Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God - Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Seven Luminaries Key

The moment Shi Feng landed on the ground, the Crystal Warwolf arrived at his back like a savage gale. Without giving Shi Feng any chance to defend, the three heads of the Crystal Warwolf opened their jaws to bite down on Shi Feng.

“Guild Leader!” Fire Dance was greatly shocked. Immediately, she closed in on the Crystal Warwolf, sending a 3-star Kidney Strike to its body.

However, even a controlling skill like Kidney Strike had no effect on the Crystal Warwolf.

Just as the fangs of the Crystal Warwolf were about to close on Shi Feng’s head, Shi Feng managed to cross his swords and execute Parry in the nick of time.

Boom!

The floor beneath Shi Feng instantly cracked from the force.

“What a strong fellow,” Shi Feng laughed bitterly.

Although Parry allowed players to block the physical damage of an attack, it did not neutralize the force of the impact.

There was no healer in the party right now. If Shi Feng ate another attack, he would definitely lose his life.

From this brief exchange, Shi Feng had also gotten a general understanding of how much more powerful the Crystal Warwolf had become. In Shi Feng’s estimation, although the Crystal Warwolf had not received much of an increase in terms of strength, its current speed was at least 30% faster than before it went berserk.

At this moment, only by equipping the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath could Shi Feng have a chance at grasping victory. Otherwise, he would only receive unilateral abuse from the Boss.

Unfortunately, although reaching 200 points in Agility was a simple task, it was not easy for a Swordsman like Shi Feng to attain 120 points in Intelligence. Moreover, very few plate-armor equipment meant for Swordsmen had the Intelligence Attribute on it; those that did would be considered garbage equipment.

Seeing that its attack had failed to kill its prey, the Crystal Warwolf immediately rotated its body, its diamond-like tail whipping at Shi Feng as it did so.

As Parry was still on Cooldown, Shi Feng had no choice but to activate one of his lifesaving skills, Defensive Blade.

Defensive Blade was currently at Level 4, and it protected Shi Feng from nine ranged attacks or four melee attacks.

Defensive Blade was a skill that provided complete immunity to any attack, be it damage or the resulting impact.

It was one of the must-have basic combat skills for Swordsmen.

As for why Shi Feng had chosen to use Parry first instead of Defensive Blade, it was for the sole purpose of determining the combat power of the berserk Crystal Warwolf. Only by experiencing the force of the impact could Shi Feng make the best judgment.

Meanwhile, the conclusion Shi Feng arrived at was to face the Crystal Warwolf head-on. If he tried to escape, he would only die faster.

Following which, he raised the Abyssal Blade up in the air. Green electric arcs surrounded the body of the sword as it moved to meet with the snowy, sharp claws of the Crystal Warwolf.

Thundering Flash!

The green electric arcs pierced the Crystal Warwolf’s body, causing -572, -1,623, and -1,204 damage to it. Although only one out of the three arcs achieved a critical hit, the attack also managed to trigger the curse of the Abyssal Blade, inflicting the Doom Curse on the Crystal Warwolf. Immediately, all of the Crystal Warwolf’s Attributes were reduced by 20%.

Suddenly, the berserk Crystal Warwolf that had had its Agility increased by 30% was weakened greatly.

However, Shi Feng was still not done with his attacks. He activated Phantom Kill right away, his doppelganger appearing beside the Crystal Warwolf. Shortly after, Shi Feng’s doppelganger started sending a barrage of attacks at the Crystal Warwolf as well.

Although the doppelganger only had 50% of Shi Feng’s Attributes, it had fully inherited the skills Shi Feng had learned.

Yet, despite having greatly reduced the Crystal Warwolf’s speed, Shi Feng still did not have an easy time evading its attacks. Having no other choice, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation. Shi Feng’s body instantly became as light as a feather, and like a spirited monkey, he dodged the originally unavoidable attack.

Wind Blade!

Immediately, Shi Feng’s Attack Speed increased even further.

Double Chop!

Earth Splitter!

Thunder Flame Explosion!

Skills blasted on the Crystal Warwolf one after another, each dealing over -1,000 damage.

Although the Crystal Warwolf’s attacks became stronger and its speed much faster after going berserk, these improvements came at the price of its Defense being weakened. Combined with the 20% Damage Amplification effect of Thundering Flash, the damage the Crystal Warwolf received became a lot higher than before.

Fire Dance’s and Aqua Rose’s attacks also landed at this point, so the Crystal Warwolf’s HP fell sharply. By the time the 30-second duration of Gravity Liberation was almost over, the Crystal Warwolf only had 10% of its HP remaining.

Just as the effect of Gravity Liberation was about to end, Shi Feng executed Nine Dragons Slash. Nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade appeared behind Shi Feng, and all of them shot towards the Crystal Warwolf. Meanwhile, just as an attack from the Crystal Warwolf was about to land on Shi Feng, Shi Feng swapped positions with his doppelganger. Upon being relocated, the doppelganger immediately used Parry and Defensive Blade to repel the Crystal Warwolf’s attacks.

Each phantom of the Abyssal Blade had high Attack Power, and each of them could deal over -150 damage every time they struck at the Crystal Warwolf. In total, the nine phantoms dealt over -1,300 damage to the Crystal Warwolf every second. Meanwhile, there were 28 seconds before the effect of Nine Dragons Slash ended.

After having used up both of its lifesaving skills, Parry and Defensive Blade, the doppelganger received a direct hit from the Crystal Warwolf’s claws. Alas, the doppelganger only had 50% of Shi Feng’s Attributes, so it died on the spot.

However, the doppelganger had earned a lot of time for Shi Feng.

With the doppelganger gone, the Crystal Warwolf shifted its attention back to Shi Feng’s actual body. Shi Feng activated Wind Walk again without hesitation. He then whirled around and ran.

Fortunately, with his Movement Speed increased by 30%, Shi Feng was still a tad faster than the Crystal Warwolf, which was still under the 20% Attribute Reduction effect of the Doom Curse. Thus, the kiting strategy began once more.

Under Aqua Rose’s and Fire Dance’s constant barrage, the Crystal Warwolf’s HP fell lower and lower.

9%…

8%…

7%…

…

By the time the effect of Shi Feng’s Windwalk was about to end, the Crystal Warwolf only had 3% of its HP remaining.

“It should be about time…”

At this moment, Shi Feng stopped running. He then turned to face the Crystal Warwolf, pointing the Abyssal Blade at the monster.

Abyssal Bind!

Nine snakelike chains suddenly surfaced from the floor, instantly binding the Crystal Warwolf.

Although the Crystal Warwolf had been immune to the control skills used on it before, its movements were still bound by the pitch-black chains.

In God’s Domain, the so-called “immunity to control skills” did not necessarily make one immune to all control skills. Instead, it simply made one immune to control skills that were below a certain tier. Skills such as Frost Arrow, Ice Sphere, and Kidney Strike were all considered basic skills. In other words, they were Tier 0 skills. As these skills were of the lowest tier, the Crystal Warwolf was completely immune to their effects.

As a Level 25 Lord, the Crystal Warwolf was immune to any control skills that was below Tier 2. However, Tier 2 or Tier 3 control skills could still restrain it.

Although Shi Feng did not know which tier the Abyssal Bind belonged to, it was a skill attached to a Magic Weapon. In Shi Feng’s estimation, it should be at least Tier 3 or above, meaning that it would be effective against all Bosses that could possibly appear at this stage of the game.

With the Crystal Warwolf completely restrained, Shi Feng took a step forward as he activated his ultimate skill, Flame Burst, which could only be used around once every four minutes.

Shi Feng’s two swords were just like miniature suns with the activation of Flame Burst. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng slashed the Crystal Warwolf’s body six times with his swords.

-2,238, -4,452, -2,198, -2,212, -4,408, -2,216…

The six attacks dealt a total of more than -17,000 damage, instantly wiping away the Crystal Warwolf’s remaining 3% HP.

System: Level 25 Crystal Warwolf killed. Level difference of 7. EXP obtained increased by 700%. Obtained 485,630 EXP.

The experience bars of all three of them instantly increased by a large chunk. Aqua Rose even advanced to Level 18. As for Shi Feng, he had only recently reached Level 18, so he was still at Level 18 even after killing the Crystal Warwolf. If he could kill several more of such Lord rank Bosses, he would definitely level up very quickly.

“I never thought a Lord ranked Boss could be killed in such a way as well.” This battle was an eye-opener for Aqua Rose.

In truth, however, if not for Shi Feng being capable of holding a stable aggro on the Crystal Warwolf, in addition to consistently evading its multitude of attacks, they definitely could not have killed it.

“Guild Leader, quickly check the loot!” As a huge fan of Shi Feng, Fire Dance was not surprised by Shi Feng’s ingenuity. She had always believed Shi Feng could lead them to victory. Moreover, Fire Dance was hoping to reach Shi Feng’s standards one day. How could she allow herself to falter when faced with a Lord ranked Boss?

