Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

1121-1140

Chapter 1122 - Foundation Magic Array

Endless Scars's conversation with Shi Feng had been private. The other players hadn't heard their discussion.

However, when the Midnight Tea Party members saw Endless Scars's frown, they were shocked.

Endless Scars had never revealed such an expression throughout her time on the team. Even when monsters nearly wiped their team out, nothing close to a frown had appeared on her face.

"Propose another. Our team cannot agree to that condition," Endless Scars said after giving the matter some thought. Looking straight at Shi Feng, she said seriously, "The map itself is a pass to the Fallen Ark. If you have it, you can enter the Ark more than once. This will undoubtedly increase our competition over the Ark's treasure. With how important the Fallen Ark is, I believe that no sane person would agree to your proposal. Moreover, even if our adventurer team can't enter the Fallen Ark right now, we can simply return when we're strong enough. In any case, the key is ours. If we don't activate the Ark, no one will be able to enter it."

"What you're saying is true. However, you don't seem to know the Fallen Ark's true secret," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He had long since guessed Endless Scars's reply.

The Fallen Ark Map was priceless. Naturally, he didn't expect the Midnight Tea Party to just make a copy for him. However, the adventurer team's understanding of the Fallen Ark was no match for his.

"What are you trying to say?" Although Endless Scars had her suspicions, after hearing Shi Feng's confident comments, she was even more certain that Shi Feng knew plenty of information about the Fallen Ark.

"Well, it doesn't really matter even if I tell you this. Although you have the key and the map, it is still impossible to obtain the items inside the Fallen Ark," Shi Feng explained as he pointed to where the five Special Lifeforms had disappeared. "You've seen for yourselves how powerful those guards are. However, the monsters inside are even more formidable. If you open the Ark, those monsters will escape. Moreover, those monsters will, slowly but surely, grow stronger. If you don't deal with them properly, even the map won't help you. Meanwhile, I have a way to deal with those monsters.

"If we work together, we can reach the Ark's inner region quickly. Even if you don't want to cooperate with us, once you open the Ark, we can still go in ourselves. Once the Ark is open, it won't ever close. Anyone will be able to enter."

Endless Scars hesitated after listening to Shi Feng's explanation.

Although she wasn't sure if Shi Feng were telling the truth, if he was, then her side had no way of dealing with those monsters. Their map might as well be a blank piece of paper. On the other hand, Shi Feng had a way of combating this problem. Once Shi Feng's team entered the Ark, although their progress would be slow without the map, the Midnight Tea Party would suffer a massive loss if they came across any treasure.

Most importantly, her team did not have a lot of time. After all, their quest had a time limit. Based on her estimates, even if they focused on grinding and completing their class promotions, the furthest they could reach was Tier 2, Level 55 before the quest's time limit was up. At that tier and level, their team might have a chance of defeating the five entrance guards. Unfortunately, she was not certain that they could deal with the Ark's monsters, which Shi Feng claimed were far stronger.

She had to admit that Shi Feng's knowledge on those monsters was invaluable.

"Alright, I'll agree to your conditions. However, you need to tell me what you know about those monsters. You also have to tell me how to deal with them. If what you say is true, I'll make a copy of the map once we're in the Ark. If you lie to me, you won't get anything." Endless Scars glared at Shi Feng. This was the first time she hadn't had the upper hand in a negotiation since she had joined God's Domain. She was even more frustrated that she still didn't know Shi Feng and his team members' identities.

"That won't be a problem. Once you see for yourself, you'll know the truth," Shi Feng laughed.

After the various Super Guilds' army had suffered annihilation, Crying Ghost Ridge had become a forbidden land for players in the past. Even then, however, many players had sought the Fallen Ark's treasure. To deal with the incomparably powerful abyssal monsters, these players had formed a multitude of plans. Unfortunately, none of those plans had succeeded. The most ridiculous part was that players had only discovered a proper method of dealing with the monsters after they had been defeated.

That method involved utilizing Mana Stones!

Due to the special Mana phenomenon inside the Fallen Ark, the slumbering abyssal monsters couldn't absorb Mana to recover. However, once the Fallen Ark was unlocked, this Mana disturbance would vanish. To recover their strength, these abyssal monsters urgently needed large amounts of Mana. Ordinary Magic Crystals would not do. To those ancient abyssal monsters, Mana of such quality did little to aid in their recovery. Only Mana Stones were suitable.

When the time came, he simply needed to construct a Foundation Magic Array to display the Mana Stones. The Mana Stones would lure the abyssal monsters, and once they left, these abyssal monsters wouldn't be able to return to the Ark for a short time. Their teams could then search the Ark relatively safely.

Following which, Shi Feng and Endless Scars signed a contract. After ensuring that there were no issues, Shi Feng had Violet Cloud use Basic Soul Return on Breeze Wine. This way, Breeze Wine would not lose a level, and his combat power would be unaffected.

"Wait here for now. I still need to prepare," Shi Feng said before entering the dead forest by himself and setting up a teleportation point with the Abyss Pendant. He then used a Return Scroll and teleported to White River City.

As soon as Shi Feng returned to White River City, he passed the Green Ebony he had obtained to Melancholic Smile. Although they only had enough for one Advanced Transport Carriage, it took a considerable amount of time to manufacture one. Even if they had a Master Engineer and a Master Forger, they would need close to a day. Hence, the sooner they began production, the better.

Inside one of the Candlelight Trading Firm's Special Forging Room, Shi Feng retrieved the Philosopher's Stone, which he had picked up from his Private Warehouse on his way back, and began to synthesize Magic Crystals into Mana Stones.

He could synthesize one Mana Stone from 50 Magic Crystals. Without hesitation, he used all 1,000 Magic Crystals he had obtained from Endless Scars and ended up with 20 Mana Stones. That was enough to lure the abyssal monsters from the Ark twice.

Following which, Shi Feng made nine Magic Array Scrolls for the Nine-star Polar Domain. Once those were complete, he used the Abyss Pendant to return to Crying Ghost Ridge.

Upon returning to the Ridge, Shi Feng used ten Mana Stones to set up a Foundation Magic Array far from the canyon where the Fallen Ark resided. With this Foundation Magic Array, he could lure all the abyssal monsters from inside the Ark.

After finishing that task, Shi Feng returned to his team.

"You've finished your tasks already?" Endless Scars asked Shi Feng with a suspicious tone.

Only one hour or so had passed since Shi Feng had left. That wasn't even enough time to make a round-trip to a town or city.

What could he possibly do in one hour?

Originally, she had thought that Shi Feng had left to gather reinforcements. After all, with their current strength, defeating the five guardian monsters was impossible. At the very least, they needed a team of 100 experts.

Yet, Shi Feng hadn't brought even one player back with him...

"Endless, is this brat toying with us?!" Dark War asked through the team chat, infuriated.

After Shi Feng left, Endless Scars had told her team everything about her agreement with Shi Feng.

They all thought that Shi Feng's demands were outrageous. They also thought that Shi Feng was lying about how powerful the monsters inside the Ark were and that he simply wanted to trick them for their map. Shi Feng's speedy return only justified their assumptions.

Before Endless Scars could reply, however, Shi Feng beat her to it and said, "I've completed my preparations. However, during the battle, everyone needs to follow my commands." 

Chapter 1123 - Monsters' Domain

"You'll take command?"

The Midnight Tea Party members shot Shi Feng scornful looks.

To ordinary players, a team commander's role was not particularly important. Ordinary players wouldn't have any choice in the matter if an expert like Shi Feng wanted to guide them.

However, they weren't ordinary players.

Moreover, even the slightest mistake could result in death in the upcoming batter. If they died and lost the fight, they would've wasted several days of effort. If they were not absolutely confident in their commander, how could apex experts risk listening to him? Having only met him recently, Shi Feng was just a stranger.

They could let Shi Feng's request for the Fallen Ark Map slide. However, if he thought that they would listen to his commands, he was simply dreaming!

Breeze Wine nodded in agreement with his teammates' responses. He didn't think that it would be suitable for Shi Feng to take command of the Midnight Tea Party, either. However, this was not because he looked down on Shi Feng's abilities. Rather, for one to qualify as a commander, one needed to familiarize themselves with every player on the team. This included their various Basic Attributes, Skills, habits, and many other details. Only by knowing this information could one effectively lead and allow the everyone in the team to display their fullest potential.

Shi Feng knew nothing about the Midnight Tea Party members. Although it wouldn't be a major issue if they were raiding a simple Dungeon or Boss monster, they intended to take on a Level 65 Grand Lord and four Level 63 Great Lords. Any mistakes would definitely result in casualties.

"It's fine if you don't want me in command. I'll just tell you our raid strategy. When the time comes, work with us," Shi Feng said, not minding the hostile looks he received. "Only, I will not be responsible for any casualties."

Five Special Lifeforms working together was no laughing matter.

Based on Shi Feng's understanding, every one of those five Special Lifeforms possessed their own ultimate moves. Alone, those ultimate moves might not be that powerful, but combined, their might increased exponentially. If those five Special Lifeforms cooperated with each other, they could annihilate a team of apex experts effortlessly. Players needed an accurate grasp on the timing of the Bosses' Skills. Even a slight error could result in a team-wipe. Hence, he had asked to take command.

"That won't be a problem," Breeze Wine confidently replied. "If a team-wipe occurs due to a mistake on our side, we'll compensate you correspondingly."

The rest of the team members agreed with the arrangement as well. At the very least, this was far better than taking orders from a stranger.

Following which, Shi Feng began to assign tasks.

In reality, there was very little the Midnight Tea Party needed to do. As Breeze Wine had assumed, Shi Feng was not very familiar with the Midnight Tea Party's members. Thus, he hadn't assigned them any particularly important tasks. The adventurer team mainly had to supply nine magical classes to maintain the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array. Shi Feng told the other nine players to distract two of the Fallen Patrols. They did not even need to focus on damaging the Great Lords. As for Breeze Wine, he had to unlock the Ark, of course.

Zero Wing would deal with the Fallen Garrison Captain and the remaining two Fallen Patrols.

After Shi Feng finished assigning tasks, both teams began to inspect their weapons, equipment, potions, and scrolls.

"Later, while leader is maintaining the magic array, I'll take over command. You guys better not embarrass our team," Endless Scars said seriously as she glanced at her teammates.

"Endless, rest assured. You know our standards better than anyone else. When the time comes, even if their side is annihilated, we won't have any issues," the Ranger, Dark War, sneered as he shot a glare at Shi Feng's team.

Facing two Level 63 Great Lords might be a problem for ordinary experts. To their adventurer team, however, it was simply a somewhat strenuous task. Moreover, they only had to serve as distractions. They were not even required to fight the two Bosses head-on.

On the other hand, Shi Feng's side, which needed to confront a Grand Lord and two Great Lords directly, was the largest concern.

After everyone confirmed that there were no issues, Shi Feng signaled Breeze Wine with a wave of his hand, having the latter start the unlocking process.

Seeing this, Breeze Wine raised the orange crystal above his head and began to chant once more.

Following which, the canyon shook as five massive figures rose from the ground. They were none other than the Fallen Garrison Captain and the four Fallen Patrols.

"Activate the magic array!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted.

Endless Scars gave the same command practically at the same time.

Suddenly, a massive, purple-gold magic array appeared and enveloped the five Boss monsters.

As an Intermediate Magic Array, the Nine-star Polar Domain could even suppress Mythic monsters. Naturally, the Garrison Captain and Patrols were no exception. Immediately, the five Bosses' Attributes began to fall rapidly.

"How is this Intermediate Magic Array so powerful?!"

The Midnight Tea Party was momentarily stunned.

In the blink of an eye, the Fallen Garrison Captain's HP fell from 120,000,000 to 96,000,000, whereas the Fallen Patrols' HPs fell from 57,000,000 to 41,000,000. The magic array's effects even stunned Endless Scars.

While they, the Midnight Tea Party, had seen Intermediate Magic Arrays before and had even collected a complete set themselves, that Intermediate Magic Array was only capable of reducing a Grand Lord's Basic Attributes by 10%. Even then, it was already considerably powerful for an Intermediate Magic Array.

Yet, the Nine-star Polar Domain had weakened the Fallen Garrison Captain by 20% and the Fallen Patrols by 30%. This was simply inconceivable.

Of course, Shi Feng's team didn't even stop to notice the Midnight Tea Party members' reactions.

"Go!"

Under Shi Feng's command, Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove charged at own targets.

As the lead MT, Cola would deal with the Grand Lord, while Turtledove and Ye Wumian would each tank the two Great Lords.

Special Lifeforms' Life Rating was slightly higher than ordinary monsters, though they were undoubtedly inferior to Archaic Species. With their Attributes suppressed, Cola and the others should be able to handle them.

However, before Cola could reach the Fallen Garrison Captain, the latter swung its massive, ten-meter-long greatsword at the ground.

Boom!

A massive fissure ripped through the ground, extending straight towards Cola.

"Cola! Activate Protection Blessing!" Shi Feng shouted upon seeing the attack.

Cola activated Protection Blessing without hesitation. He then positioned his shield before his body and gripped it with both hands.

Peng!

Cola was thrown ten yards away on the spot. The Truth Shield and Protection on him shattered into oblivion. Meanwhile, Cola's HP fell by over 25,000. The Troll Chieftain's ultimate move paled tremendously in comparison to the Fallen Garrison Captain's attack.

The fissure only stopped after 50 yards. The Garrison Captain's attack range made everyone shudder.

Had Cola not activated Protection Blessing in time, he would be dead.

The Garrison Captain's attack stunned every player in the battle. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end. In the next moment, the four Fallen Patrols moved simultaneously, abruptly raising their battle axes and slamming them to the ground violently.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

The ground began to tremble. Golden jets began to spray from the ground in a 30-yard radius around the four Fallen Patrols. When the four Domains were superimposed over each other, it was practically impossible to avoid them. Meanwhile, any player that these jets struck would receive anywhere from -5,000 to -8,000 damage.

These golden jets appeared without any signs or fixed patterns. The overlapping Domains doubled the attacks' density.

Although they tried their best to dodge the attacks, players occasionally slipped up and got hit, their HPs decreasing rapidly. One Level 41 from the Midnight Tea Party, unfortunately, got caught in two overlapping Domains. Without any time to respond, numerous jets struck the Berserker, and he died on the spot. 

Chapter 1124 - Tier 4 Super Spell

"Everyone, avoid the overlapping Domains!"

"What kind of Skill is that?! Why is it still going on even after so long?!"

...

The battle had just begun, yet one person had already died. Both Shi Feng's team and the Midnight Tea Party grew anxious.

Everyone had seen how the Berserker had died.

The golden jets appeared suddenly and silently. Moreover, the attacks could not be blocked, only dodged. Even if they were only near one Domain, they would have to dodge three to five jets. Near two overlapping Domains, one would face seven to ten attacks simultaneously. The Berserker's paths of retreat had been cut off. In the end, he had died before the team's healers could help him.

The Midnight Tea Party members no longer wore their previous complacent expressions.

"Lure the Patrols to four corners! Do not let them near the Garrison Captain!" Shi Feng commanded.

Shi Feng was not particularly familiar with the guardian Bosses' Skills. After all, he had only learned about the Fallen Ark after it had been activated in the past. He did not even know who had activated the Ark.

All he knew was that these Special Lifeforms had their own ultimate moves and that those ultimate moves would become exponentially stronger when combined. However, he hadn't expected these ultimate moves to be Domain Skills.

Among the various Skills in God's Domain, those that posed the greatest danger were none other than large-scale destruction Spells and Domain Skills. Attacks from large-scale destruction Spells usually only lasted one or several waves. If players could endure the Spell's duration, they would live. However, Domain Skills could stay in effect much longer. Domain Skill would gradually whittle players down until they died.

Endless Scars now realized how severe the situation was. Immediately, she took a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll from her bag and shouted through the team chat, "Wave, use your Summoning Scroll with mine! We'll use them to lure away the Patrols! Melee players, stay away from the Bosses! Use only ranged attacks!"

After all was said and done, the Midnight Tea Party's members were still experts. Very quickly, they began to move. The team's melee players promptly distanced themselves from the Fallen Patrols' Domains. Meanwhile, Endless Scars and Netherworld Wave each summoned a Tier 3 creature and instructed them to pounce on the Fallen Patrols.

Both Endless Scars and Netherworld Wave were incredibly proficient with controlling their summoned creatures. Although they couldn't dodge all of the golden jets, they could dodge the majority of them. With relative ease, the summoned creatures arrived before the Fallen Patrols and swiped their claws at the enemies.

Peng!

When the Tier 3 summoned creatures' claws struck the stationery Fallen Patrols, the clang of metal rang out. The summoned creatures' claws had only scratched the Patrols' armor. They did not even manage to push the Patrols back despite both being at the Great Lord rank. The Fallen Patrols had only lost around 4,000 HP from the attacks...

"Why are their Defenses so high?!"

"Even a Grand Lord doesn't have this much Defense!"

When the Midnight Tea Party's members saw the damage the Tier 3, Level 60 summoned creatures had dealt with their normal attacks, their expressions grew gloomy.

When they had used Tier 3 summoned creatures to fight Tier 3 Great Lords in the past, the former's normal attacks usually dealt twenty to thirty thousand damage. Even against Grand Lords, their attacks dealt nearly -8,000 points, yet against these Bosses, their summoned creatures had only dealt around -4,000 damage.

The Fallen Patrols' Defense was ridiculous.

If even a Tier 3 summoned creature dealt so little damage, then players like themselves would deal, at most, -1,500 damage to the Fallen Patrols.

Meanwhile, the Fallen Patrols each had 41,000,000 HP. With their battle recovery, they could regenerate over 410,000 HP every five seconds. In other words, they would recover 82,000 HP every second.

If their damage couldn't exceed 82,000 every second, then the Fallen Patrols were invincible against them.

