Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God - Chapter 292

Chapter 292: Black Emperor

Extraordinary strength comes from an extraordinary will.

This was the only advice Faust had given Shi Feng.

After Shi Feng grasped the Abyssal Blade, which had undergone a huge change in its appearance, he could fully feel the terrifying strength contained within the sword itself. It was like the sword was alive. Shi Feng could even feel pulsations when he gripped the hilt of the Abyssal Blade. It felt as if the Black Dragon King was roaring inside the Abyssal Blade and likely to break through its seals at any given time.

“Such powerful Attributes!” When Shi Feng checked the Attributes of the Abyssal Blade, he couldn’t help but secretly marvel at them.

The Abyssal Blade was definitely the best weapon below Epic rank Shi Feng had seen.

Even the Blazing Meteor, which had been crafted by the forging genius Seliora, was not its match.

Currently, based on the Abyssal Blade’s Attributes, it would not be an exaggeration to label the sword a Pseudo-extraordinary item. Provided that he could continue upgrading it, it would reach the Epic rank standard before long.

[Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon)

Attack Power +302

All Attributes +30

Attack Speed +10

Ignore Levels +10

Attacks have:

40% chance to cause 200% damage.

15% chance to cause 300% damage.

20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40% for 30 seconds.

If wielder belongs to any Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +3.

Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points.

Equipment Level 20. Can be upgraded. (Devour ten Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapons and one Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon to upgrade to Level 25).

Can be evolved (Unknown).

Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 70% of original body’s Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped.

Duration: 40 seconds

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%.

Duration: 4 seconds

Cooldown: 1 minute

Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 40% damage.

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Additional Skill 4: Dark Violent Dance. 50% of the total damage dealt to the target spreads in a cone-shaped area towards targets within a distance of 12 yards.

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 1 minute

Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor. When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one layer of Death Aura. Each layer of death aura can be used to increase all Attributes of wielder by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds, or be used to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 30 layers of Death Aura.

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: 18 hours

The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon King’s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from providing the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period of time. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%.

Unable to be dropped.

Unable to be traded.

“As expected of a Magic Weapon. It really doesn’t disappoint. Even Epic Weapons rarely have Profound Inheritances attached to them. Now, before even reaching the standard of an Epic weapon, it already possesses a Profound Inheritance.”

Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief after carefully reading through the introduction of the Black Emperor. With it, he should not have any problems facing the 6th trial.

Profound Inheritances were rarely seen during the early stages of God’s Domain. They only started becoming widely known during the middle stages of the game.

Inheritances and Skills were different. In God’s Domain, the skills provided to each class were made to accommodate the masses of players, so there was no sense of individuality to them. To put it another way, instead of skills being made to cater to the individual player, players were required to adapt themselves to premade skills, regardless of the suitability of said skills. Meanwhile, Inheritances could be used by players to create their own unique method of attacking, allowing more freedom in their fighting styles. It could also further increase a player’s combat power.

The most basic of Inheritances in God’s Domain would enhance a player’s Skills, such as increasing the skill’s damage or altering the effects of said skill to allow a more flexible fighting style.

As for the more advanced Inheritances, not only would they alter a player’s Skills, they could also increase a player’s Attributes. Meanwhile, the Black Emperor Inheritance clearly belonged to this category.

If others were to see the Attributes on the Abyssal Blade, their jaws would definitely fall to the ground in shock. Some would even harbor thoughts of owning it for themselves.

An organization like Underworld, which had been continuously gathering all kinds of powerful items, would definitely not hesitate to use unscrupulous means to take possession of the Abyssal Blade.

In today’s society, virtual gaming had already become one of the world’s main forms of entertainment.

The emergence of God’s Domain had further solidified the position of virtual reality games in people’s lives. Currently, the average person would spend close to half of their day living inside God’s Domain. It was also due to this reason that players all wished to live a better and more respectable life in God’s Domain.

After all, life in God’s Domain was just like another part of their own lives.

However, unlike their lives in the real world, their lives in the virtual world were much purer and simpler.

Generally, they only needed good weapons, equipment, and influence in the game.

At this current age, players’ pursuit of virtual items was no less than women’s pursuit of luxury goods.

After all, in the eyes of average players, weapons and equipment were the representation of strength. Gorgeous-looking weapons and equipment that allowed one to have amazing damage output were all the envy of average players.

High-level weapons and equipment were symbols of strength in God’s Domain, and countless players pursued them. It was also the reason why many players were willing to spend hundreds and thousands, and sometimes even tens of thousands of Credits to purchase these powerful items. Some wealthy youths that were born with a golden spoon would even spend several millions without blinking just to obtain a powerful item.

These people were willing to go to such lengths because, with powerful weapons and equipment, they could experience the pleasure of being superior to others.

In the case of a Magic Weapon like the Abyssal Blade, it wouldn’t be impossible for it to sell for an astronomical price of several tens of millions. Shi Feng recalled that one year after God’s Domain’s official launch in the past, a Legendary item had appeared in the World Auction, which was held in the real world. At that time, the Legendary item had been sold off for 60 million Credits. The price had thoroughly shocked the entire world. Shortly after the auction, however, the person who sold the Legendary item immediately regretted that decision.

There was only a limited number of Legendary items throughout the entire God’s Domain, and every single one of them was considered a strategic weapon by Guilds. Just by owning one, a player could easily get through their Tier 4 or even Tier 5 class promotions. Meanwhile, the value of a Tier 5 powerhouse could reach up to tens of billions of Credits. The reason being, when a Guild gave birth to a Tier 5 powerhouse, the Guild would have the ability to conquer two or three additional cities that could each hold a population of several million people.

Of course, the Abyssal Blade was still incapable of rivaling a Legendary Weapon at present; it wasn’t even at the level of an Epic Weapon yet. However, it was what Shi Feng currently needed the most.

For Shi Feng, several hundred points of additional Attributes weren’t as beneficial a powerful skill. And the Black Emperor Inheritance just happened to fit the bill.

Shi Feng had learned many powerful skills. However, all of them possessed the same fatal weakness; all of them possessed explosive power, but none of them possessed any staying power.

Maybe this weakness wouldn’t be a problem when these skills were used inside a Dungeon or against players with poor equipment. After all, when going against players with poor equipment, Shi Feng did not even need to use up all the skills in his arsenal to finish them off. He could simply overwhelm them with superior Attributes, and not even techniques would be required. Meanwhile, when inside Dungeons, he would have MTs to tank the monsters at the frontlines, healers to heal him from behind, and many other players to support him. He only needed to survive and wait for the Cooldown of his skills to end before starting the next volley of attacks.

But when fighting against monsters or players that were equal in strength with him, just a short burst of damage would not carry him to victory. Without sustainability, he would be trampled by his opponent after his short burst. Just take Absolute Heaven for example. When he had ambushed Shi Feng, after his series of attacks had been defended against by Shi Feng, the only other thing Absolute Heaven could do was to escape. Unless Absolute Heaven had a method to take advantage of his opponent’s weakness, only death awaited him.

Following the upgrade of the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng sank into deep contemplation for more than two hours, thinking of ways to incorporate the Black Emperor Inheritance into his fighting style. Now, he felt much more confident about clearing the 6th trial.

“Let’s see what kind of monster is awaiting me in the 6th trial, then.”

Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. Stretching his finger, he tapped “Yes” on the system interface and started the next trial.

Chapter 293: Balrog Serpent

Inside the Eternal Throne, the apex powerhouses of the War God’s Temple were currently observing the situation inside the Twelve Trials, and they were all very shocked to discover that Shi Feng actually wielded a Magic Weapon.

“What an amazing little guy. He isn’t even a Tier 1 Swordsman, yet he is actually able to master a Magic Weapon. Moreover, he has even released its power to such a degree.”

“Controller of a Magic Weapon. Dominator of a Mysterious Flame. Moreover, his control over his own power has obviously crossed that threshold. He sure knows how to surprise us time after time.”

“Yes. It would have been fine if it were just the Magic Weapon and Mysterious Flame, but he has even reached such a level of control over his own power already. Many of those who have attained a Tier 3 class can’t even achieve such a degree of control. It seems he won’t have any problems clearing the 6th trial. With such great potential hidden in him, if he had come to us a little later, he might have been able to clear even the 7th trial. Such a pity.”

The “threshold” these NPC big shots were referring to was simply one’s ability to display 50% of one’s own combat power. However, none of these NPCs knew that, in the past, Shi Feng had once been a Tier 3 Sword King. Back then, Shi Feng was capable of displaying up to 80% of his personal combat power. If not for his weak physique limiting his brain’s development potential and also the quality of his own equipment being a problem, Shi Feng would have long since been promoted to a Tier 4 Sword Emperor.

