Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God

by S.H.A aifu

Starting over once more, he has entered this “living game” again in order to control his own fate. This time, he will not be controlled by others. Previously the Level 200 Sword King, he will rise to a higher peak in this life. Methods to earn money! Dungeon conquering strategies! Legendary Quests! Equipment drop locations! Undiscovered battle techniques!

16. 471

Read Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God - Chapter 471 - It is Difficult to Breed True Dragons in Shallow Waters online free - Novel Full

Chapter 471 - It is Difficult to Breed True Dragons in Shallow Waters

Two hundred Gold Coins!

The crowd immediately fell silent. Everyone turned to Aqua Rose, the Rose Goddess who had left the first-rate Guild Twilight Echo.

"She's insane!"

"Spending 200 Gold Coins just to garner some fame is foolish!"

"Does the Guild behind her really possess so much money that they can disregard 200 Gold?"

Every representative had their own speculation. Some believed that Aqua Rose was trying to use the money to buy fame, while some believed that the Guild supporting her possessed an extraordinary background. However, regardless of the reasons behind her actions, everyone's admiration for Aqua Rose grew.

Every Guild here could afford to spend 200 Gold. After all, before Shi Feng had started his auction, he had required that anyone who wanted to trade with him must first carry 1,000 Gold on them. If not for the 1,000 Gold in their bags, they would not be so shameless as to participate in the auction. Every Guild in this restaurant was a reputable major power. If others discovered that they did not have 1,000 Gold in their bags, it would tarnish their Guild's reputation.

However, although they had the money, they would not spend it on useless items. They would only buy that which had value to their Guilds. After all, their members had struggled to earn every Gold Coin. Nobody wanted to be played for a fool.

The three Super Guild representatives were also silent. They looked at Aqua Rose with curiosity, confused as to what the Rose Goddess was attempting to do.

"Two hundred Gold going once!" Shi Feng watched the calm and composed Aqua Rose, silently praising her performance.

He had to admit that Aqua Rose's confident smile even led him to believe that 200 Gold was no different from spare change to her.

"Two hundred Gold going twice!"

Just as Shi Feng shouted the second time, Brilliant Wargod suddenly shouted, "201 Gold. This young master wants it."

"Two hundred ten Gold," Aqua Rose said as she glared at Brilliant Wargod, disgust and hatred filling her eyes.

"Two hundred eleven Gold," Brilliant Wargod sneered.

Although he was not particularly interested in the Dragonscale Set Equipment, he could not stomach letting Aqua Rose garner fame in front of this crowd. If that happened, it would wound his reputation. Hence, he could not allow Aqua Rose to have the Dragonscale Set Equipment, allowing her to enjoy the limelight.

"Three hundred Gold."

Done wasting time, Aqua Rose significantly raised the bid. The other Guild representatives were stunned. The three Super Guild representatives shook their heads helplessly.

The price was simply too high.

Previously, everyone had believed that Aqua Rose would never rise without the help of Twilight Echo. Yet, Aqua Rose's current performance was more domineering than during her time in Twilight Echo. She was no less imposing than Ouroboros's Guild Leader, the Snow Goddess Gentle Snow.

They could not understand why Twilight Echo had discarded Aqua Rose.

Brilliant Wargod's heart trembled upon hearing this bid. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "301 Gold."

It had not been easy for the Guild to raise the 1,000 Gold he had on him right now, and part of the money had been taken from the funds set aside for Twilight Echo's Guild Residence. If he spent 300 Gold here, it would undoubtedly delay the purchase of the Guild Residence by one or two days.

"Four hundred Gold!" Aqua Rose shouted without flinching. She then shot Brilliant Wargod a disdainful look.

None of these representatives were fools. They could tell that, rather than purchasing an item, Brilliant Wargod and Aqua Rose currently competed via wealth. However, when they saw Aqua Rose's resolve as she called out a bid of 400 Gold, they could not help but admire the Rose Goddess.

Just what kind of financial power did she possess to ignore 400 Gold?

"You!" Seeing Aqua Rose's contemptuous glance, Brilliant Wargod had never felt such humiliation. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Aqua Rose! Don't even think of taking what's mine! So what if you've bid 400 Gold? I bid 500 Gold!"

"Five hundred Gold going once!"

"Five hundred Gold going twice!"

As Shi Feng announced the price, Brilliant Wargod's anxiety grew. He was deeply afraid that Aqua Rose would place an even higher bid. At that time, he would have to raise his bid even further.

Only when Shi Feng shouted the third time did Brilliant Wargod reveal a victorious smile. He then shifted his gaze towards Aqua Rose, smirking at the woman with pride.

"Five hundred Gold," Shi Feng said as he walked up to Brilliant Wargod, placing the Dragonscale Set Equipment in front of the man. He did not care about whatever thoughts occupied Brilliant Wargod's mind.

When the crowd watched Brilliant Wargod hand over 500 Gold in exchange for the Dragonscale Set Equipment, envy, admiration, and disdain filled their hearts. However, they admitted that the Dragonscale Set Equipment was currently the only Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment available in God's Domain. Although it was somewhat foolish to spend 500 Gold, once they had the Dragonscale Set Equipment, the profits they could reap with it might exceed 500 Gold.

Thinking up to this point, the various Guild representatives felt somewhat regretful. Why had they not competed over the set? What if they could gain far more than 500 Gold with the use of this set?

After obtaining the Dragonscale Set Equipment, a sense of indescribable joy filled Brilliant Wargod's heart as he watched the silent Aqua Rose. However, before he could ridicule the woman, Shi Feng suddenly spoke again.

"Let's begin the auction for the second item, then. The auctioned item is another Dragonscale Set Equipment. Like before, the starting bid is 100 Gold with minimum increments of 1 Gold." Saying so, Shi Feng placed another Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table.

"You… How… Why do you have a second!?" Brilliant Wargod felt his heart shatter when he saw an exact copy of the Dragonscale Set Equipment he had just purchased.

"Who said I only had one set?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Brilliant Wargod before proceeding with the auction.

Brilliant Wargod's elation deflated. When he saw Aqua Rose's laughing expression, he even had the thought of killing himself[1]…

When the crowd saw the second Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table, they all glanced at their fellow representatives. Nobody had expected Shi Feng to have a second set. The regret that they had felt immediately vanished.

They had somewhat admired Brilliant Wargod for spending 500 Gold to purchase the first Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment in God's Domain. Now, however, that admiration turned into ridicule.

"150 Gold!"

"I bid 155 Gold!"

Previously, everyone had felt that 100 Gold was too expensive. Now, however, multiple Guilds simultaneously began the bid with 150 Gold.

However, just like before, Aqua Rose immediately dashed everyone's hopes by bidding 200 Gold. This time, the three Super Guild representatives did not hesitate as they shouted higher bids.

Items of rarity were expensive. It was especially true during the early stages of God's Domain. Just a single piece of equipment could significantly affect the future development of a Guild, not to mention a Fine-Gold Set Equipment.

In the end, Aqua Rose purchased the second Dragonscale Set Equipment at 280 Gold. The many Guild representatives envied and admired her. Simultaneously, they also could not help but acknowledge that Aqua Rose was really amazing. Even after leaving Twilight Echo, she was still so well-off. One could just imagine how capable she was. On the other hand, Twilight Echo had been so blind as to chase Aqua Rose out of the Guild.

As everyone admired Aqua Rose, interest in her Guild also began to grow.

It was difficult to breed a true dragon in shallow waters. Aqua Rose was undoubtedly a true dragon. No ordinary Guild would be good enough to catch her eye.

Soon, Shi Feng took out the third Dragonscale Set Equipment, rendering the crowd utterly speechless. They had even started to suspect that the Dragonscale Set Equipment was some kind of common good that could be purchased anywhere.

However, nobody complained. On the contrary, they all were elated because they had another chance to compete. Shi Feng had never mentioned how many sets he had on hand. What if this one was the last?

Hence, everyone gritted their teeth and placed their bids. In the end, Swallow Nine won the third set for 291 Gold.

Following which, Shi Feng revealed the fourth set, which Sanctuary's Flourishing Colors won for 303 Gold. Thunder Tiger of King's Return won the fifth set for 322 Gold, whereas a first-rate Guild purchased the sixth set for 337 Gold. Initially, everyone had believed that Shi Feng would reveal the seventh set. In the end, however, Shi Feng announced that the sixth was the last he had on him. This revelation had caused the crowd to regret not bidding higher.

None of the Guilds had cared much for obtaining a Fine-Gold Set Equipment when no one else had owned one. However, now that some Guilds had obtained one, things had changed. It was highly possible that due to the Dragonscale Set Equipment, these Guilds would take the lead in conquering Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons. At that time, these Guilds would gain a massive advantage over the others.

TL Notes:

[1] Note that we, in no way, are supporting/encouraging suicide nor are we taking such a sensitive topic lightly.

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Chapter 472 - Massive Profits

Rare items were expensive.

Although Shi Feng had over a hundred copies of the Dragonscale Set Equipment, if he wished to sell them at a good price, he could not sell too many at once; he needed to regulate the number of sets he sold.

Currently, the six sets he had actioned would not sate these Guilds' thirst. Even if he tripled or quadrupled that number, the price they were willing to pay would not decrease.

However, Shi Feng would not do so. Six sets were the limit. If he sold any more, it would lead to everyone to believe that the Dragonscale Set Equipment was easily obtainable. If he tried to sell it later, it would become impossible to get a good price.

Although Shi Feng had produced over a hundred sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment, they were not cheap to forge.

Aside from the basic materials, each set piece required 10 Starfire Essences. One Dragonscale Set Equipment cost more than 10 Gold to produce. After factoring in the forging success rate, a single Dragonscale Set Equipment cost 30 Gold. If anyone else forged the set, it would cost them over 100 Gold. Naturally, Shi Feng could not sell the Dragonscale Set Equipment for a low price.

Despite Shi Feng stating that he did not have another Dragonscale Set Equipment on him, none of the various Guild representatives believed him.

Shi Feng had been able to reveal six sets in a row. No matter how one looked at it, Shi Feng must have found a special channel to obtain the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Unfortunately, only he knew his source.

However, they could do nothing if Shi Feng insisted that he had run out of stock. Many of the representatives who had failed to purchase a set for themselves struggled with their reluctance to accept the situation.

On the other hand, Aqua Rose's appearance had incited a heated discussion. The crowd was quite curious about the Guild behind Aqua Rose. Even first-rate Guilds like theirs had to hesitate before finally deciding to bid for the Dragonscale Set Equipment, their hearts aching at the expense. The Guild behind Aqua Rose, on the other hand, was actually willing to spend so much Gold just to purchase a Dragonscale Set Equipment. It was really surprising.

After the auction concluded, Shi Feng did not linger in the restaurant. Instead, he left and searched for a hotel to rest and change his appearance using the Demon Mask once again.

Sure enough, there are quite a number of people following me. Shi Feng glanced at the players inside the hotel's lobby. The moment he came downstairs, these players had promptly turned to look at him.

No matter what was said or done, the Dragonscale Set Equipment was a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The various Guilds' desire for the Dragonscale Set Equipment was self-evident.

Even if he did not sell the set in bulk, it difficult to avoid attracting attention.

These Guilds would naturally try to discover the origin of the Dragonscale Set Equipment. If these Guilds learned that the Dragonscale Set Equipment originated from Zero Wing, Zero Wing would become a target. It was already troublesome enough dealing with one Overwhelming Smile. If other first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds joined the fray, Zero Wing would be cut off from its path of survival.

Currently, unlike other Guilds that branched out to various cities and kingdoms, Zero Wing developed itself solely in White River City. In general, the Guild was only famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. Outside of Star-Moon Kingdom, it was simply another unknown Guild.

To these first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in Blackwing City, Zero Wing was not even a speck of dust; it was not worthy of their attention in the least. No lion recognized the ants beneath its feet.

Shi Feng could cope in White River City while facing one Overwhelming Smile. However, Zero Wing would end up in an extremely precarious situation should the many large Guilds present move against it.

This was also why Shi Feng had called Aqua Rose.

The first reason was to hike up the price of the Dragonscale Set Equipment. The second was to avoid attracting these large Guilds' suspicion when the set appeared in Zero Wing.

You guys have fun waiting here, then.

Shi Feng smiled faintly as he left the hotel. From the moment he entered the lobby to the moment he left, none of the trackers paid him any mind.

After leaving the hotel, Shi Feng immediately hailed a horse carriage and rode it to the Blackwing Auction House.

Other than holding the weekly large-scale auctions, the Blackwing Auction House was also a hub for players to sell their items. However, the items sold here were only available through the Blackwing Auction House; these items would not be available elsewhere.

Although the sales scope was very narrow, Blackwing City's main role was to act as a trade hub. Guilds and players from various kingdoms and empires preferred to sell their items in the Blackwing Auction House, as it was far more lucrative to sell them here than it was to use their respective Auction Houses.

Upon his arrival at the Blackwing Auction House, Shi Feng placed 80 sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment up for sale without hesitation. He sold the sets in batches, selling only two or three sets at a time at intervals of around one hour. Meanwhile, the starting bid he set was 200 Gold.

After Shi Feng finished his tasks, he left Blackwing City.

However, shortly after Shi Feng's departure…

The Blackwing Auction House exploded.

"It's actually the Dragonscale Set Equipment!"

"It can't be, right? Someone is actually selling the Dragonscale Set Equipment on the Auction House!"

"The price is high! That person set the starting price at 200 Gold!"

Players who frequented the Blackwing Auction House drooled when they saw the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Who knew how many items they had to sell to afford the price-tag of this set equipment.

News of the situation swiftly spread throughout Blackwing City.

Previously, due to Shi Feng auctioning the Dragonscale Set Equipment, information regarding the set had long since flowed between the various large Guilds. Moreover, the fact that the three Super Guilds had each purchased a Dragonscale Set Equipment had placed a significant amount of pressure on the first-rate Guilds, increasing their desire to own one for themselves. However, since Shi Feng no longer sold the sets, they could only dream of owning one. Now that they had received news of more sets being available, they had to compete for them.

For a time, the Dragonscale Set Equipment's price increased rapidly.

In a short moment, the bids had risen from 200 Gold to 280 Gold.

In the end, the first three sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment in the Blackwing Auction House had sold for 316 Gold, 324 Gold, and 328 Gold. In an instant, Shi Feng had made a massive profit.

However, Shi Feng knew that this was only the beginning. The competition between the various large Guilds was intense. It was of utmost importance to have a strong MT. Although the Dragonscale Set Equipment was not particularly suitable for MTs, the set effects could increase an MT's strength significantly. This alone was enough to drive the large Guilds crazy over the set. Hence, the price of the Dragonscale Set Equipment would only increase from this point forward.

Meanwhile, all of these Gold Coins secretly flowed into Shi Feng's pockets with none the wiser.

The speed at which he currently earned money far surpassed the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, this could not be helped. The Starstreak Trading Firm's scope of operations was limited to White River City and the few surrounding cities. Meanwhile, Blackwing City catered to players across all of God's Domain. Even a dozen Starstreak Trading Firms could not compare to the Blackwing Auction House.

During Shi Feng's visit to Blackwing City, Overwhelming Smile had not sat idle. The slightly over 100 mysterious experts had suddenly increased to more than 200. Although these mysterious experts had slaughtered Zero Wing's members, Zero Wing was no pushover, either. The Guild's 50-plus Tier 1 experts had similarly caused a significant amount of trouble for Overwhelming Smile. The experts of both sides had suffered some losses. However, as Zero Wing had fewer members on their side, it began to fall behind.

For a time, the Level 20 maps around White River City had become the battlefield for the two Guilds. This had frightened other players, and nobody dared go anywhere near these battlefields.

In just a few hours, both sides had suffered over a thousand deaths. The Gold Coins each Guild had to spend was also shocking.

Each Guild would, most likely, have to spend over 500 Gold a day.

"Is Overwhelming Smile aiming for a swift conclusion?" Shi Feng was confused, and he frowned deeply when he saw the death count of both Guilds.

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Chapter 473: Black Dragon Phantom

Translator:Hellscythe_

Editor:Hellscythe_

Shi Feng could not help but admire Overwhelming Smile's decisiveness. They had actually increased the number of well-trained open-warfare experts they had to over 200.

Even first-rate Guilds would not dare station over 200 experts in a single city. Not even Star-Moon City would receive such treatment. After all, there were over a hundred cities in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom.

It was not wise to put all of one's eggs in one basket.

"Guild Leader, should I have our members go to areas with fewer resources to level? If we continue this exchange with Overwhelming Smile, it will severely affect our Guild's development rate," Aqua Rose inquired, worried.

Originally, Aqua Rose had been very confident of defeating Overwhelming Smile. After all, Shi Feng had earned quite a lot of money through the sales of the Dragonscale Set Equipment. He had earned over 1,700 Gold just from the auction in the restaurant. With so much Gold on hand and the follow-up income, they could easily drown Overwhelming Smile in Gold Coins if they wanted to.

However, Overwhelming Smile's current performance was too effective. How, exactly, had Overwhelming Smile managed to recruit so many experts? Overwhelming Smile gave them no room to breathe as its attacks became stronger with each consecutive wave. Although the experts on their side were more powerful, their opponents would flee whenever they encountered Zero Wing's Tier 1 players. Moreover, Overwhelming Smile had more experts on their side than Zero Wing. When comparing the number of players each side could kill, Zero Wing was outmatched.

"Sure enough, these mysterious experts are a big problem," Shi Feng scowled. If he did not deal with this matter properly, Zero Wing would fall. At that point, money would be useless.

However, experts that used hit-and-run tactics were also the most difficult opponents to face.

This was why so many powerful solo players and independent teams had caused the various large Guilds massive headaches in the past, to the point where the latter did not dare provoke the former. After all, when these powerful independent players were forced into a corner, they could simply turn to guerrilla warfare and ambush the Guild's members. By the time the Guild's experts arrived, these independent players would be long gone.

Unless the Guild's experts arrived at the scene as soon as the independent players took action, catching them in the fields was only a dream.

Currently, although both Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile employed these hit-and-run tactics, Overwhelming Smile's experts outnumbered Zero Wing's by four-to-one. In the long term, Zero Wing would definitely burn out first.

"Appear immediately? That's right! Appear immediately!" Shi Feng suddenly received a flash of inspiration. Smiling faintly, he said, "Aqua, notify the members out in the field to report their coordinates through the Guild channel should they meet Overwhelming Smile's experts."

"I've already tried that; it's useless. Our men cannot arrive in time. Moreover, those experts are very sly. Even if we encounter them, they run the moment they see our reinforcements," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head.

"Give the order and leave the rest to me," Shi Feng chuckled.

Anyone else might be helpless in this situation. At most, he could join the hunting parties and slaughter Overwhelming Smile's members. How could he possibly be more efficient alone than Overwhelming Smile's large number of experts?

However, he had the Seven Luminaries Ring. As long as his target was within 40,000 yards, he could easily arrive at the first sign of trouble.

"I understand." Although Aqua Rose was confused about Shi Feng's intentions, since he had given the order, he must have his own countermeasures.

Before, when she had worried over the lack of Guild Funds, Shi Feng had suddenly revealed so many sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment. He had even converted them into a large amount of Gold, utterly surprising her.

Moreover, after her act of purchasing the Dragonscale Set Equipment and the display of her frightening wealth, several representatives of first-rate Guilds had sought her out for cooperation and resource trading. Unknowingly, Zero Wing had obtained another channel for earning Gold Coins.

Shi Feng's single move had taken care of her worries in one fell swoop. He was godlike.

Aqua Rose struggled to believe that someone like Shi Feng had actually remained unknown all this time.

"It's about time I make Overwhelming Smile pay back some of its debt."

Following which, Shi Feng placed the remaining sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment in the Guild's Warehouse. Of them, two were available for Guild members. He then took out one Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon and ten Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapons.

Although his current combat power was already quite high, like a lion pouncing on a hare, it was necessary to go all out even when fighting a small enemy or tackling a minor problem.

Hence, Shi Feng intended to upgrade the Abyssal Blade's level.

He was currently Level 26; he could upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Level 25.

However, every time he upgraded the Abyssal Blade, the weapon would create quite a commotion. Hence, Shi Feng left White River City, teleporting to the Watch Cemetery.

Due to war, the Watch Cemetery had become a land of death. Even the sky here remained dusky, and tombs crowded the cemetery. The majority of the monsters that appeared here were Undead-type, and although there were a lot of them, their HPs were relatively low. As it was a Level 22 to Level 28 map with an extremely abundant amount of resources, over a quarter of White River City's Level 20-plus players had come here to level up.

The Watch Cemetery contained many treasure chests and Hidden Quests. However, the Cemetery was most famous for its treasure chests. In the past, countless lucky independent players had encountered Mysterious-Iron and even Secret-Silver Treasure Chests here, obtaining plenty of top-tier equipment and items.

Because of this, battles between players had frequently happened in the Watch Cemetery. Similarly, over half of the battles between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile occurred here.

"There sure are a lot of players who have died here…"

The moment Shi Feng teleported to the Watch Cemetery, he was greeted by the sight of corpses littering the ground.

The tragic scene could easily match the one in White Fog Canyon; this scene may have even been more tragic. After all, usually only elite players visited the White Fog Canyon, whereas ordinary players had come to the Watch Cemetery. One could just imagine how intense the battle here had been.

"Nobody should be able to discover me here."

Shi Feng found a hidden underground tomb. After investigating his surroundings and failing to discover any nearby players, he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade.

"Devour!" Shi Feng lightly tapped the Abyssal Blade's "Level Up" button.

After Shi Feng selected a Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon and ten Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapons, the silvery-gray Abyssal Blade suddenly released a black fog. Compared to the previous level-ups, the black fog was denser this time.

The eleven sacrificial weapons instantly transformed into ash when they came into contact with this black fog. In the next moment, the power within these weapons flowed into the Abyssal Blade.

Immediately, Shi Feng felt the Abyssal Blade release a massive pulse.

Rather than a pulse, it was more like a heartbeat.

_Thump… Thump…_

Each consecutive heartbeat grew clearer and more intense.

In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade struggled free from Shi Feng's hands, sending Shi Feng flying into one of the walls of the tomb.

"What's happening?"

Shi Feng watched the hovering Abyssal Blade, surprised. This was the first time he had encountered such a rejection.

As the pulses grew more intense, the tomb began to tremble. Suddenly, a large boom resounded as the entire underground tomb collapsed and vanished, revealing the dark gray sky above.

Soon after, the Abyssal Blade fragmented and transformed into a massive pitch-black heart. Along with the heartbeat, the phantom of a massive black dragon emerged. The black dragon was over a dozen meters tall, and its bone-chilling eyes focused on Shi Feng. Suddenly, it spread its maw and released a thundering roar!

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Chapter 474 - Abyssal Upgrade

The black dragon's roar shook the sky, loud enough that anyone nearby would notice it.

"What a powerful roar; a high-level monster must've spawned somewhere nearby."

"We'll be rich if it's a Chieftain!"

"Let's go and take a look! We can't let others snatch it from us!"

When a team of over 20 players a short distance from the tomb noticed the black dragon's roar, they finished off the monsters they currently faced and rushed over to the tomb.

The Watch Cemetery was a land of treasures, and one could even discover a treasure chest by accidentally falling into a hole. However, powerful monsters were rare in the Watch Cemetery, and normally, these monsters lingered near treasures. This had already become a publicly acknowledged trend.

This monster's roar alone was already so powerful. No one who heard it would risk missing this opportunity.

At the same time, many other teams who had heard this frightening roar also ran towards the tomb and Shi Feng.

At the epicenter of the roar, however, one man and one dragon stared each other down. The dragon released a frightening aura, and the surrounding air had started begun to stagnate.

"Is this the Backlash?"

At this moment, Shi Feng had heightened his five senses to their very limits, wearing a grim expression. All of his concentration was on the black dragon phantom before him. Although the black dragon was not the real thing, only a phantom, Shi Feng proceeded with caution.

Moreover, Shi Feng had not reacted in such a way intentionally. His response had been an unconscious decision.

The chilling killing intent in the phantom's gaze was so intense that Shi Feng was breathless. He had never felt anything like this before, even against a Great Lord.

Shi Feng had never encountered the Backlash of a Magic Weapon before. He had also never heard about what exactly occurred during a Backlash.

However, seeing that so many top-tier experts had fallen to it in the past, a Magic Weapon's Backlash was no trivial matter. A single mistake and Shi Feng might end up with a crippled character. This was also why every player had to consider their options carefully when they obtained a Magic Weapon.

While Shi Feng prepared to face a powerful enemy, the black dragon's phantom only pinned Shi Feng with its crimson eyes. It had not attacked.

"You're not going to strike?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised.

Although Shi Feng had not taken any measures to deal with the Abyssal Blade's Backlash, his brain activity's improvement had allowed him to reach the Refinement Realm. With the techniques he had learned, he was already more powerful than he had been in the past, so he was confident that he could deal with the Backlash.

The black dragon's phantom suddenly revealed a human-like sneer, deep disdain filling its eyes as it glared at Shi Feng. Following which, the phantom vanished, leaving behind only a pile of ruins and the Abyssal Blade, which buried its blade in the ground.

At this moment, the Abyssal Blade had recovered its original black color and was now thoroughly pitch-black. There was a faint layer of black smoke surrounding it, and no one could see the weapon during the dead of night.

"Is this not the Backlash?" Shi Feng examined the Abyssal Blade, disbelief coloring his expression. "Sure enough, the more I level up the Abyssal Blade, the more powerful the black dragon becomes, and the weaker the suppression becomes."

Shi Feng walked over and pulled the Abyssal Blade from the ground. He then checked the Attributes of the Magic Weapon.

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

Attack Power 423

All Attributes 36

Attack Speed 12

Ignore Levels 12

Attacks have:

45% chance to cause 200% damage.

20% chance to cause 300% damage.

20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40% for 35 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 25. Can be upgraded. (Devour ten Level 30 Fine-Gold Weapons and one Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon to upgrade to Level 30).

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: 45 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 the wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 45% 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: 16 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.

The Basic Attributes and the skills of the Abyssal Blade had not undergone any significant changes. However, the Magic Weapon's Attack Power had massively improved. Previously, its Attack Power was only slightly over 300. After this evolution, its Attack Power had soared past 400. It was nearly 50 points higher than Fire Dance's Level 25 Dark-Gold ranked Truefire Blade.

After retrieving the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng swung it a few times. He swung the weapon at a damaged stone pillar nearby.

Ceng!

Shi Feng had not encountered any resistance as he cut into the stone. The sturdy pillar felt like air as the Abyssal Blade sliced through it, splitting it in two as it fell to the ground.

"So sharp!"

