reacted so aggressively. However, he could do nothing to Shi Feng right now, so he could only watch as his subordinates were butchered, one after another. This sort of helplessness had driven him close to insanity.

Unstable Devastation never thought that such a day would befall him.

In the beginning, he had a 100% certainty of crushing Shi Feng. Now, however, due to a mystical exploding object and an Intermediate Recovery Potion, that confidence shattered. Even if they managed to kill Shi Feng today, the elites of Martial Union would receive insufferable losses.

“Ye Feng, you have forced my hand! Let’s see which one of us will die first, then!”

“Everyone, attack him together! He already has a super-red name! As long as we can kill him, he will drop all of his equipment, and it will be enough to make up for all our losses! Don’t be afraid! His HP Potion’s Cooldown is definitely very long! We can exhaust him to death!”

Upon receiving Unstable Devastation’s command, the members of Martial Union went into a frenzy. They used all their skills and techniques to restrict Shi Feng while slowly depleting his HP.

Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation also reluctantly retrieved a flame-red arrow from his back, aiming and firing it at Shi Feng.

This was Unstable Devastation’s strongest treasure. Originally, he had intended to use this arrow to deal with a Lord ranked Boss. Now, however, he could only use it to get rid of Shi Feng.

Xiu! The flame-red arrow soared through the air, leaving behind a sonic boom as it shot towards Shi Feng’s heart.

Extremely complicated incantations were carved on the flame-red arrow’s body, causing the surrounding fire-type mana to gather around the arrow. It seemed like a consumable item.

Shi Feng had also noticed this flame-red arrow flying at him. He stopped paying attention to the spells attacking him and immediately used Parry to block this flame-red arrow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The moment the arrow collided with Shi Feng’s swords, it exploded. The force of the explosion instantly sent Shi Feng flying. Fortunately, Parry had managed to block the attack fully, and Shi Feng received no damage from the arrow.

Shortly after, Shi Feng landed, unscathed. Immediately, he charged towards the mages, resuming his massacre of Martial Union’s elites. Just like slapping at flies, Shi Feng killed one player from Martial Union with each of his attacks. Within a short moment, four elites had died. Watching this scene play out, Unstable Devastation’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Even after he used his final trump card, Shi Feng had taken not a thread of damage from it. On the contrary, his attack aided Shi Feng in closing in on the mages and continuing his slaughter.

To begin with, Shi Feng’s Movement Speed was extremely quick. These mages had no chances of escaping him at all. Furthermore, due to the level suppression and Shi Feng’s magic resistance, these mages were rendered utterly helpless. They could only watch as they were slaughtered.

Noticing that the frozen effect on the melee players was about to dissipate, the mages of Martial Union released a sigh of relief. They finally saw hope.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng took out another Intermediate Frost Grenade from his bag, tossing it at the melee players again. The Frost Grenade landed precisely on the same location as before, and in the blink of an eye, these melee players froze solid once more. A damage of -400 also appeared on every one of their heads, and the Assassins and Swordsmen who had low HP fell into critical conditions. Shi Feng then made a slashing motion with his sword, sending a flame blade flying at the Assassins and Swordsmen, ending their lives. This attack even destroyed the equipment they wore.

At this stage of the game, where everyone’s levels were still low, there were plenty of skills that players had yet to learn. It was especially true for high-level skills that could remove controlling effects. Thus, the elites had no defenses against Shi Feng’s Frost Grenades. They had no ways of dealing with them at all.

With the melee players frozen once again, and Shi Feng killing so many of their allies, these mages truly felt despair. They no longer cared about Unstable Devastation’s command; they all ran, escaping in any direction they could.

Nobody would have thought that Shi Feng would still have a weapon of mass destruction like that. If they had known about this earlier, they would have long since fled and not remained here for slaughter.

“Everyone’s escaping now?” Shi Feng immediately felt his head ache. If he hunted them down, one by one, he might let even more players escape. After all, although the Frost Grenades had frightening might, nobody would be foolish enough to stand still and wait for their deaths.

Helpless, Shi Feng could only start throwing out Basic Frost Grenades without stop. Although there was a one-second Cooldown, it could freeze a player for three seconds. With this, Shi Feng could get rid of all these scattered players.

With Basic Frost Grenades tossed out, one after another, the sandy grounds turned into a world of ice, while all of the members of Martial Union turned into ice sculptures. Shi Feng then used the blazingly hot Abyssal Blade to end each of their lives.