"Big Sis Endless, how are we supposed to fight these things?" Cloud Yarn asked anxiously. She could not help but turn to the Grand Lord Shi Feng's team fought.

If the Fallen Patrols were already so difficult to deal with, wouldn't the Fallen Garrison Captain be even more overbearing?

"Forget about that for now! Lure the Bosses away!" Endless Scars ordered, shaking her head as she also glanced at Shi Feng's team.

The five Guardian Bosses were far more powerful than she had thought. Initially, she had believed that the Midnight Tea Party could deal with these monsters after they reached Tier 2, Level 55. Now, however, it would seem that even after reaching that level, they had less than a 40% chance of beating these monsters.

After the Midnight Tea Party lured two of the Fallen Patrols away, Turtledove and Ye Wumian activated their Lifesaving Skills and began to lure their Patrols away from the Fallen Garrison Captain.

Once the four Patrols were in four separate corners, Cola, who stood in the middle, had a much easier time dealing with the Garrison Captain. However, even after activating Protection Blessing, he still took over -10,000 damage from one of the Grand Lord's normal attacks. Without Protection Blessing, a single attack would devour over 20,000 of Cola's HP....

Cola couldn't imagine standing against the Garrison Captain without the Nine-star Polar Domain.

Moreover, when everyone's attacks struck the Garrison Captain, every one of them dealt less than -1,000 damage. Only Fire Dance and Gentle Snow's normal attacks could deal over -1,500 damage to the Grand Lord, while their Skills dealt up to -5,000 damage. However, to the Garrison Captain, which had 96,000,000 HP, that damage was negligible.

"Guild Leader, we won't even scratch its HP at this rate. Sooner or later, it will wear us down. Why don't we retreat and have the Guild's main force meet us here?" Gentle Snow advised through the team chat.

Facing a Great Lord with a 20-man team was already pushing their luck, not to mention a Grand Lord that was twenty levels above them. If not for their excellent weapons and equipment and their exceptionally high combat standards, they would have team-wiped with the first wave of attacks.

"No need. Cola, keep hold of the Boss! Three seconds is long enough!"

The current situation didn't surprise Shi Feng overmuch. He was fully aware of how powerful Special Lifeforms functioned. They were only inferior to Archaic Species. Knowing this, he had prepared a method to deal with them.

In the next moment, Shi Feng took a blood-red Magic Scroll from his bag. The instant the Magic Scroll appeared, a powerful Mana fluctuation occurred within the Nine-star Polar Domain.

Everyone's gazes instantly shifted to Shi Feng.

"What is that Magic Scroll?" Endless Scars muttered, shocked, when she noticed the rampant Mana inside the barrier.

This Magic Scroll was one of the two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls Shi Feng had obtained from killing the Awakened NPC, Lancelot.

Meanwhile, the Garrison Captain noticed the Mana fluctuations immediately, the Grand Lord's eyes similarly shifting towards the blood-red scroll in Shi Feng's hands. It shifted to attack the Swordsman.

"Don't even think about getting away from me that easily!"

Cola raised his shield and slammed it into the Garrison Captain's foot. He then activated the Tier 1 Skill Justice Roar, his body releasing a dazzling golden glow. He instantly regained the Boss's attention and aggro. At the same time, his Strength would double if the Boss didn't attack him.

However, even after Cola activated Justice Roar, the Garrison Captain was still focused on Shi Feng.

"Guild Leader, what did you just take out?!" Cola could not help his surprise.

With no other choice, Cola activated Power of Darkness, his Attributes soaring once more. He then executed the Tier 1 Skill, Righteous Punishment.

Boom!

With a single strike, he forced the Garrison Captain's right foot back, causing over -10,000 damage to appear above the Grand Lord's head. The attack had nearly forced the Garrison Captain to kneel.

Yet, the Fallen Garrison Captain did not return its attention to Cola. Rather, it advanced on Shi Feng, one step after another.

Seeing this, Cola continued to execute several powerful moves, every one dealing over -10,000 damage, yet the result did not change.

"Guild Leader, this monster has gone nuts!" Cola was dumbfounded.

As the Garrison Captain arrived before Shi Feng, before it slashed its greatsword down on Shi Feng, Shi Feng finally finished chanting the Magic Scroll's incantation.

"Disillusionment!"

Shi Feng's eyes flew open. Two extremely complex and refined, blood-red magic arrays then emerged from his eyes. The other players were astonished.

Tier 4 Super Spell, Disillusioned Space! 

Chapter 1125 - Unexpected Evolution

The instant the Magic Scroll activated, it seemed as if space had frozen as the Garrison Captain's descending greatsword came to an abrupt halt. Immediately after, the space within the Nine-star Polar Domain began to change, a blood-red color coating the surrounding scenery.

"What's going on? Why does my body feel so light?"

"Wait, our Basic Attributes have risen!"

"It's true! My Basic Attributes have increased by 100%!"

"Guys, look! The Boss seems to have slowed to a crawl!"

...

As everyone looked at the Garrison Captain's greatsword again, they found that they could see the weapon clearly; before, they had only seen afterimages.

As the greatsword descended, the earth shattered. Over 30-meter-long fissures broke through the ground.

However, the Garrison Captain had only hit the afterimage Shi Feng had left behind. The Swordsman himself had long since moved ten yards away.

So fast! When did he start moving? Endless Scars was flabbergasted.

Unlike the rest of the players, she had focused on Shi Feng. However, during the brief moment when she glanced at the Garrison Captain's greatsword, which had suddenly and significantly slowed, Shi Feng had moved ten yards away. She found the matter unbelievable.

"Look! Those Patrols have slowed down as well! Even the golden jets are slower!"

"With this speed, even I can dodge them easily."

The players finally noticed that Fallen Garrison Captain hadn't been the only one whose speed had been affected. The Fallen Patrols in the four corners had also suffered a speed reduction. Even their Domain Skills were affected. Zero Wing's members and the Midnight Tea Party could now dodge the golden jets easily.

"Just who is he?"

The Midnight Tea Party members couldn't help but glance at Shi Feng. They usually boasted their vast understand of God's Domain. However, even with their bountiful knowledge and experiences, they had never encountered a situation like this. Without a doubt, this phenomenon had something to do with Shi Feng's blood-red Magic Scroll. There was no other way to explain it.

Now that everyone's Basic Attributes had been boosted while the five Bosses' reaction speeds and Attack Speeds had decreased, the Midnight Tea Party's members, who had previously begun to despair, brimmed with hope.

Currently, the five Bosses had only landed one out of three or four attacks against their respective MTs. However, due to the significant Attribute increase, the Bosses' damage had decreased. Take the Fallen Garrison Captain Cola tanked for example. Originally, Cola withstood over -20,000 damage from the Grand Lord's normal attacks. Now, however, the Grand Lord's normal attacks only dealt around -13,000 to the Guardian Knight. In addition, due to Cola having activated Power of Darkness, his HP had risen to more than 56,000. Including Disillusioned Space's effects, his HP had risen to more than 112,000. He was practically a humanoid monster at this point.

Right now, Cola wouldn't even have issues tanking three Fallen Garrison Captains, much less one. As for Cola's damage, due to the Strength bonus from Justice Roar, just his normal attacks dealt nearly -10,000 damage, while his Skills dealt close to -30,000 damage.

Meanwhile, Violet Cloud, who stood among the healers at the rear, had similarly grown more powerful. Every one of her heals restored over 10,000 HP to Cola. If she double-cast her Spells, she could heal over 20,000 HP every time. If she were lucky and triggered a double-critical, she could instantly heal over 40,000 HP. Not only was Violet Cloud capable of keeping Cola alive by herself, but she could also handle healing Turtledove and Ye Wumian.

"Guild Leader, what kind of Magic Scroll did you use?! I feel like we can even deal with a Mythic monster right now!" Cola exclaimed through the team chat.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement.

Aside from their frightening damage, the most troublesome aspect about Boss monsters were their Attack Speeds and reaction speeds. Now that the Fallen Garrison Captain had been suppressed in all three aspects, it was only as difficult as a High Lord; it only dealt slightly more damage. However, their increased Attributes made up for that, further decreasing the raid's difficulty. Right now, they felt like they were simply fighting a powerful Lord.

"Alright, enough idling around. Use your Berserk Skills and throw everything you've got. We only have 15 minutes until this space disappears!" Shi Feng felt a sting in his chest.

Lancelot had only dropped two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls.

He had just used the more precious of the two, the Tier 4 Super Spell Disillusioned Space. Unlike Tier 4 Curses, Super Spells had been created during ancient times. They were ridiculously powerful, capable of transforming the environment. They were many times more powerful and mystical than the Spells of the current era. Even the current NPCs in God's Domain couldn't analyze these Spells. Thus, they were called Super Spells.

After activating Disillusioned Space, it would transform the area within 200 yards of the caster into a custom world. All enemies within this world would be suppressed, decreasing their Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed by two-thirds of their totals. At the same time, this world would also enhance the caster and his allies, decreasing the Bosses' difficulty by one tier.

Take the Fallen Garrison Captain for example. It had originally been a Tier 3, Upper-rank existence. Now that its raid difficulty had reduced, it was only as strong as a Tier 2, Upper-rank. Unfortunately, Disillusioned Space's duration was considerably short. Even so, in the past, everyone had called it the rarest Magic Scroll in God's Domain, second to none.

In the past, a Tier 4 Super Magic Scroll had been worth at least three Epic items. If a team of Tier 2 players used the scroll, they could even kill Tier 4 Mythic monsters.

However, Shi Feng couldn't care less right now. The Garrison Captain and Patrols were far stronger than he had imagined. If he hadn't used the Magic Scroll, they would have undoubtedly team-wiped. Moreover, trading a Tier 4 Super Magic Scroll for a map to the Fallen Ark was a sure-profit transaction.

...

Upon hearing Shi Feng's warning, everyone promptly began to activate their Berserk Skills.

Although the Fallen Garrison Captain and Fallen Patrols still possessed very high HPs, their reduced speed made them living targets. After activating their Berserk Skills, everyone easily dealt over -10,000 damage with their attacks, while Fire Dance and Gentle Snow could deal over -20,000 damage.

Shi Feng didn't hold back either as he activated Power of Darkness. He then used Silent Steps and appeared behind the Garrison Captain before activating Phantom Kill. Both he and his doppelganger activated Flame Burst simultaneously.

Miniature suns appeared on both Shi Feng's and his doppelganger's swords. Every strike they landed on the Garrison Captain dealt over -60,000 damage, while critical hits dealt over -130,000 damage.

By the time Shi Feng and his doppelganger dropped to the ground, both had landed a total of thirty consecutive attacks. The Fallen Garrison Captain lost over two million HP on the spot. The damages that appeared above the Grand Lord's head stupefied everyone. With such high damage, Shi Feng could instantly kill a Chieftain of the same level.

Time passed quickly. Under the players' crazed bombardment, it took roughly six minutes for the Garrison Captain's 96,000,000 HP to hit zero.

Boom!

When the Fallen Garrison Captain collapsed, although it did not drop any loot, Gentle Snow, Alluring Summer, and the other members of Zero Wing rose from Level 42 to Level 43. The abundant EXP exceeded everyone's expectations. The Midnight Tea Party's members also leveled up from 41 to Level 42.

However, no one stopped to celebrate as they still had to deal with four Fallen Patrols. They had less than ten minutes left before Disillusioned Space's duration ran out. If they could not kill these Bosses within this period, it would be much harder to do so afterward.

Moreover, Shi Feng had already told everyone that Special Lifeforms were immortal existences. Until they opened the Fallen Ark's entrance, these Special Lifeforms would continue to resurrect. Moreover, Special Lifeforms generally revived in around ten minutes. They couldn't afford to waste any time.

However, the Fallen Patrols were much easier to deal with than the Fallen Garrison Captain. Even without their Berserk Skills, the two teams could deal a lot of damage to these Bosses. In addition, they still had the support of the Midnight Tea Party's two Tier 3 summoned creatures.

Finally, fourteen minutes since Disillusioned Space had been activated, the four Fallen Patrols collapsed, transforming into piles of rubble and gifting a large amount of EXP. The Midnight Tea Party members even leveled up once more, reaching Level 43. This leveling speed astonished these players. They had actually gained nearly two full levels' EXP in just fifteen minutes...

Zero Wing's members were already high-leveled. Although they had also obtained plenty of EXP, it was not enough to reach the next level. However, the abundant EXP had helped Shi Feng reach 82% of Level 47. If he grinded Trolls, he could reach Level 48 in only half a day.

As the Guardian Bosses died, the canyon began to tremble violently.

Suddenly, the canyon's center collapsed. A towering, aqua-blue temple then emerged from the ground.

At the same time, the familiar sound of a system notification reached everyone's ears.

God's Domain System Announcement: Players have successfully activated a new expansion pack in God's Domain. The System will undergo an upgrade. All players, please prepare to log out of the game. 

Chapter 1126 - Revealing Identity

The notification about God's Domain's system update echoed in every player's ears. The notification immediately earned various reactions.

"Who's the bastard that triggered a new expansion pack?!"

"I'm only halfway through a Dungeon here!"

"Crap! I just bought a helmet and joined God's Domain!"

...

Many players began voicing their dissent on the official forums. However, although many people were outraged about this update, even more people were curious about its contents. For a time, everyone made their own guesses.

...

Meanwhile, before the temple of the Fallen Ark...

The sudden system notification caught Shi Feng and the others by surprise.

They had only activated the entrance of the Fallen Ark after much difficulty, yet even before they had the chance to enter the Ark, the system announced an update. This was ridiculous!

By now, practically everybody playing God's Domain knew that a system update signified a major upgrade.

Meanwhile, the more God's Domain improved, the more difficult the game would become.

"Guild Leader, should we log off here?" Aqua Rose and the others turned to Shi Feng.

The game had given them 20 minutes to log off. It wasn't exactly a lot of time, but it was more than nothing. If they strived hard enough, they might reach the Fallen Ark's inner region.

If they entered the Ark after the system update completed, who knew how difficult the Ark would become? After all, this system was definitely related to the Fallen Ark's activation.

After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng looked to Breeze Wine and Endless Scars and said seriously, "We have decided to enter the Ark right away. Do you want to enter first, or wait until after the update?"

Shi Feng hadn't expected the system update this time.

However, this helped Shi Feng recall the system's update after the Fallen Ark had emerged in the past. The update back then had ruined many players.

This was because this update would improve God's Domain's traps. Not only would removing the traps become twice as difficult, but the traps power and concealment effect also increased significantly.

This situation caused many players, who enjoyed adventuring in the fields, many hardships. The higher difficulty of obtaining weapons and equipment for adventure-seeking independent players was also due to this update.

In God's Domain, there were three major sources for weapons and equipment. The first was Dungeons, the second was field adventures, and the third was quest rewards.

In the past, due to this system update, the weapons and equipment on the market had decreased significantly. As a result, players that produced weapons and equipment became even more important in God's Domain.

The Gods from the ancient era had left behind the traps inside the Fallen Ark. These traps were incredibly difficult to remove to start with. If these traps were improved, exploring the Fallen Ark would become far more difficult. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of informing the Midnight Tea Party about this.

Instead of answering Shi Feng's question, Endless Scars turned to ask Breeze Wine, "Leader, what are your thoughts?"

They had already cleared the most difficult part of their quest. However, Shi Feng had previously stated that, shortly after the Fallen Ark activated, monsters even more powerful than the five Guardian Bosses would appear. According to their original plan, they had intended to wait until the monsters had been lured away from the Fallen Ark before they dove in to explore.

However, they had less than twenty minutes before they had to log off. If they entered the Ark now, they would have to risk encountering those monsters.

"Let's not enter the Ark for now. The monsters inside have yet to leave. If we die because we rushed into the Ark, it will do us more harm than good." In the end, Breeze Wine chose the safer approach instead.

In his opinion, as long as he had the Fallen Ark Map, both the Fallen Ark's treasures and quest were within their grasp. There was no need to risk their lives.

"What about our map?" Blackie could not help but ask.

Their previous agreement hinged on the Midnight Tea Party confirming these monsters existence and their safe entry into the Fallen Ark. Only after these conditions were met would the Midnight Tea Party give them a copy of the map, yet the adventurer team now intended to wait until the monsters had been lured away from the Ark.

"Here is your copy of the Fallen Ark Map. Take it," Endless Scars said as she took a map from her bag and handed it to Shi Feng.

Endless Scars stunned the other Midnight Tea Party members.

They had neither the existence of the monsters Shi Feng had warned them about, nor had they confirmed the validity of Shi Feng's method to lure the monsters away. It was simply too risky to hand over the copy right now.

"Thanks." Shi Feng expressed his gratitude as he received the map.

Endless Scars didn't respond to her team's questions. Instead, she evaluated Shi Feng carefully before revealing an intimate smile and said, "This is what we've agreed upon, after all. However, this is our second transaction with each other, yet I still do not know your identity. I wonder if I can have the good fortune of a true introduction?"

"Certainly," Shi Feng replied before taking off the Black Cloak that hid his identity and appearance. He then introduced himself, "I am Black Flame, Zero Wing's Guild Leader!"

His first reason for hiding his and his team's identities was that he didn't want others to know what Zero Wing's main force was up to. His second? He simply didn't want Endless Scars to know who they were. After all, Endless Scars was a Blackwater Corporation representative. Even if Endless Scars did not show any particular interest in Blackwater, at the end of the day, Zero Wing and Blackwater were enemies. It never hurt to be careful.

However, the Fallen Ark Map was more important.

If Endless Scars found out that they were from Zero Wing, she might sever their agreement for the Fallen Ark Map then and there.

However, now that the map was \ in their hands, there was no reason to continue hiding their identities. Moreover, Endless Scars spoke on behalf of the Midnight Tea Party. It would only create an unnecessary rift between their teams if they refused to reveal themselves. In addition, the Midnight Tea Party and Blackwater were utterly unrelated.