Shi Feng stared at the remains of the stone pillar with shock. He then glanced back at the Magic Weapon in his hand. The Abyssal Blade was practically a weapon of gods. With such sharpness, not even Secret-Silver Equipment could defend against it.

Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the tomb, over a hundred players suddenly emerged from the dark forest. With a quick glance, it was obvious that these players were not all members of the same team. These new arrivals were also independent players.

"This… What happened here?"

These players were stupefied upon arriving at the thoroughly ruined underground tomb. Currently, the underground tomb looked more like a crater.

"Someone's there!" A Ranger with sharp eyesight pointed at Shi Feng who was preparing to leave the area.

Suddenly, everyone shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng.

At this moment, Shi Feng wore a black cloak that obscured his appearance. He had also hidden the glow effects of his equipment. However, judging by the fine workmanship of his equipment, it should be of high quality. At the very least, his equipment should be Mysterious-Iron rank or above. Shi Feng was also Level 26, so one could easily tell that he was not someone to provoke.

Just as these independent teams hesitated over whether to take action against Shi Feng or not, another party emerged from the forest. Every member of this party was Level 25 and above, and all of them were as robust as a bear. The other payers avoided eye contact with these newcomers, intimidated by their cold gazes. Most importantly, all of their names were crimson.

"Brother Deep, we seem to have good luck today. With such a large commotion, a treasure must have spawned here. That brat definitely has the treasure."

"Yeah. His level is quite high as well. If we kill him, we will not have wasted a trip even if there is no treasure."

This six-man party paid no attention to the hundred-plus independent players standing in the distance. Instead, their eyes were glued onto Shi Feng, looking at him as if he belonged only to them.

"Just who are these people? They actually dare act so arrogantly!" a male player from one of the independent teams grumbled.

The leader of said party glanced the party of six Red Names. Immediately, cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he hurriedly said, "Enough, we're leaving."

"But what about the treasure? Why should we let a single party have it? We outnumber them," the male player asked, confused.

"Enough! You stop talking! If you want to die, go ahead, but don't drag everyone else down with you! You've just arrived at Watch Cemetery, so you don't know about the unspoken rules here; there are two types of people you can never provoke! The first are the Tier 1 experts of Zero Wing; they are the second—Overwhelming Smile's parties! If we anger them, not a single one of us will get out of here alive!" the team leader scolded as he glared at the male player.

Upon hearing his team leader's words, the male player immediately shut his mouth. Before he had arrived at Watch Cemetery, he had heard of the two types of people his leader referred to. Nothing much would happen if one encountered the experts of Zero Wing. However, if one encountered the killing gods from Overwhelming Smile, they better pray that the other side was in a good mood. Otherwise…

Following which, the other independent teams promptly departed from the area; not a single one of them dared to stay for the show.

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Chapter 475 - Silent Massacre

As the independent teams departed, many had sent pitying gazes to Shi Feng.

"That fellow sure is unlucky. If we had gotten ahold of him, we would have let him live so long as he handed over the treasure. Now that those people have arrived, he won't survive."

"I heard that those Red Names seem to have some sort of special treasure that causes the players they kill to drop more items than normal."

"It's not 'seem to,' but 'must have.' One of Overwhelming Smile's expert parties killed a friend of mine, and he lost three pieces of equipment when he died. He had even dropped some of the items from inside his bag. Because of that, my friend was so frightened that he refuses to return to the Watch Cemetery."

"Shut up. We need to hurry up and leave this area. We won't be so lucky if we encounter those killing gods a second time."

"That's right. Let's get out of here."

Although these independent teams possessed the numerical advantage, the expert parties of Overwhelming Smile were like fearsome tigers. They picked up the pace, leaving as quickly as possible.

Shortly after the independent teams left, the expert party from Overwhelming Smile approached the motionless Shi Feng.

"Brother Deep, that fellow must be scared stupid; he isn't even trying to escape. How boring," a simple and honest-looking Berserker laughed as he watched Shi Feng. "And here I thought that we had encountered a somewhat powerful player that can use for exercise. Killing noobs has become really boring."

"Enough, Little Whistle. Don't think that I don't know what's going through your mind. You just want to test out your new battle axe. Since this player has a fairly high level and is traveling alone, he should be relatively skilled. You can take care of him." The Level 26 Assassin referred to as Brother Deep laughed as he glanced at the simple-looking Berserker. "Right, his items seem quite good. Don't forget to use that thing; we might get some good stuff from him."

"Leave it to me!" the Berserker, Little Whistle, squinted as he smiled at Shi Feng, excitement flashing in his eyes. Step by step, he approached Shi Feng slowly. He also retrieved a black potion from his bag and emptied the contents into his mouth. "This thing seriously tastes horrible. If you didn't seem to have some valuable stuff on you, I wouldn't have to suffer such a nasty fate.

"Brat, stand still. I'll be done in just a second."

Saying so, Little Whistle raised his blood-red battle axe and swung it down towards Shi Feng.

Although this swing seemed casual at first glance, it contained speed, accuracy, and ferocity that far surpassed any ordinary player's attack. Moreover, the battle axe flew towards Shi Feng's neck, making the attack difficult to dodge. Little Whistle's casual, yet well-calculated, attack was clearly a habit developed after many years of training. He was unlike other players whose attacks would contain many unnecessary actions and were easy to dodge.

Boom!

The battle axe struck the ground heavily.

"Huh? I missed?" Little Whistle looked at his battle axe, which landed next to Shi Feng's feet. He had aimed properly. "Did I have too much to drink earlier?"

However, just as he was about to lift his blood-red battle axe once more, he suddenly saw a streak of black light flash across his eyes. Before he could react, his field of vision began to flip. In the next moment, he felt a slight pain, and his vision began to gray as his body fell to the ground.

As Little Whistle was a Red Name, over half of his equipment dropped upon his death. Immediately after, his Immortal Soul flowed into Shi Feng's hand.

Although he can't be considered an expert, he is still a skilled veteran. He is significantly stronger than an elite player. It's no wonder a single party has been able to wipe out teams easily. Shi Feng thought as he frowned at the Berserker lying at his feet. He then shifted his gaze to the five other party members a short distance away, paying no attention to the large amount of equipment scattered before him.

"This…"

When the five experts from Overwhelming Smile saw their teammate suddenly fall to the ground, disbelief colored their faces.

Just what had happened here?

Why was Little Whistle suddenly dead?

From the beginning, they had focused on Shi Feng. However, they could say with certainty that Shi Feng had not moved. They only saw a streak of black light flash across Little Whistle's body.

"Black light. Right, it's that black light. Everyone, be careful. That brat has some sort of special item," the Assassin named Brother Deep cautioned his team. He immediately activated Stealth and melded with the darkness.

The other four party members responded by unsheathing their weapons, watching Shi Feng's every action.

They had finally understood that they had encountered a slightly more difficult foe. If they did not respond properly, they might lose their lives without even knowing how they died.

However, while they watched Shi Feng, they discovered that the Swordsman had suddenly disappeared.

"Where is he?"

The five of them examined their surroundings, failing to discover any signs of movement. A player had disappeared so simply right before their eyes…

Was he an Assassin?

This thought suddenly popped into their minds.

However, they had previously checked and could say with certainty that Shi Feng was definitely a Swordsman. Otherwise, they would not have been so carefree. After all, it would be extremely difficult to catch an Assassin in Stealth.

While the five experts from Overwhelming Smile searched for Shi Feng, he suddenly appeared behind the five players.

"Crap! Behind us!"

All five players were war veterans, so their sensitivity towards danger was extraordinary. They instantly discovered Shi Feng, turning to attack him.

At this moment, however, several streaks of black light emerged from Shi Feng's hand. The black lights gave the five experts no time to react at all, even with their acute sensitivity.

"Damn!" the Assassin named Brother Deep hurriedly used Vanish, utilizing the moment of invincibility to block this mysterious strike.

However, the Assassin's four party members were not as fortunate as the Abyssal Blade bit into them; their HPs, ranging from 3,000 to 4,000, instantly fell to zero. When the five experts saw this horrific damage, they looked as if they had seen a ghost.

This is bad; I'll definitely die if I stay here! When Brother Deep, the only survivor remaining, saw Shi Feng look directly at him with a smile, his heart pounded as goosebumps covered his body. He was clearly in Stealth; other players should not be able to see him at all. Yet, pinned by Shi Feng's gaze, it was obvious that the Swordsman saw him as clear as day.

However, Brother Deep did not know that, as a Tier 1 class, Shi Feng's perception was very high. Moreover, he also had Omniscient Eyes. An Assassin's Stealth was practically useless.

Due to his momentary shock, Brother Deep failed to avoid the streak of black light. Immediately, his HP depleted, and he was forced out of Stealth. Before he knew it, his body had fallen to the ground.

Such a quick sword!

Even in death, the Assassin could not figure out when Shi Feng had attacked.

Their party had consisted of people who had experienced life-or-death situations many times, so their awareness of danger was particularly sensitive. However, none of them had detected the slightest precursor to Shi Feng's attacks. They had not been able to detect Shi Feng's sword when it was a few inches from their faces, much less been able to defend themselves.

"You'll be the sixth!" Shi Feng spoke softly as he looked down at the shocked Assassin. "Relax; you'll have more companions soon."

"Just who are you?" Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, Brother Deep craved the answer to this question. However, as his HP had reached zero, he could no longer open his mouth. When Brother Deep thought about such a person slaughtering his companions, goosebumps rose all over his body. If such an expert suddenly decided to take action against them, none of them would have any hope of survival.

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Chapter 476 - Haunted

Only after finishing off Overwhelming Smile's expert party did Shi Feng begin to loot the items they had dropped.

Since Overwhelming Smile and Zero Wing had labeled each other Hostile Guilds, none of the members of either Guild would receive any Crime Value when killing each other. However, aside from slaughtering the members of Zero Wing, the expert parties of Overwhelming Smile also frequently killed players who possessed high quality equipment, resulting in them becoming Red Names.

As Red Names, the penalty they received for dying multiplied, resulting in them dropping an abundance of items when they died.

The six Overwhelming Smile experts had dropped a total of 54 items. Of them, 45 pieces were equipment, with a majority of the equipment being Secret-Silver rank, and only eight being Fine-Gold rank. However, this was a significant harvest. In addition, there were nine items had dropped from the experts' bags. Of the nine items, seven had dropped from the first Berserker Shi Feng had killed.

In God's Domain, the chance of players dropping items from their bags upon death was minuscule. However, as the Overwhelming Smile experts were Red Names, this chance had been multiplied by several times. Even so, it was still a very small chance.

The fact that Shi Feng had obtained seven items from a single player's bag, in addition to the 45 pieces of equipment from killing a six-man party, was mainly due to this Berserker dropping all of his equipment. He had nothing left. It was unbelievable…

"Just how abysmal is this fellow's luck? Did he do something to anger the heavens? Not even someone who had killed thousands would have such a fate!" Shi Feng could not help but pity the Berserker lying at his feet.

Regardless of how Shi Feng felt, he still pocketed the Berserker's items. However, when he looked through the items, he discovered a dozen bottles of a black potion.

"Isn't this the potion that Berserker drank before the battle?" Shi Feng examined the black potion and suddenly recalled the Berserker's comment. He had not given the man's words much thought at the time, but as he looked at the potion now, he realized that it was something special.

The black potion would actually increase the drop-rate when killing players. However, the potion's effects similarly affected its user, and if the user died, their drop-rate would multiply as well.

This was the first time Shi Feng had seen or heard of such a potion.

There were over ten thousand types of potions in God's Domain. Although he had played the game for over a decade, he was still ignorant of many of the items in the game. It was especially true for original creations of Master Alchemists, Master Forgers, and other lifestyle Masters.

Shi Feng then read the black potion's data.

"Sure enough, this potion was crafted by a player." Shi Feng could not help his shock upon reading the information of the black potion.

This potion is called Haunted. Once consumed, the PVP drop-rate increases from 100% to 300%. Meanwhile, if the user is killed by another player, their drop-rate increases from 200% to 600%. Haunted has a duration of five minutes and a Cooldown of half an hour.

"Whoever made this potion is amazing." Shi Feng wanted to meet Haunted's creator. Unfortunately, the creator was displayed as "Unknown." It was clear that Haunted's creator wanted their identity to remain hidden.

Shi Feng had a significant understanding of God's Domain. There were indeed tools that could increase a player's drop-rate when killing other players, and every one of these tools were precious. However, Shi Feng had never heard of a potion with such a function. It was inconceivable that such a potion had appeared.

The current players of God's Domain were still very low-level, and the materials they could obtain were limited. To create such a powerful potion with such limited materials, this Alchemist must be a genius.

"No wonder Overwhelming Smile is so zealously slaughtering other players. With Haunted, they can easily obtain plenty of valuable equipment." Shi Feng suddenly understood the reason behind Overwhelming Smile's abnormal actions.

Currently, as both Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile fought in an all-out war against each other, both sides had suffered significant losses in terms of equipment. With Haunted, however, Overwhelming Smile could fund their battles with battles. The more well-equipped the player they killed was, the higher the quantity and quality equipment they could obtained. Normally, players would only drop one piece of equipment upon death. A single player had over a ten pieces equipped. If only one out of those many pieces dropped, the chances of obtaining a good equipment was relatively low. After consuming Haunted, however, the members of Overwhelming Smile could obtain up to three pieces of equipment from the players they killed, significantly increasing their chances of obtaining good equipment.

"Since this is the case, I won't have to be polite with them," Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he stored the 12 bottles of Haunted in his bag.

In reality, the PVP drop-rate relied heavily on the Luck Attribute.

Shi Feng's current Luck was relatively high. If he activated Divine Providence, he could raise his Luck to 25 points. If Shi Feng killed an ordinary player, even without consuming Haunted, it was almost certain that player would drop two or three pieces of equipment. Moreover, there was a relatively high chance for those two or three pieces to be the best pieces said player wore.

If he included the effects of Haunted…

Considering the situation, Shi Feng began to search through the Guild channel, looking for any Guild members in Watch Cemetery who had encountered an ambush.

"Perfect. You'll do."

After a moment, sure enough, some members had reported through the Guild channel that Overwhelming Smile's experts had ambushed them. They were in the Watch Cemetery. Immediately, Shi Feng input the coordinates into the Seven Luminaries Ring and activated Space Movement. He then jumped into the spatial crack that appeared before him.

In one of the gravel-filled prairies of the Watch Cemetery, a team of over a dozen players ran desperately for their lives. As they ran, the ranged classes on this team attacked the six robust-looking players pursuing them.

If this happened anywhere else, it would confuse any onlookers. The side with more players actually fled from the side with less players.

In the Watch Cemetery, however, nobody would find this scene surprising because the side with less players consisted of bloodthirsty lunatics with astonishing strength. Moreover, this party of lunatics consisted of only melee classes; there was not a single ranged class in their party.

"Damn, why aren't any of my attacks hitting them?" one of the escaping male Elementalists grumbled, dismayed as he watched the distance between his team and their six pursuers decrease.

"Hold on for a little longer. The Tier 1 experts of our Guild are heading towards us right now." A Level 24 Ranger, the leader of the team, tried to encourage his team members as he attacked with a Frostbolt.

Everyone on the team nodded to their team leader's words, newfound hope blooming in their hearts.

The group of Overwhelming Smile experts behind them was simply too powerful. Before they had realized they were being ambushed, four of their team members had died. Although they tried to retaliate, the experts dodged or blocked most of their attacks; only a small number of control skills had any effect. Unfortunately, none of those skills were fatal.

As soon as the battle had begun, they had sent out distress messages through the Guild channel, reporting their current location. Fortunately for them, one of their Guilds Tier 1 expert parties was only a short distance away from them. They would be safe as long as they could reach that Tier 1 expert party.

"Everyone, stop!" the Ranger shouted when he saw a cloud of cold air rising from the ground in front of them. Before any of them had noticed, another party had appeared. Moreover, the Shield Warrior standing in the lead was currently using a Magic Scroll.

Unfortunately, the Ranger's command was too late as a gigantic icicle suddenly emerged from the ground. The icicle struck the players at the forefront of their team, a damage of over -1,000 points appearing above their heads. Simultaneously, frost shrouded their bodies, massively reducing their Movement Speed.

"We're finished…" Despair filled the Ranger's eyes as he stared at the massive icicle in front of them.

They had barely survived the pursuit of a single party of experts. Now that another party had appeared, blocking their path, they no longer had any hope of escape…

"Hahaha! Come on! Keep running! I want to see how far you can get!" one of Overwhelming Smile's experts sneered upon seeing the Zero Wing team's predicament.

At this moment, however, a spatial crack appeared in the air, and a human figure suddenly emerged.

"Oh? It seems that I am quite lucky today." After Shi Feng landed, he swept a glance over the two expert parties from Overwhelming Smile, a faint smile appearing on his face.

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Chapter 477 - Youlan's Worries

In White River City, shortly after Overwhelming Smile had established its Guild Residence, the street outside the Guild Residence was already packed with players hoping to join the Guild. Over ten thousand players waited for their evaluation, far surpassing Zero Wing's Guild recruitment.

Currently, Overwhelming Smile offered three to four times more benefits than their rival. In addition, Overwhelming Smile had already become the unshakable overlord of Maple City. Now that Overwhelming Smile had its own Guild Residence, its momentum was unstoppable.

As a result, many independent players who had observed the situation from the sidelines had decided to take action.

In White River City, Zero Wing only had three advantages.

The first was the presence of Black Flame, the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. There were also plenty of experts in Zero Wing, making the Guild a good place to seek guidance and improve oneself.

The second was the Guild Residence. Members of Zero Wing could receive a large number of high-level Guild Quests, allowing them to level up and earn money easily. The fact that members could accumulate a Double EXP buff while resting in the Guild Residence was also quite attractive.

The third was Zero Wing's Guild Warehouse. A lot of top-tier equipment was constantly available for Guild members to earn; these items were not available outside of Zero Wing.

However, to the majority of the players in White River City, Zero Wing's most attractive benefit was its Guild Residence. It was the reason that many had hesitated when choosing between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile. However, that issue had been resolved. Now that the well-funded Overwhelming Smile had its own Guild Residence as well, Zero Wing had lost its advantage. Currently, compared to Overwhelming Smile, the overlord of a city, Zero Wing was inferior.

It was obvious which Guild they should join.

"Ah… We are too late…" a Level 23 female Cleric sighed helplessly when she saw the long line of players outside Overwhelming Smile's Guild Residence. The Cleric then turned to the Level 25 female Elementalist beside her, grumbling to the innocent-looking girl in silver clothing, "Rain, this is your fault! I told you that, as long as Overwhelming Smile establishes its Guild Residence, a ton of players are going to try to join. Now we've gotta wait so long if we want to join."

"Blue Bamboo, I've said it before; I'm only playing God's Domain because I am curious about this world. I want to understand more about this realistic fantasy world, and I don't really mind not joining a Guild." Thoughtful Rain shook her head in response to her friend's words. She was not particularly interested in joining any Guild.

"Rain, you're wrong about this. God's Domain is such a vast world, and there are plenty of dangerous places. If we're not strong enough, how can we explore those places? Meanwhile, joining a Guild is undoubtedly the fastest way to grow stronger," the female Cleric named Blue Bamboo countered. "Just look at how poorly we are faring right now. We bought a majority of our equipment. To make things worse, our equipment is crappier than what Guild members have."

"In that case, shouldn't we join Zero Wing?" Thoughtful Rain asked, confused. "I hear that Zero Wing's Warehouse contains plenty of top-tier equipment that no other Guild can match."

Speaking of Zero Wing, Thoughtful Rain suddenly recalled the man named Ye Feng who had helped her before. She remembered that he was one of Zero Wing's members.

The Library Emblem he had given her had helped her greatly, and she wondered how that man was faring.

"Don't you know? A war has recently broken out between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile, and each report is more amazing than the last. As a result, the independent players who had originally hesitated are now desperately trying to join Overwhelming Smile. Do you know why?" Blue Bamboo asked mysteriously. "That's because Zero Wing no longer has an advantage over Overwhelming Smile! Previously, Zero Wing slaughtered Overwhelming Smile's members, driving the Guild into a corner. Now, however, the situation has completely changed. Overwhelming Smile has somehow managed to recruit a large number of experts, and these experts have slaughtered Zero Wing's members, scaring them from leaving the city. It probably won't be long before Zero Wing is destroyed, which is why so many players are rushing to join Overwhelming Smile.

"Moreover, Overwhelming Smile no longer targets Maple City. It has shifted its focus to White River City. The fact that the Guild has established its first Guild Residence in White River City rather than Maple City had made that obvious. If we don't join Overwhelming Smile now, it will only be harder to do so in the future."

Thoughtful Rain nodded, seeing the logic in Blue Bamboo's words. However, she looked at Blue Bamboo and said softly, "You are correct. However, I still don't want to join Overwhelming Smile."

Saying so, Thoughtful Rain immediately turned and left.

"Fine, then! I'll listen to you, but you better not regret your decision later!" Blue Bamboo took one last glance at Overwhelming Smile's Guild Residence before following Thoughtful Rain.

Meanwhile, inside Overwhelming Smile's Guild Residence, all of the Guild members were currently in a celebratory mood.

Initially, Zero Wing had been a thorn in their side. Now, however, their problems had been solved. With over 200 experts from their Guild ambushing the members of Zero Wing, the war had turned to their favor. Many of Zero Wing's members were too afraid to leave the city. This greatly boosted the pride of everyone from Overwhelming Smile.

At this moment, however, the atmosphere in the Guild Residence's meeting room was extraordinarily tense.

"What? You're saying that Little Deep's party was completely wiped out? How is that possible?" Feng Xuanyang was unable to stomach the news he had just received.

The new batch of Underworld Guards that had been sent consisted of live combat veterans. Although not all of them were experts in God's Domain, they were only slightly inferior.

Even if these Underworld Guards encountered one of Zero Wing's Tier 1 expert parties, they could still drag one or two of their opponents to the grave with them if they went all-out.

However, a single player had annihilated one of these parties. They could not even escape. How could Feng Xuanyang possibly believe this?

"Young Master Feng, there are countless experts in God's Domain. The Underworld Guards aren't invincible, either. There is nothing strange about the slaughter. However, based on Little Deep's report of their assailant, it is likely that they ran into Black Flame. We already know the majority of the experts in White River City. Aside from Summer Sunshine, Black Flame is most likely the only player capable of this massacre," Youlan explained.

Feng Xuanyang had never watched a battle between true experts of God's Domain. However, Youlan had personally witnessed Black Flame and Summer Sunshine's frightening encounter. Hence, she was not the slightest bit surprised about the appearance an expert capable of destroying an Underworld Guard party single-handedly.

"You're saying that Black Flame is responsible? Is Black Flame really that strong?" Feng Xuanyang asked skeptically.

In his opinion, Black Flame was just a frog in a well. How could he possibly defeat a party of Underworld Guards by himself?

"Young Master Feng, I guarantee that Black Flame is more than capable of performing such a feat. However, this is not the most important information we have received. Based on what Little Deep said, after they died, they could not log into God's Domain for some time. Moreover, every Underworld Guard is currently a Red Name. If they die, they will lose at least half of their equipment. We will suffer a massive loss.

"Now that Black Flame has involved himself and is using such methods, if he focuses on hunting down the Underworld Guards, it will be a disaster for us. I suggest that we have the Underworld Guards stop their ambushes, retreat from the Watch Cemetery, and go elsewhere to level up," Youlan suggested.

From the moment she met him, she had never been able to see through the man known as Black Flame. Now, Black Flame had suddenly begun to act and killed a party of Underworld Guards. This was not a good sign, and Youlan began to worry.

Hence, she thought it best to quit while they were ahead.

"Youlan, you worry too much. Even if Black Flame is powerful, the Watch Cemetery is a massive area. Do you really believe that he can scour the entire map by himself?" Feng Xuanyang said disdainfully. "Little Deep was simply unlucky and coincidentally encountered Black Flame. Losing one party isn't significantly damaging. On the other hand, our rampant ambushes on Zero Wing are severely wounding the Guild. Moreover, there are so many treasures in the Watch Cemetery. If we give the area up, not only will it greatly reduce our Guild's morale, but we will also lose a huge source of income.

"Besides, while Zero Wing has Black Flame, do you think that Underworld does not possess experts aside from the Underworld Guards?" Feng Xuanyang laughed.

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Chapter 478 - Seven Ghosts

"Have they arrived as well?" Youlan's beautiful eyes widened upon hearing Feng Xuanyang's words, shock coloring her features.

Although the Underworld Guards were the core combatants of Underworld, they were not the peak combatants.

Even so, the Underworld Guards were only slightly inferior to the peak combatants of other first-rate Guilds; they were more than enough to deal with second-rate Guilds.

Since Feng Xuanyang had said as much, the new arrivals were not members of the Underworld Guards. Instead, they should be the peak combatants of Underworld, the Seven Ghosts.

"That's right. To eliminate Zero Wing quickly and ensure that we obtain White River City, upper management has sent us two Ghosts. With the two of them, Black Flame's good fortune will come to an end," Feng Xuanyang laughed.

"Since two of the Seven Ghosts have arrived, Black Flame's hunting spree will no longer be an issue. On the contrary, this is our chance." Youlan nodded as she revealed a smile.

Underworld was a massive organization, and those who joined the Underworld Guards were already considered experts. Meanwhile, The Seven Ghosts stood out among the Underworld Guards and stood at the peak of the organization. The Seven Ghosts held very high positions in Underworld, and even Feng Xuanyang had to treat them with respect.

Every one of the Seven Ghosts was an extraordinarily talented expert carefully selected by Underworld. Moreover, they had received Underworld's unreserved nurturing and hell-like training. Their strength had long since surpassed the realm of ordinary humans.

If several Ghosts worked together, even an expert like Summer Sunshine would be helpless.

Now that Black Flame was going all-out in his hunt of the Underworld Guards, this was very good news for Overwhelming Smile. If the two Ghosts found Black Flame while he was on his hunting spree, perhaps they could kill Black Flame and utterly destroy Zero Wing.

Just as Feng Xuanyang and Youlan discussed Shi Feng, the man currently faced off against two Underworld Guard parties in the Watch Cemetery.

"Good luck?"

"What an arrogant little brat!"

The two Underworld Guard parties glared at Shi Feng, before turning to each other, smiling.

The members of Zero Wing also watched Shi Feng, who currently hid his appearance under his black cloak, astonishment filling their eyes.

Shi Feng had accidentally appeared and claimed to have good luck. Did he not know that the two parties surrounding them were the famous killing gods? Every one of these players was a demon who could slaughter people without batting an eye. Those who encountered these killing gods had only one ending—death!

