Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

461-480

Chapter 461 - exceeding potential

When the sun set, Shi Feng had already been in deep slumber for over a dozen hours.

_Di! Di! Di!_

The virtual gaming cabin inside the bedroom continuously let out a warning sound.

At this moment, the Nutrient Solution inside the virtual gaming cabin was already depleted.

After the alarm of the gaming cabin rang for some time, the cover of the cabin suddenly opened.

"So tired." Shi Feng opened his eyes and unwillingly climbed out of the virtual gaming cabin. He then took a look at the time. "What? I've actually slept for 18 hours!"

Although he had exceeded his mental limit once again, it was not as severe as the first time. Even so, he had still slept for such a long time...

"Just what is going on here?"

After Shi Feng woke up, his entire body felt drained. Even the Nutrient Solution he had refilled just a few days ago was completely exhausted.

Normally, a full tank of Nutrient Solution could last a player 15 days. The previous time Shi Feng had exceeded his limit, some Solution still remained. Now, however, the tank was completely emptied...

However, compared to the matter of the Nutrient Solution's depletion, his body's current condition was much more inconceivable for Shi Feng. Not only was his body extremely weak, but he also felt a piercing hunger that he had never felt before. He was so hungry that he could eat an entire cow right now.

Although Shi Feng did not understand what was going on, he did know that, if he did not replenish his body's nutrients at once, he could very well faint from hunger.

He immediately retrieved the two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid he had set aside for his parents.

At this moment, Shi Feng could clearly tell that the hunger he was feeling did not come from his stomach. Instead, it was his body that starved of energy. Even eating a meal would not sate this hunger. What he needed to do right now was replenish the energy of the cells inside his body. Meanwhile, the S-rank Nutrient Fluids were the best solution for this problem.

After removing the cap, Shi Feng directly gulped down a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid.

When the S-rank Nutrient Fluid reached Shi Feng's intestinal tract, the originally cooling liquid suddenly transformed into a warm current that moved through his blood, re-energizing his entire body.

Five minutes after drinking the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, Shi Feng felt much more comfortable than before. His spirit had also recovered significantly, and his body was no longer trembling as it had before.

The value of one million Credits was really not overstated.

However, this feeling only lasted for a short while before the feeling of hunger flooded his mind once more. He felt as if he was a wolf that had been starving for three consecutive days; a bite of meat was simply not enough to sate him. The hunger he was feeling right now was even more intense than earlier.

_Is one bottle not enough?_ Shi Feng was speechless.

A single battle actually required him to sacrifice two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids.

_No choice._

Shi Feng could only remove the cap on the last bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and empty its contents.

Originally, one had to wait an interval of three to five days before consuming another bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid as the energy contained within the liquid was extremely concentrated. A person's body was simply incapable of completely absorbing all that energy. Instead, drinking two bottles consecutively would only damage one's body due to overnutrition.

When Shi Feng drank the second bottle, he felt a little heartache.

Each bottle cost one million Credits. Moreover, one could not simply purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids even if they could afford it.

In the past, even though he had been the Guild Leader of Shadow, he only got to drink one bottle a month. Now, he had actually drunk two bottles in a single day. If others were to find out about this, they would definitely look down on him as a wastrel.

However, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were indeed amazing. After drinking two bottles and resting for a few minutes, Shi Feng was already completely rid of his fatigue. His body had also recovered to normal. Following which, Shi Feng drank another dozen or so bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluid before recovering to his peak condition...

"Is it my imagination?"

After recovering completely, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that his five senses were much more acute than before. Originally, he could never hear the chirping of birds when inside his bedroom. Now, however, he could actually hear it.

Besides being able to hear the chirping of birds, when Shi Feng looked at his own room, he was also able to see with much greater clarity than before. His mind had also become much faster.

"Did breaking through my mental limit multiple times allow my brain to become more active?" Shi Feng's heart was filled with ecstasy.

He had tried fortifying his body many times before to increase the flow of blood into his brain, in addition to providing his body with various nutrients. He had done so to develop his brain's potential and boost its activity level, so that he could create his legacy in God's Domain.

Now, he had actually achieved a breakthrough!

The human brain had always been a domain filled with mystery. In the past, even the most amazing human could only exhibit 10% of their brain's potential. Advancements in technology had made developing the brain's potential possible, but it was extremely difficult to do so. It was not something one could succeed at just by trying.

In Shi Feng's previous life, countless people had tried their best and had spent large sums of money just to raise their brain's potential by a tiny fraction. Yet, even so, these people had felt that slight improvement worth their sacrifice.

As the activity of the brain increased, a person's control over their body would also improve significantly.

In God's Domain, there were many genius players who possessed extraordinary talents. However, why were these geniuses better than ordinary players?

It was because their brain's activity was out of the ordinary. As a result, their control over their game avatar surpassed ordinary players', allowing them to carry out actions that no ordinary player was capable of.

Just like Soaring Snake whom Shi Feng had met some time ago. Soaring Snake was a gifted genius who possessed unmatched reflexes.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had broken through that limit by chance, so how could he not grow excited?

Although he had only received a slight improvement, Shi Feng could now see a new path opening up for him.

Moreover, this was a path that led directly to the peak of God's Domain.

"It seems that I need to prepare many more bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid in the future." Shi Feng felt uneasy when he recalled the piercing hunger that was transmitted to his brain earlier.

After breaking past the limit of his mental power, his brain naturally needed a massive amount of energy to recover. This time, he was only fortunate that he had sufficient bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid to allow him to achieve a breakthrough. Otherwise, he would have had to be admitted into the hospital to rest for some time.

Moreover, resting at the hospital would not necessarily increase his brain's activity and develop its potential.

When Shi Feng thought about improving his brain's activity, his thirst for S-rank Nutrient Fluids grew even more intense.

Only now did Shi Feng understand why the first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in the past were purchasing S-rank Nutrient Fluids in bulk. There was an 80% chance that they had done so in order to nurture apex experts. On the other hand, he had been under the misconception all this time that S-rank Nutrient Fluids were only used to strengthen a person's physique.

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_

Suddenly, Shi Feng's quantum watch started ringing. Meanwhile, the person calling him was none other than Big Dipper Training Center's Chairman, Xiao Yu.

"Master Shi Feng, our side has already completed the preparations for the fighting competition. As for the exact time of the event, it will be set at two days from now, at 10 o'clock in the morning. May I know your opinion on this? If you are not free, I can still delay the event by two or three days," Xiao Yu said.

"Let's go with two days from now, then." Shi Feng was in a very good mood at the moment. Hearing Xiao Yu's words, he became even more elated.

As long as he won the competition, he would obtain not only five virtual gaming cabins but also 15 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid.

"I have already sent the information regarding your opponent to your quantum space. However, that person is very mysterious, and the information we have collected on him is very limited. We only have the records for a few of his matches. He had ended a majority of his matches in just a single move." Xiao Yu had not expected Shi Feng to remain so calm. He knew that Zhao Ruoxi had long since told Shi Feng every little detail about his opponent's strength, so Shi Feng should know how amazing his opponent was. Yet, now, not only was Shi Feng not anxious, but he was even showing a hint of anticipation.

"I understand. I'll research it a little." Shi Feng nodded. "I still have other matters to attend to, so I'll be hanging up first."

After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call.

Following a period of rest, Shi Feng was already fully recovered. He still had many matters he needed to deal with in God's Domain. Since he had slept for so long just now, he naturally could not delay any longer, which was why he had ended the call in such a hurry. After refilling the Nutrient Solution inside the virtual gaming cabin, he lay down inside the cabin and entered God's Domain once more.

Chapter 462 - war of attrition 

When Shi Feng logged into the game, the location he appeared at was still within White Fog Canyon.

At this moment, the sky in God's Domain was dusky. There was still over an hour until dawn.

"It sure is quiet."

Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, failing to notice any players or monsters. There was only the sound of leaves rustling in the cold wind. This was a very abnormal situation in White Fog Canyon.

However, Shi Feng did not stay in this spot for too long. He dashed towards the exit of the canyon.

At this moment, Shi Feng's Weakened state had already ended, having recovered his peak condition. If one were to look at Shi Feng's running figure right now, they would not be able to see him clearly at all. They would only see a black figure darting across the map. Shi Feng was like a healthy and elegant leopard.

Just as Shi Feng was about to leave White Fog Canyon, a group of over one hundred Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys leaped out of the forest and blocked his path.

The monsters in White Fog Canyon were very dangerous due to being in a constant berserk state.

Now that was night time,players would have their vision reduced while monsters would not be affected in the slightest. As a result, players would find it much more difficult to fight at night.

Facing against over a hundred Elite monsters, even an elite party would die unavenged. Only a large team of over a hundred players could possibly endure the assault of so many Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. However, as if he had not seen the monsters in his way, Shi Feng dashed into the group of Battle Monkeys.

The Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys had similarly charged at Shi Feng like a group of mad cows.

However, just when the sabers held by the Battle Monkeys were about to land on Shi Feng, the weapons struck air and simply brushed past Shi Feng's body. It was as if the Battle Monkeys' target was not Shi Feng at all. They allowed Shi Feng to easily shuttle through them.

After their first attack failed, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys turned around and attacked Shi Feng once more.

This time, seven Battle Monkeys surrounded Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng was just like flowing water. Just like before, when the Battle Monkeys' sabers were about to reach Shi Feng, the weapons simply brushed past his body.

In just a moment, Shi Feng had weaved his way through the group of Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. Although the Battle Monkeys felt enraged by this situation, they could not do anything about it. They could only watch unwillingly as Shi Feng exited the canyon.

_The improvements brought about by an increase in brain activity sure are significant._ Shi Feng was full of smiles as he turned back to look at the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys.

Although he could defeat such a number of Battle Monkeys by himself, he definitely would not have been able to effortlessly dodge such an encirclement. This achievement was all thanks to his increase in brain activity. Not only did this change improve his brain's perception of danger, but it had also advanced his control over his own body. Whether it was in regard to an enemy's attack or his own ability to dodge, the ability to control his movements had become very precise and refined. He had already entered the Refinement Realm.