"It's you!?" Endless Scars's eyes widened in shock.

She had never imagined the group of experts before her to be Zero Wing members. Moreover, the team's leader was even Zero Wing's Guild Leader himself.

"Thanks for the map! Hopefully, we'll find more chances to work together in the future!" Shi Feng chuckled. He then led his team and dashed into the Fallen Ark.

Meanwhile, Endless Scars was utterly dumbfounded as she stared at Shi Feng's departing back.

"Big Sis Endless, what's wrong?" Cloud Yarn asked curiously when she saw Endless Scars's astonishment.

Although it was indeed surprising that the other team's leader was Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame, this wasn't the reason for Endless Scars's shock.

In the past, their team had encountered many surprises. However, none of them had ever earned such a reaction from Endless Scars. This was her first time seeing such an expression on Endless Scars's face. Before today, she hadn't even thought that Endless Scars was capable of such an expression. 

Chapter 1127 - Ark's Armory

Star-Moon City, Blackwater's Residence:

Blackwater wasn't as prosperous as it had been. Very few players waited in front of the Guild Residence's entrance, eager to join. If not for the Blackwater Corporation's backing, not even these few players would be willing to join Blackwater.

Not only had the Blackwater elite members that had died in the war in Stone Forest Town lost one level, but they had also lost a weapon or a piece of equipment. To make up for this loss, the elite players wouldn't have any time to help other Guild members for some time.

One of the main reasons that independent players willingly joined Guilds for the Guild experts' help in leveling and raiding Dungeons to upgrade weapons and equipment. Practically every Guild in God's Domain provided this benefit. Players wouldn't want to join a Guild that did not provide such a benefit. As a result, Blackwater's ordinary members had stagnated. They were now only capable of raiding Party Dungeons and small-scale Team Dungeons. They had no choice but to stay as far away as possible from 50-man or above Team Dungeons.

Meanwhile, Qin Muyun, Laughing Drunkard, and Lethal Gale entered the Guild Leader's office, one after another.

"Guild Leader, here is the latest Guild report you asked for," Qin Muyun said as she placed a report on the table. At this moment, she wore a grave expression.

The report clearly stated that over 20,000 elite members had already withdrawn from the Guild, as many as a second-rate Guild's total count. As for the ordinary members that withdrew from the Guild, there were more than 100,000.

However, when Abandoned Wave looked at these numbers, he maintained a relatively nonchalant attitude. Instead, he shifted his gaze towards Lethal Gale and asked, "How is the Blackwater Trading Firm coming along?"

"The Candlelight Trading Firm's latest product, the Exotic Stamina Potion, has been well-received. Despite having already reduced the Mana Mixture's price to 10 Silver per bottle, ordinary players are buying the Exotic Stamina Potion instead. Right now, our Shops are only seeing one-third of our past traffic..." Lethal Gale said, shaking his head dejectedly. "Although our spies have already poked around in Candlelight, looking for information about the Exotic Stamina Potion, it seems that only a select few of the trading firm's upper echelon know about the potion. As of now, we still do not know where to find the recipe."

The Exotic Stamina Potion had massively impacted the market.

Setting aside how cheap it was, the Mana Mixture could not compare to its ten-hour duration. In addition, the Mana Mixture was only useful in Dungeons, whereas the Exotic Stamina Potion was useful in Dungeons and the fields.

At this moment, many ordinary players had given up on the Regeneration Potions and Mana Recovery Potions in order to buy the Exotic Stamina Potion. With the Exotic Stamina Potion, players could grind monsters for longer periods. With the potion's effects, they did not even need to rest when traveling long distances, which allowed them to save plenty of time.

Even Lethal Gale could not resist the temptation and had purchased three bottles for himself. After using the potion, he had to admit that it was a miracle potion. The potion had improved his leveling speed by roughly 20% to 30%. It was no wonder why many players were even willing to empty their coffers to buy the Exotic Stamina Potion.

Based on what he knew, the Candlelight Light Trading Firm had long since run out of the Exotic Stamina Potion. As soon as Candlelight restocked, players would rip them from the shelves. Many large Guild upper echelons had specifically visited the Candlelight Trading Firm to negotiate a deal for the potions.

Right now, be it the Guild's development or the trading firm's, Zero Wing was unstoppable.

"Good! Excellent!" Contrary to expectations, Abandoned Wave didn't seem enraged. Rather, he began to laugh.

"Guild Leader?" Qin Muyun and Lethal Gale were utterly confused.

Young Master Jing was greatly displeased with them. Most likely, they would receive instructions from their superiors in the next few days. At that time, none of them would escape punishment. This was especially true for Abandoned Wave, yet the man that was supposed to be worried and angry was actually laughing.

Was the shock too much for him to handle?

However, instead of responding to Qin Muyun and Lethal Gale's question, Abandoned Wave turned towards Laughing Drunkard and asked softly, "Drunkard, did you finish what I asked of you?"

"Guild Leader, don't you trust me?" Laughing Drunkard chuckled. Confidently, he continued, "I've already sent details regarding Zero Wing's experts to the Miracle Guild. Miracle has confirmed that they will not give Zero Wing any chances of victory in tomorrow's match in the Dark Arena."

Originally, he was not particularly optimistic of Zero Wing's loss in the Dark Arena tomorrow. However, after making a trip to the Miracle Guild and the detailed report he had provided the Guild, his confidence that Zero Wing would lose in tomorrow's competition had grown.

The odds for the upcoming competition had already been released. The odds were one-to-three, with the majority of the bets on the Asura Battle Team. However, this was simply because only a few people knew that the Evil Dragon Battle Team was backed by the Miracle Guild. They had only discovered this due to the Blackwater Corporation's relationship with one of Miracle's upper echelons.

It was extremely rare for the odds in the Dark Arena to be as high as one-to-three. Normally, the odds were around one-to-one-point-five.

Seeing such a high payout rate, the Miracle Guild intended to go all out. Moreover, the Guild aimed for a complete victory.

The payout for a complete victory was one-to-seven. That was even high enough to tempt Super Guilds. A super-first-rate Guild like Miracle couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.

Miracle's apex experts could even rival those of Super Guilds. Moreover, to guarantee their win in the competition, Miracle had secretly borrowed Epic items from other large Guilds. Even Zero Wing's apex experts, who were famed for their heaven-defying Attributes, would be no match for the experts the Miracle intended to dispatch.

Zero Wing's members were so powerful mostly because of their Basic Attributes. As for the experts that had reached the Refinement Realm or higher, there were only five in the Guild. Among them, Black Flame would not participate in the Dark Arena. After all, the man was Zero Wing's Guild Leader. That left Ye Feng, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Violet Cloud. Among them, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Violet Cloud had only recently reached the Refinement Realm. Without the Attribute advantage, the only true fighting force on the Asura Battle Team was Ye Feng. However, the competition in the Dark Arena was a 10-man team match.

"Good. Afterward, you three go and gather our Guild's resources. When the time comes, we'll have to watch the competition as well." Abandoned Wave had not been as affected by the previous loss as Qin Muyun and Lethal Gale had thought. On the contrary, he had calmly thought of a way to turn the situation around.

The first thing he needed to do was recover the Guild's foundations, earning back the weapons, equipment, Coins, and other items that the Guild had lost in the war. The Dark Arena served as the perfect platform to do exactly that.

Moreover, Blackwater's defeat was not without meaning. At the very least, their defeat had shown exactly how powerful Zero Wing's various experts were, and this information would help Miracle deal with Zero Wing.

...

Meanwhile, after entering the towering temple, Shi Feng had everyone use Isolation Scrolls before dashing through the labyrinth of empty corridors.

As they had less than twenty minutes remaining, they would be hard-pressed to reach the Ark's inner region in time. The abyssal monsters had just woken and hadn't left the Ark yet.

In the outer region's corridors, Shi Feng's team occasionally encountered wandering Fallen Patrols. However, as Shi Feng now had a map, these Fallen Patrols meant nothing to the team with his acute senses. Not only could Shi Feng avoid the Patrols, but he could also avoid any traps.

"Mhm? So this is the armory."

After nearly ten minutes, Shi Feng discovered a tightly-shut door. The words "War Armory" had been carved on the stone above the massive door. Upon seeing these words, Shi Feng's heartbeat accelerated.

The War Armory stored weapons of war specifically.

And no other player had ever opened this War Armory! 

Chapter 1128 - Difference Between Mythic Monsters

As Shi Feng stopped to look at the War Armory, Minor Wind noticed red dots appear on his system map and reported, "Guild Leader, distant Patrols are approaching our location. If we don't move now, I'm afraid that we'll be discovered."

After Zero Wing's team had entered the Fallen Ark, Minor Wind had activated his Scouting Skill as he kept a lookout for any movement in their area. Although his Scouting's search area was reduced inside the Ark, he could sense for enemies within a 300-yard radius. That was enough for the team to respond before enemies reached them.

"How many?" Shi Feng asked.

"Two. Moreover, they're moving relatively quickly. They'll reach our location in 15 seconds at most," Minor Wind reported.

Fifteen seconds? We'll be cutting it quite close... Shi Feng frowned. Based on his estimates, even an Assassin with their Locksmith class at Master rank would need roughly twenty seconds to open a room like the War Armory. Unfortunately, their team didn't have a Master Locksmith.

He also fully believed Minor Wind's estimate.

A qualified Ranger was not just a ranged damage dealer. Ranger's constant awareness of their surroundings and their judgment of various situations were their most important aspects. Although Minor Wind's combat standards were slightly lower than Zero Wing's other core members, his observation skills and judgment were top-notch.

"Guild Leader, we don't have much time left," Gentle Snow urged as they had less than eight seconds to prepare. Based on their location on the map, they were only two-thirds of the way to the Fallen Ark's inner region.

If they couldn't reach the inner region before the system update began, when they logged back into the game, reaching that area would be far more difficult. They also needed to select a treasury and deal with the traps inside.

Shi Feng hesitated.

In the past, the Fallen Ark had been a famous treasure trove in God's Domain. However, as the inner region's traps were extremely dangerous, very few players were capable of obtaining any treasures whatsoever. This situation had also resulted in the various large Guilds in giving up on the Ark.

However, Shi Feng never thought that he would actually come across an Armory in the outer region.

An Armory might not mean much to an ordinary player, but to a Guild, some of the more advanced weapons of war were even more valuable than Fragmented Legendary items.

"Forget it. We're giving up on the inner region. Let's take this Armory for now." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng settled for the Armory. Right now, Zero Wing still lacked overall strength. It likely did not even have the power to defend a single city.

However, if they could find a few advanced weapons of war here, they might make up for Zero Wing's lack of combat power.

As long as they could construct and defend a city properly, the city's value would easily exceed that of two or three Fragmented Legendary items.

"Cola, you and Turtledove will tank the Patrols. Don't let them near us. Everyone else, look for any nearby traps. Fire Dance, you'll be responsible for unlocking the door," Shi Feng hurriedly commanded.

"Understood!"

Hearing this, everyone exploded into action.

The two Fallen Patrols were similar to those they had encountered at the entrance. They were both Level 63 Great Lords with 57,000,000 HP. However, Cola and Turtledove had long since familiarized themselves with the Patrol's attack patterns. Even without the Nine-star Polar Domain, they were capable of dealing with the Great Lords.

At the same time, Fire Dance began to unlock the door to the Armory.

As one of the Fallen Ark's secret rooms, the time it took to unlock the Armory was secondary. The crucial issue was that the extremely complex unlocking method. One would have to start the process all over again if they made a single mistake. Only after removing the various locks could one finally open the secret room.

Time passed quickly. After one minute, Fire Dance was only halfway through the door's locks.

"Guild Leader, two more Patrols are approaching!" Minor Wind announced anxiously.

If there were only three Fallen Patrols, their team could, more or less, manage. Four, however, would be a problem. As for trying to kill the Patrols, that would be considerably foolish. Special Lifeforms were immortal existences. Even after expending a lot of time and effort, the most they would get out of the endeavor was some EXP. After ten minutes, the Fallen Patrols would be back on their feet and ready to fight once again. Moreover, with each resurrection, the Fallen Patrols would become stronger. Only a lunatic would try to kill them.

"Wumian, you'll come with me! Once Fire finishes unlocking the door, rush into the room the room! Remember; do not touch anything inside!" Shi Feng commanded. He then dashed towards the two new Fallen Patrols with Ye Wumian.

Shi Feng wouldn't try to take on one of the Fallen Patrols directly. Instead, he activated Aura of Earth while deflecting the Patrol's attacks. This way, not only could he reduce the damage he received, but he could also alleviate the burden on the team's healers.

However, as time passed, a loud roar echoed from a distant corridor. The angry roar reverberated through the spacious corridor.

Already?! Shi Feng's expression darkened.

The abyssal monsters had awakened far sooner than he had anticipated.

If these monsters discovered his teams, none of them would get out of here alive.

...

Shi Feng's team wasn't the only one who had heard the roar. The Midnight Tea Party's members, who waited outside the Fallen Ark quietly, heard the deafening roar as well.

"Black Flame really didn't lie." Breeze Wine could not help but inwardly celebrate when he heard this roar. "The fact that this roar is so deep and can reach all the way out here means that this monster should be Mythic rank at the very least."

Fortunately, they had made the trade with Shi Feng. Otherwise, even if they had activated the Fallen Ark by themselves after obtaining their Tier 2 classes, they'd have no way of completing their quest.

The difference between Mythic monsters' strength and Grand Lords' was simply too massive. Even if their entire team reached Tier 2, it wasn't likely that they could defeat a Mythic monster of the same level, much less a Mythic monster of a higher level.

The other team members nodded in agreement. Despite Dark War and several other people's opinions about Shi Feng, they had to admit that Shi Feng had helped them enormously.

...

Meanwhile, before the Fallen Ark's Armory, Fire Dance finally unlocked the door to the secret room.

"Guild Leader, the door's open!"

"Good! You guys go in first! Cola, start slowly moving towards Armory!"

Opening the tightly-shut door was undoubtedly good news to Shi Feng. Immediately, he had everyone retreat towards the Armory.

As Shi Feng and the others reached the Armory's entrance, Shi Feng, Cola, and the other MTs felt their bodies become heavy. It was as if they had been submerged in mud; it was extremely difficult to move.

"Not good! Those monsters have arrived! Get inside, quickly!"

Shi Feng panicked. Immediately, he activated Heavenly Dragon's Power and recovered his ability to move. He then took an aqua-blue Magic Scroll from his bag. This Magic Scroll was none other than his sole remaining Tier 4 Magic Scroll.

The area they were in was not particularly large, but he understood how powerful those monsters were. Any players the abyssal monsters killed would not get off with just a lost level. If that were the case, players in the past wouldn't have given up on the Fallen Ark's treasures that easily. Rather, those abyssal monsters would extract the Immortal Souls from the players they killed. Not only would players lose two or three levels, but they also wouldn't be able to log into the game for over ten days.

"Humans? Those souls...heaven-blessed individuals? Wonderful! It's been so long since I've tasted an Immortal Soul!"

As Cola and the others rushed into the Armory, a cold voice reached their ears, making them shudder with fear. Suddenly, as if the Fallen Patrols had been struck, the team watched the Great Lords fly into the corridor's walls, their powerful metallic bodies flattening like a specimen under a microscope.

Aside from Shi Feng, none of the players could move.

"Why is such a powerful monster here?!"

The abyssal monster's might far exceeded Gentle Snow and the rest of the team's expectations.

Before the monster had even shown itself, it had already flattened the four Fallen Patrols into pancakes. They had become fish on a cutting board. 

Chapter 1129 - Ransacking the Armory

Sure enough, a complete Domain is really powerful!

Shi Feng was slightly stunned. The Fallen Ark's abyssal monsters were much stronger than he had imagined. It was no wonder why God's Domain's various superpowers hadn't been a match for these monsters in the past.

This was definitely the first time Shi Feng had encountered a Mythic monster that wielded a complete Domain. Generally, only Tier 4 NPCs could use one. This was also the factor that provided Tier 4 NPCs the power to face Tier 4 Mythic monsters.

Right now, despite him having activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, he could barely move his body. His joints even creaked as he moved.

"Oh? Someone can still move?"

As Shi Feng moved, a cold, deep voice reverberated through everyone's minds. When the team members lifted their heads, they discovered that a humanoid creature, which was roughly four meters tall and covered in scales, had suddenly appeared before them. The creature had two blade-like arms and crimson eyes that were as large as an ordinary human's fist. Two sets of jet-black wings also stretched from the creature's back.

[Soul Eater Lord] (Dark Creature, Mythic [Weakened])
Level 67
HP 210,000,000/210,000,000

Every player gasped when they saw this creature.

Despite being weakened, the creature was still a Mythic monster. Moreover, the team despaired upon seeing his HP. Even a team of 1,000 experts would be cannon fodder against this monster, much less a 20-man team.

We're doomed! As Aqua Rose watched the Soul Eater Lord gradually approach them, she could already see her and her teammates' instant death in her mind.

However, Aqua Rose still did not know that any player the Fallen Ark's ancient abyssal monsters killed would not get away with losing a single level.

"What an interesting little fellow. It's a pity that your struggling is useless. Just become my soul's nourishment obediently," the Soul Eater Lord said as he widened his ferocious mouth. He could no longer wait to devour these players.

When 30 yards separated the team from the Soul Eater Lord, Shi Feng finally finished chanting the last verse of the incantation in his heart. He abruptly unfurled the dark blue Magic Scroll in his hands.

"Pointless resistance will only add to your pain and despair!"

The Soul Eater Lord had already noticed the Tier 4 Magic Scroll in Shi Feng's hands. However, he disregarded the object because he was fully capable of dealing with any Tier 4 Spells. If it were a Tier 5 Magic Scroll, he might be nervous. However, such Magic Scrolls had even been extremely rare during the ancient ara, not to mention the present era.

