Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

181-200

Chapter 181 - A joke

One had to admit that virtual reality was extremely realistic. There was only a small change to Gentle Snow's expression, yet, Zhao Yueru immediately discovered it.

"Snow, what's wrong?" Zhao Yueru worriedly asked.

It was the first time she had seen such a surprised look on Gentle Snow.

Although it was indeed unexpected that the group of noobs had become the Level 10 players, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise to Gentle Snow.

"It's nothing. I just thought of some matters; that's all," Gentle Snow waved her hand, dismissing Zhao Yueru's concern.

Gentle Snow paid no attention to Cola and the others who entered White River City, nor did she care that they had taken the top six spots on the Ranking List. What she was truly concerned about were Shi Feng and his friend's levels.

If it were really as she imagined, becoming friends with Shi Feng was a very wise decision.

\---

Elsewhere, when Unstable Devastation and Fire Dance's past companions saw the Ranking List, they were all dumbfounded.

This was especially true for Fire Dance's past companions. Not only had Fire Dance reached Level 10, but Water Buffalo had also risen to Level 10. As a result, envy and regret ate at their hearts.

If they had chosen to follow Fire Dance and join Shi Feng's team, they would be their team members right now. They enjoyed the envy and admiration of all players throughout the White River City region, a situation that many dreamt of experiencing...

Unfortunately, they were no longer related to this matter. As they looked at the Ranking List, they tried to contact Fire Dance and Water Buffalo. They all tried to apologize, and they wished that they could mend and recover their past relationships. After all, this was only a game; there was no need to be so serious, and they had only been joking.

Meanwhile, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo had received their calls. However, they merely gave a single reply.

"There is no point crying over spilled milk. I do not wish to stay in touch in the future!"

Did they think that pushing off their actions as a joke would resolve everything? Now, that really was a joke!

Fire Dance's and Water Buffalo's words had unquestionably shattered their final hopes, sending them spiraling into a sea of endless regrets.

As for Unstable Devastation, envy nearly drove him mad. He clearly remembered that his team had killed Cola's group of three once before, their levels dropping to Level 7. When they met in Red Leaf Town's fountain, they were still Level 7.

On the other hand, Unstable Devastation's level had dropped to Level 8 after dying once. During these past several hours, he had frantically grinded monsters and was about to reach Level 9. Yet, Cola's group had all reached Level 10 during this same period. Just what sort of leveling speed was this?

At first, it was Shi Feng who had reached Level 10. Now, even Cola and the others had risen to Level 10. There was definitely something fishy about this. There must be some sort of method that allowed them to reach Level 10 quickly. Shi Feng obviously knew this method. It might even be some gigantic bug in the game. However, Unstable Devastation could do nothing against Shi Feng. He had no way to force this secret out of Shi Feng.

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Unstable Devastation's head.

If he published this matter on the official forums, revealing this bug, the system might punish Shi Feng for exploiting it. On the other hand, if it were not a bug, the other Guilds would definitely not let go of this great chance to rise to Level 10 swiftly. They would force Shi Feng to reveal this leveling method. If Shi Feng kept his lips sealed, he would make enemies out of every Guild in the White River City region. Meanwhile, if he revealed this leveling method and the system fixed it, it would similarly enrage the various Guilds. Regardless what Shi Feng did, he could no longer continue mingling in the White River City region.

However, Unstable Devastation could not allow Shi Feng to take any of these actions yet.

"Ye Feng, no man is wise all the time. I have finally grasped ahold of your weakness," Unstable Devastation grew excited. As long as he used this move to threaten Shi Feng, Shi Feng would obediently hand over the secret.

Immediately after, Unstable Devastation sent Shi Feng a communication request.

The first time, Shi Feng did not pick up...

The second time, Shi Feng did not pick up...

Unstable Devastation made more than ten consecutive calls to Shi Feng; however, Shi Feng did not answer any of them. As a result, Unstable Devastation nearly vomited blood in anger. However, when he thought of his beautiful future, he endured. Finally, after sending over forty communication requests, the call finally connected.

"You're annoying! Can't you learn your lesson after so many rejections? Are you a pig? Must I give you a scolding before you are satisfied? I don't have anything to say to you. Go, play around wherever you want, and don't come bothering me!" Shi Feng immediately started cursing the moment he picked up the call. Originally, he had been conducting business with Aqua Rose, in a good mood. However, one after another, Unstable Devastation's calls endlessly pestered him, interrupting Shi Feng's good mood. At first, Shi Feng thought that Unstable Devastation would give up after a few rejections. However, Shi Feng never thought that there would be no end to the disturbances.

Hence, after telling Aqua Rose that he had some matters he needed to attend to for a moment, he looked for a place without people and gave Unstable Devastation a good scolding, soothing his mood. He then placed Unstable Devastation on his blacklist, preventing Unstable Devastation to further annoying him.

"Ye Feng, you... you dare to cut my call!" After making over forty calls, Unstable Devastation burned with anger. Now that Shi Feng had insulted him, his blood boiled and his face turned crimson. The blood vessels in his face had nearly burst. However, just when he was about to curse at Shi Feng, the call disconnected. This thoroughly enraged Unstable Devastation, and immediately, he called Shi Feng again. However, this time, his calls did not even ring. He was on Shi Feng's blacklist.

Unstable Devastation nearly fainted in anger.

He had wasted so much time trying to call Shi Feng, yet, the only thing he got in return was a scolding. Shi Feng had even blacklisted him. How was he supposed to threaten Shi Feng now? How was he going to force Shi Feng's obedience?

Unstable Devastation immediately directed one of his subordinates to contact Shi Feng.

After attempting to contact Shi Feng a few more times, the call finally connected. Unstable Devastation's subordinate then pressed the multi-party button that allowed others to participate in the conversation.

"Who are you?" Shi Feng asked.

"Ye Feng, you've finally picked up! I have in my hands your speed-leveling secret. If you don't wish to become an enemy of the entire White River City region, obey my wishes. Otherwise, I'll post the evidence on the official forums. I'm thinking that many Guilds would be interested in your teammates' leveling secret, and they will go all out to deal with you." This time, Unstable Devastation spoke his piece quickly, fearing that Shi Feng would hang up on him again.

"I asked: who are you? What's the point of all this nonsense? Are you a pig?" Shi Feng demanded.

"You're the pig! Everyone in your whole family is a pig! I am Unstable Devastation! I know that you have some secret to your team's leveling speed. You need to understand the situation you're in right now. If you dare continue to speak to me with such a tone, I'll release this secret of yours to everyone else. All the players in the entire White River City region will start trouble, and the various large Guilds will hunt you down to learn your secret. When that happens, there will no longer be any place for you in God's Domain!" Unstable Devastation hated being called an idiot. Now that Shi Feng had repeatedly called him a pig, he could no longer endure it.

"So, you really are a pig! Hello, pig! Goodbye, pig!" Shi Feng immediately disconnected the call, blacklisting the new character ID as well. Shi Feng had never been a person to feel threatened by others, and regarding Unstable Devastation's threat, he paid no mind to it at all.

The only reason he did not let Blackie and Lonely Snow reveal themselves was to avoid unnecessary trouble from those various large Guilds, as that would delay their development.

However, if there really were a need for a battle, he would not shrink from it. In fact, they could all bring it on if they wanted. The final winner and loser had yet to be determined.

"Master Black Flame, it looks like you have met with some trouble? As an ally of yours, why don't you let Twilight Echo deal with it for you?" the graceful Aqua Rose suddenly walked over, smiling at Shi Feng as she offered her assistance.

Chapter 182 - clue about the god slayers

As Shi Feng's call had been set to private, outsiders could not listen in on his conversation with Unstable Devastation.

However, although Aqua Rose could not hear what Shi Feng said, she could clearly feel the killing intent radiating off of his body.

To become friends with Shi Feng, deepening their relationship, Aqua Rose would not let this chance pass her by. Thus, she made her offer.

Shi Feng understood Aqua Rose's intentions. He simply smiled at her and said, "Thank you for your concern, Miss Aqua. It isn't anything big, only an annoying fly that I can kill with a slap at any time. We should continue with our business talks."

At Shi Feng's immediate rejection, Aqua Rose could do nothing but relent.

After which, the two returned to their private room in the restaurant.

At this moment, however, another male youth had appeared in the private room.

This person was a knight geared with heavy-armor. Based on his appearance, this man was obviously a Shield Warrior; a bone shield hung at his back, coupled with an exquisite, black-colored battle axe. These two pieces of equipment looked extraordinary, and one could easily tell that they were Secret-Silver rank. Moreover, this man was similar to Aqua Rose, in which they were both Level 9.

"Why are you here, Brilliant?" Aqua Rose asked, surprised at his sudden appearance.

"I only worry that others will try to scam you, so I came to check up on you. Last time, you spent tens of millions of Credits and returned with only a pile of worthless scrap paper. This incident invoked many elders' dissatisfaction."

"This time, you spent another large sum of money and manpower to purchase various ores and materials. Moreover, you didn't even notify the elders about any of your actions; they are furious right now. I'm here to tell you that, at the very least, you need their approvals in the future before you take action."

"Come back with me and offer them an explanation for now. Otherwise, those elders will make your life difficult in the future."

The man named Brilliant Wargod shot Shi Feng a glare. He had always treated Aqua Rose as his own woman. Meanwhile, the black-hooded Shi Feng before him was a small character, beneath his notice. Yet, this small character actually dared to have a tryst with Aqua Rose. Immediately, Brilliant Wargod tugged on Aqua Rose's hand, intending to take her from this place.

Shi Feng merely shrugged at Brilliant Wargod's provocation. He did not mind this man with the IQ of a monkey in the least. He simply took it as watching a monkey show.

Aqua Rose slapped away Brilliant Wargod's hand, her crescent eyebrows wrinkling slightly. She had only managed to secure her relationship with Shi Feng after much difficulty and was just about to enter a proper business discussion. She did not expect Brilliant Wargod to find out about it and actually came running to interrupt her. If it weren't for her and Brilliant Wargod's families having friendly ties, she would not pay him any attention.

"Brilliant, I have important matters to discuss. Return by yourself for now. As for the matter of the Guild elders, I'll give them an explanation when I return," Aqua Rose said impatiently.

For her trades with Shi Feng, she always used her own money and people. The Guild elders had no right to interfere, nor did they have the ability. Not to mention, she was an honorary elder of the Guild, so her station was similar to theirs; they had no right to involve themselves in her matters. They were merely envious that she had earned a lot of money, and they all wanted a share of the pie.

Seeing Aqua Rose's attitude, Brilliant Wargod could only give up his efforts.

"Since you don't wish to go, I'll stay by your side to protect you. It'll destroy others' ideas of taking advantage of you," Brilliant Wargod glanced at Shi Feng, his tone filled with ill intent as he spoke.

Aqua Rose became furious at his words. She and Shi Feng were going to discuss extremely confidential trade secrets; how could she allow Brilliant Wargod to listen in?

"No, you should return," Aqua Rose spoke, her tone frosty.

Hearing Aqua Rose, Brilliant Wargod grew even more indignant. He sent a wrathful glare at Shi Feng, sending a message to Shi Feng secretly.

"I am an elder of Twilight Echo. Brat, you better know your place and scram. Aqua is my plaything, so you are not allowed to contact her again. You should know the consequences if I discover that you've done otherwise."

Brilliant Wargod was usually a tyrant of a man, and nobody dared defy him due to his identity. Whenever he met with a situation, he simply needed to announce his identity, and others would immediately flee with their tails between their legs. Now that he had spoken, Shi Feng would be no exception to this.

After Shi Feng saw this message, he involuntarily laughed. It seemed that this Brilliant Wargod had arrived to cause trouble without understanding the situation; saying that he had the IQ of a monkey gave him too much credit. His actual IQ might not even equal a dog's. With such a wealthy prince in the Guild, it was no wonder Twilight Echo could not develop itself in the early stages of the game. It was actually due to the presence of this fool.

"Miss Aqua, I have something that I'd like you to see," Shi Feng smiled.

Aqua Rose grew very curious. Just what did Shi Feng have to show her this time?

Since Brilliant Wargod dared threaten Shi Feng in such a way, Shi Feng would act in kind. He forwarded Brilliant Wargod's message to Aqua Rose. Shi Feng wanted this fool to know that one should be careful with their words and messages. Otherwise, accidents could occur.

"Brilliant Wargod! Get out of my sight immediately! I don't wish to see you ever again! I will definitely tell uncle and aunty about this matter! Regarding the marriage affairs between our two families, don't even think about it from this moment onwards!" Aqua Rose's complexion was instantly livid the moment she read the message. She already disliked Brilliant Wargod. Now, not to mention publicly trying to drive Shi Feng away, he even dared call her his plaything!

Brilliant Wargod was confused. Before he could even wonder why Aqua Rose wanted to sever their relationship, she had already kicked him from the private room.

"I'm sorry that you had to see such a joke," Aqua Rose apologized.

"It's nothing. I'm used to such matters." Not minding matters at all, Shi Feng said, "Let's continue discussing about our trade, then."

At this moment, Brilliant Wargod started loudly cursing outside the door, saying, "Black Flame, you despicable little man! You actually dare frame me! Get out here right now if you have the ability! I challenge you to a duel! The loser clears their level back to zero! Do you dare accept it?!"

"What? You can frame me, but can't accept my challenge?"

Just as Shi Feng and Aqua Rose were about to resume their business talks, Brilliant Wargod finally came to a realization. It turned out that Shi Feng had forwarded his message to Aqua Rose. He really did not think that such an incident would occur. His past actions, which had never failed him, were actually useless against Shi Feng. However, to redeem himself, he could only insist that Shi Feng had framed him.

"Master Black Flame, I am truly sorry about this. I'll chase him away immediately." This was the first time Aqua Rose had realized that Brilliant Wargod was so obnoxious; his IQ was even in the negatives. With the existence of the Main God System, how could players possibly modify others' messages and IDs?

"No need. I have my own faults in this matter, so let me deal with it," Shi Feng rose from his seat, walking out of the private room.

"Black Flame, you despicable little man, you finally dare to show yourself! If you are a man, accept my challenge! If you lose, you will explain to Aqua Rose that you framed me! Do you dare accept?" Brilliant Wargod jeered.

"What if you lose?" Shi Feng laughed.

"Hahaha! Can I even lose?" Brilliant Wargod was incomparably arrogant. He took out a map, saying disdainfully, "If you really are lucky enough to win, this item will be yours to keep. I only obtained this map after I organized a team of hundreds of elites to kill a wild Level 10 Lord ranked Boss. This was the only item it dropped."

Initially, Shi Feng had little to no interest in the map Brilliant Wargod held. After all, he had a clear understanding of God's Domain. If it were a map obtained in some other country, it held no meaning to him at all. However, the moment Shi Feng spotted the symbol of an Ash Blade on the back of the map, it instantly roused his interest.

The Ash Blade was the mark of the God Slayer. Normally, only items related to the God Slayer bear such mark.

"Master Black Flame, you can't agree to him! He is a Shield Warrior, so he has a massive innate advantage when dealing with physical-type classes! Moreover, the Diamond Guard he wears is a Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. His weapon and shield are also Level 9 Mysterious-Iron ranked items, and he has over 1,400 HP. Moreover, Brilliant Wargod has powerful techniques, himself; even two to three physical-type class experts attacking together wouldn't be his match!" Aqua Rose hurriedly stopped Shi Feng. It was simply a farce for a Swordsman to duel a Shield Warrior. Moreover, Black Flame was only a forger; his battle prowess was sub-par at best.

"What? Afraid?" Brilliant Wargod jeered as he glared at Shi Feng.

"Alright, I'll agree," Shi Feng smiled.

Chapter 183 - special condition

"What did you say?" Brilliant Wargod was stunned.

"Of course, I accept your challenge," Shi Feng smiled.

After Shi Feng's reaffirmation, Brilliant Wargod knew that he did not hear wrong. Originally, he had thought that Shi Feng would immediately reject his challenge after learning how fearsome he was. He had even been in the midst of thinking of a way to provoke or anger Shi Feng into accepting his challenge. However, it would seem that he had simply been wasting his time.

He had actually met a fool with mental issues.

Aqua Rose had explained to Shi Feng how amazing he was, yet this person still happily agreed.

However, this situation was fine as well. It would save him plenty of trouble.

"I didn't think that you would have the guts. Since you've accepted, let's take this outside. Rest assured, I'll give you a quick and painless death, and I won't embarrass you too much! Hahaha!"

Saying so, Brilliant Wargod laughed as he headed towards the restaurant's exit.

"Master Black Flame, you really shouldn't agree to him. Although he usually bullies others with his authority, his strength ranks within the top five amongst all the Shield Warriors in Echo Twilight. Moreover, the Diamond Guard Set Equipment he just obtained is Mysterious-Iron rank, while his Giant Bear Waraxe is Secret-Silver rank. On the other hand, you are a Swordsman. You also focus on your subclass as a forger. Dueling him would only be a farce," Aqua Rose said worriedly as she walked over to Shi Feng.

Aqua Rose had a clear understanding of Brilliant Wargod's strength. If he had the chance, he would humiliate Shi Feng in every way possible to take revenge for the previous incident. If Shi Feng were humiliated, how could she continue her cooperation with Shi Feng?

She had already spent so much effort and purchased so many forging materials. Originally, she could have earned a big sum of money by cooperating with Shi Feng. Now, however, Brilliant Wargod ruined it all. She wished that she could chop Brilliant Wargod into pieces right this instant.

"Miss Aqua, thank you for informing me of this. I already understand the situation," Shi Feng thanked.

"It's good that you understand," Aqua Rose sighed in relief when she heard Shi Feng. Now, everything would be fine as long as she drove Brilliant Wargod away.

Originally, Aqua Rose wanted to say, "Let me deal with this matter, then."

However, Shi Feng interrupted her, saying, "You can rest assured that I will settle this battle very quickly."

Finished speaking, Shi Feng exited the restaurant as well, leaving behind a dazed Aqua Rose.

After wasting her breath for so long, it turned out that Shi Feng did not understand her at all. On the contrary, he even headed to the duel with confidence. Aqua Rose started to suspect that she had misspoken, causing Shi Feng to think that Brilliant Wargod was extremely weak.

In a city, duels could normally be conducted on the streets. However, both parties must agree to the rules and conditions before the duel could occur. Otherwise, it was only an attack, and the guards would personally kill and jail the player initiating the attack.

The moment Shi Feng set foot out of the restaurant, Brilliant Wargod sent the duel challenge. Moreover, the rewards and punishments were already set, and only Shi Feng's agreement was necessary to start the duel officially. As the rules were absolute, once both sides agreed to them, there was no escaping the rewards or punishments. Even if players were unwilling to hand over the items gambled, the system would still automatically transfer the items to the winner; the loser would similarly receive the punishment agreed upon before the duel.

Shi Feng couldn't help but admit that Brilliant Wargod had a truly cruel heart. The condition set for the loser was an immediate drop to Level 0, destroying their leveling efforts over the past several days. The loser would also have a huge level gap with the majority of the current players. It would be extremely difficult for the loser to catch up.

"If there are no problems, click the agree button," Brilliant Wargod smiled coldly.

Shi Feng gave the conditions a general glance. After confirming that there were no problems, he clicked 'Agree.'

"Let's start this meaningless battle, then."

Immediately after Shi Feng clicked agree, gigantic numbers appeared floating in mid-air. It was the 10-second countdown timer for the start of the duel, and players were given this time to prepare for the upcoming battle.

"Hahaha! Little brat, although this duel will be extremely boring, since you've dared slander me in front of Aqua Rose, this young master will make things a little more fun! I'll let you know what the difference in strength truly is and how it feels to painfully struggle!" Brilliant Wargod retrieved his shield and one-handed axe from his back, his face revealing a sinister smile. He looked just like a hungry wolf hunting its prey, and a red glint flashed in his eyes as he glared at Shi Feng.

Only at this moment did Aqua Rose exit the restaurant. Looking at Brilliant Wargod's appearance, her expression immediately sank.

"I'm finished..." Aqua Rose already despaired.