Before, Shi Feng could only barely achieve Refinement with his actions, and he could not maintain that achievement for long; he could only be considered to have taken half a step into the Refinement Realm. Even so, half a step was already an amazing feat. Meanwhile, he had now completely entered this realm, becoming much stronger than he had been before. Even if he had to face Summer Sunshine's assault right now, he believed that he would not end up in such a miserable state where he would be required to use Void Steps to dodge.

After leaving White Fog Canyon, Shi Feng immediately unfurled a Return Scroll and activated it.

Shortly after returning to White River City, Shi Feng discovered that the number of players here were much more numerous than before. The players were all recruiting team members.

"Money-farming team, 17 waiting for 3! DDs are welcomed! Must be Level 20 or above!"

"Frozen Waterfall independent party recruiting, 12 waiting for 8! We welcome all sorts of pros! Must be Level 21 or above! Equipment must be at least Bronze rank!"

"Twilight Lighthouse independent party recruiting! Party is being carried by an expert! Noobs, do not disturb! Equipment must be at least Bronze rank! Drops will be auctioned among team members!"

Many players were recruiting for Level 20 Team Dungeons out in the streets. This situation really surprised Shi Feng.

Whether it was Frozen Waterfall or Twilight Lighthouse, both were challenging 20-man Team Dungeons; their difficulty was considered intermediate among Level 20 Team Dungeons. Currently, even a normal Guild Team would not necessarily succeed when clearing one. Yet, there were actually so many independent teams recruiting for these Dungeons. This situation truly confused Shi Feng.

He had gone offline for just one day.

Just when did the independent players of White River City become so powerful?!

Aside from the shouts of recruitment by independent players, Shi Feng also heard news regarding the all-out war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile.

Up to now, the losses suffered by both Guilds had already exceeded 2,000 players. Moreover, the battles between both Guilds were growing intenser as time passed. In the beginning, the skirmishes that occurred only involved dozens of players, before slowly growing into the hundreds. At this point in time, both Guilds were already waging wars involving over a thousand players.

"Zero Wing really is amazing. Their total kill count right now has already exceeded 5,000 players. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile has only managed to kill around 2,000 Zero Wing members."

"I know, right? I heard that Zero Wing's Assassin Fire Dance alone has killed more than 300 Overwhelming Smile members. Many players were done in by her, and she has even managed to kill Lone Tyrant, giving Overwhelming Smile a huge headache. Right now, her fame is no longer beneath Black Flame."

"Other than Fire Dance, there is also Flying Shadow, another Assassin of Zero Wing. His kill count is just slightly below Fire Dance's. Right now, he has already killed more than 200 members of Overwhelming Smile. In addition, there are also Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Cola, Blackie, and so on. Every one of them has killed over 100 players already. Other than the core members of Zero Wing, there are also many rising experts in Zero Wing. Among them is a Berserker called Shadow Sword; his kill count is over 50. I hear that he has even managed to exchange for a Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment with the Contribution Points he obtained."

"Say, even though Overwhelming Smile also has a large number of experts, why aren't they able to fight against multiple enemies by themselves like Zero Wing's experts? Just why are Zero Wing's experts so strong?"

"You don't know? I hear that Zero Wing's core members have completed their Class Change and have become Tier 1 classes already. In terms of Attributes and Skills, they are much more powerful than us players who have yet to complete our Class Change. Even when facing a player with the same Attributes and equipment, a Tier 1 player can still easily defeat half a dozen Tier 0 players. Moreover, I hear that Zero Wing has over 50 Tier 1 players. Overwhelming Smile is naturally unable to contend against Zero Wing."

"It can't be, right?! I hear that the Class Change Quest is absurdly difficult. It is practically impossible to complete it without reaching Level 27 or 28. Many have tried before, but all of them had failed. Moreover, if one fails their Class Change Quest, they will have to wait a very long time before they can challenge the quest again. Just how have so many players from Zero Wing completed their Class Change?!"

The players holding discussions on the street marveled at Zero Wing's strength. At the same time, they had also received a glimpse of how powerful a Tier 1 class was. It was not something a Tier 0 class could compare to at all.

When Shi Feng heard these conversations, a faint smile appeared on his face. After so many days of effort, there were finally some results.

Over 50 Tier 1 players could indeed play a huge role in a battle involving thousands of players. Unfortunately, with just two Guilds battling against each other, wars involving thousands of players rarely occurred. A majority of the battles fought between the two Guilds were merely small skirmishes that involved several dozen players. As a result, the potential of these 50-plus Tier 1 players was less than it could be.

Moreover, when comparing the backgrounds and fundings of the two Guilds, Overwhelming Smile was leaps and bounds above Zero Wing.

Although Overwhelming Smile's death count was more than double Zero Wing's death count, Overwhelming Smile was supported by Underworld from behind. Their financial prowess was definitely more than a dozen times greater than Zero Wing's. Even if the compensation and rewards they gave was triple or quadruple of what Zero Wing gave, they could still afford to grind Zero Wing into dust.

This was the reason why Shi Feng had been unwilling to start an all-out war all this time, as doing so would be very detrimental to Zero Wing.

Following which, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose to get a more detailed understanding of the present situation. He then increased the Contribution Points awarded for killing enemy players as well as increased the compensation of the Guild members who died battling against the enemy. At the same time, he also made preparations to start raiding 50-man Team Dungeons and 100-man Team Dungeons.

"Guild Leader, now that we have started an all-out war with Overwhelming Smile, if we increase the compensation and rewards, the expenses of the Guild will increase by several times. If the war is extended, this amount will become astronomical. Moreover, the compensation and rewards we are currently giving out are already quite high. Even the Guild members feel that they are good. There is simply no need for this extra spending." Aqua Rose knew that Shi Feng was rich, but even so, money should not be wasted in such a way. It was especially true for the rewards given out. If the Guild members managed to kill 10,000 enemies, even if the Guild only gave one additional Contribution Point for each kill, the Guild would still have to pay for the cost of an additional 10,000 Contribution Points. Not to mention, as the fighting continued, large wars would occur more frequently. At that time, the Contribution Points the Guild would have to pay out would increase by several times.

"No problem. I'll figure out a way to deal with the matters regarding money," Shi Feng said, shaking his head.

The reason why he was increasing the amount of Contribution Points awarded was not for the purpose of exciting the Guild members. Instead, he was doing so in order to hasten up the consumption speed of both sides.

If it had been in the past, Shi Feng definitely would not fight a war of attrition with Overwhelming Smile. Now, however, things were different. He now had a large amount of Starfire Ore in his hands. He would let Overwhelming Smile know what it truly felt like to crumble apart.

Chapter 463 - imperial heirloom

"I'll make the adjustments now, then." Aqua Rose could only nod her head in reply upon hearing Shi Feng's confident answer.

"Right, have you compensated Virtuous Cloud and the others?" Shi Feng suddenly asked.

After all was said and done, Overwhelming Smile had ambushed them because of him. He also still owed Virtuous Cloud six pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. However, due to his short hibernation this time, he had not been able to bring them to make their selection.

"I've already brought them to the Guild's Warehouse to exchange for ten pieces of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment. However, there is one matter that you definitely won't be able to guess," Aqua Rose said, revealing a mysterious smile.

"What happened?" Shi Feng asked curiously.

"After Virtuous Cloud and her party saw our Guild Warehouse, they were downright stupefied. Originally, they were planning to return to the Black Dragon Empire to continue their development there. Now, however, the party has joined Zero Wing and should be carrying out some high-level Guild Quests at the moment," Aqua Rose replied.

Aqua Rose was very optimistic about Virtuous Cloud's crew. An independent party attaining such high levels and good equipment was quite an amazing feat. Now that they had entered Zero Wing, it wouldn't be long before they became experts.

In God's Domain, though elite players were easy to find, experts were not.

Now that Zero Wing was in an all-out war with Overwhelming Smile, it would be a long time before things settled down. After all, it was not possible for either side to defeat the other in one fell swoop. Moreover, battles between two warring Guilds consisted mostly of small-scale skirmishes; large-scale engagements occurred very infrequently. As a result, the importance of players with top-tier combat power grew even greater. If a large group of players took action together, they could easily be discovered, as well as easily countered. However, if a party or an individual took action, they would be highly mobile; hence, they would not be discovered so easily. If Zero Wing could form a party of experts and give a huge blow to Overwhelming Smile from time to time, they could easily force Overwhelming Smile into a passive state.

"Guild Leader, why don't we start raiding 50-man Team Dungeons now? Although the benefits we offer could attract quite a number of players to the Guild, it is still not enough of an attraction for many independent experts. The things these experts seek are top-tier equipment and room for growth. Meanwhile, we can use the top-tier equipment we obtain from large-scale Dungeons to attract these experts," Aqua Rose suggested.

After seeing the reactions of Virtuous Cloud's crew yesterday, Aqua Rose came up with this idea.

Previously, she had also tried inviting Virtuous Cloud and her party to join Zero Wing, but they had been reticent. However, after seeing the large number of Level 25 Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment, as well as plenty of Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment, they made up their minds right away.

At that time, Aqua Rose had even considered displaying the two Epic items inside their Guild's Warehouse. However, the Epic items were Zero Wing's trump cards. It would be best if other Guilds did not know about the existence of these items, so she had promptly dismissed this idea of hers.

If she were to really put the Epic items on display, then many Guilds would definitely scheme against Zero Wing. Her action would no doubt create many more enemies for Zero Wing. The Guilds that were maintaining neutrality might even side with Overwhelming Smile. At that time, Zero Wing's position would become very tenuous. Hence, only core members, who had signed a confidentiality agreement, could know about the existence of the Epic items.

"We still have to wait for some time regarding the matter of the large-scale Team Dungeons. However, we can begin raiding 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons." Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of Shadow for many years, so he naturally knew what attracted experts. Although he fully agreed with Aqua Rose's suggestion, large-scale Team Dungeons were no walk in the park. They needed to accumulate even more strength if they wished to raid one. On the other hand, they could give 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons a try.