"Oh, really?" Shi Feng smiled faintly.

Immediately, an aqua-blue magic array formed beneath Shi Feng's feet. Following which, with Shi Feng as the center, a faint blue barrier expanded outward.

Tier 4 Curse, Water Boundary!

Water Boundary was not an attack-type Curse. Rather, it was a defensive Curse. The Curse was even capable of blocking Tier 5 attacks. It was a kind of absolute defense; the Curse had a radius of 20 yards and a duration of 30 seconds.

After Water Boundary formed, Zero Wing's members immediate felt the pressure dissipate as they regained their freedom of movement.

"Damn it!" The Soul Eater Lord's expression twisted as the Water Boundary formed. It then began to assault the barrier.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

The Soul Eater Lord was so fast that even Shi Feng could barely see its movements.

Everyone's hearts pounded as a series of expressions echoed throughout the Fallen Ark.

They were terrified that the Soul Eater Lord would break through the seemingly flimsy, light-blue barrier.

After glancing at the fluctuating, blue barrier, Shi Feng shifted his attention away from the Soul Eater Lord as he commanded, "Alright, get moving! We don't have much time left!"

As a Tier 4 defensive Curse, Water Boundary could withstand the Soul Eater Lord's attacks, even if he were at his peak. The Soul Eater tribe's king, though, would have no problem shattering the barrier. Unfortunately, that kind of existence, which was as powerful as Gods, was not in the current Ark.

Following which, the Soul Eater Lord could only watch helplessly as Shi Feng led his team into the Armory.

After entering the Armory, Shi Feng turned around and shut the door, immediately locking it.

"Guild Leader, that monster can't break in here, right?" Violet Cloud asked worriedly as she recalled how powerful the Soul Eater was.

"Relax. This is the Fallen Ark, one of the final weapons the Gods created. Divine runes strengthen the Ark's interior. Even a Soul Eater King would have a hard time destroying the interior of the Ark, not to mention a Soul Eater Lord," Shi Feng said nonchalantly.

His companions could not help but release a sigh of relief when they heard Shi Feng's reassurance.

"Now that the danger has been dealt with, Fire, you and Flying will disable the traps inside the Armory. Everyone else, move carefully!" Shi Feng ordered. Looking at the time, he found that they had around six minutes before they had to log out of the game. If they could not remove the traps within the Armory during these six minutes, by the time they logged back into the game, these traps would become much harder to disable.

Hearing this, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow immediately went into action.

As for the rest of the team, they let their gazes wander the Armory.

For a moment, they were stupefied.

The Armory was a massive treasure trove. There was a variety of tools on display, and every one was extremely tempting.

"Guild Leader, look over there! Mana Pulse Cannons! They're even Intermediate rank!"

During the war against the Star Alliance, Shi Feng had spent 20,000 Gold to purchase a Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. A single attack from the cannon could rival the might of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Moreover, the cannon had a range of 15,000 yards and a radius of 200 yards. Unfortunately, the cannon was very costly to use, with each shot requiring 1,000 Magic Crystals. Moreover, it had a long Cooldown of around three to four minutes.

Meanwhile, upon reading the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon's information, the team discovered that it was even more impressive than they had thought. Although its attack was roughly as powerful as a Tier 4 destruction Spell, it had a range of 20,000 yards and a radius of 500 yards. It cost 2,000 Magic Crystals to fire a single round and similarly had a Cooldown of around three to four minutes.

The difference between a radius of 200 yards and 500 yards was simply outrageous.

Furthermore, this Armory actually had two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons. If Zero Wing had had these two cannons and a sufficient number of Magic Crystals during its battle against Blackwater, winning the war would have been far easier.

However, rather than the Mana Pulse Cannon, Shi Feng's gaze stopped on a magical, steel car.

He was quite familiar with this item.

Movement-type defensive magic array. Although it was only a Basic Defensive Magic Array, it could be moved freely even after being activated. In the past, large Guilds treated it like a mobile fortress. As long as this magic array had enough Mana, it could block all Tier 3 attacks and lower. Meanwhile, its maximum radius could cover an entire Basic Town.

Aside from the Mana Pulse Cannons and movement-type defensive magic array, there were a large number of Basic Mana Pulse Bombs. Every bomb possessed the might of a Tier 3 Spell and had a radius of 25 yards. They could be thrown up to a maximum of 50 yards. They were incredibly suited for individual players. To current players, these Mana Pulse Bombs were godly weapons in group battles as a single bomb could obliterate all players in a 25-yard radius.

There were actually over a thousand of such bombs...

Shi Feng had never imagined that a single Armory would contain such a large harvest. With these items, the issue of his future city's defense was practically settled.

Seconds passed, then minutes. When there were only two minutes before the system update began, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow had disabled 90% of the Armory's traps. Only one trap set up around a stone altar was left.

"Guild Leader, this trap is too complex! Even I can't disable it!" Fire Dance exclaimed as she examined the trap before her.

"Even you can't disable it?" Shi Feng was surprised.

They were still in the Ark's outer region. With Fire Dance being an Advanced Trap Disabler, she should be able to deal with every trap here. It was only a matter of time.

However, the fact that Fire Dance was unable to disable the trap spoke volumes about the stone alter's value.

Since time was running out, Shi Feng immediately removed Icarus's Heart from his neck and passed it to Fire Dance.

Fire Dance was momentarily dazed when she saw Icarus's Heart. She had never expected such a powerful Epic item to exist.

"Hurry; use this to disable the trap!" Shi Feng instructed.

Trap Disabler was a similar Lifestyle class to the Appraiser class. However, it was not a particularly popular class. The Assassin class possessed a talent bonus that allowed them to level Lifestyle classes like Locksmith and Trap Disabler far more easily.

With Shi Feng's command, Fire Dance recovered her wits and activated God's Blessing, upgrading her Trap Disabler class to the Master rank.

Immediately, Fire Dance began to disable the trap on the stone altar.

However, this trap would require a considerably long time to disable.

"Quick! We don't have much time left!" Shi Feng's anxiety grew when he saw only 30 seconds remaining.

If Fire Dance failed, the next time they logged into the game, the consequence would not be limited to some lost time.

Fire Dance also grew desperate. Her mind focused like never before as she frantically disabled the trap's mechanisms, one after another.

There were only ten seconds remaining.

Five seconds!

Three seconds!

...

"It's disabled!" Fire Dance finally disabled the trap with only two seconds remaining, and she could not help but sigh in relief at her success.

Following which, everyone's vision faded to black as they were sent to their individual God's Domain Offline Rest Spaces. 

Chapter 1130 - Talent

Inside the Offline Rest Space, Shi Feng slowly opened his eyes.

With this, all we need to do is wait for the system update to end and log back into the game. Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement when he thought about the stone altar.

Even the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had only been protected by Advanced Traps.

Whatever Master Traps protected definitely stored far more valuable treasures.

Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the system interface displayed before him.

The interface showed 14 hours and 40 minutes before the system update completed. From this, Shi Feng could tell that significant changes would shake God's Domain.

A nearly 15-hour-long system update... It's roughly the same duration as when the Fallen Ark had been activated in the past. Shi Feng could not help but recall detailed information about the system update in the past.

Every time God's Domain underwent a system update, it, more or less, changed Guilds' path of development. For example, the previous few system updates had gradually increased the importance of Lifestyle classes in the various large Guilds' eyes. Guild had even begun to invest a significant amount of resources to nurture their Lifestyle classes. Similarly, the system update this time would change God's Domain once more.

There were many Lifestyle classes in God's Domain. They weren't limited to Forgers, Engineers, Alchemists, Enchanters, Leatherworkers, Tailors, Chefs, and such. There were many other Lifestyle classes that players did not pay much attention to such as Diviners, Architects, Appraisers, Fraudsters, Cultivators, Tamers, Scholars, Magicians, Locksmiths, and other minor subclasses.

This latest update would gradually increase the importance of these minor subclasses in the game.

Before the trap mechanisms in God's Domain had been perfected, adventurer players who explored the fields could get by financially in the game relatively easily. In the fields, their main problem when they found treasure was the guardian monsters. Rarely would any player pay attention to the traps protecting the treasure. This was because of the only two possibilities when one tried to disable a trap. The first was that the trap could be disabled, although the time required depended on the player. The other possibility was that the trap could not be disabled.

One wouldn't receive any kind of punishment for failing to disable a trap. As a result, players rarely paid much attention to the Trap Disabler class.

However, after this system update, a third outcome would occur.

A trap could be disabled, but failure came with a risk.

If one failed to disable a trap, they would trigger the trap itself.

Trap's strengths varied. If players triggered a weaker trap, they might retain their lives. Even in the event of death, players would only suffer the normal death penalties. For stronger traps, however, players might have to pay more than a single level for their failure.

Another example was the Magician subclass, one of the minor subclasses Shi Feng had learned. A Magician's role was to produce items such as Magic Scrolls and Magic Arrays. Although the Magician subclass was not as important as the Forger subclass, it was one of the essential subclasses in God's Domain. Moreover, as the subclass increased its rank, it would serve a greater purpose.

Due to the increased importance of the various minor subclasses, the large Guilds began to nurture these subclasses to aid their Guilds' development.

It seems that I'll have to get Melancholic to start collecting Purple Dew and Five-colored Flowers once I log back in. After some thought, Shi Feng decided to start nurturing a batch of players with minor subclasses.

Minor subclasses were not as difficult to improve as major subclasses. There was no need to expend a large stock of materials for trial and error. One simply needed to achieve a certain technical standard to rise through the ranks.

Take the Magician subclass for example. If a player produced a Basic Magic Array, they would become a Basic Magician. If they produced an Intermediate Magic Array, they would become Intermediate Magicians. There was no need to accumulate a large number of Proficiency Points. Promotion solely depended on a player's technical skills.

However, while there were no restrictions on learning minor subclasses, with players being allowed to learn over ten minor subclasses, due to personal talent, not everyone could level a subclass to Intermediate or Advanced rank, much less Master rank.

Due to this, players should learn only the minor subclasses they were proficient at if they wished to advance to higher stages in the game.

However, how was a player supposed to determine which minor subclass they were proficient at?

In the past, the most popular way to test their abilities was the Talent Potion. As long as players drank the Talent Potion, the system would provide a series of tests. After completing these tests, the system would notify players about the subclass they were most suited for. This way, players would not have to waste their time researching whether they were suitable for a certain subclass or not.

Of course, if players liked a particular subclass, they could learn it regardless of whether they had the talent. They just wouldn't be able to advance quickly.

Meanwhile, the main materials for crafting the Talent Potion was Purple Dew and Five-colored Flower. Shi Feng also knew where to find the recipe. As long as he went there to grind, he should have no problems obtaining a few copies.

After Shi Feng finished planning his development, he decided to rest in the virtual space. Only at seven in the morning did he exit his virtual gaming cabin.

After Shi Feng finished breakfast and did some light exercises, before he left to check on Zero Wing's new internal members in the dojo, he noticed his female assistant, who currently wore black working attire, waiting for him by the lounge's entrance.

"Head Instructor, Chairman Xiao has an extremely important matter he wishes to discuss with you. He is waiting in the Chairman's Office right now," Liang Jing reported as she walked up to Shi Feng, who wore blue sportswear.

"Got it." Shi Feng nodded.

In reality, even if Xiao Yu hadn't come looking for him, he would've likely sought the man out himself within the next few days.

During his previous expansion of the Zero Wing Workshop, he had recruited plenty of talented people. These people were all much stronger than the independent players he had recruited in God's Domain. Although their levels in the game were still quite low, their combat standards were already higher ordinary elite players. In addition, he and Lei Bao normally trained these new recruits. It was only a matter of time before they could clear the Trial Tower's fourth floor.

Once these people reached the fifth floor, they would become experts in the eyes of ordinary players. If they could reach the fifth floor's late stage, even large Guilds would treat them like experts.

However, Shi Feng wasn't looking for ordinary experts. He wanted apex experts capable of turning the tides of war by themselves.

It was extremely difficult to nurture such apex experts. First, he needed a sufficient amount of resources such as the S-rank Nutrient Fluid. However, Shi Feng didn't have the connections he needed to gain a large quantity. Fortunately, Xiao Yu did.

...

The Big Dipper Tower's 51st floor:

This floor was specifically reserved for the chairman of the Big Dipper Group. It was also the Big Dipper Tower's highest floor. From in the corridor, they could see the entirety of Jin Hai City through the glass walls.

Very few people in Jin Hai City were ever invited to this floor. Even Liang Jing, Chairman Xiao's senior assistant, had never set foot on this floor. Generally, she waited for the chairman on the 50th floor.

As Liang Jing followed Shi Feng to the Chairman's Office, she sighed ruefully as she stared at Shi Feng's back.

If not for Director Xiao allowing her to bring Shi Feng here, she would never have had the opportunity to see this floor.

When Liang Jing opened the doors to the Chairman's Office, an office the size of a basketball court appeared before her eyes. Three people sat before the room's french windows.

Shi Feng was familiar with all three. One of them was Xiao Yu; another was Gan Xingteng, the bald man who Fire Dance had thoroughly defeated, and the last Xie Qiwen, the handsome youth with a body as robust as Lei Bao's, known as the White Tiger Dojo's fighting genius. 

Chapter 1131 - An Invitation that Cannot be Refused

Why are they here? Shi Feng frowned slightly as he eyed Xie Qiwen and Gan Xingteng, who sat on a sofa and chatted merrily with Xiao Yu.

The White Tiger Dojo was currently Big Dipper's rival.

As Shi Feng walked up to the three people, Xiao Yu took the initiative to welcome him.

"Instructor Shi, you're finally here. Let me introduce you. This is White Tiger Dojo's rising star, Xie Qiwen. As for our other guest, I believe that you've already met. Gan Xingteng has already been appointed the acting Head Instructor of the White Tiger Dojo's branch in Jin Hai City." Xiao Yu introduced the men to Shi Feng.

As Xiao Yu completed the introductions, Xie Qiwen stared at Shi Feng.

Shi Feng currently wore dark-blue sportswear. He appeared extremely young for someone in his position. No matter how Xie Qiwen looked at Shi Feng, the latter looked like any ordinary youth. Shi Feng did not exude the aura that was usually found on martial arts experts. If not for Gan Xingteng providing him with information about Big Dipper beforehand, he would've assumed that Shi Feng was a new student who had recently enrolled to the Big Dipper Dojo.

"Hello, Head Instructor Shi." Xie Qiwen greeted Shi Feng without getting up from his seat. He simply looked at Shi Feng, nodding slightly as he spoke with a courteous tone, "I have heard of Head Instructor Shi's fame. Sure enough, the rumors were true."

"Hello." Shi Feng gave with a brief, but polite response.

As for Gan Xingteng, he did not bother saying anything to Shi Feng.

In Gan Xingteng's opinion, Shi Feng was simply one of the Big Dipper Group's puppets and did not possess any true ability. The dojo's true master must be the woman he had fought before, Fire Dance. In both strength and reaction capabilities, Fire Dance far surpassed him. He wouldn't even be surprised if she turned out to be the internal force expert the Big Dipper Group had invited.

Xie Qiwen stood up and turned to look at Xiao Yu before saying, "Chairman Xiao, since we've already told you why we are here, we'll take our leave now. When the time comes, I will welcome your arrival."

Initially, he had waited here to catch a glimpse of Shi Feng.

Now that he had met the man in question and discovered that Shi Feng was exactly as Gan Xingteng had mentioned, he had no reason to stay.

Following which, Xiao Yu sent both Xie Qiwen and Gan Xingteng to the door. He then had Liang Jing send them on their way.

...

After the duo left, Shi Feng asked, "Chairman Xiao, may I know what business you wish to discuss?"

"The White Tiger Dojo will be holding an opening ceremony in four days, and they have invited you and me to participate. At the same time, the White Tiger Dojo plans to hold a friendly competition during the ceremony and has invited the various training centers and dojos to participate as well. The match will involve teams of three, and participants must be below the age of 20.

"The competition's champion will win one million Credits and an invitation card to the Green God Company's annual auction."

"An invitation card to the Green God Auction? Sure enough, the White Tiger Dojo is impressive."

The White Tiger Dojo's wealth and influence surprised Shi Feng.

Practically everybody in the world knew about the Green God Company.

The Green God Company was the sole producer of Nutrient Fluids, which was sold in practically every town and city around the world. It was an absolute giant. In this current era, who did not pay attention to their bodies? Who didn't want to live longer?

Particularly, the S-rank Nutrient Fluid produced miraculous effects. However, as its production volume was low, it was extremely difficult to obtain.

The Green God Company also held an auction once every year. In this auction, the company sold plenty of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. In addition, the company would introduce new products that were not available on the market. Only, it was extraordinarily difficult to gain an invitation.

A company like the Big Dipper Group did not qualify to receive an invitation. However, this wasn't surprising. After all, not a single person or company in Jin Hai City qualified.

Most likely, only an existence like the White Tiger Dojo, which nurtured international-level fighters consistently, qualified. After all, in this era, where everyone paid attention to their physical fitness, the various international training centers and dojos were the Green God Company's main customers.

"I know, right? In previous years, we've offered five million to purchase an invitation card. However, we have never actually managed to buy one. Hence, Head Instructor Shi, I was wondering if you could select a few members from the Big Dipper Dojo to participate in this friendly competition?" Xiao Yu asked anxiously.

Although he knew that the White Tiger Dojo wanted to flaunt its might through this friendly competition and solidify its position in Jin Hai City, the invitation card to the Green God Auction was simply too tempting to give up.

This invitation card was a pass that allowed one to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids. At the same time, one would encounter people of high social standing. If he could form some kind of relationship with some of these influential people, it might help the company's development in the future.

Hence, even if he knew it was a trap, he couldn't refuse it.

"Chairman Xiao, you should know that the dojo's members have only recently joined. Even the powerful fighters are no match for the White Tiger Dojo's elite geniuses," Shi Feng replied as he shook his head.

