After leaving the Elder Council, Nie Yan headed to the guild treasury. He withdrew a large amount of materials in preparation to craft Advanced Holy Illumination Scrolls.
Advanced Holy Illumination Scrolls were Master-grade items. At present, only a limited number of Scroll Crafters could produce them. They were used in dealing with the undead, capable of dealing fatal damage to them.
Nie Yan stored at least 30 portions of crafting materials in his bag. When he had some down time in the middle of levelling, he could craft the Holy Illumination Scrolls.
After stocking up on necessities and making some additional preparations, Nie Yan received a report from Guo Huai. They had found War God Lei Su. He had teleported moments ago to Calore and was now heading south in the direction of the Central Auction House.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. "It's about time I meet up with him." He started making his way towards the Central Auction House.
A Thief from Asskickers United was tailing Lei Su, constantly reporting on his location.
Seeing the coordinates, Nie Yan lightly knitted his brows. Lei Su wasn't heading to the Central Auction House but rather Asskickers United's guild office.
Nie Yan entered stealth. He burst into motion as he dashed through the streets.
Several minutes later, Nie Yan arrived at the guild office. Lei Su was already there, talking with some Asskickers United players outside the entrance.
"I want to see your boss. Have your superiors call him over," Lei Su said. He swept his gaze over the Asskickers United players.
The players could sense the domineering aura coming off of Lei Su. Furthermore, his high level metal armour looked to be the equipment of a top rank player. They didn't dare to dally. Perhaps this person was one of the boss' friends!
"Please wait a moment. I've already passed on the word to our Executive Guild Leader," the manager of the office said in a polite tone.
At this moment, Nie Yan dispelled his stealth and gradually materialized into view.
"B-b-boss!"
"Greetings, Boss!"
"Boss, when did you get here?"
...
The players were surprised at Nie Yan's sudden appearance, However, they quickly recovered from their stupor and greeted him one after another.
"Speak of the devil..." Lei Su muttered in a daze.
Nie Yan and Lei Su nodded at each other, almost as if the two had known each other for a long time.
"We finally meet." Lei Su laughed.
Nie Yan nodded with a faint smile. "You sure are a hard man to find."
"Speak for yourself." Lei Su grinned.
Sure enough, it wasn't a coincidence. Nie Yan was looking for Lei Su to recruit him into Asskickers United.
"How about a match?" Lei Su asked with sparkling eyes. After meeting Nie Yan, his blood was already boiling over with excitement. Challenging the strong was what he lived for.
"I'd be glad to keep you company. But if you lose..." Nie Yan stared at Lei Su.
"Then I'll join Asskickers United. But what if you lose?" Lei Su asked, meeting Nie Yan's gaze. He was brimming with fighting spirit. Even though he knew his chances of beating Nie Yan were slim, he still wanted to give it a try.
"I'll do whatever you ask," Nie Yan said. This was his first time facing a Sword Saint as a Shadow Dancer. He was also uncertain of his chances. In the previous timeline, when he encountered Sword Saints, he couldn't even break through their armour; he naturally suffered miserable defeats. But in this life, he was overflowing with confidence. Even if he encountered another Master Class player, he was confident in defeating them, or his two lives of experiences would be a waste.
The players stared at Lei Su in shock. At present, he was a random nobody compared to Nie Yan. Even though some of them recognized his name, that was the extent of their knowledge. They were stunned by his bold challenge, and even more so by Nie Yan gladly accepting it.
"Who is this guy?"
"I don't know."
While the players were quietly discussing with each other, Lei Su and Nie Yan had already entered inside the guild office and made their way toward the arena stage in the courtyard. This place had five arena stages, which were there for guild members to exchange pointers. One was naturally too small for the two of them. So, Nie Yan merged all five into one enormous arena stage.
News of Nie Yan PvPing with someone quickly spread through the guild. More and more members were teleporting to Calore and rushing over to the guild office. In the blink of an eye, the courtyard was packed to the brim with 2,000 players. Those who couldn't squeeze inside could only curse their luck for being late. They had their friends inside show them what was going on. Watching the livestream was better than nothing.
A big brouhaha was taking place in the Calore guild office.
Before long, the news spread outside of Asskickers United. Someone posted a link to the livestream on the forums, immediately causing an uproar. The viewership skyrocketed to the tens of millions and was still rapidly growing. Everyone was talking about the match.
The forums had an unofficial player ranking. Nie Yan was right there at the very top. He had never moved from that spot in the last several months, nor was a single person even close to challenging his position. Many people hoped another dazzling figure would appear to knock him off his throne. However, they were always left sorely disappointed.
Finally, another person had shown up to challenge Nie Yan. No matter the outcome, this match would become a classic. All the players were paying attention to this match.
