The Boss Behind The Game

by Little Merger

Lu Wu, an aimless video game developer, had been feeling perturbed ever since he found out he was the direct descendant of a king from the underworld. Other than the title, His Excellency, his ancestor hadn’t passed down anything else to him. On top of that, all of his ancestor’s subordinates had rebelled against him and completely usurped his inherited territory. Under the circums

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Chapter 257: Liu Chai's Challenge

After the first battle in the Demonic Domain, players' emotions had become even more intense.

In addition to hunting the Undead in the Void Ocean, the players' taunting had become even more frequent in the territories of the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King.

This had caused these two Ghost Kings to pour out their endless grievances.

However, since Lu Wu hadn't given them any specific orders yet, they could only grin and bear it.

Nonetheless, the players also knew when they needed to stop and to not cross the line. At the very least, they still took into account that the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King had provided great help during the battle against the Sea King, so they still showed them some mercy.

With the current power of Beiqi's Army, it would be nothing to them to completely annihilate the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King.

Meanwhile, the profits of Lu Wu's soul coins were rapidly increasing.

Other than the increase in the number of players and the purchases of the daily merchandise, there was another important contributing factor. The number of players that were launching challenges in the Ghost Commander Trials had increased tremendously.

The fee to enter the challenge was a huge part of the recent increase in the soul coin income.

Apart from using these soul coins to increase his own cultivation and Beiqi's construction, Lu Wu had also planned to use them for the upcoming opening of the American server. He had carefully been calculating all the expenses.

After this battle, Lu Wu had come up with a new idea.

His idea was to merge the three main servers of South America, North America, and Oceania into a single server and rename it the Naraka server.

Lu Wu had finally decided on this plan after much consideration.

After all, the Land of Naraka had been chosen as the origin of the new server.

This unruly area was filled with many strong clans and many forbidden areas that could give rise to demonic creatures. It would be difficult for anyone to survive in this place.

Not to mention, after entering Naraka, Lu Wu couldn't create any resurrection point until the players had successfully claimed ownership to any of the territories in it.

This was because each resurrection point would be created in a random location within a fixed territory.

Of course, Lu Wu would choose the relatively weaker territory compared to the stronger force of Naraka to set as the fixed resurrection point.

This was in consideration for the players as well because this piece of Naraka was occupied by stronger clans. The chances of claiming territory in the initial stage was zero.

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It could be said that the opening level for the Naraka server was vastly different from those of the previous servers.

All players would start off in a doomsday survival mode and their challenges were at a Naraka level.

Moreover, the original plan was to create the Australian server and the other servers, but since the number of players was not as high as these major servers, just merging these was a good choice, as it could greatly enhance the player's survivability in the early stage.

As for the subsequent opening of the Asian server, Lu Wu was already making plans for it and was setting up a new template for it. Then, he would develop a variety of expansion routes for the players.

Recently, the videos of the Ghost Commander Trial Challenge had gone viral in the forum.

After all, only a few players could successfully defeat the Ghost Commander. Winning the challenge was something that a player should be proud of, and at the same time able to prove one's strength and ability.

In addition to joining in the fun, players watching the videos of the Ghost Commander Trial Challenge wanted to learn some combat skills to improve their own abilities and to prepare for the upcoming tournament.

However, the live streaming of the challenge today had stunned all the players.

[Finally reached Level 100, I will try to challenge the Ghost Commander, live streaming for my fellow guild members (I do not intend to pass – it is purely for entertainment purposes, so don't take it too seriously)!]

Host: Commander_Of_Demolition_Officers

After going through the battle yesterday, Liu Chai had finally reached Level 100, which was also the minimum requirement to enter the Ghost Commander Trial Challenge.

Under the persuasion of fellow guild members, Liu Chai decided to try it out.

Of course, he himself did not have any high hopes of success.

At this stage, many players who were at Level 130 weren't able to pass it. Even the top players like Ao Jian had only managed to pass the challenge when he was at Level 120, not to mention, after his second attempt.

Therefore, in this challenge, Liu Chai had only wanted to test the waters and to see the differences in power between himself and the actual Ghost Commander level monsters.

Moreover, at this moment, Liu Chai was the guild leader of Beiqi's first guild and he was very popular among the players. So, very soon his livestream had attracted the attention of many.

Liu Chai felt embarrassed when he saw the huge number of players that had tuned in to support him since he didn't have much confidence in this battle.

After paying the entrance fee to the Mansion of the Dead's keeper, two panels appeared in front of him:

[Entry level Combat-type Ghost Commander Trial Challenge (applicable to all combat classes)]

[Entry level Auxiliary-type Ghost Commander Trial Challenge (applicable to all auxiliary classes)]

Liu Chai had advanced his class to Rune Master, so naturally, he chose the combat challenge.

After pressing to confirm, the scene before him faded out. When a new cut scene appeared, he found himself in the middle of nowhere.

In front of him was a ten foot tall ugly-looking giant orc holding a thick wooden club looking at him fiercely.

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[The end of random backdrop selection: skill demonstration area scene]

[The end of random of Ghost Commander monster selection: Ferocious beasts (early stage of Ghost Commander)]

[Warning: Players are prohibited from using revive potions, growing range potions, Lucky Scrolls, etc…]

After the instruction cutscene dimmed, a countdown timer emerged in front of Liu Chai's eyes.

[Ghost Commander Trial Challenge begins… player please be ready… countdown… ten… nine… eight… seven… six…]

In high anticipation of the players, the challenge finally started.

Of course, what the players were looking forward to was not how Liu Chai was going to display his immense strength or abilities, nor his attack to the trial-level monster, but to witness how Liu Chai would embarrass himself. Then they could laugh at him by sending mocking emojis.

Liu Chai faced the ferocious beast as it came rushing toward him, but he dared not face it head-on. He immediately did a side roll and evaded the thick wooden club that was about to crush him.

However, the ferocious beast's reaction was super agile. As it saw the attack was unsuccessful, it quickly swirled its body around and swerved the wooden club diagonally upward. Then, it forcefully smashed it into Liu Chai's chest, sending him flying to the other side.

When viewers saw Liu Chai soaring, the live stream channel suddenly became very lively.

Crayon_Shinchan: "Leader of Demolition, what are you waiting for? Use your sacrifice, and beat him up with the Sea God! If you activate this skill, I can assure you that you can settle him within seconds… if you start all over again it's no big deal, too, it's just Level 0, what are you afraid of, we're just waiting for you to beat his ass (a laughing and persuasive glance.jpg)!"

A_Large_Wolfdog replied to Crayon_Shinchan: "Why are you, the good-for-nothing troll, always around!? (disgusted squinting eye look.jpg)"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to A_Large_Wolfdog: "Since you're here, I will pet your head with respect… (laughing emoji)"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "Guild leader Liu Chai, fighting!"

Captain_Of_Demolition_Officers: "Fighting that Ferocious beast (laughing emoji)!"

Junior_Captain_Of_Demolition_Officers: "Fighting that Ferocious beast (laughing emoji)!"

At this moment, in the discussion area, apart from the players that were trolling Liu Chai, the other comments were divided into two groups.

On one hand, there were players that hoped Liu Chai would be able to pass the trial test, and were cheering him on.

On the other hand, there was a group of players none other than his own guild members who were eating popcorn as they cheered for the ferocious beast.

At this instant in the livestream, the figure of the ferocious beast once again appeared next to Liu Chai and the huge wooden club smashed directly onto his head.

There was such a huge difference in terms of physical qualities between these two. There was no way that Liu Chai was able to catch up with the ferocious beast, so the only thing he could do was to build up his courage and face it directly.

As the strength gemstone on his body gleamed, he raised his right arm.

Boom!

Liu Chai abruptly sank his body down while his left arm quickly shot out and struck at the armpit of the ferocious beast.

That hit worked its magic on the spot. The ferocious beast took a few steps back as his arm felt a numbing sensation.

Liu Chai's fighting talent was undoubtedly powerful. When he saw that his attack worked well, he did not slow down. He immediately stepped forward with his right arm deflecting the wooden club, and he forcefully landed a blow onto the chest of the ferocious beast. Subsequently, that punch resulted in the beast retreating.

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Chapter 258: The Return Of Number One

The battle between Liu Chai and the ferocious beast became more intense. This was because they were in close combat and the fighting was very violent. The livestream grabbed all the other players' attention.

It unfolded like they were watching a blockbuster action movie!

However, as time went on, players noticed that Liu Chai's combat style had changed.

As Liu Chai understood and learned the attacking style of the beast, he became increasingly confident because he found he had an added advantage over his opponent.

His right arm was invincible!

Therefore, in the following attacks, whenever the huge wooden club of the beast was going to smash into Liu Chai, he would just raise his right arm to take the blow. Then he would launch his counterattack.

With the help of Mu Zhiguang's unbreakable right arm, the beast of the Ghost Commander had no way of breaking Liu Chai's defenses. Every time its attacks were blocked, Liu Chai would hit back at the ferocious beast almost instantly.

Although the beast's skin was thickened with callouses, it was unable to withstand such relentless beating.

Suddenly, the entire live streaming room went wild as the players saw the health of the beast steadily falling.

Crayon_Shinchan: "I strongly suggest that everyone report this Liu Chai student for using bots. Is his right arm made of vibranium? How could there not be a single drop of blood after so much smashing? I suggest the game official investigate this matter. (laughing emoji)"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "Since when did Boss Liu train his Kirin arms? (laughing emoji)"

Assassin_Creed: "Kirin's right arm, so terrifying (laughing emoji)!"

Invincible_Loneliness: "There must be a very wet story behind such a strong arm. (laughing emoji)"

Peppa_Boar: "Hahaha, Guild Leader Liu, your method for the trial is so unusual. It was like using an invincible shield, if the beast was a conscious being, I think it would be fuming at you (laughing emoji)!"

There was a commotion on the streaming channel. Obviously, it was due to the fact that no one thought that Liu Chai would pass the trial challenge with such a rogue method.

However, this method has proven to be very effective.

Mu Zhiguang was a Ghost Emperor Elite. Even if the Ghost Commander's ferocious beast was to use all of its power, it wouldn't leave a single scar on the arm, let alone break it.

It could be said that the strength of this randomly chosen close combat trial, the ferocious beast was greatly restricted by Liu Chai until it wasn't able to unleash its true strength and ability. After every one of its attacks were blocked, it would be smashed repeatedly by Liu Chai.

Moreover, the monsters of the Ghost Commander Trial were completely different from those of the outside world. They didn't have any cognitive abilities, and their only aim was to constantly attack the players.

Hence, in the end, Liu Chai, who was at a disadvantage initially, relied on the invincibility of his right arm to overpower the beast.

[Server Announcement, congratulations to player Liu Chai for breaking the record for the Ghost Commander Trial, Level 100 – Number of challenges: One]

The appearance of this announcement immediately shocked many of the players, and one after another joined Liu Chai's live streaming channel to learn about what had happened.

These players were dumbfounded when they learned that Liu Chai had defeated the ferocious beast with just a really strong arm. Subsequently, a huge debate broke out.

Is this how the game should be played? This was the main question that the players had on their minds.

However, Liu Chai's close-to-cheating method of passing the trial had inspired the other players to think of many other clever ideas.

After this awe-inspiring event, more and more players were becoming enthusiastic about challenging the Ghost Commander Trial.

The players would no longer blindly engage in combat with the trial monster but instead start to build legitimate strategies to win.

For example, many Assassin players would run around and lay traps, and when enough traps had been laid they would start their attacks on the monsters.

There was also a Mage player who was smart enough to learn all the summoning skills of the Cultivation Pavilion. When he entered the Ghost Commander Trial he didn't even carry his magician stuff but instead just held up a shield. Throughout the battle, he was executing his summoning skills while running around wildly, occasionally lifting his shield when the monster came too close to him.

The players came up with many unusual methods and continued to present a variety of different ways to get through the trial.

It should be said that without cognitive abilities, these trial monsters really couldn't cope with this kind of combat that utilized strategic planning. Even if there was a trap, they would step right into it.

Lu Wu did not know whether he should cry or to laugh at how the players were trying to pass this trial. Originally, this Ghost Commander Trial was set up to compare the player's own strength and the Underworld's cultivation system. However, in the end, the players treated this challenge as a strategy game.

Of course, this scenario was not what Lu Wu had expected.

Therefore, Lu Wu took the opportunity to do some tweaking to the Second Level of the Ghost Commander Trial during the period when nobody was doing the challenge. He strengthened and upgraded the monster's combat consciousness so that they would no longer storm at the players ineptly.

As for the First Level's loophole that the players had discovered, Lu Wu did not intend to revise it.

Since it was a bug that the players had discovered on their own, then they could use it.

Lu Wu could only say that they would regret it one day. It was because of their ingenuity that the second level of the Ghost Commander Trial would be enhanced.

However, right now the players had no idea about this new change. The whole forum had become lively and players were sharing strategies for each character class to pass the trial. Everyone was fantasizing about the rewards they would get from the trial.

…

Offline, at the border of the Dragon Nation.

A figure was slowly walking over from a distance. He walked over to a stone surface of which half was embedded into the body of a mountain with a blank expression and stood in front of it for some time.

At this time, the tiny hole on the surface of the boulder emitted a ray of laser light and swept over the man standing before it.

Beep!

"Identity confirmed… welcome back, Number One!"

After the robotic voice called out, the flat surface of the boulder slowly slid open and the lights were switched on from the space within it to reveal a pathway made of steel.

This was the underground human engineering laboratory that the Jie De Corporation had constructed outside of the border of the Dragon Nation. The location of this facility was well-concealed and was difficult to detect with the naked eye.

Moreover, Number One was created in this facility and he had received the power stronger than any other ordinary human.

As Number One walked along the passage, he finally came to the end of the passageway, where a steel wall blocked his way.

Right at this moment, the surveillance camera at the top of the wall slowly rotated to face Number One.

"It's Number One, Number One is back!"

When the guard saw the familiar figure in the surveillance image, he immediately took out his walkie talkie and reported it to the Base Director.

"Quick, let him in!" Abel quickly cried out as he was sitting with the Base Director.

He was full of expectation as he could finally meet the person in charge of Battle Online that had caused him so much trouble.

He had even thought of some ways to entertain his distinguished guest.

As the steel door opened, Number One immediately strode into the elevator that led to the underground level.

"Number One, please head to the Base Director's office. They're waiting for you!" the voice of the guard could be heard inside the elevator.

Number One didn't give any reply, but instead, nodded. Suddenly a dull light appeared in his eyes.

When the elevator reached the designated floor, the door slid open and Number One paced toward the direction of the Base Director's office.

Along the way, he passed by storage space for human research and came across countless human bodies immersed in nutrient-rich liquid storage.

These bodies were covered with scars and some of their skin was festering which looked very painful. Their eyes were tightly shut and they could only sleep with the help of tranquilizing drugs.

When Number One reached the Base Director's office, he opened the door and walked straight in without knocking.

Both Abel and the Base Director were astonished by Number One's sudden arrival.

"Why didn't you knock before you walked in!?" the Base Director yelled all of a sudden.

He had the highest authority in this whole facility base so it was completely normal for him to be angry with Number One's impoliteness.

"Where's the guy? Where's the person in charge of Battle Online?" Abel stood by the side and asked. He didn't care about formalities. He only wanted to see the person in charge of that wretched game.

Therefore, when he found out that Number One was here alone, he began to feel anxious.

After all, Battle Online was about to open their American server. If they didn't settle this matter, their market share would end like the other servers, where it would also be taken over by the Black Sea Corporation.

"I'm asking you… where is he?"

As a result of not getting a reply from Number One, Abel immediately walked up to him, grabbed him by the collar and shouted.

A hideous grin appeared on Number One's face. A malicious glint flashed across his face as he raised his hand and grabbed onto Abel's head and slammed it against the wall.

Thud!

Like a watermelon being split open, the blood splattered everywhere. The Base Director who was standing by his side was immediately taken aback by this scene.

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Chapter 259: Unreliable Researchers

The Base Director sensed something was wrong as soon as Number One entered the room.

However, he still believed Number One was reliable, even though he had been brainwashed numerous times. Nonetheless, when Number One killed Abel without any hesitation, he was totally taken by surprise.

Watching Abel's body leaning onto the wall, and eventually falling down, the Base Director was dumbfounded, "Number One, what have you done? Are you out of your mind? I'm ordering you to get out now!"

Number One remained silent while taking a step toward the shocked Base Director.

He had already been brainwashed and remodeled by Bei Li, so of course, he wasn't taking any orders from these goons anymore.

Looking at Number One getting closer and closer, the Base Director quickly opened the drawer and pressed the area's alarm button in panic.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The sirens blared across the area all at once.

However, Number One was already so close by then that the defensive force of the base was unable to arrive in time.

It was then when Number One reached out his hands to choke the Base Director while raising him up bit by bit.

The Base Director started to struggle with all his strength. While he randomly hit his attacker's arms, his face eventually reddened due to a lack of oxygen.

Crack!

As the veins were obviously shown on Number One's arms, the neck of the Base Director was distorted. His struggling stopped.

Leaving the corpse of the Base Director behind, Number One was then at the entrance of the room. He opened the door with his hand.

Click-clack!

The sound of guns being loaded were heard.

The security guards were all gathered outside the room.

"Number One, hand over the director to us!" shouted the leader in full armor.

Seeing that, Number One took a step backward into the room and closed the door. Later, he let out a loud roar. The muscles all over his body then contracted and he slammed hard toward the wall at the side.

Bang!

The thick wall collapsed instantly under the impact.

The guards outside were surprised by that and aimed their guns at the dusty area.

Roar!

It was then that a blurry figure appeared from the scene and rushed toward them, indicating the beginning of a massacre.

Under such close distance circumstances, gunfire was shot at their comrades by accident. The guards couldn't help but lower their guns and try to take down the frantic Number One with their daggers.

However, Number One was even stronger than before. The dagger couldn't even cut through his tough skin.

It was as if Number One was now a killing machine. The murder fighting skills which he had been training for years could now be utilized as fully as he wished. He defeated the ten guards within seconds.

After getting rid of the blood on his arms, Number One turned around to look at the security camera on the corner of the wall with a ferocious smile on his face.

Looking at the screen in the security booth, the monitoring personnel worker was trembling inside while he quickly pressed the alarm button beside him. He grabbed the walkie talkie to contact the Deputy Base Director.

"Director Li, Number One has mutinied! Number One mutinied! The director has been killed! We need backup!"

"What? The director is dead?" Deputy Director Li, who was checking the recent human experiment data at the database, couldn't believe it.

He quickly turned around and rushed toward the laboratory. Meanwhile, he ordered the monitoring personnel at the base to allocate all the defensive forces of the base to stop Number One.

He participated in the remodeling of Number One by himself, so he knew how destructive Number One was. It was not an exaggeration to call him a human tank. The thought of the great sabotage that would be brought by the out-of-control Number One filled him with dread.

Since they had created Number One, for sure they had something as a backup defense. There was a remote control in the laboratory which could be used by him to control the self-destruct bomb chip planted inside Number One's brain.

Although he didn't know whether Number One could be under control, he had to be fully prepared. If Number One, who had lost control and couldn't be stopped, then all he could do was to destroy this weapon from the inside.

Followed by the blaring of the alarms at the base, all the personnel gathered rapidly and dashed toward Number One's whereabouts under the instruction of the monitoring personnel.

In the meantime, Number One was walking toward the main control room of the base.

His main objective was to demolish this base and there was a self-explosive system that could be triggered from the main control room. Once the system was activated, this base would be completely ruined.

This system was originally made to destroy the proof of the existence of this base when it was found, but Number One thought that it might be put to good use.

"Number One!"

It was then that a figure darted from the side and leaped toward him with a whip struck right at his forehead, causing him to take a step back subconsciously.

"Die!"

The figure got close as soon as it landed, stabbing Number One's neck with an elbow knife.

Even so, Number One was expressionless. He swung his left arm forward to hold onto the figure's elbow. Then by using his right arm, he locked the figure's neck and pressed it down forcefully while his knee hit upward mercilessly right at the person's chin.

This action was ruthless and the figure couldn't help but take a few steps backward, looking dazed.

"Number Three… why do you always think that you're stronger than me?" gazing at the other figure, Number One let out a laugh.

Once Number Three had regained his composure, he felt his vision was covered by a shadow while a buzzing sound bombarded his ears.

"How is this possible? They've always said that my value was higher than yours! I was remodeled based on your basic features, so I should be even stronger than you!" shaking his head, Number Three reached for the wall while staring unbelievably at Number One who was laughing ferociously in front of him.

Number One was so strange to him now.

They had been on missions numerous times, so he understood very well about his capability. However, from the fight just now, he felt Number One had transformed greatly. Neither his strength nor his conditioned reflexes were at the same level.

"Number One, stop it now! You've totally lost control but it's still not too late to stop now… they won't kill you. You know how valuable you are!" Number Three advised him immediately, realizing he was no match for Number One.

Number One sneered suddenly and then he strode toward Number Three. The muscles on both his arms started to contract, showing lines of veins.

"Number One… do you really want to kill me?" begged Number Three as his pupils shrunk.

"Everyone in the base… of course, you are included!"

As Number One was saying so, he sprinted forward while swinging a curve with his right arm, smashing his fist onto Number Three's face, banging half of his head into the wall.

After taking his arm away, Number One continued striding toward the main control room with a blank look on his face.

On his way there, Number One passed by the reference room, the specimen storage room, and finally found the door to the main control room.

As soon as his figure appeared, the security guards who had gathered outside the main control room earlier all fired at once. Rain of bullets suddenly shot at him, leaving the wall behind him in holes.

However, the guards were terrified because the bullets that fell onto Number One were only able to slightly bruise his skin, demotivating them to move forward.

"Change into X bullets!" the leader shouted in rage.

They originally planned to encounter Number One with normal bullets only as the powerful X bullets might shoot precious Number One to death. However, he didn't care about this anymore as his primary responsibility was to protect the base, without any mishaps.

It was then when Number One suddenly went on a rampage and bolted at them.

"Alpha Team One, go on with melee while the others start changing bullets!"

Along with the order from the leader of the security personnel, the security guards from team one took out their daggers which were hidden beneath their legs and darted toward Number One.

On the contrary, Number One needed no weapon. He was beyond powerful with only his muscles, knocking down all the security guards in the first row within seconds.

This was a truly shocking scene to behold by all the security personnel. Luckily, they had successfully changed bullets, so they aimed at Number One once again.

"Wait!" a man screamed from behind the security personnel.

"Director Li, get out of here now! Number One has gone on a rampage!"

Noticing the person approaching, the leader of the security personnel quickly blocked him, preventing him from rushing forward abruptly.

Director Li ignored the guard and raised up the remote control in his hand instead and yelled, "Stop now, Number One!"

After throwing away a corpse in his hand, Number One turned around to stare at Director Li in mockery.

"Number One, once I press this button, the self-destruct bomb chip in your brain will explode. I'm ordering you to go and lock yourself up in the Jail of Experiment!" Director Li ordered strictly while swaying the remote control in his hand, threatening Number One boldly.

Number One stuck out his tongue and licked the blood on his lips, the ferocious look was shown on his face once again.

While Director Li was still in great surprise, Number One suddenly lunged forward.

Looking at Director Li who was obviously still stunned, the leader of the security personnel grabbed the remote control in his hand and pressed it immediately.

Number One was totally out of control by then. Since his responsibility was to defend the base, he didn't waste any second in hesitation. Even if he would be punished after this, we would accept the punishment anyway.

However, their imagination of Number One's brain explosion did not come true. As the leader of the guards was still in great shock, a sturdy arm swung before him and got a hold onto Director Li's head.

Burst!

Director Li's head was squeezed by great force until it exploded. The blood got all over the guard's face.

They were all utterly startled.

Looking at the fist which was getting increasingly bigger before him, he had only one thought in his mind.

These researchers were really unreliable. They once promised that the specimen would never betray them even if they had lost control and even if the self-explosion chip wasn't working.

I'm so dead!

Chapter 260: The Broken Page

Burst!

Both Deputy Director Li and their leader's head had exploded. Blood was scattered everywhere. The other guards had no idea what to do.

They aimed at Number One in a split second and started shooting.

However, something incredible happened.

As the X bullets hit Number One, they actually managed to cause a little damage to his body. Before they could penetrate further, though, they were squeezed out by his muscles and the wounds were healing by themselves at a noticeable speed.

The security guards who were witnessing this were all dumbfounded.

Even the X bullets with great lethality couldn't kill Number One. Could the explosion bullets kill him?

With the current distance, they were uncertain whether Number One would be killed by such a bullet, but they were absolutely positive that they would be killed if they didn't at least try.

However, Number One gave them no time to think twice. Along with a loud roar, he sprinted toward them. It was as if his arms were like two heavy pieces of lead and anyone who was smacked along the way ended up spurting blood from their mouths on the ground, losing all their ability to continue fighting.

Upon encountering such a scary Number One, it was useless for them to fight back. They could only wait to be slaughtered.

After killing around ten security guards, Number One was then at the entrance to the main control room. He turned and stared right at the security camera above him before shouting, "Open the door!"

Upon hearing this, the monitoring personnel stuttered, "I… I can't open this door."

As Number One heard this, he changed his gaze toward the metal door once again. He lowered his body and slammed himself hard onto the metal door.

Bam!

The metal door was shaking along with a deafening thud.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The frightened gaze of the worker grew as Number One was slamming against the door insanely. The metal dent became obvious on the door.

After a few trial runs, Number One stopped slamming and fell into deep thought as he was looking at the dented yet unbroken metal door.

Looking at this, the monitoring personnel worker heaved a huge sigh of relief.

If anything happened to the important data in the main control room, the headquarters would never let him get away with it.

After confirming Number One couldn't break into the entrance of the main control room, the worker quickly turned around and closed the door of the monitoring room to prevent Number One from finding him.

After glancing at Number One who was still in his original position, the worker took out a communication device and started contacting headquarters, urgently reporting the current situation.

When he was done, the worker gave orders to all of the researchers on the base to not panic and find the closest safe room.

These safe rooms were originally used to contain the specimens which had lost control, with all four walls made up of the latest alloy materials. They would never have thought that one day they would be the ones in them.

After settling everything, the worker glanced back at the entrance of the main control room.

He was so shocked by what he saw on the screen.

He saw a black light sword had slowly formed out of Number One's hands. The light sword was then used to chop open the unbreakable metal door like slicing bread.

Not only the monitoring personnel worker but the other workers from headquarters who were watching the scene through the security cameras were also scared witless.

They had done a lot of research regarding the data of Number One's body previously. There was one thing that they were sure of – this supernatural ability was not being produced by the remodeling of Number One.

The ability to materialize soul energy was what they were pursuing at the current stage.

Mutation!

The same thought appeared instantly in all the minds of the researchers at headquarters.

Their gaze was gradually filled with desire. In their perspective, the value of Number One was rising continuously.

"He cannot be killed… we must have him… he seems to have mastered the spell from the ancient cultivation system!" shouted Professor Yard from the main experiment base eagerly as he watched Number One pacing toward the main control room.

In the main control room, the lights of various apparatus were flickering, creating a truly science fiction-like atmosphere.

After wandering around the place, Number One fell into silence.

Although he knew there was a self-explosion system in the main control room, he knew nothing about how to activate it.

He considered for some time before he headed toward the main console and started scanning the various buttons on it.

Later, he was attracted to a broken page that was kept in a glass container on the console.

This broken page seemed special, its surface was glimmering with fluorescence.

This was a research base but this paper was protected in the main control room. Consequently, it piqued Number One's curiosity.

Number One thought for a while before he swayed the light sword to cut open the glass container which was made with unknown material slowly. He then took out the broken page with fluorescence.

"Hmm?"

As soon as he took the paper, Number One's hand sank. The weight of the paper was out of Number One's expectation. He made a rough estimation, deducing the weight of the broken page to be around one ton.

It was then a sound echoed in Number One's mind.

"Number One, bring that page back with you!"

Upon hearing Bei Li's voice, the anger on Number One's face disappeared. He was suddenly looking respectful.

"Now put your hands onto the main console and I will control the soul power in you. Leave it to me for the rest!"

Without any hesitation, Number One followed Bei Li's order and put his hands onto the main console.

A wisp of soul power then escaped from Number One's body and entered the main console.

Then, the data on the screen was scrolling very quickly and paragraphs of encrypted internal programs of the base were revealed.

In a wink, all the programs of the main console disappeared, leaving only a red caution command…

[Confirm activating the base's self-explosion system!]

The sentence disappeared right after that and a countdown appeared.

Number One should have been destroyed together with the base and this self-explosion system didn't originally have any countdown setting.

But after she saw the broken page, Bei Li changed her mind and did some quick programming.

With the start of the self-explosion countdown, the alarm of the whole base started blaring and Number One started to leave with the heavy broken page.

After he got back to the metal passage using the elevator, Number One destroyed the elevator control with his fist and walked toward the huge stone outside the passage.

When the notification of the self-explosion was heard, all the researchers in the safe room panicked. Some of them even cried.

They opened the safe room and ran outside as fast as they could. Even the monitoring personnel workers weren't planning to stay and chose to rush out with the others.

When the whole base exploded, as long as they were still inside, they would surely be dead. Only escaping would provide them a chance of survival.

As for all the important research data in the database and information room, they were all abandoned directly under the threat of death.

However, when they reached the elevator, they found that the elevator had already been destroyed and they could never leave the base.

At that moment, all the researchers and workers were full of despair.

They leaned against the metal wall outside the elevator, knowing that their end was near.

Number One had already exited the huge stone door on the outside of the base.

He looked back at the mountain base and backed up for a distance. He didn't leave right away. He stared at the huge stone door and waited there instead.

The order he got was to destroy the whole Human Experiment Base, so he couldn't let anyone escape.

As time passed, a heavy thud was suddenly heard and the ground started trembling vigorously.

The ground above the laboratory started to collapse, including the stone disguised as the entrance – everything fell into a collapsed pit.

Everything in the base was destroyed including the data, researchers, workers, and even those other specimens which were badly ravaged.

Taking a last glance at the huge sunken pit, Number One left with the broken page, looking indifferently.

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Chapter 261: The Nine Brothers Of The Nine Luminaries

Within the inner channel of the battle artifact…

Lu Wu and Bei Li were focusing wholeheartedly on the floating broken page from Number One.

[The Emperor's Note: The collection of the spells for cultivating souls into the body written by the ancient emperor using the Laws of the World.

Item Details: Sanctification Part (incomplete)

Noticing the information on the paper, both Lu Wu and Bei Li were stunned.

All this while, they thought that what the Jie De Corporation had found was an ordinary ancient cultivation book. However, to their surprise, the Jie De Corporation had obtained The Emperor's Note, a top-level cultivation method.

Hiss!

Both Lu Wu and Bei Li took a deep breath.

The existence of the Human Emperor was even stronger than the existence of the emperors of Heaven and the Underworld. He could be said to be the strongest among the three worlds.

How could his cultivation note be something ordinary?

"Such a waste! They were actually using such high-level notes for the experiment of recovering human soul energy!" mumbled Bei Li while looking at the broken page.

"Such good stuff!" Lu Wu couldn't hold back either.

"Wu, the Jie De Corporation has possibly received the whole book of The Emperor's Note but distributed parts in different laboratories!" said Bei Li seriously.

"Let's snatch them all!" Lu Wu immediately expressed his thoughts.

It was a total waste for such a precious treasure to be used by the Jie De Corporation for just human experiments. Lu Wu thought that it was better for him to keep it.

"What's your plan?"

"Don't we have Number One? Make him even stronger and have him get them for us!"

"Due to the forced cultivation, Number One's body was already unstable. If we still want to remodel him, his lifespan will be shortened significantly… unless we keep his soul in the artifact, he couldn't live for more than a year. Moreover, he is different from other players who can slowly get used to the state upgrades. His soul could possibly collapse if we inject soul power directly to upgrade his status!" Bei Li warned while taking a glance at Number One who was standing by their side.

"Then we should just mark his soul in the artifact and find a physical body from the Spirit Summoning Palace for him so that we can increase his capability to the limit where his soul could be able to withstand everything for now," Lu Wu uttered after a moment of consideration.

"Are you planning to remodel him into a secret weapon in the real world?" asked Bei Li curiously.

"Yes. After all, there's a lot of stuff in reality which we're not in the right place to achieve. It's good to have him here!"

Bei Li nodded and put on a white coat while the soul power around them gathered, enabling Number One to float in the air.

Soon after that, Bei Li formed a frameless spectacle on her hand and wore it, looking as if she was a consummate professional.

"Well, you can do this by yourself! I'll go and cook dinner…" Lu Wu gave Bei Li a supportive gaze.

Bei Li looked back solemnly, "Please cook more than usual… I have a good appetite today!"

Lu Wu was about to say something joking about how she always had a good appetite, but he kept it to himself. His figure slowly disappeared from the artifact channel.

…

The Land of the Nine Luminaries, Dark Heaven Pavilion of His Excellency.

There were nine ten-foot tall figures with fierce looks sitting in a circle in the main hall of Dark Heaven Pavilion. In front of every one of them were tables full of a variety of spiritual material and meats as well as fine wine.