Watching as his teammates died and their equipment destroyed, the remaining players trembled in fear as they were driven to insanity. Some of the players who could not endure the sight even tried to log off from the game immediately. However, players were not allowed to log off during combat. So, they could only helplessly wait as Shi Feng walked, step by step, closing in on them.

Very quickly, Shi Feng had reaped the lives of one hundred-plus elite members of Martial Union, and only Unstable Devastation remained alive now. Unstable Devastation quietly stood still, his mind in a daze. He had even forgotten to resist.

Over a hundred elite players had died, and all of their equipment was destroyed. These were all of his assets, and right now, it was impossible for him to climb back up in Martial Union even if he wanted to. He no longer had any means to compete with his rivals in the Guild.

At this moment, Unstable Devastation only had regret filling his heart. All of this had stemmed from his own arrogance. If he had known that Shi Feng was so frightening from the very beginning, he wouldn’t have dared to become enemies with Shi Feng, even if he were beaten to death. Even if he had to become enemies with Shi Feng, at the very least, he would have waited until all members of Martial Union had entered White River City. However, it was too late now.

Soon after, Shi Feng killed Unstable Devastation with two sword slashes as well.

“I’m finally done cleaning up. It should also be about time to bring Blackie and the others down to a Dungeon for some equipment upgrades.” Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings. After confirming that there weren’t any members from Martial Union remaining, he used the Demon Mask to wipe clean his name. He then took out a Return Scroll, chanting the incantation and returning to White River City.

After killing Unstable Devastation and the elite players under him, even if Unstable Devastation wanted to do anything to Shi Feng in the future, he would need to wait until these elite members recovered before he could. However, there was no need to concern himself over a matter that couldn’t happen for quite a while.

—

Shortly after Shi Feng wiped out Unstable Devastation’s entire elite team…

A large commotion occurred among the alliance of Guilds that wished to carry out a crusade against Shi Feng. This commotion was a result of Unstable Devastation suddenly declaring his retirement from this small alliance. Unstable Devastation’s actions had confused these other Guilds. He also refused to speak of anything in the alliance’s chat before leaving it.

After witnessing Shi Feng’s fearsomeness, Unstable Devastation didn’t dare battle Shi Feng any longer. Since Shi Feng could kill him at the White Sand Ruins, then he could similarly kill him again and again out in the field. The same went for his team. Unstable Devastation no longer dared think of this matter. He still wished to make a living through God’s Domain. He was truly afraid of Shi Feng now.

Hence, Unstable Devastation also expressed his apologies on the official forums. In the future, he swore to no longer participate in any matters relating to Shi Feng. As long as he met Shi Feng, he would make a circle and do his best to avoid Shi Feng.

Immediately, Unstable Devastation’s actions had sent shockwaves through the White River City region.

Chapter 197: Crazy Stone

Although Unstable Devastation was not considerably well-known, he was still one of the upper echelons of Martial Union. He was also arch-enemies with Shi Feng, and he had recently revealed one of Shi Feng’s big secrets. So, there were quite a number of people who knew about him.

Nobody would have thought that Unstable Devastation would publicly apologize to Shi Feng.

Many people were stunned when they read Unstable Devastation’s message.

Martial Union was obviously a large Guild, yet, they had actually submitted to a lone independent player. Although such incidents had occurred before in past virtual reality games, the total occurrences could definitely be counted on one hand. Above all, God’s Domain was a game that had just recently released.

At this stage of the game, the difference in strength between players would mainly display itself in terms of techniques, and this difference could easily be overcome using the advantage in numbers. Yet, Unstable Devastation had succumbed to Shi Feng. It was simply unbelievable.

“Can someone tell me just what is going on here?”

“Wah! Is this going to be the uprising of independent players?”

“As expected of my idol, Ye Feng! What’s so great about Guilds? Haven’t they succumbed to strength all the same?”

Chaos ensued in the official forums of the White River City region. Unstable Devastation’s message was like a small pebble thrown into a tranquil pond, generating ripples that spread out in all directions. As a result, players on the forum posted their own opinions, especially the independent players.

No matter which virtual reality game they were in, Guild players and independent players would frequently conflict with each other. However, this could not be helped. After all, to surpass others, one must obtain more resources. Naturally, Guilds would occupy these resources. Meanwhile, the independent players who lacked strength could only retreat in the face of these Guilds. Thus, it created conflicts.

Now that an independent player like Shi Feng had made a large Guild submit to him, this incident received an unquestionably huge response from many independent players.