"We have to hold our ground. Our Guild's Tier 1 experts are almost here. We'll be saved as long as we hold on for a little longer," the leader of Zero Wing's team said, gritting his teeth.

A thread of hope appeared in the eyes of Zero Wing's members. When they looked at the two Underworld Guard parties surrounding them, their gazes burned with fighting spirit.

"Oh? You guys must have a death wish. Old Six, you deal with these guys. I'll deal with the new brat," a youthful-looking Level 26 Swordsman named Fifth Ghost ordered with a deep voice. The youth was tall and robust, and he was currently garbed in golden battle armor.

"Brother Five, you're too cunning! This is the first expert we've found after such a long hunt, yet you're sending me to deal with the trash while you steal the expert for yourself!" the Level 26 Berserker named Sixth Ghost complained.

"That brat is a Swordsman. I'm also a Swordsman, while you're just a Berserker. Naturally, I should deal with him. If we meet a Berserker, you'll deal with them. Deal?" Fifth Ghost laughed.

The Berserker named Sixth Ghost could only nod in response. He then looked towards the Underworld Guards, saying, "Leave these people to me. You guys only need to prevent them from escaping."

"Yes!" the Underworld Guards immediately took up their formation.

However, when Zero Wing's members heard that the man named Sixth Ghost intended to deal with them alone, they rejoiced.

Each side had about the same number of players. If the enemy faced them as a team, they stood no chance. If only one person attacked, however, they could probably kill that player and escape.

"We'll charge together. After we get rid of him, we can take the opportunity to break through the encirclement," the Ranger team leader whispered.

At this moment, when Shi Feng saw Sixth Ghost approach the group, he suddenly said, "No, you guys aren't his match. In a moment, run in the opposite direction. Elementalists, use Ice Walls and Frozen Circles while I hold them back."

Zero Wing's elite team was strong enough that they had a good chance of defeating any ordinary expert. However, the Berserker before them was not an ordinary player. The killing intent and pressure he radiated did not belong to an ordinary expert, so much so that even Shi Feng sensed danger from the Berserker. Moreover, when Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to inspect everyone's data, Sixth Ghost's data surprised him.

The Berserker named Sixth Ghost was actually a Tier 1 class. This was the first time Shi Feng had encountered a Tier 1 class belonging to another Guild.

The Swordsman named Fifth Ghost was also a Tier 1 class.

Judging from the respectful attitudes the Underworld Guard parties showed these two players, Shi Feng guessed that the two were not ordinary characters. They were definitely high up in Underworld.

Originally, Shi Feng intended to hunt down Underworld Guards. Now, however, rather of hunting a cat, he had found a tiger.

"Thank you for the warning. However, we are the elites of Zero Wing. Even if he is powerful, he can't take us down easily if we work together," the Ranger team leader said confidently.

However, before the Ranger could finish his words, Sixth Ghost had used Charge, leaving only an afterimage behind him. In the blink of an eye, Sixth Ghost arrived before Zero Wing's battle-ready Shield Warrior. He then activated Cleave and slashed his saber down on the Shield Warrior.

Just as this Shield Warrior was about to block the attack with his shield, Sixth Ghost's saber suddenly vanished. The saber instantly reappeared in the Shield Warrior's blind spot and struck its target, sending the Shield Warrior flying backward. A damage of over -2,600 points appeared above the Shield Warrior's head, reducing his HP by more than half.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water. None of the surrounding Zero Wing members had reacted to Sixth Ghost's attack. They could only watch as their MT was sent flying.

Six Ghost's damage shocked Zero Wing's elites. None of them could believe that a Berserker could actually deal over -2,600 damage to a Shield Warrior.

However, Sixth Ghost was not done with the Shield Warrior. Twisting his feet slightly, Sixth Ghost transformed into an afterimage as he weaved through the crowd of players. He arrived behind the still-airborne Shield Warrior and sent out another slash.

Nobody had ever expected a Berserker to be so agile. Although the entire process seemed slow, in reality, everything had happened in an instant.

Just as Sixth Ghost's saber was about to strike the Shield Warrior's back and end his life, Sixth Ghost suddenly spun and used Whirlwind Slash.

Peng!

Dazzling sparks scattered around him.

Sixth Ghost's battle saber collided with a pitch-black sword. Meanwhile, the owner of this sword was none other than the mysterious newcomer–Shi Feng.

"Brat, you sure are in a hurry to die." Six Ghost licked his lips, a hint of excitement appearing in his eyes as he smiled at Shi Feng. "Since you can attack soundlessly, you should have also reached that realm."

If not for his many years of combat experience and his senses picking up on Shi Feng's faint killing intent, he would not have detected Shi Feng's attack. Fortunately, he sensed the attack at the very last moment and instinctively used Whirlwind Slash. Otherwise, Shi Feng's attack would have been successful.

Other than his sparring sessions with the other Ghosts, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

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Chapter 479 - Triple Cut

Saber and sword intersected, scattering sparks.

Following which, Sixth Ghost and Shi Feng exchanged moves continuously.

Both Shi Feng and Sixth Ghost possessed frightening Strength, the ground beneath them cracking under the pressure. Surprisingly, neither expert had actually taken a single step back. However, it was a different story for the players watch from the sidelines. Due to the resulting impact from the weapons' collision, the spectators were forced to retreat.

"They are so powerful. Even from this distance, I can feel how intense the impact is. No wonder Little Horse was sent flying," the Ranger team leader muttered as he watched the scene before him. Fear filled his gaze as he watched Sixth Ghost.

Since he had started playing God's Domain, this was the first time he had seen a player with such ferocious Strength. It was simply terrifying!

However, the fact that Shi Feng could contend with such a monster was just as astounding.

At this moment, the Tier 1 Swordsman, Fifth Ghost, gaped at the two combatants with utter disbelief.

"Just who is that? He can compete with Old Six's Strength." Fifth Ghost's gaze sharpened as he began to watch Shi Feng carefully.

In terms of Strength, a Tier 1 Berserker was definitely the strongest of all the classes. Moreover, Fifth Ghost knew how Sixth Ghost had allocated his Free Attribute Points; they had all gone into his Strength. Every piece of Sixth Ghost's equipment was also Strength-based. Yet, a Swordsman like Shi Feng was on equal footing with Sixth Ghost. It was inconceivable.

Among the Seven Ghosts, Sixth Ghost's Strength ranked third. Even a Swordsman like himself refused to confront Sixth Ghost directly, relying on techniques to achieve victory instead.

Now that an expert, capable of matching Sixth Ghost's Strength, had appeared, Fifth Ghost could not help but focus on the fight.

"Brat, it seems that you're a Tier 1 class as well. I won't continue playing games, then."

Sixth Ghost roared, and suddenly, the skin covering his entire body turned red. His momentum had also changed as a violent aura surged forth from his body.

This move was a Tier 1 skill belonging to Tier 1 Berserkers, Bull's Rage, which increased the player's Strength by 20% for 15 seconds.

Sixth Ghost's Strength had already been quite high. Now that it had increased by another 20%, simple gestures were enough to crack the land beneath his feet.

"You are ten years too early if you think you can compete with my Strength!" Sixth Ghost swung his battle saber, which was as tall as he was, slashing the blade down on Shi Feng. Both his speed and power far surpassed his previous attacks.

Yet, Shi Feng did not try to dodge this attack. Instead, he swung the Abyssal Blade in his hand towards Sixth Ghost's saber.

Everyone was confused.

Even Fifth Ghost, who watched from a distance, revealed a disdainful sneer at this sight.

Sixth Ghost's Bull's Rage was not the average Skill. Rather, it was an Enhanced Skill. Unlike the normal version, the enhanced version of Bull's Rage increased a player's Strength Attribute by 30%. Although it was just a measly 10%, to Sixth Ghost, that 10% was the equivalent of more than 30 points in Strength.

Having an additional 30 points in Strength was like wearing an additional piece of top-tier equipment that added Strength. In terms of a Tier 1 player's levels, this increase equated four or five additional levels.

After activating Bull's Rage, Sixth Ghost was the strongest among the Seven Ghosts. A Tier 1 Swordsman stood no chance against Sixth Ghost's Strength. Shi Feng overestimated himself if he thought he could challenge Sixth Ghost's attack head-on.

The only way to deal with Sixth Ghost's attack was to dodge.

However, even dodging was impossible. After all, even experts like them, who had reached that realm, found it extremely difficult to dodge Sixth Ghost's saber techniques.

Everyone pictured Shi Feng's figure flying backward the instant the saber and sword collided.

Boom!

The ground beneath both combatants' feet cracked, the impact of the collision creating a dust storm that enveloped the battle.

"You!" Sixth Ghost's eyes widened with shock upon seeing Shi Feng block his attack with just one hand.

He had already activated Bull's Rage, yet, Shi Feng still blocked his attack. The Skill had increased his Strength Attribute by over 100 points. This increase alone was already as much as what an ordinary player possessed.

Yet… yet… Shi Feng had blocked it!

The onlooking crowd gaped when they saw the small crater below the fighters' feet.

"Are they NPCs?"

None of them could believe what they saw. Was this really a battle between players?

If not for the player-specific diamond-shaped markers hovering above both sides' heads, they would have suspected that the two were monsters of God's Domain fighting over territory.

"So he really was telling the truth."

Only now did Zero Wing's members realize why Shi Feng had warned them before the battle had begun. With such frightening Strength, even if Sixth Ghost had not utilized any skills and relied solely on his techniques and Attributes, he would not have needed long to annihilate their team.

"Just who are you?" After this single exchange, Sixth Ghost hurriedly retreated from Shi Feng. He was on high-alert as he watched his opponent, no longer as calm as before.

Even a fool could tell that Shi Feng's Basic Attributes were far superior to Sixth Ghost's. From their previous exchange, Sixth Ghost realized that Shi Feng had only been testing his strength.

With this realization, an indescribable anger overtook Sixth Ghost's heart.

All this time, he had been the one to test other's strength, never the other way around. Now that someone had done the same to him, Sixth Ghost's pride as one of the Seven Ghosts had been wounded.

"You attacked first. Why are you the one asking this question?" Shi Feng chuckled.

"Brat, you're courting death!" As Sixth Ghost bellowed, the battle saber in his hands transformed into three saber images. These saber images sealed off Shi Feng's path of retreat as they bombarded their target. At this moment, it looked as if Sixth Ghost held not one, but three battle sabers in his hand. Soundlessly, Sixth Ghost appeared right in front of Shi Feng.

Hand-to-hand combat relied on two things: Attributes and techniques.

Currently, Shi Feng's Attributes were far superior, so Sixth Ghost chose to contend with Shi Feng using techniques.

"Triple Cut?" Shi Feng's expression immediately turned grave. Immediately, he brandished the Abyssal Blade, meeting the oncoming attacks.

Triple Cut was a more advanced technique compared to Second Acceleration.

Second Acceleration was a technique used to fool the enemy's eyes and attack the blindspot. However, Triple Cut was an advanced attack technique that relied on the body's center of gravity to focus all power into a single point. The attack was extremely fast, to the point that others would see three weapons instead of one. In reality, these were only afterimages.

Dang… Dang… Dang…

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air.

For a time, the area between Sixth Ghost and Shi Feng had become a whirlwind of blades. The constant and deafening clangs of metal on metal made everyone's ears ring. However, when they looked at the battlefield, they failed to see any collision between weapons.

Such a powerful Triple Cut! Although Shi Feng had not received any damage, he struggled to defend against Sixth Ghost's attacks with the Abyssal Blade. Even though he was significantly faster than Sixth Ghost, he could do nothing but defend himself. This was the first time Shi Feng was at a disadvantage against a Berserker in a contest of speed.

Shi Feng had to admit that an advanced attack technique could increase a player's combat power significantly.

Fortunately, he was quite a bit faster than Sixth Ghost. He had also already entered the Refinement Realm. He could perceive both attacks and dodging maneuvers meticulously. Otherwise, he would have already died under Sixth Ghost's Triple Cut.

However, although Shi Feng struggled to cope with the attacks, Sixth Ghost was not having an easy time, either.

Even after using Bull's Rage, every time he crossed blades with Shi Feng, he could feel his hands tremble from the resulting impact. His HP had even begun to fall slowly with each consecutive impact. Although it was only a very tiny amount, after a long period, his HP would eventually vanish.

"Old Six, I'll help you!"

Suddenly, Fifth Ghost's figure appeared behind Shi Feng. Immediately, he used Triple Cut with his two swords, aiming for Shi Feng's back.

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Chapter 480 - Stepping into the Second Phase

Fifth Ghost was a Tier 1 Swordsman. Although he did not possess Sixth Ghost's frightening Strength, in terms of speed, he was significantly superior to the Berserker.

In particular, Fifth Ghost's control over his center of gravity when using the advance attack technique Triple Cut surpassed Sixth Ghost's. In addition, Fifth Ghost had used Wind Blade, increasing his speed significantly. At this moment, one could even vaguely see a fourth afterimage of his sword.

Presently, Shi Feng had already focused all his power into defending against Sixth Ghost's attack. He simply had no time to consider Fifth Ghost.

When Fifth Ghost saw his sword piercing Shi Feng's chest, a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Brat, although your strength is quite good, you are still ten years too early if you think you can fight against us Seven Ghosts."

"Brother Five, be careful!" Sixth Ghost suddenly shouted in panic when he saw Fifth Ghost's delighted appearance.

"Huh?" Fifth Ghost immediately sensed that something was wrong because his instincts were telling him right here and now that he had already arrived at death's door. He then realized the sensation he felt with his hand—when his sword stabbed into Shi Feng—was as if he had just pierced through air. Suddenly, he felt goosebumps rising all over his body. He immediately activated his lifesaving skill, Defensive Blade, and abruptly leaped forward.

However, he was still a step too slow.

Hua… Hua… Hua…

At the same time as he activated Defensive Blade, Fifth Ghost felt chilling sword auras striking at his back.

These piercing sword auras were the attacks Shi Feng had launched at Fifth Ghost upon arriving behind the latter using Silent Steps. If Fifth Ghost had not activated Defensive Blade at the first sign of danger, allowing him to negate several instances of damage, he would have become a corpse by now.

Just who are these people? Shi Feng knitted his brows slightly.

Shi Feng found it truly hard to believe that such experts would actually appear in Underworld. He had also never heard of such experts in his previous life.

After using Silent Steps, he had swung the Abyssal Blade immediately. At such a short distance, as well as with the element of surprise, experts of the same level definitely would not be able to react in time. Yet, Fifth Ghost actually managed to activate Defensive Blade and leap forward before the Abyssal Blade landed on his body.

Furthermore, from the attack Fifth Ghost had sent out before, Shi Feng could clearly perceive just how powerful Fifth Ghost was. When Sixth Ghost used Triple Cut, he was able to apply the technique only to a normal attack; he could not use the technique with a skill. On the other hand, Fifth Ghost was able to integrate Triple Cut together with a skill.

In fast-paced close combat like this, other than some special skills like Silent Steps and Instantaneous Movement, the difficulty of using attack skills in battle was extremely high. Such attack skills simply had too long a cast time and required one to go through fixed motions before the skill could be activated. The speed of using an attack skill was simply incomparable to the speed of a normal attack. Moreover, even if one was highly proficient with a skill and could activate it very quickly, excessive speed could easily result in distortions in the motions and, consequently, a drop in Completion Rate, rendering the skill practically useless. Hence, the fact that Fifth Ghost was able to integrate an attack skill into the battle was something extremely difficult to achieve. Performing such a feat was no longer something feasible for ordinary men. Even Shi Feng's current self would not be able to do so.

Moreover, Shi Feng had clearly been the one to attack first, yet he was still a step behind Fifth Ghost.

This situation reminded Shi Feng of Soaring Snake's godlike reaction speed. Fifth Ghost might be similar to Soaring Snake—both of them possessing a reaction speed of less than 0.1 second. Shi Feng estimated Fifth Ghost's reaction speed at around 0.07 second. However, it was obvious that Fifth Ghost was more proficient at utilizing his reaction speed to his advantage.

Originally, Shi Feng had thought of following up his victory with a hot pursuit. However, upon noticing Sixth Ghost charging at him, he had no choice but to shift his focus.

"Brat, not bad. Not only are your Attributes so overpowered, you actually possess that sort of skill as well. You very nearly did me in just now. However, you will no longer get another chance like that." After regaining his composure, Fifth Ghost turned around to look at Shi Feng, a hint of greed flashing across his eyes. He then took out a bottle of Haunted and drank it.

Every piece of equipment they had on them was top-tier. Yet, Shi Feng had still managed to overwhelm them with his Attributes. This showed that Shi Feng's equipment was a cut above theirs. If they could kill Shi Feng and obtain his equipment, it would definitely allow their combat power to rise to the next level.

In a two-on-one situation, Shi Feng no longer held back as he used Purgatory Power, increasing his Attack Speed by 100%. He then used Void Steps, vanishing from everyone's eyes.

"He disappeared?"

Sixth Ghost was stunned. Before he could figure out what was going on, he suddenly discovered that Shi Feng had already appeared directly beside him, the Abyssal Blade mere centimeters from his neck. Sixth Ghost hastily bent his body away with all his might.

However, he was still too late as a fountain of blood sprayed out from his neck, a critical damage of over -3,000 points appearing above his head.

From this attack alone, Sixth Ghost had lost more than half of his HP.

Immediately after, Shi Feng followed up with another strike. One more hit was all he needed to finish off Sixth Ghost.

However, Fifth Ghost's sword was already curving towards Shi Feng. Moreover, Sixth Ghost was now aware of the danger, his saber moving to greet Shi Feng's sword. In this situation, Shi Feng had no choice but to break off his attack. He then used Void Steps once more and disappeared from everyone's sight.

"So you're Black Flame. However, if you think you can rely on this footwork to defeat us, think again." Before coming to the Watch Cemetery, Fifth Ghost had already received information on Black Flame from Youlan. He had also watched the battle between Black Flame and Summer Sunshine, so Shi Feng's Void Steps was still fresh in his mind. Now that he was seeing the footwork in action, he determined Shi Feng's identity right away.

Then, Fifth Ghost abruptly changed his sword's trajectory, swinging the weapon at the empty air beside him.

Fifth Ghost's action confused the spectators; they could not understand what the Swordsman was trying to achieve with this action.

In the next instant, however, everyone immediately received an answer to their questions when Shi Feng suddenly appeared in the path of Fifth Ghost's sword. At this moment, Shi Feng was using the Abyssal Blade to defend against Fifth Ghost's attack.

He's adapted to Void Steps already? Shi Feng was slightly surprised.

Shi Feng knew full well that Void Steps was not an invincible technique. Although the footwork could force others to ignore his own presence, making it seem as if he had vanished from thin air, someone who had undergone special training could still catch him once they let their eyes adapt to the technique. There was nothing strange in people like Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost being able to perform such a feat. However, the speed with which Fifth Ghost managed to adapt to the technique still exceeded Shi Feng's expectations.

During Shi Feng's moment of surprise, Sixth Ghost had also slashed his saber at Shi Feng's back, forming a pincer attack around Shi Feng.

Left with no other choice, Shi Feng activated Windwalk as well as Void Steps to retreat.

Although the two Ghosts had adapted themselves to Void Steps, there was still a brief moment of delay before their eyes could locate Shi Feng. Hence, Shi Feng still persisted in using Void Steps to retreat.

For a time, both sides entered a stalemate. The exchange between saber and swords created a storm that engulfed the audience. The surrounding spectators were shocked by this scene, and not even their eyes could keep up with the three combatants' actions.

Looking at the high-speed battle between the three, even breathing seemed superfluous.

Despite Shi Feng's Attack Speed receiving a huge boost and the significant effect of Void Steps, Shi Feng was still forced into passivity. The two Ghosts' attacks were extremely tricky to deal with. In particular, Fifth Ghost's attacks would always strike from various different blind spots and never once would the Swordsman face Shi Feng in a direct confrontation. If not for the fact that Shi Feng had already entered the Refinement Realm, his grasp over attacks and movements becoming extremely precise, he would have long since lost his life to the two Ghosts.

Although Shi Feng was currently locked in a passive state, he was enjoying every moment of this high-speed battle. Ever since the increase in his brain activity, he had not had a chance to familiarize himself with the sudden boost to his perception as well as the sudden enhancement in his control over his own body. This battle was the perfect opportunity to get used to his new improvements. Chances to fight against experts were extremely rare, let alone against experts who were capable of forcing him into such dire straits, where even the slightest mistake could cost him his life.

Moreover, Shi Feng could not help but admit that the coordination between Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost was indeed very amazing. Regardless of how he tried to attack or dodge, he could never fully defend against the attacks of the two Ghosts. As a result, he had lost close to half his HP already. However, under the steady onslaught, the accuracy of Shi Feng's actions was also gradually increasing; the damage the Ghosts inflicted was also gradually decreasing.

Their attacks really are precise. At this moment, even Shi Feng could feel himself growing mentally tired.

"Die!"

Fifth Ghost took advantage of the moment Shi Feng used Void Steps and vanished to slash at the latter's back, giving Shi Feng no chance to dodge or block at all.

At the moment of life and death, a slight change came over Shi Feng. Suddenly, Shi Feng's movement stopped.

In the next moment, Fifth Ghost's sword actually brushed past Shi Feng's body.

However, Fifth Ghost did not stop his attacks as he continued brandishing his two swords. Sixth Ghost kept hacking at Shi Feng with his saber as well, not giving him any chance to dodge or block.

Yet, no matter how hard they tried to hit Shi Feng, he always managed to avoid their attacks ahead of time; it was as if Shi Feng had long since known the trajectory of their attacks.

So this is the second stage of the Refinement Realm, the Flowing Water Realm. It's no wonder I wasn't a match for those people in the past. Shi Feng could not help but smile while dodging the two Ghosts' attacks.

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Chapter 481 - Flowing Water Acceleration

Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost immediately detected the sudden change in Shi Feng, and the two Ghosts promptly distanced themselves from their target.

As experts of God's Domain, their perception of danger was far superior to ordinary players'.

On the other hand, the dazed players watching Shi Feng's battle were confused by the two Ghosts' actions.

There were no visible changes to Shi Feng's outer appearance, and neither were there any changes to his Attributes. So, why did Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost suddenly choose to back away from him?

"Was it just my imagination?"

Fifth Ghost somewhat doubted his own senses. He could not understand why Shi Feng would suddenly undergo such a drastic change.

Originally, the pressure Fifth Ghost felt from Shi Feng was that of a tiger. However, in the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had transformed into a violent dragon. Moreover, it was a violent dragon with extremely sharp fangs and claws.

Let alone them, even ordinary people would know to distance themselves from Shi Feng upon sensing such a radical difference.

"Since you guys aren't going to take action, then don't mind if I do," Shi Feng said as he revealed a meaningful smile. He then raised his sword and slowly approached his two opponents.

The Refinement Realm could be said to be what differentiated a true top-tier expert from an ordinary expert. As for players who set foot into the Refinement Realm, not one of them was not an expert who could single-handedly turn the tides of a battle.

Once players entered the Refinement Realm, they would be able to exert the minimum amount of strength to achieve the maximum effect. This was especially notable when players were attacking or dodging. Despite the opponent's speed greatly surpassing their own, players in the Refinement Realm could easily dodge their opponent's attack using the simplest of movements. Not only could they dodge with greater efficiency, but they could also take the opportunity to better detect their enemy's weaknesses, to give their enemy a fatal blow.

Due to this reason, the Refinement Realm became the dividing line for true experts.

Meanwhile, there was an even higher realm above Refinement, and that was the Flowing Water Realm. Through detailed observation of the opponent, players could place themselves in their opponent's position in order to understand their opponent's every action. They could then anticipate their opponent's next action, or even multiple subsequent actions, and make the most appropriate response.

In other words, before their opponent had even taken action, players in the Flowing Water Realm could have already known what their opponents were going to do next and carried out appropriate countermeasures. Compared to responding only after the opponent had begun taking action, players would have a lot more time to react and perform swifter and more precise actions. Hence, for Shi Feng, who had already seen through the coordinated attacks of Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, it was very easy for him to dodge and react to his two opponents' attacks.

When Shi Feng slowly approached Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, the two Ghosts unconsciously began backing away as well.

Looking at this scene where one side was advancing while the other was retreating, the surrounding spectators were stupefied. In particular, the Underworld Guards' jaws nearly fell to the ground upon witnessing this scene.

The Seven Ghosts were Underworld's most formidable weapons. Yet, the two Ghosts before them were actually displaying cowardice right now. How could this be any more inconceivable?

Meanwhile, Shi Feng also wore a helpless expression on his face as he took in this situation. He promptly fished a bottle of Haunted from his bag and drank it. He then used Wind Blade on Fifth Ghost, his body transforming into an afterimage. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared in front of Fifth Ghost and swung the Abyssal Blade at the other Swordsman.

Shi Feng's slash was unimaginably fast.

The spectating crowd only saw a flash of black light; they could not make out Shi Feng's sword at all.

So fast! Fifth Ghost was greatly alarmed. It was definitely impossible for him to dodge Shi Feng's attack. However, with his godlike reaction speed, Fifth Ghost still managed to react before Shi Feng's sword landed on his body, instinctively using Triple Cut to block this fleeting sword.

Dang!

Sparks scattered into the surroundings. At the moment of imminent peril, Fifth Ghost succeeded in blocking Shi Feng's attack with the sword in his hand. As a result of the impact, however, Fifth Ghost was forced to retreat numerous steps before he could stabilize his body. His entire hand also numbed from the impact.

"How could this be? This is Triple Cut?"

Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost both looked at Shi Feng with horror-filled expressions, as they were extremely familiar with Shi Feng's previous attack.

Triple Cut was an advanced technique that they had trained in bitterly in order to grasp. At this moment, however, Shi Feng had actually effortlessly used that technique against them. How could they not be shocked?

So there's such an effect as well. Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Blade in his hand, similarly surprised.

Just now, he had taken advantage of the pressure Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost had placed on him to enter the Flowing Water Realm. However, he had not expected that, after he entered the Flowing Water Realm, his attack would also receive such a boost.

Originally, he had relied on eliminating excess actions in order to increase the speed of his attacks. At this moment, however, maybe because his control over his body had received a huge improvement, the instant he attacked, he was able to apply all his physical power into that single slash. As a result, not only were there no excess movements in his attack, but his attack had also received a huge acceleration, which allowed his sword to reach its maximum speed in the shortest amount of time possible.

Taking Fifth Ghost as example, if the initial acceleration of Fifth Ghost's sword was counted as 100 and his sword's maximum speed as 20, then from the moment he started swinging his sword, he would need 0.2 second for his sword reach its maximum speed. As for Shi Feng, his current initial acceleration would be 200. If his maximum speed was similarly 20, then he required only 0.1 second to reach his maximum speed. Hence, his sword could reach his target much faster than Fifth Ghost's.