"That Lei Su guy has pretty amazing equipment. I see at least two pieces of Legendary-grade equipment."
Everyone was waiting for the match to start.
Nie Yan and Lei Su had already finished their preparations.
"Let's begin," Nie Yan said.
"Mhmm." Lei Su nodded.
The highly anticipated match was finally starting!
Nie Yan entered stealth, disappearing from sight.
Lei Su brandished his greatsword. His expression was extremely focused. His opponent was Nirvana Flame. He didn't dare to be careless. He buffed himself with a shield as a faint, golden membrane of light enveloped his body, almost as if he had donned a layer of golden armour.
Lei Su carefully observed his surroundings. However, he couldn't detect even a trace of Nie Yan's presence. He was inwardly shocked. Nie Yan's stealth was frightening! His Awareness was at least 80% higher than that of an equal level, top rank Warrior. However, it was still useless against Nie Yan.
Lei Su suddenly felt a killing intent lock onto him. His pupils shrunk. He's coming!
Lei Su let out a roar. He leaped high into the air, his greatsword igniting with raging flames, then came ruthlessly plunging down on the ground. BOOM! His sword stabbed into the arena stage, sending a powerful and fiery shock wave sweeping out. Web-like cracks rapidly spread through the stage, almost the earth itself was being rent apart.
The might of Lei Su's strike was truly astonishing. From one moment to the next, the spectators changed their opinion; from looking down on this challenger to only feeling admiration.
Everyone shared a collective thought, So fearsome!
"I missed...?" Lei Su scrunched his face in confusion. He had clearly locked onto Nie Yan's position. How did his attack fail to land?
At this moment, a cold light flashed behind Lei Su's head.
"Fast!" Lei Su quickly turned and raised his left arm to block.
KLANG! A metallic sound rang out as Zennarde's Sword clashed against Lei Su's armguards. Nie Yan's attack was blocked.
Blocked!
The Warrior's block effect was triggered, and all damage was negated!
Lei Su brandished his greatsword and ruthlessly cleaved down on Nie Yan.
Nie Yan dodged to the side, evading the attack.
CRASSSHH! The sword beam struck the ground, leaving a three-meter long scar on the stage floor. What frightening destructive power!
Nie Yan's heart shivered. If he had been hit by this attack, with the powerful destructive might of a Sword Saint, he would be badly maimed if not dead.
Lei Su repeatedly blocked Nie Yan's attacks as he wildly slashed out with his sword. Before long, the arena stage was covered in cracks with rubble scattered everywhere. The frightening destructive power left the spectators speechless. At best they saw dazzling sword beams flying out in every direction. The match was too fast and hectic for the normal eye to follow.
"Sword Saints really are powerful," Nei Yan remarked. In terms of destructive power, Shadow Dancers simply couldn't compare. However, their advantage lay in their astonishing speed. No matter how Lei Su swung his sword, in the eyes of Nie Yan, his movements were as slow as a snail.
Nie Yan nimbly evaded Lei Su's attacks, avoiding one sword beam after another. Finding an opening, he dashed forward, and with an elbow strike, he ruthlessly struck Lei Su in the abdomen.
KLANG! Lei Su slid several meters back before regaining his balance.
−6,358
Lei Su's defense was extremely high. So, Nie Yan could only deal this much damage.
Right after landing the elbow strike, Nie Yan entered stealth. He shot forward and instantly closed the distance, lining Zennarde's Sword up with Lei Su's throat.
Nie Yan's movements were too quick. Lei Su had no time to raise his arm to block. He could already feel the searing heat of Zennarde's Sword nearing his neck. Just as the attack was about to land, his pupils shrunk. In this critical moment, he somehow managed to move his body by instinct alone.
Roar of the Berserker!
A powerful force erupted out from Lei Su, sweeping out in all directions. Nie Yan didn't expect Lei Su's reaction speed to be so quick. Seeing the wave of force heading towards him, he immediately activated Gale Step, taking advantage of the brief invincibility to block the attack.
Roar of the Berserker bought Lei Su several seconds. He quickly open up some distance, retreating more than a dozen meters.
Nie Yan once more disappeared into stealth. Lei Su held up his sword as he gazed at his surroundings warily, not daring to let his guard down for even a moment. After discovering Nie Yan hadn't given chase, he finally had some time to catch his breath.
"Sure enough, he really is amazing! I'm glad he lived up to my expectations," Lei Su couldn't help but sigh in praise.
For Nie Yan to remain undefeated up until now wasn't without reason. At this moment, Lei Su became even more serious. Glancing down at his skill bar, he prepared for a fierce battle.
Even though Lei Su knew his chances of winning were slim, he couldn't let others look down on him!