However, to the alliance of Guilds that planned a crusade against Shi Feng, this matter was just like a bomb filled with peril.

Unstable Devastation, the leader who started this alliance and planned this crusade, had actually chosen to withdraw from the alliance. Moreover, he did not even speak a word about this incident. Just what sort of power could cause Unstable Devastation to react in such a way? This incident struck panic into the other Guilds of this small alliance.

“Brother Zhang, what should we do?” Flaming Tiger quietly asked.

Due to Unstable Devastation’s shocking actions, the various Guilds in the small alliance started feeling insecure.

Zhang Luowei fell deep into thought for some time before saying, “Let’s not involve ourselves just yet. We’ll wait until we are all in White River City before we deal with this matter. However, for him to force a person like Unstable Devastation to submit, I have truly underestimated this Ye Feng. Tell Ling Feilong to get in touch with Ye Feng; see if he can get Ye Feng to join Shadow. Although Shadow has only recently started its development, our resources are plenty. Tell Ling Feilong this; as long as Ye Feng agrees, I can give Ye Feng an elder position, an annual salary of a million Credits, and 10% of the Workshop’s shares.”

Flaming Tiger was stunned. He admitted that he was not Shi Feng’s opponent and that Shi Feng’s skills were a level higher than his, but wasn’t this promise a little too great?

Not only could an elder of the Guild live leisurely, but the authority they wielded was also great. Aside from Brother Lan and Zhang Luowei, Shi Feng would have the highest authority in Shadow, not to mention an annual salary of a million Credits and 10% of the Workshop’s shares. Even Flaming Tiger only had a minimum monthly salary of 20,000 Credits.

Flaming Tiger simply could not understand why they had to pay such a huge price to recruit Shi Feng.

However, he did not have a say in this matter, so he could only do as he was told.

—

White River City, Trade Area.

After returning to White River City, Shi Feng first headed towards the Bank. He retrieved 500 stacks of Hard Stones, intending to sell only a portion of his stock for now.

Due to the great increase in the Hard Stones’ demand, the price had already reached Shi Feng’s estimation of 10 Silver Coins per stack. Although this price would still rise later, it was already close to the limit players could handle.

These 500 stacks of Hard Stones were only a small portion of the Hard Stones Shi Feng owned. Just based on the amount of Hard Stones that Shi Feng had constantly purchased before, his stock exceeded 10,000 stacks. This was also one of the reasons why the various large Guilds in White River City could not purchase any Hard Stones. Shi Feng had purchased all of these Hard Stones when the prices were at their lowest, and he only paid around 30 Gold Coins for them. However, their current value far exceeded their initial cost.

After selling these 500 stacks, it should be about time to bring Blackie and the others to raid the Level 10 Team Dungeon, the Goblin Factor y . Shi Feng inwardly planned.

Although Blackie and Lonely Snow’s levels were high, the overall equipment they had was subpar at best. The same went for Shi Feng’s equipment. However, at least his was the best Swordsman Set Equipment for players Level 10 and below. His teammates’ equipment, on the other hand, could only be described as miserable.

As of this moment, there were already more than 500 players who had reached Level 10 and had their names etched on the Ranking List of the White River City region. Which was to say, there were already more than 500 players who had entered White River City. A majority of these players were members of well-known Guilds. Aside from doing some quests in White River City right now, these players’ main objective remained Dungeon raiding, as Dungeons were the best source for good equipment. Only with good equipment would these players level up with greater efficiency.

Hence, plenty of Guilds had already started diving into Dungeons.

White River City was different from towns. God’s Domain only truly began after players reached Level 10 and the city. As for the town-life players experienced at the start of the game, it was merely an introduction to life in God’s Domain.

There were plenty of Level 10 Dungeons throughout the White River City region. The number of Level 10 to Level 12 Party Dungeons exceeded 20, and their raiding difficulty varied greatly. Meanwhile, 10-man Level 10 Team Dungeons numbered slightly lower, but there were still 12 such Dungeons available. As for Level 10 large-scale Dungeons, there were 3 within the White River City region.

As long as one successfully raided one of these three large Dungeons, they could activate the Card Set exchange system. The value of Card Sets would also be at their highest when that time came.

Meanwhile, after entering White River City, the normal raiding procedure for players began with the Party Dungeons to upgrade their equipment. They would then proceed to small-scale Team Dungeons and finally, the Level 10 large-scale Dungeons. Right now, many Guilds had already started raiding small Dungeons and were continuously upgrading their equipment. Eventually, all the Guilds in White River City would have only one goal: obtaining the First Clear of one of the three large-scale Team Dungeons.