"Big brother, there's a big commotion in the Underworld now, which is a bad sign," said a relatively thin man who was sitting in the opposite direction of His Excellency Xing Yao, the one seated on the throne.

"That's none of our business. As long as it isn't a war between the deities and the Underworld, we will not be affected!" Xing Yao replied indifferently after finishing the wine in his glass.

"The incidents of His Excellency Cangxu failing to go against Heaven and the ancestors in Beiqi killing the gods for the sake of the power source proved that there's a possibility for those in Heaven to start a war at any time."

"Ninth brother, don't jinx it. If they really start a war, we will be left with nothing even if we are domineering one of the large domains… after all, it's a fight between the gods!" Xing Yao reprimanded while staring at his brother, Huo Yao, who was still making insensitive remarks.

Upon hearing that, Huo Yao shut up at once, focusing his gaze on the food.

"Big brother, I would like to remind you of something…" the fifth brother, Jin Yao, turned around to look at Xing Yao after swallowing a piece of meat in his mouth.

[The sequence of the nine brothers in the Land of the Nine Luminaries are as follows: Star (Xing), Moon (Yue), Sun (Ri), Time (Chen), Gold (Jin), Wood (Mu), Water (Shui), Fire (Huo), and Earth (Tu).]

"It seems like the Earth Breaking Clan who separated us from Beiqi has vanished. A few days ago when I was passing by, I planned to greet the Leader of the Earth Breaking Clan but I found that the whole clan had left the Barren Grassland!"

Upon hearing this, Xing Yao's face turned cold.

"Big brother, now that Beiqi has no master, are you interested in it?" Jin Yao asked again with great expectation.

"Of course, let me be the King of Beiqi, too," replied Yue Yao, the second brother, as he laughed.

Xing Yao uttered no words and fell deep into his thoughts.

Actually, they had been longing to take down Beiqi by the sea for a long time. Furthermore, it was not a big problem to take it down now with their capabilities.

Besides, the previous few kings of Beiqi looked weak to them as well.

However, they had always been holding on due to the existence of the Earth Breaking Clan.

Although all nine of them were strong, only the eldest, second, and third brothers had achieved the Ghost Emperor Realm, with only the eldest brother, Xing Yao at the Greater Ghost Emperor stage. The other two were at the Fledgling Ghost Emperor stage. If they were really to fight the Earth Breaking Clan, just one clan member was already enough to be their match.

Although they might have won, in the end, the price was too high for them to pay.

The Earth Breaking Clan was the protector of the kings of Beiqi. They were able to fight all the contenders of Beiqi and were like a huge mountain that was blocking all outsiders from reaching Beiqi. Hence, they could only leave this thought aside back then.

However, now that the Earth Breaking Clan was said to have left the Barren Grassland, all nine of them were suddenly in great excitement.

Without the Earth Breaking Clan, the route to Beiqi would be so smooth that their armies could cross the boundary of Beiqi easily and take down the throne.

After that, they would be blessed by the Great Emperor and another one of them would surely be upgraded to become an elite of the Greater Ghost Emperor stage.

"Fifth brother, is this information reliable? What happens if the Earth Breaking Clan suddenly comes back?" Xing Yao asked carefully instead of making a decision right away.

"I'm not sure about that either. Since the Earth Breaking Clan's base was not there anymore, we can assume most probably that they've left. But to be safe, it would be better for us to wait and see!"

"Since we have waited for years, a while more would not be an issue. So let's just wait… right, go and check which force is the strongest in Beiqi now so that we can establish a good relationship with them. After that, we can ask for their willingness to cooperate with us!"

"Big brother, let me handle this. When we have successfully taken down Beiqi, let me be the king over there!" Yue Yao replied immediately.

"Go then. Take care. Retreat immediately if the Earth Breaking Clan comes back. Don't let them know you are aiming for Beiqi, otherwise with their bad temper, they would never let you get away!"

"Big brother, I understand. If the Earth Breaking Clan ever comes back, I'll leave with my men at once. I don't want to go against those psychos. I'm leaving now then, enjoy your tea!" Yue Yao stood up and left hastily after finishing his sentence.

Knowing Beiqi was now vacant, he couldn't wait to take down Beiqi and accept the blessing from the Great Emperor.

When the Nine Luminaries finally showed interest in Beiqi, all the players received a mission notification.

[New Mission Quest: Conquering the Land of the Nine Luminaries]

Mission Details: After half a year of battling, our armies have finally dominated the Land of Beiqi. However, there will never be an end to battles. The Land of the Nine Luminaries across the Barren Grassland is pointed by the blade as the next land to conquer. Go and explore this new territory, endless resources are awaiting you there.

Mission Requirement: Explore 5% of the frontier of the Nine Luminaries.

Mission Reward: Title of Forerunner added to your profile.

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Chapter 262: The Arrival Of The Messengers

With the update of this new quest, the task of conquering this mysterious Land of the Nine Luminaries began. All the Beiqi players were excited to check it out.

It represented a new challenge as well as more hidden quests and sources.

Soon after, the players had formed their own groups and prepared to go exploring.

However, it was then when some uninvited guests arrived in Beiqi.

At that moment, there were nine Chaos Earth Dragons at the entrance of Mansion of the Dead with a Nine Luminaries messenger sitting on each of them. All of them were wearing hats with an Underworld word on them.

Those words were Xing, Yue, Ri, Chen, Jin, Mu, Shui, Huo, and Tu, with each representing the king and eight lords dominating the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

Their arrival had attracted the attention of all the players. Most of them went over to figure out what was happening.

"Friends of the Mansion of the Dead, we are from the Land of the Nine Luminaries, the nine messengers of His Excellency… we are here to discuss serious matters with your leader!"

After the players read the information about the messengers from the explanation guide, all of them had a strange look on their faces.

Are these messengers looking for death to come over here while we are thinking to lay our hands on them over there?

All the players said nothing but surrounded them at once. As all the nine messengers were of the Ghost General level, they didn't want them to leave at all. Instead, they were planning to take advantage of their resources.

"My brothers, don't be impetuous… let's see what their purpose is for being here first!" Liu Chai's voice resounded in the live chat channel.

All the players were respectful of Liu Chai, so they stopped moving forward.

"Messengers, tell us why you are here!" Liu Chai exclaimed as he thronged the crowd and appeared in front of the nine.

"Are you the lord here?" asked the messenger wearing the hat with the word, Xing.

Liu Chai looked at the surrounding players. He was embarrassed as he couldn't actually represent all the players. Until then the players didn't take any action yet just because they respected him, but it wasn't like he could accept the title flippantly.

"Stop wasting time, the utmost thing is knowing what he wants first, just admit that you're the lord here!"

"Yeah, don't waste time, ask clearly their purpose first!"

Listening to the voice message of a few leaders in the live chat channel, Liu Chai agreed and responded, "I'm the Lord of Mansion of the Dead… why are you here?"

Upon hearing that, the messenger of Xing Yao nodded and threw him a scroll.

Liu Chai reached out for it and saw a sentence written on the scroll, His Excellency, Xing Yao's Edict. He then gazed toward the messenger of Xing Yao in doubt.

"Open and read it. If you agree, the Land of the Nine Luminaries can guarantee that you will be at the second top-level in Beiqi in the future!"

When the surrounding players heard of that, they nearly let out a laugh.

It seemed like another force that saw them as a weak group had appeared for they hadn't shown their true colors for quite some time.

Looking at the impatient players, Wu Guoyi immediately spoke in the live chat channel, "Everyone control yourself, let's look at what's written in the scroll!"

After opening the scroll in his hand, Liu Chai screenshotted the content and sent it to the chat.

All of the players were completely entertained after reading the content.

The King of the Nine Luminaries actually wanted the players to swear allegiance to him and help him fight off all the other forces of Beiqi. Then he'd give them the status of lord.

"Do we look like fools to them? Doesn't he think this is funny?"

"I'd die laughing! I'm suddenly looking forward to conquering the Land of the Nine Luminaries in the future."

"Big Brother Liu, you should write an edict, too. Ask His Excellency of the Nine Luminaries to hand over his territory to us and we will give up on turning him into soul coins!"

The nine messengers were not aware of the discussion among the players in the live chat channel at all. They were still waiting for Liu Chai's reply.

Actually, they were quite confident that they would succeed in their request.

Their perspective was different from the players. From their point of view, the great forces of the Nine Luminaries was enough to scare the players off. As the forces of Beiqi were scattered, if they were to attack, they would be no match for the Land of the Nine Luminaries. Therefore, they would choose to accept their offer as they would be granted an honorable title.

After all, this term would bring Beiqi's issues to an end and enable them to enter a more stable stage of progression. Besides, they could also own a larger territory with more resources at the same time.

On top of that, His Excellency Xing Yao also mentioned clearly in the edict that he was willing to provide military support.

With so many benefits offered, an ordinary lord would have agreed immediately as this was a great opportunity to expand their own force.

However, it was too bad that the ones they were asking to surrender were the players. It was impossible that they'd accept this offer as all of them couldn't wait to beat up these nine messengers to release their anger.

Liu Chai was looking enraged, too. Beiqi had already become their territory. But this King of the Nine Luminaries still dared to want to own their territory before they crossed over to his. He couldn't bear this any longer.

"Leader Liu, please wait… the official analysis said that the Land of the Nine Luminaries is stronger than us… don't rush this, let's try to pry something more from them!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Chai frowned. However, after noticing that it was Yin Xiaoqi who was speaking, he was surprised.

Yin Xiaoqi was quite famous among the players now as she managed to turn the tables for the players within the European server by providing advice and suggestions twice. Liu Chai remembered her well, thus accepted her suggestion.

"OK… Leader Liu, repeat this sentence after me. Let us obtain more details first!"

"Alright, I'm on all ears!" Liu Chai replied as he nodded.

"Lord of the Mansion of the Dead, I hope you can consider it thoroughly as there are many other forces in Beiqi. We chose you because we believe in you. Please don't let us down!"

While the players listened to this, there were commotions among them as the threat of the messengers sounded so weak to them.

Within the Land of Beiqi, it could be clearly seen from their previous battle that the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King were already their allies.

If they ever planned on betrayal, they would have surrendered to the Sea King when his forces attacked.

"Messengers from the Land of the Nine Luminaries… since it was mentioned on the edict that you are willing to provide military support, when are your armies arriving?" Liu Chai repeated after Yin Xiaoqi.

The messenger of Xing Yao froze as he heard this.

To be honest, he couldn't guarantee when their military support would get there.

After all, they were still worried that the Earth Breaking Clan would return, so they couldn't risk sending their troops too hastily.

After a moment of silence, the messenger of Xing Yao spoke again, "Once you've agreed and attacked other forces, our support will reach very soon!"

"Messenger, although we own the Mansion of the Dead and have the greatest forces here in Beiqi, maybe you aren't aware that recently we've been conquering too frequently and are now short of supplies. If your military support is not able to catch up with us, how are we going to start battling again?"

"As long as you start battling, we will provide you supplies. As for military support, we will catch up with you as soon as possible!"

Snap!

Liu Chai slapped on his own thigh and responded, "You should've said this earlier, Messenger. As long as supplies are provided, of course, my clan is willing to be the pawns of the King of the Nine Luminaries. I've agreed!"

When the messenger of Xing Yao heard of this, he frowned abruptly.

War was not just a game. Hence, he felt something was wrong when Liu Chai agreed so easily.

Then, something popped up in his mind all of a sudden. Since Liu Chai had mentioned the supplies, is this Lord of the Mansion of the Dead trying to cheat on our supplies and then do nothing after that?

While his mind was filled with this thought, he saw Liu Chai speak confidently again, "Since His Excellency is showing us so much sincerity, we will start preparing for a war now. We will start off with the Rock Ghost King to show our sincerity!"

When all the nine messengers heard that, they were all taken aback.

Isn't he agreeing way too easily? He's even prepared to start battling so quickly?

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Chapter 263: Putting On A Good Show

Looking at the shocked faces of the nine messengers, Liu Chai gave an indifferent smile.

"Now that I've agreed, naturally I have to show my sincerity. I'll declare war with the Rock Ghost King right away. My lords, would you be interested in witnessing the battle?"

The messengers were obviously unable to keep up with Liu Chai's pace, subconsciously nodding in reply after a moment of silence.

Soon, all the Beiqi players started preparing for war. A large number of people gathered outside the city.

About two hours later, the huge army of players was embattled and marching toward the North Rocks.

The messengers were indeed dumbfounded.

Liu Chai was too reckless in declaring war. He was so reckless that they didn't have any confidence in him. They quickly followed behind the army of players marching, wishing to see whether this was a true battle or merely a facade by feigning attack.

Right at this moment, inside the live chat channel.

Yin Xiaoqi: "Boss Liu, have you sent someone to inform the Rock Ghost King? Did he agree?"

Liu Chai: "He did. The Rock Ghost King thought that we must act perfectly from the very beginning until the end, so he'll do his best to work with us. He also wants 20 percent of the resources that the Nine Luminaries will deliver to us!"

Ye Xue'er: "Hahaha, great job, little sister Yin Xiaoqi, here goes another big trap!"

Gu Yu: "Brilliant! We'll play based on this script… consider us a loser if they don't get stressed out in the end."

Wu Guoyi: "Interesting! Guys, don't be too brutal in killing them later. Having casualties is not a big deal for us, but do reserve some resources for the Rock Ghost King and don't overdo it!"

Following a long march of two hours, the players finally arrived at the densely-wooded area in the North Rocks.

Nonetheless, they didn't stop their pace and continued charging onward.

When the army of players reached the edge of the Rock Ghost King's territory, countless figures of Tree Demons and Enchanted Trees appeared before them. At the same time, five huge trees were flying over from afar, smashing heavily on the edge of the Rock Ghost King's territory, overlooking the army of players.

"Player Clan! Why are you attacking my North Rocks!" the Rock Ghost King hooted in rage.

"Rock Ghost King, you brigand! Hand over your territory and surrender yourself, or else I will take away your pathetic life and seize the North Rocks!" Liu Chai immediately shouted in reply.

"This is the North Rocks, I advise you to retreat quickly before my army kicks your asses and wipes out your entire army!" the Rock Ghost King yelled back again.

The messengers were bewildered as they saw Liu Chai and Rock Ghost King shouting such malicious words at each other.

We usually begin the war straight away. What's with all the yelling before the war? Is it warming up?

"Fine, bully… since you're unwilling to surrender, go to hell then! Kill them!"

"Thickhead! My place isn't something you can obtain easily! My dear children, come kill alongside me!"

Both Liu Chai and the Rock Ghost King shrieked simultaneously and their armies dashed forward in an instant.

The faces of the nine messengers grew solemn at the sight of this, they began to observe the situation on the battlefield.

Bang!

The battle began as the two armies clashed together.

Most of the players were goofing around during the battle and started putting on a show.

Not only did the players have to show the messengers that they were doing all they could to fight and kill, but they also had to die inadvertently in the battle. They made full use of their abilities to perform, albeit with great difficulty.

However, the battle appeared to be exceptionally intense when seen from a distance.

The messengers from the Nine Luminaries were really dumbfounded, looking at the war.

They're doing it for real? Where's the feigned attack they agreed upon to prove their sincerity?

Looking at the huge number of players who died, the messengers were so baffled that they were at a loss for words.

"Kill!"

The great battle cry rumbled in the sky as the battle between the two armies intensified.

The Rock Ghost King felt so great as he was killing during the battle. After all, the players were merely feigning attack and thus he wouldn't lose too many soldiers. He could feel the alacrity in his heart for the reason that he could gain 20 percent of the resources after the battle.

He could definitely sell these resources to the players by putting them in the shop later in exchange for soul coins, and then converting those into soul power. Perhaps he could utilize this opportunity to break through and become a Greater Ghost King.

"Die! All of you!" with the roar of the Rock Ghost King, the vines in the zone of the wood element were moving in a frenzied dance, killing a large number of players.

The Rock Ghost King had always been bullied by the players, yet he felt extremely delighted at this moment where he had the opportunity to massacre them freely. He grew more and more enthusiastic as he went on killing, for he might not have another chance to do so.

Upon seeing the large number of players being strangled to death by the Rock Ghost King, the messengers from the Nine Luminaries turned to look at Liu Chai, who retreated to their side.

"Lord… Lord of the Mansion of the Dead, doesn't your heart hurt?"

"It does, but this is our sincerity! Don't judge simply because I may seem fairly random in our agreement. Our clan is very forthright and we never go back on our promises! Besides, take a look at our poor warriors who don't even have decent equipment. We might have the advantage in respect of the numbers, but… sigh!"

The Messenger of Xing Yao's lips twitched as he glanced through a large number of dead players.

"Lord of the Mansion of the Dead… perhaps… you should retreat and wait for the arrival of our resources before dispatching more troops?"

"No way! We must fight with vigor since the battle has already started!"

Liu Chai rejected within seconds and went on shouting at the front, "Kill! Children! It's the Rock Ghost King! Kill him!"

Witnessing a large number of deaths, the messengers couldn't help but speak again, their hearts bleeding, "Lord of theMansion of the Dead, stop fighting! You're simply wasting your soldiers for nothing! How about this, we'll deliver the resources as soon as possible for you to make another war and you can definitely take down the Rock Ghost King by then! You mustn't let emotions affect your decision now!"

"No! We must fight with vigor!"

Seeing that Liu Chai was so stubborn, the nine messengers turned over and jumped off the back of their Chaos Earth Dragons. They walked over to Liu Chai, trying to persuade him earnestly.

At the present stage, they were completely convinced by Liu Chai that he was honestly seeking their patronage.

In that case, these dying soldiers would be the future subordinates and forces of His Excellency Xing Yao who would take control over Beiqi in the future. Their hearts ached at the sight of the dying players.

Noticing Liu Chai's determination in doing so, the nine messengers immediately made an assurance to him that they would only take three days. They promised to send the resources in three days, in the hope that Liu Chai could suppress his anger and tolerate the wait for three more days.

In the end, Liu Chai let out a long sigh under their persistent persuasion.

"Frankly speaking, based on my hot temper, this battle will either end with their death or my army being wiped out. But since I've sought your patronage, I still have to listen to the words of my lords and show due respect to you!"

The nine messengers immediately nodded upon hearing that, seemingly agreed with him.

"I'll end the battle for your sake, but I'll definitely fight it out with them in the next war!"

There was a hidden meaning behind Liu Chai's words. If they were to lose the war against the Rock Ghost King due to insufficient resources, this useful army of the Mansion of the Dead would be of no avail by then.

The messengers unanimously nodded in agreement and shot Liu Chai a grateful look.

To them, it appeared that Liu Chai had truly honored them in making the decision.

At this moment, they completely believed that Liu Chai was a very honest and forthright lord who could be easily driven by them.

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Chapter 264: Welcome Gifts For The Future Subordinates

Liu Chai seemed extremely unwilling when he agreed to pull back his troops. Nonetheless, the nine messengers were grateful as they thought Liu Chai was showing them respect.

When the Player Clan retreated, the Rock Ghost King performed an outburst of acting out and bellowed in anger. He started commanding his subordinates, the Army of Tree Demons, to go in hot pursuit and attack, resulting in the players losing a lot more of their troops. All the nine messengers could feel their hearts aching at the sight of this.

Once they returned to the Mansion of the Dead, all the players pretended to be exhausted and lay on all sides on the floor while resting.

"Messengers, you've seen the strength of my clan. We are as true as steel and fear no death in a battle, but unfortunately, we don't have sufficient equipment and resources… sigh…" Liu Chai sighed as he spoke.

"Fear not, Lord of the Mansion of the Dead! Your sincerity is clear to us. We will acquaint His Excellency and the other lords with your message right away. The resources, weapons, and equipment will be supplied to you without delay!"

"Great! We will make war with other forces once the resources are in place!"

Both the messengers and the players were on cloud nine.

The messengers from the Nine Luminaries were elated as they had easily summoned the biggest force at the Mansion of the Dead to surrender, paving the way into Beiqi in advance for Lord Yue Yao.

Without even starting a war at all.

On the other hand, the players were thrilled for the simple fact that another idiot had taken their bait again. They were actually going to send them resources this time!

Both sides burst into hearty laughter after some negotiation, seemingly to be enjoying themselves.

Once the messengers left and after the negotiation had ended, all the players stood up in high spirits. They couldn't help but burst out into a wild fit of laughter.

In the forum:

Crayon_Shinchan: "My acting skills went through the roof today, that fucking Tree Demon couldn't even tie me up! Fortunately I was quick-witted to take two steps forward and bump into his vines so that he could strangle me to death. So, is there any extra drumstick, director? (laughing emoji)"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "Guys, you won't believe this. I wandered around the Ancient Tree Demons for quite a while, blinking and tipping it with the wink, yet it just wouldn't hit me. I got mad and straight away backstabbed it, then it finally noticed me and crushed me to death (laughing emoji)!"

Watermelon_Taro: "So it appears that it is very hard, even when you want to get yourself killed. I think those little tree demons were unable to kill all the players as there were too many of us (laughing emoji)!"

Assassin_Creed: "At that time, I was going to take the opportunity to scrape something off the Rock Ghost King himself, but in the end, I was instantly killed the moment I got near him. I'm so angry, it was such a rare opportunity."

Little_Tree_Rock replied to Assassin_Creed: "You wicked fellow (Tong Gua smashing face.jpg)!"

Predestined_Tong_Gua replied to Little_Tree_Rock: "I advise you to be kind and delete the picture… (Cha Na overlooking.jpg)"

Roast_Jade_Hare_With_Chang'e_In_The_Arms: "Hahaha, it's so much fun! The little tree demon in front of me just seemed like it was tired of killing, looking so weak that even its branches and leaves were trembling. It was so adorable that I wanted to capture it and raise it myself (laughing emoji)!"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Roast_Jade_Hare_With_Chang'e_In_The_Arms: "Capture and raise it until it's big enough for you to chop and sell as spiritual material, right? You're very creative indeed (laughing emoji)!"

Looking at the players showing off their skills, Lu Wu was already completely convinced.

The King of the Nine Luminaries, the great fellow with exalted rank, had actually been played by these players.

All I can say is that the players who are able to resurrect can really do as they please.

…

Land of the Nine Luminaries, Dark Heaven Pavilion in His Excellency's palace.

His Excellency Xing Yao was sitting high up on the throne while the rest of the eight brothers were sitting below him, at his left and right-hand side, following the proper order. The nine messengers who just returned from Beiqi were standing in the center.

The nine brothers appeared to be extremely shocked as they listened to the messengers' report.

If it wasn't for the fact that they had personally trained and taught these messengers, they would've thought the nine of them are spouting nonsense.

In their opinion, that lord must be an intelligent man for him to be a leader in the Land of Beiqi.

Therefore, in any case, if they were unable to draw these people to their side using these conditions, they had an initial plan to promise the people some future benefits in order for the latter to willingly give their lives for them.

However, the result is far beyond their imagination. Not only did they manage to come to an agreement, but they also straight away dispatched troops to attack other forces.

They were stunned upon listening to the nine messengers' narration.

"Your Majesty, the clan occupying the Mansion of the Dead is very forthright and honest… everything I say is true!" the leading messenger assured.

"Your Majesty, I can vouch for that. Although they are wildly impulsive in doing so, it's definitely not a window dressing. We saw their clansmen fighting with the Rock Ghost King's army with our own eyes and there were really many casualties in the battle."

"There really are such hotheads! Haha, I believe you guys!" Yue Yao uttered with a smile.

"I believe it, too. The Underworld is so big that nothing should be a surprise. After all, it's fairly normal for them to find somewhat unique characters. And besides, according to the messengers, the critical factor that allows them to settle down at the Mansion of the Dead and become the largest force in Beiqi is their extraordinarily large number of clansmen. That ought to explain it!" Ri Yao, who was sitting beside Yue Yao, expressed his opinion as well.

"Since we just have limited knowledge about the Beiqi forces, we must be extra careful. How about this? Second Brother, go with them secretly when we send them their resources, and make a thorough investigation to find out what's actually happening!"

"Alright, Big Brother. I'll prepare the resources immediately and follow along to take a look!" Yue Yao replied with a grin on his face.

Upon listening to the description of the Mansion of the Dead's strength by the messengers, Yue Yao was quite content. After all, a loyal force came in inches, not in miles. It could not have been better than having such a hotheaded clan.

After everything was settled, Yue Yao was the first to leave once he bid farewell to his brothers.

Since the job of preparing the resources was assigned to him this time, he would have to personally check on it.

There was another significant reason.

To him, since he was the future King of Beiqi, the Beiqi forces were going to be his future subordinates. Therefore, he certainly had to prepare more resources for them. These resources might belong to the nine of them now, but the resources would go to him once they fell into the hands of the Beiqi force.

Yue Yao headed for the Resource Warehouse as he was calculating in his mind, getting ready to pick out the materials to be sent to Beiqi.

The Resource Warehouse in the Land of the Nine Luminaries was a huge castle that was heavily guarded, following a three-shift system where each shift was commanded and led by two Ghost Generals. At the same time, security alarms and checkpoints with lethal attacks were set all over the castle. It would be extremely difficult even for those of Ghost Emperor Realm to take out the treasures in this castle without setting off any of the lethal attacks.

Nevertheless, nobody would stop Yue Yao from entering the castle as he was one of the rulers.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the castle, Yue Yao cut his finger and pressed it on the blood detection point at the gate of the castle.

This was only the first checkpoint at the gate of the castle, after clearing all the nine checkpoints, Yue Yao finally entered the Resource Warehouse.

The floor was glistening under fluorescent light and the fragrance of elixirs wafted through the air. Other than some unique treasures that were placed in an orderly manner in a corner, everything else was thrown all over the place.

Yue Yao glanced over the warehouse, pondering about which resources he should bring to Beiqi.

Elixirs? Hmm, I must bring these to improve their strength, and I'll need it to make pills in the future as well.

Spiritual Ore? Hmm, this is a must, too. Since there will be Spiritual Ore, I should bring along some casters with me then.

Equipment? This is crucial as there's a lack of equipment. But these are really good weapons, I'll just bring these for the Lord of the Mansion of the Dead and his bodyguard then.

Treasures? I'll bring some of these and reward the Lord of Mansion of the Dead, there's no need for the rest.

Strolling around the Resource Warehouse, Yue Yao picked up one item after another and commented on it from time to time as he was preparing the welcome gifts for his future subordinates.

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Chapter 265: Big Dorky Liu Chai

After preparing all the resources, Yue Yao immediately assigned his subordinates to form a convoy of a hundred soldiers to help deliver the load.

It was not that he didn't want to bring more people with him.

This decision was made after considering the fact that if he were to do so, it would be a pain in the neck for him to explain, owing to the reason that the Earth Breaking Clan of the Barren Grassland might come back at anytime. After all, judging from Lie Shan's temper, he would definitely beat the shit out of him if he learned of his intention to take over Beiqi.

Besides, the road to the Mansion of the Dead was perfectly safe and no one in the Land of the Nine Luminaries would dare rob them anyway. Moreover, there were no other forces around since the Burial Grounds in front of the Mansion of the Dead had long been destroyed.

Nonetheless, since this was the first batch of resources that he was going to send, Yue Yao decided to quietly make an investigation before deciding the subsequent amount of resources.

Yue Yao departed together with the convoy after everything was all set.

Yue Yao disguised himself by restraining his imposing manner and shrinking to a smaller body size. He also put on the apparel of the guards to make himself more unspectacular.

One and a half days later, in the direction of Beiqi, the convoy led by the messenger of Yue Yao had arrived at the Mansion of the Dead.

Seeing that the players were already acquainted with the identity of the messenger of Yue Yao, they did not stop him and straight away let them enter the Mansion of the Dead.

Meanwhile, Liu Chai and the others were waiting and ready to see what resources they would receive. The convoy was greeted warmly once they entered the city.

"Lord of the Mansion of the Dead, by good luck I was able to accomplish the mission and send you the resources that we've promised!" said the messenger as he turned over to jump off the back of the Chaos Earth Dragon, giving a raised fist salute to Liu Chai.

"Haha, you're being too modest. With the support of your resources, all the other forces are certainly no match for us. You can then straight away take control over Beiqi," Liu Chai smiled as he responded.

Yue Yao, who was standing in the team, curled his lips upon hearing that, apparently pleased with Liu Chai's attitude.

However, he was still planning to carry out a little investigation first.

What he didn't know was that the players around him were scanning through everyone in the convoy by using their data analyzation menu. Soon, a photo was sent to the chat channel.

Liu_Xiao_Wei: "Guys, look who I found (laughing emoji)!"

[Yue Yao (Fledging Ghost King):

Character Details: One of the rulers of the Land othe Nine Luminaries, the second child among the nine brothers, owns an army with 2.3 million soldiers.

Character Status: State of disguise, peak

Although Yue Yao disguised himself very well and there was almost no crack of evidence, the players could instantly penetrate his disguise.

"Hahaha, a boss is hiding here, is he playing dumb to take advantage of us (laughing emoji)!"

"Guys, don't blow it, just let him disguise himself and we'll see who is the first to be stressed out then… (laughing emoji)"

"Undercover? Spy? (laughing emoji)"

"This Yue Yao, the second brother, is definitely coming here to figure the ins and outs of the matters in Beiqi. Director, let's cut to the chase and give me an extra drumstick today, I'm going to put on a good show (laughing emoji)!"

Glancing through the comments in the chat, Liu Chai did not set his eyes on Yue Yao directly, who was standing among the convoy. Instead, he smiled and had an exchange of greetings with the messenger. Then, he waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to unload all the resources they brought.

They had divided up this batch of resources in advance, so basically every guild would be able to get a share of it. At the same time, 20 percent of the resources would be delivered to the Rock Ghost King according to their agreement.

What they had to do now was to prove their sincerity once again by putting on a good show to get the rest of the supply deliveries.

Earlier on, Yin Xiaoqi had opened a post on the forum and explained the next script to the players.

This time, not only did the players have to play along, but they also had to play it big for the sake of defrauding and to get a large number of resources. They needed to make preparation to invade the Land of the Nine Luminaries in the future.

"Guards! Serve tea for the messenger!" Liu Chai said with a wave of his hand after leading him into His Excellency's palace in the Mansion of the Dead.

The players standing by the palace were carefully selected and skilled actors, bestirring themselves at his command, looking as though Liu Chai was originally the owner of the Mansion of the Dead. No mistakes could arise.

Thereafter, Liu Chai began to confer with the messenger of Yue Yao his opinion about the battles with each and every force in the area.

Liu Chai was well aware of the type of character he ought to act as, thus portraying himself as an extremely arrogant man during their conversation with a combat plan full of loopholes.

Apart from doing it for the sake of the messenger, he was mainly putting on the show for Yue Yao.

Yue Yao was silently observing, feeling rather pleased with Liu Chai's behavior.

Liu Chai is arrogant yet obtuse, obviously nothing but a boorish fellow. In spite of that, this is what I need the most as such a person can be easily driven.

Right at this moment, Gu Yu entered the Great Hall and gave a raised fist salute to Liu Chai.

"Clan leader, the resources are fully dispatched, we are ready to make war at any time!"

Upon hearing that, Liu Chai once again expressed his boorish manner by pounding heavily on the table and uttered, "Great! Since the messenger is here, let's show our sincerity. This time we'll make war with the Hydra King and get revenge on him for daring to provoke me a few days ago!"

"Hold on, Lord of the Mansion of the Dead, it's unfavorable for you to make enemies everywhere. Besides, the battle with the Rock Ghost King remains unsettled…"

Liu Chai waved his hand before the messenger could finish his words.

"I'll take over the North Rocks sooner or later. Messenger, you've no idea that the Hydra King actually came to provoke me with his soldiers a few days ago. If it wasn't because I promised you that I won't dispatch my troops before receiving the resources, I definitely would've made a life-and-death struggle with them then and there! Now that I've received your resources, the Hydra King is surely no match for my clan!"

As his words settled, Liu Chai shouted his command at Gu Yu, "Get the army ready for battle, we'll dispatch troops to the Ascension Zone and cut off the head of the bald Hydra King!"

Yue Yao, who was hiding among the convoy, perspired out of shame in his heart as he listened to Liu Chai's impetuous statement. Liu Chai's dorky character left him with no words.

Right now, Yue Yao had accepted most parts of the description by the nine messengers when they returned to Nine Yao.

In his opinion, this battle was just in time for him to look into their strengths.

After two hours of preparation, the Army of the Player Clan straight away marched toward the Ascension Zone. In the meantime, the convoy followed behind them under the lead of the messenger.

As they reached the Ascension Zone, the Hydra King's Army of Demonic Snakes was ready in a battle array, waiting for their arrival.

"Bald Hydra King, how dare you provoke me with your army! I'm going to make you pay for it now!" Liu Chai looked at Hydra King from a distance and shouted furiously, forcing his way through the crowd and standing right in front of his army.

Blue veins stood out on the Hydra King's temples upon hearing Liu Chai calling him bald. He was not faking it, but actually really annoyed.

"You want to die? Just as you wish!" following Hydra's growling, the bed of Demonic Snakes held up their bodies and hissed at the army of players.

"Kill!"

Without further ado, the war broke out in an instant this time.

The Disaster Army began its performance once more.

Even though the players were using their own equipment, some of the players were actually armed with the equipment taken from the resources delivered by Yue Yao's convoy, which meant they must not do it as badly as their last act.