Not mentioning the fact that Shi Feng would definitely lose, Brilliant Wargod's current condition was extremely dangerous. There might even be the possibility that he would drive Shi Feng insane, trapping Shi Feng in fear for a long time.

Brilliant Wargod would very rarely display such an ability. The last time Aqua Rose saw Brilliant Wargod in such a condition, countless corpses littered around his feet; he had massacred a small Guild with several hundreds of players.

She did not think that Brilliant Wargod would fall into this madness today.

Brilliant Wargod was extremely arrogant in his usual battles, and he would laugh madly as he fought. Only when he entered an extremely incited condition would he occasionally reveal such a sinister and cruel appearance. During such times, Brilliant Wargod was a lunatic, filled with unruliness. His battle prowess would also increase by several folds.

In such a state, Brilliant Wargod was a truly bloodthirsty berserker.

If even the normal Brilliant Wargod ranked within the top five Shield Warriors in Twilight Echo, it was uncertain where the current Brilliant Wargod might rank. It was possible that even the number one ranking Shield Warrior in Twilight Echo, Lonely Leaf, might not be a match for him.

Very quickly, the 10-second preparation time ended.

"Little brat, I'll first cripple all four of your limbs! I'll turn you into a crawling worm, then toy with you slowly!" Brilliant Wargod lifted his Bone Shield while his other hand wielded the Giant Bear Waraxe. His face revealed a sinister smile as he charged at Shi Feng. Brilliant Wargod's current appearance did not resemble anything human. Instead, he looked more like a lunatic possessed by a demon.

After entering this crazed state, Brilliant Wargod became extraordinary fast and nimble.

He charged Shi Feng head-on. However, when Shi Feng sent a sword stabbing at him, Shi Feng's sword merely penetrated the afterimage left behind by Brilliant Wargod.

"I'll first cripple your right arm!" Brilliant Wargod suddenly appeared at Shi Feng's right, his Giant Bear Waraxe abruptly descending and slashing at Shi Feng's right arm.

By the side, Aqua Rose's complexion turned terrifyingly pale. After seeing Shi Feng taking action, she immediately knew that Shi Feng was not strong at all, just as she had expected.

However, it was an ordinary situation after all. To become Star-Moon Kingdom's number one forger, Shi Feng must have spent a lot of his effort on forging. Where would he find the time to increase his battle techniques? Even if Shi Feng were an expert in some other virtual reality game, it would not be the same in God's Domain. After entering God's Domain, even the experts of other virtual reality games would only be slightly stronger than others. A lot of time was necessary to sharpen oneself in God's Domain, and one needed to constantly battle monsters to improve. However, Shi Feng clearly did not possess that much time.

Brilliant Wargod would torture Shi Feng here and now. He would fall into mental derangement for a long period. Even if he did not go crazy, he would be in a daze for a long time. How was she supposed to continue their trade with Shi Feng in such a state?

"It seems that I can only wait longer," Aqua Rose said helplessly as she looked at the right arm Brilliant Wargod targeted.

Surprisingly, however, Shi Feng did not scream in pain.

Chapter 184 - absolute suppression

At this moment, Brilliant Wargod's Giant Bear Waraxe left a deep red streak across Shi Feng's arm.

In God's Domain, although players would not receive high damages when their limbs were attacked, they would feel a faint numbing feeling in their limbs. Moreover, the numbing effect lasted for quite some time. During this time, players' reactions would slow down, affecting their battle conditions and slightly reducing their battle prowess.

However, players would rarely attack limbs when they PKed others, as there was no meaning to such an action. Compared to attacking the limbs, the body was a much easier target. After all, it was much easier to defend against an attack aimed at the limbs. Moreover, the limbs were much more nimble than the body, making them harder to hit. Most importantly, however, attacking vital points on the body would cause much more damage.

Normally, only when experts PKed new players, would experts use such an attack method to toy with the new players.

Right now, Brilliant Wargod clearly intended to toy with Shi Feng.

However, although Shi Feng had been hurt, he did not scream in pain as expected. This utterly surprised Aqua Rose.

Shi Feng was, after all, only a forger. In God's Domain, he would be the equivalent of a civilian worker, and his pain tolerance would be very low. Even if he were a battle veteran of God's Domain, his face would at least twitch, and he would suck in a light breath when he received an attack.

No matter how she looked at it, with Shi Feng's subclass as a forger, he should at least make a sound as he was hit.

Was it possible that Shi Feng had turned off his pain perception completely? Normally, experts would maintain their pain perception at 30%, and only the newcomers and noobs would turn it off as they could not endure the pain. However, a majority of the players in God's Domain would maintain it around 20%. No matter how one looked at Shi Feng, he was by no means a newcomer or a noob, so it was impossible that he would turn off his pain perception completely. Yet, his arm sustained the hit just now, but not the slightest hint of pain showed on his face. On the contrary, a smile filled his face right now; this was simply too abnormal.

However, Brilliant Wargod paid no mind to these matters. Although he felt that something was missing, such as the screams of pain, that would not deter his continued attacks on Shi Feng. Axe swing after axe swing landed on Shi Feng's four limbs, and after a full five seconds, Brilliant Wargod nearly roared with excitement from his ceaseless attacking.

Meanwhile, Aqua Rose's shock grew as she stood a distance away and watched the scene before her.

"Black Flame, which location's god are you?!"

However, she was not shocked due to how precise Brilliant Wargod's crazy attacks were. Instead, she was shocked by the HP bar above Shi Feng.

Brilliant Wargod's frantic attacks barely reduced Shi Feng's HP. As of this moment, Shi Feng had only lost 10% of his total HP. On the contrary, after five seconds passed, Shi Feng's HP once again rose to 95%.

The most shocking thing to Aqua Rose was how little damage Brilliant Wargod inflicted on Shi Feng.

Although Brilliant Wargod was a Shield Warrior, and his damage was much less than a Berserker with the same standards, at the end of the day, Brilliant Wargod still wore a set of Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. He also wielded the Secret-Silver rank Giant Bear Waraxe, so his Attack Power was no less than a normal Level 9 Berserker.

Even though Brilliant Wargod did not use any skills, his normal attacks failed to cause over -15 damage with each strike. Wasn't Shi Feng's Defense a little too frightening?

"Why do you still have so much HP?" Brilliant Wargod, who had attacked all this time, suddenly stilled his hands. He had wanted to see Shi Feng's suffering expression, yet, he was immediately shocked to discover that Shi Feng did not lose much HP at all. He then looked at his damage log, discovering a series of damages that was only around -10...

"You have keen reactions, precise attacks, good battle techniques, above average standards, and you're capable of activating Extraordinary Condition. It's as expected of Twilight Echo's fifth ranking Shield Warrior," Shi Feng made a general deduction of Brilliant Wargod's standards. He then said with a smile, "Since you're done attacking, it should be my turn now."

Shi Feng was currently Level 14 while Brilliant Wargod was only Level 9. In God's Domain, if players and monsters had a level gap of 3 Levels, then due to the level suppression, players would have their damage reduced by around 50%. Meanwhile, in a situation where both sides consisted of players, the party with the lower level would have their damage reduced by 65%. If the gap grew to 5 Levels, then there would be an 80% damage reduction; for 10 Levels and above, the damage reduction was 95% and above.

In addition, Shi Feng currently wore the Silvermoon Set Equipment, so his Defense was very high, to begin with. After he had risen to Level 14, his Endurance Attribute increased just beyond 80 points, activating the Hidden Passive Skill for Endurance, Basic Body Strengthening. With this passive skill, all attacks causing less than 50 damage were greatly weakened, his battle recovery rate would slightly increase, and his Stamina recovery would slightly improve as well.

Due to the damage Brilliant Wargod caused him being extremely low, his battle recovery could replenish most of his lost HP in one-shot.

This was the specialty of virtual reality games. Due to the gap in levels and Attributes, the disparity in strength was worlds apart. Brilliant Wargod was obviously unaware of this.

"Stop bluffing. You're merely a blockhead with high Defense. Watch how I'll get rid of you and send you back to Level 0! Regret becoming my enemy!" Brilliant Wargod did not and would not believe that Shi Feng could retaliate. He raised his Giant Bear Waraxe, sending a fierce slash towards Shi Feng's chest.

Brilliant Wargod no longer fooled around. He wanted to get rid of Shi Feng instantly like a fierce gale, so he coupled his attack with a skill.

However, standing at a distance, Aqua Rose did not think that Shi Feng bluffed at all. Since the start of the battle, Shi Feng had waved his sword only once, then stood without moving, allowing Brilliant Wargod to attack him for an entire five seconds continuously.

Five seconds... Even the weakest players could attack or defend many times within this amount of time. Yet, Shi Feng chose to do nothing at all...

The moment Brilliant Wargod's Giant Bear Axe passed through Shi Feng's body, Brilliant Wargod involuntarily revealed a cold smile. His belief that Shi Feng only bluffed was reaffirmed.

"Afterimage!" Brilliant Wargod immediately noticed that sensation of his axe passing through Shi Feng felt odd. At this moment, he realized that the Shi Feng before him was simply an afterimage. He then spun, searching for Shi Feng's position.

At this moment, Shi Feng had already arrived at Brilliant Wargod's back. His movements were silent as if he did not exist at all. Shi Feng's right hand twitched, and the Abyssal Blade lightly pierced through Brilliant Wargod's back. A hole appeared in the hard armor that Brilliant Wargod wore, and the Shield Warrior instantly felt his heart cool to freezing temperatures.

Brilliant Wargod felt an immense pain in his chest. Since when had a young master like himself experienced such a degree of pain? Immediately, he released an agonizing scream as a damage of over -300 appeared above his head. With a single hit, Brilliant Wargod lost over a fifth of his total HP.

"Such speed and Attack Power!" Aqua Rose had distinctly witnessed it from a distance, and her shock-filled eyes involuntarily blinked as a result. She did not think that Shi Feng, as a forger, would actually be so amazing in battle. His Attack Power was simply inhumane. Because of the equipment he possessed, Brilliant Wargod's Defense was frightening. Yet, Shi Feng's normal attack dealt over -300 damage to the Warrior...

Between the two of them, be it Defense or Attack Power, Brilliant Wargod was far from Shi Feng's equal. The disparity in strength was clear for all to behold. The two of them were on completely different levels.

It was simply unbelievable. Even with Brilliant Wargod's standards, there was still an evident gap in strength between him and Shi Feng. This fight had completely renewed Aqua Rose's recognition of God's Domain.

After stabbing Brilliant Wargod once, Shi Feng did not give Brilliant Wargod any chances. He once again waved the Abyssal Blade, sending a Chop at Brilliant Wargod's body. Shi Feng landed a triple damage critical attack, causing over -2,400 damage and instantly killing Brilliant Wargod

Chapter 185 - ruined mountain rage

Shi Feng pulled back his sword, sliding it back into its scabbard.

Immediately after, an agonizing wail resounded throughout the streets.

Brilliant Wargod stared Shi Feng with eyes filled with poisonous hatred. However, there was also a thread of fear hidden within that hatred. After all, Shi Feng had only used a single Swordsman skill, Chop, to kill him instantly. Brilliant Wargod's past confidence and arrogance had, at this moment, shattered.

He quietly watched as his HP frantically decreased, and in the blink of an eye, he only had 1 HP remaining. Brilliant Wargod fell to his knees, his eyes filled with shock and fear.

As this was only a duel, Brilliant Wargod could escape death this time.

However, as Brilliant Wargod regained some of his spirit, he finally understood Shi Feng's comment of this would be a boring battle. At that time, Brilliant Wargod had still thought that it was Shi Feng's arrogance, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth. In reality, however...

"No!"

Brilliant Wargod exclaimed as he noticed his levels swiftly decreasing. In the blink of an eye, he had already fallen to Level 0.

Although duels would not allow players to die, the punishment the losing party received would not be altered in the slightest.

The sinister punishment Brilliant Wargod had previously set for Shi Feng had all come biting back at him. The system also transferred the map he gambled into Shi Feng's inventory.

This time, not only had he dug his own grave, but he also bought his own coffin, suffering twice the loss.

"Miss Aqua, I'm done. Let's continue our talks," Shi Feng looked towards Aqua Rose with a smile as he spoke.

Brilliant Wargod glared at Shi Feng with a malicious expression, his teeth gnashing. Immediately after Shi Feng turned his back on Brilliant Wargod, the Shield Warrior took out a Tier 1 Magic Scroll, using it on Shi Feng.

"Black Flame, die!" the Tier 1 Magic Scroll that Brilliant Wargod used was a flame-type spell called Flame Spear. The scroll contained a relatively strong, single-target, destructive spell. In any case, Brilliant Wargod had already fallen to Level 0. He would not suffer a loss if the guards captured and jailed him. At worst, he would just have to delete his account and start all over again. It would be acceptable if he could kill Shi Feng and appease his hatred.

"Careful...!" Aqua Rose warned.

Shi Feng did not expect Brilliant Wargod to be insane enough to dare attack him in the middle of Blackwing City. However, due to the short distance between them, it was too late by the time Shi Feng realized Brilliant Wargod's actions.

The Flame Spear instantly struck Shi Feng's back, and Brilliant Wargod revealed a sinister smile as his attack landed.

This Flame Spear was Brilliant Wargod's trump card. It was capable of causing up to 2,000 flame damage to a single target. Even if Shi Feng were amazing, he was a single Swordsman. How high could his HP be? It would already be heaven-defying if he had 1,200 HP. With this 2,000 damage, Shi Feng would unquestionably die.

After the raging flames dissipated, Shi Feng's HP madly fell.

"Hahaha! So what if you are amazing? Since you dared provoke this young master, only death awaits you!" Brilliant Wargod laughed loudly as he watched Shi Feng's full HP trickle to zero.

"Brilliant Wargod, you are too despicable!" With this action, Aqua Rose finally saw through to Brilliant Wargod's true self. She did not think that he would be such despicable filth without even the most basic self-respect.

"Despicable? The victor becomes king, whereas the loser becomes a bandit! He can only blame himself for his own lack of skills!" Brilliant Wargod sneered as he spoke.

However, Brilliant Wargod's smile quickly faded the moment he discovered that Shi Feng's HP had stopped decreasing after reaching 20%.

"Why? Why aren't you dead?" Looking at Shi Feng standing there, Brilliant Wargod retreated several steps; his trembling finger pointed at Shi Feng as he panicked.

"This, you don't need to know. However, since you've dared take action here, I'm guessing that you're prepared to receive your punishment," Shi Feng softly said. He chuckled as he clapped at the flames remaining on his body, extinguishing them.

The damage caused by the Flame Spear could indeed kill a Level 14 player with one hit. However, Shi Feng was different. He possessed 20 points of Fire Resistance. He also had the Basic Body Strengthening passive skill activated, which would somewhat increase some of the hidden magic resistance. In addition, Shi Feng currently had a maximum HP of 1,840 points, so a single Flame Spear was not enough to kill him. To put it another way, Tier 1 Magic had no possibility of killing him with a single hit. At most, it would gravely injure him.

"Im... Impossible...!" Brilliant Wargod was completely dumbfounded by this scene. After all, that was the most powerful Tier 1 Magic Scroll he had in his possession.

"It can't be, right?" Aqua Rose was similarly shocked. Fire-type magic possessed the highest destructive force of all elemental magic. Yet, Shi Feng had survived after taking a direct hit from a Tier 1 fire-type spell. Just what kind of Defense did he possess? Aqua Rose even started to suspect that Shi Feng was a Shield Warrior or a Guardian Knight in disguise. However, even Guardian Knights possessing the highest magic resistance could not forcefully survive this move.

While the two suffered their shock, the Black Knights of Blackwing City had arrived.

Compared to other towns and normal cities, Blackwing City's management was far more strict. The penalties it administered were even more unbearable. Hence, in Shi Feng's previous life, no players dared cause a scene while in Blackwing City. Any who did simply sought their own deaths. Not to mention, Brilliant Wargod had actually dared attack Shi Feng, who possessed the status of a Demon Hunter.

Hence, Shi Feng did not immediately take action against Brilliant Wargod. In reality, he simply waited for the punishment Blackwing City would provide to Brilliant Wargod.

"Brilliant Wargod, you have committed an offense against Blackwing City's laws. Moreover, you attacked the Lord Demon Hunter. From now on, you will remain in jail in Blackwing City for 15 days. After your release, all your Attributes would be decreased by 10% for a duration of ten days, and the EXP you gain will decrease by 20%," the Black Knight Captain walked up to Brilliant Wargod, stating his verdict.

Hearing such a penalty, Aqua Rose sucked in a cold breath. This penalty was simply too heavy. Even if they locked Brilliant Wargod up for 15 days, as an elder of Twilight Echo, there were other people available to help him level back up. However, now that he was Level 0, with the 15-day gap and 20% EXP gain reduction, Brilliant Wargod would need to grind ceaselessly for over a month to catch up with the level of the majority of the players, not to mention catching up to the top-ranking players.

"Hahaha! Black Flame, I admit that you are amazing! However, from the moment I took action, I had already decided to delete my account and start all over again! Did you really think I would fear the system punishment?" Although Brilliant Wargod trembled slightly when he heard the penalty he was to receive, giving it another thought, he planned to delete and rebuild his account. What should he be afraid of?

"Is that so? Then, I look forward to you deleting and rebuilding your account," Shi Feng smiled faintly, not bothering to explain.

Seeing Brilliant Wargod's confident smile, Shi Feng could not bear to shatter his fantasies. Brilliant Wargod thought too lightly of God's Domain. If a pig-brained person like Brilliant Wargod could think of such a method to escape punishment, the Main God System would certainly have a solution.

In Shi Feng's previous life, plenty of players had thought of God's Domain as only a virtual reality game; they thought they could do whatever they wanted. There were even some players who had done unscrupulous and condemnable things towards female NPCs. After all, these players all thought they could simply avoid punishment by deleting and rebuilding their accounts from scratch. However, the outcome spoke differently. Unless one no longer wanted to play God's Domain, any and all punishments would be meted out. No matter how many times one deleted their accounts or changed their gaming helmets, the consequences were inescapable.

Although God's Domain was a virtual reality game, it had its own bottom line as well; the rules of God's Domain were the final bottom line. Any and all who dared go past this bottom line would do well to prepare themselves for their punishments, no exceptions.

When Brilliant Wargod saw Shi Feng's smile, he suddenly felt uncertain about his decision. However, when he gave it more thought, it was possible that Shi Feng just tried to frighten him. Immediately, Brilliant Wargod logged out of God's Domain, preparing to delete and rebuild his account.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng no longer cared to pay any attention to this brainless princeling. He then opened his bag, examining the clue to the God Slayer that he had just obtained.

There was no marked location on this map. There were also no written words to give an explanation. If any other players were to obtain this map, they would have no clue of what to do with it. After all, they would not know the location displayed on the map, nor would they know how to look for it. Moreover, the official site did not publish a world map for God's Domain. That explained Brilliant Wargod's ignorant generosity of wagering this map.

Fortunately, Shi Feng was extremely familiar with God's Domain.

In Shi Feng's previous life, the various major Guilds in God's Domain made their own maps of God's Domain, and Shadow was no exception. Ten years after God's Domain started its operation, the world map that Shadow possessed was very thorough. Meanwhile, familiarizing oneself with the world map was one of the basic requirements of a Guild Leader, including Shi Feng.

However, the map currently in Shi Feng's hands displayed very complicated terrain. Only after racking his brain for some time did Shi Feng manage to recall a place with a similar terrain as shown on this map.

It was the forbidden territory for humans, the Ruined Mountain Range.

Chapter 186 - state a price

Just as Shi Feng recognized the location shown on the map...

Four Level 200 Black Guards appeared on Light Street, each wielding a black spear in their hands and walking towards Brilliant Wargod; they intended to take him away.

"Don't even think of catching me."

Brilliant Wargod immediately logged out of the game. However, an unbelievable situation occurred. One could describe this as an out-of-body experience. Like an empty shell, Brilliant Wargod's body suddenly fell to the ground, motionless.

However, the four Black Guards did not care much about this.

Two of the knights grabbed ahold of Brilliant Wargod's body from each side, dragging him away from Light Street. Soon after, the Black Knights also dispersed from the scene.