However, this was assuming both sides possessed the same maximum speed. In reality, as Shi Feng's Attributes were much higher, his maximum speed was a lot higher than Fifth Ghost's and Sixth Ghost's.

Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng could not help but grow excited. Hoping to find the feeling from before, Shi Feng stepped forward and launched a fierce assault on Fifth Ghost once more.

Streaks of black light suddenly appeared before promptly disappearing. Fifth Ghost was forced to go all out to defend against the attacks. However, no matter how hard he tried to defend himself, the attacks were simply too overwhelming, forcing him into a constant retreat.

Seeing this situation, Sixth Ghost hurriedly charged forward to aid his companion.

Immediately, he used Triple Cut, slashing his saber at Shi Feng's back. Originally, with Shi Feng's speed, it had simply been impossible for him to block the attack. However, Sixth Ghost suddenly saw a streak of black light emerge behind Shi Feng, the black light deflecting his attack completely.

"Just what is going on here?" Sixth Ghost looked at Shi Feng's calm expression in abject horror.

At the beginning of the fight, Shi Feng had been desperately trying to defend against his saber. Now, however, Shi Feng could effortlessly block his attacks without even turning his head around…

During the brief moment Sixth Ghost was in a daze, a streak of black light penetrated Fifth Ghost's defenses, piercing right through the Swordsman's heart. A critical damage of over -3,000 points promptly appeared above his head as the massive impact sent his body flying backwards. Because of the impact, Fifth Ghost's defense crumbled, allowing several more streaks of black light to land on his body.

In the blink of an eye, Fifth Ghost's HP reached zero. At Fifth Ghost's death, the equipment on his body and the items in his bag dropped and scattered across the ground around him.

This scene stupefied everyone present.

How was the thing in Shi Feng's hand a sword? That was practically a laser gun! With just a few shots, Fifth Ghost died without even being able to resist.

Only now did Sixth Ghost finally react. Although he wished to help, he was already too late. Right then, Shi Feng used Void Steps and disappeared once more.

"Don't think that you can easily do me in!" Sixth Ghost bellowed as he used Whirlwind Slash, sweeping his battle saber around himself.

In the next moment, however, a streak of black light shot at Sixth Ghost's weapon.

Boom!

Sixth Ghost's battle saber was abruptly stopped cold. Immediately after, another streak of black light pierced Sixth Ghost's body, instantly ending the Berserker's life. Once more, equipment and items were scattered across the ground.

The members of the Underworld Guards shivered and paled at the sight of Fifth Ghost's and Sixth Ghost's bodies lying on the ground. They promptly turned around and fled.

As Underworld Guards, they knew full well just how powerful the two Ghosts were.

Working together, the two of them could easily annihilate four or five Underworld Guard parties. Meanwhile, the fact that Shi Feng succeeded in defeating the two Ghosts all by himself showed that he was also fully capable of annihilating their two parties. If they did not escape, only death awaited them.

"Want to escape? Too late!"

Shi Feng immediately changed the Aura of Space to the Aura of Wind, increasing his Movement Speed greatly. He caught up with the fleeing Underworld Guards in no time, and just like a whirlwind sweeping away the clouds, he practically killed each Underworld Guard with just one hit.

In the blink of an eye, the ten remaining Underworld Guards were turned into a pile of corpses, their equipment and the items inside their bags scattering all over the ground around their corpses.

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Chapter 482 - The Strength of a Single Man

This Haunted really is frightening. It is actually able to force a Red Name to drop every single piece of equipment they are wearing. Underworld should be shedding tears right about now. Shi Feng's heart was filled with joy when he looked at the ground littered with items.

Killing the elite members of a Guild would not cause any significant damages to said Guild as these elite members only had advanced equipment. Such equipment could be easily replaced. The equipment of experts, on the other hand, was different.

Every single expert was an accumulation of a Guild's top-tier equipment.

Meanwhile, behind every piece of top-tier equipment was the sacrifice of a large number of players. Being able to steal a piece of top-tier equipment from a Guild was the equivalent of slicing a piece of flesh off said Guild.

The Underworld Guard parties had a total of twelve members. Of them, ten were mostly geared in Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment mixed with a few pieces of Level 20 Fine-Gold and even Dark-Gold Equipment. As for Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, their equipment was only slightly inferior to that of core members of Zero Wing. The majority of their equipment consisted of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, and even the most inferior pieces were Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment. Now, however, these twelve players were left with not a single piece of equipment on their bodies, thanks to Shi Feng…

In addition, the twelve had also dropped plenty of items from their bags. Among them were plenty of Haunted potions, as well as the good quality equipment such as Level 20 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment they had harvested from other players.

Making a rough estimate, Shi Feng had earned more than 100 Gold just from killing these twelve players.

"Split this advanced equipment among yourselves. Don't forget to leave some for your dead companions." Shi Feng only collected the top-tier equipment and Haunted potions for himself, leaving the remainder for the team. He then disappeared into the dense forest in search of other Underworld Guard parties.

"So cool! Is that person really our Guild Leader?" a female Summoner asked as she watched Shi Feng's departing figure, her gaze carrying a seductive charm.

"It should be. Before, when that person named him Black Flame, he did not deny it. Moreover, he has even willingly left behind so much good equipment for us. Other than our Guild Leader, I doubt there would be anybody who would do such a thing." The Ranger team leader nodded in reply, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of excitement.

"It really is great to be a member of Zero Wing," the others could not help but exclaim.

Despite the ongoing war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile, as the leader of a Guild, Shi Feng had actually taken the initiative to enter such a dangerous location all by himself. He had even rushed to their rescue at the first sign of trouble. With such a Guild Leader, even if they fell back to Level 0 as a result of battling Overwhelming Smile, they would still do so willingly.

"Although Guild Leader has left all this good equipment to us, I suggest that after we set aside several pieces for those who died, we should place the remainder in the Guild's Warehouse. Now that we are waging a war against Overwhelming Smile, the Guild's expenditure is very large. We can't take advantage of the Guild at such a crucial period," the Ranger said.

The others promptly nodded in agreement.

Currently, Shi Feng was searching for treasure chests in the Watch Cemetery while waiting for Space Movement's Cooldown to end and news to appear in the Guild channel. Space Movement had a five-minute Cooldown. As he did not wish to waste time during this period, he had started hunting for treasure.

Shi Feng could not be more familiar with the Watch Cemetery. He had visited this place many times in search of treasure in his previous life. Moreover, in the past, many treasure chest locations had been published on the official forums. Back then, as treasure chests that had already been found would not reappear at the same location, nobody actually cared about keeping these locations a secret. Instead, they actively publicized and showed off their discoveries. As a result, their actions would now benefit Shi Feng.

There were plenty of secrets in God's Domain. In reality, Shi Feng had just taken a casual glance at these treasure chest locations back then; he had not paid any particular attention to them. Even if his memory was very good, he could only vaguely remember these locations now. After all, nobody knew that they would reincarnate into their past lives.

However, due to the improvement of Shi Feng's brain activity, even his memory had received a huge boost. The things he could only vaguely remember before were now as clear as the sun at noon to him. Hence, his search for treasure chests became a very easy task. It was as if he was looking at a treasure map while treasure hunting.

After just a brief search, Shi Feng had already discovered a Bronze Treasure Chest, obtaining more than three Silver Coins and a Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Weapon from it.

"The number of treasure chests in this area is too little while the number of players is too high. Many of the treasure chests should have already been discovered by someone else. It seems that I can only try my luck somewhere else," Shi Feng muttered as he collected the items inside the Bronze Treasure Chest. Currently, Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Weapons were still in high demand. He then took a look at the system map. "As I recall, there should be plenty of high-quality treasure chests located in the inner regions of the Watch Cemetery."

Following which, Shi Feng dashed directly towards the inner region of the Watch Cemetery.

For a couple of hours, Shi Feng searched for treasure while killing any Underworld Guard parties that dared show themselves.

During this period, Shi Feng had opened more than thirty treasure chests. Among them, fourteen were Bronze Treasure Chests, sixteen were Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests, and six were Secret-Silver Treasure Chests. He had also killed eleven Underworld Guard parties. Overall, he had gained a frightening harvest.

Although these Underworld Guard parties did not have experts like Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, they still contributed plenty of top-tier equipment to Shi Feng's harvest. After all, these Underworld Guards normally killed many players, so they had accumulated quite a lot of good stuff, both on their bodies and in their bags. Now, however, all these items belonged to Shi Feng. In other words, these Underworld Guards had just carried out free labor for Shi Feng.

Just the number of top-tier equipment Shi Feng obtained exceeded a hundred pieces, not to mention advanced equipment.

Shi Feng's harvest had instantly made up for much of the losses Zero Wing suffered before.

Inside the Guild Residence of Overwhelming Smile.

"Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost died?!

"How is this possible?!"

Feng Xuanyang's eyes widened in shock upon reading the report he just received. He could not at all accept this matter as real.

Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost were Underworld's most formidable weapons. Now, not only had both of them lost all their equipment, but they could not even log back into the game right now. Just how was he supposed to report this incident to the higher-ups?

"This Black Flame is simply too vicious."

Seated to the side, Youlan, who was garbed in a set of alluring purple robes that placed her exquisite figure on full display, knitted her brows tightly, a gloomy expression currently on her face. Contrary to expectations, Youlan was not particularly concerned about this piece of news. Compared to Fifth Ghost's and Sixth Ghost's deaths, she was more concerned about the number of deaths in the Underworld Guard parties.

Currently, statistics showed that more than eighty Underworld Guards had already died. As of this time, Underworld had sent over 200 Underworld Guards to Overwhelming Smile—and close to half had died. Practically all the Underworld Guard parties posted at the Watch Cemetery were dead by now.

This loss was already well over the limit they could endure.

Even if they emptied Overwhelming Smile's entire Guild Warehouse, they would not be able to make up for the loss in top-tier and advanced equipment. Aside from that, there was also the loss of levels, as well as the fact that all those killed by Shi Feng were unable to log back into God's Domain for a long period of time.

"Just how did he manage such a feat?" Youlan muttered in confusion.

The Underworld Guard parties were clearly scattered far apart from each other, making it extremely difficult to catch them all. Yet, Shi Feng had only used a few short hours to wipe out nearly every Underworld Guard party within the Watch Cemetery…

While Feng Xuanyang and Youlan were feeling depressed, information regarding Shi Feng's feat spread like wildfire throughout White River City.

Players who received this piece of news were thoroughly amazed.

One hit per person. Shi Feng had actually managed to suppress a powerful Guild all by himself, slaughtering Overwhelming Smile to the point where it had no choice but to recall all its members from the treasured land known as the Watch Cemetery.

This was simply too frightening…

For a time, Zero Wing was once more the topic of conversation in the entire White River City.

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Chapter 483 - Everlasting War

Although the fight in Watch Cemetery had not been on a large scale, it had dealt a massive blow to Overwhelming Smile.

This was not a matter of winning or losing. Instead, it was because Overwhelming Smile had conceded.

This one point proved that Overwhelming Smile was inferior to Zero Wing.

In addition, Shi Feng's stunning performance had calmed the rush to join Overwhelming Smile.

Previously, they all had an optimistic view on Overwhelming Smile, believing that the Guild was about to overtake the position of White River City's overlord. Now, however, the situation had taken a 180-degree turn.

Needing only one hit per person, Shi Feng had wiped out all of Overwhelming Smile's experts within the Watch Cemetery. Without that hindrance, Zero Wing's Tier 1 experts were able to display their strength as they swiftly wiped out the normal members from Overwhelming Smile, forcing the Guild to pull back from the treasured land known as the Watch Cemetery.

The Watch Cemetery was White River City's most resource-rich Level 20 to 30 map. Losing it would undoubtedly be detrimental to Overwhelming Smile's future development.

Although Overwhelming Smile was wealthy, that wealth would be meaningless if they could not convert it into leveling resources.

The sky slowly darkened as the setting sun gradually disappeared past the horizon. After a day's struggle, many players had begun to return to the city to rest and celebrate their day's harvest. Bars, restaurants, clubs, and many such establishments were already crowded.

At this moment, in the rooftop dining room of a high-class restaurant, two female players feasted on delicacies as they enjoyed the view of White River City. Many male players present snuck glances at these two women.

Of the two female players, one was petite and lovely, while still sporting stunning curves.

The other was even more beautiful. Her face was so pure that it put flowers to shame and outshone the moon. Her snow-white skin looked so delicate that it seemed as if it might break from the gentlest touch. Currently, although she wore a long, aqua-blue mage robe, trimmed in gold, the clothing failed to conceal her graceful body.

These two were none other than Blue Bamboo and Thoughtful Rain, the pair that had originally planned to join Overwhelming Smile.

"Blue, what did I tell you? Look how quickly Zero Wing suppressed Overwhelming Smile," Thoughtful Rain said as she glanced at Blue Bamboo, the gentle smile in her ink-black eyes intensifying.

Previously, due to her refusal to join Overwhelming Smile, Blue Bamboo had pestered her ceaselessly, giving her a huge headache. Only now that Zero Wing had forced Overwhelming Smile to submit did the girl finally relent.

"Overwhelming Smile is truly disappointing! To think that I thought so highly of it, it actually dared to let me down! I don't want to join Overwhelming Smile anymore, either!" Blue Bamboo pouted, disappointed.

"I already told you that Zero Wing is far superior to Overwhelming Smile. After all, it was the first Guild to own a Guild Residence in White River City. Not only that, it claimed the best residence available in White River City. It also has plenty of experts. Currently, the various Guilds in White River City barely have any Tier 1 experts in their Guilds. Yet, I hear that Zero Wing already has over 50. Zero Wing has long since taken the lead. Furthermore, its Guild Leader, Black Flame, is a titled expert." Thoughtful Rain's thin lips shifted slightly as she explained, smiling tenderly.

"Since that's the case, why don't we join Zero Wing?" Blue Bamboo could not help but have expectations.

"Zero Wing's exam is very strict. I might be able to pass it, but I'm afraid that you…" Thoughtful Rain shook her head after evaluating Blue Bamboo.

"Humph. Who says my techniques are bad? I've only recently begun playing virtual reality games. After some time, I'll be more amazing than even Black Flame. Besides…" Blue Bamboo's ink-black eyes suddenly shone as she revealed a meaningful smile, saying, "Rain, I know that you've encountered one of the higher-ups of Zero Wing before. His name was Ye Feng, I think? He gave you a permanent pass to the library. All of my classmates turned green with envy when I told them about that item. Since he gave you such a precious pass, he should be able to admit us into the Guild without any issues with his position."

"I am only acquaintances with him. Blue, stop overthinking things," Thoughtful Rain hurriedly explained. "Besides, if he invites you into Zero Wing, and you perform badly, what then? Others will question his ability to manage the Guild."

"Are you my best friend or his? You're actually defending him, yet, you claim that there is nothing going on between you two? I don't care. In any case, I want to join Zero Wing! I have always wanted a piece of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. With your felonious body, you just have to say the word, and he'll let me into the Guild and smother us with Fine-Gold Equipment!" Blue Bamboo stated as she swept a glance at Thoughtful Rain's graceful body, her lips hooked up into a deep, suggestive smile.

Thoughtful Rain was suddenly speechless.

At this moment, a party of six suddenly appeared before the female duo. The leader of this party was a middle-aged man with a burly body, examining the two with world-weary eyes. None of the party could be underestimated as the other five also gave off an air of danger.

The party's stance alone left the surrounding witnesses breathless.

Their Levels were even more astonishing. Of these six, the lowest leveled player was Level 26, while the leading middle-aged man was a Level 27 Guardian Knight.

"Excuse me, ladies, I couldn't help but overhear that the both of you are familiar with the higher-ups of Zero Wing. I wonder if you can introduce us to them? If you do, this Level 25 Morning Dew Staff will be yours," the leading middle-aged man said, smiling warmly. He then retrieved a two-handed staff made of pure white jade from his bag, placing the weapon on the table.

Red gemstones were inlaid in the staff, and with a glance, it was obvious that the staff was no ordinary weapon.

"Wah! This is a Secret-Silver staff! Its Attributes are awesome!" Blue Bamboo was immediately mesmerized by the Morning Dew Staff. She then turned to Thoughtful Rain, saying, "Rain, we're heading over to Zero Wing anyway, so why don't we take them with us?"

"I don't know. Why do you want to meet Zero Wing's higher-ups?" Thoughtful Rain only swept a glance over the Morning Dew Staff before shifting her gaze back to the middle-aged man.

She was no fool.

Since they had offered a Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapon as a token of appreciation, then they were definitely plotting something. She would not be a proper friend if she abruptly contacted Ye Feng without knowing their intentions.

"Miss, please don't misunderstand. My name is Everlasting War. We seek the higher-ups of Zero Wing purely with the intention of conducting trade. This trade will only benefit, not harm, Zero Wing, so you can rest assured. If we really wanted to cause trouble for Zero Wing, we would have already done so. We wouldn't have to go through this much trouble," the middle-aged man explained.

"Alright, then. I'll contact him for you, but it will be up to him whether or not he meets with you," Thoughtful Rain nodded in agreement, feeling that Everlasting War's words sounded reasonable.

Following which, Thoughtful Rain called up her friends list and contacted Ye Feng.

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Chapter 484 - King

Currently, Shi Feng carefully scoured one of the dark, quiet tombs in Watch Cemetery's core region.

While he explored, Shi Feng had received news from Aqua Rose about Overwhelming Smile withdrawing from the competition over the Watch Cemetery and shifting its focus to several other Level 20 maps with fewer resources. The members of Overwhelming Smile had also begun to keep a low profile.

With the threat of Overwhelming Smile gone, Shi Feng decided to transverse deep into Watch Cemetery's core.

The tomb he currently explored was unique. It was a resting place for royalty. It was also known as a "King's Tomb."

Locating this particular tomb had not been easy. As it had been built to prevent grave robbers from plundering the valuables buried with the dead, this place had been carefully hidden; it had been built inside a cave under a steep cliff. After its construction, the original path used to travel to this place had been destroyed. After several hundred years, vines had covered the cliff, making it even more difficult to notice the cave.

In the past, a skilled Assassin had accidentally discovered this location. Afterward, that Assassin had led a powerful team to the King's Tomb and successfully plundered the treasure inside. After claiming the treasure, he sold the item for over 1,000 Gold, earning everyone's envy Even so, in the God's Domain of that time, the Assassin had still taken a loss when he sold the item.

Why had it been a loss?

Although the item was utterly worthless to an independent player, to Guilds, it was priceless.

Various large Guilds would willingly spend 2,000 or 3,000 Gold, much less 1,000.

The treasure the Assassin had found was a Guild Residence Promotion Order.

All Guild Residences started out as a 1-star Residence when established. If a Guild wished to upgrade it to a 2-star Residence, they needed to meet two requirements. First, a Guild needed a sufficient amount of Guild Popularity; the second thing they needed was a 2-star Guild Residence Promotion Order.

If a Guild Residence reached 2-star status, the Guild could establish certain facilities that were unavailable to a 1-star Residence. More importantly, a Guild Residence's Private Rooms would change.

Guilds could only establish 1-star Private Rooms in a 1-star Residence, whereas 2-star Private Rooms could be established in a 2-star Residence. By resting for 24 hours in a 1-star Private Room, players could store up to 20% of the Double EXP buff. In a 2-star Private Room, however, players could store up to 25% after 24 hours.

In addition, a Guild could establish a Smithy inside a 2-star Residence, allowing members to have their weapons and equipment repaired. Moreover, the repair fees as the Guild's smithy were 10% cheaper than elsewhere. Repair fees were always expensive. Although there was only a 10% difference, players could still save a significant amount of money.

Currently, Zero Wing's Popularity had exceeded 5,000 points; it had met that requirement for the upgrade. Hence, now was the perfect time for Shi Feng to collect the Promotion Order.

Danger awaited any player inside the King's Tomb as traps had been built throughout the crypt. Unfortunately, none of these traps proved to be useful against Shi Feng.

He destroyed every trap he encountered with a single slash.

"This should be it," Shi Feng muttered as he entered a majestic stone room, focusing on the tightly sealed white jade sarcophagus lined with gold that occupied the center of the room. Wetting his lips, he advanced towards the sarcophagus.

When Shi Feng was only 20 yards away, the sarcophagus suddenly opened. Black smoke slithered out of the sarcophagus. Soon, the black smoke coalesced into a youth in golden armor. The youth had a white cape draped over his shoulders and a golden crown adorning his head. More importantly, the youth carried the air of a king; anyone who basked in his aura would tremble and submit body and soul.

However, this youth's body was currently in a half-transparent, ethereal state. He was not a physical entity, but a ghost. To be precise, this youth was the ghost of a king.

"As expected of the king of a generation. Even in death, his still possesses such a powerful aura. If he were still alive, I'd have no hope of escaping with my life," Shi Feng muttered after observing this ghost king with Omniscient Eyes.

[King of Ghosts, Monroe Bell] (High Lord)

Level 30

HP 4,000,000/4,000,000

Being capable of receiving the title of King proved that Monroe Bell had been a Tier 3 class before he died. The pair of swords in Monroe's hands indicated that he had been a Tier 3 Sword King, the equivalent of a Great Lord, during his lifetime. However, after Monroe Bell died, he had weakened significantly. Now, he was only as strong as a High Lord. Even so, he would not be an easy challenge for Shi Feng.

Immediately, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, increasing his Strength by 100%, HP by 300%, and Defense by 300%.

Suddenly, Shi Feng's HP rose past 27,000. However, his HP could not compete with the King of Ghosts, which possessed 4,000,000 HP. Shi Feng then used the activatable skill of the Seven Luminaries Ring's Aura of Water, Life Bloom, recovering 20% of his HP every second for 40 seconds. During this period, it would be the equivalent of having a powerful healer healing him indefinitely.

"Graverobber, receive the Sword of Justice's retribution!"

Monroe Bell's pitch-black eyes locked onto Shi Feng. Taking a step forward, the King of Ghosts dashed towards Shi Feng as he sent a flurry of sword thrusts at the intruder with his King's Sword.

The King of Ghosts' sword carried with it a majestic aura. The aura alone was enough to scare an ordinary player, much less the flurry of thrusts. Monroe Bell's attack was like a tsunami; he gave Shi Feng no opportunity to evade the strikes.

Shi Feng immediately activated Purgatory Power, allowing his Attack Speed to soar. He then used Wind Blade and charged forward.

Facing the countless oncoming sword thrusts, Shi Feng chose to face brutality with grace, and rather than confronting the attack head-on, he deflected the strikes to the side. However, despite the extreme speed of his swords and the fact that he was already in the Flowing Water Realm, he could not keep up with the dozens of sword thrusts. As a result, he received multiple hits.

Shi Feng was not courageous enough to face Monroe Bell directly.

A High Lord far surpassed an ordinary Lord. Monroe Bell suppressed Shi Feng completely in terms of Strength and speed. Even if Shi Feng activated twofold berserk, the result would be the same. Furthermore, Monroe Bell was not an ordinary High Lord. The King of Ghosts had been a bona fide Sword King before he died. In terms of combat technique utilization, he was even stronger than ordinary experts. Hence, challenging the High Lord in a direct confrontation would only be detrimental to Shi Feng.

If Shi Feng had not reached the Flowing Water Realm, gaining insight into an opponent's actions, he would never have come here, only to die.

After all, Level 30 was a dividing line in God's Domain. Monroe Bell's Attack Power was also terrifying. Shi Feng had received close to -2,000 damage from a casual slash and more than -4,000 damage if the King of Ghosts struck him with a skill. If Shi Feng had not activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, increasing his Defense significantly, Monroe Bell's normal attack could have dealt over -4,000 damage, whereas a skill would deal over -10,000.

As Shi Feng received damage, Life Bloom displayed its impressive effects. After factoring in the passive effects of the Aura of Water, Life Bloom regenerated more than 8,000 HP every second; the amount of healing Shi Feng received surpassing the damage he received.

While Shi Feng and the King of Ghosts fought an intense battle against each other, a figure had stealthily appeared beside the sarcophagus and proceeded to open the treasure chest within.

This treasure chest did not have a level restriction, so anybody could open it. However, opening it required 20 seconds. During this period, the person opening the treasure chest must not receive any damage. Otherwise, they would have to start the opening process all over again.

Meanwhile, the person currently opening the treasure chest was none other than Shi Feng's doppelganger.

Although the doppelganger could not pick up any items, it could open the treasure chest.

In the past, the 50-man team the Assassin had led had similarly made various sacrifices to open the treasure chest before fleeing for their lives.

Although Shi Feng was alone, he still chose to give the King's Tomb a try. After all, not only did he possess the strength to resist a High Lord for a short time, but he also had his doppelganger. No one else would have a chance of completing the task by themselves.

The moment the doppelganger opened the treasure chest, Shi Feng instantly swapped positions with it, having his doppelganger delay Monroe Bell while he looted the contents of the treasure chest.

Monroe Bell was simply too powerful. Shi Feng's doppelganger barely lasted three seconds before it died.

However, during those three seconds, Shi Feng had emptied the treasure chest. Seeing Monroe Bell charge towards him, Shi Feng hurriedly switched the Aura of Water to the Aura of Space before activating Space Movement and leaving the King's Tomb.

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Chapter 485 - Number One Guild

Near one of the mass graves in Watch Cemetery's outer region…

A tear in space suddenly appeared in mid-air. In the next moment, Shi Feng emerged.

"I finally escaped."

Even after Shi Feng landed, he could still hear the King of Ghosts' angry roars.

However, the tear in space had already closed. Even if Monroe Bell recovered his strength as a Tier 3 Sword King, he could not reach Shi Feng now.

Now that I have the Promotion Order, it should be about time to make a trip back to White River City. Shi Feng's lips curled up slightly when he saw the glittering silver token in his bag.

Originally, he had only intended to retrieve this Guild Residence Promotion Order after he reached Level 30. However, he had not expected to set foot in the Flowing Water Realm. Even though he was only Level 26, he was already capable of delaying Monroe Bell.

Other than the Promotion Order, Shi Feng had obtained three items from the King's Tomb. Of these three items, one was a fiery-red two-handed staff, one was an azure two-handed greatsword, and the last was a silver stone tablet.

Appraising these items with Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng discovered that both the two-handed staff and two-handed sword were actually Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapons. However, the silver tablet surprised Shi Feng far more than the two weapons.

Shi Feng was very familiar with this silver tablet.

[Secret Sword Technique]

The pattern engraved on this tablet is too vague and incomplete, and no information can be deciphered. However, some kind of divine power hides within this pattern. If one gathers all of the stone tablets, this vague and incomplete pattern can be restored.