Since the White Tiger Dojo dared to put up such a tempting prize, it was obvious that the dojo was confident in claiming the prize for itself. During the competition, the dojo would definitely send geniuses from its main branch to participate and teach the various dojos and training centers in Jin Hai City a lesson that they would never forget.

"I heard that Head Instructor Shi has several experts in your Workshop. What if they participate instead?" Xiao Yu asked eagerly.

He had long since learned about the Zero Wing Workshop from Liang Jing. According to Liang Jing, the Workshop members were powerful fighting experts. The woman named Fire Dance, in particular, had even defeated Gan Xingteng in a single move.

"Chairman Xiao, I understand what you are trying to say, but unfortunately, they are all over 20 years old," Shi Feng said, smiling bitterly.

Of course, he wanted Cola and the others take part in the competition. However, they were all over the age limit. Only Violet Cloud met this requirement. However, the competition was a group match. If he could not fill the two remaining spots, they wouldn't be able to take part anyway. As for the members that had recently joined the Zero Wing Workshop, although they had improved significantly, they were no match for the White Tiger Dojo's elite members.

"The White Tiger Dojo really is crafty. I never thought that they would've accounted for this as well." A disappointed expression dominated Xiao Yu's face.

Despite the valuable opportunity to develop the company, he had no way of grasping it.

"We still have four days. It isn't entirely impossible to find suitable experts. However, it won't be easy."

Shi Feng suddenly recalled several core members in the Guild that were younger than 20. Only, none of them had come to Jin Hai City to participate in Zero Wing's special training.

Xiao Yu's eyes shone at Shi Feng's words. Immediately, he said, "If Head Instructor Shi has any requirements, please, don't hold back!"

"Since Chairman Xiao has offered, things will be easier on my side." Upon hearing Xiao Yu's assurance, Shi Feng said, "If we wish to defeat the White Tiger Dojo, I'll need roughly ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids."

Although those several core members possessed a wealth of combat experience, their physical attributes were simply too low. Meanwhile, unlike virtual combat, real-life combat relied heavily on a person's physical attributes.

If he wanted to improve their combat power in the real world quickly, the only way to do so was by pushing them past their brain's limits and utilizing the S-rank Nutrient Fluids to recover. Only this method would rapidly improve their body's overall strength.

He could also nurture the Guild's experts, killing two birds with one stone. 

Chapter 1132 - Butterfly Effect

"Ten bottles?!" Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat when he heard Shi Feng's request.

S-rank Nutrient Fluids were not cabbages that one could purchase easily. It was difficult to buy a bottle even if one could afford it. People around the world referred to the S-rank Nutrient Fluid as the Water of Life. A bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid could easily go for one million Credits. Even Xiao Yu himself was only willing to drink one bottle per year to repair the damaged cells in his body, significantly slowing the aging process.

The S-rank Nutrient Fluid was a treasure to well-known international fighters. Normally, they would only consume a bottle if they were heavily injured. Even drinking A-rank Nutrient Fluids during normal training was considered a luxury.

Previously, to recruit Shi Feng into Big Dipper, he had utilized his connections and spent a significant sum to obtain a batch.

No matter how he looked at it, buying another ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to obtain the Green God Company's invitation was not a worthwhile transaction.

After all, his main goal in obtaining the invitation card was to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluid and other new products the Green God Company intended to offer. He was still uncertain about how many bottles he could purchase in the auction. It was simply too risky to invest ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid right off the bat.

"That's right. I'll need ten bottles at the very minimum." Shi Feng wasn't lying. Void Steps placed a huge burden on the human brain. Without the in-depth healing the S-rank Nutrient Fluid provided, one would risk their life by using the technique. Hence, whenever he trained the Guild's core members, he warned them that, if they did not have any S-rank Nutrient Fluids on hand, they were absolutely not allowed to practice Void Steps excessively. "If it is money you are worried about, I can pay half the cost. However, I want a spot on the Green God Company's invitation card."

"You'll pay half of it?" After giving the matter some thought, Xiao Yu agreed and said, "Alright, I'll try to find a way to get the ten bottles. However, they will cost slightly above market price."

Every invitation card allowed two people to attend the auction. It did not matter if he shared one with Shi Feng.

To further develop itself, the Big Dipper Group had already invested a large sum into the new dojo. They had also spent a lot on advertising. Hence, the company was somewhat tight on funds. If Shi Feng were willing to cover half of the S-rank Nutrient Fluids' cost, investing in Shi Feng's group was no different than their previous attempt of purchasing the Green God Auction invitation card for five million Credits. Only, unlike Shi Feng, that plan hadn't succeeded.

As for whether Shi Feng had the money to pay up, he had long since ordered Liang Jing to investigate the man's finances.

Recently, God's Domain had become increasingly popular around the world. Many industry giants had already invested in the game. It was definitely possible to earn a lot of money through God's Domain. Moreover, based on what he had heard from Liang Jing, Shi Feng's Workshop was considerably large. Moreover, more companies had invested in the Workshop. At this point, the Workshop had begun mass-recruiting full-time gamers. It was obvious that Shi Feng earned quite an income from the game. He shouldn't have any issues spending several million Credits at a moment's notice.

Now that God's Domain was so popular, even Xiao Yu had considered establishing a Workshop.

Based on what he had heard from his connections, he learned that Gaming Workshops focused on God's Domain earned far more than they had in past virtual reality games. God's Domain also had far more players. However, expanding the Big Dipper Group took priority. Once the Big Dipper Group had grown, it would become far more profitable than any Gaming Workshop or Guild.

After all, more people had begun to take their physical training more seriously after discovering God's Domain.

Unfortunately, what Xiao Yu did not know was that Shi Feng's Workshop was more profitable than he imagined...

After Shi Feng finalized his arrangements with Xiao Yu, he returned to Zero Wing's training room. Only the Workshop's official members had access to this room. Shi Feng had specifically instructed Liang Jing to stock the room with various training equipment. These machines would help strengthen a person's reaction speed and evasive maneuvers.

"Blackie, contact Shadow Sword and Turtledove. Have them come to Jin Hai City as quickly as possible. Report the travel expenses as a Workshop expenditure," Shi Feng instructed Blackie, who was currently occupied with basic training.

Shadow Sword and Turtledove had been members of a certain dojo before they had joined Zero Wing. They were both younger than 20. However, after officially becoming Zero Wing core members, Shi Feng had both of them leave their dojos. After all, becoming a Zero Wing core member was basically a formal job. They had to make God's Domain their main priority.

After they left their previous dojos, aside from playing God's Domain, they normally exercised at a local gym. All of their attention had shifted to God's Domain. However, as Zero Wing had yet to establish its own company officially and the purchasing agreement for Ouroboros's training center wasn't finalized, Shi Feng hadn't invited them to take part in special training with the others.

"We're having them here now?" Blackie shot Shi Feng a curious look. Suddenly, his expression shifted to one of excitement as he asked, "Is the training center ready?!"

He had already heard about the matter from Shi Feng.

Ouroboros's training center specialized in nurturing gaming experts. Setting aside its numerous facilities, it had an advanced virtual system in which players could train. Of course, Ouroboros's training center wasn't as advanced as the Secret Pavilion's simulated training system. However, it was far more efficient than a ton of people competing for the ten black cards.

Most importantly, with the acquisition of Ouroboros's training center, Zero Wing would finally have its own headquarters. They would no longer have to borrow someone else's facilities. Like the core members of those first-rate Guilds, they could then walk into their luxurious training centers in the city center every day.

"No," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Qingxue[1] is still negotiating the price for the training center. I want them here for another matter."

Although the Blackwater's defeat had indeed dealt a major blow to the several companies backing Ouroboros, it was not an easy task to buy the training center's remaining shares. If they discovered Zero Wing's true goal, they might demand a far higher price than what Zero Wing had planned on.

Unless something forced these companies were forced to sell the shares in a hurry, Shi Feng had to let Bai Qingxue find a way to obtain the shares cheaply.

His reply disappointed Blackie. However, he suddenly thought of something else as he said, "Brother Feng, when you went to your meeting, someone came to the Workshop asking for you. However, I told him that you're in a meeting, so he's been waiting in the lounge. Do you want to meet him right now?"

"Who is it?"

"It's that youth that Big Sis Fire flattened. I think his name is You Ziping?" Blackie responded, somewhat uncertain.

"He came on his own volition? Interesting. I just so happen to be free, so I might as well meet with him." Shi Feng thought back to the bait he cast. He hadn't expected to hook You Ziping so quickly.

However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. Now that Xie Qiwen was in Jin Hai City, as You Ziping's greatest romantic rival, how could the boy sit by and do nothing? If You Ziping remained passive, Xie Qiwen would definitely take the girl he loved. This was his last chance to do something.

Only, this development had occurred sooner than Shi Feng had anticipated. The current timeline was deviating further away from the one he remembered.

Following which, Shi Feng entered the training room's lounge.

You Ziping sat on the lounge's sofa, his legs shaking slightly. He looked quite nervous.

"What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng asked slowly as he examined the fighter before him.

Seeing Shi Feng, You Ziping stood up abruptly, anxiety flashing in his eyes as he asked, "Didn't you say that, as long as I join Zero Wing's workshop, you'll tell me how to become stronger? Is that offer still valid?"

Hall Master Jiang had already announced his intentions of driving his daughter, Jiang Lingyu, closer to Xie Qiwen. If he did not achieve some sort of feat quickly, he would be too late. 

Chapter 1133 - The Difference Brought About by Time

"Of course, it's still valid." Shi Feng provided a definitive answer. "However, didn't your White Tiger Dojo bar you from joining any Gaming Workshops?"

You Ziping fell silent upon Shi Feng's question.

He had been determined not to join Zero Wing's Workshop. After all, he was recognized as an elite member in the White Tiger Dojo. If given enough time, he would gain Hall Master Jiang's recognition.

However, Xie Qiwen's sudden appearance in Jin Hai City significantly reduced the time he had to make any notable achievements.

Xie Qiwen was already a well-known national fighter. Now, the White Tiger Dojo's main branch had decided to cultivate Xie Qiwen and prepare him for the international stage.

On the other hand, he hadn't to even reached the national threshold. With Hall Master Jiang's personality, he definitely had no hopes of furthering his relationship with Jiang Lingyu.

Right now, his only way of getting Hall Master Jiang's recognition was to grow a lot stronger within a short time.

At the very least, he needed to become a fighter on the national level. Only then would Hall Master Jiang even consider handing his daughter over to him.

To build his strength quickly, the only way he could think of was by joining Zero Wing's Workshop. There wasn't actually a rule or regulation in the White Tiger Dojo that disallowed joining a Gaming Workshop, and growing stronger was far more important than violating Gan Xingteng's rules.

"If I join Zero Wing's Workshop, how much stronger can I become within a month?" You Ziping was desperate to grow stronger. However, he was suspicious about how much stronger the Zero Wing Workshop could help him become.

"I knew you would ask something like this. Since you're curious, how about you spar with one of our Workshop's new members?" Shi Feng suggested, chuckling. "Fortunately, you're already familiar with this person."

"Someone I am familiar with?" You Ziping gave Shi Feng a skeptical look.

"Follow me." Shi Feng did not bother to explain as he left the lounge.

You Ziping promptly followed him, curious about his opponent.

In the White Tiger Dojo, his status was relatively high. Not only had he become an intermediate disciple at the young age of 18, but he even ranked near the top among intermediate disciples. He was only a short time from becoming an advanced disciple. If he became an advanced disciple in the White Tiger Dojo at his age, he would definitely qualify to participate in the national youth fighting competition.

...

Inside Zero Wing's training room...

Many of Zero Wing Workshop's new members were preoccupied with their basic training. When they noticed Shi Feng lead an indifferent youth into the room, they stopped and looked at You Ziping curiously.

"Who's that? A new member?"

"No, I know that guy. He was one of the fighters that came to the dojo to make trouble, but got a beating from Big Sis Fire instead."

"What unfortunate fools. Big Sis Fire never shows mercy in a fight. She is exactly like Instructor Lei in this aspect..."

"Do you think that guy is looking to challenge Big Sis Fire again?"

...

Everyone in the training room had their assumptions about You Ziping's intentions. As for whether You Ziping had any chance of actually defeating Fire Dance, the thought never even entered their minds. In their eyes, You Ziping would need a miracle to survive against the woman for longer than five seconds.

As for the youth defeating Fire Dance?

Had anyone ever seen an ordinary human win against a monster before?

After Shi Feng entered the training room, he turned to a slim youth that looked to be roughly twenty years old and said, "Lu Xiu, come over here for a second. We'll be testing your strength today."

"Understood!" Lu Xiu hurriedly responded.

"Lu Xiu?" When You Ziping saw Lu Xiu walking over, the youth wore a strange expression.

Previously, when they had shown up to make trouble for the Big Dipper Dojo, Lu Xiu had chosen to leave the White Tiger Dojo and take part in the Zero Wing Workshop's test.

As an intermediate disciple of the White Tiger Dojo, You Ziping was very familiar with Lu Xiu's standards. The latter was just barely as strong as an intermediate disciple. Hence, he had been happy about Lu Xiu's decision to leave the dojo. After all, not everyone could succeed in the world of fighting. Lu Xiu might have a better future if he joined a Gaming Workshop instead.

However, when he realized that Shi Feng had selected Lu Xiu to be his opponent, he found the matter laughable.

Just how much did Shi Feng underestimate him?

"Alright, you two, get in the arena. Your time limit is three minutes," Shi Feng instructed, not explaining further.

Shi Feng's words instantly attracted everyone's attention.

Blackie merrily shouted, "We have a good show coming up! I'll be the bookkeeper! The betting ratio is one-to-five! Whoever bets on You Ziping will get five times their wager if he wins! Don't miss this opportunity!"

"Alright, I'll bet on Lu Xiu!"

"I'll bet on Lu Xiu as well!"

"I'll bet one bottle of Hundred Berry Wine on Lu Xiu's win!"

...

In the end, nobody bet on You Ziping. Blackie's expression twisted.

However, among those present, You Ziping had the ugliest expression. He was only a step away from becoming an advanced disciple in the White Tiger Dojo, yet in the eyes of these gamers, he seemed to be some random passerby not worth their attention.

Lu Xiu felt an immense pressure on his shoulders. Similar to You Ziping's familiarity with his strengths, he, too, understood You Ziping's power. He had never imagined that Shi Feng and Zero Wing Workshop's core members expected him to win. No matter how he thought about it, that was impossible.

Upon seeing both fighters in their positions, Shi Feng shouted, "Begin!"

"Lu Xiu, don't hold back and show me everything you've got. I'm curious to see what you've accomplished in the Zero Wing Workshop since you've joined," You Ziping told Lu Xiu seriously.

Lu Xiu nodded and charged at You Ziping.

Lu Xiu launched a straight punch towards You Ziping, his fist pushing a strong gust of wind into the latter's face. Lu Xiu's punch was so fast that You Ziping barely caught a glimpse of it.

So fast!

You Ziping could not help his surprise. Lu Xiu's punch was far faster and more accurate than it had been in the past.

However, You Ziping was no ordinary fighter. Diverting the approaching fist with one hand, You Ziping sidestepped and rushed forward, slamming his body into Lu Xiu.

As if Lu Xiu had expected the move, he quickly adjusted his footwork as his fist was redirected. Twisting his body, he circled to You Ziping's back, avoiding the latter's body slam.

He dodged it? You Ziping was slightly surprised.

You Ziping regained his composure as he turned and continued his fierce assault against Lu Xiu. Every one of You Ziping's moves contained both deadly speed and precision, making them extremely difficult to parry.

However, contrary to You Ziping's expectations, Lu Xiu didn't become flustered, and the attacks didn't land; rather, with nimble movements and footwork, he systematically dodged one attack after another.

After You Ziping's barrage ended, Lu Xiu realized that You Ziping was exhausted. Immediately, Lu Xiu took advantage of the opportunity and dove in for the kill.

You Ziping, knowing he was in a bad position, could only throw a punch of his own to deter Lu Xiu's assault. However, Lu Xiu showed no signs of avoiding the hit. On the contrary, Lu Xiu continued straight towards You Ziping's punch. As You Ziping's fist was about to collide with Lu Xiu's face, however, the latter abruptly tilted his head.

You Ziping's fist brushed past Lu Xiu's cheek, leaving a bloodied cut. However, this allowed Lu Xiu to move into You Ziping's guard. Combining his speed and strength, Lu Xiu sent an open-palm strike at You Ziping's neck.

This strike forced You Ziping to retreat by three steps, feeling a little faint. Meanwhile, Lu Xiu took this opportunity to land another palm strike on his opponent's chest. Immediately, the attack sent You Ziping sprawling to the ground.

The victor of this match: Lu Xiu.

From the start of the match to You Ziping's collapse, Lu Xiu felt as if he had been dreaming. He had the weird feeling that You Ziping had gone easy on him. Why else would You Ziping have had so many holes in his defense? Moreover, in Lu Xiu's opinion, You Ziping's attack methods had been monotone. It was as if You Ziping had begged him to dodge the attacks...

However, in Shi Feng's opinion, Lu Xiu's win wasn't unexpected.

Since joining Zero Wing, Lu Xiu had experienced many life-or-death battles. He also frequently attended Lei Bao's training sessions. Both provided plenty of combat experience.

Lu Xiu also used to be one of the White Tiger Dojo's intermediate disciples. In terms of his physique, he wasn't any weaker than You Ziping. Lu Xiu had simply lacked combat experience. However, during his time in Zero Wing, Lu Xiu had accumulated far more combat experience than You Ziping. You Ziping's defeat wasn't unusual.

The first thing You Ziping saw after regaining consciousness was Lu Xiu.

How did he improve so much so quickly? A bitter feeling swam in his heart as he looked at Lu Xiu.