Players had a fixed probability for obtaining Dark-Gold items from 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons, though the majority of the items were Fine-Gold rank. In addition, there were plenty of production materials that were available only in Hell Mode Dungeons. The Guild could also obtain Guild Popularity by clearing Hell Mode Dungeons. As the Guild's Popularity increased, the Guild Quests commissioned by NPCs would also improve in quality, and this was what Zero Wing needed the most at the moment.

"I'll get everyone prepared right now, then!" Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, Aqua Rose immediately went into action with great excitement.

As for Shi Feng himself, he made a trip to the Bank.

Although there were many things demanding his attention right now—the all-out war with Overwhelming Smile, in particular—at the end of the day, there was only one task that he needed to complete, which was to earn money.

Shi Feng had experienced countless all-out wars between Guilds in the past, so he had long since known what took priority.

Although he himself possessed frightening combat power, allowing him to easily hunt and kill Overwhelming Smile members out in the fields, just how many members were there in Overwhelming Smile?

Even if he ran around all day, hunting players, how many could he possibly kill by himself?

Doing so would allow him to collect the Immortal Souls of players he killed, but it was still not worth the effort. Moreover, even if he did nothing but hunt players from Overwhelming Smile all day long, completing his quest would take many days. During this time, Overwhelming Smile with its huge funding could easily recruit a large number of additional players. Even if Shi Feng worked himself to death, he still wouldn't be able to win the war by himself. After all, this was currently the early stages of God's Domain. The various Guilds had yet to possess their very own towns and cities. Killing Overwhelming Smile's members would only cause the Guild a little trouble and slightly affect its development speed.

Most importantly, Shi Feng simply did not have the time to do something like this. He only had a little time left to complete the Epic Quest Darkness Descends, and he was still far from his goal of earning 30,000 Gold. If he failed to complete the quest, at that time, he would have to face the wrath of a Tier 4 Demon. With his current strength, he would certainly die. Hence, earning money was his top priority right now.

The war between the two Guilds would definitely grow more intense as time passed, and the same was true for the expenditure of both Guilds. It was especially true for the expenditure on equipment. Aside from losing equipment as a result of dying, fights between players would also cause the Durability of weapons and equipment to fall at a faster rate than when fighting monsters. Naturally, repairing these weapons and equipment would also require a large sum of Coins.

Presently, Guilds had a limited source of income for Coins. Guilds would only begin raking in large sums of Coins once they possessed their own towns and cities during the middle stage of the game.

Although Overwhelming Smile had large funding, having a large funding did not necessarily equate to having a large number of Coins.

This was where Shi Feng's confidence came from.

Half an hour later, Shi Feng arrived at the Bank. He then retrieved all the Starfire Ore as well as the Philosopher's Stone from his Warehouse. He also retrieved the Dragonscale Set Equipment Forging Design he had stored away all this time.

At present, aside from the Warfire Set Equipment, the Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked Dragonscale Set Equipment was definitely the best Set Equipment available. It was naturally an item that all Guilds would fight desperately to obtain.

After Shi Feng organized the items inside his bag, he suddenly noticed the golden stone tablet inside it.

"How could I have forgotten about this thing?" Shi Feng's mind had been occupied with too many things during this period of time, and he had completely forgotten about the golden stone tablet he had snatched away from the Anubis's Gatekeeper.

An item guarded by a Great Lord was definitely not an ordinary item.

However, Shi Feng had also never heard about a golden stone tablet, so he did not know exactly what function this item possessed.

Glancing at it, he was unable to read its information; all that was displayed about the golden stone tablet was that it was an Unknown item.

Shi Feng then used Omniscient Eyes and started appraising it.

The seconds ticked by slowly as countless data flickered in front of his eye.

After a total of 22 seconds passed, the appraisal process was finally completed.

"An Imperial Heirloom?" Shi Feng muttered in disbelief when he read the information displayed about the golden stone tablet.

Chapter 464 - shocking treasure

Shi Feng could not help but tremble when he looked at the golden stone tablet inside his bag.

God's Domain was very large, and there were many kingdoms and empires within it. Naturally, these realms would go through growth and decline.

Countless kingdoms and empires had disappeared into the long river of history by now.

Although they had already been forgotten by people, some of these kingdoms and empires had left behind shocking treasures that were unknown to others.

In God's Domain, these shocking treasures were called Heirlooms.

Heirlooms could be categorized into four different ranks.

The first would be Kingdom Heirlooms. Just as its name implied, it was a treasure once owned by a kingdom of God's Domain. First-rate Guilds would fight tooth and nail for just one Kingdom Heirloom. In the past, there was even a Super Guild that had offered up a city with a population of over a million players in exchange for a Kingdom Heirloom. From this, one could just imagine the value of a Kingdom Heirloom.

Back then, although Shadow had become a second-rate Guild and controlled ten city states, it did not even possess the qualifications to compete over a Kingdom Heirloom.

Meanwhile, one rank above Kingdom Heirlooms were Imperial Heirlooms.

An Imperial Heirloom was an Heirloom left behind by a fallen empire of God's Domain. Normally, the wealth of an empire was at least three to five times greater than that of a kingdom. The value of an Imperial Heirloom, naturally, was proportional.

In the past, a small unrated Guild called Thunder Family had taken less than a year to develop into a first-rate Guild. Back then, Thunder Family had shocked the entire God's Domain.

In terms of experts or financial power, Thunder Family had possessed neither. Yet, it had still managed to develop into a first-rate Guild in such a short amount of time. How could such a feat not shock others? Only after many different parties investigated the Guild did they find out the secret behind Thunder Family's success.

It turned out that Thunder Family had accidentally encountered an item called an Imperial Heirloom, and the Guild had secretly developed itself at a rapid pace through this Imperial Heirloom. Thus, Thunder Family had managed to become one of the overlords of God's Domain in less than just a year.

From then on, everyone started searching for Heirlooms out in the fields. Many wars were waged in God's Domain because of Heirlooms, and many Guilds were completely annihilated because of Heirlooms...

In addition to Imperial Heirlooms, there were Continental Heirlooms, which were one rank higher, as well as World Heirlooms, which were the highest-ranking Heirlooms in God's Domain. However, the last two Heirlooms were only mentioned in the libraries of God's Domain. As far as Shi Feng knew, nobody had come upon either one in his previous life.

Now that there was an Imperial Heirloom in his bag, how could Shi Feng not be excited?

Even as a reincarnator, Shi Feng had to carefully plan, make countless preparations, encounter many miracles, and nurture a large number of experts in order to establish his very own virtual empire. Meanwhile, just a single Imperial Heirloom had allowed a small Guild to grow into a first-rate Guild in less than a year, becoming the owner of a real empire.

As for what treasures were hidden within an Imperial Heirloom, Shi Feng was completely ignorant. After things got out of hand in the past, any who obtained an Imperial Heirloom would put a tight lid on it, keeping all information about it a secret.

In this life, Shi Feng would naturally also keep quiet about his possession of an Imperial Heirloom. Hence, he immediately suppressed his excited heart as he considered where to carefully research the Imperial Heirloom.

After he was done organizing his bag, he made his way stealthily to the Starstreak Trading Firm and entered one of the forging rooms on the fourth floor.

At this moment, the Starstreak Trading Firm had already become the number one trading firm in White River City. The variety of items sold at its shop was matchless. As long as it was something the current players of God's Domain needed, the trading firm would sell it. Therefore, players who visited the Starstreak Trading Firm would have no need to visit any other shop. The trading firm's business was thriving, raking in large sums of money daily. Although many Guilds had sought cooperation with the trading firm, all were promptly rejected by the firm's manager, Anna.

Shi Feng had picked an unoccupied forging room at random and entered it.

"I'm interested to see just what sort of secret is contained within an Imperial Heirloom," Shi Feng muttered as he retrieved the golden stone tablet from his bag and carefully placed it on the stone platform.

Other than being named an Imperial Heirloom, the golden stone tablet revealed no other information. Shi Feng was also clueless as to how he should operate an Imperial Heirloom, so he had no choice but to slowly experiment with it.

There were many drawings and runes engraved on the stone tablet. However, Shi Feng could not understand a single one of them.

He quickly spent over half an hour researching the Imperial Heirloom. But no matter what sort of methods he used, he failed to find even a clue to how to activate it.

Despite the mountain of gold placed right in front of him, without the activation key, he could only stare helplessly at the Imperial Heirloom.

"Thunder Family from back then was able to discover the secret of the Imperial Treasure, so why can't I?" Frustrated, Shi Feng played around with the golden stone tablet in his hands. "Is there still some other secret to the Imperial Heirloom?"

It sounded logical when he thought about it.

How could a great treasure capable of allowing an empire to thrive be so easily obtainable by players? If the activation of the Imperial Heirloom were a quest, then the difficulty of this quest should be Legendary rank.

A Legendary Quest was definitely not something players could easily complete. Let alone a Legendary Quest, right now, Shi Feng already had a huge headache over just an Epic Quest.

_I can only set it aside for now. I might encounter some clues in the future,_ Shi Feng thought optimistically.

Everything was bound to be difficult at the beginning. With the Imperial Heirloom now in his hands, what he needed to do next was to inquire around about it. There was bound to be a solution.

Shi Feng then stored the Imperial Heirloom and piled up the large amount of Starfire Ore he had on the floor.

During this period of time, Zero Wing had harvested over 20,000 pieces of Starfire Ore. If sold at a price of 1 Silver per piece, the total value of all this Starfire Ore would be over 200 Gold Coins. However, Shi Feng was going to convert them all into Starfire Essence right now.

Originally, if players wished to refine Starfire Ore, they needed to hire an Alchemist to refine the ore for them. Just a single refinement cost 1 Silver Coin. Moreover, the production of Starfire Essence was not guaranteed. However, there was a large possibility of obtaining one piece of Starfire Essence out of two pieces of ore. As a result, the market value of Starfire Essence was usually set at 4 Silver Coins per piece.

Shi Feng, however, did not seek the services of an Alchemist.

After all, the Philosopher's Stone he possessed was much more powerful than any Alchemist. In addition, not only did he not need to spend a single Coin when using the Philosopher's Stone to refine Starfire Ore, but his odds of producing Starfire Essence were also much higher than those of NPC Master Alchemists.