They had conferred with the Hydra King ahead of time.

Yet, the Hydra King paid no heed to that. As he said, his Army of Demonic Snakes had a strong reproductive ability and thus it was not a problem at all for him to lose some snakes.

In spite of that, more than half of the overall deaths were those of the players as they didn't mean to overdo it.

The acting was as real as it could be since the players were giving their lives to put on the show.

In the overall condition of the continuing battle, the players still had the upper hand during the battle. Liu Chai's face was taken over by an arrogant expression at the sight of this.

Of course, Yue Yao caught sight of everything, he couldn't help but nod his head.

Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I have no choice but to believe that the Lord of the Mansion of the Dead is truly arrogant and foolish.

At the same time, Yue Yao was thrilled to see the players gaining an upper hand in the battle. Ultimately, they were all paving the way for him to be the future king.

Seeing the players' growing advantage, Liu Chai retreated to the messenger.

"Messenger, what do you think? My clan is performing quite well after getting your resources, right?"

The messenger of Yue Yao was blushing with shame. Just as he wanted to speak, a roar could be heard from the northwest.

"Bald Hydra King, I, the Rock Ghost King, have come to your rescue… let's kill the Player Clan!"

Following the roar was a big army of Tree Demons appearing from afar, coming in bushes and stretching for miles.

The Hydra King bared his fangs in an instant the moment he heard the Rock Ghost King shouting.

Who the hell gives you guys the permission to give me a nickname!? And it's such an awful name!

Yue Yao looked dignified upon seeing the Rock Ghost King. He turned to look at Liu Chai.

However, there was no trace of panic on Liu Chai's face as he pointed at the Army of Tree Demons with the longsword in his hand.

"Just in time… warriors of my clan, let's kill all of them!"

Yue Yao was secretly howling in his heart upon hearing that.

Are you a fucking pig!? It's so obvious that you can't fight against them! Retreat! You pig!

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Chapter 266: Yue Yao Showed Himself

Yue Yao grew anxious at the sight of the Army of Tree Demons encircling them from both sides.

He was at an utter loss for words, especially when he saw Liu Chai bursting with confidence.

This is definitely a boorish fellow, so boorish that he has no intelligence at all.

What surprised him more was that all the generals in the Army of the Player Clan actually complied by dispatching another force to charge toward the Army of Tree Demons. It seemed like they didn't have a capacity for combat awareness at all.

Under such circumstances, the players' position had switched from an advantageous one to an inferior one.

The players could feel a surging pressure as they were being attacked on both sides.

Therefore, they started acting again, performing different kinds of death one after another.

At this moment, it came naturally to the players to die as they were at a disadvantage anyway. There was no way they could win.

Since they actually gave their own lives in the performance, Yue Yao didn't discover any flaw in the plan at all. All he did was persistently give the messenger a wink, hoping that he would talk Liu Chai out of continuing the battle.

From Yue Yao's standpoint, these soldiers were his future subordinates. It's such a waste for them to die just like this. His heart ached so much that his face turned green.

The messenger finally got the signal upon receiving Yue Yao's winks. He instantly grabbed Liu Chai, who seemingly intended to rush forward and battle as well.

"Hey… my lord, hold your horses… you mustn't give in to your personal feelings. Now that the Rock Ghost King has joined forces with the HydraKing, we must retreat temporarily from this battle and bide our time…"

Liu Chai's face was congested with anger at his words.

"Retreat? Look how many of my clansmen have died, how could I retreat at this moment? I must kill, kill all of them!"

Both Yue Yao and his messenger were resigned upon hearing that.

"Lord, listen to me, you can't go on with the battle as the current situation is very unfavorable to us! We'll lose for sure if we were to continue! What we need is a long-range plan now!"

"No! I feel uncomfortable if I don't kill the two old fellows, the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King!"

Yue Yao's mouth was twitching as he felt an urge to choke Liu Chai to death.

He's fucking giving up his whole clan just to make himself feel comfortable?

All of a sudden, Yue Yao felt sorry for the Player Clan having such a leader. It's truly a blessing from the Great Emperor of the Underworld that they haven't gotten their clan killed yet.

"Lord, I'm your ally, why would I lie to you? You should really retreat now. How about this, we'll send another batch of resources, so can you just wait until all your clansmen are equipped with arms?"

"I've listened to you last time, you told me to put up with it for three days and I did! Now you're telling me to wait again, how can I stand with it!"

As he said that, he turned around and yelled in the direction of the battle zone, "Kill them! Behead the old crook Rock Ghost King and the bald Hydra King!"

Looking at Liu Chai getting ready to kill them by himself, the messenger immediately caught hold of him again, "Lord of the Mansion of the Dead, please… I'm imploring you, you really shouldn't go…"

The messenger was tongue-tied at this moment. I used to think that I had a glib tongue, but I really have no idea what to do while facing Liu Chai's stubbornness.

"Messenger, I respect you because you represent my future patron. But you can't possibly stop me this time, I'll not retreat in this battle!"

As his words settled, Liu Chai added, "We've got a very different standpoint because you're not a lord, so naturally our ways of thinking about questions are entirely different! I believe if the other lords of the Land of the Nine Luminaries were here, they would've made the same decision as me!"

Yue Yao felt like crying upon hearing his words.

This dork is actually comparing himself to me and giving a speech that his way of thinking differs from the messenger as they're talking from a different standpoint. Yue Yao had a strong urge to go forward and beat him up.

Noticing that Liu Chai was preparing to go into the battle zone, the messenger pulled a long face and turned to look at Yue Yao, who was standing among the convoy. He was really at his wit's end.

After taking a deep breath to recover himself, Yue Yao walked out of the crowd and came over to Liu Chai, "Lord of the Mansion of the Dead, I think…"

"Here's no place for you to talk! Get lost!" said Liu Chai with an ominous face as he pointed at him using his longsword.

The messenger was rendered speechless.

Yue Yao was stunned as he had long forgotten when the last time was that someone shouted at him.

His veins were standing out on his forehead and he clenched his fist tightly while silently soothing himself. This man is my future subordinate, future subordinate, look at the big picture…

"I…"

"What about you!? I said there's no place for you to talk here! Who do you think you are, you're just a guard!" Liu Chai thundered again.

"Shut up! I am Lord Yue Yao of the Land of the Nine Luminaries!" Yue Yao finally had an outburst of anger.

His stature increased in an instant and broke through his suit of armor, revealing his original appearance.

A look of panic crossed Liu Chai's face at the scene before him.

"Are you really the Great Lord Yue Yao?"

"Yes, Liu Chai, command your clansmen to pull out quickly… you can't let the battle go on!"

Liu Chai looked hesitant as he listened, "Lord Yue Yao, since you're here, why don't you join the battle with me and wipe out the whole army?"

"I'm telling you to retreat, are you pig-headed…" Yue Yao was about to lash out on Liu Chai, but he decided to hold his temper after some consideration. All in all, this is my future subordinate, I have to save his dignity.

Otherwise, judging from Liu Chai's awful temper, he was really worried that Liu Chai would put up a desperate fight against him after being scolded.

Now that Yue Yao learned of Liu Chai's boorish behavior, he thought there was a very high possibility for that to happen.

"Liu Chai, you mustn't continue battling. Listen to me, I'm the king that will take over Beiqi in the future. Didn't you say you want to pledge loyalty to me? Are you going to disobey me now?"

In reality, Yue Yao had already thought of the idea of dealing with the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King by himself.

However, he had his own cause when he chose to disguise himself. Apart from investigating the background of the Mansion of the Dead's forces, another crucial reason was that he couldn't let others know that he stepped foot into Beiqi.

All in all, Lie Shan was still a boulder above his head. It would be impossible for Lie Shan to let Yue Yao go if he knew the latter had entered Beiqi.

As a result, before he had an idea of whether Lie Shan would return or not, he didn't dare take any risk, let alone blow up his cover.

If it was not for the messenger being thrown into desperation by Liu Chai's stubborn behavior, he never had the intention to reveal himself.

"But… but we can win!" Liu Chai seemed unwilling.

Yue Yao took another deep breath.

"Listen to me, Liu Chai, we need more time to consider the matter to see if we will win or not, but you can't continue the battle now!"

"Pull out your troops first. We have to take it slow since not all the resources have arrived. You have such a large army, there's no need for you to worry about the chance of winning once the equipment is complete. Listen to me first this time and retreat!"

"Boss Yue Yao, I'll listen to you this time since you're the future king!" Liu Chai put on a sad face.

Yue Yao and the messenger heaved sighs of relief when Liu Chai was finally willing to compromise.

"Warriors of my clan, pull out!" Liu Chai made an order to retreat.

Seeing that the Army of the Player Clan began retreating, Yue Yao wiped the sweat off his forehead, nodded, and shrank back to a smaller size again.

"Liu Chai, don't let the news that I'm at the Mansion of the Dead get out!" Yue Yao reminded him after pondering for a while.

"Why?"

"Don't question! Just don't spread the news!"

"Fine, as you wish, you're the boss!" Liu Chai scratched his head, appearing to be simple and honest.

Although Liu Chai's boorish behavior gave Yue Yao a headache, he was very satisfied with him. He was exactly like what the messengers described, easily controlled.

Soon after, the army of players retreated while being hunted down by the Armies of Tree Demons and Demonic Snakes, resulting in many casualties along the way.

After the players left, the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King were sitting together drinking liquor with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Bald… I mean Hydra King, dude, how many shares of the resources do you get from the players?" the Rock Ghost King quickly bit back his words.

The Hydra King almost flew into a rage when he heard the word bald and he glared at the Rock Ghost King with an ominous face.

"You better forget that nickname so that we can remain old mates, or else we'll no longer be friends!"

The Rock Ghost King nodded instantly.

"Slip of the tongue, just a slip of the tongue… tell me how many percent you're getting!"

"15 percent, what about you?" the Hydra King asked in reply out of curiosity.

The Rock Ghost King slightly squinted upon hearing the answer, but in fact, he was secretly bursting with joy.

"Same, 15 percent… I'm so upset that the players get the largest share!" he sighed.

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Chapter 267: Brothers Dividing Property

After returning to the Mansion of the Dead, Yue Yao comforted the frustrated Liu Chai again. Soon later, he led the convoy back home and started to prepare for the next support of resources.

As soon as he reached the Land of the Nine Luminaries, Yue Yao quickly gathered his eight brothers and told them about his encounter in Beiqi.

Yue Yao's description was not much different than that of the nine messengers who first visited Beiqi.

Even if they were to suspect the sayings of the messengers, they would naturally believe the words of Yue Yao, a brother whom they had all grown up with.

Upon understanding the entire situation, they decided to fully aid the uprising of the Mansion of the Dead.

After all, except for giving out some of their resources, it could only benefit them for doing this. Without even a single soldier, they could take down Beiqi. The bargain was absolutely worth it.

Thereafter, a few more waves of resources were continuously sent to the Mansion of the Dead.

However, Yue Yao did not go along in the later trips because it might be risky for him to travel to Beiqi. After knowing the situation at the Mansion of the Dead, he believed fully in Liu Chai, so it was unnecessary for him to face the possibility of being discovered by Lie Shan.

The players were very fruitful for the following days.

Resources from the Land of the Nine Luminaries kept on coming and the players were on cloud nine. All the guilds managed to upgrade their overall power with the materials.

Nevertheless, things had not come to an end, they needed to continue their acting.

In later stages, the players even had a few more conflicts with the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King.

The arriving messengers were very satisfied and thought that everything was going according to their plan.

To them, with the increasing power of the players, the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King would soon be under their command. Following that, their chance to take over Beiqi was just around the corner.

…

During this period of time, all of the players had somehow turned into excellent actors and actresses. Every day, their only task was just to act in front of their enemies.

Not having to move a finger, they could get a lot of resources. They were somehow embarrassed to have received so many waves of support from the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

In the meantime, the players did not forget to improve their skills and abilities with the donated resources.

There were various kinds of resources. Many of the players who had been lacking spiritual materials took the chance to perform class advancement, whereas the other players sold some of the spiritual materials in exchange for soul coins. With the soul coins, they were able to buy upgraded equipment in the shop.

All of this was only the first step in Yin Xiaoqi's script because resources were not the only thing that the players needed.

In the following two weeks, wars broke out repeatedly in Beiqi, but Yue Yao in the Land of the Nine Luminaries was like an ant in a hot pot.

Under the attacks of the players, the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King had become allies. Although with the resources from the Mansion of the Dead, they were able to maintain their advantage in combat, it did not have any practical help with their expansion of territories.

Six waves of resources were sent to them in total. Especially in the sixth wave of resources, Yue Yao had increased the amount threefold in order to speed up the increase of power of the Mansion of the Dead.

Yue Yao was not satisfied with the outcome.

Not only Yue Yao, but the other eight brothers were starting to feel anxious, too.

Even if they had endless resources, they couldn't be supplying them forever.

The nine brothers were gathered in the Dark Heaven Pavilion to discuss the next steps of the plan concerning Beiqi.

As the person-in-charge of matters regarding Beiqi, Yue Yao first voiced out his opinion. He indicated that they should continue the supply of resources to the Mansion of the Dead to grow the power of the Player Clan. That way, they could conquer Beiqi in no time.

Although his eight brothers didn't say it out loud, disagreement with his suggestion was written all over their faces.

The resources belonged to everybody, but once Beiqi was taken down, the victory would only be owned by Yue Yao himself.

As the eldest brother, His Excellency Xing Yao had no second opinion. However, the other seven brothers failed to agree.

"Second brother, I suppose Lie Shan won't be coming back anymore. Let's attack them directly!" third brother Ri Yao downed the wine in his glass and smacked it on the table while he bellowed.

"What if Lie Shan comes back then?" Yue Yao knew that they had been dragging this for too long, but he was not confident about launching a direct attack.

"I've already been to the Earth Breaking Clan's camping grounds. The entire campsite has been evacuated, they won't be back anymore. Second brother, stop hesitating and start taking action. Besides, even if Lie Shan were to return, you can just run back here. Lie Shan won't dare step onto our land to find death for himself," fifth brother Jin Yao gave Yue Yao the same advice.

Yue Yao felt irritated and was about to open his mouth to say something, but soon noticed his eighth brother Huo Yao banging on the table at the side.

"Second brother, we've been in all kinds of wars together for all these years. Why should we be afraid of Lie Shan? If we continue to drag on, it won't bring us any advantages. How about this, if you're not going, I'm going!"

As soon as Huo Yao's words fell, the rest of the brothers fell into silence.

Their brother's intention was very clear now. If Yue Yao didn't have the guts to attack, he would, and if he succeeded, the position of His Excellency would no doubt be his in the future.

If his brother were to take action instead, where would he place himself then? Yue Yao's face turned green.

"Alright. Since all my brothers have entrusted me with the position of His Excellency, it would be ridiculous if I stayed quiet this time. I'll send the resources myself this time. I swear to annihilate the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King, then conquer the entire Beiqi!" Yue Yao clenched his teeth.

"Second brother, that's right. Although Lie Shan is strong, you still have so many brothers behind you. As long as you can get back here in time, I doubt Lie Shan would dare to fight with all of us!" Xing Yao, who had remained silent, finally spoke up.

"I agree with my eldest brother. I'll be taking the lead this time and I will definitely take over Beiqi!" Yue Yao nodded in agreement.

"Second brother, we are all brothers, don't be offended. My words were a little too harsh just now and I apologize. I hereby wish you the success in defeating Beiqi and inheriting the throne of His Excellency!" eighth brother Huo Yao lifted his wine glass up in the air.

Seeing that, the other brothers did the same.

"We're all brothers, how would I take it to heart!?" Yue Yao lifted his wine glass, too, while stomaching all his anger.

Ultimately, it was very risky. If Lie Shan were to return when he was attacking Beiqi, it would be hard to say whether he could come back in one piece.

However, if he was not willing to attack, his eight brothers were obviously unwilling to continue with the free supply of resources.

Faced with the dilemma, Yue Yao could only choose to risk his life for the throne. This would be his only chance.

After the meeting, Yue Yao started with the preparation of resources. Then he gave an order for the assembly of his army, ready for the battle with Beiqi.

Since he had already decided to fight and rule Beiqi, Yue Yao would no doubt bring along his army.

Whether Lie Shan would return, Yue Yao did not care anymore.

On top of that, if he really met Lie Shan and failed to come back, his army would be useless being left behind.

Yue Yao had already grown to accept the worst-case scenario. If he were to succeed, he would be the leader of Beiqi.

Especially after the blessings of the Great Emperor, his power would be immensely heightened. Even if he really had to face Lie Shan by then, it was not entirely impossible for him to escape.

After evaluating all the pros and cons, Yue Yao made the first step.

When everything was ready, Yue Yao led his 2,300,000 soldier army and headed toward Beiqi.

Apart from his jewelry in the Resource Warehouse, he brought along all of the other resources with him.

Since he had left the Land of the Nine Luminaries, they needed to be clear with the division of property even though they were brothers.

Nonetheless, goods like jewelry had not yet been divided among the brothers. Anyone with the need could use them. They could always divide up these treasures when he got back.

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Chapter 268: We Surrender

On this day, a huge army marched forward with great vigor from the boundary of the Burial Grounds toward the Mansion of the Dead.

With the appearance of such a big army, the players were alarmed. However, after a short investigation of the army, they couldn't help but laugh.

Soon, the news of the arrival of Yue Yao's Army was widely spread among all the players.

Liu Chai, who had not gone offline for almost half a month, was now totally into his character. Immediately, he ordered some men to inform the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King to implement the second step of their plan. At the same time, he also brought along some of the players to welcome the future King of Beiqi.

Liu Chai was still a rash fellow in front of Yue Yao. Although a lot of his words were inappropriate, Yue Yao felt that he was an honest person and was very satisfied with him.

Despite that, Yue Yao rejected Liu Chai's invitation to the welcoming banquet held at the Mansion of the Dead.

Time was precious, so he needed to quickly defeat the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King before he was able to take over the power to rule the Mansion of the Dead. Only then could he accept the blessing from the Great Emperor.

To be enthroned as the King of Beiqi was vital to him. Ultimately, after strengthening his power, he would be able to at least escape from Lie Shan's grasp when he returned.

If he were to meet Lie Shan as a Fledgling Ghost Emperor, he would have no chance against him. Even though he had his eight brothers to support him, he might not even be alive to see them after it happened.

So, Yue Yao could no longer wait. He instructed Liu Chai at once to march toward the North Rocks. They should take over the North Rocks first, before advancing to the Ascension Zone, defeating the two largest forces in Beiqi.

Upon hearing that, Liu Chai's expression turned jolly. He immediately agreed and started to assemble the players, preparing themselves to follow Yue Yao's Army toward the North Rocks.

The players were very cooperative, too. After all, everyone would get a share of the resources, so they were more than happy to tag along.

The size of the army was huge this time. Along the journey from the north border of the Mansion of the Dead to the north, the army was shaped like a winding dragon.

Under the leadership of Yue Yao, his army emitted a menacing aura.

Such a movement definitely gave the Rock Ghost King a shock. When Yue Yao's Army arrived at the North Rocks, the Tree Demon Army was already standing their ground.

Staring at the Rock Ghost King not far away, Yue Yao's eyes shot out cold glares. In fact, the Rock Ghost King was merely a small trouble to him. The difference in power between them was very obvious. It would be as easy as pie for him to settle this.

"Rock Ghost King, you have been foolish and stubborn. Today, I will take over the North Rocks! Try and stop me if you can!"

With that, Yue Yao retrieved a trumpet from his waist and placed it on his lips.

As he was about to blow, he saw the Rock Ghost King floating in the air while approaching him.

Then, about 300 yards away, the Rock Ghost King stopped and looked at Yue Yao with a terrifying expression.

"You… are you the leader of the Land of the Nine Luminaries?"

Yue Yao's expression turned cold before nodding his head, "I see that you're pretty observant!"

"I have never offended you in any way… why are you here!?"

"The Player Clan at the Mansion of the Dead are my subordinates. Why don't you tell me how you've offended me?"

"This… I really had no idea about this… besides, Liu Chai never mentioned that he's your underling, otherwise, how would I dare to affront you!?" the Rock Ghost King said with much bitterness.

"Now that you already know, I will be taking over your North Rocks!" with that, Yue Yao lifted the trumpet again.

"Stop… Lord Yue Yao, we surrender. I willingly hand over the North Rocks and I plead my allegiance to you!" the Rock Ghost King spoke immediately.

Upon hearing that, Yue Yao was utterly shocked.

He originally thought that the Rock Ghost King would have sworn to fight until the death, but who knew that he would simply surrender?

"Are you really surrendering just like that?" Yue Yao asked suspiciously, still not believing what was happening.

"I know how powerful you are, Lord Yue Yao. If I were to fight with you, I will fall for sure. Why don't I just surrender?"

Yue Yao was now a little depressed.

He never knew that his title would be so useful until now, but he had no choice but to hide his name previously since he couldn't be exposed. It was not much of his concern anymore at the moment.

Nevertheless, he was rather pleased with the Rock Ghost King's submission.

It was best to have conquered him without having to start a war.

"Alright, Rock Ghost King. You're really smart to have done that, but pleading allegiance is not as easy as it sounds. You know the rules, right?" Yue Yao said with his eyes squinted as if he was waiting to strike the Rock Ghost King down with thunder if he dared to object.

"Of course. Since I'm already your underling, Lord Yue Yao, I've no problem obeying the Soul Oath!" the Rock Ghost King agreed happily.

Truly, the Rock Ghost King didn't care.

This was what Tong Gua had told him. As soon as they boarded the Vibranium Pirate Ship, their souls would be bound to the artifact. In that case, the Soul Oath would not take effect no matter how many times they recited the oath. In addition, they wouldn't be bound to the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Therefore, the Rock Ghost King calmly consented to Yue Yao's request without any hesitation.

Though he was astonished by the Rock Ghost King's decisive response, Yue Yao still believed that he surrendered due to fear. He was very pleased indeed.

"Alright, we shall put aside the Soul Oath first. Now, lead the Tree Demon Army to the Ascension Zone and help me conquer the Ascension Zone!" Yue Yao nodded with pleasure before turning to the Rock Ghost King and giving the order.

"Right away!" the Rock Ghost King smiled and obeyed.

"Lord Yue, isn't this too hasty? Aren't we supposed to kill to our heart's content and force them to surrender?" Liu Chai asked angrily.

"Since they've already surrendered, why should we waste our energy? Besides, the Rock Ghost King has already pleaded his allegiance to me with his Tree Demon Army. This can help grow my army, too!" Yue Yao couldn't help glaring at the reckless Liu Chai.

"Alright. You're the boss, whatever you say!" Liu Chai sighed and appeared to be gloomy.

Yue Yao fully understood Liu Chai's feelings at the moment. After all, the war that had been going on for half a month had finally taken an interesting turn, but Liu Chai did not get to move a muscle because the enemies actually surrendered. Frustration was all he could feel now.

"Liu Chai, we are on the same side. Growing my army is beneficial to you, too!"

After all, Liu Chai was the first person he had gathered under his wing. Yue Yao decided to give him encouragement.

Then, Yue Yao's Army including the Tree Demon Army marched toward the Ascension Zone.

This time, Yue Yao was fully confident.

With the military strength on his hands now, seizing the Ascension Zone was no big deal.

After many hours on the road, the massive army finally arrived at the Ascension Zone.

Without further ado, Yue Yao blew his trumpet and his army stormed toward the Demon Snake Army in the Ascension Zone.

"Lord Yue Yao, wait… I, the Hydra King, surrender and plead my allegiance to you!"

Facing Yue Yao's Army that came in full fury, the Hydra King who was still trying to memorize his script jumped out of shock. He instantly rose into the air and flew toward Yue Yao as he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Yue Yao blew his horn as a sign of cease-fire.

"What did you say?"

"I surrender and plead my allegiance to you!" the Hydra King shouted again.

Yue Yao was completely confused this time. He had never imagined that he could overpower the two biggest threats in Beiqi without moving a single soldier.

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Chapter 269: His Excellency Yue Yao

Yue Yao was not prepared for the surrender of both the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King. It felt like punching a piece of cotton which exerted zero force in return.

Nevertheless, Yue Yao was very happy that they would yield under him. Since his influence in Beiqi had not yet stabilized, it would greatly benefit him to have more support.

Besides, he didn't believe that either the Rock Ghost King or the Hydra King would dare to play any tricks on him as they would have to recite the Soul Oath.

So, Yue Yao went back to the Mansion of the Dead with a complicated feeling.

This time, the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King followed along, too.

After Yue Yao was led to His Excellency's palace, he cleared the underlings, then spoke to Liu Chai and the other two.

"I believe that you all are loyal to me, but we still have to follow the rules. Please begin the Soul Oath!"

"What Soul Oath?" Liu Chai was dumbfounded.

"You should just recite along with both of us!" Yue Yao didn't suspect the fact that Liu Chai had never heard of the Soul Oath before. In his eyes, Liu Chai was just a fool.

Liu Chai glanced at the Ghost Kings at his side and nodded unconsciously.

They didn't hesitate since they weren't afraid of the oath at all. They started to recite calmly…

"Under the witness of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, I vow to…"

Liu Chai followed along as well.

According to Liu Chai, he was a player. Any kind of soul allegiance in the game would not affect him. So, of course, he was not scared.

On the other hand, Liu Chai was pretty worried about the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King's soul allegiance, but it wasn't entirely hopeless. As long as Yue Yao died, all the problems would be solved.

The second step of their plan was to use Yue Yao to their benefit and then to finally kill him.

In terms of power, they would never be able to overpower an existence at the level of a Ghost Emperor. Thus, they had to outsmart him.

After the three of them finished with the Soul Oath, Yue Yao laughed with relief.

He never expected to overthrow Beiqi so easily.

The next thing he would do was to obtain the Great Emperor's blessing and become His Excellency.

"As of now, are there any other forces left in Beiqi?" giving it some thought, Yue Yao asked with concentration.

"Lord Yue Yao, there are two more forces left. One of them is the Demon Capital Army from the jungles of the Cliffs of Desperation, and another one is the Ground Wolf Army that has been living underground throughout the years!" Liu Chai answered.

"Your Majesty, these two armies are not to be concerned about. We've already possessed the ultimate power, they have no choice but to surrender. We'll just look for them and make sure they submit themselves to you!" the Rock Ghost King continued Liu Chai's words.

Although the Rock Ghost King didn't care about the Demon Capital or Ground Wolf, the mastermind behind this plan had told him to ensure their safety for they would side with them in the future.

"Alright then, you should take off now. By the time I unite Beiqi, I can ask for the Great Emperor's blessing!"

After listening to those words, Yue Yao felt so carefree that he couldn't help laughing out loud.

…

Three days later, Beiqi was united. All the forces, be it powerful or not, were now under Yue Yao's control and so he naturally became the ruler of Beiqi. The only thing left was the recognition of the Great Emperor.

Due to the existence of Lie Shan, Yue Yao could not tolerate any delay. Under the witness of the elders of various forces and all the players, he recited His Excellency's Succession Code at the Mansion of the Dead's center zone.

His Excellency's Succession Code was no secret in the Underworld. In fact, all the lands had the same ceremony. The purpose of this was for the Great Emperor to detect the recitation of the code and thereafter grant his blessing to the successor.

After the successor passed the test and verification by the Great Emperor, he would be able to become His Excellency and hold the Yin Talisman which was exclusive to the larger domains.

Following Yue Yao's recitation, everyone including the players could feel an invisible surge of force slowly oppressing them.

Cold sweat covered Yue Yao's forehead as he was extremely nervous.

The Great Emperor symbolized the Underworld's Supreme God.

They were the creators of the rules of operation though they weren't responsible for how the Underworld should run. Among the Six Paths of Reincarnation, they were truly the controller of the Underworld.

Time passed and the recitation of the code was halfway till the end. Then, an illusory brass clock appeared from the void.

It remained still but the ringing of bells could be heard clearly by all the living beings at the scene.

"Enter!" a long and vicious voice emerged.

Yue Yao was surprised when he heard the call. Following that, his body began to float in the air and flew into the brass clock.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings changed and golden light rays flashed from the surface of the brass clock.

When all the movement stopped, the crowd noticed something. The brass clock, along with Yue Yao, had vanished into thin air.

"Where did he go?" Liu Chai asked curiously.

"I suppose he went to see the Great Emperor, but I'm not sure. I've seen the same thing before, but the former King of Beiqi said nothing after he came back. He only mentioned some tests and verification," the Rock Ghost King shook his head while he answered.

Liu Chai got even more confused after that.

Thus, the wait began.

…

Yue Yao found his body shuttling through a colorful tunnel. The surroundings twisted and turned as he noticed that his body was constantly deforming.

"Yue Yao!" the voice of the Great Emperor appeared.

"The almighty Great Emperor, I am the one they call Yue Yao," Yue Yao instantly kneeled down, but his figure continued to be misshapen. Although he was on his knees, he looked like an extended straw mat with many colors.

"I've seen you. You've indeed gained the ownership of all the territories in Beiqi, but you have not earned the recognition of these people!"

"Great Emperor, how can this be? All of them pledged loyalty to me!" Yue Yao lifted his head and shouted after having a great shock to his heart.

"Nonetheless, Beiqi has been without a king for some time. Since you've successfully conquered all the territories, you shall have the right to become His Excellency. Now, take the Heart Cultivation Test!"

Along with the Great Emperor of Dong Yue's words, everything around him turned blank…

When he came back to his senses, Yue Yao heard the Great Emperor of Dong Yue's voice again.

"Yue Yao, you have passed the Heart Cultivation Test. Go back now!"

Yue Yao was confused because he had completely forgotten what had just happened.

Regardless, he had already passed the test, so all Yue Yao could feel right now was happiness. He opened his mouth, wanting to express some gratitude, but soon he saw that the tunnel became extremely deformed. When everything became clear again, he found himself in the sky above the Mansion of the Dead.

In front of the shocking gazes from all the forces, the brass clock re-appeared. Accompanied with its slow and steady sways, thunderous bell rings resounded across the Land of Beiqi. All of them felt the shudder in their souls.

At that time, a cylinder of golden light materialized from the void and wrapped around Yue Yao.

Under the baptism of the cylinder of golden light, Yue Yao smiled ecstatically.

He could feel the loosening of his realm and the empowerment of his soul power along with the brushes of the golden light.

Rumble!

With a loud noise, Yue Yao's body surface was lit with golden fire.

The players who were observing Yue Yao's menu witnessed the scene and it caused an uproar.

"Holy shit, he's surpassed the Intermediate Ghost Emperor!"

"It must be a cheat by the Great Emperor. It's so cool. Don't tell me that he's the biggest boss in the game now?"

"I want a blessing, too, motherfucker. If we all could level up directly in the Ghost Emperor Realm, then we could level up a few hundred times at once!"

"Jealousy! Envy! Hatred!"

"Killing Yue Yao would surely drop materials that could cost a fortune! I'm so excited!"

"Someone please tell me which realm is this Great Emperor in? Is it a realm after the Ghost Emperor Realm?"

"The Great Emperor might be in a realm that hasn't been unlocked yet. We will surely know when we get stronger. Everybody, be patient!"

"Yes, let's kill this Yue Yao first before talking about any other realms. Let's not reach for something that's out of our grasp and just focus on growing bit by bit!"

…

Amid the player's heated discussion, Yue Yao's upgrade did not end. With another loud bang, his power was instantly upgraded to that of a Greater Ghost Emperor.

The Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King had seen these happenings before and appeared to be calm.

They had experienced it before and from Lu Yan, they heard that the Great Emperor's blessing had no relation with the actual realm the person was in. As long as he hadn't achieved divine status, he could be upgraded by two realms. Back then, Lu Yan who was stuck at the Intermediate Ghost King level also received a blessing from the Great Emperor and reached the Ghost King Peak. Since then, his power had grown so much that it was only half a step away from the former King of Beiqi who was a Ghost Emperor.

Because of this, many were crazy about being king. After all, an upgrade by two realms could hardly be achieved by years of cultivation. Also, simply becoming His Excellency could save them a lot of tough days.

In other words, under the feet of His Excellency were countless bodies of his competitors, and no one was an exception.

After the golden light disappeared, Yue Yao felt like he had been reborn. Endless power was brewing inside of his body as if he could break the sky and ground with a single punch.

Then, a triangular-shaped Yin Talisman which was shining with black luster slowly became visible before him.

With the utmost satisfaction, Yue Yao grabbed it and he could still sense the remaining breaths of the Great Emperor on it. He then kneeled down in the air and kowtowed toward the slowly fading brass clock.

"Thank you for your blessing, Great Emperor!"

The players below him started to chatter away in the chat channel, but no one seemed to be in a panic.

This was because helping Yue Yao to get stronger was also part of Yin Xiaoqi's plan.

Apart from that, the existence of Yue Yao was indispensable in the war with the Nine Luminaries!

Therefore, the rest of the arrangements could only go on after his power increased.

At that time, both Yue Yao and the players were overjoyed.

Somehow, they could already imagine the moment when Yue Yao found out he was set up and happy smiles were written all over their faces.

…

Underworld, in the Great Hall of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

A humongous, black sculpture stood in the Great Hall. At the palm of the sculpture's hand was a brass-colored clock.