Shi Feng nodded in reply, promptly going ahead and checking the loot left behind by the Crystal Warwolf.

“It can’t be, right? How could this Boss be so cheap? How could it drop only one key and one piece of equipment?” Aqua Rose immediately grew unhappy when she saw the information shared by Shi Feng.

What was even more annoying was that the equipment dropped was only a Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked plate-armor wrist guard; it wasn’t even Dark-Gold rank.

“Not bad. Don’t forget that this Seven Luminaries Key can be used up to three times to open a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Isn’t there a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest right before us?” Shi Feng laughed.

After Aqua Rose had followed Shi Feng for some time, unconsciously, her standard for judging items became much higher than before. If it was in the past, Aqua Rose would definitely have forgotten herself in joy if she saw a Fine-Gold Equipment. Now, however, unless an item was of Dark-Gold rank, it would not even pique her interest.

“That’s right!” Aqua Rose shifted her sights towards the distant treasure chest. After the arduous battle, the existence of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest had completely slipped her mind. They could get a Dark-Gold Equipment at the very minimum if they opened this treasure chest. There was also a small chance for them to obtain an Epic ranked item.

Epic ranked items. Aqua Rose did not dare to even hope for one.

Chapter 276: Dragonscale Set Equipment

“It’s locked, as expected.” No matter how hard Shi Feng tried, he could not open the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

Hence, he retrieved the key he had just obtained from his bag.

Kachak!

The lid of the purple-gold-colored treasure chest popped open slightly. Multicolored lights escaped between the gap, the lights illuminating even areas that were several hundred yards away. If this treasure chest had been opened out in the fields, it would definitely cause a huge commotion and attract many players to come and snatch it. Fortunately, there was only Shi Feng’s group of three in the Forgotten Lands.

After the multicolored lights faded away, Shi Feng reached into the treasure chest. However, he quickly discovered there were only very few items inside it.

The treasure chest contained a total of three items. Of them, two were Dark-Gold Equipment, while one was a Forging Manual.

The two Dark-Gold Equipment were the Crystal Armor and the Boots of Extreme Speed.

[Crystal Armor] (Chest Piece, Plate Armor, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 20

Equipment Requirement: Strength 120, Agility 140

Defense +140

Strength +24, Agility +21, Endurance +20

Restricted to Swordsman.

Additional Passive Skill-

Smart Outbreak: Every time user receives damage, Strength and Agility increased by 2% for 15 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.

Although the Basic Attributes on this piece of equipment could only be considered at the level of being “good,” the passive skill that was attached to it was simply amazing. After all, the passive skill could potentially increase a player’s Strength and Agility by 10%. If the wearer of the Crystal Armor originally had high amounts of Strength and Agility, the additional Attributes provided by Smart Outbreak would be like having equipped an additional piece of equipment at the very least. The only downside to this passive skill was its need for the user to take damage up to five times. Although such a condition had made it relatively useless in Boss battles, when used in grinding monsters and PK, it would definitely provide the wearer of the Crystal Armor with unspeakable advantages.

[Boots of Extreme Speed] (Shoes, Leather Armor, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 20

Equipment Requirement: Strength 90, Agility 130

Defense +143,

Strength +20, Agility +26, Endurance +18

Movement Speed +10

Evasion +7

Additional Passive Skill-

Rapid Movement: Increases Movement Speed by 12% and Agility by 8%.

In regard to Assassins and Rangers, the most sought-after Attribute for these two classes was Agility, followed by Strength. Meanwhile, this pair of boots increased the wearer’s Agility to the extremes. One could even argue that no other Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked shoes could increase Agility as much as the Boots of Extreme Speed could.

Although these two pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment were excellent, they were worth barely a fragment of the true value of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest.

After all, the item that reflected the true value of the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was none other than the Forging Manual. In addition, it was even a Fine-Gold ranked Forging Manual. Forging Manuals were different from Forging Designs. In the case of Forging Designs, only one particular piece of equipment could be made using it. In the case of Forging Manuals, however, an entire set of equipment could be made using it.

This Forging Manual was meant to produce the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment. There were a total of six pieces in this set, and it could be worn by any class that could use plate armor.

Previously, Shi Feng had spent over 100 Gold at the Blackwing Auction House just to purchase the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. However, the value of the Arclight Shield was far from being comparable to the Dragonscale Set Equipment. After all, the Dragonscale Set Equipment was a Fine-Gold ranked Set Equipment.

Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, not a single Guild had managed to obtain a Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment up to now. One could simply imagine the value of a Fine-Gold ranked Set Equipment.

If Shi Feng could forge a few sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment and give them to the plate-armor classes in the Guild’s main force… when these players walked on the streets wearing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, one could simply imagine the shock on the other players’ faces when they see the Set Equipment. The members of other Guilds would definitely tremble with fear. Just the thought of such a scene was simply exhilarating.

However, it would definitely be extremely difficult to forge the Dragonscale Set Equipment. As it was a Set Equipment, the difficulty of producing the entire set would be no less than producing a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment.

Shi Feng was only an Advanced Forging Apprentice right now. Without raising his forging level, producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment would only be a pipe dream.

At the very least, he needed to get promoted to an Intermediate Forger or Advanced Forger before he had an actual chance of producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment.

I have to raise my forging levels after we return. Shi Feng formed a plan in his mind as he looked at the Dragonscale Forging Manual.

Shi Feng then handed the Boots of Extreme Speed to Fire Dance. Now that Fire Dance had reached Level 19, she was only a short distance away from Level 20. As for the Crystal Armor and Dragonscale Forging Manual, he kept both of them for himself.

After resting for a short while, Shi Feng’s group of three entered the crystal pathway.

The crystal pathway was so long that one could not see the end of it in a single glance. Moreover, the Elemental Mana present in this pathway was extremely dense, so much so that it was even visible in the form of an aurora. It was an absolutely stunning sight to behold. Aside from being visually appealing, the dense Mana also gave the three of them a buff, increasing the magic damage they could deal by 300%. One could simply imagine how dense the Elemental Mana was in this pathway.

Before they knew it, Shi Feng’s group of three had walked for more than an hour inside this crystal pathway. When they finally emerged, they were at the base of a huge mountain.

When the three of them laid eyes on this mountain, they were immediately stunned.

“This entire mountain can’t be made out of Seven Luminaries Crystal, right?!” Aqua Rose stared at the crystal mountain, her heart filled with immense shock.

Aqua Rose had previously visited the Blackwing Auction House, so she had seen Seven Luminaries Crystal before.

It was common knowledge that the Seven Luminaries Crystal was one of the best mana-conducting crystals in God’s Domain. Not only was it extremely rare, its price was even more impressive. Not even White River City, a city with a population of several million, was qualified to use such a precious commodity. Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, only the palace and Star-Moon Auction House at the capital city could afford to use a floating platform made out of Seven Luminaries Crystal.

Previously, Aqua Rose had believed that the crystal pathway was actually made out of Mana Crystals. However, the sight of this large mountain and its surrounding environment overturned her previous assumptions. The reason being, it was simply impossible for mere Mana Crystals to fill their surroundings with such dense Elemental Mana, resulting in even the formation of Seven-colored Mana Clouds.

“It should be.” Shi Feng nodded blankly.

Shi Feng’s mind grew heated at the thought of having so much Seven Luminaries Crystal.

On the market, a Seven Luminaries Crystal the size of a small residential house could be used to purchase a large town with a population of 50,000, with plenty to spare. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Crystal before him was in the form of a mountain, and in terms of size, this mountain could rival even White River City.

A city made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystal, just what sort of concept was this? Even if the entire Star-Moon Kingdom was sold, it would not be enough to purchase so much Seven Luminaries Crystals.

Unfortunately, none of these crystals could be taken away. It was not even possible to pick some to take back.

If they wished to mine these Seven Luminaries Crystals, at the very least, they needed to reach Master level in mining. Shi Feng was only at Basic Apprentice level in mining right now, and not even in his dreams could he mine these Seven Luminaries Crystals.

Seven Luminaries Crystal was even more valuable than gold. Yet, even though so much Seven Luminaries Crystals were sitting right before him, he could do nothing but look at it. Shi Feng’s heart simply bled at this thought.

However, this couldn’t be helped. Who would have ever thought there would be so much Seven Luminaries Crystals at this place?

Shi Feng shook his head, banishing his thoughts. He then moved his sights towards a flight of stairs a short distance away that led to the peak of the mountain, saying, “Let’s go up and take a look. We might discover how to unseal this place up there.”

Fire Dance did not know the true value of Seven Luminaries Crystal, hence she barely reacted to it. She had simply been mesmerized by the beauty of this mountain. Aqua Rose, on the other hand, knew full well the value of this mountain. If Fire Dance had not given her a shove, rousing her from her stupor, Aqua Rose would definitely still be immersed in her shock.