A team could only obtain the First Clear by clearing the Hell Mode of the Dungeon. Moreover, the First Clear of large-scale Team Dungeons was slightly different from that of small-scale Team Dungeons. The achievement would not only be announced throughout the White River City region, but it would also be announced throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. It was one of the best ways to increase one’s fame throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom, and it was also a display of a Guild’s strength.

Hence, large-scale Dungeons were considered the true battlegrounds for the various large Guilds.

Meanwhile, for these Guilds who frequently battled inside Dungeons, Whetstones would become one of their strategic supplies. This situation would further increase these Guilds’ need for Hard Stones, causing the price of Hard Stones to soar once again.

Thus, Shi Feng chose to sell his stock of Hard Stones at this time.

Right now, Shi Feng was not focused on conquering the large-scale Team Dungeons. He knew his own limits, and he would not try to compete with those well-known Guilds. His goal right now was only to conquer the Level 15 small-scale Team Dungeon, the Demon’s Castle. However, regarding strength or numbers, his team was still far from capable of raiding the Demon’s Castle. They needed some upgrades before they could rise to that challenge.

Arriving at the Auction House of White River City, Shi Feng casually took a seat in the corner and opened the Auction House’s system interface. He then selected to sell his wares within the White River City region. That way, he would not need to foot such a large fee. Similar to selling at a town’s Auction House, only players within the White River City region could see the items he placed on auction.

As for selling the Hard Stones to the other cities, Shi Feng had never intended to do so. Just the expensive handling fee alone would greatly reduce his profits. Not to mention, the other cities were not as much in need of Hard Stones as White River City, so the prices the stones would sell for much less.

Shi Feng first placed ten stacks of Hard Stones on auction with a minimum price of 10 Silver Coins per stack and a buyout price of 12 Silver Coins. He did so to take a look at the results. If he placed all 500 stacks up for auction at once, it could drastically affect the market; Hard Stones’ prices would plummet. Hence, he would slowly sell off his stock, carrying out hunger marketing.

As expected, before even a minute had passed, all ten stacks of Hard Stones sold. Moreover, they had been purchased at the buyout price of 12 Silvers. There wasn’t even a competition to speak of.

“It can’t be, right?” Shi Feng was stunned when he received the notification from the Auction House.

Such a great demand had far exceeded his expectations. Although he knew that there was a shortage of Hard Stones right now, he never thought that someone would pay 12 Silvers without hesitation. This was simply insane!

Did these people not know that one Silver Coin could be exchanged for 107 Credits right now?

Spending an additional 2 Silver coins would be the equivalent of spending 214 Credits. To a fresh university graduate, that would be a tenth of their monthly salary.

Chapter 198: Trial of God

Shi Feng had only sold 10 stacks of Hard Stones. When compared to the demand of the entire White River City region, it was a drop in the ocean.

Seeing such burning demand, Shi Feng placed another 10 stacks of Hard Stones up for auction.

This time, he changed the minimum price to 12 Silver Coins and the buyout price at 15 Silver Coins. By doing so, he tried to find out the highest price Hard Stones could currently sell for and the bottom line of these desperate players.

As expected, nobody paid the buyout price immediately this time. Instead, they bid over the Hard Stones. However, the numbers rose very slowly, and there was only a small increase of several Coppers with each consecutive bid.

One minute later…

The price of the 10 stacks of Hard Stones finally displayed a significant increase. The bidding had gone from 12 Silver Coins to 13 Silver Coins, and it continued to rise to 13 Silver, 30 Coppers before finally stopping. Obviously, this was the final price these desperate players were willing to fork out.

“Their bottom line should be around 13 Silver Coins, huh? Still, this has surpassed my expectations. In the future, I can simply sit tight and wait for the money to roll in,” Shi Feng also felt that 13 Silver Coins was the limit for Hard Stones. If the prices further increased, then aside from Guilds, average players could not endure such an expense.

Moreover, Shi Feng had only paid around 30 Coppers for each stack of Hard Stones when he purchased them in bulk. Now, he sold them for 13 Silver Coins per stack; their value had increased over 30 folds. One could not be too greedy. Shi Feng was currently satisfied with the results.