Following which, Shi Feng started refining the Starfire Ore.

One piece... Two pieces...

The refining speed of the Philosopher's Stone was very fast. In just a moment, Shi Feng had already refined 100 pieces of Starfire Ore and obtained 83 pieces of Starfire Essence.

[Starfire Essence] (Consumable)

Increases success rate of forging if added during forging process. In addition, the more Starfire Essence added, the higher the success rate.

"The refinement rate is good as expected." When Shi Feng looked at the sparkling red gems scattered across the stone platform, an indescribable sense of joy filled his heart.

The Philosopher's Stone was definitely worthy of being called a treasure of alchemy. By using it to refine all the Starfire Ore he had, he could save over 200 Gold Coins.

Time passed little by little.

Before he knew it, Shi Feng had spent more than seven hours refining all the Starfire Ore he had. In total, he had obtained 18,000-odd pieces of Starfire Essence. If converted to Coins, the value of these Starfire Essences would be worth over 720 Gold.

In just seven hours, Shi Feng had more than tripled the original value of the Starfire Ore...

"I can finally start forging now." Although Shi Feng had spent in excess of seven hours repeating the same task over and over, he did not feel bored or tired. On the contrary, he was filled with excitement right now. Just the thought of being able to mass-produce the Dragonscale Set Equipment thrilled him greatly. If he let the members of the Guild equip the set and take a stroll out in the city, the uniform equipment would definitely earn the envy and admiration of players all over White River City.

Chapter 465 - rapid promotion

Blue Moon Restaurant, a high-class restaurant located in White River City. At this moment, the entire restaurant was completely reserved by Overwhelming Smile, and tens of elite members stood guard outside the building. Each and every one of these elite members of Overwhelming Smile was in a very bad mood, which showed in the fierce expressions on their faces. Any unrelated players passing by Blue Moon Restaurant would no doubt distance themselves from the building, as far away as possible, in fear of meeting with bad luck and getting into trouble.

Currently, Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile were waging an all-out war with each other. While there was nothing bad to speak of about Zero Wing, the members of Overwhelming Smile were infamous for their tyranny. As long as Overwhelming Smile members felt even the slightest displeasure, they would try to make trouble for someone else. What Overwhelming Smile members did most frequently was field hogging. They would lay claim to an entire area and chase away all non-Guild members. However, although many independent players of White River City were furious over Overwhelming Smile's actions, nobody dared to actually voice their opinion.

No doubt many independent players were cheering and clapping secretly over the war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile.

It was especially true when news spread mentioning that Overwhelming Smile's death count had increased significantly lately, and was now past the 8,000 threshold.

At this moment, two people, a man and a woman, were seated inside one of the booths on the second floor of Blue Moon Restaurant. The man was Feng Xuanyang, and the woman sat opposite of him was the quiet and elegant beauty Youlan.

"I've already looked through the information you sent me. It's very well written; I'm quite satisfied with it. I also forwarded your analysis to the higher-ups, and they have already determined that Zero Wing is indeed a thorn in Underworld's side. They've also said that if we cannot obtain Zero Wing, then we're to destroy it to save us from future troubles. In addition, they have a very optimistic view on White River City right now.

"The current population of White River City has already exceeded two million. Many players from other cities, and even other kingdoms and empires, are constantly migrating here. At present, White River City has already become the second most populous city in Star-Moon Kingdom, so we must obtain control over White River City. This time, not only have the higher-ups sent a great load of manpower, but they have also increased our funding and are prepared to focus on the nurturing of Overwhelming Smile.

"I heard that after Zero Wing increased the compensations and rewards it is giving out, you increased Overwhelming Smile's as well. I believe it should have increased the burden on your side significantly, right? However, you can rest easy and feel free to continue contending with Zero Wing. The higher-ups have already gathered 500 Gold as well as 300 million Credits for you. The Credits should have been sent to you by now. As for the Gold Coins, that will arrive in another hour or two at most. Afterwards, they'll be sending even more Gold Coins and Credits. I hear that the higher-ups are very serious this time. Just the total amount of Coins they are planning to invest into Overwhelming Smile may be over 5,000 Gold, not to mention the Credits."

Saying so, Feng Xuanyang snapped his fingers. In the next moment, another twenty people entered the private booth. Every one of these twenty people was shrouded in a thick layer of killing intent. Their bodies were as robust as a grizzly bear's. Instead of looking like ordinary players, they looked more like a group of well-trained soldiers.

"These men are the Underworld Guards the higher-ups have dispatched. All twenty of them are party leaders, and every one of them leads a party of six members. In total, you will have 120 Underworld Guards to command as you see fit," Feng Xuanyang said, smiling. "They are different from the other Underworld Guards. I'm sure you can tell, but they have all worked as mercenaries in the past. They are people who have walked on real battlefields. Isn't Overwhelming Smile waging an all-out war with Zero Wing right now? As long as you have these Underworld Guards to assist you, those players who have never seen fresh blood will be easy pickings. Even if Zero Wing has more than 50 Tier 1 players, they will still be finished.

"I've already handed the men over to you. What they do next is up to you."

"Young Master Feng, rest assured, I definitely will not disappoint you." Originally, Youlan had already been confident of slowly exhausting Zero Wing to death. Now that she was looking at the two rows of neatly lined-up Underworld Guard party leaders, a sense of indescribable joy filled her heart.

Zero Wing's 50-plus Tier 1 players had been giving Overwhelming Smile a huge headache recently, forcing the members of Overwhelming Smile into a state of passiveness. At this moment, they needed to similarly send out experts or Tier 1 players. Otherwise, they would simply be helpless against Zero Wing's Tier 1 players.

However, Youlan had suddenly come to a realization.

Overwhelming Smile had plenty of elite members, but they were sorely lacking in experts and Tier 1 players.

Although not all twenty of the Underworld Guards standing before her were necessarily experts, and their levels only ranged between 23 to 24, they were all veterans of the battlefield. Meanwhile, now that the battles in God's Domain were growing increasingly realistic, these people would have an undeniable advantage. They were much more powerful compared to ordinary elite players. If they worked together, they should have a very frightening effect on field battles.

Youlan could tell that the upper management of Underworld was taking things seriously this time.

Currently, the various Guilds in God's Domain were desperately purchasing Coins. They had even secretly established many money-farming teams.

It was very difficult to accumulate 500 Gold. Not to mention, they were also planning to invest an additional 5,000-plus Gold Coins in the future. With such a sum of money, dealing with Zero Wing would be a piece of cake.

With the subsequent funding from Underworld, Youlan no longer had to worry about equipment. Currently, there were three main sources of equipment: Dungeons; the Auction House; and the virtual trade center. Unlike the Auction House, one used Credits instead of Coins when purchasing equipment from the virtual trade center. As a result, the prices of equipment sold there were very expensive. Even so, the wealthy did not mind doing their purchases through the virtual trade center.

The first reason was due to the supply of weapons and equipment there being much more abundant. This was because, in order to earn Credits, many Workshops and players would post their items up for sale at the virtual trade center.

The second reason was due to convenience. The currency of God's Domain was not easily obtainable. Moreover, the trading procedures involved were very onerous.

With such a large sum of Credits, she could immediately fill up Overwhelming Smile's Guild Warehouse and rebuild the confidence of the Guild members. At the same time, it would give Zero Wing immense pressure.

Hence, on the same day Youlan received the funds from Underworld, she purchased weapons and equipment ranging between Level 15 and Level 20 from the virtual trade center in bulk. The quality of the items ranged from Bronze rank to Fine-Gold rank. In total, she bought over 5,000 weapons and equipment, greatly boosting Overwhelming Smile's morale. At the same time, she also raised the death compensation and kill rewards. Seeing this change, many more members of Overwhelming Smile were tempted to join in the field battles.

For a time, Overwhelming Smile's momentum in White River City surpassed Zero Wing's.

However, as the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Shi Feng was completely ignorant about this occurrence. At the moment, he was focused on producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment and frantically raising his Forging Proficiency.

Recently, Shi Feng had been constantly busying himself with other matters. As a result, his Forging Proficiency had stagnated. Despite being the first person to become an Advanced Forging Apprentice, he had long since fallen behind Cream Cocoa and the others. These future Master Forgers had already become true Forgers. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself still needed a lot of Forging Proficiency before he could become a Forger as well.

It should be known that only 3,000 Proficiency Points were required to get promoted from an Intermediate Forging Apprentice to an Advanced Forging Apprentice. Yet, in order to advance from an Advanced Forging Apprentice to a Basic Forger, 10,000 Proficiency Points were required; the amount required to rise a rank had more than tripled. Moreover, Advanced Forging Apprentices did not receive Proficiency Points from producing Common ranked items, resulting in a drastic reduction in promotion speed.

Melancholic Smile and the other two had only managed to become Basic Forgers so quickly because of the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit Forging Designs Shi Feng had provided them. In the future, however, even the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits would not be able to help them with their promotions.

Fortunately, the Dragonscale Set Equipment Shi Feng possessed was different. Not only was it of a very high rank, but it could also provide him with bonus Proficiency every time he succeeded in producing the Set Equipment. He also had the Forging Talent, Forging Genius, which had a fixed chance of giving him additional Proficiency Points whenever he succeeded in forging an item. Moreover, as the Dragonscale was a Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the EXP rewarded from its successful production was also very generous.

However, when producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, Shi Feng had to spend ten Starfire Essences for each individual set piece. Moreover, even with the help of the various support tools he possessed, his success rate was less than 25%.

Even so, Shi Feng was already very satisfied with this result. If it were anyone else producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, let alone 25%, it would be a miracle if they even managed a 10% success rate. Furthermore, the materials needed to produce the Dragonscale Set Equipment were not particularly precious, and he also had plenty of Starfire Essences.

Hence, Shi Feng madly produced the Dragonscale Set Equipment unmindful of cost. The more sets he produced, the more proficient he became. In addition, his increased brain activity also gave him an accurate grasp of the production process, allowing him to become increasingly faster and better at producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment as time went by.