“This can’t be helped. Who would have known the Endless Abyss would break the seal so quickly?”

“There is no point feeling pity over the matter. We old folks should make some preparations for when the trial ends as well. Otherwise, we’ll break our backs from overwork later.”

The lords of the silver thrones unanimously acknowledged Shi Feng’s potential. However, in regard to Shi Feng’s managing to clear the 7th trial, they held no hope towards it at all. The reason being, it had been over a millennium since the 7th trial had been cleared.

—

Inside the Twelve Trials, the stage for the 6th trial was a cave of lava similar to the Flame God’s Cave. However, the fire-type mana here was far purer than in the Flame God’s Cave. Shi Feng currently stood inside this cave, and the molten hot lava around him was making bubbling sounds as it flowed through the cave. If Shi Feng did not possess 20 points in Fire Resistance, allowing him a certain degree of immunity to heat, he would have long since been cooked by the scalding hot temperatures. Any average player that came here might already be half-dead before they even started battling.

Before Shi Feng could fully observe the terrain inside the cave, a gigantic flame-covered snake over twenty meters long emerged from the molten lava.

[Balrog Serpent] (Special Elite)

Level 20

HP 150,000/150,000

Even if Shi Feng did not know exactly how powerful this Balrog Serpent was, he had no doubt whatsoever that this serpent had a very high resistance towards fire-type attacks.

“Let’s use you as a test for my new weapons.”

Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatory’s Shadow. However, he did not directly charge at the Balrog Serpent, as that was something only an idiot would do. Before charging into battle, experts would first try to understand as much as they could about their opponent. Hence, Shi Feng simply stood still and calmly observed the Balrog Serpent’s every action, familiarizing himself with the giant serpent’s movement patterns.

The Balrog Serpent was also no idiot itself. It obviously knew that it was much stronger than Shi Feng and that its HP was tens of times higher than Shi Feng’s as well. So, instead of giving Shi Feng time to study it, the Balrog Serpent immediately widened its mouth and sent fireballs flying one after another at Shi Feng.

Shi Feng’s feet moved, his body instantly reacting and leaving behind an afterimage as he effortlessly dodged these incoming fireballs.

Not giving up, the Balrog Serpent continued bombarding Shi Feng with a stream of fireballs.

If three were not enough, then five. If five were not enough, then ten. Soon, the space within the cave was packed with fireballs.

By attacking in such a way, not only could the Balrog Serpent damage its enemies, it could also prevent them from closing in on it. Faced with such a method of attack that combined both offense and defense, average players would definitely grow helpless and suffer the bombardment of these dozens of fireballs. Shi Feng, however, was no average player. In the face of all these fireballs, instead of retreating, he chose to advance without the slightest shred of hesitation. Yet, contrary to expectations, Shi Feng did not end up suffering a tragic end at the hands of the fireballs. Instead, he looked as if he was dancing as he weaved through the rain of fire, his actions seemingly easy and enjoyable.

However, when the distance between him and the Balrog Serpent shortened to 20 yards, he could no longer rely solely on evading the fireballs to move forward.

I’ve mostly grasped its attack timing. Now, it’s time to have a look at how amazing my new weapons are. Shi Feng inwardly smiled as he looked at the Balrog Serpent that was constantly spitting out fireballs.

Shi Feng activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, and deep-blue flames immediately wrapped around his body. He then used Silent Steps to appear right behind the Balrog Serpent’s head.

The first thing he did when he arrived was to send a vertical slash down on the Balrog Serpent’s head, causing -372 damage to the monster.

“Such strong Defense!” Shi Feng looked at the resulting damage, disbelief filling his eyes.

The Abyssal Blade itself already possessed 302 Attack Power. If Shi Feng’s Strength were taken into account, his total Attack Power should be well over 700 points. Moreover, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame had also increased the damage he dealt by 20%. Yet, he had managed to cause only -372 damage to the monster. The Balrog Serpent’s Defense could already rival a Lord ranked monster of the same level.

If Shi Feng had not upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 20 nor equipped the Dark-Gold ranked Purgatory’s Shadow, Shi Feng might not even be able to deal -150 damage to the Balrog Serpent right now.

At this moment, Shi Feng felt fortunate that he had not rushed before to start the 6th trial. Otherwise, his chances of victory would have been lower than 20%.

However, although Shi Feng had allowed this thought to linger in his mind for a moment, his attacks on the Balrog Serpent never stopped.

Immediately after his first sword strike, Shi Feng followed up by using Thundering Flash. Three electric arcs dove into the flaming Balrog Serpent, piercing its gigantic body and causing damages of -554, -1,528, and -1,125. The damage he dealt was much higher than before. Simultaneously, he had also inflicted a Damage Amplification debuff that lasted 20 seconds on the Balrog Serpent.

Following which, Shi Feng continued with a Chop, the attack achieving a critical hit and dealing close to -2,000 damage.

When Shi Feng landed on the ground, he immediately followed up with a flurry of sword slashes. The Abyssal Blade now had a 40% chance to deal a critical hit, so Shi Feng could deal a critical hit with almost every other attack.

From this series of attacks, the Balrog Serpent had lost over 7,000 HP. However, the giant serpent had 150,000 HP; Shi Feng would need to repeat such a burst of attacks at least twenty more times in order to completely kill it.

Originally, Shi Feng felt quite happy with the damage he was dealing. At this rate, even if he did not activate Black Emperor, he still possessed a very high chance of killing the Balrog Serpent. Unfortunately, that happiness was short-lived. The reason being, Shi Feng soon discovered that the Balrog Serpent’s HP was rapidly returning to full; it was actually recovering 500 HP every second. That amount was even higher than a single one of Shi Feng’s normal attacks. If Shi Feng remained idle, the Balrog Serpent would fully recover in less than 20 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Balrog Serpent immediately sent its tail swiping at Shi Feng, finally reacting to Shi Feng’s attacks.

Shi Feng hurriedly used Parry to block the attack. Although he suffered no damage from the Balrog Serpent’s tail strike, he was forced to retreat three steps, with his hands growing numb from the force of the impact as well. In terms of destructive power, the Balrog Serpent was definitely superior to the Chimera. The Balrog Serpent was also much faster. Shi Feng had actually been forced to use Parry because he could not dodge in time.

Currently, Shi Feng’s Parry was at Level 7, so it had a Cooldown of 21 seconds.

Aside from Parry, Shi Feng also had Defensive Blade, a skill that had both offensive and defensive capabilities. Currently, Defensive Blade was at Level 6, and it had a Cooldown of two minutes. Although its Cooldown was much longer than Parry, it allowed Shi Feng to completely block four melee attacks and eight ranged attacks. He would also be immune to Charge attacks.

Just as the dozens of fireballs were about to hit him, Shi Feng jumped into the air, dodging them completely. Right after that, the Balrog Serpent swiped its tail at Shi Feng again, the sound of wind whistling could be heard as its tail streaked through the air.

In the face of this powerful attack, Shi Feng showed no signs of weaknesses. Immediately, he countered the attack with the Level 7 Thunder Flame Explosion.

When sword and tail collided, sparks of flame scattered in all directions. The Balrog Serpent’s tail was knocked back, the monster itself receiving over -400 damage from the brief clash. On the other hand, Shi Feng landed heavily onto the ground, his feet sinking partly into the molten lava. A damage of over -700 points also appeared above his head. As expected, in a direct confrontation, Shi Feng was definitely a lot weaker than the Balrog Serpent. However, Shi Feng was probably the only player in God’s Domain right now who dared to actually fight a Special Elite monster in such a way.

Chapter 294: Storm of Swords

Although Shi Feng lost against the Balrog Serpent in a direct confrontation, Thunder Flame Explosion, the skill he used, wasn’t just a powerful destructive skill. It was also a control skill.

However, the Balrog Serpent was a Special Elite monster; it possessed a degree of resistance towards control skills.

Hence, the Level 7 Thunder Flame Explosion, which would originally place enemies hit by it in a Fainted state for five seconds, only managed to incapacitate the Balrog Serpent for 3.5 seconds.

For average players, 3.5 seconds might not seem like a long time. For Shi Feng, however, it was plenty of time.

Wind Blade!

Shi Feng instantly arrived before the Balrog Serpent. Simultaneously, his Attack Speed received a 30% increase.

However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied with this. He then proceeded to activate the additional skill of the Purgatory’s Shadow, Purgatory Power.

[Purgatory Power]

When activated, increases Attack Speed by 100% and damage dealt by 30% for 15 seconds.