After all, this entire mountain was a mountain of money…

If she could nick even a tiny piece of this mountain, the Coins converted from it would be enough to sustain even a first-rate Guild for a long time.

As the trio traversed the stairs up the mountain, Shi Feng suddenly felt an oppressive pressure bearing down on him. Moreover, this pressure was exactly the same as what he had felt at the Purple Sun Mansion, only a lot more powerful. The pressure only grew stronger and stronger as they climbed further up the mountain.

By the time Shi Feng arrived at the mountaintop, he was already drenched in sweat. His body also felt extremely heavy, as if it were made out of lead. Meanwhile, the two girls, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose, fared much worse than Shi Feng. At this moment, both girls were sprawled on the ground, their bodies refusing to move even an inch. Unable to help his teammates, Shi Feng decided to walk towards a monolith visible at a distance by himself.

Just by looking at this semi-transparent sky-blue monolith, Shi Feng could immediately sense that it was the heart of this land. It was obvious that this standing stone was the thing that filled the surrounding environment with such dense Elemental Mana, and not the mountain-sized Seven Luminaries Crystal.

Arriving before the monolith, Shi Feng discovered many golden divine runes engraved on the bottom of the standing stone. They were by far the most complicated divine runes Shi Feng had ever seen. Also, Shi Feng had actually discovered a figure flickering in and out of existence within the semi-transparent monolith.

When Shi Feng took a closer look at this figure, his eyes immediately widened in shock. He simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing was real.

The reason being, Shi Feng had seen the figure inside the stone before.

However, Shi Feng was confused. Why would this person appear here?

Chapter 277: A God’s Grave

While Shi Feng was still in a daze, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose caught up with him, having recovered from their exhaustion.

“Guild Leader, did you find anything?” Fire Dance asked out of curiosity when she saw Shi Feng lost in thought.

Aqua Rose, on the other hand, did not notice any difference in Shi Feng’s demeanor, because the moment she arrived before the monolith, her attention was completely caught by something else. As an Elementalist, she was much more sensitive to magic power than players of other classes.

The frightening magic power radiating from the monolith was definitely the purest form of magic power Aqua Rose had ever felt, as if it was the master of all Elemental Mana.

When Aqua Rose noticed the figure inside the monolith, she, too, froze on the spot.

“How is it possible?” Aqua Rose could not believe what she saw. She rubbed her eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on her.

Aqua Rose’s reaction baffled Fire Dance.

“What has gotten into the two of you?” Fire Dance looked at Aqua Rose, then at Shi Feng, confused by their reactions.

“You’ll understand after taking a look inside the monolith,” Shi Feng said slowly, pointing towards the figure in the monolith.

Fire Dance then transferred her gaze to the monolith.

“How could she be here?” Fire Dance asked in shock.

Fire Dance knew the figure in the monolith. Moreover, she had met this person only recently.

This person was none other than Sharlyn, the Divine Official who faced off against the two Fallen Angels back at the Demon’s Castle. To be precise, the woman within the monolith looked exactly the same as Sharlyn. Even the saintly aura she emitted was similar to Sharlyn’s. If Fire Dance had to point to a difference between the two women, then it would be the pressure this woman gave off.

This was no longer an oppression due to strength. Instead, this pressure was the instinctive reverence for a primordial life form, just like the reverence mortals had towards Gods.

“Could she possibly be a God?” Fire Dance suddenly had this thought when she looked at the woman who looked like Sharlyn.

Shi Feng’s thoughts were running along similar lines to Fire Dance’s.

However, Shi Feng could say with certainty that the woman inside the monolith was definitely a Tier 6 God, because in the past he had personally experienced this overbearing pressure, which could only be exuded by a God.

If the woman in the monolith was simply a Tier 6 God, Shi Feng would not have found the matter too shocking. After all, during his decade of playing God’s Domain, he had personally met with plenty of Tier 6 players and NPCs. The thing that truly startled him was the fact that the woman before him looked identical to Sharlyn.

Back at the Purple Sun Mansion, he had already experienced this kind of pressure. He had simply forgotten where he had felt it before. Now he knew why that pressure felt so familiar.

After all, he had felt a similar pressure from Sharlyn. Only, the pressure Sharlyn gave off was not as powerful as the one he felt at the Purple Sun Mansion, hence he failed to recognize it.

Not only did the two women look exactly the same, even the pressure they emitted felt similar. The only real difference between the two were their actual strengths.

If Shi Feng was told that the woman before him was Sharlyn, he would definitely not believe it. After all, Sharlyn was only a Tier 3 Divine Official. She was still miles away from becoming a Tier 6 God. Yet, if he was told that Sharlyn had no connection to this woman before him, then he likewise would not believe it.

Although the woman inside the monolith was clearly no longer alive, at the end of the day, she was still a God. As long as her body did not receive any intentional damage, it would not undergo any decay.

As of now, Shi Feng finally realized that the Forgotten Lands was merely the grave of a God. However, he was still curious about who had actually created this masterpiece. This great personage had actually made such a complex magic array that utilized a God’s body as its power source. The materials used to create the magic array even included the extremely valuable Seven Luminaries Crystal. Just what kind of thing was this great personage trying to seal?

Even if it was for the purpose of sealing a God, there should not be a need for so much resources…

“It seems there is a deep connection between Sharlyn and this place.” Shi Feng had long since felt that Sharlyn’s origins were not simple. The fact that she was a Tier 3 NPC was already amazing in and of itself. Sharlyn was also capable of handing out an Epic Quest to Shi Feng. Now, there was even a God that looked exactly the same as Sharlyn. Even Shi Feng could not fathom Sharlyn’s true identity.

Unless he went and asked Sharlyn herself…

Shi Feng was extremely curious about this matter. He vowed to himself to visit Sharlyn, who was at the Stargazing Tower at Blackwing City, after this entire ordeal was over.

“Guild Leader, what are we supposed to do now? Destroy this monolith?” Aqua Rose asked.

The mana source of this magic array clearly originated from this monolith. If they wished to release the seal on the Forgotten Lands, their only choice was to destroy the monolith. However, it was unknown what sort of reaction they would incur if they did so. There was a God inside the monolith, after all.

“Let’s give it a try.” Shi Feng had taken a look at the monolith’s surroundings just now. However, he did not discover any mechanisms that would allow him to undo the magic array.

After Shi Feng nodded, Fire Dance immediately took action by slashing at the monolith with her two daggers.

However, the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers, which could easily cut through metal like a hot knife through butter, simply grazed the surface of the monolith, creating dazzling sparks in the process. There was not even a mark left on the monolith.

“Hard.” Fire Dance’s hands went numb from the attack. It felt as if her daggers had hit God-steel.

“I’ll try using magic.” Aqua Rose started chanting the incantation for Chain Explosion.

With the Elemental Mana so dense in this place, any spells used here would be greatly enhanced.

Originally, Chain Explosion would only summon five fireballs, each the size of a washbowl. When Aqua Rose cast the spell now, however, the fireballs grew to the size of a small house. When these fireballs bombarded the monolith, they were like meteors hurtling down from the sky. Sparks flew in all directions as the fireballs crashed into the monolith.

After the flames subsided, Aqua Rose was greatly shocked by the result.

The monolith remained completely unscathed. On the contrary, it even looked more brilliant and dazzling than before…

Shi Feng wrinkled his brows at this sight. If even Aqua Rose’s ultimate move could not deal any damage to the monolith, he would most likely end up with a similar result if he tried to attack the monolith.

“Since we can’t destroy the monolith, we’ll need to use some other method to destroy the magic array,” Shi Feng said.

The Main God System would not hand out a quest that players had no hope of actually completing. If they couldn’t destroy the power source of the magic array nor the magic array itself, then there was only one other thing they could destroy.

The connection points!

“Aqua, help me look for the connection points of this magic array,” Shi Feng said.

“I see!” Aqua Rose immediately understood Shi Feng’s intention.

Fire Dance, however, remained clueless after the two’s brief conversation. As an Assassin, she knew next to nothing about magic. Hence, she could only stay by the monolith’s side as she watched her two friends hard at work. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose started searching the surroundings of the monolith for the veins that carried magic power to the five modules of the magic array. Only by looking for veins could they locate the connection points.

Normally, the quickest way to destroy a magic array was to destroy its power core. If that was not viable, then the two other remaining options would be to destroy the magic array itself and to destroy the connection points of the magic array. Destroying the magic array itself was an extremely challenging task to pull off. On the other hand, it was a very simple task to destroy the connection points. Unfortunately, locating these connection points was also a very difficult task.

A connection point was a node that connected the magic array to its power source. It acted similar to a circuit breaker in real life. Only, instead of being used to prevent an overflow of electric current, the connection point served to limit the amount of mana flowing from the power source to the magic array. If the connection point was damaged, then the mana supply would surge, and consequently, the magic array would destroy itself due to excessive mana input.

After searching for some time, Shi Feng finally found a connection point. He promptly struck down with the Abyssal Blade, destroying the connection point.