Shi Feng never imagined that he would also have such a fortunate development.

Finally, after investing more than a day's time, Shi Feng managed to completely use up all his materials and had succeeded at producing over a hundred sets. He was also promoted to a Basic Forger during this period of time, his promotion speed leaving one simply speechless. Furthermore, he had also leveled up to Level 26, his leveling speed even faster than when he was grinding monsters at White Fog Canyon.

Chapter 466 - Dragonclaw set Equipment 

"That should be about enough." Shi Feng looked at his bag containing Dragonscale Set Equipment with satisfaction.

Currently, God's Domain players did not have very high levels, with a majority being around Level 20. Hence, Level 20 equipment had already become more common. This was apparent from the large number of independent teams raiding Level 20, 20-man Team Dungeons.

Even raiding Normal Mode, 20-man Team Dungeons would drop plenty of Mysterious-Iron Equipment at the very minimum. There was even a certain probability that a Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment would drop.

Even ordinary players wore a few pieces of Level 20 Bronze Equipment, not to mention veteran and elite players. It was no surprise if one ran into a player with a full set of Bronze Equipment.

The equipment that Guilds' elite members wore was even more impressive. Unlike independent players, Guilds would very frequently form teams to raid Dungeons. Hence, the equipment available to Guild's elites was far superior to what independent players had access to, and a majority of such elite members possessed at least a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment.

The lowest quality equipment Guilds' core teams would wear at this point was Level 20 Mysterious-Iron rank. Normally, core members wore Secret-Silver Equipment. Only the top experts in a Guild had the chance to equip Level 20 Secret-Silver Set Equipment with a few pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment. To ordinary players, Fine-Gold Equipment was something they could only obtain in their dreams. Such items were out of their reach, and they could only fantasize about owning one.

As for Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, not even the upper-management of Guilds possessed a single piece. Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment would only drop from Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons. Not a single Guild was ready to set foot in a Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeon at this stage of the game.

This was why everyone had shifted their focus to the Warfire Set Equipment, which dropped in the White Fog Canyon.

Meanwhile, the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment was definitely one of the best Level 20 sets available. Although it could not compare to a Warfire Set Equipment that had been upgraded to Fine-Gold rank, if one equipped the entire set, they would still surpass the requirements to raid a Level 20, 100-man Team Dungeon. The set would be of immense help to raiding large-scale Team Dungeons.

[Dragonscale Set Equipment] (Fine-Gold Rank)

Level 20

Can be equipped by plate armor classes.

Set consists of six parts: head, chest, hands, wrist, legs, and feet.

Set effect

Two-piece effect: Ignore Levels +10. Has a chance to trigger Fury effect when attacking, increasing damage by 20% for 6 seconds.

Four-piece effect: Strength and Endurance Attribute increased by 10%. Defense increased by 20%.

Six-piece effect: All Skill Cooldowns decreased by 20%. When attacking with a Skill, there is a chance to trigger Effect Multiplier, increasing the Skill's effects by 50%.

Although the set effects of the Dragonscale Set Equipment could not compare to those of the Warfire Set Equipment, they were still enough to tempt both Guilds and players.

Originally, Shi Feng had intended to equip the Dragonscale Set Equipment himself. However, a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was only as strong as a Level 25 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. Currently, he had several pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment and Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. Combined, they were far superior to the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Hence, Shi Feng gave up on the idea.

However, after Shi Feng had spent over a day forging and produced the 105th set of Dragonscale Set Equipment, by some stroke of luck, he had triggered the Blacksteel Insignia's Attribute increasing effect. As a result, the Dragonscale Set Equipment had upgraded by an entire rank, becoming a Level 20 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Now, it was equivalent to a Level 25 Fine-Gold Set Equipment.

Shi Feng was overjoyed.

After the Dragonscale Set Equipment had upgraded, it was no longer called Dragonscale; he had now created a Dragonclaw Set Equipment. This was also the only Dark-Gold Set Equipment Shi Feng had ever produced.

[Dragonclaw Set Equipment] (Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 20

Can be equipped by plate armor classes.

Set consists of six parts: head, chest, hands, wrist, legs, and feet.

Set effect

Two-piece effect: Ignore Levels +15. Has a chance to trigger Fury effect when attacking, increasing damage by 40% for 6 seconds.

Four-piece effect: Strength and Endurance Attribute increased by 15%. Defense increased by 30%.

Seven-piece effect: All Skill Cooldowns decreased by 30%. When attacking with a Skill, there is a chance to trigger Effect Multiplier, increasing the Skill's effects by 100%.

Aside from the fact that the Dragonclaw Set Equipment's Basic Attributes could overshadow even Level 25 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the set effects had massively improved. The Dragonclaw's set effects were only slightly inferior to the Fine-Gold ranked Warfire Set Equipment. Only, the Warfire Set was more suited for PvP, whereas the Dragonclaw Set was more suited for raiding Dungeons.

In God's Domain, experts would normally prepare multiple sets of equipment for themselves, and every set had different purposes. At the very minimum, experts would prepare a set for PvP and a set for Dungeons. There were also sets that focused on flexibility, damage, and so on.

In the past, Shi Feng had owned several sets of equipment at a time, which he used when he fought Dungeon Bosses, during Field PvP, and various other situations.

In this life, however, he still did not have the capital to afford multiple sets of equipment. In the early stages of God's Domain, top-tier weapons and equipment were very rare. Having a full set of top-tier equipment was already impressive, let alone multiple sets.

Now that Shi Feng had the Dragonclaw Set Equipment, he immediately replaced the equipment he currently wore. As for the unused Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, he would store them in the Guild's Warehouse, leaving them for other members. As for the Level 25 Flame Boots, however, Shi Feng kept them for himself. If he encountered an extremely fast enemy, he could use them to replace the Dragonclaw Boots temporarily.

After equipping the Dragonclaw Set, Shi Feng's Basic Attributes increased significantly. His Strength was close to exceeding the 500-point threshold. His HP had also exceeded 10,000, granting him more HP than the Tier 1 Guardian Knight, Cola.

_If I activate the Seven Luminaries Ring's Aura of Earth, I could easily become the number one tank in Zero Wing._ Shi Feng smiled as he looked at his own Defense.

Due to the Dragonclaw's set effects, he already possessed the Defense of an MT. In addition, the Aura of Earth's effects would increase his Defense by 45% and reduce the damage he received by 35%.

Just as Shi Feng was about to begin producing Basic Mana Armor Kits to serve as Guild benefits, Aqua Rose suddenly contacted him.

"Guild Leader, I've just received news that someone from Overwhelming Smile has become a Baron. They have purchased a plot relatively valuable private land in White River City and are currently establishing their own Guild Residence."

"Overwhelming Smile?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise.

Shi Feng was not surprised that someone from Overwhelming Smile had obtained the rank of a Baron in White River City. After all, after the second evolution of God's Domain, it became much easier to earn Reputation in cities. Moreover, due to the appearance of Zero Wing's Guild Residence, the various Guilds had long since turned their focus to grinding for Reputation. It was natural that someone would have become a Baron by now.

However, purchasing a plot of private land and establishing a Guild Hall required a lot of money. Private land, in particular, was a huge headache.

Shi Feng had only managed to obtain the Purple Sun Mansion due to a quest reward, saving him a ridiculous amount of Gold Coins. However, Overwhelming Smile could afford to purchase private land, and even had the money to proceed with building a Guild Hall immediately.

Even the cheapest plot of land in White River City cost over 1,000 Gold. Adding in the cost of the cheapest Guild Hall, Overwhelming Smile would need to spend at least 1,500 Gold. Although it had become much easier to earn Coins, even a first-rate Guild would need over a week to accumulate so much money. Moreover, purchasing Coins in bulk through the virtual trade center would cause the price of Coins to soar. How many Credits would one need to purchase so many Gold Coins?

Since when had Overwhelming Smile become so wealthy?!

Chapter 467 - sweeping god's domain

"Aside from establishing a Guild Residence, Overwhelming Smile has also recruited a team of experts. These experts have been ambushing our teams and killing many of our members.

"Some of our Tier 1 members have encountered them before, and although they were no match for our members in a one-on-one battle, those experts are well-trained and coordinate with each other flawlessly. With three people working together, they can finish off one of our Tier 1 members quickly. We estimate that Overwhelming Smile has over a hundred of these experts and has scattered them across various leveling areas. They randomly appear and kill our members who are questing or leveling, causing us tremendous losses. Although we have invested a lot of time and manpower into hunting these experts down, we have come up with nothing..."

Aqua Rose ground her teeth with frustration as she spoke about Overwhelming Smile's mysterious experts, and she wanted to hunt them down and end them personally.

Thanks to these experts, Zero Wing had lost an additional 2,000 or so members in just one day.

Ever since Zero Wing had declared war on Overwhelming Smile, the Guild had only suffered around 6,000 deaths. This little group of experts had caused over 2,000 of those deaths. Moreover, they had caused so much damage in one day. Aside from the lost equipment and levels, the compensation costs wounded the Guild's finances. If this situation repeated itself everyday, the several hundred Gold the Guild had accumulated through Guild Quests would only last a few more days before it dwindled to nothing.

"This means that Overwhelming Smile is finally getting serious." Frowning, Shi Feng said, "Since they wish to send experts to ambush us, we have no need to hold back. Have Fire Dance and the others eliminate them. However, scatter the group to separate locations. We'll hold off on the Team Dungeon for now. As for our regular Guild members, have them form teams to grind in the fields from now on."

"Okay, I'll notify Fire Dance and the others immediately," saying so, Aqua Rose disconnected the call. She then contacted Fire Dance and Zero Wing's other top combatants.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng halted his work in the forge. After tidying up, he left the forging room and hurried to the Bank.

Shi Feng had never expected Overwhelming Smile to possess such a card. This situation certainly surpassed Shi Feng's initial estimation of his enemy.