Cooldown: 2 minutes

Shi Feng then activated Nine Dragons Slash.

Twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade suddenly appeared, floating around Shi Feng. Each phantom was capable of dealing 40% damage for 30 seconds. However, it had a long Cooldown of five minutes.

Shi Feng brandished his two swords using his full strength. In addition to the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms he was controlling, a total of fourteen swords surrounded and madly attacked the Balrog Serpent.

Within moments, the cave was filled with sword images dancing around.

Fourteen… Twenty-eight… Fifty-six… One hundred and twelve…

Countless sword images flashed in the air, forming a storm of swords that devoured the Balrog Serpent whole.

Shi Feng’s swords slashed at the Balrog Serpent’s body one after another, each strike causing close to -500 damage. Moreover, close to half of this barrage of attacks achieved a critical hit, each dealing close to -1,000 damage to the monster.

Meanwhile, each of the phantoms of the Abyssal Blade had also managed to deal over -200 damage to the Balrog Serpent. The total damage of the twelve phantoms was even more frightening than that of Shi Feng himself.

As if the floodgates to the Balrog Serpent’s 150,000 HP had been opened, the Balrog Serpent lost HP incessantly.

Within a short 3.5 seconds, the Balrog Serpent’s HP had already fallen to 61%. When the Balrog Serpent regained consciousness, it immediately released an enraged roar. At this moment, however, Shi Feng pointed the Abyssal Blade at the Balrog Serpent.

“Now is still not the time for you to wake up.” Shi Feng cast Abyssal Bind on the Balrog Serpent right away. If he were to allow the Balrog Serpent to start retaliating, his previous efforts would all go to waste.

In the blink of an eye, nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground, quickly wrapping around and binding the Balrog Serpent. Meanwhile, the Balrog Serpent could do nothing but roar in anger as it helplessly watched sword after sword piercing its own body, continuously reaping its HP.

The Abyssal Bind had a duration of four seconds. Moreover, the Balrog Serpent’s resistance towards control skills was completely ineffective against it; the Abyssal Bind’s effective duration was not reduced in the slightest. In addition, the Abyssal Bind reduced the Balrog Serpent’s Defense by 100%, rendering the Balrog Serpent’s innately powerful Defense utterly useless.

Now, each of Shi Feng’s sword strikes dealt over -800 damage, with the occasional triple critical hit dealing over -2,500 damage.

A series of splendid numbers appeared above the Balrog Serpent’s head. Before the eye-catching number of -2,500 disappeared, a damage of over -1,700 points appeared on top of it. Practically one out of every two strikes would achieve a critical hit.

Meanwhile, each of the twelve Abyssal Blade Phantoms were now dealing over -350 damage to the Balrog Serpent.

For the Balrog Serpent, these four seconds were a complete hell.

By the time the Balrog Serpent escaped from the chains binding it, it had only 19% HP remaining. However, Shi Feng had long since been prepared for this moment.

“Disappear!” Shi Feng raised the silvery-gray Abyssal Blade.

The dense fire-type mana in the surroundings started gathering around the Abyssal Blade, causing the sword to release a blinding glow.

This was indeed Shi Feng’s ultimate skill, Flame Burst.

[Flame Burst]

Level 5 (Requires 4,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6)

Channeling time: 2 seconds

Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 420% damage to the target.

Attack Count: 6 times

Cooldown: 3 minutes 30 seconds

Before the Balrog Serpent could even start attacking, Shi Feng had already brandished the scorching hot Abyssal Blade six times. All six sword slashes immediately sank into the Balrog Serpent’s body.

-3,310, -3,347, -6,784, -6,706, -3,371, -6,754.

Six frightening damages appeared consecutively above the Balrog Serpent’s head, instantly taking away the monster’s remaining 28,000 HP.

Soon after, the Balrog Serpent’s body started fading away, and only after it disappeared completely, did Shi Feng release a sigh of relief.

System: Balrog Serpent defeated. Sixth trial completed. Rewarding 9,000,000 EXP, 20 Free Mastery Points, and 10 Gold Coins. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 500 points.

System: Sixth trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial?

Shi Feng’s experience bar immediately rose to 41% of Level 21. If put on the Ranking List on White River City, Shi Feng would only be beneath Violet Cloud and the others. However, he was still two levels behind Blackie, the current top ranking player of White River City.

Finally, I’ve passed the requirement. Should I try to take on the 7th trial, though? Shi Feng looked at the system interface showing the trial’s prompt. Privately, Shi Feng had the notion to take the challenge.

Now that he had cleared the 6th trial, it signified that his task was already over. He had no need to brave the dangers and accept the next trial at all.

Moreover, if he happened to lose his life in the next trial, he would definitely suffer a heavy penalty; it absolutely wouldn’t be limited to just losing a single Level.

Truth be told, however, Shi Feng felt confident about his chances at clearing the 7th trial. After all, he had not even unveiled the Black Emperor Inheritance when he fought the Balrog Serpent. He definitely had the necessary strength to challenge the 7th trial.

After clearing the 6th trial, Shi Feng obtained an additional 1,600 Merit Points. If he were to clear the 7th trial, he could obtain another 3,200 Merit Points, bringing his total to 4,800 Merit Points. It would be enough points for him to exchange for an Epic ranked item.

Just the prospect of obtaining an Epic ranked item made Shi Feng feel that he should give it a try.

Besides, Shi Feng no longer had any burdens to carry, so why not give it a try?

However, Shi Feng was unsure of what kind of price he would have to pay if he were to suffer death. If it was only losing a single level, then Shi Feng would gladly proceed to the 7th trial. However, Shi Feng knew such an outcome was not likely. Just the penalty for not completing the Trial of Gods was already considered unbearable for players; some players might even have to delete and restart their accounts due to the harsh penalties imposed.

Meanwhile, the Twelve Trials was the most challenging trial of the War God’s Temple. It would be an insult to the War God’s Temple if the punishment for dying was only the loss of a single level.

Just as Shi Feng was hesitating, his system communicator rang. Meanwhile, the person calling him was Aqua Rose.

“Did something happen?” Shi Feng asked.

Previously, Shi Feng had already told Aqua Rose that he did not wish to be disturbed as he was about to do a quest, and that, unless there was something big happening, she shouldn’t try to contact him. Based on Aqua Rose’s serious personality, if it wasn’t an extremely important matter, then she definitely wouldn’t try to contact him, hence Shi Feng’s question.

“Dark Star has suddenly declared an all-out war against us, and several hundreds of our Guild members have already been killed by members of Dark Star while they were out grinding. Moreover, the core team, led by Fire Dance, has also been trapped by Dark Star inside the Silverleaf Forest. Although we’ve already sent reinforcements, they were blocked by members of Dark Star outside the forest.

“What I’m trying to say is that, Guild Leader, you need to immediately contact Gentle Snow and have her send some people to help contain Dark Star so that our members can take the opportunity to save Fire Dance and the others!”

Aqua Rose was extremely anxious at this moment. They had already failed to break through the encirclement of Dark Star around the Silverleaf Forest multiple times now. If this situation continued, Fire Dance and the others would truly be finished.

Feng Xuanyang! You did good! __

Shi Feng’s expression immediately sank, a cold killing intent gleaming in his eyes.

If Fire Dance and the others belonging to the main force of the Guild were to die a few times, it would be a tremendous loss to Zero Wing.

Leaving aside the fame that Fire Dance and the others had accumulated for themselves, just losing a part of the equipment they possessed would be a serious blow to the Guild. Just how long would it take for them to recover such precious equipment?

Meanwhile, when Shi Feng tried to figure out who was responsible for such a situation, Feng Xuanyang came up as his strongest suspect.

Feng Xuanyang was the true wielder of authority in Dark Star.

After Shi Feng’s previous forthright rejection, it would not be strange if Feng Xuanyang retaliated. Hence, who else could be responsible for Dark Star’s declaration of war?

Chapter 295: Mirage Beast

Although Shi Feng was incensed by this news, Fire Dance and the others would have long since lost their lives by the time he arrived at the Silverleaf Forest.

“Alright, I’ll contact Gentle Snow immediately.” Shi Feng disconnected his call with Aqua Rose after saying so. He then called out his friends list, selected Gentle Snow’s name, and chose to contact her.

It was a fact that Ouroboros and Zero Wing were allies. Since an ally was under attack, Gentle Snow naturally did not refuse to send reinforcements when Shi Feng asked. Moreover, Gentle Snow had found out about this entire matter a step ahead of Shi Feng. Hence, she had already organized her subordinates even before Shi Feng contacted her, and they were just about to hurry over to the Silverleaf Forest right at that moment.