Current tablet count (1/6)

The tablet for the Secret Sword Technique... Shi Feng had accidentally obtained a part of it while he had completed the Blade Saint's Legacy Trial. Back then, he had suspected that the silver tablet was something extraordinary, so he had stored it in his Warehouse.

He never expected to obtain another piece so soon.

"Just what is this Secret Sword Technique?" Despite examining the tablet, Shi Feng could not find any differences between the tablet he had just obtained and the one he had found in the Origin Sword Domain. The two pieces looked identical. Shi Feng even suspected that the piece he stored inside his Warehouse had somehow grown legs and run to the King's Tomb by itself. "Forget it. Let's head back for now."

Following which, Shi Feng retrieved a Return Scroll. However, just as he was about to start channeling…

Di… Di… Di…

Suddenly, Shi Feng's communicator rang. Thoughtful Rain, a girl he had only met once before, was contacting him.

"Is she looking to buy equipment?" Shi Feng looked at Thoughtful Rain's name, feeling slightly surprised.

Previously, when he had met Thoughtful Rain at White River City's Library, the latter had expressed her interest in purchasing weapons and equipment from him.

Shi Feng felt a sense of familiarity from Thoughtful Rain. Now that his brain activity had increased, he could recall even the smallest fragment of the past. Yet, even after his memories had refreshed, he still could not recall the girl. He only felt that she was familiar, but he did not know why.

"Miss Rain, since you have contacted me, are you interested in purchasing some equipment?" Shi Feng asked pleasantly, smiling.

"I'd like to, but today, I'm contacting you because I have found a big business opportunity for you," Thoughtful Rain said, smiling sweetly. "A group of people just happen to overhear me when I spoke about our acquaintance. In the end, these people asked me to contact you for them. They hope to meet with you now. Do you have the time?"

"Who are these people?" Shi Feng asked.

"He says his name is Everlasting War. He's a Level 27 Guardian Knight, and his companions are all Level 26. From the looks of it, they seem quite powerful, and they have excellent equipment. I'm assuming that someone with significant financial power backs them," Thoughtful Rain said.

"Alright, then let's meet at Zero Wing's Guild Residence," Shi Feng nodded before disconnecting the call. He then activated the Return Scroll.

Shi Feng had heard of Everlasting War before. That person had been a famous character in God's Domain, having the title of Everlasting War God. He was also an apex expert, and his fame was not the slightest bit inferior to Summer Sunshine's. In a direct confrontation, even Summer Sunshine would not be a match for Everlasting War.

Twenty seconds later, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light as he teleported back to White River City.

The sky gradually darkened. A large number of players had returned to the city, and people crowded the streets. Passing through the lively streets, Shi Feng soon arrived at the Bank. He then stored all of the top-tier and advanced equipment he had obtained in the Guild's Warehouse.

He also placed the Level 30 Dark-Gold staff, the Roaring Blaze Staff, and the Level 30 Dark-Gold greatsword, the Azure Heart, on full display in the Guild's Warehouse.

For a time, the members of Zero Wing went into an uproar.

The war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile had significantly depleted the stock of equipment inside the Guild's Warehouse. Now, however, over 1,000 pieces of equipment had suddenly appeared. Aside from the large amount of advanced equipment, the stock of top-tier equipment had already exceeded 100 pieces.

Beyond that, there were actually Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapons inside the Guild's Warehouse!

Currently, the players of various large Guilds still struggled to obtain Level 25 equipment. Bronze Equipment was a challenge to obtain, much less Mysterious-Iron. On the other hand, their Guild had Level 30 weapons; they were Dark-Gold Weapons to boot! They were definitely the best weapons in all of God's Domain right now.

However, shortly after everyone in the Guild started spreading the news, Shi Feng had arrived at the Adventurer's Association. He handed over the Guild Residence Promotion Order, officially promoting Zero Wing's Residence to a 2-star Residence.

Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to own a 2-star Guild Residence! Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity, 500 Gold Coins to the Guild, and one Guild Smithy Promotion Order.

White River City System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in White River City to own a 2-star Guild Residence! Rewarding 10,000 Guild Popularity and 200 Gold Coins.

The system announcement repeated three times, and every player in White River City heard it loud and clear.

"Damn! What is this crap? Our Guild hasn't even obtained a Guild Residence, yet, already, Zero Wing has a 2-star Guild Residence?"

"What's this 2-star Residence thingy?"

"Lots and lots of money!"

Suddenly, Star-Moon Kingdom's official forums exploded with activity. Everyone discussed Zero Wing, and the various large Guilds had also begun asking around about the benefits of a 2-star Guild Residence. Also, what was a Guild Smithy Promotion Order?

However, the activity on Star-Moon Kingdom's forums paled in comparison to White River City's.

"Zero Wing is simply too amazing! Overwhelming Smile has only managed to establish its Guild Residence after much difficulty, yet, Zero Wing has already obtained a 2-star Guild Residence!"

"I've just received news that Zero Wing's Warehouse has received an influx of top-tier equipment! There are even Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapons in there! Now, Zero Wing's Guild Residence has been promoted to 2-stars! Zero Wing is simply overpowered!"

"It seems that Zero Wing is still the true overlord of White River City. Although Overwhelming Smile is rich, it still cannot compete with Zero Wing. Now, even Overwhelming Smile's financial power in the game is no match for Zero Wing. We will have a better future if we join Zero Wing."

"That's not all. I've just made some inquiries and found out that Guilds can establish a Guild Smithy inside a 2-star Guild Residence. The repair fees there are 10% cheaper than elsewhere. Meanwhile, that Guild Smithy Promotion Order can be used to promote a 1-star Guild Smithy into a 2-star Guild Smithy. The repair fees of a 2-star are even lower, 15% cheaper. You can save so much on repair fees alone. Other Guilds have no chance against Zero Wing."

"All hail Zero Wing! I want to join Zero Wing!"

For a time, Zero Wing became the number one Guild in the hearts of White River City's players of White River City. Suddenly, White River City went into a frenzy as players tried to join Zero Wing.

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Chapter 486 - Generous Benefits

Inside the Adventurer's Association, Shi Feng was currently applying to establish a Forge inside Zero Wing's Guild Residence.

"Sir, this is the model list for Smithies. In addition, there is also a list of Blacksmiths; you may choose any of the names listed there," the NPC at the counter smiled as she passed two lists to Shi Feng.

In God's Domain, buildings were not limited to a single model; there was a large variety of models available for players to choose from. Players could even design their own buildings, though designing one from scratch required a lot of time. If not for highlighting the uniqueness of one's own Guild, most players would choose one of the hundreds of models that were already available.

Promotion of buildings only required a Promotion Order; there was no need to spend any money. However, constructing a new building or reconstruction required a large sum. Depending on the size of the building, the materials required, and the building's function, the price of construction would vary.

A Guild's Smithy was extremely important. Hence, Shi Feng needed to decide carefully.

Smithies were differentiated by three grades: Ordinary, Refined, and Luxury. Though the price of each Smithy was higher than the last, each grade was also more efficient.

Ordinary Smithies cost between 100 Gold and 200 Gold. Aside from repairing weapons and equipment, Guild members could also sell their unwanted items to the NPCs at the Smithy.

Refined Smithies cost between 300 Gold to 500 Gold. Aside from having all the functions of an Ordinary Smithy, Refined Smithies had a more refined and luxurious appearance. Refined Smithies also had a Weapon Maintenance function. If a player left their weapon in the Smithy's care, its Durability consumption rate would drastically reduce for a period. At the same time, one could also hire Intermediate Blacksmiths if they had a Refined Smithy.

One should not underestimate the function of Blacksmiths. These Blacksmith NPCs all possess different capabilities. For example, some Blacksmiths might take less time than others to repair weapons and equipment; other Blacksmiths' might produce stronger maintenance effects. Hence, hiring a powerful Blacksmith was of utmost importance.

Lastly, Luxury Smithies cost between 800 Gold and 1,000 Gold. Aside from having all the functions of a Refined Smithy, Luxury Smithies had a Rest Area that allowed Guild members to accumulate the Double EXP buff. However, 48 hours of rest was required to accumulate 20% of the buff. In addition, Luxury Smithies contained Forging Rooms. Moreover, these were Advanced Forging Rooms, which were far more effective than those at the Starstreak Trading Firm. One could also hire Advanced Blacksmiths.

"For the Guild's future development, we'll get the most benefits from the best option. Let's choose this 1,000 Gold model, then." After looking through the model list, Shi Feng chose one of the largest Luxury Smithies available that allowed him to invite up to 10 Blacksmiths. After deciding on the model, he began to choose his Blacksmiths.

Shi Feng had received 700 Gold from the system reward alone. In addition, he also received over 300 Gold for each Dragonscale Set Equipment that sold at the Blackwing Auction House. At this point, he had already sold more than 20 sets. Currently, Shi Feng had more than 8,000 Gold on his person, making him wealthier than any single Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, Gold would continue to fill his bags as more sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment sold. So, he did not mind constructing the best Smithy available.

Following which, Shi Feng chose to hire ten Advanced Blacksmiths. These ten NPCs were the most skilled Blacksmiths one could currently find. Their monthly wages ranged between 3 and 5 Gold.

After Shi Feng finished dealing with the Smithy, he searched for a secluded location to adjust his appearance back to Ye Feng. He then hailed a horse carriage and returned to Zero Wing's Guild Residence.

When Shi Feng arrived at the Residence, he discovered a sea of players crowding the entrance, creating an extraordinarily lively atmosphere.

There were currently two Berserkers in Dragonscale Set Equipment standing guard and maintaining order at the Residence's entrance. The Fine-Gold rank glow from the sets thoroughly awed the players who had come to sign up for the Guild.

"Is that a Fine-Gold Set Equipment?"

"I've seen it on the forums before. I think it's the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Currently, a single set costs more than 300 Gold. Zero Wing is just too rich; they actually bought two sets!"

"Not just two. I hear that Zero Wing's Warehouse also has one set available for trade."

As the crowd discussed Zero Wing's wealth with astonishment, the newly-constructed Smithy also attracted their attention.

The Smithy's construction was not as tedious as the Guild Hall's. The Smithy required much less time as it had fewer functions. As long as the Guild paid the construction fees, the Smithy could be completed in less than ten minutes.

Zero Wing's Smithy was three stories tall. The Smithy's Luxury-grade appearance dazzled the onlookers, and many among the crowd even believed that they had arrived at the capital city's Advanced Smithy. The Smithy was large enough to accommodate several hundred players, and it was even larger than an Ordinary Guild Hall.

"This is my first time seeing such an extravagant Smithy!"

"Zero Wing isn't giving Overwhelming Smile any chance of survival! Zero Wing's Smithy is almost the same size as Overwhelming Smile's Guild Hall! It's so much fancier than their Guild Hall, too!"

"From what I heard from Zero Wing's Guild members, this Smithy even has a Weapon Maintenance function that reduces the Durability consumption rate of a weapon for a certain amount of time. With this, who knows how much money we can save when grinding monsters and raiding Dungeons?"

"For this Guild Smithy alone, I'll do anything it takes to join Zero Wing."

The independent players who had come to participate in Zero Wing's test watched the Guild's transformation with reverence, their desire to join Zero Wing intensifying.

Morale among Zero Wing's members soared when they saw the growing flood of players coming to join their Guild. Now, whenever they strode down the streets with their six-winged Emblem revealed, they would receive countless envious stares.

Standing a short distance away from the Residence's entrance, Thoughtful Rain quickly noticed Shi Feng's arrival. Waving her hand, she shouted, "Ye Feng, we're over here."

Shi Feng promptly walked over.

Standing beside Thoughtful Rain was the expert who Shi Feng was extremely familiar with, Everlasting War.

However, though Shi Feng knew about Everlasting War in the past, the reverse was not true. The five companions by his side were also outstanding experts. In the past, Shi Feng had lived in an entirely different world from them. He had failed to reach even the upper ranks of God's Domain, much less the pyramid's peak.

"Ye Feng, let me introduce you. This man is Everlasting War; he wishes to discuss business with you," Thoughtful Rain slowly introduced Everlasting War's party to Shi Feng.

At this moment, Everlasting War was shocked after evaluating Shi Feng.

The pressure he felt from Shi Feng was intense!

He had not expected Zero Wing to possess another unfathomable expert besides Black Flame.

"Hello, I am Ye Feng," Shi Feng said, smiling faintly at Everlasting War. "This place isn't suitable for a discussion. Why don't we head inside to chat?"

Saying so, Shi Feng led the group into the Rest Area in the Guild Residence's Smithy.

The Rest Area was very elegant. Even having beverages available for Guild members, this Rest Area was no less impressive than the city's restaurants.

"Wah! Is this really a Smithy?" Trailing after Thoughtful Rain, Blue Bamboo's eyes shone brightly as she entered Zero Wing's Residence. It was as if she had just stepped into an entirely different realm. Secretly, she said, "Rain, look! That's the Weapon Maintenance Room! There are such high-quality weapons inside! Even the Blacksmiths are the rarely-seen Advanced Blacksmiths! Rain, make sure you say something to Ye Feng later! With such awesome Guild benefits, it would be a huge shame if we didn't join!"

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Chapter 487 - Dark Arena

Thoughtful Rain glanced at Blue Bamboo's pleading look before examining her elegant surroundings. Indeed, no other Guild could compete with Zero Wing, so it would not be a bad choice for them to join this Guild.

"Hah… I only met Ye Feng by chance; our relationship isn't what you imagine. I can only try my best; don't expect too much," Thoughtful Rain replied softly through their private chat.

"Mhm." Blue Bamboo nodded vigorously.

Compared to Blue Bamboo's fascination, Everlasting War and his companions only considered Zero Wing's benefits and environment decent. However, compared to a small, unknown Guild, the sudden emergence of a great expert like Shi Feng was what truly shocked them.

Carefully observing his surroundings, Everlasting War suddenly realized that Zero Wing's members were actually quite powerful. They were much stronger than the members of other Guilds.

As the rumors had said, Zero Wing was the true overlord of White River City.

A moment later, Shi Feng had led the group to one of the small rooms located in the Rest Area. The environment inside the room was excellent, and the pleasant aroma filling the air soothed everyone's tense spirits.

Shi Feng had to admit that the Luxury version of the Smithy was worthy of the price. He had not spent 1,000 Gold for nothing.

"What would you like to talk about?" Shi Feng asked casually as he looked at Everlasting War.

"Originally, I had hoped to ask Brother Ye Feng to introduce us to your Guild Leader, Black Flame. However, seeing as Brother Ye Feng possesses such strength and is one of the upper-managers of Zero Wing, discussing this matter with you should have the same effect," Everlasting War said leisurely. "Truth be told, we are not players from Star-Moon Kingdom. Rather, we are from the Beast Empire, the eighth strongest country in God's Domain. As you can see, although we are independent players, our weapons and equipment are not the possessions of ordinary independent players."

"Indeed. The majority of your party's equipment consists of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. The Level 25 shield and weapon in your hands are even Dark-Gold rank, something extremely rare throughout God's Domain. There are not many Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom capable of obtaining those items." Shi Feng nodded in agreement. He could not help but admit that there was a massive difference regarding resources between the empires and kingdoms of God's Domain, not to mention the difference between Star-Moon Kingdom and the current eighth strongest country in God's Domain, the Beast Empire.

"Their weapons and equipment are all Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold rank? How is this possible?" Blue Bamboo looked at Everlasting War's party, her eyes widening with surprise.

Blue Bamboo knew that Everlasting War was very powerful. She could tell that just by looking at his Level.

All this time, however, Blue Bamboo had thought that the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold rank glow effect surrounding Everlasting War's body originated from Level 20 weapons and equipment. She never considered that he had Level 25 weapons and equipment.

Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment was a luxury to any Guild, much less Dark-Gold rank.

By the side, Thoughtful Rain was also shocked. Only now did she understand why this party did not mind giving them a Level 25 Secret-Silver staff. It turned out that these players were all using Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked weapons and equipment.

"Is this the gap between a kingdom and empire?" Thoughtful Rain was greatly confused.

Upon seeing the shock on Blue Bamboo's and Thoughtful Rain's faces, Everlasting War's companions felt proud even though they had long since gotten used to the shocked expressions of White River City's players.

"You're mistaken. Although there is indeed a gap, it is not as large as you imagine. Moreover, they are no ordinary independent players. Someone has sponsored them," Shi Feng explained.

In God's Domain, both players in kingdoms and in empires face similar difficulties when leveling up. However, since empires mirrored the major cities in the real world, claiming the players who lived in said cities upon character creation, empires had far more players within their borders. As a result of the astounding player population of an empire, the competition in an empire was far more intense than in a kingdom. The intense competition, in turn, gave birth to greater motivation, which resulted in empire players improving their techniques faster. Naturally, the levels and equipment of empire players were slightly better than kingdom players.

As for Everlasting War's party, even in empires, they were far above ordinary players. So, how could the ordinary players of White River City possibly hope to compete with them?

Shi Feng's declaration stunned Everlasting War's companions, shock coloring their expressions as they stared at Shi Feng's calm smile. Shi Feng's words were not incorrect in the least. It was as if he had seen through every detail about them.

"Brother Ye Feng is as amazing as expected. Someone has indeed sponsored our weapons and equipment. This is also why we have come in search of Guild Leader Black Flame." Everlasting War did not deny Shi Feng's statement. Slowly, he said, "You might not know this, but a few days after God's Domain launched, the various major corporations around the world began to invest in the game. In order to prevent an overly intense struggle, these corporations began hidden competitions with each other.

"These competitions take place in the Dark Arena. The various major corporations send their experts to face each other, taking the chance to probe the opponent's strength. The victors earn large amounts of Gold, Credits, rare materials, and other benefits that you cannot even begin to imagine.

"I have come here today with the purpose of inviting Guild Leader Black Flame to join our battle team.

"If our battle team wins, it will benefit a Guild such as Zero Wing that lacks funding. Not only can you obtain a large sum of Credits, but you can also obtain a large sum of Gold Coins and top-tier equipment that you cannot even imagine exists.

"Now, however, I want to invite Brother Ye Feng to join us, instead. What are your thoughts on this?"

Although Everlasting War's voice was soft, it was sufficient to shock everyone present.

This was a competition between the top 500 corporations around the world. This competition was several times more intense than the competition between first-rate Guilds. The experts that were invited to participate were on an entirely different level.

"I understand. I can agree to your invite, but I have a request," Shi Feng calmly said.

He had long since known about this Dark Arena. It was a gathering place for experts. However, the experts there were far more powerful than the experts one usually saw in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the financial power these people possess was several times greater than a first-rate Guild's.

If one could obtain consecutive victories in the Dark Arena, it was even possible to obtain more Credits than what Underworld possessed.

Take Everlasting War for example. Originally, he had not been a professional virtual reality gamer. Before God's Domain came into existence, he had been a top-class professional bodyguard tasked with protecting world-class characters. He had undergone both specialized mental and physical training. Ordinary people could never hope to be a match for him.

Only, the price the Dark Arena had offered was very high. It was enough to tempt even Everlasting War to play God's Domain.

In the end, Everlasting War had become the Everlasting War God of the Dark Arena, one of the apex existences of God's Domain.

In the past, Shi Feng had been fortunate enough to witness some of the matches in the Dark Arena. However, he had never even come near to qualifying to participate.

As this was a competition between major corporations, only those who were invited were allowed to participate in the Dark Arena.

"Request?" Everlasting War could not help his surprise. He had not expected Shi Feng to maintain his composure. However, he decided to ask, "May I know what this request is?"

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Chapter 488 - Young Genius

Although Everlasting War had already spoken, his companions had frowned in response to Shi Feng's reply.

They had never expected that Shi Feng would try to negotiate.

Countless people yearn to join a competition of such level. Yet, even many of the experts on the God's Domain Experts List had been rejected. They were already stooping pretty low by willingly inviting an unknown expert such as Shi Feng.

Even world-renowned players fought to join the Dark Arena. Participating in the Dark Arena was already a supreme honor in and of itself. Not only could one win endless riches, but they could also receive the admiration of millions. It was even possible for one to become an international celebrity with a single battle.

Not even the ruler of Star-Moon Kingdom was a match for the Dark Arena's participants in terms of status. After all, that was a stage at the international level.

Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo's little jaws hung in shock, their eyes filled with disbelief as they watched Shi Feng.

The competition between Guilds in God's Domain was intense. Almost every Guild was supported by many corporations. However, not even the backer of a first-rate Guild could compare with international corporations; it was merely an ant in the eyes of such giants.

Although the virtual gaming industry's total value rose with each passing year, it was still significantly inferior to other top industries. If a Guild could obtain the financial support from such a corporation, they could instantly become a Super Guild, surpassing any first-rate Guild in God's Domain.

With such a good opportunity at hand, Shi Feng actually had a condition…

However, Shi Feng did not care about what others thought about him. Taking a sip of tea, he returned his gaze to Everlasting War, saying slowly, "My request is very simple. I hear that each battle team participating in the Dark Arena consists of ten members. Seeing as you only have six members at the moment, I wish to invite three of my people to join. That way, we will have a full battle team. What do you think?"

"You must be insane! Just inviting you is already Leader's limit, yet, you still want to invite three others to join the team? Who do you think started this battle team?" a youth of in black armor shot up from his seat in anger.

The other members of Everlasting War's party were also clearly angry. Everlasting War, on the other hand, watched Shi Feng seriously.

The member limit for each battle team had only been recently confirmed, so only an extremely small group of people know this information. How did Shi Feng, an upper-manager of a small Guild, find out about this?

Suddenly, Everlasting War realized that the young man before him was shrouded in mystery.

"The only goal of the corporation sponsoring your battle team is to secure victory. Naturally, the stronger the chosen team members are, the better. I can guarantee that the players I want to include are all very formidable," Shi Feng explained.

Although Shi Feng had not personally participated in the Dark Arena, he had a certain understanding of it. After all, it was the future battlefield for the apex experts of God's Domain. He had learned plenty of techniques from the matches held in the Dark Arena. For example, he had learned Void Steps from watching the Dark Arena's battle videos.

If he could allow the experts of the Guild to participate in the Dark Arena and experience those battles, it will enable them to improve their techniques further.

"Brother Ye Feng, I am afraid that I am really powerless on this matter. There are a limited number of slots for the battle team. Although I am the team leader, I only have one invitation for the test, not the member slot for the battle team. Originally, I intended to test Guild Leader Black Flame's qualifications. However, even if he is qualified, I believe that, as the leader of a Guild, he should be very busy with its management. Even if he has the strength, he should not have that much time to spare. That's why I wanted to invite Brother Ye Feng," Everlasting War said, smiling bitterly.

The competition between these international corporations was extremely intense. Every position on the battle team was unimaginably precious, so how could they give them away to Shi Feng so easily?

"I expected as much. Alright, I accept your invitation. When will the test be held?" Shi Feng nodded. He knew how valuable the slot was. The invitation alone had already greatly surprised him. However, he still wanted to know how much power Everlasting War, this battle team's leader, wielded. If he could obtain another slot, he would have truly profited.

"The unified testing time has yet to be determined. Let's add each other as friends for now. Once those in charge have decided on a time, I will contact Brother Ye Feng immediately." Everlasting War promptly sent a friend request to the Swordsman before him.

After Shi Feng added Everlasting War as a friend, they chatted about matters relating to the Dark Arena. Seated by the side, Blue Bamboo was utterly stunned by the two's conversation. She had never imagined that Zero Wing was so amazing. It had actually received an invitation from an international corporation. If the Guild received support from such a corporation, its potential would be unimaginable.

Blue Bamboo's decision to join Zero Wing solidified.

After both sides chatted for another half an hour or so, Everlasting War's group departed.

"Big Brother Everlasting, there are countless experts in God's Domain. Aside from Black Flame, how could you invite Ye Feng so casually? What if he fails to pass the test when the time comes? It won't look good to our superiors. Why don't we head over to Star-Moon City and take a look? There might be some other amazing experts there," a beautiful female Elementalist wearing crimson robes suggested.

"I know. Our superiors gave me an invitation slot precisely because they wish to test my judgment and to see whether or not I am suited to lead this team. They will definitely replace me if I fail. Knowing this, I won't act recklessly. However, this Ye Feng is indeed amazing. Based on his appearance, I'm guessing he is only around 20 years old. Yet, when he moves, not a single action reveals a weak point. There were not even any excess actions in his movement. I have already been in the Refinement Realm for close to 27 years already, so I can tell that he has clearly already set foot into the Refinement Realm. Moreover, his progression into the realm is also not shallow. This Ye Feng is simply unbelievable. He is truly a young genius.

"As for Black Flame, I have already watched his battle videos. Although Black Flame is indeed amazing, his performance shows that he has only taken half a step into the Refinement Realm. He only displays such overwhelming might due to his equipment and Skills.

"With the power backing me, I can easily obtain things such as top-tier equipment. Otherwise, I would not have chosen Ye Feng. Refinement Realm experts are as rare as phoenix feathers in God's Domain. We are already very lucky to have encountered one. Even if we went to Star-Moon City, it is unlikely that we will find another such expert. Alright, let's return to leveling up for now."

His teammates could not help their surprise after listening to Everlasting War's reasoning. They had not realized that Everlasting War had such a high opinion of Shi Feng. However, they also had to admit the scarcity of Refinement Realm experts. Even the five of them had only taken half a step into that realm.

After Everlasting War and his party left, Shi Feng turned to Thoughtful Rain, thanking her, "I am truly grateful for Miss Rain's help today. If not for your introduction, I would not have such a fortuitous opportunity. If Miss Rain wishes to purchase equipment for yourself, I can offer a 50% discount."

"Really?" Thoughtful Rain knew how expensive top-tier equipment was on the market. Moreover, top-tier equipment was not necessarily available. If she could purchase top-tier equipment at a 50% discount, she could save tens of thousands of Credits with each item. She could save over a million Credits if she bought an entire set. In addition, the equipment available on the market was nowhere near as good as Zero Wing's equipment.

"Of course," Shi Feng laughed.

"Great! I want to buy a set, then. Also, my best friend here, Blue Bamboo, has always been very interested in joining Zero Wing. However, as she has only recently started playing virtual reality games, she's not very strong. Can you perhaps allow her to join?" Thoughtful Rain asked meekly.

"I'm afraid I really cannot help you with that. Not even an upper-manager like myself is allowed to bend the Guild's rules," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "However, I can allow your friend to join and train herself with our Guild's elite parties, having her learn the combat techniques of God's Domain. Once she's sufficiently strong, she can then become an official member of Zero Wing. What do you think?"

"I'll do it! I'll go!" Originally, Blue Bamboo had been extremely disappointed when she heard Shi Feng's initial refusal. However, being able to improve herself with the elites of Zero Wing was not a bad alternative.