Shi Feng then continued removing Hard Stones from his bag, setting them up for auction; he sold 20 stacks per batch, and each batch would be available every ten minutes or so. Considering the consumption rate and finances of the players in the White River City region, 1,600 to 1,700 stacks should sell each day.

If Shi Feng sold a thousand stacks per day, not only could the entire White River City region fully deplete his stock, it also would not cause any adverse effects on the price of Hard Stones.

If Shi Feng could sell 1,000 stacks each day, he could earn over 100 Gold every day by selling the Hard Stones at 13 Silvers per stack. Moreover, these were genuine Gold Coins and not Credits. Such a daily income was more than ten times higher than the daily income of first-rate Guilds. With such funds in his hands, Shi Feng would not have to worry about financial issues when he developed his Guild in the future.

With the sales system all set and done, Shi Feng’s finger tapped and slid, calling out the half-transparent communication interface. His finger then moved and tapped on his good friend Blackie’s call button.

“Blackie, are you guys done with the Reputation Quests? If you are, then gather in front of the teleportation gate. We’ll go Dungeon diving together,” Shi Feng asked.

“We’re already done with our quests. However, it seems that we’ve been trapped inside a sealed map. We need to go through a trial if we wish to leave,” Blackie grew excited when he heard about Dungeon diving, and he wished he could immediately go to display his prowess. Ever since he obtained Mavis’ Guard, he had started browsing the internet and watching videos of experts displaying their skills. He had also frequently sparred with his team members, and his techniques had greatly improved. He would definitely shock Shi Feng with his new techniques. Unfortunate, he couldn’t do any of that right now.

“A sealed map?”

Shi Feng’s eyebrows wrinkled, his mind entering a deep thought. He did not know how Blackie and the others managed to enter a sealed map. Logically, the quests he sent them on had no such locations.

However, after recalling Blackie’s description of the place, he suddenly understood the situation Blackie and the others were in.

He could not help but admit that their luck was truly impressive.

There were various miraculous opportunities available in God’s Domain, and players most frequently discovered the Trial of God. Players also called it the Trial of Heroes, and it was a test given by Gods for mortals to become heroes. As long as it was a Level 10 map or above, there was a chance for this trial to appear. Players would occasionally encounter this trial out in the fields, questing or grinding. However, less than one out of ten thousand players would have a chance of meeting this trial.

Blackie and the others were definitely lucky for encountering this trial.

Every Trial of Heroes was a heaven-sent opportunity. As long as players could clear it, they would receive a bountiful reward. In this trial, equipment and EXP were considered the lowest form of reward. If players could perform exceedingly well in the Trial of Heroes, they could receive permanent Attribute increases, super-rare or improved skills, an abundant amount of Weapon Mastery, and many more super-rare rewards.

Weapons and equipment could only be used for a period of time; they were like foreign objects. They were not truly part of one’s strength. However, it would be a different story if players could receive things like permanent Attribute increases and super-rare skills. The value of such things far surpassed that of weapons and equipment, and they would be of immense help towards one’s future development.

“How many colors were on the trial door that you guys entered?” Shi Feng asked.

Shi Feng’s question confused Blackie. However, since Shi Feng had asked, Blackie tried to recall the number of different colors on the large double doors they had entered. He then said unconfidently, “I think there were four colors.”

“Four?! Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed?!” Shi Feng immediately wanted to scold Blackie.

The Trial of God did not only possess rewards, but it would also mete out punishments. The punishments and rewards given were also equal.

In God’s Domain, with opportunity came danger. There was no such thing as a free lunch in God’s Domain, and even if there were, it might very well poison you to death.

The Trial of Heroes was normally categorized into seven tiers. If there were only one color on the teleportation gate, then the trial would be Tier 1; it was also the easiest trial to clear. Along with the increase in number of colors, the difficulty would increase exponentially.

If there were four colors on the Door of Trials, then it would be a Tier 4 trial. Its difficulty would be around eight times or above that of a Tier 1 trial. If Blackie and the others could clear it, the minimum rewards they could obtain would be Fine-Gold rank or above weapons and equipment. Normally, it would be a Dark-Gold ranked item. If they could finish the trial with a sufficiently high completion rate, there was a possibility they could receive permanent Attribute increases or have one of their skills upgraded to a stronger version.

However…

The punishment for a Tier 4 trial was no joking matter. If Blackie and the others failed to complete the trial, the lightest punishment they might receive was a massive loss in EXP; they could very well lose several levels. Blackie and the others might even lose a portion of their Attributes or skill mastery permanently, possibly entering a weakened state for a long period of time.