Gentle Snow had gathered 2,000 members from Ouroboros to aid Zero Wing. Of them, 500 were elite members of the Guild. Such a powerful force would pose a huge threat to the 6,000 members of Dark Star blocking the way into the Silverleaf Forest.

“Many thanks for your help, Miss Snow. In the future, members of Ouroboros that shop at the Starstreak Trading Firm can enjoy a 10% discount on all products,” Shi Feng said in thanks.

“You said this yourself. I’ll gladly accept your offer, then.” Gentle Snow revealed a faint smile. Currently, over half of the player population in White River City was patronizing the Starstreak Trading Firm. After all, not only were the items sold there of good quality, there was also a large selection available. Moreover, the product supply was plentiful. Normally, the various Guilds in White River City would always make a trip to the Starstreak Trading Firm before they went Dungeon-diving. If Ouroboros could receive a 10% discount when purchasing items there, it would save the Guild a lot of money.

“Really, though, just what is going through the minds of those people in Dark Star? It would be fine if it were just the usual minor skirmish. However, they have actually declared an all-out war on Zero Wing. Isn’t Lone Tyrant afraid that his Guild might suffer heavy losses and lose the ability to compete for the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons?” Gentle Snow commented curiously.

The competition over the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons had already reached its most crucial moment right now. Moreover, Dark Star only had the final Boss left to defeat in order to snag the First Clear of the Land of Death—and gain an absolute advantage over the other Guilds.

However, Dark Star had instead chosen to take action against Zero Wing at this critical junction.

God’s Domain had been launched just recently. At this early stage of the game, everyone was busy leveling up and raiding Dungeons to strengthen themselves. Guilds, in particular, were deeply afraid of falling behind others. Even if conflict arose between Guilds, both sides would usually choose to show restraint.

After all, an all-out war between Guilds would profit nobody. Worse, they might even get taken advantage of by a third party. If such a situation were to truly occur, then the damage to both Guilds would grow even more massive. Hence, unless there was a huge disparity in strength between both sides, nobody would casually choose to start a war.

Dark Star and Zero Wing were both among the top six Guilds in White River City, so the difference in strength between the two Guilds was not particularly wide. No matter how Gentle Snow looked at the situation, she could not figure out why Dark Star would choose to suddenly declare war.

“I am afraid that the one starting the war this time around isn’t Lone Tyrant, but the organization that’s backing him, Underworld,” Shi Feng said, laughing bitterly.

“Underworld!” Gentle Snow couldn’t help but wrinkle her eyebrows at this revelation. “So that’s how it is. I’ve been wondering how Dark Star had managed to suddenly obtain so many experts. It turns out the mysterious power supporting Dark Star is Underworld. However, how did you manage to find out about this? Even though I’ve planted many spies inside Dark Star, I never managed to uncover the forces hidden behind Dark Star.”

“Feng Xuanyang from Underworld came looking for me to buy some of Zero Wing’s shares. However, the price he offered was simply too low. I rejected his offer, so now he is trying to get back at me by destroying Zero Wing.” Shi Feng revealed the truth.

Gentle Snow immediately understood the situation after listening to Shi Feng’s words.

It was no wonder Dark Star was completely unafraid of commencing an all-out war. With Underworld’s background, it only needed to field a part of its forces located in the eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom to completely destroy Zero Wing. With such a large disparity in strength, it was natural for Dark Star not to fear a war.

“So it is Feng Xuanyang. He is indeed a person who would take revenge for the slightest of offenses. However, with Underworld’s financial power, his offer to buy Zero Wing, which possesses a Guild Residence, should not have been low. At the very least, he should have offered 500 to 600 million, right?” Gentle Snow came to an abrupt realization. However, she also felt curious about this matter, as the Feng Xuanyang she knew was not a tightfisted person.

“One billion Credits and several hundred experts. In addition, they would also provide 100 Gold Coins as support every week,” Shi Feng said.

“One billion Credits and also 100 Gold Coins per week? Feng Xuanyang sure is generous. Even I might feel tempted if given such an offer. Yet, you actually complained that it’s too little? No wonder he’s angry.” Gentle Snow chuckled softly.

Shi Feng simply replied with a faint smile, not bothering to give an explanation on the matter.

Aside from a few core Guild members knowing about the Purple Sun Mansion being their new Guild Residence, nobody else knew anything about it. The others only knew that Zero Wing possessed a Guild Residence. They were not clear where exactly it was located. After all, there were simply too many plots of land available in White River City. Moreover, the Purple Sun Mansion was currently under reconstruction. It would take two more days before it can be used and also unveiled to the public.

Following which, Shi Feng made some small talk with Gentle Snow before ending the call. He then proceeded to start the 7th trial.

If nothing unexpected happened, the 2,000 players led by Gentle Snow could definitely break apart Dark Star’s encirclement around the Silverleaf Forest. Hence, what Shi Feng needed to do now was to increase his own strength by obtaining even better tools and equipment, slowly and gradually enhancing their Guild’s foundation.

In regard to the battle at the Silverleaf Forest, Shi Feng could only play the role of an observer. Even if he were to rush over there right this instant, everything would have long since been over by the time he arrived.

However, Shi Feng would definitely remember this debt of hatred. Sooner or later, he would repay this debt to Dark Star and Underworld ten times over.

The stage for the 7th trial was an ancient coliseum.

The moment Shi Feng laid eyes on his opponent, he was immediately shocked by what he saw.

“Why is it myself?”

Shi Feng looked at the familiar figure gradually appearing at a corner of the coliseum, feeling very surprised. However, when he used Observing Eyes on this twin of his, he immediately came to an understanding.

[Mirage Beast] (Rare Special Elite)

Level 20

HP 200,000/200,000

This Mirage Beast was capable of replicating the appearance and skills of an enemy. However, unlike players, it had a frightening amount of HP. In a one-on-one situation, players would find it extremely difficult to kill the Mirage Beast.

In God’s Domain, the only advantage players had over monsters was the diversity of skills they possessed. Meanwhile, players could use these skills in various combinations to exert even stronger power. Yet, if the Mirage Beast possessed the same skills that players did, then players would lose even that little advantage they had. When comparing the power of skills, the Mirage Beast’s skills might even be more powerful than the players’.

“Good timing. I was just thinking of trying out a few things.” Shi Feng advanced, immediately directing a Chop at the Mirage Beast.

Meanwhile, the Mirage Beast had similarly charged at Shi Feng, and it, too, had sent a Chop at Shi Feng.

The moment the two swords clashed, sparks flew all around.

However, when all was said and done, Shi Feng was still a player. In terms of Strength, he was still far inferior to the Mirage Beast. Hence, Shi Feng was easily repelled, forced by the Mirage Beast to retreat step by step. Meanwhile, the Mirage Beast was also superior in terms of Attack Speed.

Although the ensuing damage from a collision of weapons was small, after clashing for tens or even hundreds of times, Shi Feng would eventually lose his life. After all, the Mirage Beast possessed 200,000 HP, while Shi Feng’s HP was just slightly over 2,600 after reaching Level 21. Moreover, Shi Feng was receiving more damage than the Mirage Beast from their exchanges.

Not to mention, both sides were also executing various skills.

When Shi Feng used Thundering Flash, the Mirage Beast would activate Windwalk to dodge the attack. It would then counter with a Thundering Flash of its own. Knowing that he could not receive the attack directly, Shi Feng, too, activated Windwalk to dodge. However, the Mirage Beast activated Wind Blade to immediately appear before Shi Feng. It then followed up with a Chop, sending an extremely quick vertical slash down towards its prey.

Shi Feng hastily used Parry to block the Mirage Beast’s Chop. He countered with a Thunder Flame Explosion right away. In the end, however, the Mirage Beast used Parry to fend off the powerful attack.

Shi Feng then followed up with a Flame Burst, which was promptly countered with a Defensive Blade by the Mirage Beast.

The exchange between both sides was extremely intense.

After a dozen seconds or so, Shi Feng’s HP had fallen to 60%. On the other hand, the Mirage Beast had lost only a negligible amount of HP. Just the Mirage Beast’s battle recovery negated most of the damage Shi Feng had caused.

“As expected of the 7th trial, even the monster’s normal attacks and skills are used with such viciousness.” However, instead of feeling afraid, a sense of excitement was bubbling within Shi Feng at the moment.

“However, do you know this move?” Shi Feng looked at the Mirage Beast, a faint smile appearing on his face. He then proceeded to activate the Black Emperor Inheritance.

Dark fog immediately started emerging from the Abyssal Blade and then entered Shi Feng’s body.