"Master Black Flame, what is going on here? Didn't Brilliant Wargod log off? Logically, his body should also have disappeared!" Aqua Rose looked at Shi Feng, her shining eyes blinking as she asked. Although Aqua Rose did not know why she would ask Shi Feng, her instincts told her that Shi Feng might know the answer.

If Shi Feng knew that Aqua Rose had asked him about this matter out of instinct, the fearsomeness of a woman's intuition would certainly surprise him.

Hearing Aqua Rose's question, Shi Feng simply smiled and said, "It should be that the system doesn't allow players avoid punishment."

Blackwing City's judgment was, without a doubt, the system's judgment. If Brilliant Wargod had properly received his punishment, he would only have to pay the smallest price. However, if Brilliant Wargod deleted and rebuilt his account, not to mention losing the money and equipment that he originally had, he would also lose all the reputation he had earned in God's Domain. Reputation was not easy to gain. After all, many of the quests that rewarded players with reputation points were Unique Quests.

"So, it is like that."

Aqua Rose understood the truth of the matter. Otherwise, if everyone simply deleted and rebuilt their accounts the moment they did something nefarious, wouldn't that turn God's Domain into a heaping mess? However, along with the passing of time, player levels would become higher, while the chances of such matters occurring would decrease as well. After all, players had dedicated a great amount of time and energy onto cultivating their God's Domain accounts; there would be few people with the courage to start all over again. However, if players encountered a situation like Brilliant Wargod's, a majority of them would choose to delete and rebuild. After all, it would be much faster to start all over again, and it could be a way to take advantage of the system. Naturally, the Main God System would not make such a mistake.

Regarding the calamity that had befallen Brilliant Wargod, Aqua Rose did not display a hint of sympathy. On the contrary, she was very grateful for Shi Feng's significant help. Her and Brilliant Wargod's families had always been friendly with each other, and both families intended to increase and widen their wealth and influence through marriage. On the other hand, Aqua Rose had, from the very beginning, opposed this notion. She intended to create a legacy for herself, increasing her right of speech within her family to oppose this marriage.

God's Domain just so happened to have given her this very good chance. As long as she could further herself in God's Domain, and adding in Brilliant Wargod's actions, she could easily vanquish the notion of marriage between the two families.

After dealing with the matter of Brilliant Wargod, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose returned to the restaurant and resumed their business talks.

Originally, Shi Feng wanted to investigate the God Slayer's whereabouts. However, he set it aside for now. In God's Domain, the Ruined Mountain Range was an absolutely forbidden place for humans. In Shi Feng's previous life, many players did not believe this fact. In the end, all who went there found only death. From then on, nobody dared casually enter the Ruined Mountain Range. With Shi Feng's current strength, not to mention entering the Ruined Mountain Range, even the path leading to the Ruined Mountain Range presented an impossible challenge for Shi Feng. How would he reach the location marked on the map?

The only choice he had right now was to increase his strength. When he had sufficient strength, he could then think of a way to go there.

"Master Black Flame, these are the various forging materials that you've requested. Due to limited bag space, I've only brought the rare and precious materials. This time, Master Black Flame has helped me a great deal, so I'll sell these to you at a lower price. You just need to pay me 43 Gold Coins for them," Aqua Rose displayed the transaction list, smiling as she spoke. The cost of purchasing all these materials came to a total of just over 37 Gold. Originally, Aqua Rose intended to sell all these materials to Shi Feng for 50 Gold. However, since Shi Feng had helped her out, she chose to earn a little less in this transaction.

Initially, Aqua Rose had not possessed enough Gold Coins to purchase all these materials. However, she made a big profit from the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, which she bought from Shi Feng last time. Not only had she earned over a hundred Gold Coins, but she also earned back all the Credits she used to purchase the forging designs. She still had quite a few Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs remaining. If she sold all of them, she could still earn tens of Gold Coins and hundreds of thousands of Credits.

Even for an apex first-rate Guild like Twilight Echo, the entire Guild's currently available fluid funds only amounted to twenty to thirty Gold. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose had over a hundred Gold in her possession, provoking the Guild's elders' jealousy.

After having the first tastes of profit, Aqua Rose greatly anticipated the surprise Shi Feng was about to create.

"43 Gold?" When Shi Feng looked at the transaction list, his heart skipped a beat.

He had not expected Aqua Rose to be so capable. She had actually gathered so many materials. Taking a quick glance at the transaction list, the materials listed were all rare, required for forging Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver ranked items. There were even some extremely rare Fine-Gold ranked materials. At this stage of the game, it was absolutely impossible for players to find any of these materials in Star-Moon Kingdom. Aqua Rose had also bought a large quantity of Hard Stones, as Shi Feng had specially requested a lot of them. Now, Aqua Rose had close to a thousand stacks of Hard Stones for Shi Feng, completely filling up her ore bags. Shi Feng could not help but admit that the Ore Country was aptly named.

Ore bags were different from normal bags. They were specifically made for storing forging materials. Hence, these bags had extremely large storage spaces, and each one was several times, some even several tens of times, larger than a normal bag. In Aqua Rose's case, aside from her main bag having 100 slots, her remaining six bags were all ore bags. Every one of her ore bags had 350 slots for items, and all six ore bags were currently filled to the brim.

The country Aqua Rose came from did not lack ores. Hence, Aqua Rose only sold each stack of Hard Stones to Shi Feng at a price of 80 Copper Coins. Aqua Rose had probably purchased all of these Hard Stones at an even lower price. Compared to these sold in Star-Moon Kingdom, the price of these Hard Stones was simply too cheap. Right now, each stack of Hard Stones sold for 3 Silver Coins. Just by selling these Hard Stones to other players, Shi Feng could make a profit of several times his cost. Moreover, those players would fight over these Hard Stones.

However, even Shi Feng could not afford 43 gold in a single transaction.

Fortunately, Shi Feng came prepared. He removed a pile of Level 8 and Level 9 Bronze Equipment and quite a lot of Mysterious-Iron Equipment from his bag. He had personally forged a majority of the equipment, while he had obtained the remainder from the Moonlight Forest. However, the most eye-catching equipment among was the Level 10 Secret-Silver ranked one-handed swords, the Silver Dawns, that Shi Feng had crafted.

Secret-Silver Weapons, even to a first-rate Guild, they were extremely rare. Normally, only the core upper-echelons of the Guild would possess two to three Secret-Silver ranked items, while the elites of the Guild could not even dream of possessing one.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had filled the private room with equipment, dazzling the sight of all beholders. Making a general count, Shi Feng had over 500 pieces of equipment. Aqua Rose was instantly dumbfounded by this sight. Only after tens of seconds had passed did she gradually recover her spirit, and shock filled her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng.

One could easily outfit a large elite team with this much equipment. Moreover, Shi Feng had forged the majority. Aqua Rose was greatly confused at how Shi Feng could forge so much equipment all by himself. After all, she had personally witnessed forgers create equipment before. The process could be summed up in one word – slow. These were all Bronze and Mysterious-Iron ranked Equipment. If one were not careful while forging them, the result would easily fail. So, the process of forging equipment of such quality was definitely much slower than that of Common Equipment. Since the last time Aqua Rose met with Shi Feng, only a little more than three days had passed. Even if Shi Feng continuously forged equipment without sleep or food during this period, it should still be impossible for him to forge this much equipment.

"Miss Aqua, I already brought the equipment. State a price," Shi Feng smiled.

Aqua Rose immediately felt as if she had been cheated. Originally, she intended to make a big profit off of Shi Feng. However, with 500 plus pieces of high-level equipment placed before her, even if she sold herself to Shi Feng, it still might not be enough...

Chapter 187 - frightening forger

The private room of the restaurant was very large. However, it was insufficient to contain all of the weapons and equipment that Shi Feng had taken out. The entire room was cramped with items right now. After counting for a long while, Aqua Rose finally had a firm grasp on the number of weapons and equipment that Shi Feng had brought.

Among them, there were over 200 Level 8 and above Bronze Weapons, over 300 pieces of Level 8 and above Bronze Equipment, 70 Level 9 and above Mysterious-Iron Weapons, 80 pieces of Level 9 and above Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and 20 Level 10 Silver Dawns.

There was close to a total of 700 weapons and pieces of equipment. With this much equipment, Aqua Rose would have no problems gearing up even a 100-man team.

The Attributes of the Silver Dawns were especially frightening. Compared to the Giant Bear Waraxe that Brilliant Wargod had, the Silver Dawn's Attributes were much stronger.

Twilight Echo had sacrificed many of their elite members to obtain Brilliant Wargod's Level 9 Giant Bear Waraxe. After all, it was only a normal occurrence to lose over twenty elite players when dealing with a Chieftain ranked field Boss.

Chieftain ranked field Bosses were extremely rare in God's Domain and meeting one all depended on luck. Moreover, after meeting one, sacrifices were necessary to bring it down. This was the exchange of the lives of the Guild's elites for equipment, and it was a huge loss to the Guild.

Yet, Shi Feng casually displayed twenty Secret-Silver Weapons.

Aqua Rose no longer knew how to describe Shi Feng. Despite having an immeasurably high strength, his standards as a forger were also at their apex, as Aqua Rose had yet to hear news of any player forging a Secret-Silver ranked item. Shi Feng's existence simply caused others despair.

At the same time, Aqua Rose had finally come to an understanding of just how frightening a forger could be.

If any Guild could have a forger like Shi Feng, that Guild would not have to worry about trying to obtain equipment. As long as they had the forging designs, they could have whatever equipment they wanted, and at any time they wanted it. There would be no need for them to waste tremendous effort to kill Bosses. Moreover, killing an extremely powerful Boss would only yield several pieces of equipment. On the other hand, as long as a forger had the materials, they could create as many pieces of equipment as they wanted; it was much faster and more convenient.

"Miss Aqua, you look a little pale. Are you alright?" Shi Feng looked at the dazed Aqua Rose, asking with concern.

"Me?" As Aqua Rose regained her senses, she involuntarily wiped the sweat from her forehead, "I'm fine. Why would I have any problems?"

"Is it possible that Miss Aqua can't afford this many weapons and equipment? If this is so, just pick as many as you can," Shi Feng could sympathize with Aqua Rose's situation. After all, even a first-rate Guild could not buy up all this equipment in one go, not to mention Aqua Rose by herself.

"Master Black Flame, I want all of these items. However, can we carry out the transaction with Credits? Otherwise, if I give Master Black Flame all of my Gold Coins, I would starve," Aqua Rose smiled bitterly.

There were so many good items before her eyes, and it would be a sin not to gobble all of them up right now.

What did the various large Guilds lack the most? The answer was obvious: high-level weapons and equipment. Level 8 and above weapons and equipment just so happened to be what Guilds lacked the most.

Just a single piece of Level 8 Bronze Equipment was worth well over 20 Silvers on the market right now. Level 8 Bronze Weapons even sold for 30 Silvers or more, while Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Equipment was worth 50 Silvers or more, and Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Weapons sold for 80 Silvers or more. As for the Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapons, the Silver Dawns, they were priceless treasures, and not a single person out there would willingly sell one.

If a price were truly to be set, with the Silver Dawn's Attributes, at the very least, it would sell for 2 Gold Coins or more. Twenty Silver Dawns would then equate 40 Gold Coins. That was nearly half of all the game currency Aqua Rose owned. Moreover, this was the lowest price for the Silver Dawn.

"That's fine as well. I'll just take these forging materials, in addition to 50 Gold, to cover for a portion of the bill. You can pay the remainder using Credits," Shi Feng spoke after giving it some thought.

"This..." Aqua Rose hesitated for a long time. In the end, however, she gnashed her teeth as she agreed, saying, "Alright; I understand."

Hearing Shi Feng's words, Aqua Rose really wished that she could recruit Shi Feng. In just a few moments, Shi Feng had taken away a greater half of the Gold Coins she had earned after much effort. Aqua Rose felt extreme frustration in her heart.

However, Aqua Rose suddenly discovered that she truly did not possess anything that could attract Shi Feng to her side. Regarding weapons and equipment, as a forger, Shi Feng did not lack any of these, to begin with. His money-earning capabilities were obvious. As for status, although he was simply a nobody right now, the moment the name of the Black Flame Forger spread, his status would become undeniably grand, earning the respect of others.

The only thing remaining was a girlfriend. If Shi Feng did not have one right now, there were plenty of great beauties in Aqua Rose's elite team. Every one of them possessed beauty that could easily move one's heart, and their bodies were all curved in the right places. Plenty of men often tried to court these women. Aqua Rose would be rich if she could get one of her team's beauties to hook up Shi Feng.

However, it would be unquestionably foolish if she asked Shi Feng this question right now. She could only wait until their relationship grew before digging for some hints.

If Shi Feng knew the thoughts Aqua Rose had in her head right now, she would probably frighten him away. After all, who would have thought that the elegant and cheerful Aqua Rose could be so cunning?

Very quickly, the two of them completed their transaction.

Aside from obtaining the 43 Gold's worth of materials from selling the equipment, Shi Feng also obtained an additional 50 Gold Coins and over 2 million Credits.

Just by striving for three short days, Shi Feng had instantly multiplied the ten plus Gold he had initially spent by more than ten folds. Shi Feng had made a huge profit from this trade. This time, regarding Gold Coins, Shi Feng had once again become the richest person in White River City.

Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was also greatly pleased. With this many weapons and equipment, she could greatly strengthen her own legion and very quickly turn it into the number one legion in Twilight Echo. At that time, her right to speak would also grow, while those elders would no longer dare speak nonsense in front of her.

"Master Black Flame, let's schedule next trade for four days from now? It just so happens to coincide with the day the Blackwing Auction will be held. What do you think?" Without realizing it, Aqua Rose treated Shi Feng as a good friend now.

"Alright. I can also save the number of uses left on the pass," Shi Feng nodded in agreement. He had earned simply too much this time. He also needed quite some time to forge new weapons and equipment. Now that Aqua Rose had yet to obtain additional Blackwing City passes, it was also beneficial to have a time extension.

Soon after, the two parted ways. Shi Feng then went to purchase more Frost Grenades. This time, he bought a full stack of 200 Intermediate Frost Grenades for 18 Gold. He also bought five stacks of 1,000 Basic Frost Grenades for 13 Gold, 50 Silver. In just a short moment, he had spent 31 Gold, 50 Silver. However, Shi Feng did not feel any heartache over it as the money he obtained from Aqua Rose just now was simply the tip of the iceberg.

The true iceberg was still within his grasp with the incomparably popular Hard Stone. To Aqua Rose, Whetstones were neither rare nor special. After all, being from the Ore Country, such items were available in abundance. The number of forgers there was as plentiful as the hairs on an ox, so they were not particularly desperate for such items. However, it was a different story for the Star-Moon Kingdom with the various Guilds in the White River City region who were desperately trying to level up.

These Guilds were in desperate need of Hard Stones. Yet, it was just too difficult to obtain any. They might even go bald from over-worrying right now.

As for after these Guilds entered White River City, Shi Feng did not need to worry that these Guilds would suddenly halt their need for Whetstones.

Even after everyone entered White River City, the issue of durability would still plague them. It might even become a much more serious issue. Hence, Shi Feng did not worry in the slightest that he could not sell his Hard Stones. He merely had to decide at what price he would sell them for.

Just as Shi Feng was about to return to White River City, Blackie suddenly sent news.

"Brother Feng, this is not good! Right now, all of the Guilds within the White River City region are looking for you. They say that if you do not give an explanation on the official forums, all the Guilds within the White River City region will add us to the wanted list!"

Chapter 188 - you're digging your own grave

After reading Blackie's message, Shi Feng was confused.

Why would the Guilds within the White River City region suddenly look for trouble with them for no reason? Moreover, they even wanted an explanation.

What did they want him to explain?

However, Shi Feng did not pay further attention to this matter. It would be better for him to get the details after he returned to White River City. Hence, he took out the Seven Luminaries Crystal, teleporting to White River City.

\---

Level 10 monster area, White Sand Ruins.

A 40-man elite team was currently clearing Level 10 Desert Twin-headed Snakes. Every member of the team took action in an organized fashion, and very quickly, the team dispatched all of the tens of Desert Twin-headed Snakes, turning them into an abundance of EXP.

This elite team belonged to the Guild, Martial Union, chased out of Red Leaf Town by Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the leader of this team none other than Unstable Devastation.

"Boss Unstable, the deed is done. I've already told them the conditions, pros, and cons. At that time, we'll share the secret Shi Feng used to reach Level 10 quickly. Currently, there are a total of eight unrated Guilds that have agreed to enter our little alliance," an Assassin came running, reporting.

"Good; you've done well!" Unstable Devastation laughed with a smirk on his face. He then said confidently, "Ye Feng, you are the one courting death! You actually dared ignore my words! Now, the entire White River City region has discovered the leveling secret you used to reach Level 10! I've also established my own alliance. Whether you reveal that leveling secret or not, you will be finished!"

When Shi Feng had utterly rejected him, Unstable Devastation had been sent into a daze for a long time. He did not think that Shi Feng would act so decisively.

However, since Unstable Devastation could not control Shi Feng through threats, he could only use a more strenuous method to deal with Shi Feng, publicizing the matter about this secret to all of the other Guilds. Now that the competition between the various large Guilds was so intense, every one of these Guilds worked towards swiftly raising their members' levels to Level 10. Meanwhile, Shi Feng possessed a leveling secret that could allow these Guilds to achieve such a feat, so these various large Guilds would naturally want it.

After all, while the other Guilds still worried over the matter of reaching Level 10, Shi Feng's entire team was already Level 10 and currently developed themselves further in White River City. Their situations were worlds apart. Currently, Shi Feng's team occupied all of the resources available in White River City. With that access, they could increase the gap even further. By the time the majority of the players in the White River City region entered White River City, Shi Feng's team may already occupy all the high-level resource areas available in the city. How were other players supposed to mingle in White River City then?

That was to say, if any Guild could obtain Shi Feng's leveling secret, they would become a tyrant in White River City in the future.

With such a temptation in sight, who could resist?

Not to mention, Shi Feng was merely an independent player. He did not have the protection of any major power. God's Domain was still not kind enough to allow a weakling exclusive monopoly on treasures. With treasures up for grabs, how could any of these Guilds let go of this chance? They would do whatever they could to snatch it.

As for obtaining the leveling secret through fair trade, it was an impossible notion. After all, the initial criterion for a fair trade was that both parties had to be of equal power. How could a single independent player possibly equal a large Guild?

If Shi Feng did not obediently hand the leveling secret over, there would only be a single ending for him – Death!

However, even if he handed it over, death would still be the only thing awaiting him. This was the sorrow of weaklings.

At this moment, even Unstable Devastation pitied Shi Feng. However, who told this fool to refuse his 'kind' suggestion?

\---

White River City, Trade Area, Bank.

The moment Shi Feng returned to White River City, he immediately emptied all of the forging materials he had on him into the bank. Seeing over ten thousand slots of his warehouse full to the brim, Shi Feng could not help but grow emotional. After all, in his previous life, he did not possess such a rich and spectacular warehouse. He wondered just how much money he could make if he sold all of these items. At the very least, it should be enough to serve as his Guild's reserve funds.

In actuality, Shi Feng's current fame could allow him to establish a Guild easily. However, Shi Feng chose to do it surely, but steadily. He should first deal with the welfare of the Guild. After finishing that, the Guild he established would shock the world, and no power out there would be able to touch them. Even if those third-rate and second-rate Guilds wished to suppress his Guild, they could not stop his Guild's swift development. After all, his Guild would already possess a sturdy foundation and huge funding at that time; a small skirmish would not easily destroy it.

After he finished tidying up his warehouse, Shi Feng opened his system message log, taking a look at what was actually going on.

Previously, to prevent Unstable Devastation from disturbing his trade, Shi Feng had set his system communication and messages to prevent strangers from disturbing him. However, he did not think that so much would occur during the time he did so.

Compared to when he entered White River City, the messages he now received exceeded 10,000. Independent players had sent a majority of them, while various Guilds had sent the minority.

After reading a few of these messages, Shi Feng managed to grasp the general gist of what these players wanted.