However, this enormous and complex magic array did not possess only a single connection point. They needed to search and destroy all the connection points of the magic array.

After several more hours passed, Aqua Rose found another connection point, which she quickly destroyed. Even so, the magic array remained stable.

In this way, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose spent the entire day destroying more than twenty connection points. Although the destruction of the connection points had a slight effect on the magic array, it was clear that the damage was within the parameters of the magic array’s design.

“Not good! Guild Leader, one of the connection points you previously destroyed is back to normal!” Having nothing better to do, Fire Dance had tagged along with Shi Feng, hoping to learn how she, too, could search for the connection points. However, during her observations, she suddenly discovered that one of the connection points Shi Feng had previously destroyed had actually recovered.

“What did you say?” Shi Feng asked in disbelief.

Even the connection points could restore themselves? Shi Feng started to suspect that this was no longer an ordinary magic array but a magic array that had already cultivated into a demon.

Shi Feng had seen plenty of Tier 5 magic arrays in the past; he had even seen Tier 6 magic arrays before. However, he had never once heard of a magic array that was capable of repairing itself.

Chapter 278: The Great Catastrophe

“By no means can we continue like this. There might be hundreds of connection points in this magic array. By the time we locate the ones remaining, the other connection points might have repaired themselves already,” Shi Feng said, his head aching.

A magic array that was capable of self-repair was simply unheard-of.

If they did not have a dozen or so players moving separately to destroy the connection points, it was simply impossible to destroy every single connection point in this magic array.

Destroying the connection points suddenly became a much harder task than Shi Feng had imagined it to be.

“Guild Leader, I found something here. Come over and take a look,” Aqua Rose said through the party chat.

Hearing that there was a new discovery, Shi Feng immediately hurried over to Aqua Rose’s location.

Aqua Rose was currently situated in the middle of this Seven Luminaries Mountain, inside an extremely obscure cave. If not for the indicator provided by the system map, Shi Feng could not have found the cave Aqua Rose was in.

After entering the cave, Shi Feng immediately observed his surroundings. He discovered that the walls of the cave were covered with engravings of divine runes, the golden glow these divine runes were giving off brightly illuminating the interior of the cave.

Looking at the cave’s central crystal pillar, Shi Feng noticed a blood-red stone embedded in it. This piece of stone was just like a beating heart, only, instead of bright-red liquid, an endless amount of mana passed through it. Meanwhile, the mana that passed through this blood-red stone became much purer in quality.

“Aqua, how did you manage to find this place?” Shi Feng asked, astonished by this scene before him.

“I just happened to discover a particularly thick mana vein and followed it here.” Aqua Rose beamed a proud smile at Shi Feng.

If they demolished this place, then the magic array would definitely be finished.

“Guild Leader, I’ll start destroying this place, alright?” Aqua Rose could wait no longer.

She had been trapped in this godforsaken place for so many days now. During this period of time, she had no option but to keep contact with her subordinates through the phone in order to make arrangements for the daily affairs of the Guild. She had also instructed them to prepare for the establishment of their Guild Residence. Currently, most of the average players in White River City were already around Level 14 to Level 15, while the elite players of the various Guilds were already at Level 17.

The intensity of the competition for the Three Great Dungeons had also reached its peak by now. Out of all the Guilds in White River City, Ouroboros shone the brightest. They had already managed to take down the second Boss of the Hard Mode Land of Death, and they were currently in the midst of challenging the third Boss of the Dungeon. Meanwhile, Dark Star, which ranked after Ouroboros, was still attempting to raid the second Boss. As for the other Guilds, they had also passed through Normal Mode, and were currently preparing to raid Hard Mode.

Furthermore, as players started raiding the Hard Mode Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons, they soon discovered the astonishing benefits they could obtain. Aside from dropping Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment, the Bosses also dropped plenty of recipes and designs. Players could also obtain the Guild Task Order that could not be obtained from 20-man Team Dungeons or lower. These Guild Task Orders could be used to accelerate the promotion of a Guild. Otherwise, it would take ages for Guilds to get promoted if they simply relied on the meager Guild Reputation their members obtained by completing Daily Quests.

Yet, as one of the top six Guilds in White River City, Zero Wing had actually remained inactive all this time. Not only had it accomplished nothing during this period of time, it did not even set foot in any of the Three Great Dungeons. It had simply focused its attention on raiding Level 15, 10- and 20-man Dungeons, and its decision to do so had greatly confused the masses.

Even though Zero Wing clearly had the strength to challenge the Three Great Dungeons, it had chosen not to take action instead.

The Guild’s behavior had caused many of the new members to grow dissatisfied, and a majority of these players had chosen to leave the Guild one after another. Very quickly, Zero Wing’s member count that had originally exceeded 8,000 had quickly dwindled down to just slightly more than 6,000.

This situation had panicked Aqua Rose somewhat.

In reply to Aqua Rose’s panic, Shi Feng had simply said, “If they wish to leave, then let them leave. You don’t need to stop them. The Guild is too bloated right now, so this is a good chance to rid ourselves of those that joined solely with the intention of taking advantage of us. The Guild would become much purer after those players are gone.”

Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Aqua Rose had no choice but to turn a blind eye to all the players withdrawing from the Guild. However, she did make sure to record the names of those who left. In the future, they would no longer be welcomed into the Guild.

Meanwhile, the players that withdrew from the Guild simply reacted with contempt at Aqua Rose’s actions. They had even made a mockery of Zero Wing, declaring that they would never rejoin a lousy Guild like Zero Wing. Moreover, as if to rub salt into the wound, Dark Star had also been secretly killing many players from Zero Wing, causing even more players to withdraw from the Guild.

As of this moment, there were only around 4,000 members remaining in Zero Wing. Not to mention a third-rate Guild, they were not even comparable to a large unrated Guild right now.

Hence, Aqua Rose was in a rush to break out of this place. She wanted to quickly return and rectify the Guild.

“Hold on a minute,” Shi Feng hurriedly said when he noticed a large fireball already appearing in Aqua Rose’s hand. “We don’t really need to destroy it.”

“But, how are we supposed to leave this place if we don’t destroy it, then?” Aqua Rose asked.

“I have my own ways.” Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he looked at the blood-red stone embedded inside the crystal pillar.

Shi Feng truly had not expected to find this piece of blood-red stone here.

Instead of calling it a blood-red stone, it would be more appropriate to refer to it as the Philosopher’s Stone.

Previously, Shi Feng had obtained a fragment of the Philosopher’s Stone back at the Sun Temple. Now, he had stumbled upon another fragment.

The Philosopher’s Stone was an alchemy treasure. Despite being fragmented into five pieces, each of these individual pieces still contained the strength of an Epic ranked item.

Also, when Shi Feng discovered the Philosopher’s Stone at this place, he quickly understood just how the connection points of the magic array had managed to repair themselves. It turned out it was all because of the Philosopher’s Stone.

Although I can’t take away any of these Seven Luminaries Crystals, it is still not bad if I can return with this piece of the Philosopher’s Stone. Shi Feng arrived before the crystal pillar. He then inserted the tip of the Abyssal Blade into the crevice in the crystal pillar where the Philosopher’s Stone was set. With a light tap on the pommel of the Abyssal Blade, the Philosopher’s Stone easily popped out from the crystal pillar. Shi Feng promptly retrieved the item and stored it in his bag.

Shortly after the Philosopher’s Stone was removed from the crystal pillar, the cave started fading away. Moreover, the rate at which it disappeared was visible to the naked eye. The dense Elemental Mana that filled the air and land also gradually dispersed, becoming thinner and thinner. As for the incomparably hard Seven Luminaries Crystals, they, too, had began turning into ash.

“Not good! This place is about to collapse! We need to leave immediately!” Shi Feng shouted through the party chat as soon as he noticed this change.

Shi Feng’s group of three rushed down the Seven Luminaries Mountain, and before long the entire mountain started imploding. The magic array that sealed the Forgotten Lands also lost its effectiveness.

As for the monolith that had previously been standing on the mountaintop, it remained floating high up in the sky. Gradually, the monolith rose higher and higher, before suddenly releasing a rainbow brilliance. The monolith was like a miniature sun at this moment. Soon after, the dazzling glow disappeared, along with the gigantic monolith itself.

After the Seven Luminaries Mountain collapsed, a bottomless pit appeared in its place. The pit was just like a black hole, devouring everything that entered it.

At the deepest reaches of this bottomless pit, there was actually a boundless aura of destruction, and any object that came into contact with this pressure instantly turned into ash.

Surprisingly, Shi Feng felt signs of life at the very bottom of this immeasurably deep pit, and his entire body instinctively shuddered at this discovery.

“Guild Leader, did we do something bad?” Fire Dance asked Shi Feng in a careful tone. She, too, could feel the immensely frightening pressure that came from the bottomless pit.

“I don’t know, either,” Shi Feng said, a bitter smile on his face.

At this moment, a notification from the system sounded.