Chapter 296: Perfect Combination

Although the Mirage Beast was capable of duplicating a player’s every skill, Shi Feng had already obtained a clear understanding of the Mirage Beast during this short period of time.

Shi Feng had previously activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame after starting the battle. Yet, the Mirage Beast had not done so.

The Ice-Blue Devil Flame was not a skill Shi Feng had learned. Instead, it was an additional effect provided by the item known as the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Hence, Shi Feng could say with certainty that the Mirage Beast was incapable of duplicating the additional skills of a player’s equipment.

The moment the dark fog, which emanated from the Abyssal Blade, started permeating Shi Feng’s body, a faint silvery-gray aura of death emerged on the surface of his body. Immediately, he charged at the Mirage Beast, while simultaneously activating Nine Dragons Slash. The twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms promptly started attacking the Mirage Beast the moment they came into existence.

When the Mirage Beast saw the twelve phantoms striking at it, it cleverly chose not to block them. Instead, it bombarded Shi Feng with a Thunder Flame Explosion. As long as Shi Feng died, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms would naturally disappear along with him.

Seeing the Mirage Beast’s actions, Shi Feng simply revealed a calm smile. Rather than dodge the attack, however, Shi Feng chose to activate Defensive Blade and proceeded to assault the Mirage Beast’s vital point.

Defensive Blade provided Shi Feng with complete immunity to four melee attacks. He could simply allow the Mirage Beast’s attack to connect without needing to defend using his sword at all. Meanwhile, Shi Feng’s twin swords had also landed on the Mirage Beast’s body.

Previously, in order to block Shi Feng’s Thunder Flame Explosion, the Mirage Beast had used up its own Defensive Blade. Hence, it had no choice but to endure Shi Feng’s attacks right now.

Shi Feng took this chance to make seven consecutive slashes on the Mirage Beast’s body. His normal attacks caused over -500 damage, while critical hits dealt over -1,000 damage.

Meanwhile, each of the Abyssal Blade phantoms could also inflict over -200 damage.

Out of the seven sword strikes Shi Feng landed on the Mirage Beast, four achieved a critical hit. Coupling those sword strikes with the attacks of the Abyssal Blade phantoms, Shi Feng dealt over -7,000 damage within this brief moment. It was a very impressive amount of damage.

However, the Mirage Beast, which had taken on Shi Feng’s appearance, simply gave Shi Feng a smile of disdain.

The Mirage Beast looked as if it was saying, “This is your limit.”

The Mirage Beast had 200,000 HP, so -7,000 damage was only a scratch to it. It would be perfectly fine again once it rubbed some spit on its wounds.

On the other hand, now that Shi Feng no longer possessed any lifesaving skills, only death awaited him.

“A high HP is really a great asset.” Shi Feng sighed when he looked at the Mirage Beast’s HP bar. In the next moment, though, Shi Feng revealed a smile, saying, “However, you are still ten years too early if you think you can overpower me just with this asset of yours alone.”

Shi Feng activated the Purgatory Shadow’s additional skill, Purgatory Power, increasing his Attack Speed by 100% and damage by 30% for 15 seconds.

Shi Feng then pointed the Abyssal Blade at the Mirage Beast charging at him.

Abyssal Bind.

Nine chilling chains instantly emerged from the ground, wrapping around and restraining the Mirage Beast.

Abyssal Bind had a duration of four seconds. Despite being sealed, however, the Mirage Beast showed no signs of panic at all. It did not even try to resist in the slightest. Instead, it revealed a mocking expression as it looked at Shi Feng, as if telling Shi Feng to slash it as much as he wanted to.

Previously, Shi Feng had only managed to take away around 7,000 of its HP after attacking it for slightly over a second. Even if the Mirage Beast allowed Shi Feng free rein for four full seconds, the most it would lose was around 30,000 HP. That was not even a quarter of its total HP.

Moreover, after Shi Feng exhausted all his skills, he would also lose his means of dealing bursts of damage.

With neither lifesaving skills nor bursting skills, the end result was obvious. Hence, the Mirage Beast felt very assured of its victory.

Since the very beginning, this human never had a chance of defeating it.

However, the Mirage Beast quickly discovered that reality was much crueler than fantasy.

The Abyssal Bind indeed had a duration of only four seconds. However, the skill also possessed the effect of reducing its target’s Defense by 100%, and this allowed Shi Feng’s damage to abruptly soar.

Now, each of Shi Feng’s normal attacks could deal over -700 damage. Miraculously, one of his attacks even triggered the Doom Curse, one of the Abyssal Blade’s effects. Instantly, the Mirage Beast had its Attributes reduced by 30%, and its maximum HP fell from 200,000 to 140,000.

Engulfed by the storm of swords, the Mirage Beast’s HP fell crazily. Shi Feng also achieved critical hits with his attacks one after another, stacking layer upon layer of Death Aura around his body. In this situation, the Nine Dragons Slash could be said to be a perfect match for the Black Emperor Inheritance. After activating the Nine Dragons Slash, Shi Feng would not be lacking in Death Auras at all.

Before the four seconds were up, the Mirage Beast’s HP had already gone below the 70% threshold.

Just as the Abyssal Bind was about to lose effect, and the Mirage Beast was about to regain its freedom, Shi Feng abruptly leaped into the air and switched sword techniques. Simultaneously, he used ten of the 30 layers of Death Aura he had accumulated to reduce the Thunder Flame Explosion’s Cooldown. The Level 7 Thunder Flame Explosion had a Cooldown of 30 seconds. Meanwhile, each layer of Death Aura could reduce a skill’s Cooldown by three seconds. After using ten layers of Death Aura, Thunder Flame Explosion could be used again.

However, Shi Feng was still not done. He then used the remaining 20 layers of Death Aura on himself, instantly increasing all his Basic Attributes by 40%, and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 20% for ten seconds.

After receiving this new buff, Shi Feng executed Thunder Flame Explosion, bombarding the Mirage Beast’s head and sending sparks of flame flying all around. A damage of over -1,300 points appeared above the Mirage Beast’s head, and the monster was placed into a Fainted state for three seconds.

Unless a monster was completely immune to control skills, powerful experts could usually restrain said monster continuously until death. Meanwhile, it was obvious that the monsters were not completely immune to control skills; they simply had a certain degree of resistance that would degrade the effects of control skills. Otherwise, it would truly be impossible for players to clear the Twelve Trials.

Nevertheless, Shi Feng was very clear about his own situation. Currently, as his Level was still low and the number of skills he had learned was few, he only possessed explosive power but no staying power. After his short burst, if his enemy wasn’t dead, the only options left for him were either to die or to flee.

At present, Shi Feng still had many gaps to fill in terms of the Skills he had learned. However, the Black Emperor Inheritance just happened to be able to fill these gaps, allowing him to create a perfect cycle with his skills. Without the Black Emperor Inheritance, Shi Feng would not have dared to challenge the 7th trial at all. The only pity was that the effects of the Black Emperor Inheritance could only be used on the skills Shi Feng had personally learned; it could not be used on the additional skills that came with equipment or weapons.

If it were actually possible to do so, it would simply be too overpowered…

Throughout the Fainted debuff’s three-second duration, Shi Feng had not only dealt a ton of damage himself, he had also managed to collect over 20 layers of Death Aura, thanks to the Nine Dragons Slash.

When the Mirage Beast was about to regain consciousness, Shi Feng spent another ten layers of Death Aura to reset the Cooldown of Thunder Flame Explosion, before promptly using it on the Mirage Beast again.

This time, however, the Fainted debuff of Thunder Flame Explosion was less effective on the Mirage Beast; the debuff’s duration was less than three seconds now.

However, Shi Feng did not care about this matter, because at this time, he was drowning in the pleasure he felt from brandishing his two swords. He felt that this was the true combat method a Swordsman should have, and it was a combat method he had always been pursuing.

Excessive strength easily gave rise to gaps. Instead of mindlessly trying to deal as much damage as possible, the true way to battle was to combine and coordinate one’s Skills to attack steadily like flowing water.

In this way, Shi Feng continually used Thunder Flame Explosion to incapacitate the Mirage Beast. Although the Fainted debuff’s effect grew weaker and weaker each time, the Mirage Beast’s remaining 140,000 HP was still forcefully wiped out by Shi Feng’s perfect control.

Ultimately, the Mirage Beast remained helpless until the very end.

The various big shots present in the Eternal Throne also could not help but be shocked by this result. They had never imagined that Shi Feng had such strength within him.

System: Mirage Beast defeated. Seventh trial completed. Rewarding 15,000,000 EXP, 30 Free Mastery Points, and 10 Gold Coins. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 800 points.