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Chapter 489 - Shop

Upon hearing Blue Bamboo's agreement, Shi Feng immediately contacted Aqua Rose and had her organize an elite Dungeon raiding party.

A Dungeon was a very good place for players to improve their techniques.

Independent parties normally only raided Normal Mode Dungeons. Even ordinary Guild parties would only occasionally raid Hard Mode Dungeons. As for elite parties, they raided Hard Mode Dungeons slightly more often. Zero Wing's elite parties, however, were different. When they raided Dungeons, Hard Mode was the lowest difficulty they would choose, though they would often challenge Hell Mode.

To raid a Hard Mode Dungeon, players only needed to meet the minimum requirement for equipment; the requirement for techniques was not very high. However, it was a different story for Hell Mode. Hell Mode had a very high technique requirement. Even if players' equipment was good enough to overwhelm the monsters that waited inside the Dungeon, that did not guarantee that they could clear it. Their techniques needed to reach a certain standard before they could raid the Dungeon successfully, so it was a very good place to train one's techniques.

Zero Wing also had a requirement set for its elite members. Every week, elite members needed to raid Hell Mode Dungeons a certain number of times. Although this was a stringent quota, members who fulfilled it would earn plenty of Guild Points as compensation for the deaths they suffered inside the Hell Mode Dungeon. This was also why Zero Wing's elite members were so much more powerful than the elite members of other Guilds.

As long as Blue Bamboo trained diligently and polished herself in Hell Mode Dungeons for a time, she should not have any issues passing Zero Wing's evaluation.

Following which, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo each purchased a set consisting of Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment for Elementalists and Clerics, spending over a million Credits in total.

Despite such a large expenditure, however, both girls were extremely satisfied with their purchases. They even felt that they had profited significantly.

They knew very well that, should they purchase Level 25 top-tier equipment from the virtual trade center, they would have to spend over two million Credits at the very minimum. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the equipment would be available. After all, every Guild was in dire need of top-tier equipment. Naturally, they would not sell such equipment easily.

After Shi Feng finished dealing with these matters, he immediately departed from the Residence and headed towards the Starstreak Trading Firm.

"Rain, you're the best! I can't believe you actually know someone like Big Brother Ye Feng! Previously, one of my classmates boasted in front of me about how her boyfriend wore several pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. If she finds out that I now have several pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, she will definitely turn green with envy!" Blue Bamboo laughed as she fiddled with the Fine-Gold Equipment in her hands. "Honestly though, Big Brother Ye Feng really treats you nicely. On the way here, I've researched the forums and found out plenty about Zero Wing's elite members. These elite members normally raid Hell Mode Dungeons, and they never offer to carry anyone, not even their own ordinary members.

"I've always wondered what it feels like to clear a Hell Mode Dungeon. Now that Big Brother Ye Feng has arranged for us to accompany Zero Wing's elite parties to improve our strengths, it won't be long before we become experts, too.

"Say, seeing as how Big Brother Ye Feng is such a young and handsome man, do you think he has a girlfriend? If he doesn't… Hehe… Rain, this could be a good opportunity for you. Even an international corporation is trying to recruit him to their battle team. Once he becomes famous, who knows how many people will be gunning for him. Your chances with him will decrease significantly if you wait."

"You little girl!" Thoughtful Rain blushed slightly. Snapping, she said, "I'm going to ignore you now!"

Seeing that Thoughtful Rain had turned around and was about to leave, Blue Bamboo hurriedly pulled her friend back, panicking, "Nooo!"

White River City, Starstreak Trading Firm.

"Smile, how many Strengthened Armor Kits have you guys produced?" Shi Feng asked.

"Guild Leader, the three of us have forged over 10,000 pieces. Are we going to put them up for sale now?" Melancholic Smile asked.

"Mhm. Bring all of the Strengthened Armor Kits and follow me. Right, also bring the Gold we've earned so far," Shi Feng said.

Although the Strengthened Armor Kits were inferior to the Mana Armor Kits, with three people producing them, Shi Feng did not have to forge the Armor Kits himself. Naturally, the stock they had created was astounding.

With the burden of 30,000 Gold on his shoulders, Shi Feng felt that it would be best if he dealt with the problem as soon as possible. After all, there was not much time remaining. The looming penalty for failing the Epic Quest was also quite stressful. Moreover, Horizon Alliance had already nurtured quite a number of Lifestyle players, forgers in particular. They had also recruited close to half the Advanced Forging Apprentices from White River City's seven neighboring cities. The Horizon Alliance even employed Basic Forgers, which no other city possessed.

Once Shi Feng accumulated the 30,000 Gold, he would no longer have a connection to the Starstreak Trading Firm. Hence, Shi Feng had been planning and accumulating his wealth, preparing to open his own market.

And now was the perfect time to do so. Fortunately, he had accumulated a sufficient number of Gold Coins. It was time to display his strength.

"Guild Leader, I have everything with me. Aside from Strengthening Scrolls, we also have the 13,000-plus Gold that we've accumulated," Melancholic Smile said as she placed the money and the items on the table. This was the first time she had ever seen so much money.

There were more than 13,000 Gold Coins stacked on the table. This was the accumulation of all the money Starstreak Trading Firm had earned from the eight cities it occupied, including White River City.

There was not a single Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom that could compete with the Horizon Alliance's wealth; a Guild would be quite well off with only one-tenth of the Alliance's fortune.

If converted to Credits, 13,000 Gold was worth hundreds of millions.

One had to admit that God's Domain's money-making potential was formidable. Moreover, the game had only launched less than a month ago…

However, no fool would exchange so much Gold for Credits, yet Melancholic Smile had no idea what Shi Feng intended to do with so much Gold.

After giving the items on the table a casual glance, Shi Feng quickly stored them in his bag.

"Follow me," Shi Feng said as he exited the forging room.

Melancholic Smile promptly followed.

After leaving the Starstreak Trading Firm, Shi Feng led Melancholic Smile to White River City's City Hall.

"Lord Viscount, how may I be of service today?" a female manager asked politely, smiling when she noticed Shi Feng enter the building.

"I wish to purchase some Land," Shi Feng said.

"Please follow me." Saying so, the female manager led Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile to a VIP meeting room.

After a short wait, a tall, middle-aged man entered the room.

"Lord Viscount, I have prepared a list of all available Commercial Land. My lord may choose any plot of land on this list, and because of your esteemed status, you will receive a 10% discount on all land."

"Okay."

Shi Feng only glanced through the pages, not bothering to read them in detail. He then said, "I want these two plots next to the Bank and the Auction House."

If one pointed out the most valuable plots of Land in White River City, the first would be the plot directly beside the Auction House, the second was next to the Bank, the third was near the two aforementioned establishments, and the fourth was next to the Virtual Trade Center and the Adventurer's Association. This held true for every city in God's Domain.

In the past, these plots of Land had been highly sought after. Renting one of these plots for just a month could be astronomically expensive. Moreover, as God's Domain developed, the money one could earn would grow.

Naturally, it also cost a significant sum to purchase these plots of Land. Moreover, one must also possess certain status if they wanted to purchase Land; money alone was not enough. As a Viscount, Shi Feng could only purchase a limited number of plots. Thus, he chose only one plot per location to begin his Shop's operation.

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Chapter 490 - Candlelight Trading Firm

Without hesitation, Shi Feng requested the two most popular plots of Land in White River City. When Melancholic Smile saw the prices, her little mouth fell wide open.

These prices were outrageous!

An ordinary plot of Land in White River City cost over 1,000 Gold. If the Land were in the densely populated central district, it would cost more than 3,000 Gold.

As for the two plots Shi Feng had set his sight on, each cost over 8,000 Gold. If they converted 8,000 Gold to Credits, they could establish a relatively large company in the city in reality…

However, Shi Feng did not consider his choices to be expensive. In the future, these two plots would become extremely valuable. In the past, he could not have obtained them even if he wanted to.

Players frequented both the Auction House and the Bank. Hence, the traffic was guaranteed. If not for his need for money right now, Shi Feng would have preferred to purchase several more plots of Land. By the time White River City became the number one city in Star-Moon Kingdom, the value of the city's Land would soar by more than a hundredfold.

"Lord Viscount, for the two plots of Commercial Land you have chosen, one costs 9,200 Gold, while the other costs 8,800 Gold, coming to a total of 18,000 Gold. After including the 10% discount, your total is 16,200 Gold," the male manager said with great excitement. "In addition, after purchasing these two plots of land, there will be a 15% property tax each month. If taxes aren't paid for in three months, these plots will be locked. If the taxes aren't paid for in half a year, the city will reclaim the Land."

"This is a scam!" Melancholic Smile nearly shouted when she heard the male manager's explanation, flushing with anger.

They had already spent so much money to purchase these two areas, yet, they were still required to pay a 15% property tax every month. In total, they were required to pay 2,700 Gold in property taxes for the two plots of Land. Not even first-rate Guilds had that much Gold. Most importantly, they had to pay this tax every month!

"Here is 16,200 Gold." Shi Feng handed over the money without hesitation.

Shi Feng was very familiar with God's Domain's rules, so he had expected this.

Moreover, the Main God System had implemented this property tax with the purpose of avoiding someone powerful from monopolizing a city's Land.

Although the property tax seemed absurdly expensive, Gold Coins would become easier to earn as players leveled, resulting in their depreciation. Gold Coins would not remain as valuable as they were now. Hence, paying 2,700 Gold each month was no big deal.

A short moment later, the manager passed the Deed for the two plots of Land to Shi Feng. With this, Shi Feng could now establish Shops on these two tracts anytime he wanted to. Moreover, these two areas were relatively large; they were in no way inferior to the Starstreak Trading Firm.

At the end of the day, the Starstreak Trading Firm did not belong to Shi Feng. Even if he managed it well, the Firm still belonged to NPCs. However, if he established Shops on the plots he had purchased, he could do whatever he wanted to them; it was a lot more convenient.

Soon after, Shi Feng chose two relatively good building models in the City Hall, with both being three-story buildings. He could use the first floor to sell products and use the second to establish a warehouse, Forging Rooms, and other necessities. Finally, the third floor could be an office area.

However, to construct these two Shops, Shi Feng had spent another 2,000 Gold. After which, he hired over 20 Advanced NPCs to conduct daily management and sales in each Shop.

After spending all this money, little remained of Shi Feng's funds. Fortunately, the Dragonscale Set Equipment sold consistently in the Blackwing Auction House, and a large sum of Gold Coins would fill Shi Feng's pockets every now and then.

"Smile, I'll leave the management of these two plots of Land to you for now; I've already given you the authority you need. Begin transferring our members from Starstreak little by little. As for our products, we'll set the Strengthened Armor Kits as our main focus; there is no need to sell them over at Starstreak," Shi Feng said.

"Guild Leader, if we only sell the Strengthened Armor Kits at these two locations, it will divert traffic from Starstreak, impacting our business there," Melancholic Smile said, concern filling her voice.

"That is precisely my intention. I want to lure all of the old customers of Starstreak to the new Shops. Just do as I say. As for the price for these Strengthened Armor Kits, set them at 7 Silver Coins minimum; we can't afford a loss from selling them," Shi Feng laughed.

Although the Starstreak Trading Firm was still somewhat useful to him, its greatest purpose to Shi Feng lay in the initial business. Now that he had accumulated sufficient capital, he had to abandon it, little by little. After all, the moment he earned the 30,000 Gold and completed his quest, the Starstreak Trading Firm would sever all ties with him. If he did not prepare for it now, it would be too late in the future.

"Guild Leader, rest assured; I will make sure the prices of the Strengthened Armor Kits stay above 7 Silver Coins," Melancholic Smile said. She was very confident about the Strengthened Armor Kits they had produced.

Even as Basic Forgers, their success rates at producing the Strengthened Armor Kits were below 30%. Meanwhile, the material cost for producing each Strengthened Armor Kit was over 1 Silver. In other words, the actual cost for producing a complete Strengthened Armor Kit was more than 3 Silver. In reality, selling them for only 7 Silver Coins was simply too cheap.

Even if Shi Feng had not given the order, she had intended to set the initial price of the Strengthened Armor Kits at 10 Silver. After all, with the current average level of players, a price of 10 Silver Coins was definitely affordable.

"Guild Leader, you haven't named the Shops for these two locations yet. What will you call them?" Melancholic Smile asked as she looked at Shi Feng.

"A small spark may kindle a raging fire. Let's call it the Candlelight Trading Firm," Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the Deeds to the two golden real-estates in his hand.

At this moment, he finally had his own capital. With these two plots, he had taken a large step ahead of the other Guilds. His Guild would have a relatively stable source of income in the future, and he wouldn't have to fear becoming any Guild's target.

Shortly after, both Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile visited to the two plots of Land they had just purchased. At this moment, however, the buildings were still under reconstruction, so they could not view the Shops' full elegance. It would take several more hours before the reconstruction work would be completed. At that time, they could open for business.

"There sure are a lot of players in White River City right now." Shi Feng examined his surroundings, discovering a sea of players near the Auction House. The area was even more crowded than it had been in his previous life.

"Guild Leader, this is a given. Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile are constantly competing over White River City. Zero Wing is also the first Guild to own a Guild Residence in Star-Moon Kingdom. In addition, there are Overwhelming Smile's impressive offers to consider. As a result, many players from other cities were tempted to migrate and develop themselves in White River City. Based on the statistics published the day before yesterday, White River City is currently the second most populous city in Star-Moon Kingdom; it is only slightly behind Star-Moon City."

An ordinary city could not compare with a capital. Even if White River City offered a massive advantage, many players still preferred to mingle in the capital city.

"Star-Moon City?" Upon hearing Melancholic Smile's words, Shi Feng suddenly remembered something.

He had befriended someone in Star-Moon City before and had intended to purchase Land through him. Originally, he had planned to direct Zero Wing's development towards Star-Moon City. In the end, he had dismissed this notion and focused on making White River City the number one city in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, unlike in Star-Moon City, Zero Wing had an extraordinary background in White River City.

Currently, although he no longer intended to develop Zero Wing in Star-Moon City, the capital city's population was still very attractive. After all, in God's Domain, players were a city's resource.

The more powerful a city was, the more powerful the Guild controlling said city could become.

"It seems I need to make a trip to Star-Moon City." Shi Feng suddenly thought of a plan that could advance White River City's development further.

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Chapter 491 - Holy Land for Experts

Just as Shi Feng was about to head towards White River City's Teleportation Hall, the clear ring of his communicator reached his ears.

"Aqua, what's wrong?" Shi Feng asked after accepting the call.

"Guild Leader, good news! Previously, your feat of killing so many of Overwhelming Smile's experts boosted our Guild's morale. Currently, our members are flooding the fields to participate in the war. As Overwhelming Smile's expert parties are no longer appearing on the battlefield, we've gained significant advantages. We have already taken out over 20,000 Overwhelming Smile members.

"Probably because we're the first Guild to kill over 20,000 players in an all-out war, an Advanced NPC from the Adventurer's Association just visited, issuing an Epic Guild Quest. The quest is called 'Ancient Battlefield,' and only the Guild Leader of the Guild is allowed to accept the quest. Moreover, only ten Guild members can participate in the quest. Unfortunately, we can't learn anymore until we accept the quest.

"I'm worried that this Epic Guild Quest might disappear if we don't accept it soon, so I contacted you immediately after learning about it."

Aqua Rose was extremely excited when she spoke.

This was her first time encountering an Epic Quest. She had only ever heard rumors of them on the forums.

Every Epic Quest represented a massive opportunity. If one could complete it, they could receive extremely bountiful rewards. Based on the information she had gathered, Epic Quests would reward players with an Epic item at the very minimum. If it were a high-difficulty Epic Quest, one could even obtain two or three Epic items. Meanwhile, the quest the Guild had just received was an Epic Guild Quest; it was a lot more difficult than an Epic Quest meant for individual players. If they could complete it, they would reap a frightening harvest.

"Ancient Battlefield?!" Shi Feng was stunned upon hearing Aqua Rose's words, indescribable thrill growing in his heart. Hurriedly, he asked, "Aqua, are you sure you read that correctly?"

"The information on the Guild's Quest Board is clear, and I made sure to read it very carefully. I can say with certainty that it is an Epic Quest. Even I didn't believe it at first when I was told. After verifying it multiple times, I am sure that it is the Epic Quest Ancient Battlefield," Aqua Rose said, practically glowing with excitement.

If they could complete this Epic Quest and obtain several Epic items, it could help them immensely when they raided large-scale Team Dungeons in the future.

Now that Zero Wing waged war against Overwhelming Smile, morale was very important. The news about Shi Feng taking out the Underworld Guards with one hit had caused Zero Wing to instantly become the publicly acknowledged number one Guild of White River City. This incident had also placed significant psychological pressure on Overwhelming Smile's members. If Zero Wing could take the lead by conquering a large-scale Team Dungeon, gaining even more top-tier equipment and prestige, Overwhelming Smile would have no hope of competing with Zero Wing in the future.

However, Aqua Rose did not know that, in reality, what had shocked Shi Feng was not the difficulty of the quest, but the Ancient Battlefield itself.

In the past, the Ancient Battlefield had been immensely famous in God's Domain. It had become so famous because of its alternative name.

The Holy Land for Experts!

The Ancient Battlefield was known as the Holy Land for Experts because the map was a training ground specifically designed by the Main God System for players. This training ground's purpose was to allow players to gain a better understanding of the combat style of God's Domain.

In the past, countless noobs and new players had instantly soared to become experts precisely because of the Ancient Battlefield.

Moreover, it wasn't limited to ordinary experts; the Ancient Battlefield had even given birth to many apex experts. As a result, players called the Ancient Battlefield the Holy Land for Experts. Countless players had dreamed of visiting and experiencing the wonders it had to offer. Unfortunately, this opportunity was too difficult to encounter. In the past, despite countless Guilds and corporations offering astronomical prices for the slots to enter the Ancient Battlefield, nobody willingly sold the slots they had.

Now that Shi Feng had suddenly been notified that he had obtained the Ancient Battlefield quest, how could he contain his excitement? He had always dreamed of visiting the Ancient Battlefield in the past. Unfortunately, he had never been lucky enough to receive an invitation. Now, however, he had.

"I understand. The difficulty of an Epic Quest is not to be taken lightly, so set it aside for now. Don't worry about it disappearing. After a Guild Quest is issued, it will be available for three months or until someone accepts it. Since it has just been issued, leave it there for now," Shi Feng said after calming down. "However, although we are setting aside the quest, I have a few tasks that I'll need you to do for me."

"Tasks?"

Aqua Rose was confused. She could not understand why Shi Feng did not intend to accept this Epic Quest. Although she knew that the difficulty of an Epic Quest was unmatched, without accepting the quest, how could they possibly know whether or not they could complete it? It was a pity to leave the quest there like that. Most importantly, it was so tempting…

"That's right. In order to complete this Epic Quest, we will need sufficient combat power. I need you to contact Fire Dance and the others and tell them to stop trying to level up to deal with Overwhelming Smile; the same goes for you. All of you should focus on improving your combat techniques. I will also frequently give you pointers. In a few days, I will test you all to see how much your combat techniques have improved. At that time, I will select the top nine players to participate in this Epic Quest," Shi Feng laughed.

"What should we do about the Team Dungeons? I hear that Overwhelming Smile has already allocated their experts for raiding Level 20 Hard Mode Dungeons. If we lose the race to raid the Team Dungeons, it will deal a significant blow to our Guild's prestige and empower the enemy." Aqua Rose simply could not understand Shi Feng's decision. Previously, Shi Feng had strongly advocated raiding Dungeons first. Wasn't this change of plans a little too sudden? She wasn't even sure how to react.

The most surprising thing was the fact that a busy man like Shi Feng had actually offered to instruct them personally. This had never happened before.

Having the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom tutor them would yield effects hundreds of times better than learning from Shi Feng's battle videos in secret. Countless players dreamed of such an opportunity. There were even some who had offered one million Credits on the official forums, hoping to hire Shi Feng as their personal trainer.

It would be a lie if Aqua Rose said she was not excited.

This was just as thrilling as the Epic Quest.

"Sharpening your axe will not delay your job of cutting wood. Do you think that conquering a large-scale Team Dungeon will be so easy without a certain degree of strength? Beyond that, the quest only requires ten people. We can just have the others continue with raiding the Dungeons," Shi Feng did not bother to explain further; he could not reveal too much information. Aqua Rose had no idea just how important this Ancient Battlefield quest was.

Raising an army was easy; nurturing a general was not.

In the past, no one had been willing to trade their spot on the Ancient Battlefield even when offered a Legendary item; the competition over a measly Dungeon had meant nothing.

If possible, Shi Feng would have accepted the quest immediately. However, doing so would be a massive waste; besides, leaving the quest for players to see would provide a powerful incentive.

Shi Feng did not have any concrete information about the situation inside the Ancient Battlefield. He only knew that the better the combat techniques a player possessed, the greater their harvest would be. Hence, Shi Feng had specifically instructed Aqua Rose and the others to spare some time to improve their techniques. By doing so, they would also increase their potential gain.

"I understand. I'll contact Fire Dance and the others immediately. They will be thrilled when they hear about this." Aqua Rose giggled as she disconnected the call. She then began to contact the other core members of Zero Wing.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had arrived at Star-Moon City, Star-Moon Kingdom's number one city, through a teleportation array.

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Chapter 492 - Plundering Resources

With a clear moon and few stars, it was already night time in God's Domain.

As the number one city of Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City had brilliantly lit streets at this time. Magic lights illuminated the streets all around, making the entire Star-Moon City seem as bright as day.

"As expected of Star-Moon City, the population here is not something a regional capital like White River City could ever hope to match up to." Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he waded through the sea of players crowding the streets.

Now that players were higher leveled, many could afford the teleportation fee to travel to Star-Moon City.

At this moment, Star-Moon City's player population was nearly five million—two million more than White River City's. If one could take control of Star-Moon City, it would significantly improve a Guild's development speed; the impact on a Guild would be even better than having control of four or five smaller cities.

In addition, the available resources in the vicinity of Star-Moon City were very abundant. Hence, all powers staying within the capital city were a mix of both strong and weak. Other than the three first-rate Guilds that had set Star-Moon Kingdom as their main base of operations, first-rate Guilds of other kingdoms and empires also had a presence in Star-Moon City. Plenty of second-rate Guilds were also taking root and developing themselves here. As a result, the competition at Star-Moon City was extremely intense, and in this aspect, White River City was far from comparable. Even the average level of ordinary players here was much higher than at White River City.

Before long, Shi Feng arrived at Star-Moon City's City Hall via horse carriage.

When Shi Feng got there, a majestic and powerful-looking man was standing outside the entrance of the building. This man was none other than the Ghost Raider, Lifeless Blade.

At this moment, Lifeless Blade was already Level 26, not one bit inferior to Shi Feng.

Initially, Lifeless Blade was stunned upon seeing Shi Feng, but he soon revealed a bitter smile.

Although Shi Feng's outward appearance had not changed by much since the last time they met, inwardly, however, the gap was like the distance between heaven and earth. The last time he met Shi Feng, the latter gave the impression of being very ordinary, that there was nothing special about him at all. On the other hand, Shi Feng's every action right now had an indescribable sense of naturalness. The pressure Shi Feng radiated made Lifeless Blade feel as if he was facing a Lord ranked monster right now.

The last time Lifeless Blade met Shi Feng, he had learned a lot from the discussion he had with Shi Feng on combat techniques. Moreover, the latter had even provided him with plenty of quests that raised one's Reputation, allowing his Reputation to swiftly reach the status of a Noble, which afforded many conveniences for his team's development. Lifeless Blade was only where he was right now due to Shi Feng's help. Hence, he felt immense gratitude towards Shi Feng.

During this period, Lifeless Blade had raided plenty of Team Dungeons. He had even raided Hell Mode Team Dungeons. There were also countless instances where he participated in Field PvPs. If he were to speak for himself, he would say that his strength had improved plenty since his last meeting with Shi Feng. However, compared to Shi Feng, his improvements paled significantly.

"Brother Ye Feng, I've already completed the task you requested," Lifeless Blade stated when he saw Shi Feng approaching. In a somewhat worried tone, he continued, "But, Brother Ye Feng, that plot of Land you want is simply too far away from the high-traffic areas of the city. You will only make a loss by purchasing the Land there. With the same amount of money, you can easily purchase a plot of Land in the high-traffic areas of the city. This is really not a profitable purchase."

"No worries, I prefer a place that is somewhat peaceful," Shi Feng laughed.

Star-Moon City was extremely large. There was also quite a lot of Land available inside the city. However, the prices of the Land here were not one bit cheaper than in White River City at all. Even an ordinary plot of Land had a minimum price of 2,000 Gold. With this sum of money, one could purchase a relatively good plot of Land in White River City already. Meanwhile, the Land situated around the central district of Star-Moon City had a price tag of at least 6,000 Gold, whereas Land in the golden areas of the city cost 14,000 Gold at a minimum; the prices here were more than double those of White River City.

However, precisely because of this reason, the Guilds based in Star-Moon City had a constant headache.

There was no meaning in purchasing a useless plot of Land for more than 2,000 Gold. However, not to mention the Land in the golden areas, even accumulating 6,000 Gold required a lot of time and effort. Hence, practically nobody was paying attention to the Land within the capital right now.

However, the many Guilds in Star-Moon City had neglected a point.

Since the Land of the capital city was so expensive, wouldn't the Guilds developing at the capital city at the initial stages of the game suffer immensely?

Not to mention the expensive Land, but there was also the high difficulty of earning Reputation in Star-Moon City. No matter how one looked at the situation, Guilds that were developing themselves in the capital city would be at a disadvantage during the early stages of the game. In reality, however, that was not the case. It was only because everyone had yet to deepen their understanding of the Commercial Lands of Star-Moon City.

Only after some time had passed would everyone come to realize that some ordinary plots of Land in Star-Moon City were actually much better than Land in the central district, and these were the Lands surrounding certain special buildings.

Star-Moon City was the core of Star-Moon Kingdom, and many powerful high-tiered NPCs were gathered here. There were even many establishments here that were unavailable in other cities. Although these establishments were not as popular as the Auction House, Bank, and such locations, the player traffic at these locations still greatly surpassed that of many of the Lands located in the central district.

In the past, many Guilds and players who were lucky enough to purchase these plots of Land had made themselves a fortune through them.

Meanwhile, the plot of Land Shi Feng was planning to purchase right now was precisely located beside one of these unique establishments—the Underground Arena.

Although only a small number of players frequented the Underground Arena at the moment, that traffic would increase, along with the growth in popularity of arena matches. In particular, players from other cities and countries would often visit Star-Moon City, boosting the player traffic here to an even more frightening level.

Shi Feng truly wished he could purchase every plot of Land surrounding the Underground Arena. Unfortunately, he no longer had that much money on him right now…

"Forget it. It's your money anyway." Lifeless Blade shook his head and sighed.