Such severe punishments were also one of the reasons why most players would avoid entering the Door of Trials after finding one. They would instead choose to sell the information to a large Guild, making a huge profit.

“Brother Feng, are we in a very dangerous situation?” hearing Shi Feng’s panic, Blackie could not help but swallow nervously, his heartbeat increasing in pace.

Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others who stood beside Blackie also became extraordinarily serious after hearing Shi Feng’s words. They no longer dared belittle this trial.

“I can only give you guys advice. Act within your capabilities. Do not attempt meritorious deeds; only try to leave in one piece. Don’t forget to pass on my advice to everyone in the team. However, Blackie, since you have Mavis’ Guard, logically, you guys should have a very high possibility of clearing the trial. However, remember not to rush things. Even if you have to waste a lot of time, you must never hurry. The rest will depend on your battle techniques, intelligence, and wisdom,” Shi Feng then continued to pass on all his knowledge about the trials onto Blackie. As for whether or not they could clear the trial, it would depend solely on Blackie and the others.

The tests of the Trial of Heroes had never repeated, so there were no known strategies to conquering one.

However, in Shi Feng’s previous life, after collecting the knowledge and wisdom of many predecessors, he managed to form a strategy that was not an actual strategy, which was to act within one’s own capabilities and plan before taking action. One must not rush when carrying out the Trial of Heroes. Other than that, there was no true strategy for conquering the Trial of Heroes.

With Fire Dance, Cola, and Blackie’s Mavi’s Guard, they should be able to clear a four-colored trial. However, they should not be able to leave the trial in a short time… Shi Feng felt a headache building. He originally intended to upgrade their equipment by raiding a Dungeon. However, that plan had gone down the drain now. He did not even know if Blackie and the others could manage to leave the trial within a week.

The Trial of Heroes was never simple, and it was an extremely time-consuming trial. In Shi Feng’s previous life, it wasn’t unusual if players spent more than a month clearing a trial.

In the past, a top-tier expert had once made a fair evaluation of the trials. A five-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling an Epic Quest. A six-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling a Legendary Quest. As for a seven-colored trial, it had the difficulty rivaling a top-tier Legendary Quest.

In Shi Feng’s previous life, even after God’s Domain had been in operation for over a decade, there had yet to be a player that could clear a seven-colored trial. Of course, part of the reason was that no true apex expert had encountered a seven-colored trial.

In the past, the highest tiered trial cleared was a six-colored trial. Meanwhile, one of the conquerors of a six-colored trial was the Cleric God, Violet Cloud, one of the publicly acknowledged top ten Cleric Gods in God’s Domain.

Thinking that Violet Cloud was currently with Blackie and the others, Shi Feng hesitantly released a sigh of relief. Although Violet Cloud had yet to grow into her prime, her potential could not be ignored. For a four-colored trial, Blackie and the others should… might… possibly… be able to clear it.

“Forget it. No point worrying about it too much. It seems that I can only upgrade my own equipment for now,” Shi Feng sighed. Habitually, he opened up the Auction House interface, searching for items under the Miscellaneous section.

The Miscellaneous section of the Auction House was just like TaoBao[1]. Oftentimes, players would auction some good things without realizing their actual value or things that they felt were not valuable at all. Hence, Shi Feng often browsed through this section, hoping to find a lucky catch.

Just as Shi Feng casually flipped through the pages…

“Flaming Sun Scripture.”

Shi Feng incidentally discovered a flame-red book displayed on the item interface of the Auction House. Shi Feng’s expression trembled at the sight of this book, and he could not help but wish he could immediately snatch this book into his hands.

Someone dared to sell even this item? This is simply ludicrous.

Shi Feng’s sight then shifted towards the price tag displayed on the upper-left corner the ancient book.

---

TL Notes:

[1] TaoBao: Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website similar to eBay, Amazon and Rakuten, which is operated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang by Alibaba Group.

Chapter 199: Flaming Sun Scripture

Displayed on the half-transparent pale-blue screen, the price of the Flaming Sun Scripture was similarly striking.

“Crap! This seller must have been dropped on his head as a child!” Shi Feng loudly cursed the moment he saw the price.

In actuality, Shi Feng wasn’t the only person who loudly cursed when they saw the price for this Flaming Sun Scripture; some players would even couple their curses with a few finger motions.

A thousand Gold Coins. This person was simply insane.

Shi Feng then took a look at the seller’s name.