System: Seventh trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial?

The moment Shi Feng received 15,000,000 EXP, he instantly leveled up twice to Level 23. Currently, only Blackie had reached Level 23 throughout the entire White River City. However, Blackie had spent several days in order to go from Level 21 to Level 23. On the other hand, Shi Feng had taken less than ten seconds to do so…

Shi Feng then looked at the system notification. Although his heart was filled with anticipation towards the 8th trial, he still shook his head, thinking to himself, One needs to know when to stop. With the points I’ve earned, I can already exchange for an Epic ranked item. If I were to choose to continue, I would no longer be an expert but a gambler.

The Twelve Trials was the toughest trial of the War God’s Temple. The difficulty of the trials would definitely multiply severalfold the further he went. In Shi Feng’s estimation, the monster of the 8th trial would not be just a Special Elite monster. Instead, it was highly possible for it to be a Chieftain ranked monster.

A Chieftain was much more powerful than a mere Special Elite. Aside from having even more HP, it would also possess a much greater resistance to control skills. Chieftain ranked monsters also possessed team-wipe skills, and a single mistake would mean the end for Shi Feng.

Moreover, Shi Feng did not possess the slightest idea what kind of monster he would be facing in the 8th trial. If it was a Chieftain ranked monster that he was completely unfamiliar with, then he practically had no chance of successfully killing it.

The ability to make calm analyses was also a prerequisite to becoming an expert in God’s Domain.

As a first-rate expert, Shi Feng naturally knew when to decisively give up.

Following which, Shi Feng selected “No’ in reply to the system’s prompt. He was then teleported out of the Twelve Trials.

Chapter 297: Stigmata

“Interesting. Truly interesting.” Sitting on a silver throne, Ucarus voiced his praise as he looked at Shi Feng. “Your performance has completely surpassed our expectations. It is also for this reason that we have decided to reward you with an additional 2,000 Merit Points.”

It was also a fact that the last time someone managed to clear the 7th trial was over a millennium ago.

System: Rewarding 2,000 War God’s Temple Merit Points.

That’s generous of them. An expression of joy appeared on Shi Feng’s face.

With 1,500 Merit Points, Shi Feng could afford to exchange for a Dark-Gold ranked item. Meanwhile, 4,000 Merit Points would be equivalent to an Epic ranked item. Hence, the additional 2,000 Merit Points he received right now was truly a big harvest.

“Since you’ve already passed our test, walk to the center of the chamber. We will give you the strength necessary to locate the Seven Treasures,” Ucarus said.

Shi Feng then strode to the center of the Eternal Throne.

There were countless divine runes inscribed on the floor there, joined together to form a huge magic array. Meanwhile, the fifty silver thrones were hovering around this magic array, the thrones themselves apparently connected somehow with this magic array.

“Let us begin, then,” Ucarus said as he looked at his companions.

The lords of the silver thrones nodded their heads and promptly stood up. Immediately after, the mana inside the Eternal Throne started churning. The mana density here was no less than at the God’s Grave.

Meanwhile, this thick mana clustered around the magic array, forming fifty dense-looking fluid balls. Each one of these fluid balls was the size of a basin. These balls of liquid mana were definitely the densest mana Shi Feng had ever seen in all his years of playing God’s Domain. At this time, Ucarus had also turned his head to look at one of the lords of the golden thrones.

“My lord, the preparations are completed,” Ucarus said respectfully.

“It is still not enough,” the phantom sitting in a golden throne said in a low tone.

Ucarus was confused by these words.

The liquid mana they had formed was several hundred times more precious than even Seven Luminaries Crystals, and each and every drop had taken the fifty of them great efforts to form, not to mention fifty basin-sized liquid mana. Such an amount of liquid mana was more than enough to cast a Silver Stigmata.

“It is rare to find good talent. Let us lend a hand as well,” the phantom sitting in a golden throne said to his eight other companions.

“Very well, then. A person capable of passing the 7th trial is indeed worthy of the nine of us taking action.”

The other eight lords of the golden thrones nodded their heads in reply to their companion’s suggestion. They then stood from their seats, floating in mid-air as they started to condense mana as well.

In the blink of an eye, nine house-sized balls of liquid mana appeared in the air above the thrones in the Eternal Throne.

Ucarus and the others were shocked by this sight. Never would they have imagined that these nine lords would actually take action and work together to cast a stigmata for a minor existence like Shi Feng. This was the first time since the appearance of that absolute genius thousands of years ago.

As for Shi Feng, at this moment, he could no longer keep his mouth closed.

In regard to liquid mana, Shi Feng had seen this item before in the past. Mages considered it a priceless treasure. Even when offered Epic ranked items in trade, mage players would not be willing to part with the liquid mana they possessed.

Just the basin-sized balls of liquid mana that each of the lords of the silver thrones had formed had already given Shi Feng a great shock.

Now, the nine peerless existences floating in front of the golden thrones had actually managed to each form a house-sized ball of liquid mana. Judging based on sizes, the total liquid mana summoned by the fifty people from before did not amount to even one-tenth of a single house.

In the next moment, all of the liquid mana summoned was injected into the magic array. The divine runes engraved into the chamber started lighting up one after another, and within moments, every single divine rune inside the grand chamber was giving off a golden glow.

In the center of the Eternal Throne, a golden divine pattern took form. This divine pattern then melded with Shi Feng’s body.

Shi Feng immediately felt his body being filled up with an infinite amount of power, his mind clear as day, as if he knew everything there was to know in the world. However, this feeling only lasted for a few short seconds before it completely dissipated. Meanwhile, Shi Feng’s pupils, which were originally pitch-black in color, had also turned golden for a brief moment. Although his pupils regained their original color, careful observation would reveal innumerable bright stars flashing within them, looking just like the starry skies at night.

System: Congratulations! Player has obtained Golden Stigmata. Reputation with the War God’s Temple increased by 3,000 points.

“The seal on the Endless Abyss has been broken. If we wish to reseal the Endless Abyss, we need the assistance of the Seven Treasures, which the Gods had bestowed upon the human race. However, the Seven Treasures have been missing for hundreds of years now, scattered throughout this large continent. A few of these Seven Treasures have even been damaged. It would be extremely difficult to locate and gather the Seven Treasures. However, with the Stigmata that we have engraved into your body, your task of locating the Seven Treasures should become much easier. As long as you come within a certain range of one of the Seven Treasures, the Stigmata will produce a response to notify you of it. If you happen to come across one of the Seven Treasures that is damaged, the Stigmata can also aid you in repairing it.

“Now that our part here is done, we will move to suppress the Endless Abyss. The fate of the entire continent will depend on you now. I pray that you will be able to gather the Seven Treasures as soon as possible.”

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

Quest details: The Seven Treasures have been scattered throughout the continent. Player is required to gather the Seven Treasures within two years. Otherwise, the Endless Abyss will break through the War God’s Temple’s suppression and plunge all inhabitants of God’s Domain into misery and suffering, turning the continent into the playground of darkness. If player is unable to complete this quest, player’s Level will drop by 30, all Attributes will be permanently reduced by 70%, and all EXP gained will be reduced by 90%.

The system really is ruthless. If I can’t complete this quest, this account would definitely have to be scrapped. Fortunately, I have two years to complete it. Shi Feng inwardly clicked his tongue when he read the system notification.

However, just what is this Stigmata thing? Shi Feng wondered as there was nothing new on his body or in his bag. He then opened his status bar to take a look.

As expected, there was an additional column labeled “Stigmata” there.

[Golden Stigmata]

Automatically perceives the presence of the Seven Treasures within a radius of 5,000 yards. Detect can be used once a day to search for the specific location of the Seven Treasures within a radius of 50,000 yards. In addition, player will receive Stigmata’s Power, providing player with Ignore Levels +20 and all Resistances +40. For every increase in five Levels, all Attributes of player will increase by 5 points, in addition to receiving 10 Free Attribute Points and 10 Free Mastery Points. Player will also receive the skill Omniscient Eyes.

[Omniscient Eyes]

A pair of eyes that can see through everything and find out all information. Nothing is capable of hiding from the Omniscient Eyes. The Omniscient Eyes have a perception range of 100 yards.

Duration: 1 minute

Cooldown: 10 minutes

“Such amazing effects!” Shi Feng’s excitement after looking at the effects of the Golden Stigmata was indescribable.

For starters, the additional 40 points in all Resistances meant that he could ignore most of the environmental factors of many terrains. He would also receive reduced damage from spells. When battling against magic-type monsters, he could easily take on the role of an MT.