A majority of these players wanted to privately purchase his strategy of quickly reaching to Level 10, while a minority of them directly demanded that Shi Feng hand the strategy over. Naturally, this minority consisted of Guild representatives. Every one of the words in their messages contained force. Although they did not use threatening words, their intent was unmistakable. They told Shi Feng to do whatever he saw fit, but he would have to take responsibility for the consequences.

Meanwhile, the demand for an explanation posted on the forums was also the doing of these Guilds. They were clearly trying to force him into a corner.

Fortunately, however, the Guilds that had directly suggested that Shi Feng hand over the leveling strategy were all unrated, without a single rated Guild among them.

"Unstable Devastation," Shi Feng's brows wrinkled, a chilling battle intent shone in his eyes.

This was a scheme concocted by Unstable Devastation in order to push him down to a hell beyond salvation.

From the experiences in his past life, Shi Feng clearly understood a single matter.

A hungry ghost could never devour enough[1].

"Hmm? Even Shadow is trying to have a part in this?" Shi Feng found a new post on the forums. It was a declaration of alliance made by Unstable Devastation and several other Guilds. They requested Shi Feng to hand over his leveling strategy to satisfy everyone. Otherwise, they would impose a sanction on him. Meanwhile, Shadow was among the several Guilds that had joined this alliance.

Immediately, plenty of people showed their support for Unstable Devastation. They all wanted Shi Feng to hand over his leveling strategy, benefiting everyone.

Shi Feng simply smiled.

Did they really take him for someone who could be easily bullied, someone they could mold in the palm of their hands? If Gentle Snow possessed this leveling secret, these Guilds and players would have long since shut their mouths. Rather, they would cheer and sing her praises.

Immediately after, Shi Feng created a post on the forums.

Selling the leveling strategy to reach Level 10 quickly for 10 billion Credits! All insincere buyers will be ignored!

Shi Feng then set aside the official forums, looking at the time. It was nearing dawn in the real world, so Shi Feng promptly logged off to rest.

However, Shi Feng's post had instantly become popular. Almost everybody paid attention to it when they saw Shi Feng's asking price of 10 billion. Those who had previously wanted Shi Feng to publicly disclose the strategy for free now cursed even more fervently.

Ten billion Credits? Why don't you die instead!

Unstable Devastation and other unknown Guilds had all involuntarily cursed the moment they saw Ye Feng's post. This Ye Feng had simply gone insane for money. Which fool out there would spend 10 billion Credits to buy a garbage strategy?

However, anyone smart enough could easily discern Shi Feng's true intentions.

Naturally, these Guilds also understood what Shi Feng tried to say. This was Shi Feng's way of indirectly sending them a message, saying, "Want this secret for free?"

"Dream on!"

Without a doubt, Shi Feng declared war with these Guilds.

"Ye Feng, you are digging your own grave!" Unstable Devastation spoke in rage, though his tone carried with it a hint of gloating.

He was furious due to Shi Feng ridiculing him for being poor, while he was happy as there were over 30 Guilds who would deal with Shi Feng. Even if Shi Feng were amazing, he would still be finished the moment these Guilds entered White River City.

Unless, of course, Shi Feng could repeat the scene from last time, banishing all of these Guilds from White River City.

However, was that possible?

* * *

TL Notes:

[1]A hungry ghost could never devour enough: signifying that greed is endless.!

Chapter 189 - Berserked Marked

Shortly after Shi Feng logged off...

The post Shi Feng had left on the forums became instantly popular.

One view became ten; ten became a hundred. Players had strong gossiping hearts, so they would not miss out on this good show.

Within a short twenty minutes, almost all players within the White River City region had discovered this matter.

The Guilds that had demanded the leveling strategy from Shi Feng were all enraged.

"Crap! Find all of the information about that little bastard for me! Not only am I going to kill him back to Level 0, but I'm also going to kill all his friends back to Level 0! Since he dares humiliate Ghost Wheel, he can forget thinking of mingling in God's Domain any longer!" Sleeping Bones, the Guild Leader of Ghost Wheel, was furious after listening to his subordinate's report. Although Ghost Wheel was an unrated Guild, they were still a large Guild with over five thousand members. Yet, a lone, independent player looked down on them. How were they supposed to show their faces in public in the future if they took this lying down?

"Leader, I've already investigated him," an Elementalist said.

"Speak! Since he dares look down on Ghost Wheel, I can't retain the name 'Sleeping Bones' if I don't kill all of his friends back to Level 0!" Sleeping Bones bellowed.

"That Ye Feng is an independent player, and I've confirmed that he has eight team members. Aside from them, Ye Feng also has a good relationship with Stabbing Heart, the Vice-Leader of the Assassin's Alliance. Rumor also has it that he has a very close relationship with the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, as well" that Elementalist answered.

"......" Sleeping Bones suddenly fell silent.

Was this a joke? If they dared to actually kill Stabbing Heart of Assassin's Alliance and Gentle Snow of Ouroboros, then the day they entered White River City would be the day Ghost Wheel disbanded.

"Forget it! I, Sleeping Bones, am a magnanimous person! We'll just stick to killing Ye Feng and his teammates, lest we want other people to start gossiping about us!"

"Roger! Guild Leader is the wisest!"

At the same time, the other Guilds that did not have a clear understanding of Shi Feng began their investigations about him. They were prepared to properly deal with him the moment they entered White River City.

\---

Meanwhile, on the forums, players were currently discussing this incident. They all felt that White River City's battle of the century was about to begin.

"This fellow brother Ye Feng simply too awesome! Isn't he trying to oppose those various Guilds?"

"He is just overestimating himself. Who does he think he is? When these Guilds enter White River City, it will take no effort for them to destroy him."

"What do you know? Ye Feng is a god-ranked expert! Previously, he turned Martial Union upside down, while Martial Union could do nothing against him. They were even chased out of Red Leaf Town. Now, Ye Feng is even facing off against so many strong powers. He is truly my generation's role model!"

"What's so amazing about that? I could do it as well! Don't forget, that incident happened in a town. The various large Guilds' strength scattered; how many members could they possibly have in a single town? It was only natural that they were defeated!"

There were many players browsing the forums. However, a majority of them did not feel optimistic about Shi Feng's chances. They were especially confused about Shi Feng's actions.

Just how stupid could Shi Feng be, to actually dare taunt the Guilds? Was he not afraid of these Guilds taking revenge and killing him back to Level 0?

Along with the growing intensity of the discussions, the so-called god-ranked expert had also become a courageous fool.

Many started ridiculing Shi Feng.

Just when the forums reached their zenith, Shi Feng's White River City Guidebook post revealed itself the moment the preset time arrived. The post's appearance caused a massive ripple effect.

The White River City Guidebook was undeniably what various large Guilds needed the most right now. A few Level 9 independent players also urgently needed it. If these players had the White River City Guidebook, they would not have to spend a large amount of time exploring the city. They only needed to refer to the guidebook to learn what they needed to know.

Compared to the heavenly price of ten billion for a single leveling strategy, using 20,000 Credits to purchase a luxury version of the White River City Guidebook was unquestionably a lot cheaper; it was practically the price of cabbage. Also, the cheaper, simplified version only sold for 300 Credits. These various Guilds and players could easily accept that price.

However, afraid of Shi Feng's trickery, a large majority of the Guilds chose to purchase the simplified guidebook, taking a look at it before making further decisions.

After all, they could afford a loss of 300 Credits.

As for the players that wished to develop themselves in God's Domain, they all grew extremely curious about White River City, a fascinating city. They wished to experience it in advance, so many players had gnashed their teeth as they bought the simplified guidebook.

Within half an hour, the simplified version of the White River City Guidebook was like a best-selling novel. Sales of the guidebook continuously increased, and before anyone knew it, over 5,000 copies had already sold.

In other words, Shi Feng had earned 1.5 million Credits within this short time. Many players had discovered business opportunities from this.

Players who originally worried about whether or not they could make money in God's Domain relaxed at this sight. After all, Shi Feng was their best example. As long as they could grasp ahold of the opportunity, becoming rich in a single night was not just a dream; it was just like how Shi Feng became the first person to enter White River City.

Immediately, plenty of players outside of the White River City region grew excited. If they too could be the first to enter their own respective cities and write a city guidebook, couldn't they also become rich?

This thought inspired desperation in all of the players in God's Domain. As if possessed by the devil, they all started rushing to level up. They all wished to become the first person to enter their respective cities, making a huge profit and becoming rich overnight.

\---

Meanwhile, in the trade market of the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, the popularity of Whetstones had instantly soared. As long as a forger had at least a 30% success rate of crafting Whetstones, the various large guilds would instantly target them. The Guilds used all sorts of methods to recruit these forgers, continuously raising the standard of treatment. As a result, these forgers earned salaries comparable to the white-collar workers in the big cities.

Such a result inspired other players to become forgers. However, forging materials were utterly necessary if one wanted to hone their forging skill. Like adding fuel to a fire, this new situation instantly ignited a blazing inferno that raged through all of the Star Moon Kingdom.

The prices of forging materials soared, again and again, madly increasing the price of Hard Stones as well.

By the time Shi Feng entered God's Domain that night, a stack of 20 Hard Stones already sold for a sky-high price of 8 Silver Coins. However, the supply could not keep up with the demand. Furthermore, even the most common Bronze Ore sold for 15 Silver Coins per stack, with 200 per stack.

"Hahaha! Luck can't be stopped once it comes! I would never have thought that the White River City Guidebook would so fiercely drive the materials market!" Shi Feng rejoiced the moment he logged in.

During the day, aside from training his body, Shi Feng had gone to the city center to look for suitable locations to start up his Workshop. His requirements were very simple; he wanted a good environment surrounding the office building.

After surveying over ten locations, Shi Feng finally found a relatively pleasing office building. It was located in the city center. Moreover, it was an entire floor being sold. The office floor had a wide space of 5,000 square-meters, so it was extremely spacious. There would be no problems turning it into an office for several hundred people. Moreover, the surrounding environment and traffic were convenient. However, the most important factor was that the office was relatively close to Big Dipper, the best gym in Jin Hai City.

The owner of the office floor only sold it to make up for issues surfacing with his business. Otherwise, he would not bear parting with such an amazing location.

However, that person had set a price of 60 million Credits for the place, with each square meter priced at 12,000 Credits. Although such a price was not considered expensive in the city center, it was not cheap either. Shi Feng only had somewhere over 20 million Credits stored in his bank right now. He still needed that money for the Fellowship Party hosted by his school. In the end, Shi Feng could only ask the owner for fifteen days to think it over.

Shi Feng never imagined that he would be given a fright the moment he returned to God's Domain. When he saw the sales of the White River City Guidebook, he even thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Chapter 190 - taking precautions

Shi Feng had already received attention since the problem of the leveling strategy cropped up.

Now that he had priced the leveling strategy at a shockingly high price of ten billion Credits, he was once more pushed into the spotlight. Hence, it was only natural for the White River City Guidebook to receive everyone's attention the moment it appeared.

These sales had far exceeded Shi Feng's expectations.

Shi Feng quietly called up the half-transparent display screen. When he examined the sales records displayed on the official forums, Shi Feng involuntarily revealed a knowing smile.

The simplified version of the White River City Guidebook sold 25,364 copies.

The luxury version of the White River City Guidebook sold 367 copies.

In only half a day's time, the sales had already reached such numbers. Even a best-selling book could achieve such a feat.

The simplified version, which was the cheapest version of the guidebook, already cost 300 Credits. This was much more expensive than any ordinary book. However, over 25,000 copies still sold. Moreover, 367 copies of the 20,000 Credit version of the guidebook also sold. It was obvious just how great the business opportunities were in God's Domain.

Just the Credits Shi Feng earned within a day exceeded ten million. It was practically faster than robbing a bank.

Of course, the main contributor to such success was Shi Feng becoming too eye-catching and famous, even if most of it was infamy. Moreover, along with the passing of time, the sales of the White River City Guidebook would still increase. Although Shi Feng won't be earning as much as he was now, his daily earnings would still be considerable.

Originally, Shi Feng estimated his earnings from the guidebooks would be around several million Credits. Moreover, he reached this conclusion after taking into consideration that every Guild within the White River City region would purchase a copy of the luxury version. However, the conversation records on the forums made it clear that it wasn't just players within the White River City region paying attention to the guidebook. Players and Guilds from other cities also purchased the guidebooks, which, in turn, led to such a high selling rate.

Although it was a strange situation, Shi Feng could guess the intentions of the players and Guilds of other cities.

The difference between cities was not particularly large. Mostly, only the quests available, leveling spots, and amount of NPCs were different. However, the main rules in a city and the ways to develop a Guild in a city were the same. As long as they bought the White River City Guidebook, they would understand the basic rules of their respective cities. They could also quickly adapt to the playstyle in the cities. So, naturally, they would purchase a copy of the guidebook to get a general understanding of their respective cities.

Now that Shi Feng had gained over ten million Credits for no good reason, confidence regarding his future filled his heart. He might even be able to suppress Shadow at the Fellowship Party in a few days, becoming the center of attention during the party. However, before he could become the focal point, he needed to make plenty of preparations. After all, his background was simply too weak compared to Shadow's right now.

_Hard Stones will soar in price from now on. It should reach its peak by the time the first corporation enter White River City. That time would be the best opportunity for me to sell my stock and make a killing._ Shi Feng closed the official forums as he thought. Right now, aside from Credits, he needed a lot of Gold Coins to increase his Workshop's background. However, he could not just hold on to a ton of Gold Coins. After all, the true way of earning money in a virtual reality game was by spending money in the first place.

He currently had far too few Coins to carry out such a feat. Hence, he needed to earn many more Gold Coins.

Right now, becoming enemies with that many unrated Guilds had placed quite a pressure on Shi Feng. Although these Guilds were not much of a threat to him as a lone player, he still wanted to establish his own Guild in the future. Such a situation would be detrimental to his Guild.

As the saying went, the barefooted did not fear those with shoes[1]. Establishing your own Guild was the equivalent of putting on shoes. Having a Guild was the equivalent of having a house, supplying your enemies with an easy target; they could deal with you with greater ease. Hence, in Shi Feng's previous life, plenty of small Guilds were forced to disperse due to being targeted by a large Guild. On the other hand, the fixed teams formed by independent players got by rather peacefully, and it went without saying that lone players could do so as well.

However, there was a limit to the strength of a single individual in God's Domain. It was the same in the case of a large team. If Shi Feng wanted to establish his own virtual empire, he, even more, was in need of the strength of a Guild. Hence, establishing a Guild was his only available option.

To reduce the pressure on himself, Shi Feng needed to increase the pressure on these unrated Guilds. That way, they couldn't spare any time to deal with him. Although there was still a long time until these Guilds would search him out, it was wise to take precautions.

Immediately, Shi Feng contacted Stabbing Heart.

"Brother Ye Feng, I am truly grateful for your help the last time! Because of your guidebook, the elite teams of our Guild could prepare far more than other Guilds. After we enter White River City, I believe it won't be long before our Assassin's Alliance reigns supreme over the other Guilds in White River City!" Stabbing Heart excitedly said, "However, after not meeting for some time, I never imagined that Brother Ye Feng would grow even more famous! I am truly envious! If I become as famous as Brother Ye Feng, I might even be promoted to an elder position during the next Guild meeting!"

"I'd rather be more ordinary," Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he shook his head.

The nail that stuck out would be hammered down. Although Shi Feng had long since been prepared for this in his heart, he did not think that the actual situation would be so intense.

"Brother Ye Feng, since you are looking for me, do you need help for something?" Stabbing Heart asked. Normally, Shi Feng would not take the initiative to contact him unless there was something going on.

"Of course. Moreover, it is good news for you," Shi Feng laughed.

"Good news?" Stabbing Heart grew slightly excited. He had received plenty of praises from the Guild Leader due to the help he received from Shi Feng the past several times. As a result, his position in Assassin's Alliance had risen by quite a bit. Meanwhile, the matter of the White River City Guidebook even earned him the good graces of the Guild elders; they had already labeled him as one of the reserve elders of the Guild. Such a promotion was rare in the Assassin's Alliance, and it displayed how highly the Guild Leader and elders thought of him.

"Do you lack Hard Stones right now?" Shi Feng asked.

"Lack?! My subordinates and I have a headache over this matter right now! Even though I'd sent many people out to grind, the amount of Hard Stones we obtained is merely a drop in the bucket! Does Brother Ye Feng need some Hard Stones right now?" Stabbing Heart breathed out a tired sigh when he heard the words 'Hard Stone.' He then immediately said, "If Brother Ye Feng needs them, I should be able to gather three to four stacks for you. I truly can't spare any more than that."

Stabbing Heart only spoke the truth. After all, he had prepared these Hard Stones for the forgers in his Guild to craft Whetstones.

"Brother Stabbing Heart, you're overthinking things. I'm not calling to buy, but to sell," Shi Feng laughed.

"Sell?" Stabbing Heart was awe-stricken. Hard Stones were extremely rare right now, and it was insanely difficult for average players to obtain them. Not to mention selling them, players would normally choose to keep them for their own use. After all, if one wanted to level up quickly, Whetstones were a must. "How many do you have? Be it two or three stacks, I want all of them! I'll even buy them at above market price! What do you think about 9 Silver Coins per stack?"

In Stabbing Heart's mind, Shi Feng was only an independent player. It was already heaven-defying for him to have two to three stacks. After all, Stabbing Heart's own team, which consisted of hundreds of players, had only managed to obtain three to four stacks after a long time.

"No; I have fifty stacks. However, I'm only taking Coins for them," Shi Feng casually responded, extended five fingers.

* * *

TL Notes:

[1]the barefooted did not fear those with shoes: this is a Chinese saying that refers to a person that has no scruples of doing something, as that person was already not allowed to do so.

Chapter 191 - moon's big ten

Stabbing Heart immediately froze in shock when he heard that Shi Feng had fifty stacks of Hard Stones.

The entire Assassin's Alliance could not even manage to gather up five full stacks. Yet, Shi Feng said he had fifty.

If fifty stacks of Hard Stones were used to craft Whetstones, even if the forgers crafting them had slightly lower success rates, it could allow all the elite players in the Assassin's Alliance to reach Level 10, entering White River City.

"Brother Ye Feng, you're not tricking me, right? Do you really have fifty stacks?" Stabbing Heart asked doubtfully. It was not that he did not trust Shi Feng, but this number was simply too huge. Even a first-rate Guild in a town could not offer up that many. It would be impressive if they could even gather six to seven stacks.

"Naturally. Since when have I joked around before?" Shi Feng shook his head, laughing.

The reason Shi Feng offered Stabbing Heart this many Hard Stones was not purely to earn Coins. A large part of the reason was to assist the Assassin's Alliance in entering White River City and starting their development at an earlier date. After all, the Assassin's Alliance's main forces were all stationed around the few cities near White River City. As long as the Assassin's Alliance grew stronger, with his relationship with Stabbing Heart, Stabbing Heart could help him suppress and stamp out those unrated Guilds. That way, these Guilds would be too busy dealing with the Assassin's Alliance to pay any attention to him.

Originally, Shi Feng had wanted to sell some Hard Stones to Gentle Snow as well. However, Gentle Snow's team was simply developing too quickly. They had managed to reach Level 10 in only half a day's time, and at this time, all the elite members of Ouroboros had already arrived at White River City. Naturally, they would not need his help anymore.

The most important point was that Gentle Snow possessed the super-luxury version of the White River City Guidebook that Shi Feng had sold to her. With it, she could easily widen the gap between herself and the other Guilds, standing out from the crowd.

Now that Shi Feng had protective umbrellas like Gentle Snow and Stabbing Heart, would those unrated Guilds possibly dare do anything to him? He could progress with his own development with a peace of mind.

"Brother Ye Feng, I don't know how to thank you for this...! If you have anything you need help with in the future, just mention it! If it is something that I can help with, I will give it my all!" Stabbing Heart was extremely touched right now. In his heart, he had already taken Shi Feng as his good brother.

However, 4 Gold, 50 Silver was not easy to obtain. He needed some time to gather the liquid funds from the other towns and collect some from the money-farming team.