System: Unique Quest “Miracles Unsealed” completed.

Quest rewards: 1,000,000 EXP, 40 Free Attribute Points, and 40 Free Mastery Points.

System: The Endless Abyss has come into existence. Activating new expansion pack, “The Great Catastrophe.”

System: Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest “Seven Treasures” activated.

Quest details: The Endless Abyss has been unsealed. You are required to immediately notify the War God’s Temple in order to have them reseal the Endless Abyss.

After reading these notifications, Shi Feng finally had an inkling of what was going on.

Inadvertently, they had actually opened the door of taboos. According to Shi Feng’s memories, the new expansion pack “The Great Catastrophe” had only appeared three months after God’s Domain’s launch in his previous life. Now, however, because of him, the Great Catastrophe had appeared in advance…

Chapter 279: Quality over Quantity

When Aqua Rose and Fire Dance read the notifications they received, both of them were immediately sent into a daze.

A Legendary Quest!

Moreover, it was a Main Storyline Quest, a quest that was capable of changing the history of God’s Domain. The reward for such a quest would definitely be luxuriant.

According to rumors, the minimum reward for completing an Epic Quest was an Epic ranked item, or an item of equivalent value. In other words, if they completed a Legendary Quest, then the minimum reward they could obtain would be a Legendary ranked item.

They had never even seen an Epic ranked item before, much less a Legendary ranked item. It could definitely become the symbol of the Guild.

However, when the two of them thought about how they were required to seal this Endless Abyss, they sank into deep despair…

“The Return Scrolls are usable now. Let’s leave this place, then.” Shi Feng’s memories of the new expansion pack “The Great Catastrophe” were still fresh in his mind. After the Great Catastrophe occurred, the monsters throughout God’s Domain started becoming restless. Towns, especially, would randomly come under attack from Demonic Beasts, resulting in chaos.

According to Shi Feng’s memories, some of the weaker border towns had even been conquered by the Demonic Beasts, turning those into Demonic Beast Towns.

Among the biggest changes made to the game were to the nights in God’s Domain. After the new pack was implemented, the number of monsters that would appear during nighttime was much higher than before. Moreover, monsters corrupted by the Endless Abyss would also appear. These corrupted monsters would all be transformed into Demonic Beasts, and even the weakest of Demonic Beasts were Tier 1 monsters. Which was to say, if players had still not received their promotion into a Tier 1 class, it would be tremendously difficult for them to fight against these monsters. Instead of being the ones doing the killing, players would have a much higher chance of getting killed by these Demonic Beasts.

Hence, after the new expansion pack, players would find it very difficult to grind and level up during nighttime.

In contrast to the shock Aqua Rose and Fire Dance felt, the revelation of the new pack caused a sensation throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Players could not help but feel excited after finding out about the Great Catastrophe expansion pack.

The official developers of the game had already revealed information about this new expansion pack. In the future, Demonic Beasts would randomly launch assaults on towns, and in response to such attacks, towns would issue Defense Quests to players. As long as players managed to defend the town, they would receive bountiful rewards. Of these rewards, there would even be Secret-Silver ranked items and many more valuable items. In addition, players would also receive City Reputation from completing the Defense Quest.

These Defense Quests would undeniably allow average players to quickly improve themselves, hence the excitement of many of the average players over the arrival of this new expansion pack.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in White River City had also suddenly cooled down, as many players had chosen to head out to the towns instead. They intended to grind for some levels while they awaited for a Demonic Beast assault to occur.

If luck would have it, they might even happen upon a Demonic Beast assault, making a huge profit from completing the resultant Defense Quest.

“Guild Leader, should we arrange for a few members to head towards various towns and keep an eye out for a Demonic Beast assault?” Aqua Rose suggested, her brows wrinkled slightly when she looked at the deserted streets of White River City.

The other Guilds were currently busying themselves with raiding the Three Great Dungeons. They definitely would not have the time to pay attention to these Demonic Beast assaults. Hence, this was a good chance for Zero Wing to shine.

“Let’s not participate in the Demonic Beast assaults. Focus on leveling up. Level 20 is the time when our Guild will shine.” Shi Feng shook his head, a knowing smile on his face.

In the past, Shi Feng had experienced many assaults launched by Demonic Beasts. Hence, he knew very well how difficult it was to actually receive the reward of a Defense Quest. The reason being, even the weakest Demonic Beast was a Tier 1 monster; they would all be Level 30 or above. Shi Feng had even once encountered a Tier 3 Demonic Beast during an assault. If they were to try and defend a town right now, it would simply be suicide.

Naturally, Shi Feng would not let the members of his Guild die a pointless death.

One could say that towns were extremely dangerous locations right now. If players were to truly meet with a Demonic Beast assault, then it was not luck but fate.

Currently, the safest places in God’s Domain were cities, since there would be high-tier NPCs guarding them. Take White River City for example. There were three Tier 4 NPCs guarding it, so Demonic Beasts would not dare to casually approach the city itself.

“If we don’t participate and make some achievements, many more of the remaining members might choose to withdraw from the Guild.” Aqua Rose could not understand what was going through Shi Feng’s mind.

Before, they had given up on competing over the Three Great Dungeons. Now, they were also going to give up such a good chance to earn precious equipment and reputation. Just what were they supposed to do?

“Let them leave, then. Our Guild is only capable of handling 3,000 members right now, and we are still well above that number. It would be even better if they do leave.” Shi Feng smiled without care.

What Shi Feng was trying to pursue was quality, not quantity.

God’s Domain was a game, and the resources available to players were limited. Meanwhile, the more members they had in the Guild, the more resources the Guild needed to spend. However, if the resources available in the Guild only amounted to so much, having more members in the Guild would mean that each member would receive less resources. As a result, their development speed would also fall.

In the past, Shadow had conducted a mass recruitment of players, recruiting all kinds of players into the Guild. In the end, the Guild had bitten off more than it could chew, causing its development to slow to a crawl. In this life, Shi Feng would not repeat the same mistakes Shadow made in the past. The members in the Guild could just leave for all he cared. He definitely would not try to stop them from leaving.

Talent was very important if one wished to become an expert in God’s Domain. However, truly talented people were limited. In the past, a majority of the experts in God’s Domain had participated in one battle after another, gradually learning and accumulating the experience needed to become an expert, instead of relying on talent.

Instead of cultivating some two-faced talented Guild members, Shi Feng would rather invest his resources in nurturing normal, but loyal, Guild members.

In the past, a Super-Guild called Black Tower had sent over 200,000 of their members to attack a second-rate Guild called Solitary Rulers. Meanwhile, Solitary Rulers had less than 80,000 members in total; the Guild was believed to have the fewest members among all second-rate Guilds.

Before the battle between the two Guilds had even started, everyone had already expected Black Tower to easily obtain victory.

However, the end result was far from what others had imagined it to be. Although both Guilds clashed tens of times, Black Tower hadn’t succeeded in destroying the city governed by Solitary Rulers. While more than 30,000 members of Solitary Rulers had died in that battle, Black Tower had lost more than three times that number, with over 100,000 members of Black Tower dying. Black Tower suffered a tremendous loss after that battle, greatly shocking the other Guilds that were watching from the sidelines.

In the end, Black Tower had no choice but to mobilize its seven Tier 5 Saint-rank players and one of its Tier 6 God-rank players to destroy Solitary Rulers.

However, every member of Solitary Rulers still fought to the bloody end, fighting tooth and nail against their eventual demise. Before they lost their city, they had even managed to kill two of the Saint-rank players and another 100,000 or so Black Tower members.

In the subsequent clashes between the two Guilds, Solitary Rulers had suffered one defeat after another. After all, the Tier 6 God-rank expert and seven Tier 5 Saint-rank experts were simply too powerful. As a result, Solitary Rulers lost five of the cities they governed in quick succession. By the time the battlefield moved to Solitary Rulers’ final base of operations, Unparalleled City, amazingly, not a single member had chosen to withdraw from the Guild. Even after dying tens of times, they still chose to charge head-on into the battlefield.

Shi Feng couldn’t help but shiver every time he recalled the unyielding attitude of those iron-blooded souls.

Clearly, the difference in strength between the two Guilds was like heaven and earth. Yet, instead of giving up and accepting their fates, every single member of Solitary Rulers had chosen to brave the battlefield. It was also due to this reason that Black Tower had suffered such immense losses. If it were any other Guild standing in Solitary Rulers’ place, the members would have long since abandoned hope and quit the Guild. They would not have chosen to fight at all.

While Black Tower was in the midst of conquering Solitary Rulers’ final city, however, another Super-Guild had attempted to take advantage of the situation and laid siege to Black Tower’s cities. As a result, Black Tower had no choice but to give up their plan of completely annihilating Solitary Rulers.

Meanwhile, Solitary Rulers had instantly risen to fame after this conflict, becoming the role model of all second-rate and third-rate Guilds.