However, the most amazing part about the Golden Stigmata would still have to be the increase in Attributes. The Golden Stigmata was unlike the Abyssal Blade, whereby Shi Feng would receive two additional Free Attribute Points every time he leveled up. However, the Golden Stigmata would provide Shi Feng with an average of seven Basic Attribute Points per level, two points of which were even Free Attribute Points. This was definitely a huge increase.

Moreover, the Golden Stigmata also provided Shi Feng with a powerful identification skill. This skill would be of significant help when used against Dungeon Bosses or during field battles.

“It seems the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath is already waving its hands at me.” Shi Feng revealed a faint smile.

Originally, the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath’s requirement of 120 points in Intelligence had given Shi Feng a major headache. Now, however, with the bonuses provided by the Golden Stigmata and his Magic Weapon, as long as he received his promotion to a Tier 1 Swordsman, he could definitely equip the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath before he reached Level 30.

He would actually get to equip a Fragmented Legendary item before reaching Level 30. If it were in the past, Shi Feng would not even have dared to dream about it.

Following which, Shi Feng called out the exchange interface of the War God’s Temple and began to carefully look through the treasures there.

Chapter 298: Deep Pockets

Previously, Shi Feng had focused his attention purely on clearing the trials. Even when he upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 20, he had only picked out a random Level 20 Dark-Gold Weapon.

The War God’s Temple was one of the strongest powers in God’s Domain. This was a fact that remained true from ancient times up to the present.

Shi Feng had been able to fully experience this truth simply by seeing the various big shots in the Eternal Throne take action.

Hence, one could just imagine how wealthy the War God’s Temple’s treasury would be.

As for this War God’s Temple Exchange System, players would automatically activate it after obtaining the First Clear on a 100-man Team Dungeon. However, one would already require large amounts of War God’s Temple Reputation even to exchange for a Fine-Gold item. In God’s Domain, Reputation with the War God’s Temple was infamous for being extremely hard to obtain, not to mention meeting the required Reputation for exchanging an Epic item.

If not for his quest, Shi Feng would not have the chance to exchange for an Epic ranked item. He would not even have the chance to lay eyes on them. He would not get the chance to see the never-before-seen Divine Artifacts, either.

“I wonder what sort of Divine Artifacts are in the treasury of the War God’s Temple?” Shi Feng’s heart was filled with anticipation as he filtered the exchange window to display only Divine Artifacts.

A total of two Divine Artifacts was shown.

[Luminous Starlight] (Divine Rank, Two-handed Staff)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 3,000, Intelligence 8,000

Required Merit Points: 200,000

[Skyfrost Blizzard] (Divine Rank, Two-handed Spear)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 10,000, Intelligence 4,000

Required Merit Points: 250,000

Although he could not see the exact Attributes of these two items, just the Merit Points demanded and the equipment requirements of these two Divine Artifacts left Shi Feng utterly speechless.

“Can a person really equip these Divine Artifacts?” Shi Feng had his doubts.

It was simply unthinkable for a person to possess 10,000 Strength. Even during his prime, Shi Feng had not even been close to meeting such a requirement.

After having his fill of looking at the Divine Artifacts, Shi Feng filtered the window to display only Epic ranked items.

Immediately, an endless list of items appeared before him. A simple glance told Shi Feng that there were more than 10,000 items listed, and he could not help but wish he could take them all to enrich his own Guild Warehouse.

If Zero Wing’s Guild Warehouse had so many Epic ranked items stored within it, then dominating the entire Star-Moon Kingdom would not be a problem, let alone conquering White River City. However, this was only a passing thought.

Shi Feng currently had 6,800 Merit Points, and he could exchange for only a single Epic ranked item at most.

However, it was also not a simple task to choose a suitable item for himself out of these tens of thousands of items.

For starters, let’s forget about weapons. Armor should be a good place to start from, Shi Feng thought. Presently, he already possessed a Magic Weapon, the Abyssal Blade. The Dark-Gold ranked Purgatory’s Shadow he now wielded was also sufficient for his current self. If he wished to further increase his strength, then he needed to replace some of the Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver ranked equipment he was still using.

Yet, when Shi Feng looked at the long list of equipment, his mind was racked with indecision.

However, Shi Feng still managed to pick out a few good breastplates that caught his fancy. Not only did these breastplates offer large amounts of Strength and Agility, some even provided additional Intelligence, an Attribute that Shi Feng was currently in need of.

Meanwhile, the usage levels for these breastplates ranged between Level 20 to Level 80, and they all were Epic equipment that could level up to Level 100.

One of these breastplates was called the Purple Fire Battle Armor and it required 5,000 Merit Points. It was a breastplate that mainly focused on the Strength Attribute, in addition to providing a certain amount of Intelligence.

The other one was called Merciless and required 5,300 Merit Points. It was similarly a breastplate that mainly focused on the Strength Attribute, and likewise it provided a certain amount of Intelligence.

The final breastplate that caught Shi Feng’s fancy was a breastplate called the Carnage Chest Protector. It required 6,000 Merit Points to exchange for, and it provided a balanced amount of Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. The design of the breastplate was also very good, and it was also Shi Feng’s favorite out of the three breastplates.

However, if he were to exchange for the Carnage Chest Protector, he would not be able to do much with his remaining Merit Points.

Let’s take a look at some other items for now.

After some contemplation, Shi Feng filtered the exchange window to display ornaments that had a minimum equipment requirement of Level 20. The Merit Points of the War God’s Temple were extremely precious, so he needed to be extra careful when spending them.

After browsing through the list for some time, Shi Feng suddenly discovered an item he was extremely familiar with.

Space Ring.

However, instead of being of Mysterious-Iron rank, this Space Ring was of Epic rank. It was capable of storing up to 2,000 slots of items and cost 4,500 Merit Points.

However, it would simply be a luxury to spend 4,500 Merit Points on this item, and Shi Feng was definitely not willing to waste his precious Merit Points to purchase it.

“Ah? Isn’t this the ring mentioned in the legends? Why is it categorized under Epic ranked items?” Shi Feng noticed another ring he was familiar with.

Seven Luminaries Ring.

Shi Feng had done his fair share of research on the history of God’s Domain during his past life. The Seven Luminaries Ring was a ring crafted by one of the Ancient Gods, the Twilight Goddess. Seven formidable powers were sealed inside this ring, and each one of these seven powers could match the power of a God. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring allowed the simultaneous use of these seven powers. Even a mere mortal would have the power to destroy heaven and earth when equipped with this ring. Rumor had it that the legendary God Slayer possessed this Seven Luminaries Ring, and it was precisely because of this ring that he had the power to kill Gods.

“Is it a replica?” Shi Feng did not believe that the War God’s Temple possessed the real Seven Luminaries Ring.

The reason being, an Epic ranked item would not be powerful enough to decimate heaven and earth. Even a Divine Artifact did not have that strength. According to Shi Feng’s understanding, the Seven Luminaries Ring was a true Godly Relic.

However, even a replica was an extremely rare find.

To put it bluntly, replicas were weaker copies of the real deal. Although the replica Seven Luminaries Ring would not possess the power to decimate heaven and earth, at the very least, it could still be used to beat some tigers and kill some wolves. It should still have the original features, albeit greatly watered-down versions of them.

Shi Feng then looked at the Merit Points required, discovering that the ring actually cost 8,000 Merit Points. It was worth almost half of a Fragmented Legendary item.

“Are you kidding me? Is this the brand effect?”

Shi Feng couldn’t help but inwardly curse the War God’s Temple. It was simply a replica. The other Epic ranked rings only cost 6,000 points, at most, so on what basis would a replica be worth 8,000 points?

“Eight thousand Merit Points… It seems I won’t be able to exchange for it…” Shi Feng sighed. Although he coveted the Seven Luminaries Ring greatly, he had only 6,800 Merit Points.

Following which, after taking his time looking through the myriad items, he still did not find anything that he fancied. Ultimately, he ended up choosing the Carnage Chest Protector. As for the Seven Luminaries Ring, he could only slowly accumulate Merit Points and exchange for it in the future.

System: 6,000 Merit Points are required to exchange for the Carnage Chest Protector. Current Merit Points in possession: 6,800. Do you wish to exchange?

Shi Feng immediately clicked “Yes.”

System: Player’s Reputation with the War God’s Temple has reached 3,000 points. Player is allowed to pay 20% of the required Merit Points using Gold Coins. Do you wish to pay using Gold Coins?

“It can’t be, right? I can also pay using Gold Coins?” Shi Feng grew ecstatic. He had hope of obtaining the Seven Luminaries Ring now.