Although it was a large expenditure, with fifty stacks of Hard Stones, Stabbing Heart could allow the team in Red Leaf Town to be the first team, out of all the other team in the Assassin's Alliance, to enter White River City. At that time, he would receive a promotion in the Guild once more. He might even become an elder of the Assassin's Alliance. Meanwhile, such an achievement was only possible due to Shi Feng's help. Although Stabbing Heart felt slightly ashamed of himself for to not being of great help to Shi Feng, he had already decided that, once he entered White River City, he would fully support Shi Feng. Whoever dared to go against Shi Feng would go against him as well!

"When will you can send someone over to Red Leaf Town to conduct the trade?" Shi Feng asked.

"As long as you are free, any time is good!" Stabbing Heart answered.

"Oh, right. I have something I need to ask you. Do you know the current whereabouts of the team from Martial Union led by Unstable Devastation?" Shi Feng felt that, since he was going to make a trip back to Red Leaf Town, he might as well look for Unstable Devastation to extract his revenge.

"This, I know. They're currently at the White Sand Ruins. Are you planning on taking revenge on them? I'll call some men over to go with you. They have quite a few of players on their side, so it would be dangerous for you hunt them by yourself," Stabbing Heart was slightly surprised. He did not think that Shi Feng would take revenge so quickly. Moreover, he was even going to deal with the elite team led by Unstable Devastation directly. After all, that elite team formed after Unstable Devastation merged the elite teams from five different towns. The number of elites in that team even far exceeded that of Stabbing Heart's own elite team, so it would not be easy to deal with them.

"Thanks, but I wish to deal with my own matters by myself. Let's meet up in front of Red Leaf Town's Bank in twenty minutes," Shi Feng thanked him.

"Alright. I'll send some men to investigate Martial Union's exact location. At that time, I'll pass on their exact whereabouts to you along with the 4 Gold, 50 Silver." Stabbing Heart naturally knew of the arrogance of an expert, so he did not pursue the matter. Otherwise, if he were to find trouble with Martial Union without Shi Feng's agreement, he might even incur Shi Feng's ire.

\---

Twenty minutes later...

Shi Feng arrived in front of the Bank in Red Leaf Town.

"Hello, Big Brother Ye Feng. I am Cocoa, from the Assassin's Alliance, Big Brother Stabbing Heart sent me here. Here is the grinding location of Martial Union's elite team."

A pure and pleasant looking female Elementalist walked over, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Shi Feng. After all, the Shi Feng before her was the god-ranked expert of Red Leaf Town that everybody knew about. He was a person that even team leader Stabbing Heart of Red Leaf Town treated with respect. Most importantly, Shi Feng was good friends with the Snow Goddess that she admired greatly. There was absolutely no chance for a normal lifestyle player like herself to come into contact with such a legendary figure. She was only here today to conduct a trade because the other forgers in the Guild were too busy, while she was a newly recruited forger in the Guild. Only, she did not think that she could meet such a great character.

Shi Feng glanced at this girl, and his expression immediately froze.

Cream Cocoa, wasn't she that famous Master Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom?

As one of the Ten Great Master Forgers in Star-Moon Kingdom, Cream Cocoa was a forging genius who was the closest to becoming a Grandmaster Forger. Her talent was almost comparable to that of Seliora of White River City. She was both a beauty and a forging genius; plenty of first-rate Guilds had willingly offered her an annual salary of hundreds of millions to recruit her. Unfortunately, she rejected them all, one after another, as she wanted to stay in the third-rate Guild, Prayer Temple. Rumor had it that she had done so to repay a debt of gratitude, as Cream Cocoa was relatively clumsy during her early days, causing her success rate to be abysmally low. Due to her clumsiness, plenty of Guilds had refused to accept her. In the end, Prayer Temple was the only Guild that had accepted and nurtured her, so she did not wish to leave them.

Unfortunately, even with such a genius Master Forger in their Guild, Ouroboros still destroyed Prayer Temple in the end. As a result, Cream Cocoa chose to join World Dominators, a first-rate Guild in direct opposition of Ouroboros, to take revenge on the first-rate Guild.

However, why was Cream Cocoa in the Assassin's Alliance right now?

Shi Feng was slightly confused, as Prayer Temple's main force was not located in White River City, but in the capital city, Star-Moon City. It was also the reason why Ouroboros destroyed them.

_Could it be that, after being ignored by the Assassin's Alliance, she chose to head to Star-Moon City to develop herself after she reached a higher Level, which then led her to Prayer Temple?_ Shi Feng could only make guesses. If the Assassin's Alliance found out that they had chased away a Master Forger during their early days in God's Domain, they might even kill themselves in regret.

"Big Brother Ye Feng?" When Cream Cocoa discovered that Shi Feng stared at her sternly, she couldn't help but panic.

Only now did Shi Feng regain his senses. His actions could not be considered overreacting, as a top-tier Master Forger was simply too important to a Guild. However, he couldn't just try to recruit Cream Cocoa to his group. After all, Cream Cocoa was still a member of the Assassin's Alliance right now. His only option at the moment was to wait for Cream Cocoa to leave the Assassin's Alliance before trying to recruit her.

"Oh, it's nothing. Here are the fifty stacks of Hard Stones," Shi Feng immediately traded the fifty stacks of Hard Stones to Cream Cocoa.

When Cream Cocoa saw the fifty stacks of Hard Stones in her trade window, her eyes widened in shock. She did not even dare believe her own eyes. Right now, it was hard to even purchase one or two Hard Stones. Yet, Shi Feng had easily managed to bring out fifty stacks. It was no wonder why team leader Stabbing Heart was so respectful to Ye Feng! As expected, he was a figure that average players like her could only look up to!

Soon after the trade completed, Shi Feng departed from Red Leaf Town, heading towards the White Sand Ruins. However, he did not add Cream Cocoa as a friend, as such an action might cause a change to the track of history, causing Cream Cocoa to instead stay with the Assassin's Alliance. If that happened, he would definitely cry with regret. Hence, he would let history repeat itself without his interference.

Now that he knew Martial Union's precise location, he would immediately teach Unstable Devastation the consequences of becoming his enemy.

Chapter 192 - wild and domineering 

White Sand Ruins, as a key location for players to reach Level 10, the Level 9 players from the surrounding towns would naturally come here to level up. Not only did this place possess Level 10 monsters, which were a better source of EXP, there were also plenty of quests in this region. Moreover, a majority of them rewarded high amounts of EXP, and some high-level quests even gave out Bronze ranked or above equipment.

It was especially true for the newly discovered Stonehammer Town. It was practically a heaven for players. As long as one's reputation in Stonehammer Town reached a certain degree, they could purchase Level 10 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment at extremely low prices. It was impossible to find such treatment in other towns.

Thus, White Sand Ruins became the mainstream leveling location for Level 9 players. Naturally, Guilds like Martial Union would not miss out on such a great location.

Ever since Shi Feng had killed Unstable Devastation in Red Leaf Town, Unstable Devastation had immediately escaped to this place to level up. After a period of hard work, Unstable Devastation had finally managed to get back to Level 9; he was also not far from reaching Level 10.

"Ye Feng, just you wait. The day our alliance of Guilds enter White River City will be the day of your funeral!" Unstable Devastation silently cursed as he killed a Level 10 Three-tailed Scorpion.

Although he had exposed Shi Feng's secret, and Shi Feng provoked and angered the other Guilds, there had yet to be a person that could do a thing to Shi Feng. Moreover, not only was Shi Feng living comfortably, he was even earning a large sum of money right now! This envious situation of Shi Feng's had driven Unstable Devastation to near insanity, and he silently questioned why he couldn't enjoy such fortune.

Martial Union was originally a Guild that had migrated to God's Domain from another virtual reality game, so they did not possess the investment of any large corporation. There were only a few wealthy young masters spending money to support the Guild. While Martial Union still played that other virtual reality game, these wealthy young masters were considered rich tycoons. They could casually spend up to several hundred thousand Credits, allowing the Martial Union of those days to take the gaming world by storm easily. Such a situation had allowed these wealthy young masters great pleasure; hence they went on to establish Martial Union in God's Domain. They wanted to continue taking the world by storm.

As Unstable Devastation was one of the upper echelons of Martial Union, his monthly salary was over ten thousand Credits. It was a relatively high salary even within the big city. He was even extremely elated about this matter, often bragging in front of his friends about how he was a god-ranked player. When he treated his friends to a normal restaurant, he would always foot the bill with a casual wave of his hand, appearing domineering and earning the envy of others.

However, after Unstable Devastation witnessed the sales of the White River City Guidebook, his mind turned into a complete mess.

With a rough calculation, Unstable Devastation guessed that Shi Feng's earnings in a single day had exceeded ten million Credits. Considering the follow-up earnings, Shi Feng's assets might have surpassed even that of the wealthy young masters in Martial Union. If Shi Feng took a step further and sold his leveling strategy at a low price, he might truly be able to live his remaining years without worry. Wealth and beauties would be within Shi Feng grasp; his life might become even more comfortable than those young masters.

Thinking up to this point, bitterness and envy filled Unstable Devastation's heart.

However, the only fortunate thing was that Shi Feng had not offered the leveling strategy at a low price. As long as he could snatch it, becoming the first one to sell it on the official forums, he wouldn't need to remain a professional player any longer. He could immediately live a rich life in the real world.

"Boss Unstable, I discovered a location with an extraordinarily high amount of monsters. The respawn rate is also quite fast. Our leveling efficiency could probably rise by 60% or more there," an Assassin said in the team chat.

"Report the location. We'll head there right away," Unstable Devastation grew excited upon hearing this.

Right now, there were simply too many players in the White Sand Ruins, while the number of monsters was far from enough for them to grind. If there were such a valuable location available, they might make it to White River City today.

"These are the coordinates," that Assassin immediately transmitted the coordinates into the team chat.

"Good. We'll head over there after we get rid of these monsters," Unstable Devastation laughed. His luck had finally arrived.

In a moment, Unstable Devastation led his team of elite players to that location.

Just like that Assassin had reported, this place was extremely secluded. There were plenty of monsters here as well. There were almost more than fifty Three-tailed Scorpions respawning every interval. To a large elite team like theirs with over a hundred players, this place was certainly a worthwhile grinding spot.

The only problem was that there were already quite a few players grinding here as well.

"Boss Unstable, what are we going to do?" a Shield Warrior looked towards the 60 to 70 players grinding ahead, his eyebrows scrunching as he spoke.

"Duh! Can't you see that they're all independent players?" Unstable Devastation said disdainfully, "They're merely temporary parties grinding here. How can we let them occupy such a good location? Go, get rid of them. From now on, this place will be Martial Union's grinding spot."

Indeed, just as Unstable Devastation said, the players here were all independent players that did not belong to any Guilds. They had simply teamed up temporarily to grind. If a normal Guild were to see this many players, they would not dare attempt to steal this territory. However, it was a different story for Unstable Devastation and the bunch from Martial Union. Unstable Devastation's team consisted of the elite players of five different towns, and even the elite team Stabbing Heart led could not outnumber them.

"Clear out the place! All those not from Martial Union, leave! Otherwise, deal with the consequences at your own risk!" Unstable Devastation glared at the group of independent players with contempt as he yelled his warning.

Meanwhile, the hundred-plus elite players from Martial Union all wore sneers as they surrounded the location. As long as anybody dared resist, they would extinguish them without hesitation.

The equipment of independent players had always been of poor quality. Even if these players had reached Level 9, their equipment was still far from comparing with Martial Union's. Martial Union even had the advantage of numbers, up to 132 players, while these independent players only numbered around 60 to 70. Not to mention, these independent players were not unified in heart, so they were even less of a challenge to Martial Union.

At this moment, the representative sent out by these independent players said, "Brothers from Martial Union, shouldn't we do things properly? It isn't easy for everyone to level up. Why don't we do this; we'll each take half of these monsters."

"Scram! I'll count to ten. If all of you don't get lost by then, I don't mind letting you stay here forever!" Unstable Devastation bellowed.

"You guys are too arrogant! We've only managed to discover this place after much difficulty, so what right do you have to chase us away?"

"Listen to me, everyone. Why don't we team up and fight it out against Martial Union? At most, both sides will suffer losses. I don't believe that these players from Martial Union are really so fearless as fight it out with us!"

Just as one of the parties tried to organize everyone else into a team to go against Martial Union, tens of Fireballs blasted on the players of said party, instantly killing them all. This situation had frightened these independent players. However, they did not dare utter a word, only silently glare at Unstable Devastation.

"What? Do you have something to say?" Unstable Devastation laughed coldly, waving his hand once again.

Suddenly, another dozen spells fell upon them, and several more players glaring at Unstable Devastation perished.

"Let's go," unable to endure the pressure, one of the parties took the lead.

Soon after, the several remaining parties looked at each other. They all shook their heads as they departed. As for the two parties that died, nobody cared about them any longer.

"Hahaha! They are merely a bunch of trash, yet they dare compete with us, Martial Union?" Unstable Devastation watched the departing independent players, jeering.

Meanwhile, the other members of Martial Union also started laughing, exhilarated.

At this moment, Shi Feng arrived at the White Sand Ruins after running without rest.

"Martial Union should not be far ahead," Shi Feng compared his current location to the marked location on the map, increasing his pace as he headed onward.

Chapter 193 - holy grail knights

When Shi Feng arrived at the location Stabbing Heart had provided, he couldn't even find a shadow of Martial Union.

"Where are they?" Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings. Aside from a dozen or so Three-tailed Scorpions, not a single player occupied this flat, sandy area. "Was there an error in the information Stabbing Heart gave me?"

Shi Feng thought the possibility of such an error was low. After all, the Assassin's Alliance was a top-tier, second-rate Guild; there shouldn't be any significant errors in their information gathering. Moreover, Stabbing Heart had been so confident in providing the information, so he must have had a basis for his confidence.

"Forget it. I didn't have much hope of finding them immediately in any case," since Shi Feng was not in a hurry, he started searching around the surrounding area. If Martial Union had already entered White River City, Stabbing Heart would have notified him at the first notice. However, there was not a huge possibility for Martial Union to enter White River City right now as even Stabbing Heart's team had yet to enter the city.

Time passed, little by little.

More and more players reached Level 10, each of them entering White River City, one after another.

Right now, the majority of the players who entered White River City were the elites and upper echelons of Guilds. There was only a small amount of teams consisting of independent players.

Most of these independent players had purchased the White River City Guidebook, and they all admired its creator.

"Leader, this Ye Feng is truly amazing. The information he wrote in this Guidebook is so detailed. Fortunately, we bought the luxury version. The introductions in the simplified version were overly brief, and it only helps one get a general understanding of White River City. Meanwhile, the luxury version mentioned plenty of locations with good quests meant for specific classes. Thanks to it, I've accepted plenty of valuable quests."

"I know, right? It is all thanks to team leader's wisdom for buying the luxury version. If I didn't know that Ye Feng had personally penned this guidebook, I would even think that the game officials had published it. I really wonder what Ye Feng's previous profession was to possess such powerful observation skills."

"That Ye Feng indeed has some skills. Originally, I had simply intended to purchase the guidebook as a reference; I never thought that the information was all true. I was shocked after we arrived at White River City. It was worth the 20,000 Credits. If it were up to me, I wouldn't willingly sell this information even for 50,000 Credits. Not only does the information require time to arrange, but this is also first-hand information. I can't imagine why Ye Feng would willingly sell all of this for only 20,000 Credits."

In front of the Teleportation Hall of White River City, a non-Guild team consisting of ten-plus elite players happily chatted while waiting for their other companions.

"Hmm? An independent team?"

At this moment, Gentle Snow emerged from a Teleportation Gate, spotting this merry team of players. She felt slightly surprised by the sight. At this time, aside from those elite teams of large Guilds, there was even an independent team who had reached White River City. This was an extremely rare sight, and it illustrated this team's strength.

"I know who they are. Five years ago, these players were very famous in a relatively sizeable virtual reality game. They were known as the Holy Grail Knights at that time.

"Although they aren't a Guild, and their numbers never exceeded a hundred players, every member of their team was extremely skilled. Their battle prowess was extremely frightening. Their leader, War Wolf, even had the reputation as the strongest Warrior in the game. During those days, not a single Guild in the game that dared provoke them. However, for reasons unknown, their team disbanded, and plenty of their members stopped playing the game."

"The remaining players then went on to become the upper echelons or core members of first-rate and second-rate Guilds. The Holy Grail Knights is a legend of sorts in the virtual gaming world now."

When the Shield Warrior, Ghost Chop, who was knowledgeable about these independent players saw the average-looking Shield Warrior standing amidst those players, his expression suddenly turned solemn. This person was indeed War Wolf, the past team leader of the Holy Grail Knights. Back in those days, Ghost Chop had admired and respected this man; thus, he chose to play as a Shield Warrior as well. He then turned to Gentle Snow, slowly starting his recollection.

"I see," Gentle Snow could not help but notice War Wolf.

Five years ago, she had yet to experience virtual reality games. Hence, she did not know that such a person had existed.

"Snow, are you thinking of recruiting him into Ouroboros?" Zhao Yueru asked with a smile when she noticed Gentle Snow's moved expression.

"Although this person seemed to lack spirit at first glance, he seemed as deep and profound as an ocean at the same time. Moreover, the equipment he's wearing is all Mysterious-Iron rank, though his weapon slightly lacks as it is not Secret-Silver rank. However, it should be extremely difficult for an independent team to have such a geared Shield Warrior, so it clearly displays how powerful the members of this team are. Meanwhile, a team leader capable of leading such a team is not a simple character. If we can recruit him, it should be of great help to our future Dungeon raids," Gentle Snow did not directly deny Zhao Yueru's question. Her previous intentions of recruiting Shi Feng as a subordinate were already dashed.

Unfortunately, she could not see through Shi Feng, as Shi Feng's entire being was shrouded in mystery. The guidebook he had sold her further solidified this fact. She was greatly shocked when she arrived at White River City. Using the luxury version of the guidebook as a comparison, Gentle Snow came to fully understand the value of the exclusive guidebook Shi Feng had sold to her.

If the other first-rate Guilds discovered this guidebook, they might even start an all-out war with Ouroboros to snatch it away. Gentle Snow had estimated the true value of this guidebook to be five million Credits or more.

After all, within the super-luxury guidebook, there was information pertaining to the problems one would usually face when developing a Guild. The guidebook also touched on the topic of how to develop and strengthen a Guild. Moreover, it mentioned the daily quests available that could raise a person's reputation in White River City. Such information could allow them to surpass the other Guilds greatly, and that was not something that could be purchased with a measly five million Credits.

Even now, Gentle Snow did not dare reveal this information to any other person; she did not wish to bring a calamity upon herself.

Due to this reason, Gentle Snow had become fully aware of just how much of a danger Shi Feng was. If she was already in so much danger just by becoming friends with him, what kind of consequences would she have to face if she accepted him as her subordinate? Gentle Snow no longer dared dwell on the consequences.

Shi Feng's provocation of tens of Guilds presented a prime example. Fortunately, they were all unrated Guilds as the leveling secret did not hold much attraction to the true major Guilds. After all, the upper echelons of these Guilds knew many secrets, and they had a great understanding of God's Domain. These Guilds were much stronger than those half-assed, unrated Guilds.

There were no bugs in God's Domain. Even if there were one, the system would discover and correct it immediately. If there truly were a leveling secret, the only possibility was killing monsters of a higher level or carrying out high-level quests to obtain massive amounts of EXP.

Only experts or players with exceptional equipment could achieve the former.

As for the latter, it was clearly an unrepeatable situation because such high-level quests would have great limitations and rarity; not everybody could receive such quests. They might even be Rare or Unique Quests.

Thus, all of the rated Guilds did not have a particular interest in this secret that was not really a secret. On the contrary, they were much more interested in the White River City Guidebook. However, since Shi Feng had wisely offered the information for sale, these rated Guilds would naturally not look for trouble with Shi Feng. They also did not have so much time on their hands, unlike those half-assed Guilds.

Shi Feng belonged to a category of people so intimidating that they possessed few friends. To put it another way, without sufficient strength, friendship with Shi Feng was an extremely dangerous endeavor. As for the War Wolf before her, there was not much danger in building a friendship with such a person. Moreover, with such great strength, it would be an utter loss not to recruit him.

