Chapter 167

Chapter 167: The Disparity Between Realms

Immediately, more than 400 players in the fountain plaza surrounded Shi Feng and the others. They all unsheathed their swords and armed their crossbows as they eyed their prey.

However, to Shi Feng’s surprise, none of them showed any intentions of rushing forward.

Instead, they parted to the sides and opened a path, letting through twenty-odd players.

When these twenty-plus players arrived by Unstable Devastation’s side, their complexions were as gloomy as water, and their expressions numbed. These players’ levels were not high; only around Level 5 or Level 6. Their equipment was also nothing special. Compared to the elites of Martial Union, the difference was just too great. They did not seem like players from Martial Union at all.

“I’ll be looking forward to your performances,” Unstable Devastation spoke to these newcomers harshly. He then turned his sights towards Fire Dance, revealing a fierce sneer as he looked forward to the start of a good show.

These newcomers nodded their heads indifferently. They took out their weapons and walked towards Shi Feng.

In the distance, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were immediately stunned when they saw these players.

“You guys… why are you all with Martial Union?” Fire Dance loudly questioned these players.

The twenty plus players that walked over were not strangers to Fire Dance. On the contrary, they were the ex-companions with whom Fire Dance shared both bitter and sweet times.

At this moment, Unstable Devastation looked at Ye Feng, laughter escaping his mouth as he said, “Hahaha! Ye Feng, I am an extremely generous person. Previously, these players aided you in killing many of Martial Union’s members. I’ve promised them that, as long as they kill you and your companions, I will forgive all of their past transgressions, and Martial Union would no longer seek trouble with them.”

“Ye Feng, don’t you think that you should do something for them to compensate their losses?” Unstable Devastation jeered. Ye Feng had embarrassed him greatly last time, so he would not let him off the hook so easily.

He eagerly wished to see whether Ye Feng would dare take action or not. As long as Ye Feng took action, the headline on tomorrow’s official forums would be: Publicly acknowledged Swordsman expert is an extremely treacherous person! He willingly killed his allies to save himself! At that time, only tatters would remain of Ye Feng’s reputation. Unstable Devastation wanted to see just how Ye Feng intended to mingle in God’s Domain in the future.

Unable to endure it any longer, Fire Dance abruptly burst out in rage. Her eyes sent a chill as she glared at Unstable Devastation, yelling loudly, “Unstable Devastation, you despicable little man! These people have all killed your Martial Union members under my commands! If you have the guts, then come at me!”

Originally, Fire Dance felt extremely joy for being able to join Ye Feng’s team. She did not think that she would cause Ye Feng such a mess. If Ye Feng killed all of these people right now, others would gossip, and nasty rumors about him would spread. Ye Feng would be slandered as a merciless person, a person willing to kill even those who had helped him in the past.

Although this matter was not of her doing, these people were still her past companions. She was responsible for leading them to kill the members of Martial Union. Now that these people had betrayed her and sided with Martial Union, bringing trouble to Ye Feng, she felt extremely apologetic towards Ye Feng.

“Fire Dance, we have no choice in this matter. We have to do this if we wish to obtain Martial Union’s forgiveness and continue playing in Red Leaf Town.”

“Fire Dance, this is our only way out. We hope that you can understand.”

“That’s right! They forced us, left us no way out. Let us kill you just this once!”

Fire Dance’s companions closed the distance as they spoke. Some of the mage classes even started chanting their spells, prepared to launch their attacks.

“You guys…” Fire Dance’s complexion turned extremely ugly. She immediately turned towards Ye Feng, apologetically saying, “I’m sorry, Big Brother Ye Feng! I will definitely give you an account of this matter!”

“Unstable Devastation, you best listen up! I, Fire Dance, will immediately leave the team right now. I will no longer have any relations with Big Brother Ye Feng, so let me shoulder this debt between us!” Fire Dance immediately left the party. After her public declaration, she unsheathed her daggers as she walked forth, towards her companions. She intended to deal with these companions of hers personally. That way, Ye Feng would not experience in any sort of slander.

After seeing this, Unstable Devastation’s complexion turned pale with anger. He did not think that this woman called Fire Dance would be so determined.

“Fire Dance, aren’t you just making things harder for us? Regardless of the circumstances, we were once companions in the past. How could you treat us like this?”

“That’s right! We’ve gone through life and death so many times together. Are you really going to treat us like this?”

Fire Dance’s previous team voiced their accusations, one after another. These accusations deeply pierced Fire Dance’s heart. The laughs and suffering they went through together, all the bonds had simply turned to smoke. The only thing she could do was hold back her tears and kill the emotions in her heart.

“Fire Dance, are you going to be so heartless as to kill us?” a middle-aged Assassin wearing grey-colored leather armor asked resentfully.

His words had immediately caused Fire Dance to pause.

However, immediately after, this middle-aged Assassin stabbed his dagger towards Fire Dance’s heart.

Dang!

Before the gleaming dagger could reach its target, a pitch-black sword blocked the attack.

“Fire Dance, you’re not taking me, the team leader, seriously, are you? Since you’ve already joined my team, you are still a member of our team until this leader decided to kick you out. I will not acknowledge your selfish retirement from the team.”

“Now that you are a member of our team, this team leader has the responsibility of shouldering everything for you. So, in regards to your painful memories, I will help you purge them all.”

Ever since Shi Feng re-entered God’s Domain, he no longer cared about what others thought of him, because only weaklings would mind how others looked at them.

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention one more thing to you guys. Anyone who joins my team has to keep in mind one important thing; if you constantly mind how others look at you, you will never truly improve your own strength and techniques. You don’t have to care how others look at you. It is enough as long as you advance on the path that you wish to take. Only with that can you become a true expert.”

Shi Feng suddenly appeared in front of Fire Dance. To Fire Dance, he towered like a mountain before her, blocking any and all dangers from reaching her.

“Big Brother Ye Feng…” Tears inadvertently leaked out from Fire Dance’s eyes; Ye Feng’s actions and words truly touched her heart. After listening to his words, it was as if the door to the realm of experts slowly opened for her. Maybe her hesitation held her back from becoming a true expert.

So what if he killed them? Who cared about others’ opinions? The strong would never pay attention to such small matters. The only things they needed to consider were the courage to forge ahead and constantly raising their own strength!

By the side, after Water Buffalo listened to Ye Feng’s words, his heart was inexplicably moved. He would never have thought Ye Feng would be such a dependable person; a person others could admire.

Meanwhile, Cola and the other two merely exchanged glances with each other, smiles plastered on their faces.

That’s right! This was the leader that they respected and admired!

Immediately, Cola and the others stepped forward, one after another, blocking Fire Dance.

“Well said! So? What are you guys still waiting for?” Unstable Devastation felt extreme joy. He had recorded all of Ye Feng’s words. When the time came, he could deny his actions.

“Ye Feng, you despicable little man! We’ve already helped you so much, yet, in the end, you still wish to kill us? You are simply inhuman!”

Fire Dance’s ex-companions cursed, enraged. They all rushed at Ye Feng, one after another, intending to slash and bash him to death.

Shi Feng smiled disdainfully at their actions. Looking at the twenty plus melee and mage class players launching their attacks at him, Shi Feng only lightly waved the Abyssal Blade.

Thundering Flash!

Three electric arcs instantly weaved across the bodies of the twenty plus players. Damages ranging from -500 to more than -1,000 appeared above everyone’s heads, instantly killing everyone.

Meanwhile, the green prism marker above Shi Feng’s head instantly turned bloody red, giving others a chilling feeling.

“Big Brother Ye Feng!”

“Leader!”

Fire Dance and the others immediately panicked. If a player actively killed other players within a town, the guards would hunt them until death. Moreover, after the offending player revived, the guards would toss them in jail. Judging by the intensity of Shi Feng’s red name, he would lose at least three levels after death, maybe even four.

“Hahaha! Ye Feng’s name is finally red! Without the town’s protection, we can kill you here without any repercussions and make you lose all of your items!” Unstable Devastation laughed madly, saying, “Everyone else, get him! I will immediately promote whoever manages to kill Ye Feng into the leader of an elite team!”

However, immediately after Unstable Devastation finished his words, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

“Has Ironsword Lion never told you how he died?” Shi Feng asked coldly, appeared behind Unstable Devastation after using Silent Steps.

Chapter 168: ranked Expert

Ye Feng had previously killed over twenty players in a single move. The frightening damage that he dealt that was over -1,000 points completely shocked all of the surrounding onlookers, and now, Ye Feng had appeared right behind Unstable Devastation.

Unstable Devastation was both shocked and angered.