The sculpture was sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, and surrounding it were lines of different colors.

There was nothing special about the lines, but each and every one of them represented the Supreme Law that determined the structure of the Underworld. Within the lines, there was unlimited power of the law. Although the lines seemed to be only circling around the sculpture, innumerable thin space cracks were created.

"Was it her?"

There was no response as the voice echoed within the Great Hall.

"I sensed her breath, but I can't be sure!" another voice sounded.

"The Underworld without her is not complete. Will she return?"

"I don't know. Maybe she will and maybe she won't!"

"If she isn't here when the ones who left come back, what should we do?"

"Burn my life with fire and fight for her! As long as she exists, the Underworld will not vanish!" the voice said again.

"Feng Du, it seems like you've prepared yourself."

"I see that you have, too!"

Then, the two voices disappeared at the same time. The Six Paths of Reincarnation returned to silence once again.

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Chapter 270: The Beginning Of A Good Show

Beiqi, the Mansion of the Dead.

After Yue Yao became king, his heart was filled with arrogance.

He had been longing for this supreme glory for so long. However, there could only be one king in the Land of the Nine Luminaries. With his eldest brother Xing Yao there, he would never have this opportunity.

Now he had obtained the status along with an incredible power that he had yearned for.

At the time, Yue Yao was no doubt full of himself.

In the following days, Yue Yao learned the situations all around Beiqi through Liu Chai, the Rock Ghost King, and the leaders of all regions.

Above all, one issue got Yue Yao's attention.

The Death Clan that was continuously attacking from the East Side of the Underworld Sea.

Because of the happenings with the Land of the Nine Luminaries, the players had given up on the defense of the sea. This, in turn, led to constant ambushes by the Death Clan at the Liuli Coast, which caused considerable damage to the ecology of Beiqi.

When Yue Yao heard from Liu Chai that the Death Clan was one of the Sea King's forces, he could already sense a big headache coming his way.

Nevertheless, he would have to solve this problem since he had already become His Excellency of Beiqi.

In an instant, Yue Yao decided to visit the Sea King himself and resolve these matters through negotiation.

Little did he know that this was exactly what the players wanted him to do.

…

Barren Grassland at the Western border of Beiqi.

A resource convoy along with Yue Yao's Army, the players, and other forces in Beiqi marched from the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

To Yue Yao, this trip was vital because the latest batch of fresh resources was all his property, including various kinds of treasures.

After he became the King of Beiqi, the property was divided among his brothers. Of course, Yue Yao wouldn't just leave the treasures there. He chose to bring all of them to Beiqi.

Although the resources were very important, Yue Yao didn't lead the operation because he was never worried that anything bad could happen.

The Nine Luminaries and Beiqi were both on his side. Besides, the players, the Rock Ghost King, and the other forces had pledged their loyalty to him with their souls, so they couldn't possibly betray him in any way.

Under such a foolproof condition, Yue Yao went out to sea without any worries.

50,000 escort members moved toward the Mansion of the Dead on a path recently created along the Barren Grassland.

As the supreme commander of this escort team, Ghost General Mad Tooth couldn't stop scanning and observing the situation of his surroundings.

Although the escort this time would not easily fail since all the forces in Beiqi had already been overpowered and they would definitely not betray their new king, he still had to be careful. As Yue Yao said, there might be some other dark forces in Beiqi that had yet to surrender.

As they left the border of the Barren Grassland and arrived at the Burial Grounds, the sight in front of them instantly widened.

Mad Tooth let out a sigh of relief. If there was an ambush, the Barren Grassland, which was overgrown with tall grasses and weeds, would be the best choice. Now that they had left that area, the level of danger would automatically decrease.

Just as Mad Tooth waved his hand to ask the team to keep up, heavy footsteps were heard behind them coming from the Barren Grassland.

Mad Tooth immediately turned around to look at the direction of the Barren Grassland. Among the blades of wild grass, he saw countless silhouettes moving toward them.

When the silhouettes were finally visible, Mad Tooth's eyes narrowed. He was more than familiar with these people. They were the Fire Warriors of Lord Huo Yao, the younger brother of Yue Yao.

Mad Tooth was absolutely shocked by the scene in front of him. With a smack on his Chaos Earth Dragon, he hurriedly rushed toward the back of the escort team. He shouted, "Quick! Yue Yao Army… escort the resources to safety… the rest of us cover for them!"

In Mad Tooth's opinion, the resources were far more important than the escorts. So, no doubt they had to protect them first.

Nonetheless, at that time, many more silhouettes emerged from the floor cracks of the Burial Grounds ahead.

Without exception, they were all the Fire Warriors of Huo Yao's Army.

"How dare you! These are the resources of His Excellency Yue Yao. Your lord and His Excellency are brothers, how dare you rob us!" Mad Tooth roared at the Fire Warriors who were coming at them from all directions.

All Mad Tooth could hear at the moment was his madly beating heart.

There were at least a few hundred thousand Fire Warriors around them now. It would be a difficult task to break through the encirclement, so he was thinking he could scare them away with His Excellency Yue Yao's title.

Actually, Mad Tooth had already imagined a few plunder scenarios in the middle of their journey, but none of those involved Yue Yao's brothers.

"So what if they're brothers? Can't we rob you now?" a burly man in red armor asked and walked out from the crowd while holding his sword. Seemingly, he was the leader of Huo Yao's Army.

"When Yue Yao finds out about this, he won't let any of you go!" Mad Tooth was already panicking on the inside, but he held his ground, trying to intimidate the plunderers.

"Not a single soul will find out if all of you died, right?"

The burly man gave his sword a swing and the Fire Warriors charged toward the escort team.

"Supreme Commander Mad Tooth, you should leave now. Go back to the Mansion of the Dead and get reinforcements!" Chen Ziyu, who was one of the members of the escort team, shouted at Mad Tooth.

"Then, what about you all?"

"They are planning to kill everybody and leave no loose ends. Someone has to bring the news back! You're the strongest one here, so you're the only one who can make it out alive!"

With one punch, Chen Ziyu managed to drive off two Fire Warriors standing nearest to him.

While gritting his teeth, Mad Tooth glanced deeply at Chen Ziyu, turned around and ran toward the direction of the Mansion of the Dead.

It was obvious that this army had done all of their preparations before attacking them. It was impossible or even impractical for them to retreat along with all those resources.

Besides, Mad Tooth only had one thought in his mind right now, to bring the news back to Yue Yao.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

The burly man who was the leader of the Fire Warriors jumped and pounced toward Mad Tooth.

Mad Tooth quickly reacted by turning his body around and blocked the incoming strike with his spear.

"Surround him, don't let him run away. No one is allowed to leave here today!"

Obeying his orders, the surrounding Fire Warriors swarmed over and surrounded Mad Tooth.

As a counterattack, Mad Tooth reached out his hand and hit the Chaos Earth Dragon he had been riding on. With his spear up high, he wanted to lunge his way out.

However, the Chaos Earth Dragon fell a few yards ahead due to the intensive attack. With that, Mad Tooth was thrown off his ride.

Facing the endless attacks from the Fire Warriors, Mad Tooth fought hard to kill any approaching enemy. Despite that, it was not possible to break this circle.

Then, the players under the lead of Chen Ziyu and the Tree Demons rushed forward from the back. With the sacrifice of a large number of people, they finally met with Mad Tooth after storming their way in.

"Supreme Commander Mad Tooth, let me open a way out for you. Run, you must get out of here!"

"Okay!" Mad Tooth was so touched that he immediately agreed without further ado.

With the help of all the players, Mad Tooth managed to finally charge his way out of the encirclement, but right when they were about to escape, the leader of the Fire Warriors stood before them.

"Don't you dare run away!"

"Get lost!"

Both of them went into combat.

At that time, Chen Ziyu shouted in the live chat channel, "Everybody, charge! Let's finish this last bit of acting and help him escape!"

After listening to Chen Ziyu's words, the rest of the players pounced toward the Fire Supreme Commander crazily to delay him and help Mad Tooth with his escape.

Without the obstruction of the Fire Warriors leader, Mad Tooth ran all the way toward the Mansion of the Dead without even looking back.

"Don't let him escape, chase after him!" their commander bellowed as he continued to kill the players.

At that instant, a small group of Fire Warriors separated themselves from the encirclement and pursued Mad Tooth.

Seeing that, Mad Tooth increased his speed even more.

He knew that if he was ever surrounded again, he wouldn't be able to get out of there alive.

…

After Mad Tooth could no longer be seen, the Fire Supreme Commander suddenly waved at Chen Ziyu who was still charging toward him.

"Stop, stop, stop. It's enough. If you cut me again, I'll definitely fight back!"

After saying that, the body of the Fire Supreme Commander gradually changed.

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Chapter 271: The Sea King's Astonishment (Part 1)

When Mad Tooth was too far to be seen, the Fire Supreme Commander's body gradually morphed back to his real shape. Accompanied by the disseminating black mist, Xiao Tian's face appeared.

Seeing Xiao Tian, Chen Ziyu smiled and put away his weapon.

The Fire Warriors around them suddenly joined the laughing party as well.

This was the second step of their plan, to provoke the relationship between Yue Yao and his brothers in the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

After Yue Yao officially became His Excellency, the players originally wanted to use a prop that was prestigious in the shop called the Mimic Card. It could easily create a conflict between Beiqi and the Nine Luminaries.

However, Liu Chai found out from Yue Yao that he still had a batch of treasures stored in his palace warehouse and wished to retrieve them.

This undoubtedly gave the players a new goal. Therefore, Yin Xiaoqi changed the script on the fly.

In order to rob this batch of resources, the players had done a lot of preparation. First, they deliberately got close to several of the commanders in Yue Yao's Army. From them, they found out that the younger brother Huo Yao had the worst relationship with Yue Yao among all of his brothers.

This piece of information was vital. Since the players already had the plan to cause some conflict, they naturally chose the one who would most likely take advantage of Yue Yao.

After this, Yin Xiaoqi also considered that the presence of Yue Yao would be a variable, fearing that there would be problems in the middle of the robbery. So, Liu Chai fooled Yue Yao to go negotiate with the Sea King in the Underworld Sea.

When all preparations were done, the players' plan was put to action.

The moment when the escort team set off from the Land of the Nine Luminaries after collecting the resources, the convoy's situation was updated by the players in the forum in real-time. The coordinates of the escort team and the distribution of men were completely transparent to their eyes.

With Yue Yao away, the plundering of the resources became an easy task to the players who had a huge advantage.

On top of that, the most important part of this round was to let loose a person whom Yue Yao trusted the most as this was exactly the key to creating a conflict. Thus, the scene where Chen Ziyu and the others pretended to save Mad Tooth from the encirclement was in order to light the fuse.

Having Xiao Tian there was to make sure that the act was more lifelike. After all, it was not possible to have an army with a few hundred thousand warriors running around without a Ghost General.

Yue Yao hadn't yet met Xiao Tian, so it was best for him to perform this task.

At that moment, the players who were roleplaying as the Fire Warriors with their Mimic Cards, turned their attention to the resources.

"Take it away. Nothing can be left behind, take the cart, too," with Wu Guoyi's words, the surrounding players began to unload the resources and threw them into their inventory.

With everything set, Wu Guoyi started to get the players to go toward the direction of the Barren Grassland.

This was because their mission wasn't over yet. There was another critical step yet to be taken.

…

Kuilong Ocean, Xin Mo Island, the Great Hall of the Mu Te Sea Nation.

The Sea King was looking at Yue Yao without saying a word.

He really wanted to laugh, especially after he heard from Yue Yao that he'd become His Excellency of Beiqi.

He and the Player Clan were old acquaintances. He believed the part where the Rock Ghost King, the Hydra King, and the other forces surrendered to him. But for the Player Clan to be loyal to anyone, he refused to believe that.

After all, what was the Player Clan? They were total psychos! In their eyes, the enemies' strength, whether strong or weak, didn't matter at all. As long as they were provoked, they would come at you endlessly like a virus.

"Yue Yao, you better go back. Come and find me when you have really taken down Beiqi!" the Sea King shook his head helplessly.

After gaining the power of the Death Clan, the Sea King's strength was now very close to the Ghost Emperor Peak. He had no fear of Yue Yao at all, not to mention that they were in his territory anyways.

"Sea King, I am already His Excellency of Beiqi!"

Seeing that the Sea King did not seem to believe him, Yue Yao pulled out Beiqi's Yin Talisman as proof.

The Sea King was shocked after noticing the Yin Talisman, but his expression remained weird.

The Player Clan is under him now? How is that possible!?

Even after Yue Yao had presented the Yin Talisman, the Sea King still had a feeling that something wasn't right.

If it was so simple to subdue the Player Clan, he would have taken all of them down when he invaded Beiqi back then. Therefore, he smelled something fishy about this.

"His Excellency Yue Yao, I believe you now, but could you tell me how you conquered Beiqi?" the Sea King couldn't help asking curiously after giving it some thought.

The purpose of Yue Yao's visit to the Kuilong Ocean was to resolve the crisis of the Death Clan's invasion. He had no intention to hide anything from the Sea King, so he told him everything. After all, it was never a secret.

After listening to Yue Yao's story, the Sea King laughed out loud.

Both Yue Yao and Hei Sui, who was standing at the side, got confused by the Sea King's laughter.

"Yue Yao, oh, Yue Yao. You are quite big-hearted," the Sea King patted his thighs and appeared to be very delighted.

"Sea King, what do you mean by that?" Yue Yao frowned involuntarily.

"Do you understand each of the forces in Beiqi?" looking at Yue Yao, the Sea King chuckled as he asked again.

"Of course. After I became His Excellency, I learned about all of them!"

"Oh? Then, what do you think of the few clans in Beiqi?"

In his conversation with Yue Yao, the Sea King was trying to slowly bring the topic to the Player Clan.

"The Player Clan?" speaking of them, Liu Chai's dumb face came into Yue Yao's mind.

Thinking about it, Yue Yao decided that there was nothing to hide, so he spoke truthfully regarding his opinion on the Player Clan.

After listening to Yue Yao's explanation, the Sea King let out a good laugh once more.

The Player Clan that Yue Yao had described was totally different from the Player Clan that he had met.

The Sea King knew how cunning the Player Clan was. They had used different maritime tactics to plunder his treasures and resources. Because of that, the Sea King could no longer bear it and launched a full-fledged war against Beiqi.

On the other hand, in Yue Yao's description, the Player Clan was a clan of stupid, inflexible, and rash cowards.

At that moment, the Sea King was already sure of one thing.

This Yue Yao must have been fooled by the Player Clan!

Although he was not sure what the Player Clan wanted to do, the Sea King had a feeling that Yue Yao wouldn't end well.

However, the Sea King was very glad to watch the infighting of Beiqi, so he smiled as he said, "His Excellency Yue Yao, I believe you now. Since we are not enemies, the Death Clan will retreat!"

"Thank you!"

After confirming that the Death Clan would not attack again, Yue Yao was relieved. With Beiqi's current strength, it was not a smart move to go against the Sea King. It was best to negotiate for a peaceful settlement.

After a little more small talk, Yue Yao finally got up and left. The Sea King also sent him away politely.

…

After Yue Yao left, the Sea King, who was back at the Great Hall, hooted with laughter.

He couldn't hold it in anymore. In his opinion, this Yue Yao was a big fool and was about to be deceived while still feeling good about himself.

"Your Majesty, why are you so happy?" Hei Sui questioned cluelessly and curiously.

"You all know about the Player Clan, right? Oh, the clan that came to the banquet on Langya Island and ended up in a battle with us!"

"Of course we know. They are very strong indeed. Oh yes, Your Majesty. You mentioned before about them being the clan of Beiqi…" at that moment, Hei Sui and the others suddenly thought of something.

"Yes, they are my biggest enemy, but now Yue Yao is telling me that he overpowered Beiqi!"

A smile broke out on the Sea King's face.

"Lord King of Sea, what you mean is that His Excellency of Beiqi is about to be…" Hei Sui was stunned as he spoke.

At that moment, a few of the lords including Hei Sui understood all of a sudden why the Sea King was on cloud nine.

Ruling Beiqi without fully knowing the Player Clan, they couldn't help but mourn for half a second for Yue Yao. They knew that this fellow might be dead very soon.

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Chapter 272: Outbreak Of Events (Part 2)

After settling the invasion problem of the Death Clan, Yue Yao galloped back in the direction of Beiqi.

He was very satisfied with himself at the moment. The Sea King was willing to withdraw his troops, which at least meant that he was still rather prestigious.

After entering the boundary of Beiqi, he skimmed toward the Mansion of the Dead, ready to see whether his treasures had arrived or not.

However, when he reached the sky above Mansion of the Dead, he noticed an uproar underneath him. A large number of people were gathering and it looked like they were about to go to war.

Yue Yao's heart tightened and he swiftly returned to the palace at the Mansion of the Dead.

Yue Yao's appearance suddenly attracted the attention of all the leaders of Beiqi's many forces.

Mad Tooth stepped forward and kneeled in front of Yue Yao.

"Your Majesty, our treasures have been robbed!"

Looking at the miserable Mad Tooth, Yue Yao's heart skipped, "What? Robbed!?"

"Under the protection of all forces, especially the Player Clan, only I managed to escape and return. All the other escort members were annihilated. Your Majesty, you have to avenge them!" speaking that out loud, Mad Tooth couldn't help but lower his head in reverence.

"Impossible… who did it? Are they looking for death!?" Yue Yao's aura thickened while his face turned ferocious.

The treasures were his life savings. For them to be robbed now, Yue Yao could only feel anger rising up in his chest.

"Your Majesty, it was your brother Lord Huo Yao! He…"

Smack!

Before Mad Tooth could finish, Yue Yao already gave the ground a strike.

"Think very carefully before you say your next words!"

Yue Yao said slowly while staring fiercely at Mad Tooth.

Although Huo Yao was not the closest to him among all his brothers, they were still brothers. He wouldn't believe that Huo Yao would do such a thing.

"Your Majesty, I swear with my life. It was indeed the Fire Warrior Army under Lord Huo Yao!"

"Swear with your life? Then, you shall die!" Yue Yao's eyes were filled with only rage. He lifted his hand and was about to hit again.

"Your Majesty, don't be rash. Let him finish talking first!" the Rock Ghost King and the others hurried forward to persuade him.

After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Yue Yao withdrew his palm and asked again, "I'll give you another chance. Tell me… who instructed you to say this!?"

"Your Majesty, I have followed you since I was a child… none of the things that I've said are false!" Mad Tooth, who had both his knees on the ground, clenched his teeth as he insisted.

"Your Majesty, I have also seen the Fire Warrior Army. They seemed to want to kill Mad Tooth to avoid any loose ends. They chased him all the way until the Mansion of the Dead's border. But after we appeared, they stopped with their pursuit. The saddest thing is that only Mad Tooth escaped. The Player Clan, the Tree Demon Clan, and the Demon Snake Clan from the resource convoy didn't make it back!"

Yue Yao turned his gaze toward the man who spoke.

This person was a subordinate he trusted fully. He was the captain of his army called General Crescent Moon.

Hearing what General Crescent Moon had said, Yue Yao fell into silence.

A while later, Yue Yao asked again, "How many people saw the attack of the Fire Warrior Army, and where were all of you when it happened!?"

"At that time, Liu Chai, the Rock Ghost King, the Hydra King, Demon Capital, Ground Wolf, and the other leaders of the Beiqi forces were drinking with us here, celebrating the unity of Beiqi. No one left during the ceremony. When Mad Tooth returned, all of us saw the Fire Warriors chasing after him…" General Crescent Moon answered honestly.

By then, Yue Yao had almost believed what Mad Tooth had said because General Crescent Moon would never deceive him.

"Mad Tooth, tell me every detail of the incident!"

"Yes!"

Then, Mad Tooth repeated the entire process, from the point where he collected the resources from the palace, escorted them along the Barren Grassland, and finally got ambushed by the Fire Warriors.

Yue Yao's expression was uncertain when he listened to Mad Tooth's narration.

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, the evidence was solid. All evidence was pointing at his eighth brother Huo Yao.

As he remembered the time when Huo Yao said he wanted to become His Excellency, Yue Yao suddenly understood why he had done this. Fury arose in his heart.

"Oh yes, why are you guys gathering the troops!? Where on earth is Liu Chai?" Yue Yao furrowed his brows as he looked around.

"Your Majesty, hurry and stop Liu Chai. He has brought his soldiers to the Barren Grassland, saying that he will avenge his dead brothers. We couldn't stop him!" General Crescent Moon pleaded on one knee.

"Nonsense!"

Although he was enraged, Yue Yao wasn't one bit doubtful of Liu Chai's actions.

Based on how much he knew Liu Chai, this behavior fit his character very well.

Nevertheless, Liu Chai's reckless behavior before he even discussed it with his brothers would make him appear very passive.

Thinking of this, Yue Yao's figure immediately flew up to the sky and sped toward the direction of the Nine Luminaries.

General Crescent Moon and the others followed behind Yue Yao.

Seeing this, the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King exchanged glances with each other calmly before smirks could be seen on their faces.

From the initial set up of Liu Chai's hasty character in Yue Yao's heart until the subsequent plunder event, the plan had proceeded in an orderly manner. The next thing they needed to do was to wait for the outbreak of events.

…

At the border between the Land of the Nine Luminaries and the Barren Grassland, a group of players were running in the direction of Beiqi. Numerous Fire Warriors were in pursuit of them from behind.

Just as the Fire Warrior Army was about to catch up with the players, millions of players brought by Liu Chai suddenly emerged from the direction of the Barren Grassland.

Then, a few hundred thousand of the escaping players abruptly changed their direction and charged toward the Fire Warriors.

A battle broke loose.

Faced with the army of players far exceeding their own number, the Fire Warrior Army was beaten until they started to retreat.

However, Liu Chai didn't stop. He ordered the players to chase after them and form a circle around them, besieging the group of Fire Warriors there.

The killing spree continued. Just then, a figure approached from the distant sky.

"Liu Chai, stop!"

Following that, the figure dropped from the sky and stood beside Liu Chai, holding his shoulder down with one hand.

"I'm asking you to stop, Liu Chai!"

At the time, Liu Chai's eyes were red, "His Excellency Yue Yao, they took our resources and killed my brothers. Why should I stop!?"

"I smell something fishy in this, let me understand the situation first. As long as I can prove that it's their doing, I will avenge your dead brothers and find myself justice, too!"

Looking at Liu Chai who was grimacing, Yue Yao was angry, too. Then, he instantly dashed toward the leader of the Fire Warrior Army, grabbed his neck, and lifted him in the air.

"I know you… General Fire, right? Now, I'll give you a chance to explain yourself!"

"Cough cough… Lord Yue Yao, they invaded our camp, that's why we were after them!"

Hearing that, a cold light flashed across Yue Yao's eyes.

Right then, a few more figures appeared from behind and landed beside Yue Yao.

"Your Majesty, what this person said is totally unreliable. When Liu Chai departed with the Player Clan, we were all present. It's impossible for him to have reached the Nine Luminaries and also attack the Fire Warrior Army's Camp in such a short time. It's ridiculous!"

The one who spoke was General Crescent Moon, who was most trusted by Yue Yao.

"General Fire, do you really wish to die? Speak the truth, my eighth brother Huo Yao ordered you to rob me of my treasures… am I right!?" Yue Yao was about to kill him.

Even though he was still considerate of his brother, Huo Yao's actions were too much for him.

"Lord Yue Yao, it's true that they invaded our campground first. We only went after them when we found out about it. I really have no idea about any robbery!"

Yue Yao shook his head in disappointment as he stared at General Fire.

All the evidence was conclusive, yet General Fire refused to admit it.

Liu Chai was at the Mansion of the Dead before he came with his soldiers after knowing the news of the plunder. General Crescent Moon and the others could prove his presence.

Besides, the fact that General Fire led his army into the Barren Grassland was the same as Mad Tooth described. Yue Yao was furious now.

Hack!

Without hesitation this time, Yue Yao broke General Fire's neck.

All his underlings were at the scene. If he remained indecisive after being bullied, he had no right to be His Excellency, not to mention standing tall in front of his subordinates.

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Chapter 273: It Was Evident (Part 3)

Witnessing General Fire's death, all the warriors of Huo Yao's Army took a step backward. This time, they were truly terrified.

Although Yue Yao had left the Land of the Nine Luminaries, his menacing aura continued to linger all over. None of the soldiers had the audacity to rebel against him.

"You! Step forward!" Yue Yao pointed at a Ghost General among them.

"Lord Yue Yao… we followed our enemy here and have no idea what treasures you're talking about!" the warrior explained nervously.

Split!

Not wanting to waste his time debating with the warrior, Yue Yao drew out a streamer and decapitated the man.

"You! Step forward!"

Following Yue Yao's order, another Ghost General stumbled forward. Just as everyone expected, none of his answers could please Yue Yao, and he was killed by Yue Yao on the spot.

"Great! All of you are very loyal. I'll have to personally speak to my brother to get an answer!"

Yue Yao turned to look at the many leaders of Beiqi who were at his heels.

He commanded, "Follow me to Huo Yao's military base in my homeland!"

Then, Yue Yao threw a glance at Liu Chai who was apparently still angry.

"Liu Chai, since you've been loyal to me, and your tribe members lost their lives protecting Mad Tooth and helping him escape, I'll definitely compensate you for your loss! Don't worry!"

"Lord Yue Yao, let's head for Huo Yao's military base. They won't be able to refute it once we find the treasures!" Liu Chai yelled furiously.

"Yes! Let's go!"

Following Yue Yao's order, the troops marched toward the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

At that moment, Yue Yao was enraged. Despite not having a good relationship with Huo Yao, they were, after all, brothers. They had the same blood running in their veins.

However, he couldn't take Huo Yao's actions lying down anymore. Huo Yao seemed to have never considered their relationship as he committed such wrongdoings.

He had just been installed as His Excellency of Beiqi. In order to strengthen his footing, he had to handle this issue in a decent manner. If he swept this under the rug, his inferiors wouldn't willingly submit to him. It would be just as though he had lost all authority being their king.

…

At the military base of Huo Yao's Army.

Under Yue Yao's lead, the millions of players finally arrived at their destination. Immediately alarmed, Huo Yao's Army assembled, thinking that they were being blitzed by their enemy.

The warriors of Huo Yao's Army were stunned when they saw Yue Yao.

"Huo Yao!" Yue Yao yelled and the whole military base was swamped by an impactful sound wave.

"Lord Yue Yao, Lord Huo Yao is probably in a meeting with the other lords at the Dark Heaven Pavilion. He's not at the military base right now!" Huo Lang the Ghost King, the general of the military base, cupped his hands together as he reported to Yue Yao.

"Huo Lang, tell me honestly. Did you rob my assets? Have you hidden my treasures in the Resource Warehouse of your military base?"

Huo Lang's heart skipped a beat.

He hurriedly explained, "Lord Yue Yao, that's not possible! We don't have the audacity to do that. Moreover, our Resource Warehouse is certainly not capable of containing your costly treasures!"

Seeing how hostile Yue Yao was, Huo Lang finally realized that things were not in an amicable state. Yue Yao was definitely not here to casually visit Lord Huo Yao.

"Open the door of your Resource Warehouse! I must search it!" Yue Yao glared at Huo Lang as he continued to push Huo Lang with his menacing aura.

"Lord Yue Yao… this… this doesn't seem right. Lord Huo Yao hasn't returned yet…"

"Go and get him now! Tell him that I'm looking for him! But I'll have to search the Resource Warehouse now!" Yue Yao spoke as he beckoned Liu Chai and the team of players forward. They forcefully marched in.

Owing to Yue Yao's presence, none of the warriors of Huo Yao's Army dared to fight back. They could only watch helplessly as the foreign troops invaded their military base.

"Lord Yue Yao…"

"Save it! Get Huo Yao. Bring him here as soon as possible!"

"Yes!" Huo Lang had no choice but to agree to Yue Yao. He dared not disobey or rebuke him.

When the crew arrived before the Resource Warehouse, Yue Yao coerced the warriors into opening the door and commanded, "Liu Chai, bring them into the warehouse and run a thorough search!"

"No worries, boss!" Liu Chai answered immediately. He waved his hand and gestured his team of players into the warehouse.

When Yue Yao was about to enter the warehouse, a streamer of light streaked across the sky, "Second brother, what are you doing?"

"Eighth brother, I'm going to ask you the same question! What are you doing?" Yue Yao glared at the figure that was descending from the sky with an intimidating aura.

The stream of light disappeared as Huo Yao materialized beside Yue Yao.

"Second brother, I don't know what you're talking about. However, it's very rude for you to trespass on my military base and enter my Resource Warehouse without permission! You're completely ignoring my authority here!" Huo Yao scowled at Yue Yao defiantly and furiously.

"Tell me. Did you rob my treasures?" Yue Yao tried his best to stay calm before he continued questioning Huo Yao.

"Second brother, are you kidding me? Why would I rob your treasures? Didn't we agree on dividing the treasures? Haven't your subordinates taken away your share?"

"Fine! I'm not here to debate with you. Let's wait for Liu Chai!" Yue Yao gazed at the Resource Warehouse, waiting for their return.

Confronting the aggressive Yue Yao, Huo Yao finally realized that something extremely offbeat was happening.

He knew Yue Yao very well. There was no fire without smoke. It was impossible for his second brother to invade his privacy and seriously do something that would risk ruining their relationship.

He had an ominous hunch, suspecting that he must have missed out on something.

At that moment, Liu Chai and his crew continued to explore the Resource Warehouse.

When they arrived at the deepest part of the Resource Warehouse, Liu Chai ordered, "Brothers, take out all the resources you've robbed! The rest of you keep watch!"

Upon receiving the command, the players at the back quickly turned around to watch the door.

The players, who robbed the resources, hurriedly took out all of the treasures and stacked them in a corner of the Resource Warehouse.

This was the third part of their plan, to plant the stolen goods on someone else.

The players who robbed the treasures turned off the simulation after they finished their quest. They walked across the Barren Grassland and headed for the military base that was located in the Land of the Nine Luminaries. They made a feigned attack, and led Huo Yao's Army to the Barren Grassland.

At that moment, Liu Chai, together with his troops, met up with the other players, and ambushed the warriors of Huo Yao's Army who arrived at their heels.

Initially, they intended to wait for the arrival of General Crescent Moon and his forces, wanting them to witness the presence of Huo Yao's Army at the Barren Grassland.

Their plan went smooth, despite the fact that the players didn't expect Yue Yao to arrive at this crucial second.

It seemed like everything was predestined. They didn't expect their plan to end so successfully and so quickly. All the players were absolutely thrilled.

After the players took out the treasures, Liu Chai dashed out of the Resource Warehouse.

Both Yue Yao and Huo Yao grimaced, awaiting Liu Chai's arrival.

Then, Liu Chai hurried over. Once he left the Resource Warehouse, he lifted his gaze to look at Yue Yao.

"Lord Yue Yao, I haven't seen the treasures before, but there's a huge pile of treasures in the corner of the Resource Warehouse that look like they could be yours. You'll have to check it out on your own!"

Upon listening to that, Yue Yao descended from the sky and headed inside.

Huo Yao's heart skipped a beat.

This was the military's warehouse that stored their resources. It was impossible for them to keep their treasures inside the warehouse. Liu Chai's words had certainly alarmed him.

He followed Liu Chai at the speed of light.

When Yue Yao found the pile of treasures that was hidden in the Resource Warehouse, he was infuriated. He turned to look at Huo Yao.

"Eighth brother, I think you owe me an explanation!" Yue Yao raised his voice as he spoke.

"Second brother, I've been framed!" Huo Yao's face paled.

"Someone framed you? Are you going to tell me that my subordinates, the Player Clan, framed you? Are you going to say that they brought the treasures along and placed it inside your army's warehouse on purpose? Are you claiming that they are trying to put the blame on you?"

The Player Clan came from the Barren Grassland. Yue Yao was sure that they didn't carry any of the treasures with them. Thinking that he had successfully seized both physical evidence and the culprit, Huo Yao's rebuttal further enraged Yue Yao.

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Chapter 274: Extremely Wronged (Part 4)

"We're brothers! This is just so disappointing. You'd better explain this!" Yue Yao was trying his best to contain his anger as he waited for clarification from Huo Yao.

As Huo Yao was confronted by Yue Yao, he raised his head to look at the huge pile of sparkling treasures and let out a sigh, "Second brother, believe it or not, I really didn't send people to rob your treasures, but I'll give you an explanation on this for sure!"

After that, Huo Yao turned around and walked out of the Resource Warehouse along the passage. As soon as he was out, he bellowed, "Attention all armies, assemble!"

Upon listening to Huo Yao's furious bawl, the Fire Army moved immediately. Within seconds, all warriors assembled at the campground.

Soon after, Huo Yao levitated into the air.

"All members who entered the Resource Warehouse recently, step out!"

Seeing Huo Yao's angry face, all the Fire Army warriors couldn't help but tremble in fear. Still, a few hundred men stepped forward.

"Did any of you notice the extra treasures in the Resource Warehouse? Tell only the truth!"

Huo Yao's confrontation caused the few hundred men who stepped out to fall into complete silence.

"Answer me, one by one. Those who dare to hide from me shall be sent to hell!"

Hearing that, all of them trembled once again.

"I did not see anything!"