"Go. Let's go and strike up a conversation with them, then," seeing that all the members of her team were already present, she opened her mouth and spoke.

Chapter 194 - flame demon

White Sand Ruins.

"Martial Union is simply too much! They don't respect any of us independent players at all! When I grow stronger, I'll take revenge on those bastards!"

"Shh! Shut up! Didn't you see Martial Union kill those other two parties simply for speaking up?"

"We can't do anything about this. We aren't as powerful as they are, so we can only give way and take a step back."

"If I was a member of a third-rate Guild, I don't believe that Martial Union would dare kick us around like they just did."

"Leader, why don't we just join a large Guild? With our current technique standards, we should be able to join a large Guild."

"A Guild, is it? Indeed, we should consider it. However, let's talk about this after we enter White River City. The Assassin's Alliance is currently the strongest Guild in Red Leaf Town, but when we get to White River City, the Assassin's Alliance would only rank above average at best. There are still a bunch of first-rate Guilds we can choose from."

One of the six-man parties Martial Union had chased away started a discussion as they searched for a new grinding location.

They had experienced, first-hand, the strength and usefulness of a Guild. If they did not join a Guild, they could only compete with other independent players over locations with scarce resources when these Guilds occupied all the valuable leveling locations.

"Excuse me, but do you know where Martial Union is?" Shi Feng had been searching the White Sand Ruins for quite some time, having no luck of finding any traces of Martial Union. At this moment, however, he had overheard these passing players discussing Martial Union, so he asked them.

"Yeah, we know it. What business do you have with them? Don't tell me; you're not trying to join Martial Union, are you?" the leader of this party nodded. However, when he noticed that Shi Feng was an independent player with both his name and level hidden, aside from trying to join Martial Union, what other reason could a player like Shi Feng have to look for Martial Union?

Hearing that the player in front of them intended to join Martial Union, the other members of the party instantly shot glares filled with killing intent at Shi Feng. The rage they had from Martial Union's oppression had yet to subside. If it were not for Martial Union having the advantage of numbers, they would have long since started a fight with Martial Union.

From the conversation Shi Feng had eavesdropped on before, he knew that Martial Union had bullied these players. Hence, their hatred towards Martial Union should be intense. In addition to their party leader's words about Shi Feng wanting to join Martial Union, the other party members' moods would naturally sour.

If he dared claim that he intended to join Martial Union, these players might charge at him without hesitation.

"I'm not trying to join Martial Union. I'm looking for Martial Union because I have some business with them. I wonder if you can tell me their current whereabouts? Here's an inquiry fee of 1 Silver Coin," Shi Feng smiled, taking out a Silver Coin.

To average players, their daily income would, at most, range around several tens of Copper Coins. Even if these veteran players banded together to form a party, their total earnings would be around one to two Silver Coins. Hence, an inquiry fee of 1 Silver Coin was not a small amount to them.

"What a rich fellow." The party leader's eyes shone when he saw Shi Feng offer a Silver Coin as an inquiry fee. He then spoke in the party chat, "Brothers, this is a fat sheep! If we harvest him and earn some money, we might be able to cover the repair fees for all our weapons and equipment! Do we kill him or not?"

"Kill him! Why shouldn't we kill him?! This bastard is obviously related to Martial Union. As long as it's someone related, we can't let them off!"

"We'll follow leader's decision."

The other party members all voiced their support.

"It seems that this fellow has a deep connection with Martial Union. Martial Union had badly tormented us few brothers, and rage still fills our bellies. Since you have some connections with Martial Union, and you are so rich, shouldn't you pay us some compensation in place of Martial Union? We don't want a lot; just leave behind 20 Silver Coins and all of your equipment; then I'll tell you Martial Union's location. How about it?" the Guardian Knight party leader said with a cold laugh.

With that said, the other party members also started moving forward, their faces carrying cold smiles as they closed in on Shi Feng.

"I said I don't have any connections with Martial Union. I'm only looking for them for some business. Whatever has happened between you and Martial Union has nothing to do with me. If you guys aren't going to tell me where they are, so be it. Please move aside," Shi Feng said.

"This, I understand. However, it is still your fault for mentioning Martial Union to us. If you don't agree to our demands, we can only use you to relieve some stress. Although we don't know your level, it should still be around Level 8 or Level 9. If you lose a level right now, you will probably lose one to two day's worth of effort. You should think through your options," the party leader jeered, his hands retrieving the gladius and shield from his back.

Shi Feng couldn't help but laugh when he heard these words.

Pitiful people were bound to have a hateful side to them. Although these players endured Martial Union's bullying and oppression, when the tables turned, didn't they act just as Martial Union had?

"Little fool, what are you laughing at?! I'll smash your face into a pulp if you keep laughing!" an Assassin bellowed.

"Didn't you guys want money? I'll pay the fare for your trip down to hell!"

Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade as he said so. Immediately, clear-blue flames covered the body of the Abyssal Blade.

Shi Feng had no room for pity for players like these.

Shi Feng brandished his two swords, and instantly, countless sword images filled the sky, surrounding these players.

Although these independent players had good techniques and were also relatively powerful in terms of strength, they were simply too weak compared to Shi Feng. Before any of them could react, the sword images made pincushions of their bodies.

Aside from the Guardian Knight party leader, the remaining five party members died within an instant. Moreover, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame destroyed all of their equipment.

Even though these players had relatively high levels, the equipment they wore was of very poor quality. They only had six or seven pieces of Bronze Equipment each, and none had even a single piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Under the Ice-Blue Devil Flame's might, none of their equipment could survive even one hit, and it all immediately became nothing more than scrap.

"So? Are you willing to tell me Martial Union's whereabouts now?" Shi Feng looked towards the party leader, smiling calmly as he spoke.

That party leader was dumbfounded. The person before him could actually produce fire all over his body, and his attacks were so fast that none of them could even react.

At this moment, the party leader only had one thought about his situation; he had met a demon. Moreover, it was a fire demon capable of controlling flames!

"I'll speak! I'll Speak! Martial Union is at a nearby sunken land to the southwest! There are also plenty of cavities around the area!"

"Very good. You may go now." Shi Feng immediately extinguished this party leader's life. He then advanced towards Martial Union's location.

By the time these independent players revived back at Red Leaf Town, they immediately filled the skies with their screams of anguish. Not only did they lose a level from dying, but all their equipment had also been destroyed. Not to mention leveling up, they could not even go out into the fields to kill monsters now.

Suddenly, a rumor about a flame demon in the White Sand Ruins spread. The rumor stated that the flame demon wore a black hooded cloak, and he revealed no personal information. The demon also had two sharp swords hanging from his waist; one was black and the other, white. The rumor also mentioned that if players did not quickly answer this flame demon's question, they would die and lose all their equipment. One wouldn't even have the chance to shed tears of regret when that time came.

However, Shi Feng, the origin of this rumor, was not aware of any of this.

"I've finally found you, Unstable Devastation."

At this moment, Shi Feng stood atop a tall slope, looking down at the hundred-plus players currently butchering several dozen Three-tailed Scorpions. These players were all Level 9, and they were not far from reaching Level 10. On the other hand, Unstable Devastation, who currently commanded from the rear of the team, had already reached Level 10.

The reason why he had reached Level 10 with such speed was that he was not in a party with these elite players. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation killed the monsters that had their HP lowered to a critical point. Due to the rules of God's Domain, Unstable Devastation would receive 60% of the total EXP from the kill; Thus, he reached Level 10 ahead of the other elite players.

Chapter 195 - one against one hundred 

"You, lure some more monsters over. With such a good leveling spot, I want to charge to number one on the Ranking List and teach the other Guilds in the Alliance the strength of Martial Union," Unstable Devastation spoke in the team chat.

"Yes," the several Assassins replied.

Right now, Fire Dance still occupied the first place on the Ranking List. However, the second place had already changed.

However, it wasn't because Fire Dance and the other's leveling speed was slower than the other players. They were simply busy doing quests. These quests were all Rare Reputation Quests, and they could obtain relatively large amounts of White River City Reputation by completing them.

In God's Domain, if players wished to have an official class when they reached Level 20, they could only apply at the Class Association in the various large cities. However, players required a certain amount of reputation before doing so. Hence, the first task Shi Feng wanted Blackie and the others to accomplish after they entered White River City was to do these Rare Quests and quickly raise their reputation. By the time they reached Level 20, they would be able to change into their basic classes immediately.

If they discovered this fact only after they reached Level 20, they would have to waste a lot of time earning sufficient reputation, which, in turn, would delay their progress.

Just as Unstable Devastation excitedly hunted Three-tailed Scorpions, Shi Feng had also arrived at Martial Union's healers' position using the Ring of Nothingness.

Nobody would ever think that a single independent player would take the initiative to seek vengeance upon a Guild's elite team. After all, this was simply an overestimation of one's own abilities.

However, Shi Feng dared to do just that because of his sufficient strength.

Unstable Devastation was Level 10, and the others present were all Level 9. There was a 5 level gap between them and Shi Feng. Moreover, equipment that could ignore an opponent's levels were extremely rare at this stage of the game. These conditions allowed Shi Feng to easily sweep the floor with this group of Level 9 players.

Just as the healers of Martial Union were about to replenish the HP of the frontline players, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before them. Shi Feng cast Thundering Flash, the skill instantly devouring the group of panicked healers. Frightening damages of over -500 appeared on every healer's head, and some even received critical hits of over -1,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, a majority of the healers died.

However, due to the healers standing relatively spread apart, there were three who managed to remain unscathed after Shi Feng's attack.

Shi Feng immediately used Wind Blade and charged over. He used Chop on one of the shocked healers, killing them instantly. Shi Feng then continued to brandish his sword at the two remaining healers, reaping their lives with a few sword strokes.

"Ye Feng!" Unstable Devastation bellowed, countless veins surfacing on his forehead.

"Unstable Devastation, haven't you been trying to find me all this time?" Shi Feng faintly smiled as he looked at Unstable Devastation. Regarding the hundred-plus players standing around Unstable Devastation, glaring at him, Shi Feng paid no attention to them at all. "Now that I've arrived, I wonder if you've prepared to die yet?"

"Kill me? I'm afraid that you're the one who won't leave this place alive! I lost to you the previous time because you had a higher level. This time, however, I am Level 10 as well! Do you think that I'm still afraid of you? Everyone, get him! Kill him!" Unstable Devastation smiled disdainfully, immediately commanding all of his subordinates to get rid of Shi Feng. Unstable Devastation did not believe that Shi Feng could leave alive when faced with his team of over a hundred elite players, not to mention, manage to kill him.

The players from Martial Union revealed sneers as they looked at Shi Feng; they all thought that there was a problem with Shi Feng's head. However, they didn't mind teaching Shi Feng a lesson.

One against one hundred?

Did he really think he was Superman?

In the past, the players from Martial Union that surrounded Shi Feng were mostly normal members. There were only a few elite members of the Guild present at the time; hence, Shi Feng caused such a massacre. This time, however, they were all Martial Union's elites, and they were all Level 9 players. Ye Feng would only meet one end today – Death!

Suddenly, tens of spells launched at Shi Feng.

The other remaining tens of Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, and Swordsmen charged towards Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the Assassins entered Stealth, waiting for their chance to strike.

Faced with the attacks of dozens of mages, Shi Feng dared not be careless. He immediately activated Windwalk and the Tier 2 Life Shield before proceeding to charge at the incoming wave of players.

As Shi Feng's speed was extremely fast; very few of the tens of spells hit Shi Feng. In the end, only three or four spells actually managed to deal damage to Shi Feng. Unfortunately, these spells were all fire-type and ice-type spells such as Fireball and Frost Arrows. With Shi Feng's resistances, these spells managed to cause less than -10 damage each. In addition to the Life Shield absorbing a portion of the damage, the actual damage these spells caused was less than -6 points.

All of the mages were shocked.

"Even if it is a tiny amount of damage, beat him with all you've got! There has to be a limit to his HP! Without any healers, he won't last long! Melee classes, spread out and be careful of his AOE skills!" Unstable Devastation was similarly shocked. However, after giving it some thought, even if Shi Feng had an insanely high Defense, he still wasn't a Boss. There was bound to be a limit to his HP. Even if they only dealt damage in the single digits, with tens of them continuously attacking, how long could Shi Feng last?

Watching his HP fall continuously, Shi Feng clearly understood that he could not hold on for much longer. The difference in Attributes was simply not enough to overcome the strength of over a hundred elite players.

"Almost..." When the distance between Shi Feng and the crowd from Martial Union shrunk to less than 20 yards, Shi Feng took out an Intermediate Frost Grenade, tossing it at them.

Martial Union noticed Shi Feng throwing an item. However, since it was not a skill, they did not pay it any heed.

Instantly, the Intermediate Frost Grenade exploded, releasing a shroud of cold air, covering a 12-yard radius. The cold air froze the players for 3 seconds and dealt -400 damage to every one of them.

The shroud of cold air swallowed more than half of the melee players.

"MTs, activate your lifesaving skills! Mages, increase your firepower and controlling skills! We must not let him get near the frozen players!" Unstable Devastation hurriedly shouted.

The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights immediately activated their Shield Walls and Protection Blessings respectively after receiving the command. However, deep in their hearts, they were extremely clear that these skills were absolutely useless in front of Shi Feng. They merely used these skills in the hopes that, with their increased durability, Shi Feng would instead choose to go for the other players first.

Meanwhile, the mages standing at the rear line started casting controlling spells, one after another. They used spells such as Ice Walls and Ice Spheres to prevent Shi Feng from closing in on the frozen players.

Shi Feng simply smiled. Using Silent Steps, he instantly arrived behind these mages. With the Ice-Blue Devil Flame covering his entire body, he sent Thunder Flame Explosion blasting down on these mages. The Elementalists and Cursemancers who were within the range of Thunder Flame Explosion were instantly wiped out of existence. Moreover, those who received critical hits of over -2,000 damage also had their equipment destroyed.

A few Elementalists with quick reactions had immediately activated Frozen Circle, coupled with a Blink. They intended to slow Shi Feng down as they fled for their lives.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng reacted even faster than they did. He activated Defensive Blade and Dark Violent Dance. Gaining immunity to the Frozen Circles, Shi Feng waved the flaming Abyssal Blade in his hand. A streak of deep-blue flaming sword aura landed on one of the escaping Elementalists 10 yards away, dealing over -1,000 damage and instantly killing him. Simultaneously, the two Summoners in front of him also received damage from the attack, instantly losing over 400 HP.

Shi Feng then continued with a barrage of attacks. As a result, deep-blue flames annihilated the mages within a 15-yard radius.

"Kill him! Don't be afraid; we have more men on our side! He only has half of his HP remaining!" Although Shi Feng only had half of his HP remaining right now, Unstable Devastation had lost much of his confidence. Even so, he did not stop sending out streak after streak of Frost Arrows and Fatal Shots. However, Shi Feng had dodged every one of them. In addition to the sudden appearance of Shi Feng's flame transformation and terrifying AOE damage, Unstable Devastation already had the notion of escaping for his life. However, he needed to observe the situation further before he made his decision.

"Half HP, is it?" Shi Feng calmly smiled. He then proceeded to take out his next trump card from his bag.

[Intermediate Recovery Potion]

Instantly recovers 800 HP after use.

Cooldown: 1 minute

In White River City, players were only allowed to purchase five Intermediate Recovery Potions each day, and each bottle cost 3 Silver Coins. It was an item meant for a crucial time.

Shi Feng downed the bottle, his HP instantly recovering to full. At this sight, Martial Union's players were instantly afraid.

They had sacrificed dozens of players to take away close to half of Shi Feng's HP. Yet, Shi Feng's HP was full once again. Moreover, the scorching flame that surrounded his body greatly increased his battle prowess. Just by closing in on him, the durability of their equipment constantly fell. Faced with such a situation, their confidence instantly sunk into a bottomless pit.

Chapter 196 - devastating strike

The elites of Martial Union, who had originally looked down on Shi Feng, had started to panic now.

What did a full HP Shi Feng mean? Martial Union's elites already had the experience deeply ingrained into their bodies, so they understood what it meant.

Compared to only losing a level after dying, their current situation was far graver. As they had spent all this time grinding monsters, their equipment and weapons' durability was almost depleted. If they received an attack from Shi Feng right now, that little durability would decrease even further, and their equipment and weapons might even be destroyed. This was much more frightening than simply losing a level.

If they lost a level, they could recover it through grinding. However, it would be a different story if they lost the equipment and weapons they currently relied on. They had only managed to collect all these items after much difficulty, and compared to regaining a single level, it would be much more troublesome to recover these items. There was even the possibility that they could not recover these items at all.

"Ye Feng, don't go overboard! It won't be beneficial to either of us if you continue your actions! It is not too late for you to leave this place right now! In the future, we will mind our own business, and we will each walk our separate paths!" Although Unstable Devastation felt dissatisfied, Shi Feng's strength was simply too frightening. He could only grit his teeth and take a step back in this matter.

If he lost everything he had right now, his dreams of rising in Martial Union would also vanish.

"Overboard? These are your last words?" Shi Feng laughed at the absurdity.

He truly could not understand Unstable Devastation's thought process. Did he think that, after slapping someone across the face, everything could be settled just with a simple apology?

Hearing Shi Feng's contempt, Unstable Devastation felt humiliation for the first time. He had already taken a step back, yet, Shi Feng reacted so aggressively. However, he could do nothing to Shi Feng right now, so he could only watch as his subordinates were butchered, one after another. This sort of helplessness had driven him close to insanity.

Unstable Devastation never thought that such a day would befall him.

In the beginning, he had a 100% certainty of crushing Shi Feng. Now, however, due to a mystical exploding object and an Intermediate Recovery Potion, that confidence shattered. Even if they managed to kill Shi Feng today, the elites of Martial Union would receive insufferable losses.

"Ye Feng, you have forced my hand! Let's see which one of us will die first, then!"

"Everyone, attack him together! He already has a super-red name! As long as we can kill him, he will drop all of his equipment, and it will be enough to make up for all our losses! Don't be afraid! His HP Potion's Cooldown is definitely very long! We can exhaust him to death!"

Upon receiving Unstable Devastation's command, the members of Martial Union went into a frenzy. They used all their skills and techniques to restrict Shi Feng while slowly depleting his HP.

Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation also reluctantly retrieved a flame-red arrow from his back, aiming and firing it at Shi Feng.

This was Unstable Devastation's strongest treasure. Originally, he had intended to use this arrow to deal with a Lord ranked Boss. Now, however, he could only use it to get rid of Shi Feng.

"Xiu!" The flame-red arrow soared through the air, leaving behind a sonic boom as it shot towards Shi Feng's heart.

Extremely complicated incantations were carved on the flame-red arrow's body, causing the surrounding fire-type mana to gather around the arrow. It seemed like a consumable item.

Shi Feng had also noticed this flame-red arrow flying at him. He stopped paying attention to the spells attacking him and immediately used Parry to block this flame-red arrow.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The moment the arrow collided with Shi Feng's swords, it exploded. The force of the explosion instantly sent Shi Feng flying. Fortunately, Parry had managed to block the attack fully, and Shi Feng received no damage from the arrow.

Shortly after, Shi Feng landed, unscathed. Immediately, he charged towards the mages, resuming his massacre of Martial Union's elites. Just like slapping at flies, Shi Feng killed one player from Martial Union with each of his attacks. Within a short moment, four elites had died. Watching this scene play out, Unstable Devastation's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Even after he used his final trump card, Shi Feng had taken not a thread of damage from it. On the contrary, his attack aided Shi Feng in closing in on the mages and continuing his slaughter.

To begin with, Shi Feng's Movement Speed was extremely quick. These mages had no chances of escaping him at all. Furthermore, due to the level suppression and Shi Feng's magic resistance, these mages were rendered utterly helpless. They could only watch as they were slaughtered.