Indeed, he did not know how Ironsword Lion had died. However, the current Ye Feng was far more powerful than he imagined; Ye Feng’s strength exceeded his previous estimates. If he received an attack from Ye Feng right now, he would unquestioningly die. Unstable Devastation almost instinctively used one of his lifesaving skills. He dashed forth, unhindered, then leaped high into the air. He was currently immune to all restricting effects, and by the time he landed, he was already twenty yards from his original location.

Shi Feng merely smiled at Unstable Devastation’s reaction. With his current reaction speed and powerful Attributes, it would be an extremely easy task to destroy Unstable Devastation. Or, speaking from another perspective, Unstable Devastation had zero chances of retaliation.

However, since Unstable Devastation dared to make enemies with him, the Martial Union player needed to prepare to enter hell.

It would be too good of an ending if he allowed Unstable Devastation to die, just like that.

He wanted Unstable Devastation to feel despair in front of absolute strength and then die.

“Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, block him! Elementalists, use Ice Spheres! Focus all attacks and eliminate him!” before Unstable Devastation even landed on the ground, he calmly gave out commands.

Reacting quickly, the Shield Warriors and Berserkers immediately used Charge at Shi Feng.

Seeing that more than ten warriors charged at Shi Feng and were about to stun him…

Shi Feng abruptly leaped up, the Abyssal Blade carrying with it the power of thunder and lightning as he landed.

Boom!

A wave of thunder and fire devoured all of the warriors. Even the highest leveled Shield Warrior could not react in time and activate Shield Wall before Shi Feng’s Thunder Flame Explosion devoured him. The Shield Warrior received a critical hit of over -1,700 damage, dying instantly. However, even a normal hit of more than -800 damage was enough to critically slash a Level 9 Shield Warrior’s HP, not to mention the Berserkers with less HP and Defense. They all died in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a pile of equipment.

The remaining survivors were all Level 8 Shield Warriors. They were the fortunate ones, spared from a critical hit. However, even though they were alive, they suffered a Fainted state for 4 seconds.

When the players from Martial Union witnessed this scene, they all stared in shock.

Previously, it was no big deal when Shi Feng had instant-killed those crippled Level 5 to Level 6 players. However, the players he had just killed were no random Tom, Dick, or Harry. They were all Level 8 or Level 9 elites of Martial Union.

“Healers, quickly heal them! Ranged players, attack with everything you’ve got!” Only now was Unstable Devastation aware of how formidable Shi Feng was. His monster-like Attack Power could even instantly kill a Shield Warrior that boasted the highest Defense amongst all classes. No one present could defend against his attacks. Fortunately, they had the advantage of numbers. They could exhaust Shi Feng to death.

Immediately after several heals landed on a Shield Warrior, pulling his HP back up to half, another of Shi Feng’s slashes landed on the Shield Warrior’s HP. A huge damage of over -700 points appeared above the Shield Warrior’s head, his HP plummeting to zero; his body fell to the ground.

Following which, with every slash of his sword, Shi Feng culled the lives of the surviving Shield Warriors. Even if the Shield Warriors possessed the Defense of heavy armor and passive skills that reduced the damage they received, every one of Shi Feng’s casual attack caused around -300 damage. The healers could not maintain the Shield Warriors’ HPs at all. As for the Berserkers without heavy armor, a single sword strike dealt them over -400 damage.

Very quickly, the remaining Shield Warriors lay flat on the ground. At this moment, the Guardian Knights all activated Protection Blessing as they rushed forward. Meanwhile, the mages behind them shot out streak after streak of magic.

Fireballs and Ice Spheres flew at Shi Feng, one after another. Shi Feng activated Wind Steps, avoiding more than half of the ranged attacks. Immediately after, he rushed after Unstable Devastation.

Although Shi Feng dodged more than half of the spells, there were still a few occasional spells that hit him. However, the damage these spells dealt nearly dazzled the backline mages.

Even when blasting a Level 9 MT, skills such as the Flame Explosion and Great Fireball could deal over a hundred damage. However, none of them had actually dealt more than 20 damage to Shi Feng. The highest damage was only -15 points, while a majority of the spells only dealt single digits. To Shi Feng, who possessed over 1,500 HP, these spells simply tickled. Shi Feng’s automatic recovery alone regenerated 30 HP for him every five seconds. This indicated that, even if Shi Feng received the ice and flame magic attacks from a normal Level 7 or Level 8 Elementalist, Shi Feng would not die, even if he did nothing.

Shi Feng’s was currently Level 13, and these mages had no idea. Shi Feng also had 20 points in both fire-type and ice-type resistance. Even without the level suppression of four or more Levels, their damage to Shi Feng would not exceed forty points.

There were many mages on Martial Union’s side. However, their damages were too pitiful to watch. Standing behind Shi Feng, Drowsy Sloth and Violet Cloud merely used one heal each, and within an instant, Shi Feng’s HP was already back to full.

Faced with another wave of melee classes charging at him, Shi Feng activated Dark Violet Dance, using the 12-yard cone attack. Taking a step forward, Shi Feng instantly circled the Guardian Knights, and like a ferocious lion, he pounced on the other melee classes.

Before one of the Swordsman could even use Parry, Shi Feng’s sword sent him flying. The Swordsman died in mid-flight, dropping a piece of equipment as his body disappeared.

To Shi Feng, these Swordsmen and Assassins’ attempts to block him were meaningless. With a single Earth Splitter, more than ten players lost their lives. Shi Feng’s attacks were all one-hit kills. With over one hundred points in Strength, he could snap a Common Weapon in half with his bare hands. As for the current Shi Feng, who held the Abyssal Blade and Silver Lake in each hand, a simple slash from either weapon could easily send the Assassins and Swordsmen flying and greatly damage their weapons. For some who reacted slower and failed to block Shi Feng’s attacks, they died under a single slash. Not only did their defensive equipment’s durability greatly decrease, but they also dropped a level and lost a piece of equipment.

However, this was all; there was still the cleaving effect. Before the players behind could make sense of things, they lost close to half of their total HP, and in the next moment, even that remaining half vanished. As a result, a group of players lay dead on the ground after meeting their inexplicable demise.

Within a short five seconds, Martial Union lost over a dozen elite members and several dozen average members. Shi Feng was like the god of death that caused people’s hearts to shudder. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation stood only several meters away from that frightening god of death. Shi Feng’s chilling gaze landed on Unstable Devastation, the intent he radiated sent a chill down the surrounding Martial Union players’ backs. Just looking into Shi Feng’s cold eyes caused them to retreat backward inadvertently.

“Everyone, block him for me!”

Even when bombarded with so many spells and sieged on all sides by so many players, Shi Feng still walked forth, step after step, leaving behind a massacre as he advanced. It was the first time Unstable Devastation felt such a deep-seated fear. To Unstable Devastation, Shi Feng was no longer a player, but a devil. There was also the tangible killing intent that surrounded Shi Feng. Although Unstable Devastation knew that this was only a game, the realistic effects of virtual reality caused Unstable Devastation to forget that this was just a virtual world completely. He had even forgotten how many elites of Martial Union had died and how grave losses were to Martial Union.

The only thing Unstable Devastation knew was that he was in an extremely dangerous situation. If he did not escape immediately, only death awaited him.

Immediately, Unstable Devastation activated a Speed Scroll. He then turned and ran.

Shi Feng simply smiled at Unstable Devastation attempt to escape. With a single Wind Blade, his sword pierced towards Unstable Devastation’s back.

Unstable Devastation spun around, firing an arrow from his bow in an attempt to hold Shi Feng back. However, he immediately discovered that Shi Feng was truly too frightening. Shi Feng’s pitch-black Abyssal Blade easily split the arrow, and in the blink of an eye, Shi Feng arrived in front of him. A silver glow pierced his heart, and immediately after, another black glow slashed across his neck. Unable to stop his HP from madly decreasing, his HP reached zero in an instant.

Even until death, Unstable Devastation wore a stupefied expression. The others from Martial Union were similarly shocked as they witnessed this sight. Unstable Devastation was one of the big bosses of Martial Union. He was also a Level 9 Ranger. Yet, when facing Ye Feng, he had no power to retaliate at all. Just how strong was this Ye Feng?

Shi Feng noticed a Secret-Silver ranked longbow dropping after Unstable Devastation’s death. He casually picked up the longbow and placed it in his bag. He then turned to look at the other members of Martial Union.

Although Shi Feng did not take any action, only sending them a glance, his might had already deeply engraved into their minds.

The members of Martial Union all halted their actions, inadvertently backing off. They all revealed fearful expressions as they looked at Shi Feng.

Why hadn’t the town guards arrived yet?