"I did not see anything!"

"I did not see anything!"

…

After a few hundred people answered, one after another, Huo Yao turned around and looked at Yue Yao.

"Second brother, do you mind telling me why you're so certain that my subordinates, the Fire Army, have robbed your resources?"

Yue Yao snorted coldly after hearing that.

"Then, you shall ask your subordinates the reason why they appeared at the Barren Grassland in the Land of Beiqi!"

"Those who went to the Barren Grassland, step out at once!"

After Huo Yao said this, almost a hundred thousand soldiers stepped out.

"Who's the leader? Explain to me… why did you visit the Barren Grassland!?"

Huo Yao's face went stiff after seeing so many of his men step forward. He even had a wild guess in his mind.

When he was absent, these soldiers secretly robbed the resources that were meant to be sent to Yue Yao.

"My lord… our leader was… by Lord Yue Yao…" a Ghost Commander stepped out at that moment, shaking in fear.

"He was in Beiqi to cut off my resources, do you think I should spare him?" Yue Yao replied coldly aside.

"You should!" answered Huo Yao right away, knowing justice was not with him. Then, he looked at the Ghost Commander and asked again,

"Tell me why were you in Beiqi then, did you really want to rob their resources?"

Thump!

Since he was sentenced with such a huge felony, the Ghost Commander was so shocked that he kneeled down immediately.

"My lord, there were intruders at the camp at the time. In order to know which forces they were from, we rushed out and chased them all the way to the Barren Grassland!"

"Intruders? From which force?"

"I can't be sure, but… but they were very similar to the subordinates of Lord Yue Yao," as he spoke, the Ghost Commander pointed at the Player Clan.

"Hahaha, my eighth brother, what an interesting guy you are. After all these equivocations, you're saying my subordinates, the Beiqi forces are the hypocrites? You should've just blamed them when I asked you just now, why are you beating around the bush?" Yue Yao laughed cynically in anger after hearing that.

He brought the Player Clan here himself, so how could he not know whether they had the treasures on them or not.

"Second brother, before the truth is revealed, I think we should sort out our thoughts properly. If it really was my subordinates who robbed your resources, I will not let a single one of them go, just to clear it out with you."

"A few hundred thousand people, not leaving even one? How cruel you are. Not only are you putting the blame on them, but you even want to kill them!"

Huo Yao knew that he was not in a position to say much. Although he was equally mad as he heard Yue Yao's words, he said, "Second brother, don't be in a hurry, I'll sort things out first!"

"Fine, I'll wait for you!"

After settling Yue Yao, Huo Yao asked again, "About the intruders that you mentioned, did they enter our camp?"

"They did not, but they were a nuisance outside, so we chased after them."

"Are the leaders of the Resource Warehouse here?" Huo Yao yelled again.

"We're here!" exclaimed five leaders who guarded the warehouse.

"Did any outsiders enter the Resource Warehouse today?"

"My lord, the Resource Warehouse was closed for today, so nobody has entered it yet. The most recent visit was yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Huo Yao's expression turned worse.

All these facts miraculously pointed to the same fact. Thus, even he began to think that his own subordinates had robbed the resources.

Firstly, the resources were robbed today. Since the Fire Army's Resource Warehouse is closed today, how could these resources just appear out of thin air?

At this moment, the most recent visitors to the Resource Warehouse, the players, were the greatest suspect. However, Huo Yao dispelled this thought at once.

If the Player Clan had entered the Resource Warehouse and tried to sneak the treasures in without anyone noticing, they must have a lot of inventory storage.

However, even he didn't have treasures like these, while his eldest brother only owned a small fifty square foot inventory storage ring. How would the Player Clan own these, being the subordinates of Yue Yao? Moreover, they needed to own a few of them to store all the treasures.

Thus, this theory was denied by Huo Yao almost immediately. Yet, the problem was here. Since the Player Clan had no inventory treasures and the Resource Warehouse was not opened today, how did those treasures get into the warehouse?

After sorting out his thoughts, Huo Yao was suddenly worried. Could it be that few of my subordinate lords colluded and robbed my second brother's treasures? Then, they hid this heist from me?

Nevertheless, based on his understanding of his subordinates and bodyguards, Huo Yao knew that they wouldn't dare do that.

The issue was caught in a dead-end. Questions in his head became more entangled, thus Huo Yao couldn't come to a sensible conclusion.

Yue Yao had the same hypothesis as Huo Yao.

However, they were in different situations. Yue Yao knew that he brought the Player Clan to the Fire Army camp himself.

So, his conclusion was totally the opposite. He thought Huo Yao was concealing the truth and his subordinates were forced to not admit their crimes.

"Eighth brother, have you made up your mind? How are you gonna explain this to me!?"

"Second brother, I think there must be a third force trying to frame me and ruin our relationship. They must have many inventory treasures for them to rob your resources and sneak into my Resource Warehouse after that," Huo Yao presented his own assumptions to answer Yue Yao's question.

"Hahaha, eighth brother, I never knew you were such an excellent speaker. This incident couldn't be more clear! Obviously, your subordinates are lying and you are the mastermind of this heist!"

"Stop talking about that! Other than the gods themselves, who else could have mastered the laws of space and invented such treasure in the Underworld? Could it be that some god wants to incite our relationship? If it really was an Underworld god, did they have to waste so much effort in destroying us?"

"Second brother…"

"Silent! I'll take the treasures with me. You and I will visit our eldest brother and let him take care of this!"

When Yue Yao finished, he turned and looked at Liu Chai, "Send these treasures back with the others… I'll return later!"

Rather upset, Liu Chai said, "Boss Yue Yao, you must win our reputation back!"

"Don't worry, I promised to give you an explanation, so you will surely get one!"

……

Dark Heaven Pavilion, Nine Luminaries.

This time, the nine brothers gathered, but each of them had a grim expression.

After listening to Yue Yao's description and Huo Yao's assumptions, without exemption, everybody thought Huo Yao lied.

However, they understood this brother too well. Although he was slightly grumpier, he would never do something that could potentially ruin their brotherhood.

Jin Yao, the fifth brother, said, "Eighth brother, what you said was sort of unbelievable. We're all brothers here, you can just admit it and apologize. Even though we are siblings, your explanation…"

"Fifth brother, even you think that I did this!?" Huo Yao bolted up, the anger on his face could not be concealed.

"If it wasn't you, was it really an Underworld god?" Yue Yao glanced at him coldly.

"Second brother, stop pressuring me! I said that I didn't do any of this!

"What do you mean? Still being so confident after committing these lowly crimes! Am I really nothing to you?" Yue Yao got up at once, too.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became very solemn. The two of them were so tense and serious, it was as if they could start a war at any time.

"Enough! Remember that you're brothers!" Xing Yao slammed the table and hollered.

"Eldest brother, I do treat him as a brother, but Huo Yao doesn't return the favor!"

"Fine, I understand this incident already. Eighth brother, I'm going to question you now, please tell me the truth. We're brothers, so even if you did this, own it and nobody will blame you. We'll just think of it as you're temporarily blinded by profit. Everything will be fine if you correct your behavior!"

"Eldest brother, I said I didn't do this. I really didn't!" Huo Yao couldn't help but shout out in frustration, with all his brothers still being skeptical.

Huo Yao felt extremely wronged. He hadn't done anything, but all of his brothers firmly thought that he had. Wrath was boiling in his heart, so much so that an urge to kill began to emerge.

Yue Yao scoffed scornfully, "Eldest brother, until now, he still has no intention of admitting his wrongdoings. However, the truth is clear. It was either some Underworld god's act or eighth brother's, you decide!"

Hearing this, Xing Yao's head ached badly.

He also thought that Huo Yao had instructed his subordinates to rob the treasures out of sudden greed. No god would need to waste so much effort to incite them, as the combined forces of the Nine Luminaries was unrivaled.

"Eighth brother, apologize now!"

"Eldest brother, I didn't do this!" Huo Yao screamed in rage again.

"Eighth brother, if you still see me as the eldest, apologize to your second brother!"

"Fuck, if you want me to apologize for things I didn't do, you'll have to dream about it! And you, Yue Yao, fuck you and quit this brotherly nonsense if you don't trust me!" Huo Yao utterly erupted in anger.

He felt extremely wronged, but then they wanted him to accept this frustration and apologize for it. It was simply unbearable.

At the thought of it, Huo Yao grew angrier and kicked the court table in front of him, before jumping onto Yue Yao with his fists flying.

"Yue Yao, how dare you frame me! This could even be an act which you've plotted and carried out yourself!"

"Eighth brother, you…"

Seeing that Huo Yao suddenly attacked him, the brothers became frightened and stood up at once.

Boom!

Yue Yao confronted Huo Yao's attack with a powerful punch.

A strong air flow ripped through the air, toppling all the surrounding tables and chairs and sending them flying away.

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Chapter 275: I Am A Player

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Mansion of the Dead, Beiqi.

A silhouette glided down from the sky and entered His Excellency's palace.

This instantly caught everybody's attention. However, as soon as they saw the visitor more clearly, they began to panic.

Yue Yao was heavily wounded. His attire was completely tattered while blood stains remained on his mouth, making him look extremely feeble.

"Your Majesty, what's happened?" General Crescent Moon rushed up to support Yue Yao after seeing his condition.

Yue Yao's face turned even more hideous when he heard this.

Just now, he had completely severed ties with his brother, Huo Yao. Both of them fought mercilessly.

His younger brother, Huo Yao, was supposedly just at the level of a Greater Ghost King. He shouldn't have been a worthy opponent.

However, three of his brothers, Ri Yao, Chen Yao, and Mu Yao, were on Huo Yao's side.

According to them, Yue Yao couldn't give enough evidence to prove that Huo Yao had robbed him. On top of that, they grew up together. Therefore, they knew that Huo Yao wouldn't do such a thing.

The conflict was triggered, causing Yue Yao to fight against four brothers on his own.

As for the other brothers, including His Excellency Xing Yao, they merely advised them to stop. However, they didn't step forward to help Yue Yao.

At that instance, Yue Yao suddenly had an epiphany.

After he left the Land of the Nine Luminaries, he became distant with the other brothers. Although their relationships remained, they had to think for their own benefits. Hence, Jin Yao and the others refused to lend him a helping hand.

The eight of them were still a whole unit. However, since he was now the Excellency of Beiqi, he wasn't considered their family anymore.

Yue Yao was a little bit devastated and completely enraged. After that, he didn't hold himself back anymore. Even though he was fighting four of them at once, he didn't falter and was clearly the stronger side.

Under such a situation, something out of Yue Yao's ordinary expectations happened. His eldest brother, Xing Yao, gave up on stopping the energy blasts from both sides. Instead, he joined Huo Yao and the others to counter his attacks!

Although Xing Yao was still yelling at them to stop, he chose to stand by Huo Yao's side.

Since the eldest brother had made his decision, the others followed him naturally, even though they were unsure at first.

Xing Yao was still trying to stop the fight but Yue Yao felt that they were biased against him. After all, Xing Yao resisted his attacks, instead of stopping Huo Yao and the others.

Consequently, he lost, suffering a complete defeat.

Since they were brothers, Xing Yao did not kill him. He only sighed and asked him to leave.

In Yue Yao's perspective, the main culprit was Huo Yao. His greed tore their brotherhood apart, but the seven other brothers chose to stand by him in the end. He could not accept this humiliation. As he came back injured, he was already plotting revenge in his mind.

He wanted Huo Yao to die a horrible death!

Yue Yao kept a solemn face when replying to General Crescent Moon, though, "We'll discuss this later, I need rest!"

Then, he entered his room in the palace.

The people outside were rendered speechless, as they exchanged nervous glances with one another. General Crescent Moon's face was full of sorrow and anxiety, but the Rock Ghost King and the leaders of the other forces appeared composed.

Liu Chai could not be happier.

This was because he just analyzed Yue Yao's menu and discovered his current status.

[Yue Yao (Greater Ghost Emperor):

Character Details: Previous Lord of the Land of the Nine Luminaries. He headed to Beiqi after the discussion with his brothers and stole the throne of His Excellency of Beiqi.

Character Status: Heavily injured (worsening)

Even Liu Chai didn't expect Yue Yao to return with such serious injuries.

Originally, stirring conflicts between the brothers was merely the beginning of their plan. Later, they would create a series of incidents to aggravate their disputes. However, things had already proceeded beyond their expectations.

Hence, Liu Chai immediately sent Yue Yao's information to the forum.

Crayon_Shinchan: "Dammit, our plan has gone astray. Aren't we supposed to injure Huo Yao? Why is our Boss Yue Yao the one that's injured instead? Call the director, let's see what she can do. (laughing emoji)"

Watermelon Taro: "The scenarios are going off track, calling for the director. @Classy_Lady_Yin_Xiaoqi"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "Boss Yue Yao was wounded? I can almost see an injured little yellow chick yelling, 'I wanna become soul coins and experience points!' (laughing emoji)"

Invincible_Loneliness: "Should we just settle him? It's a good chance after all!"

Peppa_Boar: "It's a good opportunity indeed. We planned to create conflicts between the nine brothers, but Boss Yue Yao is obviously being boycotted by the others right now. The script's ruined! (laughing emoji)"

Assassin_Creed: "Where's the director? Come out and arrange some new scenarios. (laughing emoji)"

Classy_Lady_Yin_Xiaoqi: "That's it. It's clear that the other brothers are being biased due to Yue Yao's departure from the family. Yue Yao is worthless now. (sighing helplessly emoji)"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Classy_Lady_Yin_Xiaoqi: "So director, what should we do now? (laughing emoji)"

Classy_Lady_Yin_Xiaoqi replied to Crayon_Shinchan: "I suggest that we just kill him. (sincere eyes emoji)"

…

The players allowed Yue Yao to ascend the throne easily, so that conflicts would happen between him and the other brothers in the Land of the Nine Luminaries. However, this crucial chess piece seemed to have lost his function already.

In spite of that, Yin Xiaoqi also provided a solution for this, which promptly changed the players' attitudes.

Soon, a swarm of players began to move toward the palace.

The players had a simple goal – they wanted to kill him while he was weak.

Although General Crescent Moon had noticed the players' abnormal movements, he thought that the Player Clan was simply curious. Hence, he didn't dwell on it further.

Since Liu Chai had sworn allegiance with his soul and they were on the same boat, he assumed that their betrayal was impossible.

As General Crescent Moon was observing the players, Liu Chai and his gang opened the door to Yue Yao's room, before marching into it.

Their appearance shocked Yue Yao, who was treating his wounds. So, he opened his eyes abruptly and yelled, "What are all of you doing here?"

"Boss Yue Yao, who did this to you?"

"We'll talk about this after I'm done treating my wounds, get out now!" Yue Yao ordered strictly.

"I'll lead my men to seek revenge for you!" Liu Chai turned around and growled angrily.

Yue Yao panicked after seeing this, as he knew Liu Chai's personality well. If he declared so, he would really bring people to the Nine Luminaries for a battle with his brothers.

Although his relationship with his brothers had soured, it hadn't deteriorated to such an extent, where an all out war between the two lands was needed. After all, Beiqi's forces were no match for the Land of the Nine Luminaries by itself.

They still held on to their brotherhood. It would be totally different, though, if Beiqi sent troops first.

Thinking about this, Yue Yao forcefully stopped the cycle of soul power in his body and rushed toward Liu Chai.

However, as Yue Yao passed by the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King, an eerie feeling struck him. When he looked down, he saw that the Hydra King's hand had transformed into a huge python and bit him, while the Rock Ghost King's hands transformed into vines and entangled him.

Snap!

The python bit his chest and injected venom into his veins, causing Yue Yao's body to shiver.

Liu Chai then turned around and launched a fist at his face.

Thud! Yue Yao immediately fell onto the floor.

"How dare you betray me!" Yue Yao uttered, with a look of disbelief.

He had witnessed Liu Chai, the Rock Ghost King, and the others vow with their souls to the Six Paths of Reincarnation. If they ever betrayed him in the presence of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, their souls would disintegrate into dust.

Yet, the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation didn't affect any of them even though they had attacked him.

Outside the room, players continued to throng into His Excellency's palace.

General Crescent Moon was taken aback by this and instantly yelled, "What are you doing? Retreat now!"

The players ignored him and didn't stop coming. A group of players even broke off from the crowd and charged toward him.

After Yin Xiaoqi announced the last option, the players knew it was time for the script to end. Their next task would be to reap their benefits.

Apart from the treasures that they brought back, Yue Yao and his army were useless to them. Hence, it was time to annihilate them from the Land of Beiqi entirely.

Countless players were swarming in and surrounding the palace.

This was their only opportunity since Yue Yao was heavily wounded. If they didn't succeed this time, there would be no second chance for them because it was impossible for them to defeat him after he had recovered his strength.

Groups of players constantly barged in. Then, all of them charged toward General Crescent Moon and started attacking Yue Yao's Army.

The sudden attack caught General Crescent Moon off guard, so he tried hard to flee and ran to His Excellency's palace. Perplexed, he wanted to ask Liu Chai what was happening.

However, when he entered and saw the scene inside the room, he was totally stunned.

At that moment, Yue Yao was kneeling on the floor with his body tangled by vines and pythons, completely immobilized.

They betrayed us!

The idea abruptly popped into General Crescent Moon's head, but the realization came way too late.

Battles had erupted in every zone of the Mansion of the Dead.

The warriors of Yue Yao's Army randomly wandering around were all attacked by the players in various ways.

At that moment, they finally revealed their true faces hidden behind their loyalty. They bit Yue Yao on his neck with a fatal attack.

Since Yue Yao was heavily injured and his soul power cycle was forcefully cut off, he was clearly too weak. Unable to retaliate, he could only struggle to defend himself from the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King's attacks.

It was undeniable that Yue Yao, a Greater Ghost Emperor, was still strong even in this dreadful state. He snapped the Rock Ghost King's vines a few times and tried to escape. Still, the Rock Ghost King hung on with all his might.

He didn't want to die and could never just respawn like the other players.

Under the motivation of eternal death, both the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King tried their very best to restrict Yue Yao and prevent him from escaping.

However, the presence of General Crescent Moon undoubtedly gave the Rock Ghost King and the others a sense of danger. Luckily, the players had charged him from behind. In a flash, they surrounded General Crescent Moon and launched attacks at him.

All 2.3 million warriors were attacked by the entirety of the Beiqi forces. Since the number of their opponents was ten times more, their resistance was nothing but a useless fight.

Tonight, the Mansion of the Dead was destined to be sleepless.

Massacres played out in every zone.

Soul coins, experience points, equipment, and resources galore.

It might be the player's fiesta, but it was also Yue Yao's Army's epitaph.

When the first ray of sunlight rose from the East of Beiqi, everything had come to an end.

The Mansion of the Dead, being a safe zone, was restored to its initial status by the artifact. No corpses or bloodstains could be found on the ground, as though nothing had happened there.

In the Mansion of the Dead, Yue Yao was lying on the floor, teetering between life and death. His eyes were half-closed as he stared at the sunrise on the horizon, with an incredulous expression on his face, as if he was mocking himself.

At this painful moment, he suddenly understood everything.

His brothers had never betrayed him nor robbed him of his resources. Everything was a trap and he was just a chess piece that had stepped onto the board. The actions that he thought were right were nothing more than robotic movements controlled by the others.

Finally, only his death remained!

"Yue Yao, from the moment you wanted to own Beiqi, you were destined to fail!" Liu Chai couldn't help but sigh, watching the half-dead Yue Yao.

Although they were enemies and Yue Yao was only using him, Liu Chai had regarded Yue Yao as a real person. Thus, he was slightly reluctant to kill him.

However, he knew that Yue Yao must die.

Otherwise, the players would never live a peaceful day.

"Can you tell me how on Earth you did this? You guys vouched with your souls!" Yue Yao spilled out his doubt on his deathbed.

The Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King exchanged glances and smirked.

Just then, several server announcements rang out:

[Server Announcement: the Rock Ghost King has officially become Beiqi's NPC!]

[Server Announcement: the Hydra King has officially become Beiqi's NPC!]

[Server Announcement: the Ghost General Demon has officially become Beiqi's NPC!]

[Server Announcement: the Ghost General Ground Wolf has officially become Beiqi's NPC!]

…

After listening to the server announcements, Liu Chai turned around and looked at the Rock Ghost King and the others in astonishment.

"How did you all do that?"

"We received the oaths from Tong Gua and swore loyalty to him long ago. From now on, we are truly from one family!" the Hydra King said with a grin, while holding Liu Chai's shoulder.

"Hey, you still need me when you guys launch the elixir masterclass. This is a hidden plot activated by you, since now you've met the requirements," the Rock Ghost King also pulled a grin.

Although he couldn't comprehend what they were saying, Yue Yao could almost feel their joy.

"So this is the true face of yours, Liu Chai!" Yue Yao said weakly before coughing some blood out.

"Sorry, Boss Yue Yao, you are the one who intruded Beiqi first…"

"Save your breath. The winner wins and the loser dies, this has always been the Law of the Underworld… I understand!" Yue Yao's condition deteriorated drastically and he seemed to be in a daze.

"Did you vow your soul to other people like them previously?" Yue Yao asked in his final breaths.

Liu Chai shook his head, as a big smile bloomed on his face.

"I'm different from them, I'm a player and not from around here so I'm not tied to the Laws of the Underworld!"

Just then, a ray of sunlight shone on Liu Chai's face. Half of his face glowed with a faint halo, catching Yue Yao's attention completely as he lay feebly on the ground.

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Chapter 276: Legendary Sniper Black Lily

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

New York City, United States of America.

In the dead of night, when the hands on the clock tower converged at their zenith, chimes echoed throughout the city to announce that it was midnight.

It was pitch black on top of the clock tower where she was waiting.

In the distance, one could vaguely hear the pitter-patter of raindrops as they hit the glass.

Ding!

Emily flipped open her lighter cap and lit a cigarette. Then, she took a deep drag of it.

The faint light emitted by the cigarette illuminated a tattoo on her upper arms. It was as vibrant as the colorful markings of a venomous snake, a tell-tale sign that she was just as deadly.

As the embers of the cigarette flickered, she blew out a mouthful of thick smoke, her hand trembling unconsciously.

She felt a sense of deja vu. Right now, her heart ached with melancholy and despair, just like when she had left her older brother five years ago.

It was a gloomy and rainy day just like this, and they parted at a public bus stop.

At that moment, she desperately wanted to ask the driver to stop the car or bash the windows to attract her brother's attention, so she could jump out and run toward him.

She wanted to tear down every single obstacle between him and her.

Her breath quickened at this thought, her eyes turned bloodshot and shivers wracked her body. She had brought herself to tears with her vivid imagination.

However, in reality, she merely sat there docilely. Their shoulders grazed past each other's, as she silently watched his silhouette become nothing more than a hazy outline and fade into the distance.

After that, she walked on the road with no return. She had chosen this path herself, it was a journey with no detour.

Footsteps could be heard in the dark. As the sound gradually became audible, a silhouette slowly emerged and the surrounding street lights lit up.

A man with a beard approached from afar, holding a document folder in his hand. He was wearing headphones and seemed to be stepping in sync with the music.

A glimpse of sorrow crossed Emily's eyes as she saw this man draw near, she sincerely hoped that he would not come any closer.

Yet, she had no other choice, as this was her mission.

He was a killer!

This man was her mentor and had retired peacefully after a notorious career as an ace assassin. He was the one who taught Emily all her assassination techniques and made her who she was today.

He was a mentor and friend to her, but…

Emily slowly looked down. She rested her cheek on the cold buttstock of the gun and peered through her rifle scope, focusing her gaze on the man below.

Truth be told, with her prowess, she didn't even need the scope, but this was the last farewell to her mentor.

Bang!

A bullet swirled out of the barrel and landed point-blank on the man's forehead, which instantly exploded into a bloody shower.

She had equipped a silencer so the gunshot blast was quite faint, without alarming anybody nearby.

She took a look through her scope once again to check the fallen body on the floor below. Emily's lips quivered at the grotesque sight. Not long after, she took out a mobile phone from her pocket and dialed someone.

Beep… beep… beep…

After three rings, the call was connected, but only silence greeted her.

"Mission accomplished, the target is killed!"

"Good job, Black Lily…"

Before the receiver had even finished talking, Emily hung up. She then took her gun, called the Kiss of the Black Lily, placed it on the floor, and dismantled it at lightning speed.

Within two minutes, the complicated multi-structural sniper rifle had been broken down into individual parts and packed away in a cello case.

After doing this, she stood up quickly and climbed down the clock tower, with the cello case on her back. She used the uneven ledges of the walls to help her descend.

She immediately vanished into the darkness of the night.

After finishing this mission, Emily had earned another month of vacation but she felt lost. She had no idea where to go, or how would her future turn out.

Would she meet her death at the hands of some newcomers as her teacher just did? Or fail a mission and get arrested? Or maybe, she would die in some dark corner?

It seemed like any thoughts about her future were all related to death. Feeling pitiful, Emily's lips curled into a bitter smile.

She was a killer!

While walking, she suddenly felt uneasy. Her keen senses told her that someone was watching her from the darkness.

Her footsteps sped up right away and she broke into a sprint.

Bang!

A gunshot rang through the air, so Emily spontaneously jumped forward.

The shot had been precise, but Emily had quick reflexes. She might have avoided a lethal wound, but she sustained an injury to her calf. The wound was about the size of a goose's egg.

Knowing that there was another killer out there in the dark, Emily pulled the cello case before her without hesitation and hid behind it.

By doing so, she had obscured the killer's vision of her and thus made sure her attacker had lost sight of his target. She planned all this after deducting the killer's location from the direction of the bullet.

A silent stalemate ensued.

Other than the sound of raindrops hitting the floor, the surrounding plunged into silence.

As time went on, Emily knew her opportunity had arrived when the streetlights didn't light up.

She opened the cello case from the side, and swiftly assembled her sniper rifle.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed. This time, it did not hit Emily, but grazed the street light.

The sound of a bullet colliding with metal stirred the street lights to life again.

This time, the killer in the dark saw Emily clearly through his scope as she tried to assemble her sniper rifle. A crooked smile crept onto his lips as he aimed his gun directly at her.

Bang!

Bang!

Two opposing gunshots boomed out in unison. However, the bullets collided mid-air, bursting into a shower of metal shrapnel that scattered to all sides.

The killer was shocked.

This must be a coincidence!

Surprised by this turn of events, the killer suddenly had flashbacks about this female killer named Black Lily and all of her notorious rumors.

He immediately aimed at Emily again. Just when he was about to vehemently pull the trigger, he looked through his scope and saw a bullet appear in his line of sight, approaching and enlarging rapidly. Everything before his eyes went pitch black.

One bathed in light, while one was hidden in darkness. Despite being at a disadvantage, Emily still easily dispatched the assassin. This was her craft, and also the reason why nobody could surpass the Legendary Sniper Black Lily.

After eliminating the killer, Black Lily ripped a piece of her clothes off and quickly bandaged her bleeding calf. Then, she fought through the pain and sprinted away.

When she reached about a hundred yards away, Emily came to a sudden stop. Her calf had bled so profusely that it drained her stamina, hindering any further movement.

And just then, her cell phone rang.

Emily grabbed her phone from her pocket and tossed it into a drain beside her.

She knew that this assassination had been planned. After all, the only ones that knew her assassination and escape route was the organization.

Taking a deep breath, Emily willed herself to trudge on. Then, she noticed a building just ten yards away with a sign that read clinic.

She took a glance at her bleeding calf. She might risk exposing herself, but she could not be bothered by menial details anymore. So, she dragged her wounded right leg and limped toward the clinic.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The door swung open when she slammed on it, revealing a bespectacled man with blue curly hair who greeted her.

"Are you injured?" a man asked as he looked at Emily, surprised by her beauty and also by her bleeding right leg.

Emily nodded as she leaned feebly on the door frame for support.

Seeing this, he quickly helped Emily into the building and shut the door behind him.

…

"Hey, this is a gunshot!"

Emily's eyes turned menacingly cold as she looked at the man who was treating her wound.

"Don't… worry… I won't tell anyone," the man immediately reassured her. Even though his expression contorted in concern, he continued, "But your leg might not be saved…"

"I know that, now treat the wound and stop the bleeding so I can be on my way!"

"It'll hurt, do you want to play a game to get your mind off the pain?" the man gestured to a virtual reality headset on the table.

"No!" Emily replied impassively.

"I think you should play for a while, there's an egg-sized hole on your leg, it's going to need some filling…"

"I said no!" Emily declined again with a serious tone.

She was a killer, so she was always vigilant. Playing a game at this moment would be risking her safety by putting it in others' hands. She did not trust the man before her, so she refused his offer.

After half an hour of bandaging, the man finally finished treating Emily's wound. Then, she stood up, preparing to leave right away.

"It's just treated, don't put force on it or else the wound might re-open!"

Emily didn't reply. Instead, she turned around and walked toward the door.

It was dangerous for her to stay here and she had left her sniper rifle outside, so she had to leave as soon as possible.

She approached the door and just before she opened it, police sirens rang out from outside.

Emily's expression instantly darkened. Then, she looked at the male doctor and quickly limped back into the house.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything!" the male doctor promised her again.

After Emily entered the house, the male doctor rushed to the door and pressed the cleaning button.

Immediately, the cleaning robot outside the house was activated. They wiped away any traces of blood outside in mere seconds.

Not long after, a knock came on the door. The male doctor calmly opened the door, even though his heart thundered in his chest.

The door opened and a middle-aged man stood on the other side. He was slightly plump but wore an extremely serious expression.

"Doctor Haier, did you hear gunshots just now? Or have you seen any strangers?"

"What? Gunshots? What happened?" Haier feigned shock and confusion.

"No, it's nothing, have a good night!" the officer outside quickly deflected. They didn't enter the house to investigate since they had a few other houses to inquire.

After he shut the door, Haier hurriedly went back inside the house. However, he discovered that Emily was hiding behind the door and clutching a dagger.

"They've left!" Haier muttered in exasperation.

He didn't know why he had covered for Emily. If he had to think of a reason, it would be because of her exquisite looks.

Truly, this was her gift since the day she was born.

"Thank you!" Emily sighed in relief and thanked him.

"It's okay, my name is Haier. What is yours?" Haier smiled as he stuck his right hand out.

Emily ignored him and merely limped to the sofa outside of the house and sat down, with her brows knitted together tightly.

Awkwardly, Haier followed her out. Then, he looked at Emily and said, "There's a lot of policemen searching around outside, I guess you have to spend the night in here."

Yet, Emily remained unresponsive.

"Does it hurt a lot? Do you need to play a game? There's a really cool game that came out recently. Once you enter it, you won't feel the pain from the outside world."

Still, she did not reply to him.

After a few failed attempts at conversation, Haier felt crestfallen about the distant and stoic Emily.

Then, Emily finally replied, "Fine, give me the virtual reality headset!"

"Okay!"

A wide smile broke out on Haier's face after his successful attempt to get a response out of her. He picked up the VR headset and swiftly handed it to Emily.

"I'll help connect the computer… the game's called Battle Online… the most anticipated virtual reality game of the year!"

Emily completely disregarded Haier's words. After she put on the headset, the game interface appeared.

Anyone could tell that Dr. Haier was a game enthusiast, as the virtual interface was packed with gaming icons and a variety of other unknown special gaming software.

After scanning the icons, Emily's eyes landed on Battle Online.

She could play any game, but since Haier strongly recommended this one, she would give it a try.

Hence, she selected the Battle Online icon.

It could be said that it was a total coincidence how the Legendary Sniper Black Lily embarked on her journey to become a Hunter Legend.

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Chapter 277: Dream Eater

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

After Emily the Black Lily logged into the game, the opening animation greeted her.

She had a sweeping view of the scenery from above. There were abandoned buildings and barren lands, everything in her sight looked completely decimated.

Then the scene zoomed in. Vicious beasts prowled the land and lava erupted from the ground as screeching black gales whipped around her.

Numerous creatures were in a killing frenzy, murdering each other…

The scenery made her feel a sense of apocalyptic chaos.

Then, the title appeared…

[There is no peace in this world but an endless massacre, only the strong will survive!]

Roar!

A deafening growl boomed and the fonts of the title shattered into fragments, before falling away. In the background, a huge crack split the earth to reveal an enormous arm made up of lava and rocks, violently smashing toward her.

Since these scenes were too realistic, she broke out in cold sweat as the hand appeared to crash down on her.

Then, the animation suddenly switched scenes. This time, she found herself on an intergalactic starship.

When she was scanning her surroundings, a hologram at the main control panel was activated. It was a figure of a blonde woman.

"Commander, the Naraka Star, our previous home, is right below us. The war has decimated it but we've discovered the latest technology to rebuild it. It's time for us to return and reclaim our homeland from these creatures!"

What should I do? She touched the control panel and felt its cold metallic finishing. Black Lily's heart itched with curiosity now.

Also, she was surprised to find her numbed right leg had regained its sensitivity.

Everything in this world awed her.

"I've prepared three mech battle suits for you, please select one!"

As the artificial intelligence's voice tapered off, the hoverboard beneath Emily's feet activated and brought her inside the spaceship's mech warehouse.

Swoosh!

Three sets of different colored mechs slowly emerged from the floor.