Currently, he needed to pay 1,800 Gold Coins for 1,200 Merit Points. This meant that each Merit Point was equivalent to 1 Gold 50 Silvers. Such a price was much more expensive than just simply buying Epic ranked items on the market, where one Epic ranked item was worth only around 1,000 Gold.

If 6,000 Merit Points were converted to Gold Coins, that would be a total of 9,000 Gold. This price was at least eight to nine times more expensive than the market’s. The system was truly blackhearted.

However, this was a rare chance for Shi Feng. If he could pay a portion of the Merit Points required using Gold Coins, he would be more than willing to do so.

Following which, Shi Feng chose to exchange for the Seven Luminaries Ring instead.

Twenty percent of 8,000 Merit Points would be 1,600 points, which would be 2,400 Gold Coins.

At this stage of the game, average players would be glad just to have a few extra Silver Coins to spend, and spending 20 to 30 Silver Coins at once would be considered an extravagance. As for Gold Coins, average players might not even know what these things looked like.

Currently, one Gold Coin could be sold for 11,000 Credits.

Meanwhile, 2,400 Gold Coins would be worth over 25 million Credits. Even a first-rate Guild would not spend so much money just to obtain an Epic ranked item, not to mention spending 2,400 Gold Coins.

If Aqua Rose were to find out about this matter, she would definitely label Shi Feng a “spendthrift.”

However, Shi Feng chose to pay the 2,400 Gold Coins without hesitation. He had 5,000 Gold on his person at this time, having originally intended to use this money to purchase a stall in Star-Moon City. Now, though, doing so was no longer possible.

After completing the exchange, a purple-gold crystal ring appeared on Shi Feng’s palm. There were seven different gems inlaid into the ring, and the entire ring itself exuded a faint purple aura. It looked absolutely luxurious and fascinating.

Chapter 299: One Word

When Shi Feng received the ring, he could not help but grow excited.

In the past, a Legendary item had been sold for tens of millions of Credits at the World Auction. At that time, the news had thoroughly shocked the entire world. Many people felt that the person who purchased the Legendary item was a complete fool. After all, it was simply an item inside a virtual world; it was nothing more than a data-generated item. Only a person whose head was caught in the door would spend so much money to purchase it.

Now, if Shi Feng converted the War God’s Temple Merit Points and Gold Coins he had spent into Credits, the total amount would be even higher than the price of the auctioned Legendary item. More importantly, he had spent such a large sum just to obtain an Epic item, which was two ranks lower than a Legendary item.

However, even if Shi Feng were called a fool several hundred times over, he would still be willing to do what he had done without hesitation. He was only afraid that he would not get such a chance.

Back then, countless people had ridiculed the person who purchased the Legendary item as a big fool. Later on, however, that person became the Guild Leader of King’s Return, Odin. King’s Return was a Super Guild, and the territories it occupied surpassed even an empire. Meanwhile, as the Guild Leader of such an amazing Guild, Odin was an existence that made everyone feel fear and respect. The wealth and status he possessed was simply unimaginable.

Did anyone laugh at him after that?

The answer was—no. Instead, the target of people’s ridicule shifted to the fool who had sold the Legendary item in the first place. At that time, not to mention several tens of million, even if traded using a city with a population of several millions, it would still have been a losing transaction.

Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring was a Godly Relic mentioned in legends.

Although the one Shi Feng had was only a replica, replicas could still be divided into different categories.

If one took a replica of a Fine-Gold item and a replica of an Epic item and placed them side by side, without even making an in-depth comparison, one could already tell which one was the better item. After all, there was already a huge gap between the calibers of the two items.

Moreover, the higher the quality of the target of replication, the greater the difficulty in replicating it. One could not produce a replica simply by wishing for it.

The difficulty of producing an Epic item that was the replica of a Godly Relic was much higher than simply producing a normal Epic item. The difficulty of doing so might even rival the difficulty of producing a Legendary item.

“The person who produced this ring must be a truly amazing Forging Sage. If the materials and energy used were of higher quality, the final product might even have become a Legendary item.” Shi Feng was a forger himself, so he naturally could tell just how amazing the forger that managed to produce this Seven Luminaries Ring was.

The replica of a Godly Relic would definitely not have been easy to produce. Even a Grandmaster Forger would not be able to produce one. It would only be possible for a Forging Sage.

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

Level 20 – Level 80 (Current Level: 23)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 200

Attributes will be adjusted according to user’s level.

Strength +45, Agility +35, Intelligence +35, Endurance +30, Vitality +30

Damage +10%

Maximum HP +15%

Ignore Levels +10

All skills +2 Levels.

All items level requirement reduced by 5 Levels.

Additional Skill-

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

[Aura of Earth]

Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

Defense increased by 30%.

Damage taken reduced by 20%.

Activatable Skill-

Absolute Defense: Provides immunity to seven attacks.

Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds

[Aura of Water]

Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

Received healing increased by 30%.

Cast Consumption reduced by 20%.

Activatable Skill-

Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 10% HP every second for 30 seconds.

Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds

[Aura of Wind]

Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

Movement Speed increased by 20%.

Attack Speed increased by 20%.

Agility increased by 15%.

Activatable Skill-

Wind Rider: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 100% for 15 seconds.

Cooldown: 2 minutes

[Aura of Fire]

Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

Damage increased by 30%.

Target’s Defense reduced by 20%.

Activatable Skill-

Firestorm: Inflicts 500% damage within a range of 10*10 yards for 5 seconds.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

[Aura of Time]

Level 1 (Requires 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 20%.

Enemies within a 100-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 20%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 20%.

Activatable Skill-

Absolute Time: Prevents enemies within a range of 50*50 yards from using any skills or tools for 20 seconds.

Cooldown: 3 minutes

[Aura of Illusion]

Level 1 (Requires 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

All Attributes increased by 20%.

Enemies within a 100-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced by 20%.

Activatable Skill-

Fantasy World: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 10% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover player’s HP for 10 seconds.

Cooldown: 3 minutes

[Aura of Space]

Level 1 (Requires 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2)

Immunity to all control and restricting effects.

Activatable Skill-

Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of 300,000 yards.

Cooldown: 10 minutes

“As expected of a Godly Relic’s replica. Even if it is only at Epic rank, apart from the Basic Attributes it provides being inferior to a Legendary item, its other aspects are much stronger.” Shi Feng’s surprise reached its limits after he read the Attributes of the Seven Luminaries Ring.

This was the first time Shi Feng was seeing the exact abilities of the Seven Luminaries Ring.

At this moment, Shi Feng finally understood why the legends had said that even an ordinary mortal would have the ability to decimate heaven and earth when in possession of the genuine Seven Luminaries Ring. One could even kill Gods with this ring. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring in Shi Feng’s hand was only a replica. It was also only at Epic rank, and it was tens of thousands of miles away from being comparable to the genuine article.

However, even if it was only an Epic ranked replica, in Shi Feng’s eyes, it was already a miniature Godly Relic. It could easily outshine any other Epic item.

“It would be great if I could upgrade this Epic ranked Seven Luminaries Ring to Legendary rank.” Shi Feng could not help but start fantasizing. If he could raise the Seven Luminaries Ring’s rank to Legendary, then its value would become immeasurable. At that time, only Divine Artifacts would be able to suppress it.

After Shi Feng equipped the Seven Luminaries Ring, his Attributes greatly increased. His Intelligence reached 91 points—only a small distance short of 120 points.

“I can use the Aura of Earth when acting as an MT; Aura of Water when acting as a healer; Aura of Wind when hunting or escaping; Aura of Fire when battling; Aura of Time and Aura of Illusion when fighting in a team battle; and Aura of Space when I’m in a hurry. This ring covers almost every possible situation. It truly is the most powerful Epic item.” Shi Feng had mostly grasped the uses of the seven Auras in the Seven Luminaries Ring.

It really made one wonder just how powerful the genuine Godly Relic was…

Just as Shi Feng was fantasizing about the genuine Godly Relic, he suddenly thought of another matter.

If he used the Aura of Space, he could still make it if he hurried to the Silverleaf Forest right now. After all, a distance of 300,000 yards could generally cover two regions.

Shi Feng could first teleport to Stream Fort from White River City. Afterwards, he only needed to pass through four regions in order to arrive at the Silverleaf Forest. Under normal circumstances, even if Shi Feng ran with all his might, he would still need around five hours to travel across these four regions. However, now that Shi Feng could instantly travel across two regions, he might even arrive at the Silverleaf Forest before Gentle Snow’s reinforcements did.

Thinking so, Shi Feng immediately departed from the War God’s Temple and headed towards the Teleportation Hall of Star-Moon City.