This thought suddenly appeared in their minds. They felt that only the guards could protect them from Shi Feng’s attacks.

However, from the moment Shi Feng began his assault to the moment Unstable Devastation died, only a brief eight or nine seconds had passed. Even if the town guards hurried over, they would need at least ten minutes before they arrived.

Faced with the members of Martial Union who dared not move, Shi Feng only swept a glance at them; he did not rush up and kill them. The Cooldown for most of his skills had almost finished. Although he could kill a sizable chunk of Martial Union if he continued his spree, he would run the risk of paying with his and his teammate’s lives, and this was not an ending that he wished to see.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng’s actions had caused plenty of the surrounding onlookers to become tongue-tied.

A single glance from Shi Feng was enough to petrify the hundreds of players from Martial Union. This power was just too frightening.

“Just who is this guy?”

“Is he a god-ranked expert?

The onlooking players were with both curious and shocked as they watched Shi Feng. He had single-handedly faced off against several hundred players and even managed to kill tens of players without receiving any damage. Even a god-ranked expert was not capable of such a feat.

After some time, the town guards finally arrived.

“The guards are here! We’re saved!”

Seeing dozens of guards in silver heavy-armor rushing over, the members of Martial Union sighed in relief.

Chapter 169: The Most Awesome Red Name

At this moment, thousands of players surrounded the fountain plaza of Red Leaf Town.

Due to the increase of new players in God’s Domain, Red Leaf Town had become the most prosperous town among the few surrounding towns. The player count in Red Leaf Town was already close to 20,000. Hence, the scene of Martial Union suddenly chasing away all the players from the town’s fountain plaza would naturally attract the attention of other players; curiosity would grow over the disturbance.

This wasn’t limited to independent players; even the other large Guilds had sent players over to investigate what Martial Union was up to.

When all these players arrived, they discovered that Martial Union currently attempted to carry out a vendetta against an independent player. Moreover, they did so right in the middle of Red Leaf Town. However, Red Leaf Town possessed a protective mechanism for players. If they started a battle here, the town guards would definitely appear. Not only would they kill red players on the spot, but they would also jail them upon revival. No matter how one looked at it, killing someone in town was unwise. Both sides would only suffer losses.

At this stage of the game, no matter how many players one had on their side, they still would not dare provoke the town guards.

Every player clearly understood how powerful these guards were.

As these guards would normally patrol around the town, players could easily find one and observe their statistics.

The normal guards alone were Level 60, while the guard captain was a Level 80 Elite. It would not matter how many players went up against them; any who resisted would only meet their demise. To put it another way, the current players in God’s Domain had no abilities whatsoever to retaliate against the town guards.

However, nobody would have imagined that someone would actually take action. Moreover, the one who took action was that independent player.

Originally, everyone thought that the independent player was fated to die.

In spite of that, the results exceeded everyone’s expectations. One man alone had massacred the players from Martial Union, instilling a paralyzing fear. This feat was too heaven-defying!

Unfortunately, even if that independent player were powerful, he would still die at the hands of the town guards. Who told them to start a fight right in the middle of town?

The town guards that hurried over had surrounded the fountain plaza, detaining all of the players involved in causing this ruckus.

“Big Brother Ye Feng, I’m sorry! It’s my fault for dragging you into this mess!” Fire Dance apologized as she walked over.

Shi Feng’s character name had begun to turn black due to the high intensity of the red color. Just looking at it caused one to shudder. Including her past companions, Shi Feng had killed more than a hundred players during this battle. With this Crime Value, if Shi Feng died, he would lose at least seven Levels. Meanwhile, the town guards had them surrounded. The guards would kill all Red Players, leaving Shi Feng no chance to escape.

This was still not the most important point. After the guards killed him, Shi Feng would immediately revive in jail, and his Crime Value would determine the duration of his imprisonment. With Shi Feng’s Crime Value, he would be locked up for around a week before he could clear away his Crime Value.

The players of Martial Union watched Shi Feng with ridiculing expressions. Although they, too would receive punishment, compared to Shi Feng, theirs would significantly pale in comparison.

“Relax,” Shi Feng laughed.

Cola and the others had smiles on their faces. It was especially true for Violet Cloud. This was not the first time she had experienced such a situation. Martial Union had also caused the previous incident she encountered. She would have never imagined that history would repeat itself.

The reactions of Shi Feng’s teammates confused Fire Dance and Water Buffalo.

Why, as teammates, were Cola and the others not worried for Shi Feng one little bit?

“Big Sister Fire Dance, you should relax. Our leader isn’t an ordinary person,” Violet Cloud giggled as she spoke.

The moment Violet Cloud finished speaking, a guard, donned with silvery-grey-colored heavy armor, walked up.

“Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter, we meet again. How may I be of service to you this time?” the guard captain was all smiles as he greeted Shi Feng respectfully.

Compared to the last meeting, Shi Feng’s current reputation was much higher. Hence, the guard captain spoke to Shi Feng with even more respect.

Although Shi Feng and his teammates felt that the guard captain’s actions were only natural, this scene shocked the other onlookers. It was especially true for the members of Martial Union; their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock. Shi Feng was clearly a devil of massacre, yet, instead of quickly killing him, the guard captain spoke to him with such regard? What was going on in this world?

“Isn’t that person Ye Feng?”

“I remember him. Last time, he killed the members of Martial Union right in front of the guards. In the end, he got away with simply paying a small sum of money. I was dumbfounded at that time, but later on, I found out that if a player became a noble, they gain special privileges. Even if he killed players right in front of the guards, he would not receive any sort of punishment. At worst, he would have to pay a small compensation fee.”

“How could Martial Union be so forgetful this time? They still dare to take action against Ye Feng inside of Red Leaf Town. Don’t they know that Ye Feng is a noble of Red Leaf Town? How foolish could they get?”

“You might not know this, but the Martial Union in Red Leaf Town has already changed. The previous members have long since left the Guild, and Unstable Devastation is the new leader. Right now, the members of Martial Union are all players called in from other towns. A large majority of them also consist of newcomers, so they have no idea about this matter at all.”

Some of the players aware of the previous incident simply shook their heads while laughing. They felt that Martial Union, as a Guild, was truly beyond salvation. At the very least, before they tried to deal with Ye Feng, they should have investigated and tried to understand more about him. Regardless of what others said, Ye Feng was one of the few players who managed to clear the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard.

Hearing the explanation from these knowledgeable players, the faces of everyone from Martial Union turned grim. Only now did they know why Shi Feng behaved so calmly. However, now that matters had reached this point, they could only glare at him, their gazes full of reluctance.

“Esteemed Lord Guard Captain, this isn’t the first time these people from Martial Union have provoked me in town. I wonder if there is any way to prevent such incidents from happening in the future?” Shi Feng asked with a smile.

“Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter, since this Guild called Martial Union has a record of past offense, with My Lord’s high status, you can employ your rights to chase this Guild out of Red Leaf Town. However, you will have to pay a fixed amount of reputation to utilize this right. What will My Lord decide?” the Guard Captain stated.

Originally, Shi Feng simply inquired. After all, without a definite degree of status, he could not employ such a right. However, he never imagined that a Demon Hunter would have such a high social status. Hence, he asked, “How much do I have to pay?”

“Since Martial Union does not possess any members of nobility in Red Leaf Town, My Lord only needs to pay 100 Red Leaf Town Reputation Points,” the guard captain said.

“I understand.” Shi Feng only had 130 Red Leaf Town Reputation Points right now. However, spending 100 points as a precautionary measure was nothing of significance. He had the Demon Hunter title in any case; he would be a noble wherever he went, and he did not lack such a small amount of Reputation Points. “I wish to employ this right.”

System: You have used your special privileges; Reputation in Red Leaf Town reduced by 100 points. Red Leaf Town will deport all members of Martial Union.

“As you wish, Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter!”

Immediately, the guard captain gave out the deportation order to his subordinates. However, all members of Martial Union currently in the fountain plaza would first sit in jail for three hours before their removal from Red Leaf Town. As for the other members of Martial Union, the guards would immediately exercise them from Town, and any who resist would be immediately killed.

Simultaneously, all members of Martial Union within Red Leaf Town received the deportation notice. The notice stunned every one of them, and even Unstable Devastation, who just revived with a stomach full of anger, was dumbfounded.

He had already given up on his plan to develop Martial Union in five different towns, and after much difficulty, he only just managed to solidify Martial Union’s foundation in Red Leaf Town. Just as he was about to welcome a bright future, that future shattered.

“How could this be? Just what happened?” Unstable Devastation’s mental state was a mess right now. Everything had happened far too quickly for him to react.