“Sinfully Handsome.”

Shi Feng could only look at this person with respect when seeing this exotic name. Just how much of a narcissist was this person?

Looking at this name, Shi Feng could also vaguely guess the reason why the price of this Flaming Sun Scripture was so high.

However, since he had seen the Flaming Sun Scripture, he could not easily give it up. Hence, he sent out a communication request to this person called Sinfully Handsome. However, Shi Feng hid his name when he made the call, preventing this Sinfully Handsome from discovering his identity.

After waiting for ten seconds or so, Sinfully Handsome picked up the call.

“Who are you? What business do you have with me? You can’t be asking me to power-level you, right? If you’re a pretty girl, this brother can carry you to victory with me,” narcissism filled Sinfully Handsome’s voice when he spoke, and he gave others the hint of being a hooligan.

Shi Feng was instantly dumbfounded when he heard Sinfully Handsome’s words.

Girl?

Carry you to victory?

Just who was this person?

Even a person like this could obtain the Flaming Sun Scripture? Was this world already in such a mess?

“Hey, speak a few words, why don’t you? Are you dead? Don’t tell me you’re a tranny, right? This brother doesn’t have that kind of taste,” Sinfully Handsome suddenly started panicking.

“Hello, I’m interested in buying the Flaming Sun Scripture that you’ve placed on the Auction House. I wonder if you can sell it to me at a lower price?” Shi Feng asked.

“Oh! So you want to buy that item? Of course, I can!” Sinfully Handsome smiled in realization, “I’ll slightly reduce the price for you then! How does 900 Gold sound? This is a very justifiable price!”

Shi Feng faintly smiled at Sinfully Handsome’s asking price. He then calmly stated his own price, “20 Silver Coins.”

Shi Feng did not believe Sinfully Handsome knew the Flaming Sun Scripture’s true value.

Only fire-type humanoids Level 10 or higher would drop the Flaming Sun Scripture. However, its drop rate was somewhat low, so its selling price was very high; the average person usually couldn’t afford it. Even so, it was still not worth an insane 1,000 Gold. With that kind of money, players could even purchase an Epic ranked item. Why would they bother buying an item like the Flaming Sun Scripture if they had that kind of money?

“Hey, fellow brother, you’re not being sincere here. You are the one who took the initiative to contact me, yet, you’re offering such a price? Do you know which Guild I belong to?” Sinfully Handsome beamed a smile, proudly saying, “Have you heard of Dark Star before? It’s an apex third-rate Guild in White River City! With this name alone, shouldn’t you at least offer 100 Gold?”

Dark Star, it was indeed a powerful Guild in White River City.

However, what did that have to do with Shi Feng?

“One Gold Coin. If you don’t wish to sell, then forget it,” Shi Feng understood that Sinfully Handsome took him for a fool. However, he was also in quite a need for the Flaming Sun Scripture, so he decided to offer such a high price. Unfortunately, Sinfully Handsome misunderstood Shi Feng’s intentions.

“You have to think through this clearly. In the entire White River City, only I possess this Flaming Sun Scripture! Seeing that you’re an honest person, I’ll make a large sacrifice and sell it to you for 10 Gold with an additional 100,000 Credits. If you still don’t want it, I can only look for another buyer,” Sinfully Handsome confidently said.

“Goodbye!” Shi Feng immediately disconnected the call.

Sinfully Handsome suddenly panicked when Shi Feng disconnected the call. He did not think that Shi Feng would be so decisive. At least try to bargain! Watching his 1 Gold Coin fly out of his grasp, Sinfully Handsome’s heart bled with regret. However, he was too embarrassed to contact Shi Feng again.

“Humph! I don’t believe that you can so easily give up on this Flaming Sun Scripture!” Sinfully Handsome snorted.

Although he did not know the use of the Flaming Sun Scripture, based on its powerful and tyrannical name, it was not an ordinary item. Sinfully Handsome was very sure that Shi Feng knew this item’s value. However, he did not wish to pay too high a price, so he retreated for the sake of advancing. With this thought, Sinfully Handsome was further assured of the Flaming Sun Scripture’s value; it was definitely worth more than 1,000 Gold Coins.

Hence, Sinfully Handsome ran towards the Auction House, changing the price of the Flaming Sun Scripture from 1,000 Gold Coins to 10,000 Gold Coins. He wanted to see if Shi Feng was willing to beg him for this item.