The introduction for these mechs followed shortly after:

[Lightsaber Mech (1 Star Difficulty):

Mech Details: Uses Lightsaber as the main weapon and suitable for close combat. It is equipped with a laser dagger and small-caliber ion gun.

Mech Specialty: Close combat, very high maneuverability.

Mech Upgrade Trend: Protective armor strength, lightsaber strength.

[Rechargeable Mech (3 Star Difficulty):

Mech Details: Ranged attack mech that can utilize various rechargeable weapons, ammunition depot, and equipment depot available in the mech warehouse.

Mech Specialty: Close, mid, and ranged combat, lower maneuverability, wide variety of weapons.

Mech Upgrade Trend: Ammunition depot upgrade, weapons upgrade (ammunition depot upgrade increases internal ammo damage and inventory space)

[Auxiliary Mech (1 Star Difficulty):

Mech Details: Auxiliary Mech, able to produce auxiliary tools such as Nano Mech Repairing Ball and control fields (Gravity Field, Repulsive Force Field, Mech Repairing Field), equipped with a lightsaber and small-caliber ion guns.

Mech Specialty: Well-balanced attributes, capable of close and ranged combat, mainly focused on providing support in combat.

Mech Upgrade Trend: Mech strength, portable production factory.

"Commander, please select your mech suit!" the spaceship's AI requested.

Emily inquisitively inspected the three mech suits as her eyes skimmed across them. Soon, her eyes focused on a weapon strapped behind the Rechargeable Mech.

The silver, intricately-carved rifle shone with the colors of a rainbow under the light. It had a diamond-shaped scope that could focus accordingly based on the pupil's activity, while criss-crossed black stripes decorated the barrel.

A cold primal feeling washed over Emily, as she had fallen for this mysterious sci-fi weapon at first sight.

Under Emily's observation, the Rechargeable Mech began to turn so she could get a better look.

"This is the one!" Emily made a quick decision.

"Are you sure, Commander? You cannot change after selecting!"

"Yes!"

After Emily made her selection, the other two mech suits descended back into the warehouse while the Rechargeable Mech was elevated even higher. The surrounding platforms broke apart, as mechanical arms shot out to dismantle the mech.

"Lord Commander, please stand in the central loading zone, we will assemble the mech soon!"

Emily stood at the designated location, as the mechanical arms whizzed to life around her, busily attaching mech pieces on her. Then, a new menu floated before her.

[Please select the Basic Mech Transformation Options. Since you have selected the Rechargeable Mech, which is a ranged output, starting damage is sufficient, armor is recommended. It can prioritize the strengthening of maneuverability and mech strength, and follow up with weapons and ammunition depots!]

Emily was deep in her thoughts as she read the menu in front of her. It stated that it had 50 spiritual ores strength with more strengthening options below.

She had never played any games before and didn't know where to start. However, she was a sniper in reality, so the strengthening option seemed pointless to her.

Her eyes swept past the other strengthening options such as power sources and mech strengthening, before finally landing on the weapon strengthening option.

She clicked on it and the menu glowed in response to show the details of the strengthening.

[Dream Eater (Level 1 Growth Sniper Rifle):

Weapon Details: Made with Stellar Clan technology, this is a ranged combat weapon that can consume spiritual ore. Default shooting range 2.4 miles, total length 50 inches, rifle weight 15 pounds, rifle barrel 24 inches, attached with Stellar Diamond-shaped Aiming Scope (with night vision available), RRS sniper tripod, and 10 rounds of bullet capacity.

Default Weapon Specialty: Converts bullet heat to energy (increases damage by 10%)

Weapon Growth: Excellent

[Dream Killer (Level 1 Growth Machine Gun)]

[Desperation (Level 1 Growth Pistol)]

…

The menus of three different weapons appeared.

After some consideration, Emily clicked the strengthening button of the Dream Eater sniper rifle.

Light rays shimmered and the Dream Eater was upgraded to Level 2, making the body of the gun seem even more graceful.

After she witnessed the weapon's change, Emily was in high spirits. So, she clicked strengthening again.

"Commander, are you sure you want to level up the weapon again? Naraka Star is in danger, in the beginning stage…"

Emily ignored the AI's advice and wanted more strength. She only had eyes for this captivating Dream Eater now.

After continuous strengthening, her new Dream Eater had reached Level 5. Suddenly, the system showed a notification, "Insufficient spiritual ore, strengthening of weapon has failed!"

The Dream Eater had undergone a total transformation from its original appearance. Now, the rifle looked like a spitting venomous snake. No doubt, Emily's eyes sparkled with excitement.

At the same time, the AI's voice resounded again, "Commander, your mech is fully assembled and default strengthening is completed. Preparing to enter the battlefield, I wish you good luck!"

Just then, the hatch of the spaceship opened. A sense of weightlessness overcame Emily as she rapidly descended.

Her body zipped through clouds and nebulas, speeding up with each passing moment.

When she approached land, the boosters on her back activated. Flames shot out to slow her descent. After she had landed safely, the booster immediately detached itself.

[Blue Valley Ruins]

The name of her location appeared, before quickly fading away.

[Main Quest: Development of the ruins:

Quest Details: Clear out every clan in the Blue Valley Ruins and use this zone as the first development center.

Quest Notification: Before dominating the Blue Valley Ruins Zone, respawn after death would be in a random location within the ruins.

[Server Launch Challenge Quest: Deadly Hunter]

Quest Details: During this quest, Hunting Points will be rewarded for each creature killed within the Blue Valley Ruins. The Top 1,000 players with the most Hunting Points in the server will be the winners of this quest.

Quest Notification: Amount of Hunting Points will be given based on the creature's strength.

Quest Reward:

1st place: Awarded the title (Deadly Hunter), 600 soul coins, 100 spiritual ore strengthening points.

2nd-10th place: Awarded 500 soul coins each, 50 spiritual ore strengthening points.

11st-100th place: Awarded 200 soul coins each, 20 spiritual ore strengthening points.

101st-1000th place: Awarded 100 soul coins each.

Remaining Quest Time: 9 days, 3 hours, and 29 minutes.

Beside the quest details was the real-time leaderboard of the players' Hunting Points.

Emily suddenly realized that this game had just launched its server less than a day ago when she looked at the Quest Notification menu.

Nothing was more important, though, than the realism of the game that had captivated Emily's heart.

She unconsciously took a step forward.

Although she wore a mech suit, her movements were not restricted. It was as if the mech suit was an extension of her body.

Just when she wanted another attempt, a noise from nearby attracted her attention.

She was standing on a small hill now, while the noise had come from below. She walked a few steps forward and saw a player in a black mech suit running for his life, with more than ten wolf-like creatures in hot pursuit behind him.

The player in the black mech suit held a lightsaber and appeared helpless against his pursuers. He occasionally turned back to slash at them, but the wolf pack was too aggressive. Whenever he stopped, they would immediately swarm him.

After some curious observation, Emily reached for her Dream Eater on her back.

As she touched the weapon, a circuit of light streamed through the stripes on the barrel.

The diamond-shaped scope shot up automatically.

"Cool!" Emily was beyond satisfied with this sniper rifle.

She lifted the sniper rifle and aimed at the evil wolves below.

The rifle scope worked just like how it was described in the introduction. It began to automatically adjust itself based on her eye movements, giving her an enlarged view of the faraway wolf pack in mere seconds.

Bang!

A bullet shot out from the barrel but Emily only felt the slightest tension from recoil.

In the distance, a bloody bullet hole suddenly caved in on an evil wolf's forehead as it was chasing after the player. Instantly, it collapsed onto the ground and ragdolled for a short distance.

Emily grinned. She widened her stance and rested her cheek on the buttstock to aim again.

Bang!

Bang!

…

One shot, one kill!

Emily, with her leveled-up sniper rifle, showcased her vicious killing prowess.

The hunt had awakened a predatory lust deep inside her. She was drunk and completely immersed in her sniper mode.

Over ten wolves were wiped out in the end, without a single missed shot.

Even the player who was being chased was terrified.

He looked at the limp bodies of evil wolves on the ground and was dumbfounded to find a bloody bullet hole through all of their foreheads.

"Damn, this accuracy is unreal!"

What surprised this player more was, other than the remarkable accuracy, the shockingly high damage that was inflicted.

This server was barely a day old and the players had to use all their power to defeat a single evil wolf. Even the weapon with the highest damage had no records of single-shot kills in the forum.

The player averted his eyes to the hill, only to see Emily strapping the sniper rifle behind her back as she turned to leave.

What a professional player!

Chapter 278: Bot-Like Player

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Much to the satisfied anticipation of the American server players, Battle Online had officially launched.

The immense popularity of the game was mind-blowing. With its three main servers combined, the game attracted 23 million players on the day it was launched.

Naraka was undoubtedly the hardest to survive for all of the players. At the current stage, none of the players could last a full ten hours. Most of them were attacked and killed by monsters as they entered.

However, this didn't discourage any of them. Instead, they began to fervently discuss in the forums about various survival techniques in blissful agony.

This was because Battle Online never let them down. Just as how it had been promoted, it topped every other game in terms of replicating reality. Its realism attracted many players and kept them deeply engaged.

Its mech growth mode also made the game more interesting as most of them grew up with sci-fi themes. Many of whom had dreamed of one day operating their own machinery as a Mech Warrior.

A debate whether the American server's mech growth mode or the other server's physical growth mode was cooler had become a hot topic on the forum. Professional players posted their own analysis and argued over them with each other.

However, a recently posted video blew everyone on the forum away. Even the older players from the original server were shocked by what they saw.

[Desperate. Help! I offended someone I shouldn't have. Is this an aim-lock cheat? Officials should investigate it!]

Author: Skywalker

Content: Honestly, it's all my fault. We attacked an elite monster because we were a big group. But we were doomed because that legendary killer targeted us. She must've used an aim-lock. Didn't you promise us that this game has no cheaters? This game has only just launched, but we already faced a cheater with aim-lock. Please watch the attached video.

In the video, a group of seven were walking among the ruins of a city, and they appeared to be hunting for their prey.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The leader of the group, walking in front, was thrown backward and fell heavily to the ground. His mech helmet had a perfect bullet hole.

[Player Parker was killed by Player Emily! It was a headshot!]

Everyone was stunned by this notification.

They knew that even if the mech was damaged, as long as the player inside was alive, the player would still be in the game. However, this death notification meant the shot had killed the player inside the mech, with a direct shot to the head.

Just then, a cracking sound pierced through the air as another team member fell to the ground.

[Player Luke was killed by Player Emily! It was a headshot!]

Once again, a single shot had punched through the mech and killed the player inside. The sniper's unbelievable skills shocked the rest of the team.

Everyone quickly scrambled for cover.

"Jack, Harry, prepare to shoot the raider at your 2 o'clock… Chris, Robert, on me… we'll draw her out!"

Upon hearing his command, two players pulled out their own Dream Eaters and took aim.

"On my command… three… two… one, fire!"

They immediately dashed out and sprinted toward Emily's direction.

Splurt!

[Player Chris was killed by Player Emily! It was a headshot!]

As this soldier died, the two snipers who had locked their sights on Emily hiding in a ruined building, pulled their triggers at the same time.

However, she ducked, her cover shielding her from the two bullets.

Jack and Harry were nervous but stayed focused. They kept their eyes on the wall where she had hidden behind, waiting for her to reappear.

Emily's three headshots had them severely traumatized.

Meanwhile, the other team members were approaching their target. A stand-off might be an advantage for them.

As they waited, Emily's silhouette suddenly emerged for a split second before ducking back behind her cover.

Bang!

[Player Jack was killed by Player Emily! It was a headshot!]

This headshot utterly confounded the remaining sniper.

"Fuck, she must be a cheater, she's definitely hacked the game! I was just about to take a shot when her head popped out, but she'd already fired a shot. Didn't she have to aim? I want to report her!"

Harry's growl rippled over the team's chat channel. Everyone's hearts sank when they heard this.

She could hit a target 400 yards away with a single headshot, without even aiming. A cheat was the only reasonable explanation for this.

"Dammit, get her first, we'll report it later!"

Two soldiers had approached the ruined building and were climbing up the exterior wall using their lightsabers and daggers.

Meanwhile, Harry, who was waiting below, kept his eyes on Emily's position. His heart thumped wildly in anxiety.

They had seven members working together. In mere seconds, four of them had already died. His gut went cold thinking about her unbelievable sniper skills.

Then, he saw Emily's muzzle moving. Harry instantly tightened his finger around the trigger. If Emily moved a muscle, he would kill her.

Bang!

A gunshot suddenly rang out.

[Player Harry's mech is damaged. Mech compartment ejection imminent!]

"I will fucking report this, she's cheating!"

As he was ejected from the mech, Harry was in despair.

His target had shot him without even showing her head, although he never moved. He could not believe that this Emily could lock on him so precisely without aiming.

Still hurtling through the air, Harry suddenly saw Emily with a Dream Eater in her hands.

He realized Emily's rifle was tracing his body's trajectory.

Bang!

[Player Harry was killed by Player Emily! It was a headshot!]

Harry's eyes widened the moment he was shot in the head, clearly in disbelief. He was obviously falling yet he was still shot precisely in the head.

What kind of sorcery is this?

Now, five members of the team were dead. Meanwhile, the remaining two Lightsaber Mech soldiers had approached the top of the ruined building.

Emily stepped forward and glanced at the two soldiers, who were less than two yards away. She pointed the muzzle, pulled the trigger, and lowered her rifle in one fluid motion.

Bang!

One soldier crumpled to the ground. It was another fatal headshot. One shot, one kill indeed.

Now, the last soldier was extremely close to Emily. Leaning onto the lightsaber in his right arm, he leaped at her, ruthlessly swinging the dagger in his left hand at her.

Emily may have been unstoppable in a long-range duel, but now he was very near her. In close combat, the Lightsaber Mech would surely be the winner.

However, he didn't expect Emily to step forward and jump from the building.

The dagger missed her shoulder. Then, the scene turned dark.

Everyone who watched the video clearly saw that as Emily jumped off the building, she spun around, took aim, and killed him with a single shot!

The video caused an uproar in the forum. Nobody could explain this god-like phenomenon, extremely certain that it was a cheat.

Forum:

Crayon_Shinchan: "Wow! The beginning was good enough, but that last instant-kill at the end – did she do that on pure instinct, or did she use a cheat? (surprised emoji)"

Watermelon_Taro: "The casual players are shocked. Is this the birth of another supremely professional player?"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "I don't know if she's a cheater but officials, please ban her. She's too scary!"

Peppa_Boar: "I'm still shaking in fear. Is this a legendary shooter in real life?"

Invincible_Loneliness: "Even I, despite having seen many professional players, am still stunned. I can't imagine how frightening she would be in real life!"

Assassin_Creed: "I guess she's an actual ace sniper or one who works for an underground organization in reality. I can't think where else she could have gotten her skills from. (shocked emoji)"

High_Ping_Warrior (Europe): "I'm frightened. She's the big boss who's put her real-life skills to use in the game. (shocked Evil King face.jpg)"

Star_Universe (Europe): "I've reported this video already, let's wait for the officials' reply. If it's not a cheat, I think she's gonna start rolling!"

Reinhardt (Europe): "It's not a bug, it's the debut of the Black Lily of Death. I'm trembling in fear. This lady is the strangest of the strange, trust me, don't mess around with her!"

Prince_Charming123 (USA): "Too scary. I just checked the Hunting Challenge Leaderboard, this fellow should be the one in first place. (picture attached)"

[Hunting Challenge Ranking. Time remaining: 6 days 12 hours and 45 minutes:

First Place: Emily (Rechargeable Mech). Hunting Points: 3932

Second Place: Cruise (Rechargeable Mech). Hunting Points: 1321

Third Place: Evans (Lightsaber Mech). Hunting Points: 1289

Fourth Place: Katie (Lightsaber Mech). Hunting Points: 1276

…

Roasting_Chang'e_While_Hugging_Jade_Hare: "Fuck, higher than the first and second runner ups by three times! Cheater! Impossible!"

Crayon_Shinchan: "Finally, we're not alone. Now there's a big boss who will be a worthy opponent for the cheater group in our zone. Of course, Hu He the Great Demon King is excluded, he's totally clueless. (laughing emoji)"

Yechen_The_Most_Handsome: "I'm trembling. Luckily, I'm a close combat fighter. If I played against her in long-range combat, I'm sure I can't beat her even with all the luck in the world. (weak face emoji)"

Jedi_Knight: "One shot, one kill. No bullets wasted. This is the debut of a truly epic player. I look forward to the godly war between the big bosses in the Individual Skills Battle!"

Yigit (USA): "I wanna know. Even if she used the aim-lock cheat, the damage wouldn't be this high, unless she leveled up her Dream Eater with all the resources she had."

Bible_Apostle (USA) replied to Yigit: "I fear that it might be just as you thought. If I had skills like this, I would surely upgrade all my weapons and go fight all the monsters at much higher levels!"

…

Emily's performance had wowed her audience.

Whether it was any of the three servers, every player was stunned.

Even Ao Jian and his group were lost in deep thought after watching the video.

Emily's name had also made it onto the three main servers on the third day the American server launched. She was already burned into every player's memory.

Deadly! Obstacle-free sniper! Rampaging aim-lock monster! Grim reaper!

All sorts of nicknames began to emerge, and every one of them certainly proved Emily's superhuman sniper skills.

As the players waited, the officials finally made an announcement. Because of Battle Online's impeccable reputation, a few lines of explanation was enough to convince all the players.

Battle Online Official Announcement: "After deliberating over players' reports and feedback, we now officially confirm that Player Emily has not used any cheat codes. All of her sniper skills were using her personal abilities. In fact, this game is free from any cheaters, scripts, or any other hacking programs."

The official announcement evoked chaos among the players again.

This time, the bot-like player named Emily was instantly regarded as a highly Legendary Sniper.

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Chapter 279: Even The Useless Players Could Become Gods

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Blue Valley Ruins, Land of Naraka.

This land that had once nurtured the highly civilized and advanced Blue Valley Clan had lost its previous luster.

In this vast modernized city, most of the buildings were overgrown with vines and moss, while bloodthirsty beasts roamed the streets. It truly resembled a ghost town in some sci-fi movie.

In the Land of Naraka, the dominance of a clan was never permanent. Nobody could guarantee that their clan would stand forever in such a harsh environment. So, they had to kill and loot endlessly. At the same time, they must bulk themselves up to wipe out all other forces that could be a threat to them.

These were the central themes of Naraka, the harshest environment of all the realms in the Underworld. Brutal power is truth and the right to speak to the outer world.

From the rooftop of an abandoned high-rise building, a silver Dream Eater glimmered ominously in the fading sunlight.

Wind speed of 12 feet per second, from east to west. It was a wind of middling speed, blowing at a positive angle…

After adjusting the angle, Emily's sights immediately exceeded 1500 yards through her sniper scope.

In her sights, a silverback gorilla in broken armor was tearing up its prey and ferociously consuming it, as blood splattered everywhere.

[Silverback Demon Gorilla (Fledgling Ghost Commander):

Creature Details: A byproduct of accidental exposure to the Blue Valley Clan's radioactive substance, this silverback gorilla's body cells have mutated, altering its genetic sequence to give it extreme physical strength and defensive power.

Creature Status: Micro-growth. Its body constantly regenerates, thus, it needs a large amount of food for sustenance.

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot broke the still air. A bullet spun out of the barrel and arched toward the gorilla's head, under the influence of wind speed and gravity.

Splat! The shot landed precisely on the forehead, causing it to tumble backward, almost falling to the ground.

Provoked, the silverback gorilla growled in anger. It turned around and scanned its surroundings furiously with its eyes.

This was the first time she had encountered a Ghost Commander. Emily was stunned by its resilience.

So far, this creature had demonstrated the strongest resilience amongst all the others she had encountered. It was still moving about normally after being shot in a vital spot.

Still, Emily's expression didn't change at all. Years of stalking and killing had trained her to keep a steady head.

She adjusted her rifle slightly, before firing another shot.

Bang! The bullet hit the wounded gorilla on the same spot on its forehead. Instantly, the wound collapsed and tore up its skin, and blood started to gush out from the bullet hole. This enraged the beast. It thumped its chest angrily as it looked around for its attacker hidden in the shadows.

Just as Emily was about to fire her third shot, the silverback gorilla turned and fixed its eyes on her, 1500 yards away and all.

Bang!

Again, the shot hit the same spot, and a mist of blood exploded from the silverback gorilla's forehead.

Growl!

As the silverback gorilla roared, it hopped upward and reached for the roof of a building beside it. It leaped from one building to another, moving at incredible speed toward Emily.

Realizing that she had been discovered, Emily did not panic. She tapped her chest once and an ammo storage cartridge popped out.

She took out three special blue bullets, removed the magazine carefully, and loaded the three special bullets into the slot.

[Armor-Piercing Bullet (Beginner Level Special Ammunition):

Item Details: Special ammunition purchased at the shop, 20 soul coins per bullet.

Item Effect 1: Level 1 penetration (Target defense decreased by approximately 10%, maximum value limit 100)

Item Effect 2: Bullet damage increased by 20% (this damage is affected by weapon).

Ka-ching!

Ammo was now locked and loaded. Take aim and fire!

Her shoulder jolted back hard from the rifle's recoil, as the bullet flew out of the barrel, leaving two vortex trails in its wake.

Bang!

The silverback gorilla was advancing too fast to dodge the shot and was hit directly.

Argh! The creature cried out in pain as it fell to the ground.

This time, Emily had not aimed for its forehead. Instead, she had shot it dead center in its right eye.

The armor-piercing bullet penetrated the silverback gorilla's right eye, straight into its brain. Milky white brain matter seeped out from its right eye, as it screamed in agony and rolled around the ground in pain.

Unmoved, Emily looked through her scope again, searching for other parts on the creature where she could inflict extensive damage.

She was fully aware of her own dire situation. All her resources had been used up to upgrade her weapons. If these powerful creatures were to get too close, she would not stand a chance. Her only effective strategy was to kill them from a great distance.

Even after losing an eye, the silverback gorilla could still see well. Thus, it remained a danger to her.

Growl! The gorilla roared into the sky, sending a huge shockwave rippling outward, as it flailed about on the ground.

Bang! Another armor-piercing bullet shot into the silverback gorilla's mouth this time.

Rawr!

This shot had a devastating effect. The silverback gorilla began to vomit blood, spitting out half of its tongue that had been sliced off by the armor-piercing bullet.

She only had one armor-piercing bullet left. Emily's expression became increasingly somber.

This powerful creature's endurance was beyond her. Ordinary recharged bullets had no effect on it, so she had to make sure she finished the creature off with this last bullet.

The distance between them was now about 700 yards.

The silverback gorilla seemed to sense her deadly skills in long-range combat. Suddenly, it turned around and flailed its limbs about as it moved backward toward Emily.

Seeing this, Emily pulled out her magazine, swapped her last armor-piercing bullet with charged bullets, and slid the magazine back into her rifle.

Ka-ching! Her rifle was loaded.

Ready, aim, fire!

Bang! This shot hit the back of it's head and disrupted its balance, causing it to stumble and almost fall.

Emily's lips curled upward slightly. She adjusted her aim for another shot!

Bang!

The bullet hit the wound on the Silverback gorilla's forehead again. This time, it penetrated the back of the creature's head, as it let out a deafening cry.

Gauging the distance with her eye, Emily quickly pulled out her magazine and slid the last armor-piercing bullet into the chamber of her rifle.

Dynamic Vision Device activated!

The mech revved up, as the outline of the silverback gorilla's movements reflected off Emily's eyes.

Her last armor-piercing bullet. No mistakes were allowed with this shot!

Bang! The muzzle flared.

The bullet passed through the wound made by the previous four shots, penetrated deep into the silverback gorilla's brain, and collided with the other armor-piercing bullets that had been shot into its right eye. This intense impact turned the silverback gorilla's brain into goop.

Now, it was less than 200 yards away from Emily. Five more seconds and it could have a chance to fight back!

However, it crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as it fell heavily.

[Server Announcement, Player Emily skipped 76 levels and killed a Beginner Ghost Commander level creature, the Silverback Demon Gorilla, activating an exclusive reward: one customized weapon!]

This time, the three main servers went berserk again.

No one expected any player to kill a Ghost Commander Level creature seven days into the server's launch. And to top that, she skipped 76 levels. This could have been deemed a divine miracle to the older players, since it was an achievement even elite players like Ao Jian had never won.

Forum:

Watermelon_Taro: "How scary is this sniper? I can understand the skip-level creature killing part. Back then, Ao Jian also skipped tons of levels to kill creatures. But this is a freaking 76 level skip. Are you kidding me? (shocked emoji)"

Prince_Charming123 (USA): "Only snipers could be this badass. If other players upgraded their weapons, they wouldn't even know how they'd die. However, the Rechargeable Mech is the hardest to control among all mechs, and those that have a sniper rifle as their main weapon is even harder. Sniping requires all factors such as light, wind speed, rain, etc., so please don't choose rashly or you'll definitely regret it!"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "They used to say assassins kick the most butt, but now things have changed… I'm crying for casual players like us, can the officials please strengthen our kind."

Assassin_Creed: "Also, no one has learned the Praj?ā Scarification at the current stage. If the distance of the Praj?ā Scarification is infinite, and I locked the Sniper Legend from 1000 yards away, then her headshot would have been a reverse headshot. In conclusion, assassins are the daddies of all other classes. (laughing emoji)"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Assassin_Creed: "If Greater Mages had forbidden skills, an epic war between the players would begin, and the world of gaming would be destroyed by this. The expansion packs would be fast-forwarded to the chapter where we rebuild our home. (laughing emoji)"

Junior_Captain_Of_Demolition_Officers: "What the hell are you saying? I say the soldiers' defenses are the best. No matter if it's the Praj?ā Scarification or forbidden skills, even when the world's gone, we'll still be here for eternity. (laughing emoji)"

Jason (Europe): I checked the American server's current class data. She must've used all of her resources to upgrade her weapons. If she were at the same level, I guess one sword would take her out."

Apocalypse (USA) replied to Jason (Europe): "The problem is, no one can get near her. (begrudging emoji)"

Jason (Europe) replied to Apocalypse (USA): "Put it this way, the American server's Rechargeable Mech aces in long-range combat. But, then shockwaves from a single missile could kill her if she keeps upgrading her weapons like this."

Apocalypse (USA) replied to Jason (Europe): "Sounds about right. (Shining eyes emoji)"

Junior_Captain_Of_Demolition_Officers: "I think only the killer couple can match her at the current stage."

Crayon_Shinchan: "Hu He Demon King: I don't know what you guys are fighting about. I need a train to house all the ghost commanders I've dug up. A beginner level Ghost Commander is not even worth my effort. I'm done. Time to dig for some gods. (laughing emoji)"

…

Five days later, Emily's performance shook the whole forum again.

Besides admiring her superhuman skills, the topic of whether her extreme style of distributing her resources was right or wrong was hotly debated by the players.

Soon, players who selected the Rechargeable Mech in the American server began to emulate Emily's strategy of dumping all their resources into upgrading their sniper rifles, trying to skip levels and kill creatures.

Unfortunately for them, they failed tragically.

When they tried to emulate her initially, the forum on the official website was flooded with negative reviews about the Rechargeable Mechs using sniper rifles as the main weapon. Naraka players said that it was the most useless class among the useless classes.

After all, ordinary people would never be able to operate an awesome weapon like a sniper rifle so easily.

After numerous attempts, many players eventually gave up trying to upgrade their sniper rifles. They switched to other weapons that were easier to use such as rechargeable hand grenades and machine guns.

It could be said that skip-level creature killing became an unreplicable legend in the Land of Naraka.

It was then that the players finally realized something.

There were no real useless classes. As long as you were skillful enough, a useless class could become a legend, and even a god!

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Chapter 280: The Black Lily Of Death

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Emily never thought that killing this powerful creature would have earned her a hidden reward.

A game menu immediately appeared in front of her and a system notification popped up.

[Please select a customized weapon: (1) Close Combat Weapon (2) Long Range Weapon]

Emily immediately tapped the second option.

[Long Range Weapon custom options: Bow and arrows, Stealth weapons, Firearms, Energy aggregators…]

After numerous selections, a template of a white sniper rifle appeared before her. There were many parameters and recommended schemes beside the template. There was also a feedback column at the bottom.

Emily knew her way around sniper rifles extremely well, so she ignored all the recommendations and began making her own configurations. She made it based on her personal favorite weapon in reality, The Kiss of the Black Lily.

At this moment, Emily was like a kid in a candy store, rather than a ruthless killer.

…

Meanwhile, at Tong Gua's forge in the Beiqi Mansion of the Dead…

A shirtless Tong Gua was pounding a piece of fine cold spirit ore with a hammer in his right hand.

"Fuck, why isn't she done yet? She really thinks she's making an artifact!" Tong Gua felt restless as he glanced up at the number of repeated parameters.

This was the first time he had faced a customer with such a complicated request. If it were other players who were customizing their weapons, he would have probably completed their request by now. However, this time was different. This was an order from Lu Wu, and he had been instructed to build it in the given amount of time.

He thought that it was almost done, but he realized that this customer's weapon configurations were all her own. None of his recommendations had been considered. In fact, she ignored them completely. This greatly exhausted Tong Gua as he could only modify the spiritual ore's purity and shape bit by bit.

Clang! The helpless Tong Gua had nowhere to release his frustration and anger, so he vented his resentment on the spiritual ore.

Once Emily was done setting her sniper rifle's parameters, Tong Gua could finally speed up his forging.

Tong Gua's powerful forging skills were undeniable, as he pounded relentlessly on the spiritual ore, gradually bending and twisting it into the form of a black sniper rifle.

When his work was almost done, Tong Gua prepared to throw the rifle into the forging oven for enchantment.

Suddenly, additional feedback from Emily came in again, "Make the rifle parts modular. I must be able to disassemble the rifle quickly at any time, and reassemble the parts differently into another weapon."

This left Tong Gua utterly dumbfounded. He stared at the already-formed sniper rifle template and felt the urge to kill someone.

Wouldn't this mean he had to do it all over again?

All he could feel now was anger, endless anger. This player better not come to the Mansion of the Dead or else I will show her the meaning of true happiness!

However, Tong Gua realized that there was a problem. Since he did not know anything about firearms, how was he supposed to forge all the different components?

Tong Gua was stuck, having no idea where to start. Suddenly, multiple drawings appeared in his mind as he heard Bei Li's voice.

"Follow these blueprints! After you've strengthened it with the enchantment, pass it over to me!"

Barrel, muzzle brake, optical pupil-focusing sights, sensor assembly, laser rangefinder, grip, buttstock, magazine, barrel, bullet box, bracket, rifle groove, trigger cocking lever, various high-precision screws, bolt, hammer, firing pin, safety, locking mechanism, recoil spring, hammer, iron resistance, shell hook, ejector, magazine…

Tong Gua almost killed himself when he saw the blueprints. All these just to make one weapon? And not multiple weapons?

Tong Gua looked glumly at Xiao Tian who was lying on his bed and scrolling through the forum. Resentment began to fill his eyes.

Xiao Tian noticed Tong Gua's resentful stare and turned around quickly, "Boss Tong Gua, don't look at me like that… I don't know how to do this!"

"Why don't you learn? I can teach you. As the saying goes, learn a skill for a better tomorrow…"

"No no no! I'm too dumb. I don't have enough talent to forge anything. It's better if I don't ruin your reputation!"

"I don't care…" Tong Gua said grudgingly.

Still, the task had to be completed. Tong Gua took out a few more cold pieces of spirit ore and threw them into the forging oven, as the hammer in his hand started pounding once again.

After two hours of relentless pounding, all the components for the weapon were finished and assembled. Tong Gua was so exhausted that he lay still on the ground.

"Anyone here, please receive the parcel!"

As Tong Gua finished speaking, a ray of light swept over, and all the firearm components on the forging table disappeared.

"Not bad. As a reward, here are 200 soul coins for your trouble. Kindly check and accept them!" Bei Li's mischievous voice rang out.

Tong Gua had recently gotten into a lot of debt while playing cards. He could not even afford Wood Spirit wine and was anxious to earn money to pay off his debt. This reward of 200 soul coins immediately made Tong Gua's anguish disappear.

…

After collecting Tong Gua's weapon components in the Artifact Channel, Bei Li put on a serious expression and adjusted the frame of her glasses as she readied herself to give the sniper rifle components a second round of enchantment. This would make its performance more suitable for the mech and optimize the parameters of Emily's customized weapon.

After everything was done, a weapon with a deep black metallic luster appeared.

[Unnamed Level 1 (Growth weapon):

Item Details: Produced by Tong Gua's Forge. An Epic Level sniper rifle that has gone through two degrees of enchantment, designed by an unknown expert. There are 32 internal components that can be disassembled and assembled into a new type of firearm. (Available after 80th Level)

Item Level: Epic Growth type. (Can be reshaped by the owner's shooting style)

After looking at the weapon with satisfaction, Bei Li sent the weapon to Emily's personal channel with a nod.

Lu Wu took out his little book and wrote Emily's name in it.

There was now an additional member in the Gifted Level players book. Lu Wu couldn't help but feel happy.

The reason why Bei Li made the gun herself this time was because both of them recognized Emily's talent and ability. They also felt that she had great potential.