He had wasted so much manpower, resources and a great amount of time, yet it all had gone to waste.

Just who was this Ye Feng?

Why did he possess such great authority? How could a Red Player have the authority to deport an entire Guild from a town?

For a time, countless questions darted through Unstable Devastation’s mind. However, regardless of how hard he racked his brain, he could not think of any way to deal with this matter. He also could not change the fact that they were being deported. He could only watch as guards walked up to him, intending to chase him out of Red Leaf Town.

Everyone had sentimental attachments for their homeland. If they suddenly moved, within a short time, they could not adapt to the new location.

It was even more so for average players. They would not suddenly accept having to leave the location with which they were most familiar. Thus, they all promptly chose to leave Martial Union instead.

For a time, the member count of Martial Union frantically decreased. Only a few moments had passed since the deportation started, and the member count had already dropped below 500. The majority of the members who stayed mostly consisted of the members that Unstable Devastation had originally brought over from other towns. Hence, they did not choose to leave the Guild immediately. However, leaving for another town now would greatly impact their leveling speed. As a result, the Guild’s development would stagnate for a long period.

The loss they incurred was simply immeasurable.

Watching the town guards deport the members of Martial Union, the onlooking players were at a loss; they were shocked into speechlessness.

Just what was happening here?

Could that Red Player be the new mayor of Red Leaf Town?

However, compared to Martial Union’s exorcism, the members of other Guilds concerned themselves with another matter.

“Boss, I’ve discovered big news here. Look at the recording I just sent to you.”

“Vice-Leader, I discovered another god-ranked expert.”

“Big Bro, something big happened in Red Leaf Town. Someone in the fountain plaza has flipped over Martial Union’s several hundred players by himself, and even the guards could do nothing against him.”

The members of various large Guilds started contacting the upper echelons of their Guilds. They intended to report this unbelievable incident, letting the upper echelons determining their next move.

Originally, these upper echelons refused to believe the reports. However, after watching the irrefutable evidence, they were all greatly shocked.

Could a single player be so strong?

Shi Feng had killed a Level 9 Shield Warrior in a single hit. Moreover, they were very familiar with this Shield Warrior. He was Cold Mountain Fighting Spirit, the core MT of Martial Union’s elite team, and he was fully geared with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Yet, he still died from a single hit.

“Xuanzi, listen up. You must keep an eye on him. I’ll hurry over there now. For such a god-ranked expert to actually be an independent player, we must recruit him. Remember, you absolutely cannot provoke him. If any problems occur, it’ll all be on your head,” Undefeated Wolf, the Vice-Leader of the third-rate Guild, Heaven’s Crown, said sternly.

“Boss, rest assured; I’ll keep an eye on him. I will not let him out of my sight.”

At this moment, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds had made a similar decision: to recruit Shi Feng into their Guilds, no matter what it took. One could no longer use the normal standard to judge a great expert like Shi Feng. He was a tactical-ranked expert that could single-handedly decide the results of a team battle. If they could recruit him, be it Team Dungeons or fighting field Bosses, he would have a decisive role.

Chapter 170: Famous

After the guard captain respectfully left, Fire Dance finally understood why her new teammates were not concerned one bit for Shi Feng.

However, more questions tumbled through her mind now.

Just who was Shi Feng?

Standing by the side, Water Buffalo finally managed to shut his hanging jaw. There was a saying commonly used in virtual reality games; a team’s achievements depended on their leader. Right now, even the guard captain treated Shi Feng with such respect. With a team leader like Shi Feng, just to what heights would he lead them?

In God’s Domain, gaming experts like Shi Feng were definitely highly sought after characters. With a simple word from Shi Feng, countless large Guilds would be willing to offer a high price to recruit him into their Guilds; even first-rate Guilds were no exception. Water Buffalo never imagined that Shi Feng would form his own team instead. Meanwhile, the players who joined such a team would become the envy of others.

Previously, the main reason Water Buffalo willingly joined Shi Feng’s team was his trust in Fire Dance. Meanwhile, Fire Dance was, more or less, an expert herself. As for Water Buffalo, he had his own hero’s dream, and he only joined Fire Dance’s team to learn various techniques from her.

Since the beginning, this was the first time Water Buffalo truly felt fortunate for being able to join Shi Feng’s team.

However, it was not due to Shi Feng’s terrifying Attack Power. Instead, it was because of the techniques Shi Feng displayed during battle. Be it dodging, angles to attack, timing, or a confident grasp of the surrounding terrain, Shi Feng was extremely precise with all of these aspects. Otherwise, Shi Feng could not have made fools out of Martial Union.

Moreover, Shi Feng was a righteous person. Regarding potential, Shi Feng stood at the apex of the virtual gaming world. If Water Buffalo could learn even a little from this new team leader of his, he would have no troubles with becoming a normal expert. If he followed Shi Feng’s guidance, he might even set foot in the unreachable world of top-tier experts.

“Ugh… there’s too many people here. Let’s go to a restaurant with fewer people before we continue our discussion.” Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings, discovering that there were over three or four hundred players staring fervently at him. This was not a suitable place to speak about his future plans.

Cola and the others nodded; they could no longer endure the countless stares either.

These gazes all belonged to independent players that wished to join their team. Among them, there were plenty who were Level 7 or Level 8. There were even quite a few wealthy players who offered tens of thousands of Credits in exchange for power-leveling, or in some cases, assistance with their quests.

There were also plenty of good-looking female players running up, asking to become friends. That aroused the envy of many male players. However, they were helpless in the face of Shi Feng’s ferocity. Shi Feng was like a hero from ancient times. In this day and age, men who possessed powerful techniques were very attractive to beautiful women, not to mention a god-ranked expert like Shi Feng.

However, something more amazing occurred simultaneously. The various large Guilds in Red Leaf Town flooded Shi Feng with communication requests, wishing to chat with him; he rejected them all.

“Sister Fire Dance, you have to strive harder! This is a great chance for you right now. In the future, as leader’s popularity grows larger and larger, who knows, there might be even more powerful beauties joining the team!” Water Buffalo nudged Fire Dance, laughing quietly.

“Scram! Who said that I wanted to become Big Brother Ye Feng’s girl-girlfriend!” Fire Dance stuttered, a light blush suddenly appearing on her cheeks.

—

Atop a hill, outside Red Leaf Town, hundreds of Martial Union’s members gathered. They could only observe Red Leaf Town from the hilltop, not daring to go near the town.

“Despicable! Despicable! That damnable Ye Feng! All my plans have been ruined now because of him!” Unstable Devastation coldly glared at Red Leaf Town, his heart burning with anger.

Previously, he had looked down upon Shi Feng. He merely thought of Shi Feng as a vagabond expert; how powerful could he be?

Only now did he realize the crux of the problem; Shi Feng was no ordinary expert. As proven, he was even capable of deporting their entire Guild. If Unstable Devastation had known of this matter earlier, he would not have taken such a foolish action.

Ye Feng, you will only enjoy this glory for the moment. Very quickly, the footage that will ruin you will dominate the official forums. When that time arrives, everyone will condemn you. Although I can’t kill you, it will be enough if I can annoy you to death. We’ll see if you can establish your own team with your reputation in tatters. Without a team, a person’s strength is limited. When we enter White River City, I’ll deal with you slowly. I don’t believe that you can deport Martial Union from White River City as well! Unstable Devastation laughed contemptuously. He then uploaded the footage he recorded to the official forums, and while doing so, he instructed his subordinates to hype things up. To save his own life, Shi Feng slaughtered his own companions. Sooner or later, Shi Feng’s name would fall into ruin. Who would dare team up with such a person then?

—

Inside a restaurant in Red Leaf Town, Shi Feng finally managed to break away from all the pestering that had overwhelmed him. Nobody could disturb him inside a private room.

After spending more than ten minutes discussing and arranging the necessary tasks for Cola and the others, just as they were about to take action…

“Leader, as expected, that Unstable Devastation has retaliated. Right now, a video has appeared on the official forums. The post also stated that, in order to save your own life, you willingly killed your own companions; extremely despicable. There are also plenty of people slandering you below the post,” Cola said.

Fire Dance and the others took a look at the post as well.

_ God-ranked expert is a despicable little man! Proof available!_

Immediately, the team’s expressions turned livid. They did not imagine that their former companions would behave so shamelessly. They actually stood up to accuse Shi Feng. They had clearly received Shi Feng’s reward, yet, they worded it as if they had only attacked Martial Union because of their friendship with Shi Feng. After they realized their wrongdoings, when they tried to denounce Shi Feng, he killed them all. Such a treacherous little man did not deserve to be called an expert. However, as Shi Feng was too strong, and they were only a group of weaklings, they were powerless to seek justice; they could denounce Shi Feng online.