Aside from Solitary Rulers as an example of quality over quantity, there was also the adventurer team that was known throughout the entire God’s Domain, the Midnight Tea Party. Although its members numbered less than 30, not even Super-Guilds dared to cross it.

In God’s Domain, although quantity was important, quality was even more important.

“I understand.”

Looking at Shi Feng’s determined expression, Aqua Rose had no better choice but to concede to his decision. It was indeed like Shi Feng had said: there were too many members in the Guild. The current member count far exceeded their range of tolerance. By having those unfaithful members leave, they could also lay a good foundation for their Guild’s future.

Another reason why Aqua Rose had agreed to Shi Feng’s decision was mainly because of the Guild Residence. Once they revealed their Guild Residence to the public, there would be no shortage of players wanting to join their Guild.

If they did not possess the Guild Residence, Aqua Rose definitely would not have agreed to such a self-destructive course.

After Aqua Rose went on her own way, Shi Feng headed to the Adventurer’s Guild. Now that the Great Catastrophe expansion pack had been activated, he needed to quickly handle the matters concerning the Guild Residence.

Chapter 280: Zero Wing Residence

Currently, the interior of the Adventurer’s Association of White River City was filled with players coming and going. Most of these players were here to accept or hand in their Daily Quests.

However, there were insufficient NPCs to cater to the large number of players. As a result, these players usually needed to wait in the lounge for a period of time before they could accept or turn in their quests.

Having nothing better to do inside the lounge, some Guild players started ordering alcohol and holding a discussion among themselves.

“Zero Wing is getting worse by the day! If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have definitely joined some other large Guild to develop myself! Perhaps I might have already become the leader of a party by now! Brother Hui, as expected, you are still the smarter and wiser one! You joined Dark Star from the very start, and now, you’ve already become the vice-leader of a 15-man team! Now that I have left Zero Wing, I will be relying on Brother Hui’s guidance from now on!” A Shield Warrior with tanned skin flattered the robust-looking Berserker sitting beside him.

“No problem! With me around, you will definitely have no problem joining the Guild!” the Berserker assured him, clapping his chest.

Meanwhile, sitting beside this Berserker addressed as Brother Hui was a pretty female mage. Although her face looked average, she had an excellent figure. Coquettishly fluttering her eyelashes, the female mage looked at the person known as Brother Hui, sweetly saying, “Big Brother Hui, I’ve been wanting to go to the Level 15 Wind Ridge. When will you take me there?”

Wind Ridge was a Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon. Among Level 15 Team Dungeons, Wind Ridge had a below-average difficulty. However, to average players at this stage of the game, even a Level 15, 10-man Team Dungeon was a great challenge, not to mention a 20-man Dungeon like Wind Ridge.

“Of course, of course! Isn’t it just Wind Ridge? You’re already my woman now, how could you settle for only a meager Wind Ridge? Tomorrow, I’ll call up my men and bring you to the Demon’s Castle!” The Berserker wrapped his arm around the female mage’s willowy waist, a nasty grin on his face.

Many onlookers grew envious at this scene. They could not help but wish that they, too, could join Dark Star and getting a beauty for themselves as well.

“Brother Hui, I hear that the Demon’s Castle has a very high difficulty. Don’t tell me you’ve already managed to obtain the raid strategy from Zero Wing’s main force?” the tanned Shield Warrior asked curiously.

“Indeed, we’ve managed to obtain the strategy already. However, even without it, with Dark Star’s strength, we could still easily conquer the Demon’s Castle. The main reason we haven’t done so is simply because of the competition we’re having with Ouroboros. Otherwise, Zero Wing would not have had the chance to take the limelight as they did before. Look, isn’t Zero Wing in shambles now? They’re simply a little faster in terms of leveling up. They haven’t even cleared the Normal Mode of any of the Three Great Dungeons yet. Dark Star, on the other hand, has already killed the second Boss of Hard Mode and started trying to raid the third Boss. We have already caught up with Ouroboros. It is only a matter of time before we surpass Ouroboros. I really don’t know what qualifications Zero Wing possesses to be considered as one of the top six Guilds in White River City.” The Berserker’s loud voice was filled with disdain as he spoke of Zero Wing.

“Even though the Guild clearly has no future, there is still more than half the original number of players remaining in it. It really makes you wonder just what is going through those people’s minds.”

“They’re just fools.”

“Brother Hui, you’re right! I really regret listening to my friend’s words about joining Zero Wing back then.” The Shield Warrior nodded his head in agreement, his heart filled with great disappointment. If he had joined Dark Star early on, he might also have had a beauty accompanying him by now.

Meanwhile, seated near this trio, Shi Feng was currently quietly browsing through information on the official forums.

Naturally, he could clearly hear the loud conversation between the robust Berserker and the skinny Shield Warrior, and the same went for everyone else waiting inside the lounge.

However, Shi Feng made no comment on their mocking words. After all, everyone had the freedom to make their own decisions.

As for the Shield Warrior’s regret at joining Zero Wing?

Shi Feng simply revealed a calm smile.

If this Shield Warrior knew that Zero Wing was about to establish their very own Guild Residence, just what sort of emotions would he have?

At that time, even the words “earth-shattering” would not be enough to describe the amount of shock he would feel.

However, Shi Feng really could not be blamed for this…

Soon after, Shi Feng headed to the counter and dealt with all the necessary procedures. After he turned his private territory into a Guild Residence, he also spent 3,000 Gold to build an Advanced Guild Hall in place of the Purple Sun Mansion. The Advanced Guild Hall could fit up to 3,000 people. As for the other facilities of the Guild Residence, those would only be obtainable from large-scale Team Dungeons that were Level 25 or above.

Some time was needed before the construction of the Advanced Guild Hall could be completed.

After Shi Feng completed all the necessary procedures, his remaining task was to head to the War God’s Temple and report the matter of the Endless Abyss.

Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the Adventurer’s Association, the system notification sounded.

Moreover, this wasn’t just any normal notification. Instead, it was a notification sent to the entire Star-Moon Kingdom.

Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to establish a Guild Residence! Rewarding 10,000 Guild Reputation, 10,000 Guild Popularity and 10 Gold Coins to the Guild.

“I spent 3,000 Gold, yet only got 10 Gold in return. The System sure is tightfisted.” Shi Feng laughed.

However, Shi Feng did not concern himself with such an amount of Gold.

The reason being, in these past few days, the Starstreak Trading Firm was already making a daily profit of over 1,700 Gold. It was all thanks to the popularity it gained from selling the Arclight Shield, as well as the Basic Mana Armor Kits. During this period of time, the forging genius, Cream Cocoa, had also been continuously producing Gemstone Buckles, Advanced Whetstones, and many more forging products.

Moreover, the number of forging players Melancholic Smile recruited was also rising. Not only did the combination of these new forgers and the various Forging Designs provided by Zero Wing increase the number of products sold by the Starstreak Trading Firm, it also expanded the company’s product selection. As a result, the daily profits of the Starstreak Trading Firm continuously rose.

Currently, the Starstreak Trading Firm already controlled over half of the market for forging products in White River City. Moreover, such a situation wasn’t limited to just White River City; it extended to the seven surrounding cities.

Hence, Shi Feng was not lacking in money at all.

Compared to having spent 3,000 Gold Coins, Shi Feng was more interested in the 10,000 Guild Popularity points. This was a feature that would only become available to a Guild after it established a Guild Residence. The higher the Guild Popularity, the more famous a Guild would become among NPCs. With 10,000 Guild Popularity, Zero Wing could be considered relatively famous among the NPC populace. Compared to starting from scratch, having this 10,000 Guild Popularity made things much simpler for him.

It should be known that, when a Guild member completed a quest commissioned by an NPC, the Guild would normally receive only one to three Guild Popularity. Only quests with high difficulty would reward five to ten points. In other words, a Guild needed to complete thousands of Guild Quests in order to accumulate 10,000 Guild Popularity.

These bonus Guild Popularity points had saved the Guild plenty of development time.

Meanwhile, inside the lounge of the Adventurer’s Association, the tanned Shield Warrior that had just recently left Zero Wing no longer felt joyful about joining Dark Star. On the contrary, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

—

Inside the Land of Death, one of the Three Great Dungeons…

Dark Star’s main team was currently battling against a White-bone Giant Elephant, which was over 20 meters in height.

At this time, the MT of the team, Lone Tyrant, was enduring the attacks from this White-bone Giant Elephant. Every time he took an attack from the Boss, he would receive over -2,000 damage. His HP constantly rose and fell, his life hanging by a thread.

Just as the White-bone Giant Elephant in the distance was preparing to charge, Lone Tyrant suddenly received a system notification.

Lone Tyrant was momentarily stunned by what he saw.

“How did Zero Wing obtain a Guild Residence so quickly?!” Lone Tyrant couldn’t help but yell out when he saw the description of this system notification, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He even forgot to use a skill to block the incoming attack from the White-bone Giant Elephant before him.

As a result, he was turned into a pile of meat paste by the Boss’s foot, losing his life instantly.