However, when Sinfully Handsome arrived at the Auction House, he discovered that there was not only a single Flaming Sun Scripture on auction anymore; there were five of these books now. Aside from his copy, priced at 10,000 Gold Coins, the other four books were all priced at 15 Silver Coins.

The most inconceivable thing was that the number of Flaming Sun Scriptures up for auction continued to increase. In the blink of an eye, there were already 10 copies of the book up for sale.

“Just what sort of situation is this?” Sinfully Handsome’s eyes widened; he thought he was dreaming right now. How could there be so many Flaming Sun Scriptures??

While the quantity of these Flaming Sun Scriptures increased, someone else bought them, one after another.

There were a total of 32 copies of the Flaming Sun Scripture offered in the Auction House. Among them, Shi Feng had bought 30 of them. Only Sinfully Handsome’s copy and another copy sold by Nobody Cares for 20 Silver Coins remained.

Sinfully Handsome suddenly thought of something. He then hurriedly opened the trade section under White River City’s official forums.

As expected, there was an anonymous post stating: Buying Flaming Sun Scriptures at 14 Silver Coins per book! Willing to purchase it at 15 Silver Coins if placed in the Auction House.

One could often find such purchasing methods in virtual reality games. After all, players had plenty of items that they kept on hand without placing them on the Auction House. There were only a scarce amount of players like Sinfully Handsome who would place items of unknown value on the Auction House.

Shi Feng also remembered this fact, and he thought that, by now, there should be quite a few players who have gotten their hands on a Flaming Sun Scripture.

“Ah! My 1 Gold Coin!” Sinfully Handsome wanted to cry. Originally, he thought that the Flaming Sun Scripture’s value could rival that of an Epic ranked item. However, after seeing so many other players possessing this item, Sinfully Handsome immediately realized his mistake. If he had sold his copy for 1 Gold Coin, he would have made a huge profit.

Elsewhere, Shi Feng felt great satisfaction after purchasing 30 copies of the Flaming Sun Scripture. He would have completely forgotten about this item’s existence if he had not discovered the Flaming Sun Scripture on the Auction House in the first place.

“Thirty books should be enough for my purposes.” Shi Feng looked at the 30 Flaming Sun Scriptures laying in his bag, utterly pleased.

Although he had spent 4 Gold, 50 Silvers, shrinking his assets slightly, the Gold Coins he possessed would only depreciate as time passed. It was much better if he used those Gold Coins to profit further.

Thus, Shi Feng had spent so much money to purchase the Flaming Sun Scriptures.

In Shi Feng’s previous life, plenty of players had obtained the Flaming Sun Scripture. Unfortunately, none of them knew its purpose. Hence, they sold it at bargain prices. However, there was a Ranger who had desperately bought these Flaming Sun Scriptures. Even after the prices of the Flaming Sun Scriptures rose to 1 Gold Coin per book, that player still bought them without hesitation, earning the suspicion of many.

So, many players started to investigate the Flaming Sun Scripture.

On one occasion, a party of players met with a Ranger who grinded solo at the Level 25 map, Flame God’s Cave. Moreover, that Ranger displayed a shocking scene of killing the Boss and Elite monsters there by himself. Later on, however, the players discovered that the reason the Ranger could grind at the Flame God’s Cave alone was all thanks to the Flaming Sun Scripture.

From then on, the secret of the Flaming Sun Scripture was revealed, causing its price to skyrocket. In the end, even when the Flaming Sun Scripture sold for 3 Gold Coins per book, there were still players willing to buy it.

Right now, Shi Feng had only spent 15 Silver Coins to purchase each book. He had made a huge profit from this trade.

In any case, Blackie and the others still needed a long time before they could return to White River City. Since Shi Feng had nothing better to do, he might as well grind the Boss at the Flame God’s Cave. After all, his current strength was too weak right now. He could complete neither the Epic Quest, Darkness Descends, nor the Unique Quest, Demon’s Heart. Moreover, there were plenty of important quests in White River City that required a team to carry out. This was the tragedy that befell all solo players. Hence, grinding Bosses was the best option available for Shi Feng at the moment.

Most importantly, the Flame God’s Cave was a valuable location specialized in dropping forging designs. These forging designs had made that Ranger into a rich man, and he had earned over 600 Gold Coins from all the forging designs he sold, becoming the envy of countless players.

Soon after, Shi Feng hurried towards the teleportation gate. He paid a fee of 24 Silver Coins and teleported to Red Flame Fortress, the nearest teleportation point to the Flame God’s Cave