The proof lay in their previous leader, Fire Dance, joining Shi Feng’s current team; it was irrefutable, solid proof that Shi Feng could not challenge.

Shi Feng was originally very famous throughout White River City. Not only did he clear the Hell Mode of a Team Dungeon, but he also enjoyed an indistinct relationship with the Snow Goddess, becoming the envy of others. Now that a scandal about him surfaced, in addition to the post being extremely one-sided, Shi Feng became everyone’s target. All kinds of curses were written in response to the post. Some of Shi Feng’s previous supporters also voiced their shock at Shi Feng’s hideous behavior, exclaiming their bad judgment from before.

Instantly, this post became the most viewed topic in White River City. Its view count soared, far surpassing the post made during the war between Black Flame and Hammer Trading.

“Leader, let’s start a counterattack right now!” Cola could no longer endure this travesty. Unstable Devastation was simply too despicable. He had failed to defeat Shi Feng in an upright battle; so, he retaliated from the shadows, slandering Shi Feng’s reputation. Although Shi Feng did not suffer any substantial losses, he still needed to establish his own Guild in the future. Those players blinded by this matter would certainly not join a Guild with such a leader. How were they supposed to develop their Guild? How could they compete with those large Guilds?

“Hahaha! It is truly well said, with both proof and logic! I’m so touched; I’m tearing up!” Shi Feng could not help but laugh after seeing the post.

Shi Feng had seen such tactics countless times in his past life. Among them, Unstable Devastation had used such tactics more than a dozen times to deal a hit to his enemies. Shi Feng could not help but admit that the tactic was indeed effective. However, so what?

Unstable Devastation was the same as in the past. In the end, he could still not become the Guild Leader of Martial Union, and his strength in the later stages of the game was even weaker than Ironsword Lion by several stages.

In front of absolute strength, all minor tricks were pointless.

“Alright, everyone’s dismissed. Go to the Silent Swamp and meet up with Blackie and Lonely Snow. Also, take these two Group Isolation Scrolls. Find a place inside of town to use these, then leave town and head for the Silent Swamp,” Shi Feng took out two Tier 1 Group Isolation Magic Scrolls, handing them to Fire Dance and Cola.

The Group Isolation Scroll allowed players to enter Stealth mode and increased Movement Speed by 10%. It could only be used in a non-combative state, and it had a duration of half an hour. The Stealth effect would break when players entered combat. With this item, Cola and the others could easily meet up with Blackie while avoiding surveillance.

The group departed from the restaurant. Meanwhile, Shi Feng headed towards Red Leaf Town’s Town Hall by himself.

“Unstable Devastation, I’ll teach you, right now, that, no matter what tricks you have up your sleeves, in front of absolute strength, it is all meaningless,” Shi Feng smiled as he closed the official forums. He then entered the tightly guarded Town Hall.

Chapter 171: Underworld Guard

Red Leaf Town, Slums, The Enchanted Bar.

It was currently daytime in God’s Domain. A majority of the players were all out in the fields, leveling up, so there were very few players currently in the bar.

However, there were currently over ten men geared with high-level equipment sitting in the corner of the bar. A murderous air surrounded these ten-plus men, and each of them possessed a sharp gaze similar to that of a poisonous snake, causing the hairs of others to stand on end. The presence of these men kept other players a respectful distance from them, chasing them from the bar, one after another. Hence, aside from the NPCs present, only these ten plus men remained within.

There was a man with thick eyebrows who sat at the outermost edge of these players. He was a former captain of Martial Union, Ironsword Lion. At this moment, Ironsword Lion did not wear the Guild emblem of Martial Union, signifying that he was no longer one of Martial Union’s men.

“Ironsword, you’ve done well this time. It is only thanks to you that Unstable Devastation has done as I wished. Once we return, I’ll give you credit for your efforts. As long as you continue working hard, sooner or later, you can be the same as Absolute Heaven, an outer member of Underworld,” seated at the head of the table, South Wolf praised Ironsword Lion.

“Thank you, Lord South Wolf, for your support! I will definitely give my utmost to complete all tasks given by the organization!” Ironsword Lion respectfully said, his face filled with extreme excitement.

Ever since Absolute Heaven had recommended him to South Wolf, Ironsword Lion discovered that his previous self was a frog in a well. His past self did not truly know how deep the waters of God’s Domain were. The interests involved in God’s Domain were simply too big for him to comprehend. If it were not for him coming into contact with a mysterious organization like Underworld, he would not know about this huge secret at all.

Ironsword Lion was immediately stunned when he found out about this secret. He even thought that he had heard wrong. It took him more than ten minutes before he could accept this chilling secret. He celebrated the fact that he could gain the favor of Underworld, leaving behind the worthless Martial Union.

God’s Domain was not a place in which unrated Guilds like Martial Union could play around. Even third-rate Guilds could be annihilated at any time. Only those second-rate Guilds or above, which possessed a strong background, could qualify to compete for authority in God’s Domain. If Ironsword Lion could become an outer member of Underworld, he could live a carefree life in the future. At that time, having an annual salary would only be a small matter. The more important part of becoming an outer member of Underworld was the status and authority that came with the position. He would be on equal standings with those big shots of corporations in the city; this was something that he had always dreamt of becoming.

“Let’s continue by discussing how to deal with Ye Feng. With Unstable Devastation slandering him right now, Ye Feng will, sooner or later, fall from fame. The next step is destroying the relationship he has with Gentle Snow; then, finally giving Ye Feng a fatal blow, we will make him disappear from God’s Domain completely.”

When South Wolf recalled Shi Feng’s arrogant words, he could not help but narrow his eyes, a cold glint shining in them. He wished he could get rid of Shi Feng right this instant. However, Young Master Feng had already given him a command and had even sent a party of Underworld Guards to assist him. Hence, South Wolf could only vent his anger by slowly toying with Shi Feng.

At this moment, Absolute Heaven, silent all this time, suddenly opened his mouth, saying, “It would be very simple to break apart the relationship between Ye Feng and Gentle Snow. The problem is, how are we going to deal with Ye Feng? From the footage transmitted to us just now, I think that everyone has clearly seen how powerful he is. Even several hundred players could do nothing to Ye Feng. Who could block that frightening Attack Power of his? The last time I exchanged moves with him, I could withstand a few his blows. If I met him now, however, I probably wouldn’t even have the chance to escape. As for a direct confrontation, he could most likely kill me in two to three moves.”

“Dealing with Ye Feng right now? We’d only have a chance if we had ten or more top-tier experts to surround him. However, where can we find so many experts?”

“Naturally, I realize this. This is also the reason why we need to deal with Ye Feng. He possesses an Epic ranked item, so his strength is intense. However, you shouldn’t downplay our strengths just because of this. He merely got rid of a group of trash like Martial Union. Although the Underworld Guards are not as capable as Ye Feng, we can do the same thing. The only thing we lack is Attack Power. Regarding pure technique, Underworld Guard is much stronger than Ye Feng.”

“Moreover, Young Master Feng has specifically sent us a full party of Underworld Guards as assistance. With a party of Underworld Guards, even if Ye Feng has an Epic ranked item, he will still be helpless against them. So, you don’t have to worry about this,” South Wolf said, smirking.

“He is simply a small character that got lucky. If it weren’t for Young Master Feng’s command, I would be enough to deal with him. There would be no need for our entire party to take action” a Level 9 Assassin named Flying Rat said disdainfully as he toyed with his dagger. Flying Rat wore the Level 8 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, the Blood Dawn.

“That’s enough, Flying Rat. That Ye Feng has some ability. Otherwise, Young Master Feng would not have told all of us to come here. South Wolf, contact us if you have any matters that you need us to deal with; the Underworld Guards aren’t free all day. The higher-ups have already given us a command to reach Level 10 by tomorrow. Otherwise, they’ll expel us from the Underworld Guards. So, we’re off to level for now,” Ming Sha, the party leader of this group of Underworld Guards, said.

Ming Sha had a large body, and he was a stern-looking man over forty years old. Killing intent radiated from his entire body, and even Absolute Heaven feared this man.

“That is only natural. How could I possibly waste Big Bro Ming Sha’s valuable time?” South Wolf said respectfully.

Within the Underworld organization, the position of the Underworld Guards was relatively high up as they were the core strength of all of Underworld. Normally, Underworld Guards would only listen to the commands of the Guild Leader or elders. As for Young Master Feng, however, he was not even an elder in the organization. He could only mobilize the Underworld Guards due to his position in Underworld being slightly special. If it were any other person, the Underworld Guards would not pay them any attention.