…

[Game Notification: Your weapon has arrived. Kindly receive and check it out!]

Emily, who was still dreaming about customizing her own weapon, immediately opened her channel and removed the sniper rifle excitedly.

Her gaze was instantly drawn toward a lily that was outlined in black on the buttstock.

It looked as if it was blooming and wilting at the same time.

A black light surrounded the body of the gun and the black lily appeared to be constantly changing its form under a stream of light. It was so beautiful that Emily fell in love with it at once.

Click!

A clear mechanical sound was heard as she pulled on the trigger.

What a great weapon! This feeling reminded her of her lost gun, the Kiss of the Black Lily.

She then removed the gun magazine and tried loading it in order to get a better feel of it. To her surprise, she found a purple bullet inside with a black lily engraved on it.

[Black Lily (Special Bullet):

Item Details: A free gift that's included with the customized weapon. This limited edition item cannot be repurchased once depleted.

Item Effect: Damage is tripled, with Level 5 penetration (50% disruption, Upper limit set to 10,000 points).

(Attention: Since the Underworld exists in real life, the disruption has an upper limit. For example, the beginner's level bullet-proof vest, even though it has 10% disruption, can only have a maximum of 200 defense points. Another example is the Ghost Emperor Level biological data that has a defense of 10,000 defense points. It's obviously unrealistic to use a beginner's level bullet-proof vest to break a 10% defense, hence the upper limit is set.)

The effect of this bullet shocked Emily.

What an amazing concept of triple damage!

She thought about the frightening power of this gun, combined with her killing style which was mainly head and neck shots that caused critical damage. If these are all tripled, with an addition of a 50% disruption, then I would be unstoppable!

Emily punched the air in excitement. With the bullet, she believed that one shot was enough to beat that silverback demon gorilla that she had previously encountered.

This bullet was a work of art, so Emily felt reluctant to use it.

After much thought, she didn't place the bullet back into the rifle magazine, but into her channel instead.

This would be her deadly friend in the future.

[Game Notification: Please name your customized weapon!]

The appearance of the game notification stunned Emily for a moment. Then, the corner of her lips then curled up into a smile:

"The Kiss of the Black Lily!"

[Naming Successful. This weapon has been named: Kiss of the Black Lily]

Now that the naming was done, Emily opened her shop menu and clicked on the weapon forging menu. She placed Kiss of the Black Lily on the upgrade column and placed her Dream Eater on the right side.

[Confirm disposal of weapon? Once confirmed, Dream Eater will be turned into spiritual ore (experience points) and will be absorbed by the Kiss of the Black Lily. As a result, the weapon will be permanently destroyed.]

Confirm!

After clicking on the confirm button, Dream Eater began to break down. It turned into multiple rays of light and rushed towards the Kiss of the Black Lily.

Bang!

The right column turned into a pile of black ash as rays of light encircled the Kiss of the Black Lily, automatically upgrading it to Level 24.

Emily's eyes were filled with excitement as she watched the Kiss of the Black Lily become even more beautiful.

After removing the weapon, Emily disassembled and then reassembled the components.

After an hour of disassembling and reassembling, Emily became familiar with the weapon inside and out.

She reassembled it once more before loading it with rechargeable bullets. Her heart pounded with the desire to kill.

It's time to test it!

Creatures within Emily's 1,000 yard radius immediately became her target.

One shot, one kill!

At that moment, Emily seemed like the God of Death, using the Kiss of the Black Lily to send kisses of death to creatures within her radius.

The most critical damage could not be harvested so easily.

The unbelievable effectiveness of Emily's shots shocked even Lu Wu, who was watching behind the scenes.

Emily had now really become a black lily, exuding a deadly fragrance and filling everyone with fear.

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Chapter 281: Potion Master Trial

The Mansion of the Dead, Beiqi.

In stark contrast to the grueling survival mode in the Land of Naraka, the lives of the players in Beiqi had slowly regained normalcy after the death of the short-lived king, Yue Yao.

Lu Wu had tried to recruit Yue Yao before, but he had his own principles. Thus, he stubbornly refused Lu Wu's invitation.

Since he couldn't return to the Land of the Nine Luminaries and his army had also completely perished, it was undoubtedly a shocking trauma for him. In his eyes, the players were his arch-nemesis, so he'd never surrender or join their side, even in death.

This immensely disappointed Lu Wu, but he remained merciless.

The rules of the Underworld stated that the victor would be king. Furthermore, Yue Yao had discovered Lu Wu's existence at that time. Since they could not co-exist, there was no need for him to continue living.

After Yue Yao had passed away, the overall strength of the players in Beiqi was elevated again. The destruction of Yue Yao's Army gave the players a special title as a reward, so they were all greatly satisfied.

After everything had returned to normal, the players had a huge variety of activities to entertain themselves, other than farming monsters to level up like usual.

After the Rock Ghost King had become an NPC, it'd be safe to say that the entire Land of Beiqi would be under the players' control soon.

Their next step would be to declare an all-out war against the Nine Luminaries.

That day, all the players suddenly received a game notification.

[Game Update Announcement: A new life character class called Potion Master is unlocked.]

Potion Master (Life Character Class):

Character Class Details: This class does not clash with the player's main character class. After officially becoming a Potion Master, the player will obtain its unique special skills.

The description of the five main basic skills of the class:

[Potion Crafting (Beginner's Level):

Skill Details: The main skill of Potion Master. The player precisely calculates the uses of each spiritual material and refines them together to craft a potion with a stronger effect.

[Spiritual Material Spirituality Identification (Beginner's Level):

Skill Details: After mastering the skill, the players can identify the spirituality value of each spiritual material, as well as discern the difference between similar-grade spiritual materials. After leveling up, the player can observe the spirituality condition (dehydration, depleted soul aura, overnourished, and others).

[Spiritual Plant Cultivation (Beginner's Level)]

[Spiritual Plant Grafting (Beginner's Level)]

[Spirituality Purification (Beginner's Level)]

…

The first life character class was unveiled to a cacophony of excited screams from the players.

Meanwhile, in the safe zone of the Mansion of the Dead in Beiqi, a gigantic tree-like structure suddenly appeared next to Tong Gua's Forge. There was a huge board plastered across it.

[North Rocks Potion Crafting Society:

Building Details: In the Potion Crafting Training Society, all the players above Level 80 can apply to advance into a Potion Master. After passing a series of tests, players will officially become a Potion Master and obtain a Potion Master menu. (Application to advance into a Potion Master would open regularly.)

Building Functions: Potion Master advancement, purchasing Potion Crafting Furnace, Potion Master class upgrade.

Building Owner: The Rock Ghost King (Mid-stage Ghost King NPC)

The unveiling of the Potion Master life character class instantly attracted a huge number of players' attention, especially the peaceful players that hated battling and preferred spending their leisure time nurturing plants and flowers. Thus, a swarm of people immediately thronged the North Rocks Potion Crafting Society.

However, contrary to their expectations, it was not easy at all to advance into a Potion Master.

Even in the Underworld, only very few people could become a Potion Master. After all, it was not really a game. Only players that were truly gifted could walk down this path and persist for a long time.

Actually, it was quite easy to craft potions if one followed the preset template correctly, even the measurement artifact for potion-crafting could be set properly. The players merely needed to collect enough ingredients and click start to easily begin the crafting process.

However, if the players did not adhere to the template settings perfectly, they would be stuck in a dead-end, while over-reliance on the template would remove the ability to innovate recipes in the future.

Since Lu Wu wanted to mold the players into an actual talented clan, he had to naturally make a trade-off there.

Hence, instead of forcing them to use the potion crafting templates, he allowed the players to practice first. He only provided them the technology and information required, so that the players could experiment on fusing the spiritual materials with a stable value.

With such a harsh and stringent education method, Lu Wu believed that a large number of genuine Potion Masters could be born in the future.

They would need to rely on their own effort to grow and create new formulas, as well as learn to revise and improve many existing recipes.

A myopic and limited selection of spiritual materials based on the template would only restrict their innovation, so Lu Wu swiftly abandoned the idea.

He was highly expectant of them, so he would never try to limit their potential.

At that moment, all the players suddenly received a trial quest notification that was announced by Lu Wu.

[As the Potion Master class that is revealed this time is a life character class with an extremely high level of difficulty, it will only be open for 10,000 players to apply. Do you want to join the Potion Master advancement trial?]

When the players saw that there were very limited spaces, all of them bitterly lamented that the officials wanted to bully the fragile players.

However, Lu Wu still provided a clear explanation in response to their dissatisfaction.

He stated that the trial was the first, so there would be many more in the future. He also further emphasized the extreme difficulty in playing a life character class like Potion Master.

Even though the players were endlessly complaining, they were still highly curious about this new life character class.

Alas, something else caused all of them to gape in bewilderment.

Everyone that clicked to participate in the Potion Master Trial immediately received three dictionary-thick books that were sent by the system.

[Medicinal Herbs Identification (Complete)]

[Beginner's Level Potion Master Guidelines (Simplified)]

[How to Craft Potions with the Highest Efficiency (Simplified)]

It was also followed by a game notification:

[The Potion Master advancement trial will be held in three days. Please read through these books carefully, they will have decisive importance on the results of the trial.]

In the forum:

Crayon_Shinchan: "Fuck! I want to play a game but it makes me study instead! I surrender my sanity to the devs of Battle Online! You guys are too impressive! (kneeling down emoji)"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "I want to kill someone! Who would've guessed that I would one day still have to memorize these three thick books to death, even after graduating from school? Bastard devs, have a taste of my spear! (knife dripping with blood.jpg)"

Roasting_Jade_Hare_While_Hugging_Chang'e: "I extremely despise studying, but I also want to advance into a Potion Master. What should I do? (bawling emoji)"

Watermelon_Taro: "The weakest noob like me finally has his chance! A pauper will finally turn into a noble! I'll burn the midnight oil and drown myself in these three books, I accept this challenge! (bright eyes emoji)"

Albus_Dumbledore: "Bastards, how dare they force me to study! Why don't they place another condition that only a PhD student can advance!"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Albus_Dumbledore: "Shh, shut up! Don't let the officials see your message, they might actually do it! (laughing emoji)"

Assassin_Creed: "All players will claim that they won't study even if they starve to death or have no games to play! (exasperated emoji) But when all guilds announced that they are recruiting players to become Potion Masters and offer sky-high salaries and premium-grade treatment, I'm sure everyone will rush head-first at it! (okay sign emoji)"

Fabulous_Fancy_Elements: "As someone with a PhD in chemistry, I'm definitely picking this class. Come at me, you trash! (crazy threatening eyes emoji)"

Science_Freak: "Fuck, I absolutely love this. I can even experiment like mad in a game? When I saw that the official announcement said that the potion crafting is full of uncertainties and a mystery potion can help increase 100 levels, I was beside myself with excitement! I'm going to study like there's no tomorrow for the next three days, I'm going to do this! Once I've made my mind, not even Jesus can hold me back!"

…

After the announcement, the players were filled with an ambiguous mixture of joy and uneasiness. The players who hated studying especially almost fainted from the immense shock.

Hence, the players started to make endless attempts, from harsh threats and soft coaxing to coy persuasion and cute acts. By hook or by crook, they desperately wished the officials could alter the contents of the trial this time.

Clearly, they were merely banging their heads against a brick wall, as the officials would never grant them their wish.

In fact, this time, Lu Wu did not even give them a reply.

Thus, the loud whining and grumbling from the players gradually calmed down.

One player concisely summarized the contents of the Potion Master Trial:

"My parents constantly nagged me to study more since I was young, so that I can be someone successful in the future. However, I ignored all their advice, until one day, I became addicted to a game called Battle Online. Only then, I realized that my parents' words were not wrong!"

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Chapter 282: Changing Fate By Studying

The day after the announcement of the Potion Master Trial, a strange atmosphere surfaced around the Mansion of the Dead.

It seemed like each and every one of the players was carrying a set of thick books and lowering their heads as they diligently studied the pages with solemn expressions. Their eyes seemed to be blazing with determination, desperately wanting to reach for the sky.

Even the interactions between the players had strangely altered.

Passerby A: "Brother, where are we going to level up today?"

Passerby B: "I'm not going, stop disturbing me while I'm studying!"

Passerby A: "Brother, I discovered an island at the Void Ocean today, there might be treasures there!"

Passerby B: "I'm not going, stop disturbing me while I'm studying!"

Passerby A: "Brother, we haven't cleared the Instance Dungeon today, let's head out now!"

Passerby B: "I'm not going, stop disturbing me while I'm studying!"

…

An even more laughable fact was that some of these players extremely abhorred studying when they were students in the past. However, all of them had transformed into studious and diligent little darlings, merely to advance into a Potion Master. They would even occasionally gather in groups to discuss the contents of the potion crafting books.

According to a certain player, if he had studied so diligently in school, he could have entered Harvard with ease.

The players had no option but to dip their heads in their new textbooks and study seriously since the officials were so uncompromising. After all, there was no shortcut to achieve it. If they really wanted to become a Potion Master, they could merely study industriously and nothing else.

Thus, a huge number of players had given up on their daily activities such as killing monsters, collecting spiritual materials, and fishing. They had completely dedicated their hearts and minds to studying, diving deep into the sea of knowledge.

A player even recorded these happenings and edited them into a video, before uploading it to the country's most popular video game website, which garnered great attention from other netizens who fervently discussed it online.

[There's no future in playing games. Look at us, high-quality players from Battle Online. We only love studying here. (bold emoji)]

In the video, the figures of the players could be seen reading studiously in every corner of the Mansion of the Dead. Some of them were even clustered in groups and arguing their heads off until their faces were flushed with anger, simply because they had conflicting views on the book contents. It was as though these players were a faculty of academics.

Players who had never played Battle Online were understandably flabbergasted by this unusual sight.

Sword_Dance_In_Red_Dust: "I've always heard that Battle Online was very evil, but I'm completely impressed this time. Studying in a video game, isn't it simply seeking pain? (laughing with tears emoji)"

MC_Player: "Shudders. Is this game so scary? How did it make all these passionate players study so obediently?"

Lazy_Cancer_Patient: "Splutter! I was drinking water when I watched the video, so I couldn't help but spat out a mouthful of liquid! Isn't this too amazing? During their school days, these stupid students with poor results abandoned their education because they were addicted to video games. This is really my first time seeing all these video game addicts so immersed in studying. As expected, Battle Online players defy all our common sense. (kneeling emoji)"

Terrain_Changing_Mighty_Sword: "Can we say that Battle Online is forcing the standard of domestic video game players to change? Hahaha!"

Spring_Water_Commander: "This rocks! How did Battle Online manage this feat? My curiosity is killing me…"

Crayon_Shinchan replied to Spring_Water_Commander: "Hi, just a Battle Online player passing by in the comments. Don't speculate or doubt us, we're merely trying to enrich our knowledge and polish our virtues. (laughing emoji)"

…

Compared to the avid discussion happening in the external forums, the exchange in the Battle Online forum was even more heated.

This time, the contents no longer consisted of a miscellaneous collection of meaningless ramblings about the game contents, but was completely covered with posts about questions or opinions from the players regarding the potion textbooks.

With nearly 30,000,000 players competing for just 10,000 spots, the acceptance rate was even lower than applying to be a government agent.

However, this didn't discourage the players. In fact, all of them wanted to have it a go because everyone was equal. They were all starting from zero without any basic fundamental knowledge about it.

However, these complex and difficult potion crafting books tormented the players terribly. Many players would have hit a dead end if they didn't discuss the content with one another.

Thus, everyone was united in their feelings toward the Battle Online devs – they wanted to kill all of them!

The players simply couldn't comprehend what the expectations the Battle Online team had when they cherry-picked these three complicated encyclopedias to torture them. While perusing the boring pages and pages of words, the players became so drowsy that their souls had left their bodies.

One thought lingered in every player's minds. If they have so much leisure time, why don't they invent some game settings that can help the players improve?

A fact that pained them even more was that the content of these books was quite reasonable and logical. Actually, some players with medical knowledge found that much of the information in the books could be applied in real life.

Even though they couldn't find spiritual materials in real life, they could relate to some of the viewpoints in the books.

Thus, all of the players came to the conclusion that the devs of Battle Online were all terrifying monsters.

It was because the knowledge and information that appeared in the game spanned across different fields, from the previous battle skills that could be applied in real life to the situation now. Time and time again, the developers of this game implemented settings that were curiously realistic.

Hence, the players gave the devs of Battle Online a nickname, the Wicked Mob. It meant that each and every one in the dev team was wickedly intelligent.

The players were painfully helpless in the face of the Wicked Mob, hence they could only be forced to study diligently.

Undoubtedly, a group of players had also become truly engrossed in studying during these three days.

At first, they forced themselves to read the pages, because they didn't believe that these books would be too difficult for them.

However, they were utterly mistaken. Even though there were only three books, the contents were so vast and all-encompassing that the players felt they couldn't finish them entirely even in a few months' time.

These passionate players became truly immersed in the process. By following the instructions in the books and using the spiritual materials in the game, they even slowly started to practice crafting potions.

However, the results were a complete mess. Without extensive experience or necessary knowledge, it would be impossible to successfully craft potions with mere luck.

Needless to say, overexcited people like these had always existed throughout history. While most of the players gave up on further experimenting, a few adamant players continued to make multiple attempts.

On the third day, some players managed to craft an elixir from fire, causing a shockwave of surprises in the Battle Online community.

[First Grade Green Elixir (Low-quality):

Elixir Details: Beginner's level elixir. It has too many impurities, so there is a risk when consuming it.

Elixir Special Effect: 30% probability of permanently increasing strength attribute by one point, with a 70% chance of being poisoned and losing 5 health points every second. The maximum amount of strength attributes that can be increased by this elixir is 10 points. After that, the player would be immune to the elixir and it will have no effect anymore.

Potion Master Mark: Feng Xiaoqi (Player)

The emergence of the elixir sent the entire gaming community into a frenzied furor.

It was because they discovered that the elixir crafted by a Potion Master actually had a permanent effect.

No matter what, this meant that the future of a Potion Master was limitless!

Elixirs with the ability to permanently increase attributes were priceless. Furthermore, as the Potion Master's level increased, they would surely be able to craft elixirs with stronger and more powerful effects.

The appearance of this elixir even stunned the players that were leveling up by farming monsters as they doubted the future of a Potion Master.

Instantly, they moaned and groaned in exasperation, lamenting the fact that they had missed such a golden opportunity to become more powerful.

Hence, a huge congregation of players hastily swarmed the Mansion of the Dead at the last minute, trying to join the group of players studying to change their fate.

The sounds of people studying echoed endlessly in the Mansion in the Dead, never ceasing even in the night.

Leveling up, Instance Dungeons, and exploration… none of these were of any importance to them anymore.

At that moment, all the players wanted to do was study, not even the Heavens could stop them!

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Chapter 283: A Trial That Caused One To Self-Isolate

Mansion of the Dead, Beiqi.

After an arduous three-day studying extravaganza, the day of the trial finally arrived.

All the players shared a common understanding of how tormenting and painstaking their three-day journey was. In order to be ahead of tens of millions of players and qualify as Potion Masters, they had all abandoned sleep and food, while burning the midnight oil to study under the dim light in the Mansion of the Dead.

The entire place was shrouded in a solemnly studious air. Under such a conducive environment, the players labored through the pages to learn the basic fundamental skills regarding becoming a Potion Master.

Finally, the day to reap the results of their assiduous efforts was here.

While waiting, the players couldn't help but feel extremely nervous, just as though they were taking their college entrance examinations in high school.

Lu Wu personally requested the Rock Ghost King to be the judge and members of the Wood Spirit Clan to assist him for each trial, so that he could select the most gifted player from the 10,000 applicants.

Initially, the Wood Spirit Clan refused the offer as they had an irreparable feud with the Rock Ghost King.

However, the Rock Ghost King went to the Wood Spirit Clan's territory and personally apologized to them. He even released the souls of the deceased Wood Spirit Clan people as an act of apology. All in all, it was done so that the trial could be held smoothly.

Lu Wu had always been greatly troubled by the feud between the Wood Spirit Clan and the Rock Ghost King. After all, they were from the same faction. However, after he found out that the Rock Ghost King actually set the souls of the dead Wood Spirit Clan members free, all of his worries were resolved instantly.

With assistance from Bei Li, all the souls received a mark from the artifact, allowing it to create new living bodies for them to enter.

Thus, all of them were revived successfully!

The joy of the reunion dampened the intense hatred they held for the Rock Ghost King. Ultimately, all misunderstandings and conflicts were rectified, as their relationship began with renewed civility and peace.

Thus, the Wood Spirit Clan cordially accepted the offer to assist the Rock Ghost King in the trial this time.

After all preparations were in place, the Potion Master Trial officially started, while the players trembled with anxiety.

[Server Announcement: The Potion Master Trial officially begins now. All applicants please stand by, as you will be transported to the Trial Arena in five minutes!]

The players did not have any unusual movements, even after hearing the game notification.

Their eyes were still firmly fixated on the books in their hands, hoping to squeeze in the information of a few more pages, hoping that it might prove to be useful in the exam later.

The entire group of players behaved similarly, hastily trying to read and memorize more in the last few moments, five minutes before the start of the trial.

Ten… nine… eight…

When the transport process was activated, the players' bodies immediately transformed into streaks of light, before disappearing from the spot and transferring to the Trial Arena.

Suddenly, a roar of bitter screams reverberated through the air.

"Ah! Please let me study a while more, just one more page is enough!"

"I want to study, please let me read for a while more!"

"I'm done for, I'm doomed! I'm too nervous so I've forgotten the information on the page of Spiritual Material Compendium Three. I'm done for!"

…

Lu Wu was greatly amused when he saw the players' expressions.

However, since he had announced that the trial would be held three days later, he would not go back on his words. Lu Wu wanted to select the creme de la creme of the players that had exceptional potion crafting abilities.

After all, the shorter the time frame was, the easier it was to identify the talented ones among the less gifted players.

After officially entering the Trial Arena, the players realized that their surroundings were shrouded in complete white, except a table that was placed in front of each of them. The table was laden with a huge assortment of spiritual materials of different levels as well as a purple potion-crafting furnace.

[Rule Notification: The trial duration is six hours. Players will be ranked according to their score, the players in the top 10,000 rankings within six hours will become Potion Masters!]

Score Corresponding to the Potion's (Elixir) Grade:

First-level Elixir (First-stage Potion): 10 points.

Second-level Elixir (Second-stage Potion): 30 points.

Third-level Elixir (Third-stage Potion): 120 points.

Fourth-level Elixir (Fourth-stage Potion): 600 points.

…

(Note: Elixir and potion are both divided into 10 levels and 15 stages. Stage one to two are at the beginner's level, three to four are at the intermediate level, five to seven are at the advanced level, eight to nine are at the master's level, while stage 10 is at the divine level. The Rock Ghost King's standard is placed at the fifth to sixth stage.)

After the players had learned about the trial, another game notification instantly popped up again.

[The trial officially begins now, all players are advised to wisely use their time to craft elixirs!]

When they heard that the trial had commenced, the players hastily rushed toward their respective crafting tables with all the spiritual materials on them. Without any hesitation, they started to identify the quality of the spiritual materials and try their best to remember the recipes from the books as well as the instructions on refining the spiritual materials.

During the trial, the players would not be able to open their personal channel or peruse their books. Everything on the line depended purely on the memories in their minds.

Moreover, much to their disappointment, the players couldn't utilize their analyzing ability in the Trial Arena.

Thus, some of the players were completely flummoxed.

The spiritual materials came in all kinds of colors – purple, red, yellow, and many others. The players couldn't simply identify any of the spiritual materials that were on their table.

What is this shit? Some of them broke down in despair, overcome with the urge to smash the table before them.

Without the ability to use their analyzing abilities, the players could only rely on the images that they recalled in their memories to identify the mysterious and baffling materials. A portion of the more talented players had even learned to identify the spiritual materials according to their unique herbal scents.

In mere moments, the vast gap in skill level among the players started to materialize.

The second step required them to ascertain which spiritual materials could be crafted into powerful elixirs after refining them, which was a crucial step in the crafting process.

Since all of the players were considered amateurs at this point and couldn't measure the ingredients properly, Lu Wu had specially prepared an electronic scale for them. It would be extremely useful for measuring the weights of the materials needed. (It would be akin to bringing a calculator to the college entrance examination.)

If there were mistakes in measurements, the spiritual materials might clash and become incompatible with one another during the crafting process, thus failing to create an elixir.

Half an hour passed swiftly, as some of the more skilled players had already measured the correct amount of necessary spiritual materials to craft the elixir that they wanted, using the electronic scale.

The next and most essential step was none other than the potion-crafting.

This process had the most extreme difficulty, as it was further subdivided into three different steps. In the beginning, control of fire was of crucial importance. The player had to constantly observe the condition of the melted potion mixture and adjust the flame accordingly. They also had to be wary of the sequence of adding the materials, as each of them needed to be brewed for a different amount of time.

The final step was the condensation or the potion coagulation step. Luckily, the last step had the lowest difficulty. If the previous steps were done perfectly, there should not be any problems at this stage.

After an hour had gone by, only about a hundred players from the tens of millions of participants had successfully crafted First-level Elixirs with poor quality. Meanwhile, a majority of them failed completely on their first try.

What they would be tested on at this stage would be their mental acuity.

It was crucial for a Potion Master to maintain a calm attitude and mindset when crafting potions. After all, they would need to use many spiritual materials for each crafting process. Needless to say, spiritual money cost soul coins, which cost real money!

Thus, without a steady heart and unyielding perseverance, it would be impossible to progress as far as a Potion Master.

A surge of contempt broiled in many players' hearts at this moment.

Not only did they have to relive the harrowing moments from their school exams, they also felt completely absurd, as though they had become a sort of researcher who was despondently trying to invent new weapons.

This stringent and taxing difficulty brought many players with weaker mentality onto the verge of tears.

In the second hour, the more agile and nimble players had already crafted eight to nine times already, while the slower players had only managed to do it once or twice. Meanwhile, the players who lagged behind were still permanently stuck at the spiritual material identification step, slowly slipping into a state of despair and exasperation.

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Chapter 284: The Art Of Explosion

The Potion Master Trial was still going on…

Into the third hour, the players who were trapped in the first stage threw all caution to the wind and decided to just abandon the identification step. They started to stuff all types of spiritual material into the crafting furnace, hoping that lady luck would smile down on them.

It was highly similar to blindly selecting answers to multiple choice questions they couldn't answer.

However, potion crafting was not something dependent on luck.

Doing so might cause a serious explosion due to the conflict between different spiritual materials with dissimilar brewing time.

It would be pointless to tackle the problem blindly, as the furnaces repaid their lazy approach with a blast of fire and ashes on their hair.

Meanwhile, the Rock Ghost King was acting as the judge after receiving complete authority over the Trial Arena. He was meticulously scanning the players, searching for those that were extremely talented.

After three long hours of observation, a certain player's actions grabbed his attention.

His approach was vastly different from the majority of the other players.

The trial had proceeded beyond half its allocated time, but the player still had not started crafting potion. He was still calculating and measuring the spiritual materials, at the same time placing the measured materials aside in their respective piles.

The Rock Ghost King was not intrigued by his different and leisurely crafting process, as he was not the only one taking his time measuring. Some players were still at this stage, too. However, the Rock Ghost King was amazed that the player had prepared spiritual materials for more than ten different elixirs.

It was important to note that the trial result was heavily dependent on the players' scores.

The safest route would be to pick a recipe which one was most comfortable and confident with, then repeatedly crafting the same elixir. After all, the only thing that mattered was the total score. However, this player actually wanted to craft dozens of different potions with different spiritual materials and brewing processes.

Surely, this would greatly increase the difficulty, which would immensely hamper his goal to strive for a higher score.

Unless he had absolute confidence in himself!

With that thought in mind, the Rock Ghost King shifted his gaze onto the spiritual materials meticulously measured and categorized on his station. Then, he activated his analyzing ability as he scrutinized the materials.

[First-level Sumeru Elixir Formulation: Sumeru Plant 500 grams (3% deviation), Dragon Fruit 330 grams (3% deviation), Frosty Spiritual Root 220 grams (5% deviation).]

[First-level Yin Yang Marrow Washing Elixir Formulation: Nine-tip Spiritual Fungus 120 grams (4% deviation), Summer Dandelion 60 grams (6% deviation).]

[First-level Cleansing Potion Formulation: Dustfall Fruit 809 grams (7% deviation), Spiritual Water Lily 700 grams (5%deviation), Virtue Fruit Peel 550 grams (18% deviation).]

…

The Rock Ghost King was stunned as he stared at the spiritual materials that were placed according to their formulations on the crafting station.

Even though the measurements of dozens of different spiritual materials were not too similar, the player could perform such an impressive feat after merely studying for three days. In the Rock Ghost King's eyes, this was no doubt a mind-boggling achievement.

More shockingly, this particular player actually didn't use the electronic scale provided by Lu Wu at all. Every spiritual material was weighed and measured with his own hands, putting them into neat piles after cutting the extra parts away.

The difference between each spiritual material was less than 10%, so the player could measure the ratio with just his hands. The Rock Ghost King firmly believed that the player had already far exceeded the level of a beginner.

Hence, the Rock Ghost King was filled with anticipation as he thought of something said by Lu Wu previously.

The potential of the players is limitless!

After four hours, this particular player finally stopped measuring and gathered the ingredients in his hands into a final pile after refining them.

The last pile of spiritual materials piqued the Rock Ghost King's interest again.

[Second-level Netherworldly Frost Elixir Formulation: Stem and Leaf of Comet Flower Plant 320 grams (21% deviation), Yellow Dragon Fruit 1400 grams (23% deviation), Fracking Water 2300 grams (33% deviation), Green Leaves and Spiritual Earth 388 grams (21% deviation).]

Holy shit! Second-level elixir formulation? He's a total genius! The Rock Ghost King was beside himself with excitement.

The player actually attempted to craft a Second-level Elixir only after studying for three days. Even though the deviations were huge, the Rock Ghost King was still filled with hope for the player's explosive results.

Now that there were only two hours left, the player swiftly began to act.

He brought one of the piles of herbs to the crafting furnace, lit a fire, and started his first crafting process.

After ten minutes…

Bang! A cloud of black smoke gushed out from the furnace while the furnace quaked violently.

A notification that showed that the crafting had failed appeared above.

However, the player's expression remained unchanged. With a calm and collected manner, he took another heap of spiritual materials to the furnace for his second attempt.

Bang!

Bang!

…

The expression of the Rock Ghost King, who was originally filled with expectations for the player, grew increasingly awkward.

There was less than an hour left, yet the player kept failing. Furthermore, the processes would fail each time without even proceeding beyond halfway because he had mishandled the concoction, causing the furnace to vomit dark fumes and spew fire.

The Rock Ghost King felt extremely uneasy as he stared at the five remaining piles of spiritual material on his crafting station.

He initially thought that the player was exceedingly talented and had unlimited potential. However, he was merely a defective genius and failed too terribly.

Bang!

Bang!

Yet, the crafting failed consecutively, as the furnace ceaselessly burst into flames.

It was important to note that that was a sign of a complete failure. Most of the time, even if the crafting process was not successful, the furnace would remain fine. Clearly, this player had achieved the worst possible outcome for every attempt he made.

The Rock Ghost King felt immensely disappointed, as though he was watching a brainless pig crafting potions.

Soon, each and every one of his attempts failed miserably, until he had only one formulation left – the second-level elixir formulation. Nevertheless, the Rock Ghost King had lost all expectations for the player.

Despite the unsuccessful attempts, the player's attitude and mentality remained very positive. In the face of failure, the player calmly proceeded without being taken aback, even until the last group of herbs.

For the last time, he commenced the brewing process based on the information stored in his memory. He first added the Comet Flower Plant into the furnace. After it had liquefied, he put in the Yellow Dragon Fruit, Fracking Water, as well as Green Leaves and Spiritual Earth…

Next, he concentrated on controlling the flame. Under his meticulous coordination, the potion in the crafting furnace began to amalgamate steadily.

The Rock Ghost King was pleasantly surprised when he saw the progress. Thus, he calmed his nerves down and began to observe the player with interest again.

One minute… five minutes… ten minutes…

Soon, half an hour had passed in the blink of an eye. As the potion gradually coalesced, the Rock Ghost King's originally placid heart was ignited with fiery passion again.

The crafting process was almost done, but to his surprise, the player still hadn't made any errors. His control on every aspect of the potion crafting was impeccable. Hence, the Rock Ghost King couldn't help but be excited again.

It's almost done, it's almost done!

Unlike the player's placid demeanor, the Rock Ghost King was very thrilled at the prospect of his success. After all, he might be witnessing the unprecedented birth of a Potion Master with limitless potential.

As time ticked on, it had entered the most crucial moment of the crafting process.

The potion had slowly condensed into pellets the size of ping pong balls, and would surely be formed into elixir pills.

Bang!

Suddenly, a loud explosion reverberated through the air. The crafting furnace shook violently, as thick black smog spouted from its chimney and wafted through the air.

The Rock Ghost King was rendered speechless, evidently dumbfounded by the outcome.

The Rock Ghost King was thoroughly flabbergasted, as he couldn't understand how it had failed.