Including the ownership transfer fees, the plot of Land Shi Feng had set his eyes on cost nearly 3,000 Gold. That was enough money to purchase a relatively good plot of Land close to the central district.

Following which, Lifeless Blade led Shi Feng into the City Hall and carried out the purchase and transfer procedures.

After ten minutes or so, Shi Feng had obtained the best plot of Land close to the Underground Arena. Moreover, he had also spent over 1,000 Gold to construct the best available Shop there, and had even hired fifteen Advanced NPCs to manage the daily affairs of the Shop.

Witnessing how Shi Feng had spent close to 4,000 Gold Coins so casually nearly shut down Lifeless Blade's brain. This was his first time seeing a spendthrift like Shi Feng. Not only had Shi Feng wasted his money on an ordinary plot of Land, but he had even spent over 1,000 Gold to construct the best available Shop.

In Star-Moon City, Lifeless Blade's team could be considered extremely wealthy. Yet, even so, their liquid assets only amounted to dozens of Gold.

Even a first-rate Guild could not easily take out 1,000 Gold. Yet, Shi Feng had spent it casually, as if he was buying vegetables at a market…

At this point, Lifeless Blade had even begun to wonder whether Zero Wing, the guild behind Shi Feng, was manufacturing Gold Coins.

In the face of Lifeless Blade's stunned reaction, Shi Feng simply gave the man a smile. He did not bother giving any explanations.

Now that he had established a branch of Candlelight Trading Firm on this plot of Land, he had the foundation to begin plundering the resources of Star-Moon City. As long as he sold the Strengthened Armor Kits here in limited quantities, the players here who needed these items would end up heading over to White River City's Candlelight Trading Firm to purchase them when the local supply ran out.

With this, Shi Feng could secretly steal the player population of Star-Moon City. Over time, the players of Star-Moon City would become White River City's.

By the time the Guilds competing over Star-Moon City realize their situation, everything would be too late.

Afterward, Shi Feng discussed matters relating to Star-Moon City's situation with Lifeless Blade. He then logged out of the game to rest as he patiently awaited the completion of Candlelight Trading Firm's construction.

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Chapter 493 - Big Dipper Competition

After logging out of the game, Shi Feng exited his virtual gaming cabin and began today's training plan.

Ever since his brain activity increased, it was as if Shi Feng had entered a whole new world in regard to his control over his own body. During this period, he had continuously been adapting to the new changes.

A human's body was subject to the brain's control.

The brain controlled processes such as hormone production, cellular immunity, and physical power control.

As these processes involved a lot of information, the brain carried out these processes automatically. Just like a computer, which ran its system programs in the background, the human brain had long since been set to deal with these processes automatically without requiring conscious effort from the brain. This was a sort of self-protective mechanism for the human brain.

However, with the increase in brain activity and, simultaneously, brain usage rates, humans could actively control these processes instead of leaving the brain to passively control them. If brain activity increased to a sufficient level, humans could even control their own body's hormone production, fine-tuning their own bodies to increase their own lifespans, maintain a youthful appearance, and so on.

In particular, with a high enough brain activity, one could even control their brain's subconscious inhibition of their body's physical power.

If an ordinary person, who might originally have had a punching power of 100kg, was able to remove the inhibition their brain placed on their physical strength, then they could instantly multiply that power by over a dozen—or even several dozens of—times.

Like in the news, during times of emergency or danger, many people would suddenly display explosive power that they never possessed. As for the reason why these people could display such power, it was because their brains had removed the limiter placed on their physical bodies.

However, it was exceptionally difficult to remove this limiter. There were also many people who failed to remove it, despite encountering a dangerous situation. Or even if they did manage to do so, it would be for only a very brief period of time.

Nevertheless, with the increase in brain activity, one could consciously remove the limiter placed on their physical power.

This was the case with Shi Feng right now. The increase in his brain activity had boosted his brain usage rate. Originally, Shi Feng was unable to control the limiter placed on his physical power. Now, however, he could adjust it slightly.

As far as Shi Feng knew, many martial arts grandmasters in the past had undergone long periods of training, in addition to consistently increasing their brain activity, in order to grasp this technique. Moreover, due to the popularity of God's Domain, as well as the fact that the game played a significant role in developing a player's brain, many people in the past had also been able to reach this step.

At this moment, Shi Feng's goal was to reach this step.

During this period of training and learning, Shi Feng could sense that he had already touched the gateway. If he could grasp this technique, then his combat power in God's Domain would definitely improve by leaps and bounds.

However, if he wished to grasp ahold of this power, he needed to increase his brain activity once more. It was just that breaking through his own mental limit placed a heavy demand on his brain cells and required a large amount of energy. Meanwhile, only with S-rank Nutrient Fluids could he solve these problems.

Although Shi Feng had the money, he could not purchase any S-rank Nutrient Fluids by himself.

Shi Feng really wished to have a sufficient number of virtual gaming cabins and S-rank Nutrient Fluids in order to immediately nurture Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Cola, and Violet Cloud into true top-tier experts and have them set foot into the Refinement Realm. At that time, Zero Wing's strength would definitely soar, and it would no longer be an impossible task to capture the several cities surrounding White River City.

Just when Shi Feng had completed his morning training and was about to have his lunch, the quantum watch on his wrist rang.

"Mister Shi Feng, I am Mister Xiao Yu's assistant. Your competition today is scheduled at 5pm. I have come to pick you up in advance; the car is already waiting downstairs," the young and beautiful woman who appeared in the video call said, smiling.

"Alright, I'll be there in a moment," Shi Feng replied before disconnecting the call.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor of Shi Feng's apartment, a maglev limousine was currently parked outside the building. A man and a woman stood quietly beside the car, waiting.

The woman wore a black dress. She had fine black eyelashes and a glamorous face with skin as white as snow. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders. Overall, she had a bright and beautiful appearance. As for the man, he was tall and ferocious. Wearing a black suit and a pair of sunglasses, he was like a ferocious beast, his entire body radiating a hostile aura that made others consciously distance themselves from him out of fear.

When the residents of the community saw this scene, they thought that a big shot had come visiting.

"This guy sure knows how to take his time." The female assistant, Liang Jing, looked at her quantum watch. In an impatient tone, she grumbled, "Just what does Chairman Xiao see in him to actually have us come fetch him?"

She was the Head Assistant for Big Dipper Training Center's Chairman. Yet, now, she was actually sent to escort a youth.

The man standing beside her right now was also no ordinary character. He was called Lu Zhihong, and he was the personal bodyguard of Chairman Xiao. Lu Zhihong's strength was simply amazing; he could easily deal with seven or eight ordinary people simultaneously. Even if he participated in the city's fighting competition, he would have no problem obtaining a good ranking.

"At the moment, the company lacks the support of a martial arts master. Chairman Xiao is naturally trying to create a grander scene," Lu Zhihong replied indifferently.

"He's just slightly over 20. How could he possibly be a martial arts master?" Liang Jing had noted Shi Feng's appearance through the video call just now. No matter how she looked at it, she could not relate Shi Feng to those 30- to 40-year-old masters. "I hear that his opponent this time is quite amazing. Even Master Chen Wu has referred to that person as a fighting genius. That person has even defeated several martial arts masters before. I really cannot understand why Chairman Xiao still insisted on holding the competition this time around. The result of this competition is so obvious; he could clearly just choose that person, instead."

She had personally seen martial arts masters before. Even from afar, every one of these masters gave off an imposing air that made others feel reverence for them. However, Shi Feng did not possess such a feeling. If not for Chairman Xiao personally confirming that Shi Feng was indeed a martial arts master, she really dared not believe that such a youthful master actually existed.

While Liang Jing and Lu Zhihong were conversing with each other, Shi Feng came downstairs.

When Liang Jing saw Shi Feng's blue sports attire, however, she was immediately stupefied. How was this a master? Whether in terms of temperament or power, he was clearly just an athletic youth! At this rate, he would simply be seeking his own death by challenging a martial arts master!

Contrary to Liang Jing's reaction, however, the bodyguard standing beside her revealed a completely different expression. Despite the faint smile Shi Feng had on his face, Lu Zhihong felt as if he was staring at a dormant beast.

Lu Zhihong could not sense anything from Shi Feng's every action.

That was right. He could not sense anything at all.

For a seasoned bodyguard like himself, there was nothing more dangerous than being unable to pick up anything from someone's action.

It was as if someone were pointing a gun at his head, and he still thought the other person was joking.

If Shi Feng were to take action, Lu Zhihong felt that Shi Feng could easily defeat him in just a few moves.

Before the female assistant could even speak, the previously silent Lu Zhihong hurriedly opened the car door, respectfully saying, "Master Shi Feng, please, get in. We will take you to the venue immediately."

"Thanks." Shi Feng smiled as he entered the car.

However, the female assistant, Liang Jing, was stupefied.

What was this situation?

She had never seen Lu Zhihong act so respectfully to anyone before. Not even Chairman Xiao received such a treatment.

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Chapter 494 - Gathered

Big Dipper's central assembly hall.

Although the sun was blazing, an endless stream of guests entered the hall.

At the bright red carpet, well-known upper-class personages descended from luxury cars, one after another, and slowly walked into the assembly hall. Big Dipper's assembly hall was very lively today; it was even livelier than when the city's fighting competition was held.

"Quite a small number of people."

Seated inside the limousine, Shi Feng swept a glance at the assembly hall's surroundings, noticing that the people who came to watch the competition were all well-known characters in Jin Hai City; there was not a single commoner present at all.

Logically speaking, by holding the competition this time, Big Dipper should be promoting itself to increase its popularity. In order to recover from its downward spiral, it would definitely want to widely publicize the competition this time around.

Internal force experts were rare, and exchanges between internal force experts were even rarer. Countless people wished to feast their eyes on such a fight.

However, when Shi Feng looked at the scene before him, it did not seem as if Big Dipper had done any promotion at all. Otherwise, the venue would've been completely swamped with people.

"Mister Shi Feng, it is like this: the other master wishes to hold this competition in private; he does not wish it to be known by everyone in the world. Hence, the company has not made any attempt to promote the competition, and has only invited a few well-known figures. But even so, that master was not happy about it. If Chairman Xiao had not offered sufficient compensation, the number of people attending this match might be less than half the current head count," Liang Jing said as she looked at Shi Feng, her lips curled up in a mesmerizing smile. Charmingly, she continued, "If Mister Shi Feng thinks that this event is too small, after this competition is over, we can definitely arrange for your name to be known by all in Jin Hai City."

As the Head Assistant of Big Dipper's Chairman, observing another person's every mood was Liang Jing's specialty. After seeing Lu Zhihong's respectful performance before, even if she was a fool, she would have realized that Shi Feng was not as simple as he appeared to be.

With such a great achievement at such a young age, Shi Feng would definitely become a dragon among men. If she could narrow the distance in their relationship slightly, the familiarity would be of tremendous help to her future.

Naturally, she could not pass up this opportunity sitting before her right now.

"That person sure likes to keep a low profile, but it's fine. I don't like being watched by too many people, either," Shi Feng laughed.

Originally, Shi Feng had no intention of making himself famous; he wanted to develop himself while maintaining a low profile. If not for the fifteen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and five virtual gaming cabins, he really would not participate in this competition.

Soon, Shi Feng followed Liang Jing to the backstage of the assembly hall to rest there as he quietly awaited the start of the competition.

At this moment, the competition hall inside Big Dipper's assembly hall was already packed with people. Every one of these attendees held considerable status in Jin Hai City. Plenty of well-known figures from other cities had also turned up this time around. Meanwhile, seated inside the VIP room on the second floor were the few titans of Jin Hai City.

At this moment, Xiao Yu was entertaining these VIPs.

If Shi Feng were present in this room, he would definitely discover a lot of people he was familiar with here.

Seated in the center of the room was none other than Jin Hai University's Headmaster and Chairman, Xu Wenqing. Seated beside him were Zhao Jianhua of the Zhao Group, Master Chen Wu of Jin Hai City's number one dojo, and many more high-profile characters of Jin Hai City.

"Little Xiao, you've surely given me a big surprise this time. You were actually able to invite two martial arts masters to conduct a competition with each other. This is a first for our Jin Hai City," Xu Wenqing said as he stroked his white beard. A little excited, he said, "I wonder if you can introduce me to the two masters you've invited this time around?"

The other VIPs promptly nodded their heads at Xu Wenqing's words.

In this day and age, fighting competitions were the most popular event in the world. The status of martial arts masters was naturally extraordinary, more so that of internal force experts. Normally, one could not see such experts in an ordinary city like Jin Hai City. Even high-profile characters like the VIPs present would not be able to easily meet such experts.

"Old Man Xu, you must be joking. How could I possibly be able to invite two masters to conduct a competition with each other? The two of them just happened to want to compare notes with each other, so they allowed me to arrange this competition," Xiao Yu said, laughing. Currently, his heart was filled with an indescribable sense of joy. "The two masters are currently resting and preparing for the competition later. It would not be convenient to invite them over right now, but I'll definitely arrange for a meeting afterwards."

"I hear that the two masters competing this time are very young. Is that true?" Xu Wenqing asked curiously.

"Yes, the two of them are indeed very young. Both haven't even reached the age of thirty yet." Xiao Yu nodded, then added proudly, "In particular, Master Chen Wu has also met the master that we've specially invited this time. Although he is only twenty-seven years old, his strength is very frightening. He has already defeated several well-known masters. During this period, I heard that he is planning to join the qualifiers for an international fighting competition, and that he has a high chance of obtaining a good result."

"Indeed, that Master Lei Bao is really a prodigy. I've compared notes with him before. Unfortunately, I was easily subdued in just a few moves. Now that Master Lei Bao has undergone over a year of intense training, his current strength should be even more frightening. When I met him before, I even felt chills running through my body." Chen Wu nodded as he sighed in admiration.

Lei Bao was definitely the most powerful internal force expert he had met. A martial arts prodigy. In the future, it was highly possible that Lei Bao would become a martial arts grandmaster. At that time, Lei Bao would probably be able to defeat him easily even without using internal force. If Lei Bao used internal force, instead of just losing the match, he might even lose his life in a single move.

Everyone found it inconceivable when they heard that Jin Hai City's famous fighting champion, Chen Wu, had been easily defeated, and that this had happened over a year ago.

Not a single person present did not know who Chen Wu was. He was a character known by all in Jin Hai City.

In his early days, Chen Wu had fought many martial arts masters. Although he was defeated in those exchanges, the martial arts masters that fought him also did not have easy victories. One could say that Chen Wu was a martial arts expert who was very close to becoming a master. Hence, everyone in Jin Hai City referred to Chen Wu as Master Chen.

Currently, Chen Wu was still of a relatively young age, and he maintained his strength at its peak. Logically speaking, he should have already taken half a step into the ranks of masters. Yet, he only managed to last several moves against the martial arts master named Lei Bao. One could just imagine how powerful Lei Bao was.

"Oh? There's actually such a talented character. Little Xiao, you must introduce him to me after the competition. Although this decrepit old man has spectated international fighting competitions before, never once have I had the opportunity to chat with such a master." Xu Wenqing's eyes glowed with anticipation upon hearing Chen Wu's words.

Seated at the back of the room, Zhao Ruoxi, who had come along with Zhao Jianhua, revealed an expression of worry as she listened to the conversation.

What to do? Zhao Ruoxi's heart was in distress.

Although she believed that Shi Feng was very amazing as well, compared to the martial arts prodigy Lei Bao that everyone was talking about, whether it was in terms of strength or experience, Shi Feng should be quite inferior to Lei Bao.

If Lei Bao did not hold back during the competition, it would definitely end in tragedy…

Time passed little by little. Very quickly, the arranged time for the competition arrived, and the excitement inside the assembly hall reached the boiling point.

This was the first time a competition between martial arts masters would be held in Jin Hai City. Usually, such competitions could only be seen on the international stage. Meanwhile, the majority of the people present here today had only ever watched an international competition through TV broadcasts; they never had the chance to personally witness such competitions.

Just as the crowd was wondering what kind of people the two masters were, white smoke started emerging from the two passages leading to the arena. Meanwhile, the two people who had walked out from the white smoke were none other than the two protagonists of today's event.

Lei Bao and Shi Feng.

When the audience personally saw the true appearance of the two masters, every single one of them was rendered speechless. They never expected the two masters to be so young. In particular, when the spectators inside the VIP room saw Shi Feng, they were all shocked.

"Shi Feng? Why is he here?" Xu Wenqing rubbed his eyes. For a second there, he even thought his eyes had gone blurry.

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Chapter 495 - Strength of a Thousand Kilos

Xu Wenqing's memory of Shi Feng was still fresh in his mind.

Previously, not only had Shi Feng defeated the university's number one fighter, Zhang Luowei, but he had also earned high praise from Chen Wu. Xu Wenqing had not expected Shi Feng to actually appear at this place right now.

"It can't be, right?" Chen Wu was similarly stunned upon seeing Shi Feng.

As he recalled, Shi Feng was very amazing but had yet to reach the level of using internal force. At this moment, however, Shi Feng was actually participating in this competition. It was truly shocking.

When both sides stood in the arena, Lei Bao and Shi Feng contrasted sharply.

Lei Bao wore a black vest that placed his bronze muscles on full display. His muscles were not bloated, but instead were sleek like a cheetah's, giving others the feeling that his muscles were packed full of power. His disheveled hair coupled with his bestial aura and aquiline gaze made him seem exactly like a wild, ferocious beast. People would not dare to get even half a step closer to him.

On the other hand, Shi Feng looked just like your average university student. He possessed neither a sharp, swordlike aura nor a tall, robust body. He gave others the impression that he was completely harmless to both humans and animals, that there was no need for even the slightest bit of vigilance towards him.

The battle between the two was a competition without any suspense. It was just like a fight between a ferocious lion and a cute little rabbit. There was absolutely no point to this battle at all.

Suddenly, it was as if cold water was poured over the hot passion of the audience members.

"Wasn't this a match between two masters? Why is there an ordinary university student here?"

"That's right, even if Big Dipper is trying to promote Master Lei Bao, can't they at least invite a slightly decent expert? What's the point of inviting a youth that hasn't even grown all his hair yet? Even I can take care of that little brat with ease."

The audience promptly burst into a heated discussion; they all felt that Big Dipper's Chairman, Xiao Yu, was lacking sincerity.

However, seated at a corner of the spectator stands, Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong were both stunned when they saw this scene.

"How could he be a martial arts master?" Zhang Luowei looked with eyes full of disbelief at Shi Feng standing in the arena.

Even until now, he still took to heart the defeat Shi Feng had dealt him. During this period, he had trained constantly and had even sought meticulous guidance from Chen Wu, all in order to have his revenge on Shi Feng. Yet, now that Shi Feng had appeared before him once again, the man had actually become a martial arts master already.

However, when Zhang Luowei looked at Shi Feng's opponent, Lei Bao, a smile appeared on his face.

He had heard plenty about Lei Bao's deeds from Chen Wu.

Lei Bao was a fierce man who did not know how to show mercy. All those who had met with him in official matches had suffered heavy injuries at the very minimum, and some were even crippled. Hence, nobody was willing to compete with Lei Bao. When those in the world of martial arts heard the name of Lei Bao, even top-tier masters would try to avoid him as much as possible; nobody wished to destroy their own future by competing with Lei Bao.

Originally, Zhang Luowei had thought it was some daring expert who had come to compete with Lei Bao this time around. Now, however, it would seem that Shi Feng was just a hotheaded youth after all.

Yet, before the anyone could voice out their complaints, the host of the competition immediately hyped up the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before the start of this competition, the two masters will do a small warm-up, allowing everyone to clearly see just how powerful the two masters are. Now, let's welcome our two masters to showcase their strengths."

As the host was saying so, some staff members pushed out a punching power testing machine into the arena. The punching machine was the latest model, and it was intended to test Lei Bao's and Shi Feng's punching power.

The first to take the test was Shi Feng.

Shi Feng was very interested in regard to this test. He wanted to know just how much he had improved during this period of time.

Standing before the punching machine, Shi Feng took a proper stance before abruptly sending a punch forward. After piercing through the air, his fist made a loud boom when it landed on the target. The punching machine shook from the impact.

Immediately, the numbers on the punching machine began rising madly.

In just a moment, the numbers had broken past the 200kg mark.

A short moment later, the numbers rose to 320kg; this value was already within the standard of professional fighters.

In the end, the punching machine displayed a value of 401kg. This result was almost comparable to those of well-known fighters of Jin Hai City. However, it was still significantly lower than that of the city's top professional fighter, Chen Wu.

"This Shi Feng is amazing. With this kind of punching power, it is no wonder Zhang Luowei was not his match." Xu Wenqing laughed with satisfaction as he stroked his white beard. "If he already possesses such strength at such a young age, he might be able to catch up to you, Master Chen Wu, in just a few more years."

Chen Wu's punching power record could be said to be the record for the entire Jin Hai City.

Chen Wu's punching power was 453kg, a value that made ordinary people stare in admiration. With just a single punch, Chen Wu could bend even a thick metal board.

Let alone the fleshy human body, Chen Wu could even turn a durable maglev car into a pile of scrap metal in a short amount of time.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng was just in his early twenties, so he still had great potential for growth. He would have no problems surpassing Chen Wu's punching power record.

"Old Man Xu, you jest. This is but the result Little Brother Shi Feng has achieved using only his physical strength. If he used internal force, he would have surpassed my record. Moreover, I have also heard that Little Brother Shi Feng has long since beaten my record. It seems the newest record right now is 576kg." Chen Wu laughed bitterly.

"Yes, that's right. This record was indeed set by Master Shi Feng." Xiao Yu nodded. "It seems that Master Shi Feng did not use his full power because he wishes to conserve his strength."

"Internal force places a heavy burden on the body. Since he needs to face off against Master Lei Bao in a moment, he naturally has to conserve his physical strength," Chen Wu explained.

Nobody present knew just how demanding internal force was on a person's body. Even internal force experts would not casually use it. Otherwise, they would be lying on the floor, unconscious, in just a few moves. Hence, only a fool would use internal force in this test right now.

Seated in the back row of the VIP room, Zhao Ruoxi was very elated upon seeing Shi Feng's test result. Only she knew how much Shi Feng had improved.

Previously, Shi Feng's test results without using internal force were less than 300kg. After not seeing him for a period of time, Shi Feng's punching power had actually exceeded the 400kg threshold. If Chen Wu were to find out about this improvement, he would definitely jump up in shock.

However, as the occupants of the VIP room were conversing with each other, Lei Bao started his test.

"Ha!"

Letting out a shout, Lei Bao transformed his palm into a fist, a boom resounding as he struck towards the punching machine.

The instant Lei Bao's fist landed on the target, the spiraling force borne by the fist pierced the target. Lei Bao's fist ended up landing directly on the steel plate behind the target.

Peng!

The durable steel plate was dented right away, and even the entire punching machine itself was knocked backwards.

Meanwhile, cracks also started appearing on the marble floor beneath Lei Bao's feet, as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer.

Ding… Ding… Ding…

The punching machine rang continuously.

Most people in the spectator stands might be unfamiliar with this sound. However, for those who frequently trained and tested themselves, this was a sound that garnered their reverence.

Because this sound was none other than the prompt for a record being broken.

At this moment, however, nobody in the spectator stands was reacting to the sounds produced by the punching machine, because everyone was completely stunned by Lei Bao's destructive punch.

"Is he even human?!" Zhao Ruoxi's alluring eyes widened, her attention fully focused on the value displayed by the punching power testing machine.

Six hundred fifty-six kilograms!

This record was far above the one Shi Feng had set.

"Sure enough, Lei Bao really is a martial arts prodigy. Even the strength he has achieved through training is incomparable to that of ordinary people," Chen Wu said, shocked.

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Chapter 496 - Tiger Roaring

Lei Bao's punch had stunned the entire assembly hall.

A moment later, a loud round of applause, as well as gasps of admiration, filled the room.

When this punch landed, it was as if a small car had struck the punching machine. In particular, if the steel plate were swapped with a human being, the end result would be horrifying.

"Master Chen Wu, is this the power of internal force?" Zhao Jianhua could not help but ask. This was his first time seeing such destructive force from another human being.

"No." Chen Wu shook his head. He then explained, "I've previously said that using internal force places a heavy burden on the body, and internal force experts would not casually use it. The same holds true even in a battle. Master Lei Bao achieved this result before us right now without using internal force; this is just his normal strength. This is also the reason why I am so shocked."

Despite being called the fighting genius of Jin Hai City, Chen Wu's maximum punching strength was only 453kg. In comparison, a martial arts prodigy like Lei Bao had managed to achieve a punching power of 656kg without even using internal force. He truly possessed a strength of a thousand kilos. The gap between them was like the difference between heaven and earth.

"Little Brother Shi Feng will not have an easy time in this match." Chen Wu grew more alert as he looked at Lei Bao. "Master Lei Bao is famous for not knowing how to hold back. Even when I sought him out to exchange pointers back then, he ended up breaking three of my ribs. I had to stay in the hospital for over a month for a full recovery. Now, he has even surpassed his strength from back then. If Little Brother Shi Feng is not careful, it is quite possible that he will be hospitalized for over half a year, and there might even be residual damage."

Upon hearing Chen Wu's words, Zhao Ruoxi, who was seated at the back of the VIP room, grew even more anxious. Though she wished to stop this competition right now, she was powerless to do so.

Both parties were martial arts masters. Since both sides had long since agreed to this match, and even the invited audience had already arrived, things had passed the point of no return by now.

Shi Feng's normal punching power was just slightly over 400kg. Even if he used internal force, he would at most reach the level of Lei Bao when the latter was not using internal force. However, just how taxing was internal force?

On the other hand, Lei Bao's every action carried the strength of a thousand kilos; he could send an endless stream of these powerful blows. It was highly unlikely that Shi Feng would emerge victorious in this competition.

In truth, not even Xiao Yu had expected the gap between the two to be so wide.

If he had known about this earlier, this competition would be absolutely unnecessary.

It seems that I can only make amends with Shi Feng after this event is over. Xiao Yu had never expected Lei Bao to be so strong. With the addition of Lei Bao, Big Dipper Training Center could definitely become one of the top training centers in the country. As for Shi Feng, although he was a young genius, he was still significantly inferior to a current powerhouse. However, it remained necessary to maintain a good relationship with such a talent.

In the arena, Lei Bao looked at the destroyed punching machine, feeling very satisfied with his own masterpiece. He then shifted his chilling gaze to Shi Feng.