Noticing that the frozen effect on the melee players was about to dissipate, the mages of Martial Union released a sigh of relief. They finally saw hope.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng took out another Intermediate Frost Grenade from his bag, tossing it at the melee players again. The Frost Grenade landed precisely on the same location as before, and in the blink of an eye, these melee players froze solid once more. A damage of -400 also appeared on every one of their heads, and the Assassins and Swordsmen who had low HP fell into critical conditions. Shi Feng then made a slashing motion with his sword, sending a flame blade flying at the Assassins and Swordsmen, ending their lives. This attack even destroyed the equipment they wore.

At this stage of the game, where everyone's levels were still low, there were plenty of skills that players had yet to learn. It was especially true for high-level skills that could remove controlling effects. Thus, the elites had no defenses against Shi Feng's Frost Grenades. They had no ways of dealing with them at all.

With the melee players frozen once again, and Shi Feng killing so many of their allies, these mages truly felt despair. They no longer cared about Unstable Devastation's command; they all ran, escaping in any direction they could.

Nobody would have thought that Shi Feng would still have a weapon of mass destruction like that. If they had known about this earlier, they would have long since fled and not remained here for slaughter.

"Everyone's escaping now?" Shi Feng immediately felt his head ache. If he hunted them down, one by one, he might let even more players escape. After all, although the Frost Grenades had frightening might, nobody would be foolish enough to stand still and wait for their deaths.

Helpless, Shi Feng could only start throwing out Basic Frost Grenades without stop. Although there was a one-second Cooldown, it could freeze a player for three seconds. With this, Shi Feng could get rid of all these scattered players.

With Basic Frost Grenades tossed out, one after another, the sandy grounds turned into a world of ice, while all of the members of Martial Union turned into ice sculptures. Shi Feng then used the blazingly hot Abyssal Blade to end each of their lives.

Watching as his teammates died and their equipment destroyed, the remaining players trembled in fear as they were driven to insanity. Some of the players who could not endure the sight even tried to log off from the game immediately. However, players were not allowed to log off during combat. So, they could only helplessly wait as Shi Feng walked, step by step, closing in on them.

Very quickly, Shi Feng had reaped the lives of one hundred-plus elite members of Martial Union, and only Unstable Devastation remained alive now. Unstable Devastation quietly stood still, his mind in a daze. He had even forgotten to resist.

Over a hundred elite players had died, and all of their equipment was destroyed. These were all of his assets, and right now, it was impossible for him to climb back up in Martial Union even if he wanted to. He no longer had any means to compete with his rivals in the Guild.

At this moment, Unstable Devastation only had regret filling his heart. All of this had stemmed from his own arrogance. If he had known that Shi Feng was so frightening from the very beginning, he wouldn't have dared to become enemies with Shi Feng, even if he were beaten to death. Even if he had to become enemies with Shi Feng, at the very least, he would have waited until all members of Martial Union had entered White River City. However, it was too late now.

Soon after, Shi Feng killed Unstable Devastation with two sword slashes as well.

"I'm finally done cleaning up. It should also be about time to bring Blackie and the others down to a Dungeon for some equipment upgrades." Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings. After confirming that there weren't any members from Martial Union remaining, he used the Demon Mask to wipe clean his name. He then took out a Return Scroll, chanting the incantation and returning to White River City.

After killing Unstable Devastation and the elite players under him, even if Unstable Devastation wanted to do anything to Shi Feng in the future, he would need to wait until these elite members recovered before he could. However, there was no need to concern himself over a matter that couldn't happen for quite a while.

\---

Shortly after Shi Feng wiped out Unstable Devastation's entire elite team...

A large commotion occurred among the alliance of Guilds that wished to carry out a crusade against Shi Feng. This commotion was a result of Unstable Devastation suddenly declaring his retirement from this small alliance. Unstable Devastation's actions had confused these other Guilds. He also refused to speak of anything in the alliance's chat before leaving it.

After witnessing Shi Feng's fearsomeness, Unstable Devastation didn't dare battle Shi Feng any longer. Since Shi Feng could kill him at the White Sand Ruins, then he could similarly kill him again and again out in the field. The same went for his team. Unstable Devastation no longer dared think of this matter. He still wished to make a living through God's Domain. He was truly afraid of Shi Feng now.

Hence, Unstable Devastation also expressed his apologies on the official forums. In the future, he swore to no longer participate in any matters relating to Shi Feng. As long as he met Shi Feng, he would make a circle and do his best to avoid Shi Feng.

Immediately, Unstable Devastation's actions had sent shockwaves through the White River City region.

Chapter 197 - crazy stone

Although Unstable Devastation was not considerably well-known, he was still one of the upper echelons of Martial Union. He was also arch-enemies with Shi Feng, and he had recently revealed one of Shi Feng's big secrets. So, there were quite a number of people who knew about him.

Nobody would have thought that Unstable Devastation would publicly apologize to Shi Feng.

Many people were stunned when they read Unstable Devastation's message.

Martial Union was obviously a large Guild, yet, they had actually submitted to a lone independent player. Although such incidents had occurred before in past virtual reality games, the total occurrences could definitely be counted on one hand. Above all, God's Domain was a game that had just recently released.

At this stage of the game, the difference in strength between players would mainly display itself in terms of techniques, and this difference could easily be overcome using the advantage in numbers. Yet, Unstable Devastation had succumbed to Shi Feng. It was simply unbelievable.

"Can someone tell me just what is going on here?"

"Wah! Is this going to be the uprising of independent players?"

"As expected of my idol, Ye Feng! What's so great about Guilds? Haven't they succumbed to strength all the same?"

Chaos ensued in the official forums of the White River City region. Unstable Devastation's message was like a small pebble thrown into a tranquil pond, generating ripples that spread out in all directions. As a result, players on the forum posted their own opinions, especially the independent players.

No matter which virtual reality game they were in, Guild players and independent players would frequently conflict with each other. However, this could not be helped. After all, to surpass others, one must obtain more resources. Naturally, Guilds would occupy these resources. Meanwhile, the independent players who lacked strength could only retreat in the face of these Guilds. Thus, it created conflicts.

Now that an independent player like Shi Feng had made a large Guild submit to him, this incident received an unquestionably huge response from many independent players.

However, to the alliance of Guilds that planned a crusade against Shi Feng, this matter was just like a bomb filled with peril.

Unstable Devastation, the leader who started this alliance and planned this crusade, had actually chosen to withdraw from the alliance. Moreover, he did not even speak a word about this incident. Just what sort of power could cause Unstable Devastation to react in such a way? This incident struck panic into the other Guilds of this small alliance.

"Brother Zhang, what should we do?" Flaming Tiger quietly asked.

Due to Unstable Devastation's shocking actions, the various Guilds in the small alliance started feeling insecure.

Zhang Luowei fell deep into thought for some time before saying, "Let's not involve ourselves just yet. We'll wait until we are all in White River City before we deal with this matter. However, for him to force a person like Unstable Devastation to submit, I have truly underestimated this Ye Feng. Tell Ling Feilong to get in touch with Ye Feng; see if he can get Ye Feng to join Shadow. Although Shadow has only recently started its development, our resources are plenty. Tell Ling Feilong this; as long as Ye Feng agrees, I can give Ye Feng an elder position, an annual salary of a million Credits, and 10% of the Workshop's shares."

Flaming Tiger was stunned. He admitted that he was not Shi Feng's opponent and that Shi Feng's skills were a level higher than his, but wasn't this promise a little too great?

Not only could an elder of the Guild live leisurely, but the authority they wielded was also great. Aside from Brother Lan and Zhang Luowei, Shi Feng would have the highest authority in Shadow, not to mention an annual salary of a million Credits and 10% of the Workshop's shares. Even Flaming Tiger only had a minimum monthly salary of 20,000 Credits.

Flaming Tiger simply could not understand why they had to pay such a huge price to recruit Shi Feng.

However, he did not have a say in this matter, so he could only do as he was told.

\---

White River City, Trade Area.

After returning to White River City, Shi Feng first headed towards the Bank. He retrieved 500 stacks of Hard Stones, intending to sell only a portion of his stock for now.

Due to the great increase in the Hard Stones' demand, the price had already reached Shi Feng's estimation of 10 Silver Coins per stack. Although this price would still rise later, it was already close to the limit players could handle.

These 500 stacks of Hard Stones were only a small portion of the Hard Stones Shi Feng owned. Just based on the amount of Hard Stones that Shi Feng had constantly purchased before, his stock exceeded 10,000 stacks. This was also one of the reasons why the various large Guilds in White River City could not purchase any Hard Stones. Shi Feng had purchased all of these Hard Stones when the prices were at their lowest, and he only paid around 30 Gold Coins for them. However, their current value far exceeded their initial cost.

"After selling these 500 stacks, it should be about time to bring Blackie and the others to raid the Level 10 Team Dungeon, the Goblin Factory." Shi Feng inwardly planned.

Although Blackie and Lonely Snow's levels were high, the overall equipment they had was subpar at best. The same went for Shi Feng's equipment. However, at least his was the best Swordsman Set Equipment for players Level 10 and below. His teammates' equipment, on the other hand, could only be described as miserable.

As of this moment, there were already more than 500 players who had reached Level 10 and had their names etched on the Ranking List of the White River City region. Which was to say, there were already more than 500 players who had entered White River City. A majority of these players were members of well-known Guilds. Aside from doing some quests in White River City right now, these players' main objective remained Dungeon raiding, as Dungeons were the best source for good equipment. Only with good equipment would these players level up with greater efficiency.

Hence, plenty of Guilds had already started diving into Dungeons.

White River City was different from towns. God's Domain only truly began after players reached Level 10 and the city. As for the town-life players experienced at the start of the game, it was merely an introduction to life in God's Domain.

There were plenty of Level 10 Dungeons throughout the White River City region. The number of Level 10 to Level 12 Party Dungeons exceeded 20, and their raiding difficulty varied greatly. Meanwhile, 10-man Level 10 Team Dungeons numbered slightly lower, but there were still 12 such Dungeons available. As for Level 10 large-scale Dungeons, there were 3 within the White River City region.

As long as one successfully raided one of these three large Dungeons, they could activate the Card Set exchange system. The value of Card Sets would also be at their highest when that time came.

Meanwhile, after entering White River City, the normal raiding procedure for players began with the Party Dungeons to upgrade their equipment. They would then proceed to small-scale Team Dungeons and finally, the Level 10 large-scale Dungeons. Right now, many Guilds had already started raiding small Dungeons and were continuously upgrading their equipment. Eventually, all the Guilds in White River City would have only one goal: obtaining the First Clear of one of the three large-scale Team Dungeons.

A team could only obtain the First Clear by clearing the Hell Mode of the Dungeon. Moreover, the First Clear of large-scale Team Dungeons was slightly different from that of small-scale Team Dungeons. The achievement would not only be announced throughout the White River City region, but it would also be announced throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. It was one of the best ways to increase one's fame throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom, and it was also a display of a Guild's strength.

Hence, large-scale Dungeons were considered the true battlegrounds for the various large Guilds.

Meanwhile, for these Guilds who frequently battled inside Dungeons, Whetstones would become one of their strategic supplies. This situation would further increase these Guilds' need for Hard Stones, causing the price of Hard Stones to soar once again.

Thus, Shi Feng chose to sell his stock of Hard Stones at this time.

Right now, Shi Feng was not focused on conquering the large-scale Team Dungeons. He knew his own limits, and he would not try to compete with those well-known Guilds. His goal right now was only to conquer the Level 15 small-scale Team Dungeon, the Demon's Castle. However, regarding strength or numbers, his team was still far from capable of raiding the Demon's Castle. They needed some upgrades before they could rise to that challenge.

Arriving at the Auction House of White River City, Shi Feng casually took a seat in the corner and opened the Auction House's system interface. He then selected to sell his wares within the White River City region. That way, he would not need to foot such a large fee. Similar to selling at a town's Auction House, only players within the White River City region could see the items he placed on auction.

As for selling the Hard Stones to the other cities, Shi Feng had never intended to do so. Just the expensive handling fee alone would greatly reduce his profits. Not to mention, the other cities were not as much in need of Hard Stones as White River City, so the prices the stones would sell for much less.

Shi Feng first placed ten stacks of Hard Stones on auction with a minimum price of 10 Silver Coins per stack and a buyout price of 12 Silver Coins. He did so to take a look at the results. If he placed all 500 stacks up for auction at once, it could drastically affect the market; Hard Stones' prices would plummet. Hence, he would slowly sell off his stock, carrying out hunger marketing.

As expected, before even a minute had passed, all ten stacks of Hard Stones sold. Moreover, they had been purchased at the buyout price of 12 Silvers. There wasn't even a competition to speak of.

"It can't be, right?" Shi Feng was stunned when he received the notification from the Auction House.

Such a great demand had far exceeded his expectations. Although he knew that there was a shortage of Hard Stones right now, he never thought that someone would pay 12 Silvers without hesitation. This was simply insane!

Did these people not know that one Silver Coin could be exchanged for 107 Credits right now?

Spending an additional 2 Silver coins would be the equivalent of spending 214 Credits. To a fresh university graduate, that would be a tenth of their monthly salary.

Chapter 198 - trial of god

Shi Feng had only sold 10 stacks of Hard Stones. When compared to the demand of the entire White River City region, it was a drop in the ocean.

Seeing such burning demand, Shi Feng placed another 10 stacks of Hard Stones up for auction.

This time, he changed the minimum price to 12 Silver Coins and the buyout price at 15 Silver Coins. By doing so, he tried to find out the highest price Hard Stones could currently sell for and the bottom line of these desperate players.

As expected, nobody paid the buyout price immediately this time. Instead, they bid over the Hard Stones. However, the numbers rose very slowly, and there was only a small increase of several Coppers with each consecutive bid.

One minute later...

The price of the 10 stacks of Hard Stones finally displayed a significant increase. The bidding had gone from 12 Silver Coins to 13 Silver Coins, and it continued to rise to 13 Silver, 30 Coppers before finally stopping. Obviously, this was the final price these desperate players were willing to fork out.

"Their bottom line should be around 13 Silver Coins, huh? Still, this has surpassed my expectations. In the future, I can simply sit tight and wait for the money to roll in," Shi Feng also felt that 13 Silver Coins was the limit for Hard Stones. If the prices further increased, then aside from Guilds, average players could not endure such an expense.

Moreover, Shi Feng had only paid around 30 Coppers for each stack of Hard Stones when he purchased them in bulk. Now, he sold them for 13 Silver Coins per stack; their value had increased over 30 folds. One could not be too greedy. Shi Feng was currently satisfied with the results.

Shi Feng then continued removing Hard Stones from his bag, setting them up for auction; he sold 20 stacks per batch, and each batch would be available every ten minutes or so. Considering the consumption rate and finances of the players in the White River City region, 1,600 to 1,700 stacks should sell each day.

If Shi Feng sold a thousand stacks per day, not only could the entire White River City region fully deplete his stock, it also would not cause any adverse effects on the price of Hard Stones.

If Shi Feng could sell 1,000 stacks each day, he could earn over 100 Gold every day by selling the Hard Stones at 13 Silvers per stack. Moreover, these were genuine Gold Coins and not Credits. Such a daily income was more than ten times higher than the daily income of first-rate Guilds. With such funds in his hands, Shi Feng would not have to worry about financial issues when he developed his Guild in the future.

With the sales system all set and done, Shi Feng's finger tapped and slid, calling out the half-transparent communication interface. His finger then moved and tapped on his good friend Blackie's call button.

"Blackie, are you guys done with the Reputation Quests? If you are, then gather in front of the teleportation gate. We'll go Dungeon diving together," Shi Feng asked.

"We're already done with our quests. However, it seems that we've been trapped inside a sealed map. We need to go through a trial if we wish to leave," Blackie grew excited when he heard about Dungeon diving, and he wished he could immediately go to display his prowess. Ever since he obtained Mavis' Guard, he had started browsing the internet and watching videos of experts displaying their skills. He had also frequently sparred with his team members, and his techniques had greatly improved. He would definitely shock Shi Feng with his new techniques. Unfortunate, he couldn't do any of that right now.

"A sealed map?"

Shi Feng's eyebrows wrinkled, his mind entering a deep thought. He did not know how Blackie and the others managed to enter a sealed map. Logically, the quests he sent them on had no such locations.

However, after recalling Blackie's description of the place, he suddenly understood the situation Blackie and the others were in.

He could not help but admit that their luck was truly impressive.

There were various miraculous opportunities available in God's Domain, and players most frequently discovered the Trial of God. Players also called it the Trial of Heroes, and it was a test given by Gods for mortals to become heroes. As long as it was a Level 10 map or above, there was a chance for this trial to appear. Players would occasionally encounter this trial out in the fields, questing or grinding. However, less than one out of ten thousand players would have a chance of meeting this trial.

Blackie and the others were definitely lucky for encountering this trial.

Every Trial of Heroes was a heaven-sent opportunity. As long as players could clear it, they would receive a bountiful reward. In this trial, equipment and EXP were considered the lowest form of reward. If players could perform exceedingly well in the Trial of Heroes, they could receive permanent Attribute increases, super-rare or improved skills, an abundant amount of Weapon Mastery, and many more super-rare rewards.

Weapons and equipment could only be used for a period of time; they were like foreign objects. They were not truly part of one's strength. However, it would be a different story if players could receive things like permanent Attribute increases and super-rare skills. The value of such things far surpassed that of weapons and equipment, and they would be of immense help towards one's future development.

"How many colors were on the trial door that you guys entered?" Shi Feng asked.

Shi Feng's question confused Blackie. However, since Shi Feng had asked, Blackie tried to recall the number of different colors on the large double doors they had entered. He then said unconfidently, "I think there were four colors."

"Four?! Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed?!" Shi Feng immediately wanted to scold Blackie.

The Trial of God did not only possess rewards, but it would also mete out punishments. The punishments and rewards given were also equal.

In God's Domain, with opportunity came danger. There was no such thing as a free lunch in God's Domain, and even if there were, it might very well poison you to death.

The Trial of Heroes was normally categorized into seven tiers. If there were only one color on the teleportation gate, then the trial would be Tier 1; it was also the easiest trial to clear. Along with the increase in number of colors, the difficulty would increase exponentially.

If there were four colors on the Door of Trials, then it would be a Tier 4 trial. Its difficulty would be around eight times or above that of a Tier 1 trial. If Blackie and the others could clear it, the minimum rewards they could obtain would be Fine-Gold rank or above weapons and equipment. Normally, it would be a Dark-Gold ranked item. If they could finish the trial with a sufficiently high completion rate, there was a possibility they could receive permanent Attribute increases or have one of their skills upgraded to a stronger version.

However...

The punishment for a Tier 4 trial was no joking matter. If Blackie and the others failed to complete the trial, the lightest punishment they might receive was a massive loss in EXP; they could very well lose several levels. Blackie and the others might even lose a portion of their Attributes or skill mastery permanently, possibly entering a weakened state for a long period of time.

Such severe punishments were also one of the reasons why most players would avoid entering the Door of Trials after finding one. They would instead choose to sell the information to a large Guild, making a huge profit.

"Brother Feng, are we in a very dangerous situation?" hearing Shi Feng's panic, Blackie could not help but swallow nervously, his heartbeat increasing in pace.

Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others who stood beside Blackie also became extraordinarily serious after hearing Shi Feng's words. They no longer dared belittle this trial.

"I can only give you guys advice. Act within your capabilities. Do not attempt meritorious deeds; only try to leave in one piece. Don't forget to pass on my advice to everyone in the team. However, Blackie, since you have Mavis' Guard, logically, you guys should have a very high possibility of clearing the trial. However, remember not to rush things. Even if you have to waste a lot of time, you must never hurry. The rest will depend on your battle techniques, intelligence, and wisdom," Shi Feng then continued to pass on all his knowledge about the trials onto Blackie. As for whether or not they could clear the trial, it would depend solely on Blackie and the others.

The tests of the Trial of Heroes had never repeated, so there were no known strategies to conquering one.

However, in Shi Feng's previous life, after collecting the knowledge and wisdom of many predecessors, he managed to form a strategy that was not an actual strategy, which was to act within one's own capabilities and plan before taking action. One must not rush when carrying out the Trial of Heroes. Other than that, there was no true strategy for conquering the Trial of Heroes.