He knew why he had been defeated. The fight might've looked like a deadlock, but the difference in their combat experience was simply too vast. Right now, Lu Xiu moved like an expert that had lived through hundreds of battles. Lu Xiu may even possess more combat experience than the White Tiger Dojo's advanced disciples.

Yet, how much time had passed since Lu Xiu had joined the Zero Wing Workshop? How could he have gained that much combat experience in such a short timespan?

"You've seen how much Lu Xiu has improved for yourself. What do you think of my place now?" Shi Feng asked, laughing.

"Will you really teach me everything if I join Zero Wing's Workshop?" You Ziping asked anxiously. He stared at Shi Feng with anticipation.

Shi Feng could not help but sigh ruefully at the tense You Ziping. No one would ever have imagined that this youth before him would actually become the Tier 5 Berserker known as Silent Blade.

You Ziping was just as talented as Xie Qiwen. However, Xie Qiwen was slightly older and had a far stronger family background.

If one wanted to improve their physique rapidly, intense training wasn't enough. A fighter also needed to replenish the energy they consumed.

Even the most common C-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 400 Credits.

Fighters who trained arduously everyday needed at least one bottle per day. That meant that one would have to spend 12,000 Credits on C-rank Nutrient Fluids in a single month. Ordinary households couldn't afford that expenditure. There was even less need to mention B-rank Nutrient Fluids, which cost 1,000 Credits per bottle.

Dojos and training centers were only willing to sign contracts with and nurture people with outstanding talent. Ordinary members wouldn't have access to the privilege. However, even contracted members only received C-rank Nutrient Fluids. Only those geniuses would be given B-rank Nutrient Fluids.

As for You Ziping, the White Tiger Dojo had only offered him an ordinary contract, providing one bottle of C-rank Nutrient Fluid each day. However, Xie Qiwen was different. Xie Qiwen did not even need the support of the White Tiger Dojo as his household provided A-rank Nutrient Fluids to finetune his body. A-rank Nutrient Fluids cost 10,000 Credits per bottle. Not only were A-rank Nutrient Fluids capable of healing injuries that normally went unnoticed, but they could also develop a person's brain cells.

Even if You Ziping and Xie Qiwen were equally talented, the difference in their strengths at the end of the day was like the difference between heaven and earth. Furthermore, Xie Qiwen's household had invited powerful fighters and instructors to help the man gain a plethora of combat experience.

Aside from talent, You Ziping was weaker than Xie Qiwen in almost every aspect. How could he possibly be a match for Xie Qiwen?

Meanwhile, Jiang Tianyuan, Jiang Lingyun's father, highly valued strength. It was only a matter of course for him to choose Xie Qiwen. 

Chapter 1134 - Test Evaluation

Noticing Shi Feng's long moment of silence, You Ziping grew nervous.

You Ziping had already seen how much Lu Xiu had improved.

Despite having recently joined the Zero Wing Workshop, Lu Xiu could display strength like never before.

If You Ziping told the other White Tiger Dojo members about this, nobody would believe him.

In any case, he was now sure that, by joining and training in the Zero Wing Workshop, he could become strong enough to get a ticket to the national youth fighting competition before this year's qualifiers. If he improved sufficiently, his results might even be quite good. Although he still wouldn't be a match for Xie Qiwen, with the advantage of his age, Hall Master Jiang would, more or less, consider giving You Ziping his daughter instead of outright rejecting him.

"If you join Zero Wing's Workshop, you won't miss out on any training. Before that, however, we have to see whether or not you can pass the Workshop's test. Based on your performance, you'll be offered a corresponding contract," Shi Feng explained. "Of course, Lu Xiu's standards are already quite high. He has already become a reserve core member in our Workshop, and we're providing various benefits to nurture him. Above that are the reserve main force member slots. If you achieve that standard, you'll receive even heavier emphasis from the Workshop. The resources we'll invest in you at that time will definitely surprise you. To put it simply, what benefits you receive are up to you. However, one thing to note is that the higher your position is, the greater the Workshop's restrictions will be.

"If you become one of the Workshop's reserve main force members, you'll need to leave the White Tiger Dojo and focus on the Workshop."

You Ziping nodded in response, not particularly surprised by Shi Feng's explanation.

He had no intentions of becoming a reserve main force member. He was fine with becoming a reserve core member. This way, he could continue his development in the White Tiger Dojo.

Following which, Shi Feng had Blackie lead You Ziping to take the foundation tests.

The Workshop's tests were very simple. They tested for an applicant's reaction speed, observation, and judgment. As long as they performed well in these aspects, even if they had never received training from a Gaming Guilds before, they could get by fairly well in God's Domain. Once Zero Wing nurtured these people, both in the game and in the real world, they could very quickly become fifth-floor experts in the Trial Tower.

Shi Feng had always planned for his Guild to walk the path of the elite. Hence, he was very strict when recruiting internal members.

Zero Wing's evaluations fell into five grades: D, C, B, A, and S.

Various large Guilds had created these grades in the past during their own internal member recruitment. It was a standard method. Those who earned a D grade were considered ordinary. Generally, large Guilds only picked people who earned a C when recruiting internal members. In other words, people who were slightly more than ordinary in the various aspects. This way, these Guilds' investments had a higher likelihood of greater return.

To become a Super Guild's internal member, one generally needed to earn a B in their evaluation. Although the difference was only one rank, a B grade player could easily defeat a C grade player of the same level.

This was similar to the wooden barrel theory. The amount of water a wooden barrel could contain was not determined by the longest plank of wood. Rather, it depended on the shortest plank of wood.

This was also why, despite there being countless people applying to join Super Guilds as internal members each year, very few actually managed it.

The internal members Zero Wing recruited were separated into two groups. To become a core member, one needed to earn a high C. Meanwhile, main force members needed a B at the very minimum. The Guild had very few members who had earned an A. Even super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds hungered for such talent, much less Zero Wing.

After You Ziping completed his test, Blackie ran to Shi Feng and handed him You Ziping's results.

"Brother Feng, this You Ziping kid is really impressive. His scores are the highest I've ever seen. Based on your tests, he actually managed to score a high A in everything. His observational skills even earned an S," Blackie reported excitedly.

"It seems that he should be quite talented in God's Domain. However, his future achievements will depend on him." Shi Feng chuckled as he read the results the system had provided.

This outcome didn't surprise him in the least. After all, You Ziping had been a Tier 5 Berserker in the past. At his peak, he had even ranked 58th on the God's Domain Experts List. Players who had earned such high ranks at that time were of much higher quality than present players. After all, God's Domain had been a second world for people back then. Far more experts had competed with each other in the game. Placing within the top 60 ranks had been dozens of times more difficult than it was now.

If not for the fact that You Ziping had joined God's Domain later than others, he might've achieved an even higher rank.

"It's a pity that he only chose to become a core member. If he wanted to join Zero Wing's main force, with his potential, he could reach far greater heights," Blackie sighed.

Shi Feng only tested a person's current talent, but talent wasn't a constant. As long as one continued to develop their mind, their talent would rise as well.

The fact that You Ziping was already so talented meant that his starting point was much higher than others. If he wanted to grow stronger, he still required training and resources.

"Relax. Now that he has already set foot on Zero Wing's boat, I believe that he will, sooner or later, join our main force." Shi Feng chuckled as he clapped Blackie's shoulder.

Following which, according to his daily schedule, Shi Feng proceeded with training his members.

As the sun began to set, Shadow Sword and Turtledove arrived at Zero Wing's Workshop.

When Shi Feng met the two for the first time, he discovered that they both looked much younger than in God's Domain. Moreover, they were only 19 years old, only one year older than You Ziping. However, although the two's combat experience trampled over You Ziping's, they were physically much weaker than You Ziping. According to the White Tiger Dojo's evaluation standards, they were not even fit to become basic disciples.

However, this wasn't unusual. Neither Shadow Sword nor Turtledove had received much attention from their previous dojo. Their dojo hadn't wanted to contract either of them.

After the two arrived, Shi Feng split the ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, which Xiao Yu had Liang Jing deliver some time ago, between Shadow Sword and Turtledove. These S-rank Nutrient Fluids should be enough for them to train Void Steps for a considerable amount of time.

S-rank Nutrient Fluids?! You Ziping gaped in shock when he saw the exquisite coolers Shadow Sword and Turtledove were carrying.

He had seen the coolers used to store S-rank Nutrient Fluids many times. After all, when the White Tiger Dojo's advanced disciples performed exceptionally well, the dojo rewarded them with S-rank Nutrient Fluids.

As far as he could remember, the last time the dojo awarded S-rank Nutrient Fluids was when one of the geniuses at the main headquarters got 10th place in the national youth fighting competition. The dojo had boasted about this achievement, so much so that it had rewarded that youth two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. That youth had treated those bottles like family treasures, only using them when he was severely injured.

Yet, Shi Feng had given Shadow Sword and Turtledove five bottles each without hesitation.

What was this?

Could the Green God Company be backing the Zero Wing Workshop? The thought hovered in the back of You Ziping's mind.

There was no other explanation.

A Gaming Workshop like Zero Wing had actually given ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to two people?

This was far beyond extravagant. This was simply being a spendthrift!

If he had received them, those ten bottles would last him ten years.

After Shi Feng finished instructing Shadow Sword and Turtledove on what they needed to do, he returned to his own room.

There were less than ten minutes before God's Domain's system update completed.

After drinking a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid, Shi Feng entered his gaming cabin and logged into God's Domain. 

Chapter 1135 - Resource Competition

"Huh? The interface changed?"

When Shi Feng logged back into his Rest Space, he suddenly discovered that plenty of changes had occurred.

Originally, the Rest Space was an empty space with only a massive interface display and nothing else.

Now, however, the dimly lit Rest Space had a set of stone doors ten meters tall with ancient runes carved on each door, lending them an ancient ambiance. Meanwhile, at a corner of the doors was a system interface.

Mind Space System.

Owner: Ye Feng

Mind Space: Inactive (Activation conditions: Own a private space under your own name. Private space must also be located in a city at the very minimum.)

Space Size: Unknown

System: Scan discovers that you own a private space in White River City. Do you wish to activate your Mind Space?

"The system has already been updated to such a degree?" Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he looked at the familiar set of stone doors.

The previous system update had introduced the Mind Space System but had not actually applied it to God's Domain. Only the related files had been added into the game, so that the Main God System could gradually phase it into the game. At the same time, the addition could also attract the attention of the various international corporations and let them know about God's Domain's uniqueness.

However, after the update this time, the Mind Space System could be said to have truly been activated.

From now on, as long as players had a private space of their own in the game, they would be able to activate their Mind Space. With a sufficient number of Seven Luminaries Crystals, they could also expand and perfect their Mind Spaces.

The Mind Space was different from God's Domain. In God's Domain, players could connect to the official forums to search for relevant information there but nowhere else. However, inside the Mind Space, players could connect directly to the internet. Whether it was for work or shopping, players could do all that through their Mind Space. Players could even contact mobile phones in the real world and engage in conversation. In addition, players could change the environment in the Mind Space to their liking, creating their own virtual world.

Most importantly, the Mind Space shared the same flow of time as God's Domain. In the Mind Space, one could enjoy twice the amount of time they had in the real world. Moreover, the flow of time in the Mind Space could also be sped up further, though at a very huge cost.

In a limited life, who did not want to live longer?

The official activation of the Mind Space System meant that the competition for resources in God's Domain had also officially begun.

In the future, competition in God's Domain definitely would not be as peaceful as before.

It would even become normal for everyone to fight over the Seven Luminaries Crystal while disregarding all costs. And to contest for more Seven Luminaries Crystals, everyone would definitely continuously strengthen themselves, which would intensify the competition over weapons, equipment, and tools in turn.

Shi Feng grew worried just thinking about what was about to come.

Nevertheless, now that the era of resource competition had begun, he had no choice but to get his hands on some of the Seven Luminaries Crystals that he knew the whereabouts of as soon as possible.

However, it was also not that easy to get these Seven Luminaries Crystals.

Seven Luminaries Crystals were exceedingly rare in God's Domain. Even an entire kingdom would have only a limited amount. Most importantly, unlike Magic Crystals, Seven Luminaries Crystals could not be stored in a player's bag space, nor could they be transported via teleportation arrays. Players could only carry them by hand or by Transport Carriages. However, many variables could occur when one was conveying Seven Luminaries Crystals over long distances. Robbery by incomparably powerful NPCs would not be surprising. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals were equally important items to NPCs.

However, in Shi Feng's opinion, the most criminal setting placed by the Main God System would still have to be the fact that Seven Luminaries Crystals could not be disguised.

The Seven Luminaries Crystal contained Mana of extremely high purity and density. Just its presence alone could cause a change to the ambient Mana, which allowed players and NPCs to discover it readily.

Without a sufficiently powerful transport team, even if one managed to obtain some Seven Luminaries Crystals, the crystals would not reach their intended destination.

Many of the transport teams Shi Feng led in the past, which carried Seven Luminaries Crystals, had been robbed by Tier 4 and Tier 5 NPCs.

He had to admit that this was the pitiful aspect of small Guilds. This was also precisely the reason why apex experts had gained importance in the past, and why nurturing apex experts became essential for the various large Guilds.

Following which, Shi Feng chose to activate his Mind Space.

The instant he activated his Mind Space, the massive stone doors began shattering. Chunks of stone fell one after another, revealing bronze metal behind them. When all the stone was gone, a set of bronze doors had replaced the set of stone doors. Meanwhile, the divine runes carved on the doors began radiating a faint golden glow.

Immediately after, a change occurred to the system interface.

Owner: Ye Feng

Mind Space: Active

Space Level: Bronze (3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals will be required to upgrade to Secret-Silver rank.)

Space Size: 0 (Every additional cubic meter will require 1 unit of Seven Luminaries Crystals.)

Seven Luminaries Crystals: 0 (After scanning, it is discovered that you have no Seven Luminaries Crystals in your private space.)

After taking a glance at the interface, Shi Feng promptly chose to enter God's Domain.

Although his Mind Space was already active, without any Seven Luminaries Crystals, it was equivalent to nonexistent. Currently, what he needed to do was gather Seven Luminaries Crystals and deliver it to his private space.

In God's Domain, aside from lacking powerful experts, another aspect where small Guilds were inferior to large Guilds was the amount of Land they owned. As Seven Luminaries Crystals could be stored only in one's private space, the more Land one possessed, the easier it would be to transport the crystals. However, the Main God System had also implemented a corresponding restriction to this matter. For Bronze Spaces, the private spaces they were bound to in God's Domain could be changed only once every twenty days. This prevented Guilds that possessed a large number of Lands from gaining too great an advantage.

...

When Shi Feng entered the game, he found himself alone inside the Armory. Nobody else had logged back into the game yet.

He expected that the others were taking a look at the officially activated Mind Space System.

With all the traps in the Armory disabled, Shi Feng walked straight to the stone altar.

Previously, Fire Dance had managed to disable the Master Trap only at the very last second. Everyone was forcibly logged out of the game before they could even get a glimpse at what was on the stone altar. Shi Feng was very curious to find out what exactly the trap had been protecting.

Despite the rarity of Master Traps even in the inner area of the Fallen Ark, they actually found one in the Armory located in the Ark's outer area. Without a doubt, the item on the altar was extraordinary.

Walking forward, Shi Feng sent a glance at the altar.

Nothing particularly remarkable lay on the altar—only a glass bottle and some scattered designs covered in dust.

Following which, Shi Feng blew away the dust and carefully held up the glass bottle and designs. He was immediately stunned by what he saw.

"A Small Sailboat?!" Shi Feng could not believe his eyes right now.

In God's Domain, speedboats were mainly meant for individual players. A Small Sailboat, on the other hand, was intended for teams. A Bronze Small Sailboat was even more valuable than the Swift Dragon Speedboat. In terms of maritime combat power, the Small Sailboat was far superior.

Meanwhile, the Small Sailboat before him was Mysterious-Iron rank. 

Chapter 1136 - High-end Building

Shi Feng was dazed as he stared at the ancient bottle in his hand.

He had to admit that time could erode everything.

The glass bottle storing the Small Sailboat was extremely high quality, crafted of Epic ranked materials. However, the bottle had been in this Armory since the Great Ancient War. After so much time, even Epic materials would start to disintegrate.

As a result, Shi Feng could only see the Small Sailboat's information. He couldn't actually use it...

[Hurricane Sailboat] (Small Sailboat, Mysterious-Iron Rank)
Maximum capacity: 150 people
Durability 1,000/1,000
Item storage when liberated: 8,000 bag space slots and 100 non-bag space slots.

Additional Active Skill 1-
Triple Shield: Absorbs up to 1,300,000 damage for 5 minutes.
Cooldown: 15 minutes.

Additional Active Skill 2-
Double Destruction Cannon: 2,000-yard range. Deals divine damage to a radius of 20 yards.
Cooldown: 1 minute
(Four cannons are currently equipped. Up to six cannons can be equipped.)

Additional Active Skill 3-
Hurricane Frost Field: Reduce the Movement Speed of all lifeforms and objects outside of the Hurricane Sailboat within a radius of 200 yards for 4 minutes.
Cooldown: 30 minutes
Each activation costs 60 Magic Crystals.

Additional Active Skill 4-
Mana Conversion: Converts Mana into motion, increasing Movement Speed by 40%. Every 10 Magic Crystals consumed extends duration by 20 minutes.
Cooldown: 10 minutes

Additional Passive Skill-
Braving the Winds and Waves: When sailing with the wind, Movement Speed increased by 50%. When sailing against the wind, Movement Speed is unaffected.

The Hurricane Sailboat has been severely damaged and cannot be used. Must repair the boat's divine ruins before use.

It seems I'll have to get Burning Abyss to fix it. Shi Feng sighed as he stored the Hurricane Sailboat.

The Hurricane Sailboat was no less valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item. It was even more valuable than the Swift Dragon Speedboat.

The sailboat was especially valuable right now.