What followed was what would be expected: a team-wipe…

Chapter 281: A Guild’s Most Powerful Weapon

Tens of players were currently lining up outside a large and peaceful tomb.

Everyone in this team of players was Level 17 or above, and all of their equipment were at least Mysterious-Iron rank with a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment mixed in. Most of the equipment the leading MT of this team had were of Secret-Silver rank, and the crescent-shaped shield he carried was even of Fine-Gold rank.

Meanwhile, all of these well-equipped players were looking reverently at the peerless beauty standing before them.

Looking out through the gaps of her silver-white helmet, her black, crystalline eyes shone with both intelligence and wisdom. Her hair, which was a midnight-black, hung down to her waist, gently brushing against the silver-white armor she wore. Resting her hand on the hilt of a dark-blue greatsword glowing dark blue, she exuded the indomitable aura of a goddess of war as she silently stood there.

This peerless war goddess was none other than the Snow Goddess of Ouroboros, Gentle Snow.

After undergoing the baptism of the Three Great Dungeons, Gentle Snow was even more dazzling than before. She was like a rough stone that had been polished, instantly revealing the sparkle of an icy-cold sapphire.

Currently, not only was Gentle Snow fully equipped with the Snowfall Set Equipment, a Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment, the greatsword she wielded, albeit of indiscernible quality, was also giving off a frightening amount of energy.

The Snowfall Set Equipment could only be obtained from the Hard Mode of the Three Great Dungeons. As for the Blue Sky greatsword Gentle Snow wielded, she had obtained it after killing a Great Lord that served as a protector of a ruined temple.

If Shi Feng saw this two-handed greatsword, he would definitely be shocked. The reason being, this greatsword was similar to the Abyssal Blade, since it, too, was a Magic Weapon. Furthermore, it was also one of the thirty-six Famed Swords of God’s Domain, Blue Sky.

Just as Gentle Snow’s team was about to raid the fourth Boss of the Land of Death, the White-bone General Jera…

Gentle Snow suddenly received a system notification, and a hint of astonishment flashed through her eyes when she read its contents.

“How can he be so fast?” Gentle Snow knew exactly how difficult it was to obtain a Guild Residence. Even though she had a powerful Guild like Ouroboros, the number one Guild in White River City, backing her, the Reputation she had collected was still far from enough to allow her to become a Baroness of White River City. Yet, Zero Wing was still a step ahead of her. Gentle Snow’s lips suddenly curled into a faint smile as she muttered, “It seems I need to congratulate him.”

In White River City, Ouroboros and Zero Wing were actually allies, although this matter was not known to the public. If people did find out, however, they would definitely be greatly shocked. After all, who would ever imagine that White River City’s number one Guild would actually be willing to form an alliance with Zero Wing, a Guild that was declining by the day.

However, Gentle Snow had indeed done such a thing.

Although Ouroboros was the number one Guild in White River City, they were still far from being considered an unshakable existence. Just the fact that Dark Star was close to surpassing them showed how vulnerable Ouroboros was. Moreover, Dark Star also had some hidden connections with World Dominators, which was also a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros.

If these two powerful Guilds joined hands to wage war against Ouroboros, then Ouroboros would definitely suffer a huge loss.

Hence, Ouroboros itself needed allies. Setting aside Dark Star and World Dominators, there were still three others among the top six Guilds in White River City. Of the three, the most powerful would be Emperor’s Light, a first-rate Guild, while coming in second would be the Assassin’s Alliance, a second-rate Guild. As for Zero Wing, they were considered the weakest of the top six Guilds in White River City. Yet in defiance of all logic, Gentle Snow had chosen to ally herself with the recently established Zero Wing, out of these three Guilds.

The reason for her decision was her optimism for Zero Wing.

Setting aside the mysterious, elusive, and heaven-defyingly powerful Ye Feng, just the fact that Zero Wing had Black Flame in its midst had already solidified Gentle Snow’s conviction. Not only was Black Flame the publicly acknowledged Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, his personal combat strength was also frighteningly great. In addition, he had a mysterious organization supporting him from behind the scenes, not to mention a deep connection with the Starstreak Trading Firm.

Black Flame’s shocking financial power put even Gentle Snow herself to shame.

Although she could not make head or tail of the connection between Ye Feng and Black Flame, she knew for a fact that both of them possessed immeasurable strength. Yet, despite being so powerful, neither of them chose to reveal that strength to the public, and such an action greatly confused Gentle Snow.

Just the thought of the two of them working together had sent chills down Gentle Snow’s spine.

As if to put icing on the cake, the person named Aqua Rose had also appeared in Zero Wing out of nowhere. Aqua Rose used to be an honorary elder of Twilight Echo. Although her fame was less than Gentle Snow’s, that was only because Gentle Snow had appeared in many advertisements before, raising her profile in the public eye.

Gentle Snow had never personally fought against Aqua Rose. However, based on the video recordings of Aqua Rose’s battles, in terms of combat techniques, should they ever have a fight between themselves, Gentle Snow felt she only had a fifty percent chance of emerging victorious.

In any case, just the presence of these three powerhouses in Zero Wing made it worthwhile for Gentle Snow to ally herself with them. Not to mention, Zero Wing still had many other experts within their ranks. Their true strength and potential were simply unfathomable.

In the eyes of the public, Zero Wing would sooner or later vanish from existence. However, Gentle Snow knew very clearly…

Zero Wing’s current calm was merely the prelude to their next breakout.

The situation right now would be the best example. Against all expectations, Zero Wing had suddenly become the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to obtain its own Guild Residence, miles ahead of the other Guilds. Within moments, Zero Wing had become the focal point of all players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom.

—

Shortly after the appearance of the system notification, Zero Wing’s recruitment point was overrun by a stampede of players.

Although Aqua Rose had long since prepared for such a reaction, the sea of players desperately trying to join the Guild still left her breathless.

Meanwhile, the players who had previously withdrawn from Zero Wing presently had regret filling up their intestines. If they had not acted so impulsively and had waited just a few more days, they would have been able to enjoy the various benefits offered by a Guild Residence. Now, unless they deleted their game accounts and started over with a new name, it was impossible for them to join Zero Wing anymore. However, who would have the courage to actually delete their account and start all over again?

As for the players that had chosen to remain in Zero Wing, currently, they were extremely happy about their wise decision.

Now that Zero Wing had a Guild Residence, not to mention being able to receive more quests, they could save a lot of money, thanks to the equipment and weapons repair facility of the Guild Residence. Neither would they need to spend money to recover their Stamina at Hotels; they could simply do so at the Guild Residence.

Furthermore, they could also obtain a Double EXP buff just by resting inside the Guild Residence. With this buff, they could grind and level up with much greater efficiency than before.

In addition, Guild Residences could also provide Private Rooms. This was also the greatest benefit of having a Guild Residence.

In God’s Domain, every player would wish to possess their very own private room or house. As long as players logged off inside their own rooms, they could still accumulate the Double EXP buff, and with much greater efficiency than in the Guild Lounge to boot, even though they weren’t personally within the game.

Normally, when Guild members rested within the Guild Residence’s Guild Lounge for 48 hours, they could accumulate 20% Double EXP, and they could accumulate up to one Level’s worth of Double EXP. In the case of a private room, however, players only needed to rest for 24 hours in order to accumulate 20% Double EXP, and they could likewise accumulate up to one Level’s worth of Double EXP. Although the maximum capacity of the buff was the same, the accumulation speed inside a private room was double that of the Guild Lounge.

Of course, this was only in the case of a 1-star Private Housing.

In God’s Domain, housing was also categorized into different levels. Meanwhile, the higher the level, the greater the benefits a player could enjoy. The lowest level housing was 1-star, while the highest was 10-star. Each increase in level required a huge sum of money, and also certain special materials. It would not be easy for players to upgrade their private housings.

For a 1-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 20% Double EXP, up to a maximum of 1 Level’s worth of Double EXP.

For a 2-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 25% Double EXP, up to a maximum of 1 Level’s worth of Double EXP.

…

For a 7-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Double EXP, up to a maximum of 1 Level’s worth of Double EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 5% for 2 hours.

For a 8-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Triple EXP, up to a maximum of 1.5 Level’s worth of Triple EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 5% for 3 hours.

For a 9-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Triple EXP, up to a maximum of 2 Level’s worth of Triple EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 8% for 3 hours.

For a 10-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Triple EXP, up to a maximum of 3 Level’s worth of Triple EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 10% for 4 hours.

However, it was simply too difficult for players to obtain their own houses in White River City. Yet, buying a house in a town would not be convenient for them.

Meanwhile, Guild Residences could provide its members with private rooms, although not everyone could enjoy the benefits of a private room, due to limited space inside a Guild Residence. Normally, these private rooms would be given to members who contributed greatly to the Guild and also the upper management of the Guild. If there were any additional private rooms, Guild members could also rent them using the contribution points they accumulated from raiding Dungeons and doing quests.