—

Elsewhere, Shi Feng had already walked into the town hall.

“Sir, how may I be of service to you today?” an elegant female worker walked up and asked Shi Feng.

“I wish to activate the permission to utilize the teleportation circle,” Shi Feng said.

In God’s Domain, only when a player reached Level 10 would they have the qualifications to come to the town hall and utilize the teleportation gates. After all, teleportation gates were extremely precious, and their maintenance required a lot of resources. Not just anybody could use them.

“I understand. Please follow me.”

Following which, Shi Feng arrived at the front desk of the town hall. After dealing with all the necessary procedures, he obtained a new identity card. With it, he could freely utilize the teleportation gate. However, he would have to pay a fee each time he used it. Normally, when one teleported from a town to a city, the fees were 1 Silver Coin. Meanwhile, teleportation between cities was slightly more expensive, and the fees would change depending on the distance. Teleporting to one of the closest cities from White River City cost at least 20 Silver Coins. Meanwhile, teleporting to the capital city, Star-Moon City, from White River City, cost around 1 Gold Coin.

As a result, average players had no way to utilize these teleportation gates to travel between cities. Thus, average players would normally stay within the surroundings of their own cities to level up; they would not go to other cities to grind or do quests. Of course, they could run to other cities by foot as well. Only, they would need to spend at least a few days running to cross such a distance.

When Shi Feng arrived at the teleportation hall of Red Leaf Town, the place was void of players. There were only a few Level 100 Elite guards wandering about.

In actuality, Shi Feng did not originally intend to go to White River City so early. However, after the ruckus Unstable Devastation caused, his troubles had grown larger and larger. In order to develop his Guild in the future, he could only hasten his plans and take action now.

“Adventurer, you have to pay 1 Silver Coin to use the teleportation gate,” the magician guarding the teleportation gate informed Shi Feng.

Shi Feng paid the fees without hesitation, walking up to the teleportation gate.

Shua! Shi Feng disappeared from the teleportation hall of Red Leaf Town.

At the same time, a notification rang out throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom.

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ye Feng for becoming the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to arrive at a city! Rewarding 20 Reputation Points in White River City and the title of Honorary Citizen of White River City.

The appearance of this notice immediately sent trembles through all the players in the Star-Moon Kingdom.

Chapter 172: Shocking All Sides

Currently, the players of Martial Union hurried towards Clear Water Town.

Clear Water Town was the nearest town to Red Leaf Town, and the player base there was around five to six thousand.

“Hahaha! Although we will incur a huge loss moving our base of operations, we can just start all over again. However, Ye Feng, your reputation is ruined! Everyone is denouncing you right now! I really want to see just how you are going to mingling in God’s Domain, and who else will dare join your team now!” Unstable Devastation could not help but laugh as he read the forum post.

Originally, the others from Martial Union felt depressed over having to move to another town. However, after watching Shi Feng’s fame fall into complete ruin, their moods greatly improved.

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ye Feng for becoming the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to arrive at a city! Rewarding 20 Reputation Points in White River City and the title of Honorary Citizen of White River City.

“What is this?” Unstable Devastation immediately froze, shocked, after listening to this system announcement. Five to six seconds passed before he sobered up, and questions instantly filled his mind.

How did Shi Feng reach Level 10 so quickly? The EXP required to go from Level 9 to Level 10 was several times that of the EXP needed to go from Level 8 to Level 9. Even for the upper echelons of first-rate Guilds, the most heaven-defying were only at 70% or so of Level 9 right now. Yet, Shi Feng had already reached Level 10.

This also meant that Shi Feng had reached Level 10 before they had surrounded him. In regards to an independent player, such a leveling speed was simply unimaginable.

“Boss Unstable, not good! A new post about Ye Feng has appeared on the forums, and it is filled with all sorts of reverence and support for Ye Feng!”

Unstable Devastation hurriedly opened the official forums.

At this moment, the post his subordinate mentioned already owned the top position on the forum, with the title: The number one player in White River City! Instantly, the popularity of the post surpassed the post Unstable Devastation had previously submitted.

In this post, aside from Shi Feng’s achievement of becoming the number one player in White River City, there were also plenty of other accomplishments mentioned.

There was even uploaded footage of Shi Feng massacring the hundreds of players of Martial Union. In the footage, Shi Feng had killed close to a hundred players by himself, while he had frightened the hundreds of Martial Union’s players present. Shi Feng’s domineering actions had caused many players to start worshipping him.

Although the footage only lasted a few short seconds, even after viewing it over a hundred times, one would still not tire of it. Shi Feng’s lightning-speed dodging techniques and battle techniques were especially worth watching and learning.

Previously, there had been quite a few people writing harsh words about Shi Feng, stating that he edited the footage and that it was impossible that he could be so powerful. They also argued that Shi Feng was only a back-stabbing, traitorous bastard, that there should be a limit to how far he could go, even when severing relationships. These people warned others not fall for such tricks, claiming that people like Shi Feng did not deserve praise.

However, very quickly, people started standing up and speaking for Shi Feng. These people had all personally witnessed the entire incident, and knew more information than others. Moreover, videos recorded in God’s Domain could not be photoshopped, as these videos were under the supervision of the Main God System. Thus, the law acknowledged both the videos recorded and contracts signed in God’s Domain.

Immediately, those who slandered Shi Feng fell abruptly silent, as they knew that they would only become a joke if they continued mindlessly causing trouble.

Simultaneously, plenty of people who explained the truth of the matter came out of the woodwork.

“These idiots only scandalize others because they can’t stand others living a better life. I’m a player of Red Leaf Town, and I witnessed the incident very clearly. Even Martial Union was helpless against Ye Feng; do you think he’ll need that trash’s help? Those losers were people who took the bounty Ye Feng offered, and they slandered Ye Feng simply because they were afraid of Martial Union taking revenge on them.”

“I’ve also heard about it. Those people are the scum of society! To avoid Martial Union’s retaliation, they were even willing to kill their own team leader! Meanwhile, Ye Feng killed all of them because he simply could not sit back and watch. Now, not only have these people not repented for their actions, but they also took the initiative to blame Ye Feng! They are simply too despicable!”

“Hahaha! Those people received a big slap to their faces! Ye Feng can frighten hundreds of players from Martial Union into a pause. Do you people really think that you are fit to become a god-ranked expert’s companions? You even have the gall to say that you helped Ye Feng? Is your second-grade syndrome incurable?”

“You guys don’t know how awesome Ye Feng is. Just a word from him, and right now, all of Martial Union is being removed from Red Leaf Town. You can’t find a single player from Martial Union standing on the streets now! Ye Feng is just too awesome!”

“As expected of a god-ranked expert! When god slaps faces, all of those haters will have to dismiss themselves.”

Unstable Devastation was immediately dumbfounded as he read the replies to the post. He had only managed to slander Shi Feng after great difficulties. Yet, in the end, without even saying a word, Shi Feng had recovered using a single system announcement. Not only did he solved the problem, but he had also increased his fame to greater heights.

—

As for Fire Dance’s companions, when they saw the system announcement and the forum post, their expressions turned extremely ugly; even their intestines turned green with regret.

They did not imagine that Shi Feng was actually so powerful. How great would it have been if, at that time, they had joined Shi Feng’s team with Fire Dance? Instead, they were now scorned and verbally abused by others. Furthermore, they had lost another level due to their deaths at Shi Feng’s hands. They could not even compare to average players anymore.

At that time, they only acted in such a way to avoid the retaliation of Martial Union. In the end, however, Martial Union was deported from Red Leaf Town, so they wouldn’t be able to retaliate against them in the first place. Such an end left them feeling empty and lost. Just why had they chosen such a path?

—

Meanwhile, it wasn’t just Unstable Devastation who was shocked by this development. On Underworld’s side, both South Wolf and the Underworld Guards were similarly stunned by this news. Wasn’t this Ye Feng’s leveling speed a little too fast?

South Wolf nearly spat blood in anger. Now that Shi Feng had entered the city, his previous detailed plan was useless; he needed to start from the very beginning again.

—

When Gentle Snow, who was currently in a Level 10 monster area, discovered this news, she fell into deep thought for quite some time.

“I truly underestimated him. Although my level is already quite high, I still have to grind for five to six hours before I can reach Level 10. During these five to six hours, Ye Feng might very well widen the gap in our levels even further after entering White River City,” Gentle Snow laughed bitterly.

Everyone knew that all virtual reality games shared a common point; the resources available were limited.

There were only so many leveling resources available in every region. Unquestionably, the more resources a person possessed, the greater their leveling and development speed would be.