Sailboats were very large. Not only could they participate in naval combat, but they were also transportation tools.

Transporting cargo over sea was much faster and more convenient than on land. More importantly, transportation across the sea was much safer. This was especially true for the current God's Domain.

Naval combat was different from combat on land. While players' role in these battles was important, the ship they used was the more so.

In God's Domain, a Mysterious-Iron Small Sailboat' combat power made it practically invincible among current Guilds. The sailboat could even deal with troublesome sea monsters.

After storing the Hurricane Sailboat, Shi Feng shifted his gaze towards the designs.

Although the designs were somewhat damaged due to the passing of time, Shi Feng could discern their information.

Four Towers of Elements!

When Shi Feng saw these words, he froze.

"So, this is the famous Four Towers of Elements!" Shi Feng's eyes glowed with excitement as he examined the designs, nearly losing his grip on the papers.

While the Four Towers of Elements' name seemed ordinary, in the various libraries around God's Domain, it was also known as the Elemental Towers. The Four Towers of Elements was a defensive structure that combined four towers that harnessed the power of the four major elements: earth, water, wind, and fire.

If the Mana Tower was considered a mainstream defensive building, the Four Towers of Elements was a high-end defensive building.

However, in the past, he had only seen these towers in Super Guilds' main headquarters. He had never heard of a lesser Guild owning one. In fact, only Super Guilds had known where to obtain them.

However, looking back at it now, Shi Feng felt that those Super Guilds might've obtained the designs in the Fallen Ark. Either that, or the Midnight Tea Party had sold the designs to Super Guilds after obtaining them. Otherwise, the Four Towers of Elements would not have been so rare in the past.

Shi Feng finally understood why the Main God System had activated the Mind Space System.

It turned out that it was because he was about to obtain the Four Towers of Elements.

As a high-end building, ordinary players could not construct the Four Towers of Elements. Only those who had learned the relevant subclasses could build them. Moreover, the relevant subclass requirements were exceptionally high. At the very least, one needed to reach the Advanced rank.

With this, I won't have any issues defending the city. Shi Feng could not help but grin at the designs.

There were a total of four designs, the complete design for the Four Towers of Elements. With these designs, in addition to the Lifestyle players the Candlelight Trading Firm had already nurtured, he could definitely construct the towers.

Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began reading the list of required construction materials. This way, he could prepare.

"What?! These towers require Seven Luminaries Crystals?!"

Shi Feng grew somewhat faint after glancing through the materials.

If the towers simply needed a few Seven Luminaries Crystals, he could have dealt with that. However, each tower required ten units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Constructing the entire set would cost him forty units of Seven Luminaries Crystal...

Constructing these four towers cost more than constructing an entire city.

In God's Domain, one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal was roughly the size of an adult's fist. Generally, one only came across 0.1 to 0.3 units of a Seven Luminaries Crystal. One-tenth of a Seven Luminaries Crystal would sell to NPC merchants for around three to four hundred Gold. If sold to players, some had even offered 1,000 Gold in the past. However, even at such a price, nobody had been willing to sell their crystals.

If Shi Feng invested forty units in his own Mind Space, he could increase it by forty cubic meters. This was enough space for one person to live in.

Even though he knew of many areas where he could collect Seven Luminaries Crystals right now, collecting so many in such a short time wouldn't be easy.

Suddenly, Fire Dance came online. When she noticed Shi Feng's sour expression, she asked curiously, "Guild Leader, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He had no intentions of revealing the Four Towers of Elements.

The Four Towers of Elements were of the utmost importance. There wasn't much benefit in revealing the information. Rather than letting everyone worry about the matter, it was better that they focus on what they needed to do right now.

Shortly after, Aqua Rose also logged in. Immediately, she turned to Shi Feng and asked anxiously, "Guild Leader, what was on the stone altar?"

"A Small Sailboat," Shi Feng said. He then shared the Hurricane Sailboat's information in the team chat for everyone to see.

Those that had just come online and saw the Hurricane Sailboat's information were stupefied.

Although they weren't very familiar with naval matters, they could, more or less tell, how powerful the Hurricane Sailboat was by its Skills.

The Hurricane Sailboat was practically a moving turret. If the four Double Destruction Cannons were lined up and fired together, their killing power would be absolutely terrifying. If the Hurricane Sailboat could be used on land, it would be invincible, not to mention at sea.

"Guild Leader, with this sailboat, we can start developing in a coastal city. With this sailboat and our resources, we'll definitely get our own share of the pie," Gentle Snow suggested after reading the Hurricane Sailboat's details.

"That's right. Guild Leader, the various large Guilds have already secured most of the available resources on land. We have to waste a lot of time and effort to contest for those resources. We might as well shift a portion of our focus to the sea. There are not many cities out at sea, so the various Guilds are slow in developing their maritime strength. There are still a lot of locations free of Guilds' control. With this Small Sailboat, we can definitely compete with the Guilds current in coastal cities." Aqua Rose very much agreed with Gentle Snow's proposal.

Both Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were members of the Guild's management team. They possessed far more information than others. The two of them had also considered the problem of the Guild's future development. There were simply too few resources available on land, and it was time-consuming to contest for more. As for the sea, not only were its resources abundant, but the majority of the various large Guilds in God's Domain were in the same situation as Zero Wing when it came to competition at sea. Most Guilds were just starting to move towards the ocean at this stage of the game. One could say that they were all at the same starting point right now.

Zero Wing's acquisition of the Mysterious-Iron Small Sailboat gave it a significant advantage over the other Guilds. Zero Wing could easily suppress their competition's fishing boats and speedboats. 

Chapter 1137 - Introducing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest

In the canyon outside of the Fallen Ark, the Soul Eater Lord, which had previously attacked Zero Wing's team, finally emerged.

Immediately, the Soul Eater Lord's powerful Domain enveloped a significant portion of the canyon.

"How is there such a powerful monster?!"

The sight of the Soul Eater Lord instilled fear and insecurity into the Midnight Tea Party's members.

They had listened to Shi Feng's instructions and moved 1,000 yards away from the Ark, which put them outside of the Soul Eater Lord's Domain. However, as experts, their senses were far superior to ordinary players. In addition, they normally fought high-tiered monsters. As a result, they could roughly gauge a monster's strength based on the pressure it emitted.

Meanwhile, right now, from the pressure they felt from the Soul Eater Lord, they could tell that he was the strongest monster they had encountered since joining God's Domain.

"Black Flame really didn't lie. Even if every member in the team has reached Tier 2, Level 60, we'll still be cannon fodder against such a powerful monster," Netherworld Wave said, finding it somewhat difficult to breathe.

Even Tier 4 NPCs of the same level wouldn't be a match for the Tier 4, Level 67 Mythic monster with a complete Domain. After all, complete Domains were what made Tier 4 NPCs so powerful and allowed them to fight Mythic monsters, which had higher Attributes, on equal footing.

"Leader, are we still going to go in?" Cloud Yarn asked Breeze Wine worriedly.

With such powerful monsters guarding the Fallen Ark, even sending in an army of tens of thousands of players of the same level would be meaningless. They were significantly underleveled right now.

"Let's wait for a bit," Breeze Wine said softly. "Black Flame told us his method for luring these monsters away. Let's make our decision after watching the situation."

After Breeze Wine announced his decision, the team fell silent.

It would be a pity to simply leave after so much difficulty to open the Fallen Ark.

While the Midnight Tea Party members waited quietly, one monster after another exited the Fallen Ark. The weakest among them was a Grand Lord, while most were Mythic monsters. The adventurer team counted 20 Mythic monsters leaving the Ark.

Watching this, the Midnight Tea Party members, who had experienced hundreds of challenging battles, shuddered.

If not for the monsters' low levels, they could have easily obliterated numerous major NPC cities if they worked together. Even at Level 60, players would be cannon fodder in front of these monsters. It did not matter how many players fought them. Everyone that tried to do so would undoubtedly die.

If not for their quest's time limit and severe penalty for failure, the Midnight Tea Party members would've fled.

"Leader, look. They seem to have discovered something," the Ranger, Dark War, reported softly.

Everyone followed Dark War's gaze, and indeed, one Mythic monster in the distant forest sniffed the air as if it had scented something. Suddenly, the Mythic monster roared, and the rest gathered to its location. The Midnight Tea Party members began to panic.

"They couldn't have discovered us, right?!" Cloud Yarn asked anxiously.

If these monsters discovered them, their deaths were certain.

"That shouldn't be the case. Black Flame had returned from that direction. He should've set up some sort of luring magic array there," Endless Scars calmly explained.

As soon as Endless Scars said so, the abyssal monsters began to rush elsewhere. Very quickly, they disappeared from the Midnight Tea Party's sight.

"They're gone?" Everyone could not help but release a sigh of relief.

A few of the team members, who had expressed their discontent with Shi Feng, began to view the Swordsman in a new light.

Although Shi Feng was ridiculously greedy, they had to admit that if not for him, they would've been unable to enter the Fallen Ark for a long time.

"We have our chance. Let's hurry and enter the Ark!" Breeze Wine shouted as he stood.

Now that the monsters were nowhere to be seen, they could sneak into the Ark undetected. Once they were inside, things would become much easier.

It seems that I'll have to learn more about this Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Endless Scars revealed a faint smile as she looked to where the monsters had flown.

Even Super Guilds knew little about the secret of the Fallen Ark. She had searched everywhere for information, even utilizing the Blackwater Corporation's power, to grasp the little she had learned about the Ark. And yet, the Guild Leader of a newly developed Guild knew far more about the Fallen Ark than she did. One could see just how extraordinary Shi Feng was. Zero Wing was definitely not as simple as she had imagined.

...

As the abyssal monsters moved away from the Fallen Ark, Shi Feng led the Zero Wing team to the Ark's inner region.

He had finally made it into the Fallen Ark after so much trouble. He could not simply leave after looting a single Armory.

Furthermore, the Fallen Ark's truly valuable items lay in the inner region.

However, as they ventured deeper, they encountered many traps. Even after the traps were disabled, new traps appeared in their place after a certain amount of time. In addition, due to the recent system update, the traps had become far more difficult and risky to disable. Any mistake could trigger the traps. It might be fine if it were weak, as triggering the trap wouldn't result in an instant death. However, if they triggered a stronger trap, it could result in a team-wipe. As a result, Shi Feng's group progressed very slowly through the Ark.

Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Fallen Ark Map. The map depicted which areas within the Ark were riddled with traps and which were not. Not only could they choose the safest path, but they would also know if they were about to walk into one. They didn't need to be on high-alert constantly.

Finally, after over an hour advancing through the Ark, the team reached the inner region.

Following which, Shi Feng had everyone standby and wait for orders as traps riddled this area. Their only option was to let Fire Dance explore.

As Fire Dance still held the Icarus's Heart Shi Feng had given her, she could explore the inner region somewhat safely. Anyone else that tried to do so would only be looking to die.

"Fortunately, we dealt with the traps in the Armory before the system update began. Otherwise, the stone alter's trap would have killed us already," Flying Shadow said, his heart fluttering with fear.

Previously, when he had disabled an Advanced Trap, he had very nearly lost his life when he triggered the trap by mistake. Fortunately, Violet Cloud had reacted quickly and immediately cast Truth Shield on him. In the end, the trap had only wounded him, leaving him with only 2,000 HP.

"That's right! Guild Leader is really amazing! If not for sensing that the system update would affect traps, we wouldn't have obtained the Hurricane Sailboat!" Cola said, laughing.

Shi Feng hadn't expected to acquire the Hurricane Sailboat either. However, he agreed with Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose's suggestion. Hence, he made some slight adjustments to his plans.

Before obtaining the Hurricane Sailboat, Shi Feng had planned to develop in Ocean Viewing Town slowly. He had even intended to let Immortal Light develop in the Apocalypse Empire's coastal towns.

After all, Zero Wing was different from the other Guilds in coastal cities, where the latter had already begun to build their strength. Trying to compete with these coastal Guilds would be foolish. Even if Zero Wing were far stronger than these Guilds, naval combat relied on the ships' quality, rather than players'. Zero Wing would not have much of an advantage by relying on the Swift Dragon Speedboat.

Coastal cities were very different from coastal towns. Coastal cities possessed Large Shipyards. They also had plenty of high-ranking rare quests that could help players to obtain powerful ships.

Otherwise, Phoenix Rain, the Pavilion Master of a super-first-rate Guild, would not have bothered cooperating with a first-rate Guild like Firmament. She had done so because Firmament had taken over a major NPC coastal city very early in the game. Even some Super Guilds feared its strength at sea.

Hence, Shi Feng now planned to occupy a major NPC coastal city.

"Guild Leader, I discovered a Forging Hall! I can see an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest inside the hall!" Fire Dance excitedly announced in the team chat. 

Chapter 1138 - Two Weak Points

"An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest in the Forging Hall?" Shi Feng's heart began beating rapidly when he heard this.

In the past, he had never even seen an Epic Treasure Chest, only ever heard about it through rumors.

As for Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests, their existence in God's Domain was only player speculation. Nobody would say for certain that such Treasure Chests even existed in the game. After all, as long as one's luck was not extremely bad, they could get a Fragmented Legendary item from an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest.

Without exaggeration, a single Fragmented Legendary item could change the fate of a player in God's Domain.

In God's Domain, the large Guilds were fully capable of obtaining Epic items—in relatively high quantities. However, not every large Guild possessed Fragmented Legendary items. Even ten years after God's Domain's launch, first-rate Guilds only had a handful of such items at most. Meanwhile, Guilds would definitely dispatch a lot of players to guard their experts wielding these Fragmented Legendary items.

The reason for this was very simple: fear of an ambush by other apex experts wielding Fragmented Legendary items. Although their own experts possessed extremely frightening strength, with appropriate counters, the enemy could still take them out. Hence, these Guilds would dispatch expert teams to prevent unexpected incidents from happening.

Even so, many such ambushes still occurred in God's Domain every day.

One could see just how desperate the large Guilds were towards Fragmented Legendary items.

Shi Feng never imagined that, shortly after entering the inner area of the Fallen Ark, he would actually come across such a harvest. The Fallen Ark was even more amazing than the rumors had made it out to be.

However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable.

Back then, some people had already entered the Fallen Ark prior to the public's discovery of it and had definitely cleaned out the treasures inside. Moreover, the Super Guilds that had cleared out those ancient abyssal monsters must've looted the Ark as well. By the time other players were able to swarm into the Ark, the treasures remaining were extremely few—but still extraordinarily amazing.

Now that his team was the first to explore the Fallen Ark, it was not surprising that they came across an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, which he had never seen in the past.

When everyone heard Fire Dance say so, flames of passion flared up in their eyes.

Even Epic items were exceedingly rare right now. If they could obtain a Fragmented Legendary item, it would truly be a game changer for Zero Wing.

Among those present, aside from Blackie, Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, and an extreme few who knew that Zero Wing possessed more than one Fragmented Legendary item, everyone else believed that the best weapons and equipment Zero Wing possessed were only of Epic rank.

"What's the situation over there?" Shi Feng asked softly after calming himself.

"There's an extremely powerful trap set up around the Treasure Chest. Furthermore, there are two statues inside the Forging Hall, and both of them are giving off a very faint pressure. They could be the guardians protecting the Treasure Chest. I don't dare approach them right now, so I still can't determine whether I can disable the trap."

Fire Dance then took a picture of the Forging Hall and shared it through the team chat.

Previously, Shi Feng had warned her that aside from traps, certain parts of the Ark's inner area had guardian monsters. Hence, she had taken notice of the two statues set up in the Forging Hall.

After scrutinizing the picture, Shi Feng nodded and said, "Your judgment is correct. Those two statues are indeed guardians. Moreover, they're not just any normal guardians. They're Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, an Archaic Species."

Shi Feng had seen the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus in the past. Back then, a Super Guild had dispatched an army of ten thousand players, in addition to many apex experts, to kill one. In the end, although the Super Guild managed to finish off the Archaic Species, it had suffered a casualty rate of over 80%.

"An Archaic Species? Isn't that similar to the monster we encountered in Titan City's entrance trial?" Aqua Rose asked in shock.

She had personally experienced the strength of an Archaic Species. If not for the powerful magic array suppressing the King of Corrosion back then, they would not have had any chance of defeating it at all. Yet, now, there were actually two such monsters in the Forging Hall.

In truth, even Shi Feng was surprised upon seeing this.

According to the information he obtained, there should not be any other powerful monsters in the Fallen Ark's inner area, aside from Special Lifeforms and those ancient abyssal monsters. The sudden appearance of two Archaic Species was completely outside of his expectations.

No wonder the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest was placed in such an eye-catching location. Shi Feng felt his head start aching.

Archaic Species were stronger than even Special Lifeforms.

A Tier 4 Archaic Species could definitely rival those Tier 4 abyssal monsters inside the Ark in strength. If two of such Archaic Species worked together to defend an area, they would be practically invincible at this stage of the game.

It might be possible to challenge them with a team of Tier 3 experts. Either that, or if they had another Water Boundary Magic Scroll to hold the two guardians back, they could use the opportunity to disable the trap and take the Treasure Chest away. Otherwise, they could only look at the Treasure Chest from the sides.

"Guild Leader, with our current standards, I'm afraid that we won't be able to get that Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Why don't we explore other locations first?" Gentle Snow suggested.

While she wanted to obtain the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest as well, the difficulty of doing so was simply too high. Rather than pointlessly throw away their lives, it would be much better if they first looked for whatever items they could get their hands on.

"Alright. Fire, send over the safe route to the Forging Hall first. Afterwards, explore some other locations and take as many items as you can." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to first do whatever they could in the inner area before considering other courses of action.

"Understood." Fire Dance nodded, then shared the route she took to reach the Forging Hall through the team chat.

Shi Feng carefully led everyone towards the Forging Hall.

The inner area of the Fallen Ark was very complex. It was like a highly diversified maze, and one could easily lose their way in here. One might even encounter the same trap several or even dozens of times.