"You're very good. Despite being so young, not only have you mastered internal force, but you are also able to behave so fearlessly while standing before me. You will certainly have a promising future. If not for my need to become Big Dipper's Head Instructor, I would not mind letting you have this competition." Although Lei Bao's voice was not particularly loud, everyone present in the assembly hall could hear his every word clearly. The arrogance in his tone was also unwavering, and one could not help but want to submit to him, heart and soul. "I have always looked fondly upon martial arts geniuses. I won't try to bully you in this match. If you can last ten moves against me, this match will be considered your victory."

Listening to Lei Bao's words, everyone present found themselves admiring the man's magnanimity. Sure enough, a martial arts master would not bully those weaker than themself. The audience members became even more reverent towards Lei Bao now.

"What if I lose?" Shi Feng calmly asked, completely unmoved by Lei Bao's words.

"You really are smart," Lei Bao laughed. "If you lose, take me as your teacher; I will pass on all my skills to you. I assure you that you can definitely surpass me in the future. This should be a worthwhile trade, right?"

Before this fight was arranged, Lei Bao had already heard about Shi Feng. He knew that Shi Feng did not have a master, so Shi Feng should be a self-taught martial arts master. In other words, Shi Feng was a true genius.

Martial artists were very picky when it came to accepting disciples. After all, they would only be humiliating themselves if they chose a weakling as a recipient of their legacies. Hence, martial artists would always carefully choose their disciples. Meanwhile, a youth like Shi Feng who had already learned how to use internal force at such a young age was naturally a prime candidate for a disciple.

Just before, even Chen Wu had been tempted to take on Shi Feng as his disciple. Unfortunately, Shi Feng's current strength was no longer beneath him, so he had to dismiss this idea altogether.

Lei Bao, however, was different. He was significantly more powerful than Shi Feng, so he naturally had the qualifications to become Shi Feng's master.

Everyone was stunned upon hearing Lei Bao's words.

Master Lei Bao was trying to solicit a personal disciple!

Many in the spectator stands immediately turned to look at Shi Feng in envy. A single glance was all it took to tell that Lei Bao was a top-tier martial arts master. It even was highly possible for him to become a martial arts grandmaster in the future. Countless people out there wished they could become the personal disciple of a generation's grandmaster. Yet, such an opportunity had actually landed in Shi Feng's lap right now.

Why is it him?! At this moment, Zhang Luowei's eyes became bloodshot. Originally, he had been taking delight in Shi Feng's misfortune. Now, however, his heart was filled with an indescribable sense of jealousy.

With a generation's grandmaster carefully tutoring and nurturing him, Shi Feng would definitely soar to become a dragon among men. In the future, he might even be able to vie for the championship of an international fighting competition. At that time, Shi Feng would definitely become the focal point of the entire world.

What did the Guild Leader of some random Guild in God's Domain amount to? Even if it was the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, they would be far from comparable to a world-class fighter. These people were all monsters who had surpassed the limits of the human body. Countless corporations would be willing to sponsor them. The money and status they could obtain were beyond the reach of a Guild Leader inside a virtual reality game.

"Hahaha! So this was your intention all along?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. He could tell that Lei Bao was wholeheartedly trying to take him in as his disciple. "Okay, I'll agree to your conditions. However, if I defeat you in twenty moves, you have to promise to do one thing for me as well. How about it?"

Suddenly, the entire assembly hall went silent.

"Has he gone mad?"

"He's actually provoking a top-tier master! He's literally insane!"

Not to mention the guests sitting in the spectator stands, even the crowd inside the VIP room was stunned. They had not thought that Shi Feng was actually so daring.

"Hahaha! As expected of the person I have set my sights on! You certainly have a domineering spirit!"

Lei Bao had started laughing loudly as well. The more he looked at Shi Feng, the more he liked the young man. Ever since his debut into the world of martial arts, nobody had dared speak to him so arrogantly. Now that he was twenty-eight years old, he was only a hair away from reaching the rank of grandmaster. Unfortunately, even until now, he had yet to find a person to pass his legacy to. Meanwhile, he had only come to this place after hearing news about Shi Feng. Otherwise, how could a small-time training center like Big Dipper invite a true god like him?

Saying so, both parties stepped into the ring. Upon the referee's order, the match officially began.

"Watch this!"

The instant the match started, Lei Bao strode forward, rushing up to Shi Feng like a furious gale. Immediately after, his fist made a turn as he did a Half-step Collapsing Punch. There were no fanciful movements in Lei Bao's technique. His punch was simple and straightforward, yet fast and fierce.

When sending out his punch, Lei Bao's body had also released the thundering roars of tigers. Peals of thunder echoed throughout the assembly hall; the sounds were absolutely breathtaking.

Tiger Roaring, Muscle and Bones Singing!

Shi Feng was stunned.

Lei Bao had actually trained both the inside and outside of his body to the peak…

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Chapter 497 - Initial Mastery

The instant Lei Bao sent out his fearsome punch, Shi Feng hurriedly leaned back like an agile monkey; he did not attempt to block Lei Bao's fist at all.

When Lei Bao's fist was only centimeters away from its target, Shi Feng abruptly contracted his abdomen, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Lei Bao's punch carried with it a fearsome shockwave. Even through a layer of clothing, Shi Feng could feel his abdomen receiving part of the shockwave. If that violent force landed directly on his body, the consequences would be unimaginable…

The members of the audience were stupefied once again.

"Tiger Roaring? How is this possible?" Seated in the VIP room on the second floor, Chen Wu saw Lei Bao's punch, and his eyes glowed brightly and his heart thumped madly. The ecstatic expression on his face made it seem as if he had just seen a peerless beauty.

"Tiger Roaring?" The spectators beside Chen Wu echoed his words in confusion. However, seeing Chen Wu's excited look, they could guess that it was a very powerful technique.

Chen Wu nodded. With great excitement, he explained, "Only when a person has managed to merge both their internal and external power can they produce that kind of sound. One could say that it is the proof that one has trained their body to its limits. Normally, only experts at the grandmaster level are capable of such a feat. I never imagined that Master Lei Bao had actually managed to achieve it so soon. With this, it won't be long before Master Lei Bao breaks through his limits and becomes a generation's grandmaster!"

Countless martial arts masters had trained themselves desperately, yet still failed at combining their internal and external forces. On the other hand, before even reaching the age of thirty, Lei Bao had already succeeded in pushing his body to its limits. Now, he could utilize internal force freely, applying it to his every action. He fit the term "martial arts prodigy" to a T.

Even if Shi Feng knew how to use internal force, when faced with Lei Bao, someone who had pushed his body to its limits, he had zero chance of victory.

While Chen Wu explained, the roars of tigers filled the arena.

Lei Bao's every move was incomparably fierce, alternating between Collapsing Punch and Cannon Punch one after another. Speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, he made full use of all three of these aspects. Afterimages of Lei Bao's fists filled the ring. Step by step, his violent attacks pressed Shi Feng harder and harder. If Shi Feng stopped evading these attacks, only a tragic end awaited him. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to keep retreating.

Although Lei Bao held an absolute advantage in this fight, Shi Feng had yet to receive a single blow even until now.

So strong!

With each step Shi Feng retreated, he could clearly feel the power behind Lei Bao's punches growing ever so slightly; likewise, his fists were also speeding up. If not for Shi Feng's brain activity increasing, significantly improving his five senses and his control over his own body, Lei Bao would have defeated him in just a few moves. Even so, Shi Feng could only last a few more moves right now. He would still end up defeated soon.

It was no wonder Lei Bao was so confident that he could defeat him in ten moves.

In the next moment, Lei Bao's body tilted forward slightly as he sent a Half-step Punch at Shi Feng's face. At this point, he had already cornered Shi Feng; there were no more paths of retreat available to him.

Suddenly, Shi Feng's body swayed as he took the initiative to welcome this punch.

Is he trying to get himself killed?! Lei Bao was dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, outside the ring, everyone in the spectator stands thought they could foresee the ending scene of this competition. Many already envisioned the instant Shi Feng's head exploded into tiny little pieces. Some of the more timid women, who could not bear to watch this gruesome scene, had immediately shut their eyes.

"It's over!" Chen Wu could not help but exclaim.

Lei Bao's punch could dent even a sturdy steel plate. Yet, Shi Feng was actually using his head to meet Lei Bao's fist…

The instant Shi Feng's head was about to collide with Lei Bao's iron fist…

Whether it was Shi Feng's breathing or heartbeat, both seemed to have stopped completely.

Before Lei Bao could react, he discovered that his fist had actually brushed past Shi Feng's face, only scratching the young man's cheek and leaving behind a small bloodstain.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng's fist had somehow landed on Lei Bao's abdomen already.

Lei Bao only felt a huge thrust on and pain in his abdomen. Although he wanted to use the power in his muscles to dispel this force, he suddenly discovered that he actually could not, even in the slightest. Like a steel needle, this force penetrated directly into his body. In the next moment, his entire person went flying across the ring. When his body landed heavily on the floor, he immediately coughed out a mouthful of blood. At this point, he could no longer continue fighting.

For a time, everyone in the assembly hall was completely flabbergasted.

Originally, this competition's outcome should have been Lei Bao's victory. Yet, such a sudden reversal had actually happened. Nobody in the audience had even managed to get a clear view of what had happened.

They had only seen Lei Bao's fist penetrating Shi Feng's head. In the next moment, Shi Feng's fist was already on Lei Bao's abdomen, and in the end, Shi Feng was the victor of this competition.

"Master Chen Wu, you are an expert yourself. Can you tell us what exactly happened just now?" Xu Wenqing was extremely curious about this situation.

Everyone else seated near Chen Wu promptly turned to look at the martial arts master as well, hoping to obtain an answer from him.

After some time passed…

"I have no idea, either," Chen Wu said as he shook his head.

The two's exchange had simply been too fast. Their speeds were already beyond what he could respond to. Hence, not even he knew what Shi Feng had done exactly. He only knew that Lei Bao's lethal punch had not landed on Shi Feng.

However, who was Lei Bao?

Back then, the situation had already reached the point of no return. Even if Lei Bao did not wish to kill Shi Feng, he could do nothing to change the sudden development.

Yet, Shi Feng had actually managed to evade Lei Bao's punch.

Even more inconceivably, Chen Wu had not even seen when Shi Feng punched. Even Lei Bao had failed to react to the attack in time.

"You…"

At this moment, Lei Bao managed to pull himself back to his feet, and his eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Shi Feng who was currently standing proudly and calmly in the ring.

Others might not have seen what had happened before, but when Lei Bao carefully tried recalling it, he immediately came to a realization.

However, Lei Bao simply could not bring himself to believe that…

A student barely in his twenties had actually broken past his body's limits and taken that first step ahead of him. Although it was only for an instant, Lei Bao had seen it very clearly.

Midway through Shi Feng's charge, Shi Feng's body had actually accelerated once more. At the moment of life and death, Shi Feng had actually managed to evade his fist and, in turn, landed a punch on him.

While the audience had their heads in the clouds, trying to recall the scene where Shi Feng defeated Lei Bao, Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong, seated in the spectator stands, were both frozen with fear.

Their hearts were also filled with immense regret. For a moment, they looked like they had aged more than a dozen years.

After this battle, everybody would know about Shi Feng. His future would also be limitless. As of this moment, he was already a big shot of Jin Hai City.

Meanwhile, Zhang Luowei, as Shi Feng's fellow student, had actually tried to take action against Shi Feng. Looking back at his past actions, he had simply been seeking his own death.

As for Lan Hailong, if he had known before that Shi Feng was actually so powerful, he would have long since given his all to recruit Shi Feng. He definitely would not have feuded with Shi Feng over a measly Ling Feilong.

At this point, both Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong entertained thoughts of getting rid of Ling Feilong.

If not for that damnable Ling Feilong's little tricks, they would have long since climbed onto Shi Feng's massive boat and ridden along his waves of success, instead of being enemies with Shi Feng as they were right now.

"Luowei, tomorrow, you and I will both go and meet with Shi Feng. If we do not dispel the rage in his heart, our future will be grim," Lan Hailong whispered helplessly.

"Indeed. Fortunately, we only have a minor dispute with Shi Feng. The main problem is Ling Feilong. After we return, we must make a clean break with him. It would be best if we taught Ling Feilong a lesson as well. Perhaps this might even make Shi Feng forget about all the earlier unpleasantries." Although Zhang Luowei was extremely reluctant, he still nodded his head heavily in reply to Lan Hailong's words.

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Chapter 498 - Overnight Fame

Although the competition only lasted a moment, none of the spectators had been disappointed by the show. On the contrary, the stands exploded with excitement.

"He defeated Master Lei Bao at such a young age; his future will definitely be limitless!"

"We really didn't waste the trip!"

"Get Master Shi Feng's address. Rearrange my schedule as well. We must pay Master Shi Feng a visit!"

The audience was not comprised of your average citizens. Every one of them was a reputable member of society.

Now that Shi Feng had defeated a top-tier master like Lei Bao, his future was limitless. A small stage like Jin Hai City would not hold Shi Feng. He could only shine brightest on the world stage.

If they did not try to befriend Shi Feng now, they would never qualify to do so in the future.

However, compared to these guests, the Chairman of Big Dipper, Xiao Yu, was so happy that he had nearly failed to contain his grin. He had originally thought that Lei Bao's willingness to become the training center's Head Instructor had been Big Dipper's greatest fortune. Xiao Yu had never expected Shi Feng to be so powerful, even capable of defeating a top-tier master like Lei Bao.

This was a top-tier master! Even throughout the whole country, such mighty individuals were as rare as phoenix feathers. If Big Dipper Training Center employed such a martial arts master, its popularity and business would undoubtedly skyrocket.

"Uncle Xiao, how do you plan to thank me? After all, it was I who introduced Shi Feng to Big Dipper!" Zhao Ruoxi grinned, her eyes flashing with pride and excitement.

She felt as if Shi Feng's victory were her own, and she basked in the success.

"Of course, we can't forget about you! In a moment, I'll have a Diamond Member Card prepared for you. Big Dipper has only ever given out five of these Member Cards, so you'll be the sixth," Xiao Yu laughed.

Zhao Jianhua could not help his shock when he heard Xiao Yu's words.

Big Dipper's Diamond Member Card was extraordinary. As a Diamond Member, one would receive a 50% discount, and all monthly expenses under a certain amount would be waived. Throughout Jin Hai City, only five people had received such privileges, and neither Zhao Jianhua nor Zhao Ruoxi's father were of those five. Yet, his niece had actually become the sixth person to become one of Big Dipper's Diamond Members.

Indescribable feelings colored Zhao Jianhua's stern expression. Before they, the older generation, could even reach this far, the younger generation surpassed them.

Of course, this was all accredited to Shi Feng's achievement.

Now that Shi Feng had defeated Master Lei Bao, becoming famous overnight, even the giants in flourishing, first-rate cities would scramble to recruit Shi Feng, much less those in Jin Hai City.

At this moment, Xiao Yu was deeply afraid he could not hold back a true dragon like Shi Feng. Now that he had a chance to solidify Big Dipper's relationship with Shi Feng, he would maximize their generosity.

After the competition ended, although Lei Bao had suffered relatively severe injuries, with the aid of modern technology and S-rank Nutrient Fluids, he would quickly recover to his peak condition.

"Master Shi Feng, I am convinced of my loss in this competition. Please don't hold back and state your conditions. Since I have made the promise, I will not go back on my word," Lei Bao said weakly as he joined Shi Feng in the lounge. At this moment, Lei Bao was still slightly pale.

Lei Bao did not think that it was a coincidence that Shi Feng just so happened to have broken past his limits, obtaining power and physical reactions beyond his body's capabilities, in the moment between life and death. At the very least, Shi Feng should have already touched the boundaries of that realm.

Shi Feng was just a young man in his early twenties, yet, he had already reached such mastery. Shi Feng was easily stronger than Lei Bao himself.

Lei Bao could not wrap his mind around it. Even if Shi Feng began training while still inside his mother's womb and had received all sorts of resources, he should not be able to obtain the power to surpass his physical limitations at such a young age…

If Lei Bao was a martial arts prodigy, then the man before him was a demon.

Even if he were not convinced of his defeat, he had to accept it.

"Since Master Lei Bao has agreed, then I want you to join my Workshop," Shi Feng laughed.

Lei Bao was a top-tier master who had trained both his inner and outer body to their limits. Shi Feng had only been able to defeat Lei Bao due to luck.

Fortunately, Shi Feng's brain activity had improved before participating in this competition. He had even grasped the beginnings of the technique to unlock his brain's physical limiter. Although he had only overcome the limiter for an instant, it had been enough for him to reach a new level of strength, allowing him to defeat his opponent. In addition, Lei Bao had also been caught unprepared. Otherwise, there was more than a 90% chance that Shi Feng would have suffered defeat in this competition.

To Shi Feng's current self, it was still somewhat early for him to overcome his brain's limiter.

The brain limited a person's strength to protect the body. Before the physical body reached sufficient durability, actively trying to remove this limiter would only do more harm than good. Not to mention, Shi Feng had yet to grasp this power fully.

It might seem that Shi Feng had only received a small scratch during the competition, but in reality, his body had been significantly damaged due to the explosive force he had displayed.

Even without moving, Shi Feng felt like needles pricked his entire body.

Hence, the moment Shi Feng returned to the lounge, he had madly consumed A-rank Nutrient Fluids to alleviate his pain. After this competition, he would not be able to train for quite some time.

"Join your Workshop?" Lei Bao frowned. Every martial artist wished to remain free and unfettered. He barely had enough time to train and improve himself; how would he find the time to work?

"Master Lei Bao, please relax. My Workshop is a Virtual Gaming Workshop that focuses on the most popular game currently, God's Domain. You only need to work at night while you rest. The Workshop will not interfere with your life during the day; you can do whatever you want during that time," Shi Feng slowly explained. He knew very well what Lei Bao worried about.

Although Lei Bao had never come into contact with virtual reality games, especially God's Domain, Lei Bao was still a top-tier martial arts master.

Currently, although Aqua Rose and the others had the potential, their foundations were lacking. They still needed to improve before they could become top-tier experts. However, Lei Bao was different. His combat foundation was extremely sturdy. If he familiarized himself with his body in God's Domain and integrated the techniques he had learned in real life, he could very quickly become one of Zero Wing's top combatants.

"Okay, I'm relieved to hear that." Lei Bao nodded. He then left the lounge.

Lei Bao's addition to Zero Wing would undoubtedly give the Guild another fierce general.

While Shi Feng rested, three others entered the lounge.

Lifting his head, Shi Feng noticed that one of the new arrivals was none other than Big Dipper's Chairman, Xiao Yu with Liang Jing and Zhao Ruoxi following closely behind.

At this moment, Zhao Ruoxi wore a blue one-piece that looked both light and elegant. Her inky hair scattered around her waist like a waterfall, adding a few hints of elegance to her originally innocent temperament. Upon entering the room, Zhao Ruoxi beamed at Shi Feng, both worry and joy filling her eyes.

Now that Shi Feng had become famous overnight, the originally silent and unknown boy from school was no more. Now, he had become Jin Hai City's focal point. Even Old Man Xu wished to have a proper chat with Shi Feng.

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Chapter 499 - Rising of Candlelight

In the lounge, both Liang Jing and Xiao Yu approached Shi Feng with far more caution and respect than in the previous meetings.

Only Zhao Ruoxi behaved as usual, smiling and laughing as she conversed with Shi Feng. There did not seem to be any signs of a barrier between them.

"Master Shi Feng, based on our previous arrangements, from today onwards, you will be Big Dipper's Head Instructor. At the same time, you will also become one of Big Dipper's Directors, and as you requested, Big Dipper will also come up with an area that will be under your sole management." Saying so, Xiao Yu took out a half-transparent card from his suit's pocket, handing it to Shi Feng, "This is Big Dipper's Diamond Member Card. The card's information has already been updated. In the future, all of your expenses at Big Dipper will be free of charge. Moreover, Big Dipper will also specially reserve a Special Training Room for your use at any given time."

When Zhao Ruoxi heard Xiao Yu's words, even she could not help her shock.

The usual training rooms only contained some fitness and testing equipment.

However, Big Dipper's Special Training Rooms were different. Big Dipper spared no expense when they had constructed these training rooms. Every item inside was state of the art. The entire room was also controlled by a quantum computer. These rooms were usually only provided to professional fighters.

Normally, these rooms contained a dedicated combat robot. Special Training Rooms also came with full virtual combat videos and combat systems that stored beneficial data, which users could reference and learn from. There was even a gravity control device that allowed one to adjust the gravity in the room in order to produce better results. Furthermore, each room had a Health Cabin that could help its users alleviate physical fatigue, accelerate physical recovery, and maintain the best quality of sleep each day. Hence, many of Jin Hai City's professional fighters loved come to Big Dipper.

The training rooms in Big Dipper were categorized into four different ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Special. While the cost of each room increased with rank, the benefits also increased. It was especially true for the gravity settings.

In the Basic Training Room, one could adjust the room's gravity by 2g.

The Intermediate Training Rooms' gravity could be adjusted by 3g.

In Advanced Training Rooms, one could change the gravity by 4g.

In Special Training Rooms, one could increase or decrease the gravity by 6g. It was impossible for ordinary people to train in such an environment. Even moving one's fingers would be difficult.

As for the rental fees, ordinary people could not even afford a Basic Training Room.

It cost 3,000 Credits to rent a Basic Training Room for a day; that was almost a typical person's monthly salary; of course, your average citizen didn't even qualify to become a member of Big Dipper, to begin with. To professional fighters, however, this was easily affordable.

The Intermediate Training Rooms cost 5,000 Credits per day. A majority of the city's professional fighters usually preferred to rent Intermediate Training Rooms. Unfortunately, there was not many available.

Big Dipper only had 20 Advanced Training Rooms, and they cost 10,000 Credits to rent per day. This was practically the average price of renting a room at a 7-star hotel.

As for Special Training Rooms, there were only five in the Big Dipper Training Center, or better yet, in all of Jin Hai City. The rental for these rooms was 30,000 Credits per day. However, one would be lucky if they even had the chance to rent one of these rooms.

Yet, now, Big Dipper had specifically reserved one of these rooms for Shi Feng. Countless people would definitely turn green with envy if they found out.

"I'll have to trouble Chairman Xiao, then." Shi Feng did not hold back as he accepted the Diamond Member Card.

With the Special Training Room's gravity enhancement, his future training would yield far better results.

"Master Shi Feng, there is also the matter of the fifteen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and five virtual gaming cabins that we previously agreed to. Our Board of Directors has unanimously agreed to increase the count to thirty bottles and ten virtual gaming cabins. We will have the items delivered to you in a few days," Xiao Yu said with a smile. "Also, I will have my Head Assistant, Liang Jing, follow you. She is always very efficient. If you have any matters in Big Dipper you need to deal with, please let her take care of them for you."

"Alright." Shi Feng did not refuse Xiao Yu's offer. He had no reason to refuse to begin with.

Aside from how important S-rank Nutrient Fluids were to him, just the ten virtual gaming cabins could raise Zero Wing's Workshop to a whole new level. It would no longer be just your average Workshop.

As for the assistant named Liang Jing, Shi Feng did not know much about Big Dipper. If he wanted Big Dipper to take care of some matters for him, such as training the members of his Workshop, an assistant like Liang Jing would definitely come in handy; she could save him a lot of trouble.

Regardless of the others' optimistic view of his development in the fighting world, Shi Feng had no intention of changing career paths. He only had one goal in his heart—God's Domain.

After all, God's Domain held the world's future.

After Shi Feng chatted with Xiao Yu and the others for a while, he returned to his apartment.

Before he left, Xiao Yu had Liang Jing prepare five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids for him, which would help him quickly recover from the injuries he had suffered during the match with Lei Bao.

After returning home, Shi Feng immediately drank a bottle before resting in the virtual gaming cabin and logging into God's Domain.

A virtual gaming cabin also functioned as a Health Cabin. Only, it had an additional function of allowing its user to log into God's Domain. Hence, when recovering from an injury, it would be best to lie inside a virtual gaming cabin.

The time was currently 7 pm. Although it was still dark in God's Domain, the sound of three system notifications rang in Shi Feng's ears the moment he logged in.

These three notifications informed him of the two Candlelight Trading Firms' completion in White River City and one in Star-Moon City.

The construction of all three Firms had finished during the day outside of God's Domain. Moreover, all three Shops had attracted quite a bit of attention, the two Candlelight Trading Firms in White River City in particular.

Both Shops were exquisite three-story-tall buildings. Moreover, as both buildings had suddenly appeared beside White River City's Auction House and Bank, they had no difficulty attracting notice.

In the end, many players had entered the buildings out of curiosity.

Before they had investigated these new buildings, they had been ignorant. The moment they did, however, they were immediately startled.

Not only were the Shops equipped with a full range of items that players required, but the furnishing inside was also luxurious and magnificent. Both Candlelight Trading Firms were far more glamorous than the Starstreak Trading Firm. There were even lounges available in the two Shops that allowed visiting players to enjoy beverages while they shopped.

Most importantly was the appearance of an item that everyone in White River City thirsted for.

That item was the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit.

Although the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits were inferior to the Basic Mana Armor Kits, the latter was simply too scarce. Despite many people having heard of the item before, they had never personally seen it. Now that the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits had appeared in the two Candlelight Trading Firms, the first batch of players to enter the Shops fought desperately to purchase them, afraid that the Armor Kits would sell out in a heartbeat.

Shi Feng had given Melancholic Smile the authority to determine the goods' prices in the Shops, so it was up to her to decide at what price she wanted to sell the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits for. Yet, despite having set the initial price of the Armor Kits at 11 Silver Coins, it had taken only an instant for more than a hundred to sell. As a result, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to raise the price once more.

In the end, the price of the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit rose gradually from the initial 11 Silver to its current price of 16 Silver per kit. This price had far surpassed Shi Feng's initial expectation. Even so, in a short dozen or so hours, the three Shops in White River City and Star-Moon City sold more than 6,000 kits.

Moreover, due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, every player in White River City now knew about the newly established Candlelight Trading Firms. As a result, more players began to visit the Trading Firms, allowing business at the two Shops to flourish.

By the time Shi Feng logged into the game, the two Candlelight Trading Firms in White River City were already packed full of people. Everyone rushed to purchase the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits.

In addition to the several dozen sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment that had sold at the Blackwing Auction House, Shi Feng had suddenly become a wealthy man again, with more than 10,000 Gold in his pockets.

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Chapter 500 - Exclusive Control

White River City, Overwhelming Smile's Guild Residence:

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

"Who started it?" Youlan asked in a hurry.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was inconceivable!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Chapter 501 - Grand Duke Hartfield

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Boss, how many Herbs do you want to buy?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, these players' actions benefited Shi Feng.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Chapter 502 - Twilight Treasure Chest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Upon arriving at the bazaar in front of the Palace…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Luck?"

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

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