Fortunately, Zero Wing had far more experts than Overwhelming Smile. In particular, Zero Wing possessed an absolute advantage when it came to Tier 1 players, as Overwhelming Smile still did not have a single Tier 1 player. All this time, Zero Wing's experts had split into two batches and took turns slaughtering Overwhelming Smile's members. This way, not only could they make Overwhelming Smile suffer, but they also wouldn't significantly hinder their own development.

Now that over a hundred experts had suddenly appeared in Overwhelming Smile, Shi Feng would not let them run free.

Moreover, the fact that Overwhelming Smile now possessed their own Guild Residence was bad news for Zero Wing. Originally, Zero Wing had only attracted so many new players to the Guild due to their Guild Residence. The benefits a Guild Residence offered persuaded the Guild members to ignore Overwhelming Smile's high offers and continue their development with Zero Wing. Now, however, Zero Wing's members would be tempted to join Overwhelming Smile as the benefits they could obtain there were not inferior in the slightest.

However, Gold Coins were still what was most important!

Originally, Overwhelming Smile was only wealthy in terms of Credits. To Shi Feng, the Guild was no threat at all. After all, many of the items in God's Domain could only be purchased with Coins. Even if one had an endless supply of Credits, the number of Coins they could buy was limited. Furthermore, Overwhelming Smile was not the only Guild in God's Domain purchasing Coins in bulk, further limiting what was available.

In an all-out war between Guilds, Coins were the most consumed resource. There was the cost of purchasing and repairing equipment to consider, in addition to compensating Guild members. Battles between players placed a massive burden on equipment Durability. Take Shi Feng's battles for example: a single strike from his sword could scrap Bronze Equipment. Only Mysterious-Iron Equipment could withstand his attack, and even then, it would only last a few extra hits. Even if the equipment was not destroyed, even elite players would cough blood with shock at the repair fee to recover the item.

Although equipment could be purchased from the virtual trade center and compensation could be paid out using Credits, the system controlled equipment repair fees, and it did not acknowledge Credits.

A single player's repair fee was not much, costing around 2 Silver Coins. The repair fee for 10,000 players, however, would be at least 200 Gold Coins, a very frightening amount. Not to mention, the higher quality equipment a player wore, the higher their repair fee would be.

Although the repair fees were not the Guild's responsibility, but the players,, how many times could a player afford to repair their equipment in a long war?

Once players ran out of money, how could they continue to involve themselves in the war if their equipment was close to breaking? Unless they decided to risk themselves without weapons and armor...

In the early stages of the war, the Guild members would accept Credits as compensation and reward. However, after some time, they would need to purchase Coins with the Credits they received.

Hence, Coins were the true foundation of wars in God's Domain.

Meanwhile, a Guild Residence was a Guild's main source of income for Coins during the early stages of God's Domain. If Overwhelming Smile included Coins in their frightening financial power it would create a terrifying combination.

Shi Feng could not afford to continue focusing on plots to earn money. He needed to take action.

After returning the Philosopher's Stone to his Warehouse, Shi Feng used the Seven Luminaries Gemstone and teleported to Blackwing City, taking the Dragonscale Sets with him.

At present, Blackwing City had become a gathering place for players from kingdoms and empires all over God's Domain. Compared to Shi Feng's previous visits to the city, the player population had grown significantly. Moreover, there was an important difference between the players in Blackwing City and the players in other cities.

Wealth!

The players in Blackwing City were extremely wealthy. Moreover, the money these players possessed did not only involve Credits, but also included Gold Coins.

A majority of the players in Blackwing City were the upper-management personnel of various large Guilds, and they had come to Blackwing City specifically to do business. Hence, the amount of Credits and Coins they had on hand far surpassed anything that an ordinary player possessed. Blackwing City was truly the gathering place for tycoons.

This was also why Shi Feng had come to this place today.

Shi Feng had no intentions of selling the Dragonscale Set Equipment for Credits. His goal was to earn Gold Coins. If he sold the Dragonscale Set Equipment in Star-Moon Kingdom's Auction Houses or at the Starstreak Trading Firm, he would not get a good price. In addition, unlike the players in Blackwing City who would spend several Gold Coins without even blinking, players who could afford such large expenditures were few and far between in Star-Moon Kingdom.

After arriving at Blackwing City, Shi Feng searched for a secluded location. He then used the Demon Mask to don a false identity.

Unlike his previous visit when he tried to keep a low-profile, Shi Feng changed his appearance to that of a very handsome youth. He had even slightly altered the appearance of the Dragonclaw Set Equipment he wore, making it look more imposing. He also chose not to hide the special glowing effect of the Dragonclaw Set Equipment, revealing the telltale light of Dark-Gold Equipment.

When he reached the streets, the Dark-Gold rank glowing effect that enveloped his body nearly blinded other players.

"Damn! My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right? That's a Dark-Gold Set Equipment!"

"Impossible!"

"It looks awesome!"

"Our Guild doesn't even possess a set of Fine-Gold Set Equipment! Just who is he?"

Shi Feng dominated the attention of the players wandering the streets, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as they stared at him in a daze.

They were all upper-managers of various large Guilds, so their knowledge of the game was extensive. Even if they saw a player wearing Fine-Gold Set Equipment, they would not reveal such exaggerated reactions. At most, they would briefly admire that player's equipment. A Dark-Gold Set Equipment, however, shattered their understanding of the game.

Chapter 468 - ninth heaven pavilion

In just a short moment, news about Shi Feng's sudden appearance had spread throughout Blackwing City.

"Have you heard? There's a player wearing a full Dark-Gold Set Equipment."

"Heard about it? I saw that player with my own eyes! You don't know just how imposing he looked! He was like a ferocious tiger! He had only glanced at me, and my entire body trembled!"

"Ah, a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. It would be awesome to wear one."

"Don't even think about it. The various Guilds throughout God's Domain can't even obtain a Fine-Gold Set Equipment, let alone Dark-Gold. With a Dark-Gold Set Equipment, PvP and Dungeon raiding would be child's play. If an expert wears the set, they will become practically invincible."

"Do you think that person will sell his Dark-Gold Set Equipment?"

"Sell? Are you insane? Do you even know the significance of a Dark-Gold Set Equipment? A Dark-Gold Set Equipment is the best equipment currently available in God's Domain by far. This set could even become the symbol of a Guild, attracting countless players to join. On top of that, the rise in combat power the set provides would make grinding and Dungeon raiding far easier. It would play a huge role in one's future development. If it were up to me, I would rather sell my house than sell my Dark-Gold Set Equipment."

"I guess you're right. If purchased with Credits, a Dark-Gold Set Equipment should be worth at least two million. Including its ability to increase a Guild's influence, it is worth more than a single house located in the city center."

The players occupying the streets and alleys of Blackwing City discussed Shi Feng. They envied and admired his Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Before, many of them had dreamed of equipping a Fine-Gold Set Equipment themselves. Yet, now, someone actually wore a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. No, to be precise, someone ran around Blackwing City while wearing a house...

While players talked about Shi Feng, the various Guild representatives in Blackwing City overworked themselves as they followed Shi Feng while reporting back to their respective Guilds. Currently, they no longer had the serenity befitting an upper-manager of a Guild as their anxiety was on full display.

_This has worked out quite well._ Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he glanced at the various Guild representatives behind him.

Although he was in Blackwing City, it would not be so easy to sell out of the Dragonscale Set Equipment quickly.

Soon, Shi Feng found a high-class restaurant and rested for a moment.

Before Shi Feng could get comfortable, a few players abruptly sat across from him. These players were all Level 25 and above, and their equipment was at least Secret-Silver rank. One could easily tell that these were not ordinary players. They would be the center of attention on the streets of any other city. However, they could not compete with Shi Feng. Shi Feng's Dark-Gold Set Equipment was as dazzling as the sun, and one would find it difficult not to notice.

"What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng spoke softly as glanced up at these players.

These players felt their chests tighten under Shi Feng's pinning gaze, and their opinions of the player before them rose.

"Friend, please don't misunderstand us. This humble one is called Swallow Nine. We noticed your extraordinary bearing, and that you wear a full Dark-Gold Set Equipment, so there is certainly no need to discuss your strength. We have also noticed that you are an independent player. We few are the representatives of major Guilds, and we want to extend invitations to our Guilds."

The one who spoke was an elegant middle-aged man with a thin figure. On his chest, the man wore the Guild Emblem of a Super Guild, the Ninth Heaven Pavilion. Compared to the other representatives before Shi Feng, it was obvious that the power supporting Swallow Nine was far more extensive.

If first-rate Guilds were the princes and princesses of the virtual gaming world, then Super Guilds were emperors and empresses. Whether regarding financial powers, influence, or history of Super Guilds, first-rate Guilds could not compare to any of them.

In God's Domain, a first-rate Guild was capable of controlling the majority of a kingdom's territory. A Super Guild, however, possessed the capacity to control one or two empire's territories. One could just imagine how massive the gap was between the two.

Meanwhile, Ninth Heaven Pavilion was a rather ancient Super Guild. Before the appearance of God's Domain, they had been the overlords of several dozen large-scale virtual reality games. They had long since created a gigantic virtual empire for themselves. However, due to the appearance of God's Domain, many virtual reality games had lost their markets. Thus, the Ninth Heaven Pavilion focused their investments on God's Domain.

Meanwhile, the fact that the middle-aged man before Shi Feng was the Guild representative of the Ninth Heaven Pavilion spoke volumes of his abilities.

"I'm waiting for someone. I also have no interest in joining any Guild, so please leave!" Shi Feng expressed his impatience, going so far as to reveal a trace of killing intent.

Shi Feng's strength allowed him to face a Lord as an equal. After going berserk, he could even overwhelm a Lord ranked monster.

After living in God's Domain for a time, players' intuitions had improved somewhat. Even ordinary players could vaguely sense things such as killing intent, let alone elites and expert players. If Shi Feng casually released a little killing intent, he could inflict a suffocating fear onto an ordinary player; the feeling was more intense for elites and experts who could sense killing intent with more clarity.

_So strong!_ Swallow Nine was inwardly shocked.

Although Shi Feng had not taken any action, he could feel how powerful Shi Feng was. The Swordsman before him was definitely not an ordinary expert, and he was someone who could rival even the top powerhouses in the Ninth Heaven Pavilion. If factoring in his equipment, the top powerhouses of the Ninth Heaven Pavilion might not even be a match for Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight.