It was no wonder the players that actually managed to leave with any treasure numbered extremely few, despite players swarming the Fallen Ark.

After wending their way for over an hour, Shi Feng and the others finally arrived at the Forging Hall.

The extremely spacious Forging Hall was roughly the size of a sports stadium that could fit 50,000 people. There were all sorts of forging tools placed around the room as well as many books on display. However, due to the corrosion of time, none of these things seemed usable. Only the Treasure Chest and the statues placed in the center of the hall appeared in pristine condition.

"Flying, find a way to disable the traps protecting the forging tools and books. Everyone else, take whatever you can away from here. Leave nothing behind," Shi Feng instructed after glancing through the hall.

Since he had already arrived in the Fallen Ark's inner area, he naturally could not let this trip go to waste.

Although the forging tools and books were severely damaged, with so many tools and books here, he refused to believe that not a single one of them was usable.

"Understood!"

Everyone promptly spread out and went into action.

As for Shi Feng himself, he was carefully observing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest and the two massive statues standing beside it.

Over two hours passed very quickly. Aside from where the Treasure Chest sat, everyone had cleared out all the other areas in the hall.

Although everyone was relatively tired from all the looting they did, they managed to end up with a considerable harvest. The items they obtained included dozens of complete books as well as eight forging tools. Every forging tool was Secret-Silver rank, and if placed in the Candlelight Trading Firm, they would all be top-class tools.

While everyone was quietly waiting for Fire Dance to return, Gentle Snow used the time to flip through some of the books they found in the Forging Hall.

Suddenly, Gentle Snow exclaimed with excitement, "Guild Leader, this book seems to have a relevant introduction to the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus!"

"An introduction? Let me see!" Shi Feng demanded hurriedly.

The book Gentle Snow was reading was titled Archaic Species Material Analysis. The book specifically introduced the various Archaic Species in existence as well as the materials that could be gained from their bodies. It also had a section on how those materials could be used to produce specific kinds of weapons, equipment, and other items.

Among the Archaic Species recorded, the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus had over a dozen pages dedicated to it.

Meanwhile, the information mentioned that the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus had two weak points.

The first one was the monster's hydrophobia. Submersion in water would inhibit the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus's reactions, and its Defense would decrease significantly.

The second weak point was its power core. There was a power core in the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus's body. The destruction of this power core would significantly weaken the monster's Strength Attribute. 

Chapter 1139 - Race against Time

At the outer area of the Fallen Ark, the members of the Midnight Tea Party moved with extreme caution.

This was because shortly after their entry, they very nearly got team-wiped due to triggering a trap.

Nobody could've imagined that the latest system update would include penalties for failing to disable a trap. With Netherworld Wave's Advanced Trap Disabler class, it was simply impossible for him to succeed in disabling Advanced Traps all the time. As a result, the team had no choice but to exercise extreme caution while advancing.

"If I had known something like this would happen, I would've had us enter the Ark before the system update began." Breeze Wine now felt that he had made the wrong decision before.

There were still many Fallen Patrols roaming about the outer area of the Ark. With their slow progress, it was very easy for them to come across those Patrols. If they really got caught by a Patrol, they would have no choice but to withdraw immediately. Right now, whether they could even reach the Ark's inner area was still in doubt.

Had they utilized the twenty minutes logout preparation time, they might've already reached the inner area by now.

"Leader, you didn't make the wrong decision. If we entered the Ark before the update began, we would've risked encountering those dangerous abyssal monsters. Our situation at that time wouldn't be much better than right now. Moreover, now that we've grasped the method to lure those abyssal monsters away, should we really fail to complete our quest this time, we can simply come back once everyone has reached Level 50 and obtained their Tier 2 classes. At that time, even if we come across the Fallen Patrols, we can still quickly finish them off or fight them as we advance deeper into the Ark," Endless Scars said after noticing Breeze Wine beating himself up. "Let's use this chance to scout out a path in advance."

Likewise, everyone else on the team expressed their agreement when they heard Endless Scars's words.

Although their quest had a time limit, they still had enough time to make appropriate preparations.

Just as everyone was merrily chatting with each other, Endless Scars suddenly received a message.

Seeing this message, Endless Scars smiled faintly.

"Big Sis Endless, did something good happen?" Cloud Yarn could not help but ask curiously when she saw Endless Scars suddenly sporting a playful smile.

"You could say that. Any of you interested in watching a competition at the Dark Arena? I've just received an invitation card, and I can bring five people with me," Endless Scars said, chuckling.

"The Dark Arena?"

Everyone lost interest when they heard this.

Although those participating in the Dark Arena were much stronger than ordinary experts, to experts of their standards, the fights at the Dark Arena possessed no reference value whatsoever.

"Are you all really not interested in going? I heard that the Dark Arena is even prepared to hold a grand auction this time, which apparently will include even Epic items," Endless Scars said, somewhat disappointed when she noticed the disinterest on everyone's faces. "Moreover, the battle teams that will be fighting are very interesting. Among them, Zero Wing will be facing off with the Miracle Guild. I heard that Miracle has dispatched quite a few powerful experts this time."

"Epic items? Zero Wing against Miracle?"

"Big Sis Endless, I want to go!"

"Hold it! I've never been to the Dark Arena even once before! Let me go this time!"

When everyone heard Endless Scars's words, they immediately grew interested.

Setting aside how tempting Epic items were, just the fact that Zero Wing was going up against the Miracle Guild already gave them plenty of reason to go spectate at the Dark Arena. Although Miracle was only a super-first-rate Guild, the number and quality of experts it possessed were by no means inferior to Super Guilds'.

If Miracle dispatched its apex experts to the Dark Arena, then the upcoming match would definitely be an interesting one.

...

Elsewhere, after Shi Feng was done reading through the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus's introduction, he fell into deep thought.

"So these are the methods to raid them?"

No matter how he looked at it, the two Archaic Species were invincible existences at this stage of the game. If the two worked together, even a 100-man team of Level 60, Tier 2 experts would fall very quickly.

However, since the Main God System had set the difficulty of this raid as such, it would naturally provide players with some kind of hope to complete the raid.

Although Shi Feng did not know how effective these two methods would be in weakening the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, it would be a criminal waste if he simply gave up on the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest without even giving it a try.

Following which, Shi Feng had everyone begin making preparations to raid the two monsters.

"Guild Leader, are we really going to raid these two Archaic Species?" Aqua Rose asked worriedly as she looked at the two giant statues in the center of the Forging Hall.

Previously, when they went up against the King of Corrosion, they had had a team of 100 players and even the assistance of an ancient magic array. Right now, not only did they not possess such a magic array, but their team also had only 20 members in all. To make things worse, they had to go up against two Archaic Species at the same time. No matter how she looked at it, they were simply trying to get themselves killed.

The outcome would be the same even if they managed to grasp the weak points of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses.

"I know what you're worried about. Before we learned of their weak points, I indeed had no idea how we could get the Treasure Chest. Now, however, things are different. I have around a 30% certainty that we can get that Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest," Shi Feng laughed.

"Thirty percent? So high?" Aqua Rose was quite surprised by Shi Feng's response.

She had estimated that they had less than a 5% chance of successfully obtaining the Treasure Chest. But Shi Feng was now saying he was roughly 30% sure he could pull it off. If he really did have such a high probability of success, it was indeed worthwhile to make an attempt.

Currently, Super Guilds were willing to sacrifice thousands of elite members just to obtain one Epic item, let alone a Fragmented Legendary item. If the existence of this Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest were made known to Super Guilds, most likely, they would be more than willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of elite players as well as hundreds of experts.

"Around that percentage. However, our main problem would still be the trap set up around the Treasure Chest. If it is a Grandmaster Trap, we'll most likely have no chance of getting the Treasure Chest. Only if it is a Master Trap will we have a 30% chance of succeeding." Shi Feng shrugged, expressing that he was taking a gamble right now.

In the past, it was a common sight for the various large Guilds to send out tens of thousands of elite players just to contest for one Fragmented Legendary item. After all, with one Fragmented Legendary item, a Guild could nurture one more apex expert. This way, not only would a Guild get another expert to lead it, but they would also have a much easier time defending the transportation of important cargo or locations in the future.

Following which, everyone began taking action according to Shi Feng's commands.

To take advantage of the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus's first weak point, Shi Feng armed everyone—with the exclusion of the team's MTs and healers—with Tier 1 and Tier 2 water-type Magic Scrolls. As soon as the battle began, they would close the doors to the Forging Hall, turning it into an enclosed space. After that was done, they could easily create an environment filled with water.

As for the Archaic Species' second weak point, Shi Feng possessed the Omniscient Eyes. He should have no problems targeting the power cores.

Everything else would have to depend on luck.

When Fire Dance returned to the Forging Room, Shi Feng had his team shut the doors to the Forging Room.

"Begin!"

At Shi Feng's command, everyone sprang into action, unfurling their Magic Scrolls one after another and launching a barrage of water-type Spells at the two statues.

In the blink of an eye, a lake formed within the Forging Hall, the height of the water easily surpassing that of a player. At the same time, everyone also activated a Water Walking Scroll.

The Water Walking Scroll was a commonly used Magic Scroll in God's Domain. As its name suggested, it allowed players to walk on water for ten minutes. Each scroll sold for 20 Silver Coins, and it could be said to be one of the tools specialized for maritime combat.

As the water-type Spells struck the bodies of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, both monsters immediately awoke.

"Roar!"

The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses let loose deafening roars, shaking up the Forging Hall. Meanwhile, the powerful aura that abruptly filled the entire hall struck fear into everyone.

Now that the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses had awakened, everyone was finally able to get a glimpse at their statistics.
-

[Fossilized Tyrannosaurus] (Inferior Dragon, Archaic Species, Mythic)
Level 65
HP 320,000,000/320,000,000

-
Just as everyone was feeling shocked by the statistics of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, Shi Feng shouted, "Fire, use this chance to disable the trap!"

Shi Feng knew better than anyone else present just how powerful the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were. It was also because of this understanding that he knew how valuable time was right now. If they continued daydreaming, the chances of obtaining the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest would decline.

"Understood!"

"Fire Dance immediately responded and activated Silent Steps, appearing behind one of the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. She then dashed straight towards the Treasure Chest. 

Chapter 1140 - Buying Time

When Fire Dance was only 30 yards away from the Treasure Chest, the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, which had initially been lured away by the Spells attacking them, suddenly shifted their attention to her. As if they had had their tails stepped on, they glared at Fire Dance with single-minded ferocity as though she were the only person left in the world.

"Not good! Our aggro is too weak!" Shi Feng frowned. "Cola, Turtledove, use everything you've got to pull aggro! Have the Bosses stay as far away from the Treasure Chest as possible!"

As Guardian Bosses, the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses' priority was the protection of the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. To them, aggro was secondary.

Only when another player's aggro over the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses reached a sufficiently high degree would the Bosses stop paying attention to the player attempting to steal the item they protected. This was why Shi Feng previously had everyone use their water-type Magic Scrolls on the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Not only could they deal a significant amount of damage to the Bosses, but they could also increase their aggro over the Bosses.

However, the effects of the water-type Spells were not as good as Shi Feng expected.

"Understood!"

Upon hearing Shi Feng's command, Cola and Turtledove immediately activated Power of Darkness, causing their Basic Attributes to soar instantly. Both of them then charged straight at the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses and used Justice Roar, trying their best to shift the attention of the Bosses to themselves.

However, the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses still kept the Treasure Chest as their priority, completely disregarding the two Guardian Knights' Justice Roars and continuing to chase Fire Dance.

Both Cola's and Turtledove's Justice Roars were at Tier 1. If the target they used the Skill on ignored them, their Strength Attributes would double for a short time. Their speeds would increase significantly as well.

Sure enough, Cola's and Turtledove's Strengths immediately doubled. Both of them then followed up with a Shield of Vengeance at their respective Fossilized Tyrannosauruses.

Boom! Boom!

The moment their shields collided with the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, sparks flew. Despite the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses having had their Defenses weakened, Cola's and Turtledove's attacks only left a small scratch on their scales.

As for the damage the two Guardian Knights dealt, it was less than -8,000.

"So this is an Archaic Species?" Gentle Snow revealed a dumbfounded expression when she saw the damage the two MTs dealt.

This was her first time encountering an Archaic Species.

Although she already knew their team had no chance whatsoever of winning against the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, when she saw this scene, she still could not help but be shocked.

She had a general idea what Cola's and Turtledove's equipment standards were. If she was not wearing the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor Shi Feng had given to her, her Attributes would no doubt be inferior to theirs. Currently, not only had the two Guardian Knights activated their Berserk Skills, but they even had the Strength boost from Justice Roar. In terms of Strength, even a Tier 2, Level 60 Berserker would be no match for them.

Yet, now, the both of them had dealt less than -8,000 damage to their targets.

The Defense of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses was simply insane.

At this moment, she wondered if Cola and Turtledove could even deal any damage to the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses if not for the submerged environment weakening the Bosses' Defenses.

"Roar!"

Although Cola's and Turtledove's full-powered attacks had barely dealt any damage, they still managed to get the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses to shift their attention to them, which eased up the pressure on Fire Dance.

"Good! Now activate your Lifesaving Skills and slowly lure the Bosses away!" Shi Feng commanded.

Without hesitation, Cola and Turtledove activated Protection Blessing.

If they managed to deal only such a small amount of damage, despite the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses' weakened Defenses, they did not dare to imagine what kind of damage the Inferior Dragons could deal, seeing as the Bosses' Attack Power had not weakened in the slightest.

Peng! Peng!

No sooner had the two Guardian Knights activated Protection Blessing than the tail swipes of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses sent them both flying away. The speed of the attacks was so fast that not a single person present had managed to react.

"What happened?!" Minor Wind's eyes widened in shock.

He had only seen the tails of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses moving slightly just now. There had been no sign of the tails making their way towards Cola and Turtledove at all. Yet, before he knew it, both Guardian Knights were already in the air, their HPs decreasing by over 36,000, instantly falling below 50%. If not for Cola and Turtledove having activated Power of Darkness and Protection Blessing, which increased their HP to over 50,000 and halved the damage they received, the two of them would be meeting God by now...

Aside from Shi Feng, everyone present was stunned by the horrendous amounts of damage dealt by the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses.

With such speed and Strength, even a Tier 2, Level 60 MT would not be able to last long against the Inferior Dragons.

"All healers, focus on Cola and Turtledove! We need to buy as much time for Fire as we can!" Shi Feng shouted hurriedly, not feeling any surprise whatsoever at this situation.

In the past, when Super Guilds dealt with Tier 4 Archaic Species, the teams they sent had been filled with players equal to or higher than the monster's level. Meanwhile, half of the lead MT's equipment had to be Epic rank at the very minimum. Moreover, they needed to have three MTs simultaneously receiving the monster's attacks. Aside from that, they would also use Intermediate Magic Arrays to suppress the Archaic Species. Otherwise, they would have had no chance of victory at all.

Right now, the only thing they could do was to buy as much time as possible by relying on their Berserk Skills. As for defeating the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, Shi Feng had never even entertained the possibility.

Under Shi Feng's command, Cola and Turtledove carefully lured the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses away from the Treasure Chest, giving Fire Dance the opportunity to remove the trap set up around the Treasure Chest.

However, after Fire Dance looked at the trap, a frown appeared on her face.

"Guild Leader, this trap is indeed Master rank. However, its complexity is much greater than the Master Trap I disabled before. I need time if I want to disable it safely!" Fire Dance sent a private message to Shi Feng.

Everyone had clearly witnessed for themselves how terrifying the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were. There was simply no chance they could win against these monsters. They could only drag the battle out as long as possible. Hence, Fire Dance was extremely anxious.

"How long?" Shi Feng asked.

"At least...five minutes," Fire Dance replied helplessly. Right now, she hated herself for not training her Trap Disabler class as much as she could. Although she had forcibly increased her rank to Master right now, her technical skills were not actually at the Master rank yet.

Five minutes was more than enough for everyone to die dozens of times.

"Five minutes?" After giving it some thought, Shi Feng clenched his teeth and said, "I got it. I'll try to buy as much time over here as possible. You just relax and disable the trap."

This reply stunned Fire Dance. However, she knew that Shi Feng never joked around. Since he had said so, he definitely had a way to realize his words. Immediately, she nodded and began disabling the trap before her.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had also activated Omniscient Eyes and began searching for the power cores of the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses.

Their power cores are actually in constant motion?

The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses could hide no secrets from the Omniscient Eyes. Shi Feng could clearly see a glowing red dot moving about inside the body of each monster. Although the dots were very small, they were extremely eye-catching.

However, while Shi Feng had guessed correctly that he could locate the power cores with Omniscient Eyes, he had no way of damaging them. Seeing how Cola and Turtledove had only managed to scratch the scales of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses before, even if Shi Feng relied on the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray, it would be very difficult for him to shatter those scales, not to mention penetrating deep into the Inferior Dragons' bodies and striking at their power cores.

Nevertheless, Cola's and Turtledove's HPs were rapidly decreasing at this moment. The two Guardian Knights could die at any time. If he did not destroy the power cores right now, it would be impossible for them to survive for five minutes. When Protection Blessing ended, both of them would die instantly.

"It seems I have no choice but to use that," Shi Feng muttered to himself before letting out a sigh. In a battle of such level, it was just too risky to use that. However, in order to obtain the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, he had no choice but to take a gamble.

Saying so, Shi Feng took out a Summon Guard Scroll and summoned his Epic Guard, Anna.

Players generally would not let their Personal Guards take part in such a dangerous battle. While Personal Guards that were killed could be resurrected, the price for doing so was exorbitant. It was definitely not a price that players were willing to accept. Hence, players with powerful Personal Guards very rarely allowed their Personal Guards to take part in risky battles.

"Anna, use Angel Summoning!"