"With Fire Dance, Cola, and Blackie's Mavi's Guard, they should be able to clear a four-colored trial. However, they should not be able to leave the trial in a short time..."

Shi Feng felt a headache building. He originally intended to upgrade their equipment by raiding a Dungeon. However, that plan had gone down the drain now. He did not even know if Blackie and the others could manage to leave the trial within a week.

The Trial of Heroes was never simple, and it was an extremely time-consuming trial. In Shi Feng's previous life, it wasn't unusual if players spent more than a month clearing a trial.

In the past, a top-tier expert had once made a fair evaluation of the trials. A five-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling an Epic Quest. A six-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling a Legendary Quest. As for a seven-colored trial, it had the difficulty rivaling a top-tier Legendary Quest.

In Shi Feng's previous life, even after God's Domain had been in operation for over a decade, there had yet to be a player that could clear a seven-colored trial. Of course, part of the reason was that no true apex expert had encountered a seven-colored trial.

In the past, the highest tiered trial cleared was a six-colored trial. Meanwhile, one of the conquerors of a six-colored trial was the Cleric God, Violet Cloud, one of the publicly acknowledged top ten Cleric Gods in God's Domain.

Thinking that Violet Cloud was currently with Blackie and the others, Shi Feng hesitantly released a sigh of relief. Although Violet Cloud had yet to grow into her prime, her potential could not be ignored. For a four-colored trial, Blackie and the others should... might... possibly... be able to clear it.

"Forget it. No point worrying about it too much. It seems that I can only upgrade my own equipment for now," Shi Feng sighed. Habitually, he opened up the Auction House interface, searching for items under the Miscellaneous section.

The Miscellaneous section of the Auction House was just like TaoBao[1]. Oftentimes, players would auction some good things without realizing their actual value or things that they felt were not valuable at all. Hence, Shi Feng often browsed through this section, hoping to find a lucky catch.

Just as Shi Feng casually flipped through the pages...

"Flaming Sun Scripture."

Shi Feng incidentally discovered a flame-red book displayed on the item interface of the Auction House. Shi Feng's expression trembled at the sight of this book, and he could not help but wish he could immediately snatch this book into his hands.

"Someone dared to sell even this item? This is simply ludicrous."

Shi Feng's sight then shifted towards the price tag displayed on the upper-left corner the ancient book.

* * *

TL Notes:

[1] TaoBao: Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website similar to eBay, Amazon and Rakuten, which is operated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang by Alibaba Group.

Chapter 199 - flaming sun scripture

Displayed on the half-transparent pale-blue screen, the price of the Flaming Sun Scripture was similarly striking.

"Crap! This seller must have been dropped on his head as a child!" Shi Feng loudly cursed the moment he saw the price.

In actuality, Shi Feng wasn't the only person who loudly cursed when they saw the price for this Flaming Sun Scripture; some players would even couple their curses with a few finger motions.

A thousand Gold Coins. This person was simply insane.

Shi Feng then took a look at the seller's name.

"Sinfully Handsome."

Shi Feng could only look at this person with respect when seeing this exotic name. Just how much of a narcissist was this person?

Looking at this name, Shi Feng could also vaguely guess the reason why the price of this Flaming Sun Scripture was so high.

However, since he had seen the Flaming Sun Scripture, he could not easily give it up. Hence, he sent out a communication request to this person called Sinfully Handsome. However, Shi Feng hid his name when he made the call, preventing this Sinfully Handsome from discovering his identity.

After waiting for ten seconds or so, Sinfully Handsome picked up the call.

"Who are you? What business do you have with me? You can't be asking me to power-level you, right? If you're a pretty girl, this brother can carry you to victory with me," narcissism filled Sinfully Handsome's voice when he spoke, and he gave others the hint of being a hooligan.

Shi Feng was instantly dumbfounded when he heard Sinfully Handsome's words.

Girl?

Carry you to victory?

Just who was this person?

Even a person like this could obtain the Flaming Sun Scripture? Was this world already in such a mess?

"Hey, speak a few words, why don't you? Are you dead? Don't tell me you're a tranny, right? This brother doesn't have that kind of taste," Sinfully Handsome suddenly started panicking.

"Hello, I'm interested in buying the Flaming Sun Scripture that you've placed on the Auction House. I wonder if you can sell it to me at a lower price?" Shi Feng asked.

"Oh! So you want to buy that item? Of course, I can!" Sinfully Handsome smiled in realization, "I'll slightly reduce the price for you then! How does 900 Gold sound? This is a very justifiable price!"

Shi Feng faintly smiled at Sinfully Handsome's asking price. He then calmly stated his own price, "20 Silver Coins."

Shi Feng did not believe Sinfully Handsome knew the Flaming Sun Scripture's true value.

Only fire-type humanoids Level 10 or higher would drop the Flaming Sun Scripture. However, its drop rate was somewhat low, so its selling price was very high; the average person usually couldn't afford it. Even so, it was still not worth an insane 1,000 Gold. With that kind of money, players could even purchase an Epic ranked item. Why would they bother buying an item like the Flaming Sun Scripture if they had that kind of money?

"Hey, fellow brother, you're not being sincere here. You are the one who took the initiative to contact me, yet, you're offering such a price? Do you know which Guild I belong to?" Sinfully Handsome beamed a smile, proudly saying, "Have you heard of Dark Star before? It's an apex third-rate Guild in White River City! With this name alone, shouldn't you at least offer 100 Gold?"

Dark Star, it was indeed a powerful Guild in White River City.

However, what did that have to do with Shi Feng?

"One Gold Coin. If you don't wish to sell, then forget it," Shi Feng understood that Sinfully Handsome took him for a fool. However, he was also in quite a need for the Flaming Sun Scripture, so he decided to offer such a high price. Unfortunately, Sinfully Handsome misunderstood Shi Feng's intentions.

"You have to think through this clearly. In the entire White River City, only I possess this Flaming Sun Scripture! Seeing that you're an honest person, I'll make a large sacrifice and sell it to you for 10 Gold with an additional 100,000 Credits. If you still don't want it, I can only look for another buyer," Sinfully Handsome confidently said.

"Goodbye!" Shi Feng immediately disconnected the call.

Sinfully Handsome suddenly panicked when Shi Feng disconnected the call. He did not think that Shi Feng would be so decisive.

"At least try to bargain!"

Watching his 1 Gold Coin fly out of his grasp, Sinfully Handsome's heart bled with regret. However, he was too embarrassed to contact Shi Feng again.

"Humph! I don't believe that you can so easily give up on this Flaming Sun Scripture!" Sinfully Handsome snorted.

Although he did not know the use of the Flaming Sun Scripture, based on its powerful and tyrannical name, it was not an ordinary item. Sinfully Handsome was very sure that Shi Feng knew this item's value. However, he did not wish to pay too high a price, so he retreated for the sake of advancing. With this thought, Sinfully Handsome was further assured of the Flaming Sun Scripture's value; it was definitely worth more than 1,000 Gold Coins.

Hence, Sinfully Handsome ran towards the Auction House, changing the price of the Flaming Sun Scripture from 1,000 Gold Coins to 10,000 Gold Coins. He wanted to see if Shi Feng was willing to beg him for this item.

However, when Sinfully Handsome arrived at the Auction House, he discovered that there was not only a single Flaming Sun Scripture on auction anymore; there were five of these books now. Aside from his copy, priced at 10,000 Gold Coins, the other four books were all priced at 15 Silver Coins.

The most inconceivable thing was that the number of Flaming Sun Scriptures up for auction continued to increase. In the blink of an eye, there were already 10 copies of the book up for sale.

"Just what sort of situation is this?" Sinfully Handsome's eyes widened; he thought he was dreaming right now. How could there be so many Flaming Sun Scriptures??

While the quantity of these Flaming Sun Scriptures increased, someone else bought them, one after another.

There were a total of 32 copies of the Flaming Sun Scripture offered in the Auction House. Among them, Shi Feng had bought 30 of them. Only Sinfully Handsome's copy and another copy sold by Nobody Cares for 20 Silver Coins remained.

Sinfully Handsome suddenly thought of something. He then hurriedly opened the trade section under White River City's official forums.

As expected, there was an anonymous post stating: _Buying Flaming Sun Scriptures at 14 Silver Coins per book! Willing to purchase it at 15 Silver Coins if placed in the Auction House._

One could often find such purchasing methods in virtual reality games. After all, players had plenty of items that they kept on hand without placing them on the Auction House. There were only a scarce amount of players like Sinfully Handsome who would place items of unknown value on the Auction House.

Shi Feng also remembered this fact, and he thought that, by now, there should be quite a few players who have gotten their hands on a Flaming Sun Scripture.

"Ah! My 1 Gold Coin!" Sinfully Handsome wanted to cry. Originally, he thought that the Flaming Sun Scripture's value could rival that of an Epic ranked item. However, after seeing so many other players possessing this item, Sinfully Handsome immediately realized his mistake. If he had sold his copy for 1 Gold Coin, he would have made a huge profit.

Elsewhere, Shi Feng felt great satisfaction after purchasing 30 copies of the Flaming Sun Scripture. He would have completely forgotten about this item's existence if he had not discovered the Flaming Sun Scripture on the Auction House in the first place.

"Thirty books should be enough for my purposes." Shi Feng looked at the 30 Flaming Sun Scriptures laying in his bag, utterly pleased.

Although he had spent 4 Gold, 50 Silvers, shrinking his assets slightly, the Gold Coins he possessed would only depreciate as time passed. It was much better if he used those Gold Coins to profit further.

Thus, Shi Feng had spent so much money to purchase the Flaming Sun Scriptures.

In Shi Feng's previous life, plenty of players had obtained the Flaming Sun Scripture. Unfortunately, none of them knew its purpose. Hence, they sold it at bargain prices. However, there was a Ranger who had desperately bought these Flaming Sun Scriptures. Even after the prices of the Flaming Sun Scriptures rose to 1 Gold Coin per book, that player still bought them without hesitation, earning the suspicion of many.

So, many players started to investigate the Flaming Sun Scripture.

On one occasion, a party of players met with a Ranger who grinded solo at the Level 25 map, Flame God's Cave. Moreover, that Ranger displayed a shocking scene of killing the Boss and Elite monsters there by himself. Later on, however, the players discovered that the reason the Ranger could grind at the Flame God's Cave alone was all thanks to the Flaming Sun Scripture.

From then on, the secret of the Flaming Sun Scripture was revealed, causing its price to skyrocket. In the end, even when the Flaming Sun Scripture sold for 3 Gold Coins per book, there were still players willing to buy it.

Right now, Shi Feng had only spent 15 Silver Coins to purchase each book. He had made a huge profit from this trade.

In any case, Blackie and the others still needed a long time before they could return to White River City. Since Shi Feng had nothing better to do, he might as well grind the Boss at the Flame God's Cave. After all, his current strength was too weak right now. He could complete neither the Epic Quest, Darkness Descends, nor the Unique Quest, Demon's Heart. Moreover, there were plenty of important quests in White River City that required a team to carry out. This was the tragedy that befell all solo players. Hence, grinding Bosses was the best option available for Shi Feng at the moment.

Most importantly, the Flame God's Cave was a valuable location specialized in dropping forging designs. These forging designs had made that Ranger into a rich man, and he had earned over 600 Gold Coins from all the forging designs he sold, becoming the envy of countless players.

Soon after, Shi Feng hurried towards the teleportation gate. He paid a fee of 24 Silver Coins and teleported to Red Flame Fortress, the nearest teleportation point to the Flame God's Cave.

Chapter 200 - flame god's cave

Red Flame Fortress was located in the middle of the Scorching Hot Canyon; a large volcano loomed behind it. The terrain around this region was extremely hot all year round, and the air was similarly parched and blistering. A gust of wind here was like a wave of heat, and one wouldn't feel a hint of relief from it.

Meanwhile, the surrounding environment of the canyon consisted of only scorched, barren earth and mountains. All around, web-like cracks decorated the ground.

Just this sight would cause one to lose their appetite.

As this was a virtual environment, players could fully experience the scorching heat.

Being parched and drenched in sweat were only minor inconveniences, but one's vision blurring? That was a bigger problem. Moreover, battling in such an environment was extremely taxing to a player's stamina.

Due to such a brutal environment, many players did not like grinding or questing here.

Moreover, the Scorching Hot Canyon wasn't the only Level 20 to Level 25 map. There were more than 20 such maps within the White River City region. The millions of players within the White River City region could simply choose any one of these other locations to grind and do quests. For example, the Cooling Lakeside, the Shady Forest, and such were all good locations. There was no need for them to torture themselves by coming to the Scorching Hot Canyon.

For Shi Feng, however, such a brutal environment did not affect him much.

In addition to having activated the Hidden Passive Skill, Basic Body Strengthening, Shi Feng also had 20 points of Fire Resistance. As a result, the high temperature of the Scorching Hot Canyon did not have any effect on Shi Feng. Shi Feng would not greatly exhaust his stamina by fighting in this hot environment either. Moreover, the majority of the monsters in the Scorching Hot Canyon dealt fire-type damage, so this place was suitable for players like Shi Feng, who had high Fire Resistance, to level. Shi Feng's leveling efficiency would increase by at least 20% compared to leveling up at other maps.

In God's Domain, nature's power was very strong. If players wanted to level up quickly, they needed to overcome many of such natural environments. As players progressed down their paths in God's Domain, the importance of resistances would also increase.

This was why Shi Feng grew excited when he learned that the Ice-Blue Devil Flame increased both his Fire Resistance and Ice Resistance.

After arriving at the Flame Red Fortress, Shi Feng opened the system map. Confirming the location of the Flame God's Cave, Shi Feng advanced towards it along a red dirt road.

Although there were plenty of Level 20 and higher monsters, such as the Fire Raging Bull and Violet Flame Wolf, along the way to the Flame God's Cave, Shi Feng walked on the official road. There were normally high-level NPCs patrolling the official roads, and these NPCs were usually 15 Levels higher than the map they occupied. Moreover, they patrolled in small parties rather than individually.

If there were any foolish monsters that dared come close to the official road, these Level 40 NPC's would immediately dispatch the offending beast. The moment they came within a 40-yard distance to the official road, the patrolling NPCs would discover these monsters and turn them into soup. Hence, all the surrounding monsters did not dare come within 40 yards of the official road at all, allowing players to travel safely through it.

\---

Around half an hour later, Shi Feng finally arrived at the Flame God's Cave.

The Flame God's Cave was situated close to a volcano at the outer edges of the Scorching Hot Canyon. Plenty of Elite monsters and Chieftain ranked Bosses resided within the cave. However, even when players discovered this location, they would normally choose to turn around and leave as the monsters here were simply too strong. If monsters had not chased that party, they would not have run to the Flame God's Cave, incidentally discovering the Ranger's secret of grinding Bosses and Elite monsters.

However, only Shi Feng knew of this secret right now.

The monsters in the Flame God's Cave were all Level 25, and generally, only players who had reached Level 20 would grind here. However, Shi Feng's equipment had the Ignore Levels Attribute, so he could barely grind here as well, though with much lower efficiency.

Regardless, he would still be grinding Level 25 monsters. Even if his speed were slower than a Level 20 player, his gains would still be much greater compared to grinding Level 14 monsters.

As for why the monsters in the Flame God's Cave were so amazing, it was mainly because of the extraordinarily high damage of their fire-type attacks. Even if it were only a Level 25 Common monster, it could still kill an MT of the same level with just two or three moves. Not to mention, the monsters in the Flame God's Cave all lived in groups, and one would usually meet five or six monsters at the same time. Even an MT with top-tier equipment could not handle so many monsters at once. There was also a large amount of Elite and Special Elite monsters here; they could practically one-shot an MT of the same level. Hence, even when players knew about the Flame God's Cave, there was still nobody daring enough to grind at this place.

However, it was a different story when one had the Flaming Sun Scripture.

The Flaming Sun Scripture could grant players a Flaming Sun's Blessing effect. The effect was closely related to the surrounding environment; the denser the fire-type mana present in a location, the greater were its effects. The effect lasted for two hours.

However, the introduction of the Flaming Sun Scripture did not reveal such an effect, so players in the past couldn't discover its exact purpose.

The Flame God's Cave could be considered as one of the locations within Scorching Hot Canyon that had the densest fire-type mana. As a result, the fire-type damage of the monsters inside was extraordinarily high. However, precisely because of this same reason, the Flame God's Cave was also a perfect place for one to use the Flaming Sun Scripture.

However, even with the Flaming Sun Scripture, Shi Feng needed to be extremely careful while he was here. After all, the Flame God's Cave was a nest for Level 25 monsters. With the level gap of 11 Levels, these monsters could easily extinguish Shi Feng's life with just two moves, and Shi Feng would not even have the chance to resist before dying. Moreover, Shi Feng's level was just too low; these monsters could detect him easily. Hence, he needed to act with extreme caution.

The moment Shi Feng carefully set foot in the cave, a wave of hot air swept past him from within the cave. Just when Shi Feng's five senses heightened to their maximum limit, his system communication suddenly rang out.

"Crap! That nearly gave me a heart attack!" Shi Feng jumped, taken by surprise. He glanced at the system notification.

Fortunately, monsters could not hear the system notifications. In the same way team chat worked, only specified players could hear them, while outsiders would remain unaffected.

"Flying Dragon? Why is he playing God's Domain as well?" Shi Feng wrinkled his eyebrows at the sight of the caller ID blinking before him.

This Flying Dragon was none other than Shi Feng's classmate and the ninth-ranked in Jin Hai University's fighting competition, Ling Feilong. However, in Shi Feng's previous life, Ling Feilong only joined God's Domain long after the game's release. At that time, Shi Feng had already become the Guild Leader of Shadow.

"For Ling Feilong to join God's Domain in advance, could this be the result of the butterfly effect?"

Shi Feng lowered his head in thought. However, he soon revealed a smirk. In this life, he had not revealed his character's ID to anyone else. As for Blackie, Shi Feng had long since told him not to reveal anything. Hence, no one in Jin Hai University knew Shi Feng was Ye Feng. Similarly, nobody else knew that Blackie was Black Cloud in God's Domain. Blackie's friends only knew that he was getting by fairly well in the game.

"Who are you? What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng answered the call with a cold and imposing tone as if he were a god looking down on an ant.

Ling Feilong immediately felt chills all down his body when he heard Shi Feng's voice, followed by immense pressure. He felt like he had just walked out of a cold pool of water. His heartbeat instantly soared to 180 beats per minute.

"This is Ye Feng, the god-ranked expert that caused even Martial Union to submit? His voice alone is already so imposing and threatening... The pressure he gives off is even stronger than Brother Zhang's! It's as expected of a god-ranked expert. No wonder Brother Zhang wanted me to recruit him."  Ling Feilong was inwardly shocked, and he grew even more respectful towards Shi Feng.

Originally, Zhou Yuhu should have been the one to contact the god-ranked expert. However, Zhou Yuhu previously had a falling out with the god-ranked expert, so the responsibility had been pushed onto him, Ling Feilong, instead. Ling Feilong felt that his chance to shine had arrived.

As long as he could deal with this matter appropriately and gain the favor of such a god-ranked expert, his position in Shadow would rise quickly in the future; he would surely surpass Zhou Yuhu. After all, Zhou Yuhu had once found conflict with this god-ranked expert. In the future, Zhou Yuhu would certainly have difficulty getting by in Shadow.

Before Ling Feilong had personally felt Ye Feng's imposing aura, he always thought that nobody could be as strong as Brother Zhang. However, Ling Feilong was now completely certain that, if this god-ranked expert joined Shadow, even Zhang Luowei would have to submit to his strength. Meanwhile, Shadow would similarly fall under the control of this expert.

"How are you, expert? I am Shadow's representative, Flying Dragon. We sincerely want to recruit a god-ranked expert like yourself into Shadow. As for the treatment you will receive, please rest assured. We at Shadow will certainly not mistreat you," Ling Feilong's tone was both soft and respectful when he spoke. After all, the god-ranked expert before his eyes right now someone he needed to fawn over desperately in the future. He was truly afraid that this god-ranked expert would immediately disconnect his call.