However, this revelation had only served to excite Swallow Nine further.

"Friend, if you are not willing to join, why don't we become friends?" Swallow Nine did not mind Shi Feng's killing intent at all. Smiling, he said, "With such strength, I believe that you must have a lot of weapons and equipment that you do not need. I am willing to purchase your items 20% higher than market value. How about it?"

The other representatives had nodded in agreement, though they were not as calm and carefree as Swallow Nine.

They had never thought, even for a second, that Shi Feng would join their Guilds. Experts of this level normally had quirky personalities and would never submit. Meanwhile, joining a Guild meant accepting someone else's control. Shi Feng would not agree to such an invitation. However, seeing that Shi Feng was an expert capable of possessing a Dark-Gold Set Equipment, he should have many other top-tier weapons and equipment. Even if Shi Feng did not possess an extra Dark-Gold Set Equipment, at the very least, he should have a stock of Dark-Gold or Fine-Gold ranked items.

Such items were extremely difficult to purchase.

It was common knowledge that top-tier equipment could not be bought from the market. Even top-tier Workshops would keep such equipment for themselves; they definitely would not sell it. If one wished to obtain such equipment, they could only rely on themselves. However, it was easier said than done.

Now that they had encountered such a rare opportunity, naturally, they could not let it get away.

"You wish to buy my items?" Shi Feng laughed. With disdain, he then said, "Do you think you can afford them?"

"If you have something to sell, regardless of how many items there are, I, Swallow Nine, guarantee that I will purchase all of them at 20% above market value. If you have top-tier equipment, I will purchase it at 50% above market value," Swallow Nine confidently declared.

"Right! Our Guilds have no issues doing the same," the other representatives promptly voiced their agreement. Although their Guilds could not compare to the Ninth Heaven Pavilion, they were still major Guilds. They had more than enough money to purchase a single expert's extra equipment.

"Hahaha! Interesting! Interesting!" Shi Feng suddenly laughed.

However, Shi Feng's actions only made Swallow Nine and the others turn to look at each other.

"One thousand Gold. If you have 1,000 Gold on your persons right now, I will consider letting you look at the equipment I no longer need. Otherwise, scram! Find someone else to disturb!"

Chapter 46 9 - gathering of the powerful

Shi Feng was very loud, and every player on the second floor of the restaurant had heard his words loud and clear.

"One thousand Gold!"

Many of the Guild representatives in the restaurant with similar ideas as Swallow Nine immediately sucked in a cold breath.

To any Guild in God's Domain, 1,000 Gold was not a small sum. Super Guilds were no exception.

Guilds supported a majority of the layers in Blackwing City. Although they were all very rich, their maximum trade volumes would not exceed 100 Gold. Meanwhile, Shi Feng casually demanded a price of 1,000 Gold. Moreover, this was only the bottom line. If they did not have 1,000 Gold in their bags, he wouldn't even consider a trade.

How arrogant!

He was simply too arrogant!

However, despite Shi Feng's arrogance, not a single person present had chosen to turn around and leave. On the contrary, they promptly contacted their respective Guilds, ordering the preparation of 1,000 Gold.

"One thousand Gold?"

"You're insane! Do you know the significance of 1,000 Gold at this stage of the game?"

"What? That expert in the Dark-Gold Set Equipment stated that he would only consider a trade with someone possessing 1,000 Gold?"

The various Guilds were shocked upon receiving this news. However, that shock soon turned into rage, as these Guilds felt that Shi Feng was only toying with them.

One thousand Gold!

Currently, Gold Coins were still scarce. Although the prices of Coins had decreased significantly, even 10 million Credits was not enough to purchase 1,000 Gold. Moreover, not even a Dark-Gold Set Equipment was worth 1,000 Gold.

"What? Don't have it?" Shi Feng smirked at Swallow Nine and the others. Impatiently, he said, "Since you don't have it, please leave. Stop disturbing my peace."

"No, please wait a moment. It is true that I do not have that much money on me right now. However, someone will send the money over quickly," Swallow Nine said as he calmed his pounding heart. He had to admit that Shi Feng had given him a fright. However, the more arrogantly Shi Feng behaved, the more Swallow Nine believed that Shi Feng had something valuable to offer.

Experts of this level had very high self-esteem, and an arrogant attitude was normal. However, one thing was certain: such experts would not fabricate false rumors.

If Shi Feng dared to make such ridiculous statements, then he definitely had the capital to do so.

Although Swallow Nine did not know what that capital was, he knew that it would not be insignificant.

"Tch, truly annoying."

Shi Feng frowned at Swallow Nine's words. Paying no more attention to the middle-aged man, Shi Feng called up the official forums and began to browse.

Everything was going according to plan.

Moreover, shortly after he had stated his price of 1,000 Gold, a post about him had set the official forums of God's Domain on fire.

There was even a post mentioning the 1,000 Gold trade qualification he had demanded. Many people had begun to discuss the situation. They all felt that Shi Feng was a lunatic and was too arrogant. Some had even begun to doubt his equipment. Quickly, this news had attracted the attention of even more Guilds.

After a dozen minutes or so, the restaurant Shi Feng occupied exploded with activity. Players filled the restaurant, and every one of them represented a Guild. The majority of the Guilds present were first-rate Guilds, with the lowest being second-rate Guilds. Two additional Super Guilds had even arrived.

One of the new Super Guilds to arrive was Sanctuary, while the other was King's Return. These two Super Guilds were powerhouses similar to the Ninth Heaven Pavilion.

Currently, the representatives of so many famous Guilds, including three Super Guilds, had gathered in this one high-class restaurant. This was something that had never happened in the past.

And all of this was due to the sudden appearance of a mysterious expert...

Of the three Super Guild representatives, two were men, and the last was a woman. Among them, Swallow Nine represented the Ninth Heaven Pavilion, a polished woman named Flourishing Colors represented Sanctuary, and King's Return was represented by a crude and brawny-looking man named Thunder Tiger. Flourishing Colors was a Level 26 Summoner, whereas Thunder Tiger was a Level 26 Berserker.

It was clear that the three Super Guild representatives knew each other, as the moment the three met, they began to chat as if they were old friends.

Shi Feng glanced at the second floor, discovering that the high-class restaurant seemed to represent God's Domain's current power.

As Swallow Nine, Flourishing Colors, and Thunder Tiger were representatives of Super Guilds, the three sat opposite of Shi Feng. As for the representatives of first-rate Guilds, they hovered nearby. As for the few second-rate Guilds, they sat near the staircase. The hierarchy had been clearly established.

The three belonging to Super Guilds paid no attention to those belonging to first-rate Guilds, and those belonging to first-rate Guilds paid no attention to the second-rate Guilds. The representatives present only spoke to those on the same level as themselves. If Zero Wing attended this gathering, its representative would most likely have to stand at the restaurant's entrance.

After half an hour, Swallow Nine finally spoke.

"I've put together my 1,000 Gold. Please take a look," Swallow Nine said as he smiled at Shi Feng. He then placed his coin pouch on the table.

Although the coin pouch was only the size of a fist, this was only an illusion. Regardless of how much money it contained, the coin pouch would retain the same size. Moreover, a player's coin pouch was bound to them, and nobody could steal it. However, others could still check the amount inside with the owner's permission.

"Brother Expert said that one would qualify to trade with you so long as they have 1,000 Gold. I happen to have 1,000 Gold with me. Please check it for yourself, Brother Expert." Thunder Tiger similarly placed a coin pouch on the table.

"I have the same." Flourishing Colors smiled faintly as she, too, revealed her coin pouch.

For a time, the various Guild representatives on the second floor promptly presented their coin pouches to Shi Feng, allowing him to inspect them.

As the crowd waited for Shi Feng's inspection, instead of actually doing so, Shi Feng smiled and said, "That won't be necessary. I believe that the Guilds present should not be so poor as to not even possess 1,000 Gold. Since all of you have 1,000 Gold on your persons now, you all qualify to trade with me.

"However, the items I wish to sell are limited. Since there are so many people here, I'm sure none of you will oppose an auction, right?"

Suddenly, the crowd understood Shi Feng's intentions. This was a public auction. If so, the items would definitely be sold far above market value. Realizing the truth of the matter, everyone's expressions darkened.

"Of course, you can also choose not to buy my items. I won't force those who are unwilling." Shi Feng yawned. Slowly, he said, "If anyone is not interested, you are welcome to leave."

Yet, even after Shi Feng's declaration, not a single representative turned to leave. They all wanted to see the reason behind Shi Feng's confidence.

"Since everyone agrees, I'll begin with the first item, then," Shi Feng said as he swept a glance over the crowd in the hall, nodding with satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan. What happened next would depend on how these people would compete.

Hearing Shi Feng begin the auction, the crowd grew tense.

Even Swallow Nine, Thunder Tiger, and Flourishing Colors, the representatives of three Super Guilds, focused on Shi Feng's every move.

In the next moment, Shi Feng took out a piece of equipment from his bag. Looking at the glow of the equipment, it seemed to be Fine-Gold rank, not Dark-Gold rank as everyone had expected.

Even so, Fine-Gold Equipment was quite valuable. Currently, Fine-Gold Equipment was very rare. Although some were available on the virtual trade center, most of those items had inferior Attributes.

Initially, everyone had thought Shi Feng would state the starting bid for the equipment, signaling the representatives to begin. However, Shi Feng proceeded by revealing another piece of equipment. Moreover, this item was also Fine-Gold ranked.

One piece... Two pieces... Three pieces...

Shi Feng displayed a total of six pieces of equipment. Moreover, although these six pieces were all different, they possessed a single style.

"That... is... a Fine-Gold Set Equipment!"

The crowd was stupefied when they saw the Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table. They even wondered if their eyes played tricks on them.

Though large Guilds had several pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment, not even the Super Guilds possessed a Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Yet, an unknown expert like Shi Feng had one...

Chapter 470 - strong appearance

Both the appearance and Attributes of the Dragonscale Set Equipment were far more powerful than ordinary Fine-Gold Equipment. Furthermore, one had to consider the set effects.