As for the resources available in the city, without a doubt, the earlier one entered the city, the more resources one could obtain. There were plenty of high-level quests in a city. The existence of teleportation gates also enabled fast travel to leveling areas. Hence, by entering the city ahead of others, one could quickly monopolize the best areas for leveling up. In the city, the tools and items sold were also limited. These items would be of great help to a team’s speedy development.

This gap of five to six hours would allow Shi Feng to do plenty of things in the city.

“By the time we reach White River City, most likely, we would have to discuss matters of cooperation with him once again,” Gentle Snow revealed a helpless smile.

—

In actuality, Gentle Snow wasn’t the only person who intended to discuss matters of cooperation with Shi Feng. The various large Guilds around White River City also tried desperately to contact Shi Feng. They all wished to recruit Shi Feng into their command.

As for the Guilds outside of White River City, they all developed a curiosity towards Shi Feng. An independent player was actually the first player to reach Level 10; it was an incredible feat. If Shi Feng were some great character from a large Guild, they might not have thought much about this matter. However, this was not the case.

The upper echelons of the various Guilds all had a group of elite players aiding them with grinding monsters. Thus, their leveling efficiency was much higher than other players. However, against all odds, the first person to enter a city was an independent player. How could this not shock them?

At the same time, Shi Feng’s entrance into White River City had rung alarm bells to the many Guilds out there. Someone had already started their development in a city. If they continued dragging their feet, this would become a big threat to their futures.

To increase their leveling speed, they all focused on crafting Whetstones. They purchased Hard Stones in bulks, inflating the cost of Hard Stones once more.

However, all these large Guilds were unaware that their actions were precisely as Shi Feng had planned.

—

White River City, one of the five major cities in Star Moon Kingdom.

From afar, one could see towering buildings erected throughout the city. It was a sight no town could ever hope to compare with. Just the number of NPCs residing within the city exceeded 100,000. Moreover, the city could hold over two million players within its walls. It was a sight that many Guilds would fight to possess.

At this time, Shi Feng walked down the main street of White River City. Before he had arrived in White River City, Shi Feng had wiped clean his name using the Demon Mask, so he was not afraid of the city guards. In any case, he was a globally recognized noble. Even if he entered White River City with a red name, he would not face any major challenges. Only, there were some NPCs unwilling to deal with red players, preventing Shi Feng from accepting any high-level quests. So, he chose to clear up his name.

Let’s have a look at the city hall for now. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. He took out the recommendation letter that he received from Blackbeard, the mayor of Stonehammer Town. This letter was one of the items he would use as capital to rise in White River City.

Chapter 173: Magistrate Weissman

White River City was the fifth most populated city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Although it was incredibly small compared to Blackwing City, if one wanted to explore the entire city fully, one would need at least several days.

The teleportation hall of White River City was located on the south-west side of the city. It was relatively close to the city’s entrance. Meanwhile, the city hall was situated right in the heart of the city, by the White River Plaza in the Trade Area.

White River City was considered a city because its administration was far more strict than a town’s. At the same time, it was also much active. Being the focal point of several hundred towns, there were many more merchants here. On either side of the main street, one could easily find various item shops, bars, restaurants, fruit stores, clothing stores, leather clothing stores, armor stores, magic stores, alchemy workshops, smithies, and much more.

In the city, players were not allowed to set up their own stalls. If they wished to sell their items, they needed to purchase a shop. However, it was extremely expensive to purchase a personal shop in the city; ordinary players could not afford a shop by themselves. Not just any player could purchase a shop either. Players needed a set amount of reputation points before they were able to do so, and the locations of the shops they could buy depended on their status.

However, this didn’t mean that players had no chances of selling their items at all.

The first method players could employ, other than purchasing their own shops, was the Auction House. The Auction House of White River City was extremely prosperous as it connected to the closest eight cities with lower populations. As long as players placed put their items up for auction, players from the other eight cities could access them. However, the Auction House charged an extraordinary fee for their services. The registration fees depended on an item’s selling price and the duration the owner wished to auction for. There was also an 8% auction fee after the item sold.

If players sold an item in the Auction House, overall, they would have to pay 15% of the item’s value in fees. It was not worthwhile in the least. Items sold in a city’s Auction House were extremely expensive. Some of the minor items were not even worth auctioning.

As for the second method, there would be a large-scale market once every three days in the plaza of White River City. Players only need pay a small fee, and they could set up their own stalls to sell their items. This method suited independent players extremely well. The only unfortunate aspect was that the market only occurred once every three days. Moreover, the market began at night and only lasted for ten hours.

For players uninterested in grinding and adventure, yet still desiring development within God’s Domain, opening their own shops in a city was of the utmost importance. Only with a shop could players conduct business 48 hours in a day. Moreover, along with the development of God’s Domain, the money one could earn from opening a shop in White River City could rival the earnings of opening a shop in real life.

In Shi Feng’s previous life, there were plenty of players who were unimpressed by grinding monsters and leveling. Instead, these players spent all their efforts to purchase a shop. Although the locations of their shops were very secluded, the amount of money they earned was enough to cover their living expenses in real life with a lot to spare as well.

Shi Feng rode a horse carriage towards the city hall.

Compared to the town hall in Red Leaf Town, the city hall in White River City was a much more spectacular sight. The building had a total of ten floors, and the area it covered was about the size of a football field. At the entrance of the building, there were more than twenty garrison knights standing guard. These guards were all Level 150 Elites. The garrison captain was a Level 160 Tier 2 Knight; with his strength, he could easily decimate an entire town.

Moreover, for a large city like White River City, there would be two to three Tier 4 class NPCs on guard. Powerful monsters and dark powers dared not come near it.

Immediately after Shi Feng stepped into the city hall, an elegant beauty walked towards him.

“Esteemed Sir, is there anything I can help you with?” the beautiful employee blinked her doll-like eyes as she asked.

“I wish to see the Magistrate, Lord Weissman. I have with me Blackbeard’s letter of introduction,” Shi Feng said, displaying his Demon Hunter title.

Commoners had no right to meet the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman, as one needed sufficient status to do so. After all, a magistrate was equivalent of a mayor, and Magistrate Weissman controlled all military and political power in White River City. If one wished to speak with him, at the barest minimum, one needed to be a noble of White River City. However, Shi Feng’s reputation in White River City was far from a noble. He could only reveal his identity as a Demon Hunter.

“So it is Lord Demon Hunter. Magistrate Weissman is currently occupied with public affairs. My Lord will have to wait for some time before he becomes available. If you are not in a hurry, you can wait in the lounge, and I will notify Lord Weissman of your arrival,” the beautiful employee showed respect upon seeing Shi Feng’s title. A noble was not an existence commoners like her could afford to provoke, even if she worked for the kingdom.

“Yes, please notify him for me,” Shi Feng nodded. He then wandered towards the city hall’s lounge.

Sitting in the empty lounge with nothing better to do, Shi Feng switched his system communications back on.

Di! Di! Di!

Previously, to avoid interruption, Shi Feng had intentionally switched off the system communication function; nobody could contact him that way. However, the moment he switched it back on, he discovered hundreds of communication requests pending his approval. Shi Feng was familiar with many of these players. A majority of them were the upper echelons of large Guilds situated in White River City. Some were even the Vice-Leaders or elders of Guilds.

Of course, Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow were no exception to this list. After all, the advantage of entering White River City ahead of others was far too impressive to ignore. Before entering White River City, information such as the best leveling grounds and the best locations to farm resources were a big mystery to everyone. Without entering the city, one could not obtain any information about the quests available in the city and the city laws imposed on players.

To a Guild, obtaining such information before others was a great boon. They could occupy the best leveling spots and obtain high-level quests a step ahead of others. They could purchase daily and weekly limited items and gather herbs, ores, and such resources ahead of others. Guilds were most eager for this information as it would enable them to rise ahead of their competitors.

Especially now as these Guilds neared level ten and the ability to enter White River City. If they could obtain this information beforehand, they could adapt to the new environment quickly and confidently go out to grind and gather resources. They would not need to waste time collecting this information. They could also use the time saved to pull ahead of the other Guilds developing in other cities.

With so many benefits, these Guilds would not Shi Feng slip through their grasps. They would find a way to contact him. Unfortunately, the results of their efforts simply dumbfounded all of them. They did not think that Shi Feng would shut down all forms of communications, leaving them with no way to contact him at all.

The only choice they had left was to leave Shi Feng messages. As a result, thousands of messages filled Shi Feng’s mailbox. If he read all of them, he would need to spend at least four to five hours.