Clearly, the mixture would have turned into elixir pills after the fire was slowly put out? Even if the process had failed, the mixture would have turned into powder instead. So, how did the player manage to cause his furnace to burst into flames, again?

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Chapter 285: An Explosive Life

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

The Rock Ghost King was extremely perplexed by how the player could wildly mishandle the last portion of the process.

His brewing process had been flawless the entire time, until the very last stage. It was even the easiest step, as he merely needed the mixture to condense and coagulate it into pills. Yet, how did he set his furnace on fire again?

In order to investigate the cause of the problem, the Rock Ghost King immediately contacted Lu Wu and requested him to test the player again.

After receiving the feedback, Lu Wu instantly looked up the player's background information.

[Nie Feng (Male):

Character Details: Nie Feng, male, Han Clan, Dragon Nation Party member. Born on the 10th of September in 2293 in Indigo City, Tiankui Province. On the day he was born, a factory near his house had a huge explosion. According to the artifact's calculation, the cause of the explosion was tightly intertwined with the birth of Nie Feng.

In 2300, the sewage tank in Nie Feng's primary school exploded…

In 2306, Nie Feng passed his exams with flying colors and placed first in his entire school. Thus, he was accepted to the leading high school in Sangharama City. However, on the day of his enrollment, the school had a peculiar explosion incident…

…

After he graduated from Capital University, his impressive results and spectacular talents helped him enter the government's Special Research Group A.

In 2315, while he was researching the new G-missile, he made a mistake and caused the missile to misfire, causing an explosion. Luckily, there were no casualties, so he merely received disciplinary action by receiving a warning.

In 2316, his error in handling caused a massive explosion in Group A's research laboratory, resulting in 23 deaths. Although he survived, his blunder cost him his job as he was subsequently kicked off from Special Research Group A.

Due to pressing circumstances in life, he searched high and low for job opportunities. Eventually, he settled down as a shop assistant in an herbal medicine shop.

…

Lu Wu was completely flustered when he perused the player's shocking history.

In short, this unfortunate child had led an explosive life. The countless explosions had undoubtedly colored his canvas of life with bold striking colors, adding a literal bang to his already interesting life.

Thus, Lu Wu could understand why the player was so calm in the face of the endless explosions. No doubt, he was completely used to them!

However, it was important to investigate why this bizarre phenomenon would occur with him.

Lu Wu decided to tackle the issue personally. He activated his artifact to thoroughly analyze the player's soul. To their great astonishment, a trace of the Law of Darkness could be found in his soul.

Even though the trace was so faint that it was almost indiscernible, the artifact still managed to uncover it from its scan.

But only Underworld gods could use the power of the Laws of Darkness.

This swiftly piqued Lu Wu and Bei Li's interest. The only thing that they were certain about was that the player must have been an extremely powerful deity in the Underworld if he could master the Laws of Darkness. However, the baffling question that even Bei Li had no answer to still remained – how did he escape the Underworld God List and reincarnate into the living world?

After a few moments of contemplation, Lu Wu conveyed a portion of the person's information to the Rock Ghost King.

The Rock Ghost King jumped in surprise when he read Nie Feng's details.

Originally, he had the intention to accept the player as a disciple and properly nurture him into a talented player. However, it was clear from his background information that he was completely incompatible with potion-crafting. After all, the most taboo and unwanted thing to happen in crafting potions was explosions.

No doubt, this was a piece of disappointing news for the Rock Ghost King.

The person possessed immense talent in identification and manipulation. However, his soul's nature was absolutely incompatible, hence it would be difficult for him to walk down the path of a Potion Master.

When the trial had concluded, a game notification and the player scoreboard were displayed simultaneously, officially marking the end of the first Potion Master Trial.

[Game Notification: The trial has officially ended. The successful players are as follows…:

First Place: Nie Feng, 120 points.

Second Place: Lu Xigua, 120 points.

Third Place: Wu Hao, 110 points.

…

The players' eyes were firmly plastered onto the scoreboard, as they restlessly scrolled down to find their names.

Surely, this trial had disheartened many players but many of the more successful ones were overjoyed when they received their new title.

However, one player was clearly confused by the surprising result.

He was none other than Nie Feng.

Logically, his potion-crafting attempts were a complete failure. How was he ranked first?

Thus, he hurriedly gazed into his crafting furnace.

The Rock Ghost King was equally perplexed as he saw Nie Feng throughout the entire process and witnessed him failing miserably. How is he at number one?

Confused by the results, the rock Ghost King also stared into Nie Feng's furnace to investigate what had actually transpired.

When the dense asphyxiating smoke dispersed away, an onyx black pill was silently resting in the ashes.

[Explosion Pill (Third-level Elixir):

Elixir Details: Mid-stage elixir. During the crafting process, a mild Law of Darkness' power is imbued into the mixture. It coalesced with the spiritual materials and caused a strong rejection response, but the elixir is successfully formed due to the Potion Master's precise handling and exceptional control.

Elixir Features: Unstable and explodes easily!

Damage Effect: After the elixir detonates, it will cause 3000 damage points to all beings within a 50 yard radius. It has a 30% chance of causing persistent health loss. (10 health points every second for one minute.)

Potion Master Seal: Player Nie Feng.

When the Rock Ghost King saw the elixir pill, he was so shocked that blood almost gushed out from his mouth.

An elixir pill was actually formed from the explosion?

Even though he had spent tens of thousands of years crafting potions, this was the first time he ever saw such a bizarre phenomenon.

More unbelievably…

The player could actually craft a third-level elixir after only studying for three days. If he had not witnessed it with his very own eyes, the Rock Ghost King would never believe such a ridiculous event actually happened.

From the elixir's information menu, it was clear that the player's steady manipulation was crucial in stopping the elixir from completely disintegrating and allowing it to form into an elixir pill instead.

His execution was flawlessly concise, even under such distressing circumstances. This revelation greatly moved the Rock Ghost King. He truly felt that the sky was the limit for this player's potential. No doubt, he would definitely become a great Potion Master in the future.

Luckily, the player managed to successfully craft a third-level elixir to help him attain his qualification as a Potion Master. Otherwise, the Rock GHost King believed that he would, by hook or by crook, force Lu Wu to allocate another spot exclusively for him.

However, the Rock Ghost King still had not been informed about the trace of the Law of Darkness within the player's soul and was on cloud nine, celebrating his success.

Lu Wu and Bei Li exchanged glances that were tinged with schadenfreude when they received streams of feedback from the Rock Ghost King, claiming that the player was a rare genius and he wanted to take him in as his disciple.

His future as a Potion Master might still be undecided, but his explosive ability was surely second to none. They could only weakly hope that the Rock Ghost King's heart was ready for the mind-bogglingly explosive revelation.

Lu Wu purposely didn't clarify it because he wanted to see if the player could create unexpected surprises in the future.

He might be able to create a third-level elixir now, but could he concoct a fourth-level elixir? Or a fifth-level one? Or perhaps an elixir with an even higher level?

If he could successfully stabilize the potion and condense them into pills with the aid of the trace of Law of Darkness within him and his exceptional talent in potion-crafting, Lu Wu firmly believed that he could certainly have a bright future as a Potion Master.

Even though he would walk down a different path as the other Potion Masters, Lu Wu was thrilled. After all, he wanted innovation and creativity, which was why he didn't implement preset templates in potion crafting.

Lu Wu was still fully supportive of this promising player.

Until one day, when the Mansion of the Dead would explode with a thunderous bang…

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Chapter 286: April Fool's Event

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

With that, the Potion Master Trial officially ended.

After that, the players had an unlikely newfound hobby – studying.

The players knew the great value of becoming a Potion Master. It was a job that could turn the poor players' lives completely upside-down.

Many major guilds were fervently recruiting Potion Masters by offering sky-high pay and premium treatment. Many players were green with envy when they saw these lavish conditions provided.

Changing one's fate by studying was indeed a bona fide reality in Battle Online.

In order to achieve the qualifications of a Potion Master in the next trial, many players would bury their heads in the three required books and diligently study them for days even weeks on end.

Studying for happiness had become a widespread motto among the players.

…

One day, the players encountered a peculiar occurrence when they went online to log in to Battle Online.

They couldn't log in at all!

The players were in a daze, as they simply couldn't enter the game, no matter how many times they tried the icon. The screen remained stuck at the character selection and would not progress any further.

Furthermore, it was not a unique experience. Every other player had also met with this troubling issue.

In an instant, the Battle Online forum was bombarded by furious players as they restlessly asked what was happening.

Confusingly, the officials who were usually very proactive suddenly became unresponsive and silent, despite the barrage of questions hurled at them.

Was the game hacked? Did the system crash? Had Battle Online finally gone bankrupt since it didn't earn enough profit?

Endless speculations filled the forum, but the players grew increasingly worried as they pondered more about it. Everyone almost broke down psychologically from the harrowing thought of losing the game.

They gamers were used to the alternate reality of their in-game life. When they couldn't log in at all, they were exceedingly distraught, as though they'd lost an important piece of themselves.

Without wasting any more time, each of the players sprang into action and began searching for news about Battle Online's company in the outside world. Some players even prepared to set up a crowdfunding page to help salvage the company.

All the players were united as one in this uncertain time, faced with the unsettling probability that the game may forever disappear. Everyone hurriedly exhausted all means in real life to inquire about the game's circumstance, while some newspaper company directors even posted on the front page to ask the public what had happened to the Battle Online company.

Wu Guoyi, astonished by the news, hastily dialed Lu Wu to find out if there were any problems with the company.

Obviously perplexed by the overwhelming reaction from the masses, Lu Wu merely said something ridiculous when he took the call.

"Happy April Fool's Day!"

Wu Guoyi's racing heart finally calmed down when he heard that it was merely a prank. However, he still made the middle-finger gesture at Lu Wu through the phone to express his intense contempt at this childish stunt.

After a few hours of frenzied uproar in the forums, a post from the officials finally put everyone at ease.

[You can still enter the game! Today is April Fool's Day, please look at the bottom right corner of the log-in screen!]

In the post, a picture that was magnified three or four times was displayed. On the corner of the image, the option to log in was written in a deceivingly minuscule text.

When everyone found out the reason, the wildfire of rage swept across the gamer community.

Knight_Of_The_Abyss (Europe): "I almost donated my annual salary to the game because I thought the company was going under. I'm going to leave a bad review! (angry emoji)"

Watermelon_Taro: "I'm depressed, I'm depressed. The usually serious officials actually pulled a terrible prank on us. If today wasn't April Fool's Day, I'd smash everyone in the Wicked Mob for being so naughty! (murderous eyes emoji)"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "This impressive feat. Come, come, come. Wicked Mob members, please surrender yourselves here. My hammer would like to have a word with you!"

Crayon_Shinchan: "You robbed my three precious hours of studying time! Don't you all from the Wicked Mob know that studying gives me joy? I strongly insist on compensating me for my lost time, you need to at least pay me 10,000 soul coins! (laughing emoji)"

Invincible_Loneliness: "I was so scared. Fuck you! Screw you devs from the Wicked Mob!"

…

Everyone finally heaved a sigh of relief when they found out that it was a consequence of the officials' wicked hoax.

This incident also made the players realize the significance of Battle Online in their hearts. They dearly wished that the game would persist for posterity, hence the post to suggest the opening of top-up path sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

This time, they stood on the apex of morality, seeming extremely adamant and confident. They acted as though the opening of the top-up path was for the smooth operation of the game, and not for their selfish gains to become stronger.

Of course, their nonsensical request was immediately ignored by Lu Wu.

What money for the top-up path? The only good thing you can do for me is to make more soul coins for me! The top-up path is a temptation from the devil, I'll never implement it!

After discovering the tricky method to log in to the game, countless players excitedly clicked on the icon to enter their beloved game.

Yet, another occurrence left them gaping in astonishment after that.

[You are suspected of using hacks, such as bots… since this is your first offense, your personnel channel and equipment menu will be cleared as a punishment.]

A murderous rage was instantly ignited in the players who saw the message.

Everyone outside the Mansion of the Dead was wearing the beginner's equipment from the time when they first started playing the game. Evidently, no one was spared from the thievery.

The fruits of their months of labor, such as different types of high-level equipment, vanished into thin air in an instant as though their accounts were completely looted.

Even though they knew that the officials were pulling their legs again, the players could only grit their teeth and endure the mockery.

When they finally earned some money, they opened the shop to buy a set of proper equipment to wear.

To their dismay, the screen showed that their current soul coin amount was zero!

Then, a game notification appeared again.

[Game Notification: Sorry, your account was looted by a hacker and all your soul coins are lost!]

This phenomenon threw the entire forum into chaos again.

One of the players even found the customer service number from the official webpage and wanted to provide some feedback on that recurring issue by messaging them.

However, the chat with customer service left him in utter shock. When he uploaded the screenshot of the exchange onto the forum, all the other players who saw it were torn between disbelief and amusement.

Naughty_Shrimp: "Customer service lady, I strongly request the officials end the April Fool's Day joke right away. Please send this feedback to the game devs, please. Help us out here, thanks!"

Customer Service Attendant: "No!"

Naughty_Shrimp: "Miss, must you be so stubborn?"

Customer Service Attendant: "Yeah!"

Naughty_Shrimp: "I'm reporting you to the higher-ups!"

Customer Service Attendant: "Are you an idiot? You don't have their numbers anyway and there are no ways for you to report me on the official website. Who are you reporting me to? (roll eyes emoji)"

Naughty_Shrimp: "You… you are behaving too foolishly!"

Customer Service Attendant: "Apparently, I just unlocked the forum title limit, do you want to have a taste of something harsher? (laughing emoji)"

Naughty_Shrimp: "Holy shit, please forgive me, please!"

In retaliation to the ruthless officials, the players began to act cute and beg, screaming that they didn't want the April Fool's event to go on any longer. They merely wished to have their equipment and soul coins back.

However, the outcry quickly subsided.

The players realized that even without the powerful equipment, their skills and levels were still intact.

They had merely lost the outer appearance of donning the equipment, but their attributes remained unchanged. It was as though their equipment had turned invisible.

After reaching the conclusion, the players tried to open the shop and opened a few healing potions, testing to see if they actually still had their soul coins despite the zero number displayed on the screen.

It turned out that the purchase actually went through.

Their soul coins had merely turned invisible.

The players collectively uploaded the photo of Tong Gua showing the middle-finger gesture in the forum in response to the officials' immature joke.

Needless to say, other than pranking them, Lu Wu would naturally give the players some April Fool's benefits as well.

When it turned 8pm at night, another server announcement appeared.

[Server Announcement: Happy April Fool's Day! From now to midnight, other than the one-time-use items, everything else in the shop will be free! However, the items must be returned afterwards! (Items bought during this duration cannot be discarded, but trading is allowed!)]

The sudden benefits implemented by the officials instantly quelled the burning anger broiling in the players' hearts.

They were clearly in seventh heaven after reading the announcement. They kept praising the Online Battle officials in the forum for putting the players first and lauded them as the leading example of the gaming industry. In mere seconds, it seemed as though they had forgotten how furious and livid they were in the morning.

After the event began, all the players were absolutely thrilled at the prospect of spending unlimited soul coins in the shop.

Everyone immediately purchased the strongest equipment from the shop and wore the dazzlingly impressive armor on their bodies.

They would wear one and buy three more sets of outfits, while wielding a weapon and buying ten more to keep in the inventory.

They fervently took screenshots to keep as memories, so that they could show off to the future newcomers that they had been wealthy and had tons of powerful equipment before.

Even the usually unattainable items, due to their exorbitant price, were instantly affordable for everyone. The entire Beiqi sky was filled with flying silhouettes of the players, roaming free in the air while flapping their newly purchased wings.

All kinds of wild and humorous antics were born from this event.

Some would sell ten purple pieces of equipment for one soul coin, and would even throw in more free gifts if the buyer purchased more. They were so generous, they might as well have sold the items by weight. The players even held a flying competition. The participants would need to fly from the Mansion of the Dead to the Liuli Coast and the fastest flyer would receive 1,000 pieces of purple equipment.

In short, the April Fool's event allowed players to go overboard with their ridiculous horseplay.

Only when the clock struck twelve at midnight, the frenetic celebration would come to an end.

However, the players had not had enough of it. They thronged the forums, begging the officials to hold these events more frequently. After all, four hours of manic skylarking seemed a little too short.

Then, the officials made another announcement again.

[Official Announcement: The event for all players to activate a random limited hidden character class is now here!]

No doubt, the players were beside themselves with excitement when they saw the announcement. Compared to the items in the shop, hidden character classes and inherited character classes were the rarest things the players truly desired.

With hearts throbbing in anticipation, the players swiftly clicked on the announcement post.

However, only a maddening sentence was written in it…

"April fools!"

Chapter 287: Two White Phantoms

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Once again they played into the hands of the mischievous officials. All the players were gritting their teeth in anger.

The most furious ones gathered together and made a post in the forum.

[Your players are in a bad temper now… they can no longer play the game with satisfaction!]

But it was quickly obvious that Lu Wu wasn't going to bat an eyelash at the protests from the players.

As a result, players who were left with nowhere to vent had begun planning to stir up trouble.

This time around, they formed small groups and began heading toward the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

After all, Beiqi was inhabited by their own men. It would be inconvenient if they were to fight for creatures there, so the Nine Luminaries naturally became their preferred objective.

As for the Sea King, he was still in the midst of growing. It was not the best time for harvest.

However, the slogan that the players came up with to battle projected extreme boldness and confidence, indicating that they were doing this to avenge their former king, Yue Yao.

Such a brazen slogan had brought the players together. It could be said that this time around, they had done it with good reason.

The successive commotion and the act of pillaging from the players had left the remaining brothers of the Nine Luminaries alarmed.

…

Land of the Nine Luminaries, Dark Heaven Pavilion.

The eight brothers seemed a little quiet. Fifth Brother Jin Yao and Ninth Brother Tu Yao were still chucking wine into their mouths.

Bang!

Out of nowhere, Jin Yao slammed the wine glass down on the table ferociously.

"Second Brother is dead. Don't you all have anything to say!"

"Fifth Brother, we all had a sense of propriety when we made the shots last time. Although Second Brother was heavily injured, it doesn't mean that he's dead!" Third Brother Ri Yao said with a long face.

Jin Yao felt a sudden surge of anger washing over him when he heard this. With a furious kick, he overturned the table in front of him.

"Every force of Beiqi is currently fighting in his name to avenge him, yet you still insist that he's not dead. We are true brothers, how can you all live with this!?"

"Eighth Brother, we definitely had a sense of propriety when we made the shots. Second Brother's death seems odd!" His Excellency Xing Yao piped up.

"Propriety? I've questioned Messenger Yue. He told me that all the forces of Beiqi had sworn their allegiance to Yue Yao, there's no way that they would betray him. So how about you all try explaining how Second Brother died?"

"Perhaps when he was heavily injured and making his way back to Beiqi, he came across an enemy as strong as Lie Shan…"

At this moment, Huo Yao's heart sank. Although he and Yue Yao had a fight, it was an impulsive move. Now that he knew Yue Yao had passed away, he couldn't help but be filled with remorse. After all, they were brothers that grew up together.

"The main problem that we're facing now is that the forces of Beiqi are constantly harassing our lands. We have to settle this matter at once!" Xing Yao's words left everyone in silence yet again.

That was because they had no idea how they should deal with the constant infringement and harassment of the Beiqi forces on a small group basis.

After all, the forces of Beiqi were there to avenge Yue Yao, their brother. The eight brothers felt guilty about his death, so they simply had no thought of sending troops to grapple with the forces of Beiqi.

However, it would be unrealistic for them to leave the assaults from the forces of Beiqi unresolved.

"Oh right, is General Crescent Moon of Yue Yao's Army still in Beiqi? Shall we ask him to bring the army back first?" Ri Yao asked.

"I've sent Messenger Yue to Beiqi once, but all he got in return was General Crescent Moon informing him from the faraway city gate that Yue Yao's Army vowed to never return to the Nine Luminaries. On top of that, they planned to fight us till their death!" Jin Yao spoke.

Upon hearing this, the brothers felt another headache coming.

"How about one of us head to Beiqi and take over the throne of His Excellency then comfort the forces of Beiqi?" Ri Yao voiced out his opinion.

"We should sit tight for a bit. The forces of Beiqi are currently in a hostile state. After all, it's not easy to make peace with war. In the end, Second Brother didn't even get to hold on to the throne for long…" Xing Yao said as he sighed and shook his head.

"What should we do now, though? The forces of Beiqi are still coming regularly!"

"Let's hold them off, but we won't take the initiative to strike first! After all, they might end up being our subordinates in the future!"

The remaining few brothers nodded in agreement with Xing Yao's decision. It was clearly the best option for them at this stage.

…

The players naturally would have no idea what Yue Yao's brothers had in mind.

However, they also found that each of the strongholds was being too conservative in the face of their attacks.

The players weren't stupid and quickly figured out the reason behind this.

Obviously, this was related to the death of Yue Yao.

This made the players even more unscrupulous. In any case, everything would be fine if they kept shouting, "Vengeance for His Excellency Yue Yao!"

The players had moved their hunting grounds from Beiqi entirely to the Land of the Nine Luminaries.

Not only that, but the players from Beiqi had also realized that the area was superabundant in spiritual ore. Some of the spiritual ore that was looted and sold in the Transaction Center topped the sales. Most of the buyers were the newer players from the Land of Naraka.

This truly had the players coming up with more ways to make a fortune. Their strategy was to harvest a great supply of spiritual ore.

In the face of the repeated assaults from the players, several armies under the Nine Luminaries were in distress.

On top of that, due to the invasion from the forces of Beiqi, they had lost several small strongholds along with quite a few men and a good deal of supplies. Sadly, their superiors had made it clear that they were to only defend and not initiate any attacks.

This decision had left them feeling suffocated. As they watched the players provoking them from the outside, they were filled with the urge to rush out and fight them.

…

Land of the Nine Luminaries, Hills of Moshui.

This time around, the players found another small-scale stronghold and had started various harassments.

It was a joint operation of several major guilds. They intended to remove this stronghold that was situated close to Beiqi and plunder them bare.

In the face of the violent attacks from the players, the door to the stronghold soon tumbled, as the soldiers standing guard behind it had no other way but to battle face-to-face with the players.

At this very moment, right at the entrance of the stronghold, Sun Qi the dog, who was accompanying the members of the guild, sensed a familiar resonance that continuously came from inside of the stronghold.

The feeling was wonderful, just like a mother welcoming a traveler home.

"No! My mother would never play games with me!" Sun Qi spat as he suddenly snapped himself back to reality.

However, the type of feeling that lingered in his heart made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He hesitated before turning his head back to Gu Yu.

"Boss, I would like to go in and see my mother… no… I mean I'd like to go inside and search for whatever it is that's tempting me so much!"

Gu Yu was astounded by what he said, but then he glanced at the stronghold that was about to be taken down and gave him the green light.

"Fine, go… and don't die!"

"Okay!"

After getting Gu Yu's permission, the dog skipped happily like a rabbit, keeping his movements extremely agile as he made his way to the inside of the stronghold as fast as he could.

Under the support of twice the attributes, the soldiers stationed at the entrance of the stronghold could only watch as Sun Qi made his way into the building.

He went sniffing all around the stronghold and came to a stop right before a wooden house. That familiar scent was no doubt coming from there.

After giving it a thought, the dog relied on his lean body to squeeze through a crack that led to the inside of the wooden house.

Everything around him was pitch-black. He sniffed the air subconsciously. That familiar scent was getting denser as if it was right in front of him.

All of a sudden, a pair of dark-green eyes lit up in the darkness, causing him to jump back in shock.

At this time, a bright green dot of light, sparkling and translucent, appeared in the wooden house, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the surroundings.

Sun Qi was very familiar with green dots like these. They were exactly the same dots that would appear when he used his skills.

Then he saw a snow-white spiritual deer hunching on the ground not far away, bound by several iron chains. At the moment, it looked dispirited and very feeble.

"Another White Phantom!" upon seeing the spiritual deer, he instantly recognized what it was.

When it heard Sun Qi's shout, the White Phantom slowly turned its head and was slightly surprised to see the little dog. Then, its eyes gradually turned to disgust as it let out a soft cry.

"Yee…"

Sun Qi caught the look of disgust in the White Phantom's eyes, making his mood turn sour as he stomped his claws down on the floor, "What do you mean by giving me that look!? Do you want me to save you or not?"

The White Phantom continued to stare at the dog for quite a while, then let out another cry, "Yee…"

Sun Qi fumed and cursed when he saw this. Fuck! It's fine if the players laughed at me, but you and I are the same species. What rights do you have to despise me!?

Right then, there was a sudden movement behind the wooden door. The door was violently smashed into pieces and there stood Gu Yu.

"Hahaha… dog, so that's your mother!?"

When he saw the two White Phantoms inside the house, where one was bigger than the other, Gu Yu couldn't stop himself from bursting into laughter.

The players that had finished off the stronghold heard the commotion and popped their heads in to see, resulting in more fits of laughter.

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Chapter 288: The Evolution Of Sun Qi The Dog

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

After yesterday's looting battle, the players once again received a large portion of spiritual ore.

The spiritual ore didn't prove to be as useful as other spiritual materials to the players from Beiqi. After dividing them among the major guilds, they decided to put them up for sale in the auction channel.

Due to the fact that cross-server purchases were now available between the three large servers, most of the spiritual ore was basically bought by mech players from Naraka with rather high prices after negotiation.

Cross-server purchases was a game function that Lu Wu had considered installing to complement the resources between each zone.

This proved to be extremely beneficial to the overall development of the players.

However, there was a small price to pay for cross-server purchases. Players had to fork over an additional 10% handling fee for every item purchased across servers.

This was equivalent to Lu Wu receiving two broker benefits, which consisted of the fees from the items sold by players through the auction and another batch of handling fees from the players' cross-server purchases.

Because of this, his number of soul coins went through the roof. Now, a lot of the proposals on the game construction could once again be inserted into their agenda.

…

In Beiqi, at the Mansion of the Dead.

Sun Qi was staring wide-eyed at the White Phantom in the form of a spiritual deer.

"You can talk?" the little dog directed his question at the White Phantom.

"Duh! We are of the same species… of course you can understand what I'm saying!" the White Phantom rolled its eyes at him in disdain, the look of disgust in its face didn't falter in the slightest.

"I was the one who saved you, why are you acting all high and mighty!?" Sun Qi instantly felt unhappy when he had to deal with such an arrogant White Phantom.

"I am your senior, and I'm also a pure-blooded White Phantom. You're just a little cross-bred White Phantom. How can you possibly compare with me? Plus, isn't it supposed to be your noble job in saving me?" the White Phantom kept its haughty face on.

Sun Qi regretted saving this unreasonable White Phantom.

After giving it another thought, he decided to stop reasoning with the White Phantom. Instead, he questioned the doubt deep in his heart.

"Do you have a way for me to evolve more quickly?"

This problem had been bothering him for quite some time now. He had always wanted to get rid of that body of a little dog that made him grind his teeth and bitterly hate. The second-order evolution wouldn't start until Level 150. Now that he had seen the real White Phantom, he didn't want to wait any longer.

Moreover, it would truly be a comfort to Sun Qi if he could fulfill his hopes by evolving into a noble White Phantom that took the form of a spiritual deer. Even in his dreams, he would fantasize of transforming into a snow-white spiritual deer, jumping and running about in the wilderness. Sadly, here he was still, stuck in the form of a weak white puppy.

"It's easy. You'll eventually evolve when you grow up!"

Sun Qi was left speechless.

"By the way, doggy, haven't you already been taken in by a tribe and domesticated into a mount?" the White Phantom looked around at the players who passed by as concern etched into its eyes.

"You're the mount!" he retorted by lifting his paws and stomping ferociously on the ground. He showed his fangs to the ruthless deer.

The words of the White Phantom made him recall the unpleasant memories back on the European server. The thought of the players using stickers of him in the forum had also surfaced in his mind, making his blood boil instantly.

"What a pity… back then the tribe that locked me up had plans of turning me into a mount as well, but I'd rather die than submit to them. It seems that being the noble pure-blood that I am, still has way higher awareness than you!" the White Phantom stated, clicking its tongue.

At that moment, Sun Qi was filled with the urge to charge forward and tear the White Phantom into shreds.

Just as he was about to flip out, the White Phantom suddenly piped up, "The noble part of me would never be in your debt. However, you still saved me… so, I will help you evolve!"

Sun Qi, who was leaning forward and getting ready to pounce, suddenly slammed on his brakes and somersaulted before sending himself sprawling to the ground.

He picked himself up, his eyes shining brightly, "You can really help me evolve?"

"I, the noble one, will of course help you, the younger generation of mixed-bloods!"

"Come here then, what do I have to do!?"

He instinctively ignored the White Phantom's last few words about him being a mixed-blood.

All he could think about was evolving as soon as possible. After all, he was sick of being in the form of a white puppy!

"Bow your head before me and accept my blessed heritage to you as your elder!" the White Phantom stood up and lifted its head elegantly.

Endure!

This temporary compromise is for my evolution. All this is to get rid of this body of a dog!

After some heavy contemplation, Sun Qi came face to face with the White Phantom and lowered his head.

The White Phantom saw this and a trace of satisfaction flashed across its eyes. Then it lifted its head up and let out a long cry, as spiritual rain composed of green light dots swiftly poured down onto the heart of the Mansion of the Dead.

This instantly captured the attention of the players. All of them stopped in their tracks and started to watch or even film the scene.

While standing in the middle of the spiritual rain, greenish White Phantom Inheritance Spiritual Words appeared out of the puppy's body one after the other.

At that moment, a game notification appeared as information on the inheritance began to digitize with the help of the artifact.

[Game Notification: You have unlocked the hidden terms for a class development and hereby awarded with Inherited Memories from the White Spirits (White Phantom)!]

[Game Notification: Class development commencing…]

His eyes brimmed with tears of excitement when he saw the game notification. At that very moment in time, he knew that he was finally bidding farewell to the dog's form.

There was not a trace of reluctance in his heart, but instead, he was only filled with overflowing joy.

That was because he was fed up with being a dog. Even if he turned into a spiritual deer, it was still ten thousand times better than being a little white puppy.

During the inheritance process, he realized that his Attributes Menu began to fluctuate, gradually rising and falling. He could also feel his body expanding slightly.

Am I going to evolve soon!?

By referring to the White Phantom in front of him, Sun Qi started to imagine what he would be like after his evolution as excitement poured out of his heart uncontrollably.

Many of the players learned through the forums and other channels that their comrade the dog was about to evolve. They immediately headed for the heart of the Mansion of the Dead, wanting to see for themselves what he'd look like after the evolution.

A tinge of regret struck the surrounding players when they realized the dog was evolving. After all, they had long fallen in love with his form of a white puppy. They couldn't get used to the sudden change.

The inheritance process lasted about half an hour. The green misty spiritual rain that was freely pouring away had gradually dispersed. The White Phantom looked frail as it stopped chanting.

"We owe each other nothing now!"

Sun Qi heard it. Instead of opening his eyes, he called out the Attributes Menu and started studying.

Player: Sun Qi (Level 121, 26%)

Character Class: White Phantom Spiritual Beast (Form 2)

Details on White Phantom Spiritual Beast: A unique and treasured Yin Spiritual Beast of the Land of Beiqi. The blood of a Divine Beast flows within its veins. When its life is near its end, it would seek out a secret hideout and leave its Life Inheritance behind to be inherited by destined underworld creatures.

Class Specialty: Growth of attributes increases by 100% for every increase in level. Its blood carries healing effects. In Levels 150/180/200/220, it will grasp the corresponding Inherited Skills.

Stage Two of Character Class: Healing effect increases by 50%. Stage two Healing Chain ability acquired.

[Healing Chain (Talent Ability):

Skill Effectiveness: Lock on a target as the healing source and unleash the healing power onto it. When the health of the player reaches 100%, the healing effect will automatically be transferred to the next target, forming a healing chain effect. (Healing chain can connect up to 30 players.)

Seeing that he had truly evolved, Sun Qi was overwhelmed with excitement as he finally opened his eyes slowly.

Huh? Why is my point of view still at such a low level?

He suddenly had a bad feeling. He lifted his claws to take a look, but to his horror, they had not turned into deer hooves.

Sun Qi instantly panicked and turned to question the White Phantom, "Have I really evolved? Has my form changed?"

The White Phantom nodded indifferently, "Uh huh, you've evolved and transformed!"

Sighing a breath of relief, he trembled as he opened the Character Interface, followed by a wail that escaped from his lips.

At that moment, the Character Menu showed that he still remained his original form of a white puppy. The only distinct difference was a tiny pair of deer antlers right on top of his head.

"Pfff! Hahaha, congrats little doggy. You have successfully evolved, and your new look is the bomb!"

"He's no doubt still our beloved dog, he's even grown antlers after evolving. He surely looks promising and will definitely make a difference in the future!"

"Our dog has grown antlers. In the future, his charges will be more lethal than ever, not to mention he's handsome! Perfect!"

…

As he listened to the comments made by the surrounding players, Sun Qi glared at the White Phantom before him with eyes full of resentment. Then, he slowly laid down on the floor, gazing at the blue skies and began to sob.

My dreams of getting a new life and becoming noble… they're gone, they're all gone!

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