When Shi Feng placed the Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table, he did not hide the set's Attributes, allowing everyone to examine the set.

"These are the set effects of a Fine-Gold Set Equipment?"

"The effects of this Dragonscale Set are insane! It could rival the effects of that rumored Warfire Set!"

"I've seen the effects of the Warfire Set before. Warfire is more suited for PvP, while this Dragonscale is suited for Dungeon raiding. It is what Guilds need most right now."

The crowd was dumbfounded after reading the Dragonscale Set Equipment's information.

Aside from how important the Ignore Levels effect was to players right now, the Fury effect alone could raise their damage to a whole new level. There were also the Strength and Agility Attribute increases, both of which were the most important Attributes to any physical class.

Overall, every set effect of the Dragonscale Set was very useful to a physical class. If equipped, a player's combat power would instantly rise by two or three levels. It was frightening...

"You've seen the equipment for yourselves. The bidding will start at 100 Gold, with a minimum bid increment of 1 Gold." Shi Feng chuckled. He then announced, "You may begin!"

Before the crowd could recover from their shock, Shi Feng's opening price stunned them once more.

The market offer for the Warfire Set Equipment was also 100 Gold, and the set could be upgraded to Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, the set's level would increase with the player's, and it could become a Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment.

The Dragonscale Set Equipment was only a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The opening bid was simply too expensive.

If the set were a Level 25 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, it might be worth 100 Gold.

"What? Nobody's bidding?" Shi Feng watched the silent crowd. Leisurely, he said, "Since nobody wants to buy it, then our trade comes to an end. We don't have anything to talk about, so let's dismiss this issue."

Even after Shi Feng said this, the various Guild representatives stood as still as stone, showing no intentions of leaving. Right now, they were like a pack of hungry wolves that had meat placed before them. How could they leave without a bite?

"Brother Expert, your price is somewhat high. If it were the set you wear right now, I would pay double."

"That's right! I'm willing to buy the Dragonscale Set Equipment at 60 Gold!"

The Guild representatives voiced their opinions, expressing their refusal of the high price of the Dragonscale Set Equipment and imploring Shi Feng to lower the price. After all, Gold Coins were not easy to come by. Now that every Guild purchased Coins in bulk, it had resulted in an abnormal shortage of Coins. Currently, most of the Guilds in God's Domain relied on their money-farming teams to supply them with Coins.

"Don't buy it if you think it is too expensive. I don't need to sell my equipment to you specifically," Shi Feng said disdainfully.

Shi Feng knew exactly what these representatives were trying to do.

At this moment, however, a crisp voice echoed throughout the restaurant's second floor.

"One hundred Gold. I want it."

Immediately, everyone's attention shifted towards the person who placed the bid, discovering a bright and attractive beauty. Moreover, the majority of the equipment this beauty wore was Fine-Gold rank, and the staff strapped to her back even emitted the glow unique to Dark-Gold items.

"Isn't she Aqua Rose of Twilight Echo?"

"I seem to recall Aqua Rose having left Twilight Echo. I believe she joined a small unknown Guild. Her actions had caused quite the commotion."

"That's right; I remember it as well. Many Guilds had tried to recruit her. Unfortunately, she rejected all of the offers, insisting on joining a small Guild instead. At that time, many had sighed at her choice. How could she possibly achieve anything in a small Guild? Twilight Echo even expressed that, as long as Aqua Rose acknowledged her mistakes, they would gladly welcome her back. Unfortunately, she refused. After not hearing anything about her for so long, I thought she had quit God's Domain."

"It is somewhat unfortunate. However, based on her current appearance, it seems that she is getting by quite well. She even wields a Dark-Gold Weapon."

"No matter what was said or done, Aqua Rose is very talented and powerful. With the nurturing of a small Guild and some luck, it isn't exactly impossible to obtain Level 20 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. However, she probably won't grow beyond that. After all, a small Guild is still a small Guild."

The crowd instantly fell into a discussion about Aqua Rose. She was quite famous in the virtual gaming world, and like the Snow Goddess, she had been nicknamed the Rose Goddess. Naturally, the Guild representatives recognized her.

The crowd's attention turned from Aqua Rose, shifting towards Twilight Echo's representative.

Twilight Echo's representative, Brilliant Wargod, had also noticed Aqua Rose's appearance. He was visibly delighted. It was especially true when he heard everyone's evaluation of the woman.

Ever since he had suffered defeat at Shi Feng's hands, due to the punishment from the system, his leveling speed had slowed to a crawl. Even when he accompanied others, he could not level any faster. Having no other choice, he chose to act as the Guild's representative and mingled in Blackwing City. He hated Shi Feng fiercely for placing him in his current situation.

Previously, he had allowed Aqua Rose to leave Twilight Echo with ulterior motives. He wanted to teach Aqua Rose that she was nothing without Twilight Echo, and in the end, she would beg to return to the Guild.

However, upon seeing Aqua Rose's equipment and level, Brilliant Wargod's expression sank, disappointed.

_Keep up your pretenses! I want to see just how long you can keep up the act!_ Brilliant Wargod had paid close attention to Zero Wing, so he knew that Zero Wing was currently engaged in an all-out war against Overwhelming Smile. Others might not know Overwhelming Smile's backer, but he did. A tiny Guild like Zero Wing would only last a few more days.

"Alright, 100 Gold going once!"

"100 Gold going twice!"

...

Shi Feng did not care whether the crowd paid attention to Twilight Echo's representative or not. He just smiled faintly as he confirmed the bid. Immediately, his words shook everyone back to their senses, and the representatives promptly started shouting their own bids.

"101 Gold!"

"103 Gold!"

"108 Gold!"

...

The Dragonscale Set Equipment that nobody wanted had suddenly risen to a price of 132 Gold. What had happened to "100 Gold is too expensive?" Their complaints had been nothing more than nonsense. After all, this was a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment that none of the Guilds in God's Domain possessed. Although the set was not particularly suitable for MTs, it still had better effects than the individual equipment pieces that their MTs currently wore. How could they possibly give up on it?

When Thunder Tiger placed a bid of 132 Gold, the crowd began to hesitate.

"150 Gold!" Aqua Rose calmly rose the bid.

The crowd turned to look at each other, shocked.

Even to a large Guild, 150 Gold was not cheap. To a small Guild, that should practically be all they had. Yet, Aqua Rose seemed not to care about the price at all. The representatives began to wonder what kind of Guild supported Aqua Rose.

"155 Gold!" Swallow Nine stated.

"158 Gold!" Flourishing Colors began to bid as well.

One hundred and fifty Gold was almost the limit a first-rate Guild would willingly bid; any more would be too expensive. However, the three Super Guilds did not care about this price.

Just as the three Super Guilds began to compete with each other...

"200 Gold!"

Although Aqua Rose's voice was not particularly loud, her bid swept through the crowd like a chilling wave...

Chapter 471 - it is difficult to breed true dragon in shallow water

Two hundred Gold Coins!

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

"She's insane!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Two hundred Gold going twice!"

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

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

"Two hundred eleven Gold," Brilliant Wargod sneered.

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

"Three hundred Gold."

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

The price was simply too high.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Five hundred Gold going once!"

"Five hundred Gold going twice!"

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"150 Gold!"

"I bid 155 Gold!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TL Notes:

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

Chapter 472 - massive profits

Rare items were expensive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This was also why Shi Feng had called Aqua Rose.

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

_You guys have fun waiting here, then._

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

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

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

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

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

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

However, shortly after Shi Feng's departure...

The Blackwing Auction House exploded.

"It's actually the Dragonscale Set Equipment!"

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

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

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

News of the situation swiftly spread throughout Blackwing City.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

\---

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 473 - black dragon phantom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Nobody should be able to discover me here."

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Thump... Thump..._

Each consecutive heartbeat grew clearer and more intense.

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

"What's happening?"

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

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

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

Chapter 474 - abyssal upgrade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Is this the Backlash?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Attack Power +423

All Attributes +36

Attack Speed +12

Ignore Levels +12

Attacks have:

45% chance to cause 200% damage.

20% chance to cause 300% damage.

20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40% for 35 seconds.

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

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

Equipment Level 25. Can be upgraded. (Devour ten Level 30 Fine-Gold Weapons and one Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon to upgrade to Level 30).

Can be evolved (Unknown).

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

Duration: 45 seconds

Cooldown: 5 minutes

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

Duration: 4 seconds

Cooldown: 1 minute

Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for the wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 45% damage.

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 5 minutes

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

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 1 minute

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

Duration: 10 minutes

Cooldown: 16 hours

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

Unable to be dropped.

Unable to be traded.

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

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

Ceng!

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

"So sharp!"

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

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

"This... What happened here?"

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

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

Suddenly, everyone shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 475 - silent massacre 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Boom!_

The battle axe struck the ground heavily.

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

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

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

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

"This..."

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

Just what had happened here?

Why was Little Whistle suddenly dead?

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

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

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

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

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

"Where is he?"

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

Was he an Assassin?

This thought suddenly popped into their minds.

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

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

"Crap! Behind us!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Such a quick sword!_

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

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

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

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

Chapter 476 - haunted

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shi Feng then read the black potion's data.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If he included the effects of Haunted...

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

"Perfect. You'll do."

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

\---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 477 - Youlan's worries

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was obvious which Guild they should join.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saying so, Thoughtful Rain immediately turned and left.

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

\---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 478 - seven ghost

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

\---

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

"Good luck?"

"What an arrogant little brat!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peng!

Dazzling sparks scattered around him.

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

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

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

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

Chapter 479 - triple cut

Saber and sword intersected, scattering sparks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone was confused.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boom!

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

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

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

Yet... yet... Shi Feng had blocked it!

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

"Are they NPCs?"

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

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

"So he really was telling the truth."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dang... Dang... Dang...

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Old Six, I'll help you!"

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

Chapter 480 - steeping into the second phase

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

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

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

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

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

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

However, he was still a step too slow.

Hua... Hua... Hua...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He disappeared?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Die!"

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

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

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

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

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

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