However, since Shi Feng had nothing better to do right now, he looked at the messages sent by Guilds worth contacting. After all, he was an independent player. If he did not sell even any information, he would only gain enemies. With his current strength and influence, he would only end up in tragedy by doing so. So, he would choose a few to do business with. Naturally, Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow were on his list of business partners. Shi Feng was already friends with them no matter how he looked at it. He would sell them information at a reduced price. However, it was a different story for the other Guilds.

Shi Feng also had to consider what information he would sell. After all, he knew White River City like his own backyard. However, there was no way he could sell all the information he knew. He needed to consider what information he could sell. This information should greatly interest these Guilds. He could charge a high price while not giving these Guilds too much advantage and hindering to his own future.

Shi Feng was gaining a migraine over this decision.

Chapter 174: Blacksteel’s Contract

Shortly after Shi Feng entered White River City, all the players within White River City region entered a crazed state. The various large Guilds behaved in the same way. They all began forming teams to grind and level up, intending to enter White River City as soon as possible.

However, the higher level the monster areas they grinded in were, the more problems they encountered. Not mentioning the fact that more players explored the high-level areas, nor the matter of the Guilds competing and battling with each other, just the simple matter of weapon and equipment durability was already a huge headache to these various large Guilds.

“Have they still not sent the Whetstones, yet? The entire team’s weapon durability is almost at its limit,” Stabbing Heart said in the team chat.

“They just informed me that the forgers have just finished a new batch and are sending it our way,” a Ranger replied.

“How many are they sending?” Stabbing Heart asked.

“Five stacks, a total of 100 Whetstones,” the Ranger said in a soft and troubled tone.

“Why are there only 100? Didn’t we buy over 500 Hard Stones?” Stabbing Heart’s expression sunk, turning extremely ugly to behold. There were over 60 players in their elite team, and they all were currently grinding in a Level 10 monster area. Each Whetstone could recover 3 to 7 durability points on a weapon, and 100 Whetstones would only last them around an hour or so.

“They’ve already used all 500. We are trying to purchase them in bulk, but we simply can’t find any. Many players are just paying forgers to turn their Hard Stones into Whetstones. We’ve already sent out many of our newcomers to grind for Hard Stones in Dark Moon Valley. However, ever since God’s Domain’s upgrade, the drop-rate of Hard Stones has decreased.”

“Moreover, the ten plus forgers we’ve nurtured are only Basic Forging Apprentices right now; they have a very low success rate for making Whetstones. The success rate would be higher if they were Intermediate Forging Apprentices; we wouldn’t have to waste so many Hard Stones. However, the increase in proficiency in forging is just too slow. Right now, they don’t have enough proficiency points to become an Intermediate Forging Apprentices at the moment.”

The Ranger’s face turned awkward as he explained. Nurturing forgers and potionmakers had been very important to their Guild for some time. However, where would they find enough money and resources to invest in them? Until now, these lifestyle players had not supplied any advantages to the Guild.

“Hah…” Stabbing Heart let out a deep sigh. He grew worried as he listened to his subordinate’s report.

Only now did he truly realize the importance of forgers. Although their Guild had started nurturing forgers from an early period, collecting plenty of resources and investing a great amount of money into their development, they never thought that it would be so hard to raise a forger. If the Guild had an Intermediate Forging Apprentice right now, they wouldn’t have been so desperate for Whetstones.

“I understand. Tell the elite team members to use them sparingly, then. Try to reduce the contact their weapons have with monsters; that way, they can slow down the damage to their weapons. Also, tell the outer members to put more effort into gathering Hard Stones,” Stabbing Heart said helplessly.

The lack of Whetstones had left a second-rate apex Guild like the Assassin’s Alliance in such a poor state. Of course, this wasn’t due to them not having money, but simply because they could not buy any Hard Stones, not to mention Whetstones. Even if a stack of Whetstones sold for 10 Silver Coins at the moment, Stabbing Heart would not hesitate to purchase it. Unfortunately, there were none to be found on the market.

The Assassin’s Alliance wasn’t the only Guild faced with such a predicament. All the Guilds throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom currently held an intense desire for Whetstones. Only, they were not as tense as the Guilds situated within the White River City region. Speaking of which, the Guilds in the White River City region were currently in a desperate situation. The durability of their weapons fell too quickly, so they could not battle for long periods. However, without weapons, how could they battle at all? Even though they had such a large-sized Guild, there were only a scarce few forgers that could create Whetstones.

An average Guild based in a town would normally have an elite team of around 30 players grinding in high-level monster areas. As for the third-rate Guilds in the White River City region, they had elite teams of around 500 to 600 players, while second-rate Guilds had over 1,000, and first-rate Guilds had over 3,000 to 4,000 players. Of course, there were still the independent players. Right now, the demand for Whetstones throughout the White River City region was intimidating.

However, due to all of these Guilds desperately grinding towards Level 10, the price of Hard Stones soared once again. Each stack of Hard Stones sold of 1 Silver 20 Coppers right now. Yet, even with such a high price, the many Guilds in the White River City region still failed to purchase any…

—

White River City, City Hall.

Unknowingly, more than half an hour had passed since Shi Feng began his wait.

During this half hour or so, Shi Feng managed to tidy up all the information regarding White River City. To the Guilds in the White River City region that did not know anything, this information was gold.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had organized this information into two versions. One was the simplified version; the other was the luxury version. After players read the simplified version, they would only have a rough understanding of White River City. For example, they would know that White River City held a large-scale market once every three days. However, the simplified version would not touch on the topic of resource distribution. On the other hand, the luxury version would give a rough introduction to it. It would tell the owner which locations were suited to certain classes for leveling, and which locations would have the most of a particular resource and more such information. This was the information large Guilds needed the most.

Originally, Shi Feng intended to sell this information to these Guilds personally, converting it into Gold Coins. However, it was simply too troublesome to carry out these tasks. Moreover, Shi Feng did not lack Gold Coins right now, but Credits. After some careful consideration, Shi Feng finally decided to sell the information through the official forums. He would conduct the trade in Credits. The simplified version would target the independent players, while the luxury version would target the Guilds.

Shi Feng sold the simplified version for 300 Credits. If players possessed the simplified version, it would be the equivalent of purchasing a guidebook of the city. At the very least, players would not be at a complete loss after entering the city, not knowing a single thing.

As for the luxury version, Shi Feng sold it for 20,000 Credits. Although these Guilds would, sooner or later, discover the information themselves, they would need to waste a lot of time to do so. According to Shi Feng’s estimates, at the very least, they would need to spend two to three days’ time investigating. Moreover, the information they obtained by themselves would not be as accurate as Shi Feng’s. Two to three days’ time was incomparably precious to a Guild, so they would not pay any heed to wasting 20,000 Credits.

“Lord Demon Hunter, Magistrate Weissman waits for you in the parlor. Please, follow me,” the beautiful employee suddenly returned to Shi Feng’s side, softly saying.

“Alright, lead the way.”

Shi Feng stood and nodded. He followed the female employee up to the parlor on the building’s second floor.

When he stepped into the spacious and elegant-looking parlor, the person waiting for him wore a silvery-grey-colored robe. The well-dressed man was in his fifties, and he held a staff with a deep-blue-colored gemstone embedded in it. The man currently sat by the windowside, gazing at the scenery outside the window in silence.

This man was the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman. He was also a Tier 4 Wizard, and he was a Level 200 NPC. Without question, he was one of the strongest individuals currently in White River City. Even though Weissman stood there in silence, Shi Feng could clearly feel the elemental mana in the room frantically gathering around Weissman, forming a weak magical domain that pressured others.

However, this was merely an unconscious action of Weissman’s. It went to show just how frightening a Tier 4 powerhouse was. If Weissman employed his magical domain, he could instantly turn Shi Feng into a pile of ash.

Although Weissman only appeared to be a man in his fifties, his true age was well over 100-years-old. He was, without a doubt, an old monster.

“Young man, I hear you have a recommendation letter from Blackbeard?” Weissman asked, smiling at Shi Feng.

Although the Demon Hunter title held sway over normal NPCs, to a powerhouse like Weissman, it was nothing worthy of mention. Weissman’s identity as a Tier 4 class far exceeded the status of a Demon Hunter.

“That’s right. Mayor Blackbeard wanted me to pass this to you,” Shi Feng took out the recommendation letter, handing it over to Weissman.

After Weissman received the letter, he did not immediately open it. He simply let out a deep sigh as he looked at Shi Feng, saying, “That which should have come has finally arrived. I’ve waited for this letter for thirty years. Only, I never imagined a young man like you would bring it to me. I guess it is now time for me to fulfill the contract made so long ago