In God’s Domain, the matter of leveling up would always be a headache to players. Moreover, the further into the game a player went, the harder it was for them to level up. It would not be strange for players to level up only once every three to four days. If players died out in the fields, they would also lose an entire level as a penalty. Hence, a tool that could aid players in leveling up quicker would definitely be well-received.

This Guild benefit alone already held a fatal attraction for all players. And that was in addition to the large number of Guild Quests available for choosing, which would dramatically accelerate players’ leveling speed.

Chapter 282: Dark Wind

The War God’s Temple, an organization that was founded shortly after the Great Destruction, had been in existence for thousands of years now, protecting the human race from invasions by foreign races.

Now that the Endless Abyss had been opened, the humans of God’s Domain would have to rely on the War God’s Temple to deal with the invasion of Demonic Beasts. It was no longer a situation that could be handled by any single country.

Aside from being the protector of the human race, the War God’s Temple was also a location for players to learn advanced skills. Meanwhile, players only needed to complete the quests they received at the War God’s Temple in order to do so.

Shortly after Shi Feng arrived at the War God’s Temple, he reported the Endless Abyss to the Knight Captain on duty.

The War God’s Temple was considered one of the most powerful forces in God’s Domain. Just a normal Knight here was already a Level 180 Tier 2 NPC. As for the Knight Captain, he was a Level 200 Tier 3 NPC.

The Knight Captain revealed an anxious expression after hearing Shi Feng’s report. “Your Excellency Black Flame, this matter is of utmost importance. However, as I’ll need to immediately send out warnings to all cities throughout the kingdom and also muster troops to the frontlines, I’ll have to trouble you to head to the War God’s Temple in the capital city and report this matter to Lord Ucarus and seek his aid.” The Knight Captain passed a gold token to Shi Feng, then promptly headed out of the temple, not giving Shi Feng any chance to even refuse.

Shi Feng was left speechless by the Knight Captain’s words.

Fortunately, he only needed to head to the capital city and look for the person named Ucarus, an easy task to accomplish.

Following which, Shi Feng left the War God’s Temple and hurried over to White River City’s Teleportation Hall.

Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Teleportation Hall, however, six robust-looking players stood in front of the stone staircase, completely blocking the entryway.

These six players were all Level 18; such a level could definitely be ranked at the very top of White River City. Moreover, the equipment these players wore were of excellent quality, majority of which were of Secret-Silver rank. Meanwhile, the solemn-looking middle-aged man who looked like the leader of this party of players had the best equipment out of these six players. He was actually fully equipped with Secret-Silver Equipment. His gaze was like a sharp blade, and his entire body exuded such an icy-cold aura that other players unconsciously detoured as they walked past him.

Although Shi Feng had never fought against these six players before, he could clearly tell that they were very strong. There were very few parties of their caliber in White River City.

Meanwhile, pinned to the chests of these players were black six-pointed stars. This black star was none other than Dark Star’s Guild Emblem.

“What can I do for you?” Shi Feng asked.

“You’re Black Flame, right? I am Ming Sha of Underworld. I am here to give you a piece of good news,” the middle-aged man said in a condescending tone.

Although Black Flame had been titled as the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, in Ming Sha’s eyes, he was merely a clown prancing on the stage.

Whether it was in reality or in God’s Domain, only strength truly mattered.

A forger that only knew how to stay hidden inside a room was nothing more than a tool for strong players like them.

If not for the matter of the Guild Residence astonishing the upper echelons of Underworld, Ming Sha would not even be here trying to make contact with Black Flame.

Instead of Black Flame, the person Ming Sha was interested in was Ye Feng, the player widely acclaimed a God-ranked Swordsman. Ming Sha really wished to meet him. Moreover, Young Master Feng had also given orders to get rid of that Ye Feng and obtain the Epic ranked item in Shi Feng’s hands.

Unfortunately, Ye Feng proved simply too elusive. No matter how many men Ming Sha had sent out, they still could not find a trace of that Ye Feng. Ming Sha was very disappointed by such a result, as he never imagined that Ye Feng would be such a coward, not having the courage to even come out and fight.

“Good news? Then why do I feel that you guys are coming with bad intentions in hand?” Shi Feng revealed an indifferent smile as he sent a glance at the other five menacing players.

“Master Black Flame, it is our fault for behaving too rashly. However, we truly do have great news for you. Only, I hope that you can take a trip with us. After all, this place isn’t exactly suitable for discussions of such an important matter.”

At this moment, another person walked up from behind the six players. This person was similarly a middle-aged man. Currently, this man had a wide smile on his honest-looking face. When Shi Feng used Observing Eyes on this man, he discovered that this man was actually called South Wolf. Immediately, Shi Feng came to a realization.

The road for enemies truly is narrow. Shi Feng inwardly chuckled.

South Wolf was none other than the person that tried to threaten Shi Feng into surrendering his Ice-Blue Devil Flame. After being rejected, South Wolf had even declared that he would take action against Shi Feng. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to take a look at just how powerful the organization known as Underworld was. Unfortunately, this matter had been quelled by Gentle Snow. Shi Feng never thought he would meet this fellow once again today.

“What if I don’t want to go?” Shi Feng asked.

“We have long since thought of this point; hence I asked Brother Ming Sha and his friends to come and personally invite Master Black Flame over,” South Wolf said with a hypocritical smile, sending a glance at the six Underworld Guards beside him.

“Alright, then, since you guys are being so sincere.” Shi Feng nodded.

South Wolf had obviously already familiarized himself with the rules of White River City. Although the rules stated that battles were not allowed within the city limits, that was on the premise that actual damage was caused. There would be no problems if they simply dragged him away.

Of course, Shi Feng’s Strength Attribute was extremely high. South Wolf’s group had absolutely no chance of abducting him.

Just recently, he had obtained 40 Free Attribute Points as a reward for releasing the Forgotten Lands. Although Shi Feng had added 30 of those points into Intelligence, in order to equip the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath even a little earlier, he had placed the remaining 10 into Strength. Aside from that, due to the Abyssal Blade’s Attributes, Shi Feng obtained two additional Free Attribute Points every time he leveled up. When coupling those with the Strength provided by his other equipment, Shi Feng’s Strength Attribute had long since broken through the 170-point threshold. In terms of the Strength Attribute, very few players throughout God’s Domain could be a match for him.

However, it seemed that someone from the mysterious upper echelon of Underworld wanted to meet him, and Shi Feng was curious enough to agree.

“Let us go, then,” South Wolf said as he led the way.

A short while later, Shi Feng and the others arrived inside a high-class bar. Very few average players could be seen inside this bar, as most could not afford this luxurious place.

“Master Black Flame, please, come in. Young Master Feng has been waiting for you for a long time now.” South Wolf pushed apart the doors to a private room, hinting that Shi Feng should enter.

Upon entering the private room, Shi Feng immediately discovered an imposing yet charming youth sitting inside. This youth was also accompanied by two beautiful female companions at his sides. These two beauties were not players but NPCs. Just like how Anna was working as Shi Feng’s assistant at the Starstreak Trading Firm, these beauties were clearly servants of this young man. This sight was far more shocking than if he had two attractive female players accompanying him.

At this stage of the game, having the ability to possess two NPC servants showed that this youth before him was definitely out of the ordinary.

“You are in the upper echelon of Underworld?” Shi Feng asked.

“That’s right. This one here is known as Feng Xuanyang, the Vice-Leader of Underworld’s Star-Moon Kingdom Eastern Branch. Of course, you can also call me by my character name, Dark Wind.” Feng Xuanyang introduced himself.

“I wonder, what business does Vice-Leader Feng have with me?” Shi Feng asked.

Judging from Feng Xuanyang’s tone, Shi Feng had already made a rough guess as to Underworld’s strength. Although he had long since deduced that Underworld had a great deal of power and that their influence covered more than just a single kingdom, Shi Feng still could not help but feel shocked after having his conclusions confirmed. It was no wonder even that Gentle Snow was wary of them.

Star-Moon Kingdom could be categorized into five separate regions: north, south, east, west, and center. White River City was located in the east side. Meanwhile, Feng Xuanyang was in charge of managing the affairs of Underworld’s Star-Moon Kingdom Eastern Branch. The authority he wielded was definitely great.

“I heard that Master Black Flame is the founder of Zero Wing. You have even managed to elevate Zero Wing to its current position. We at Underworld feel very optimistic about Zero Wing’s future; hence we wish to invest in some shares.” Feng Xuanyang then pointed towards Ming Sha, who was currently standing by the door, saying, “You’ve already seen for yourself the strength of Underworld. Because of us, even the previously insignificant third-rate Guild Dark Star has instantly become a powerhouse in White River City. If Master Black Flame is willing, Underworld can similarly make Zero Wing grow rapidly. Not only could you become the overlord of White River City, you could even become the number one Guild in the entire eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom.

“I wonder if Master Black Flame might be interested?”