Chapter 11
Chapter 11
The terms proposed by Zhouyou Shijie caught everyone by surprise. Even Qianying had never imagined that the overlooked Lin Tao would become the key to breaking the deadlock.
“Fight me one-on-one?”
Lin Tao froze, then his expression darkened. “You think stumbling into a custom-created class through the God-Demon Orb makes you capable of fighting me?”
“I wasn’t asking for your opinion.” Zhou Ming could not be bothered with him.
“You!”
Lin Tao’s face twisted.
“What do the rest of you think?” Zhou Ming looked around.
No one answered immediately. Their gazes shifted back and forth as they communicated in secret, apparently judging which side had the better odds.
After a short while, Lin Tao’s master broke the oppressive silence.
“Agreed!” the elder said coldly. “We will grant your request!”
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! You have successfully triggered the hidden quest [The Wager] (Difficulty: SSS). Accept?]
A hidden quest?
Nonsense!
Zhou Ming had clearly dug this quest out by force!
Instead of accepting, he opened the details.
[The Wager] (Difficulty: SSS)
[Description: You have wagered against the gods. That does not mean the scales of victory favor you.]
[Objective: Defeat Waterlight Blade · Lin Tao in a duel.]
[Quest Reward: The gods abandon their pursuit and may not trouble Zhouyou Shijie or the Divine Ember Queen.]
[Penalty for Failure: Surrender the God-Demon Orb and persuade Qianying to aid the gods.]
…
Zhou Ming read every word carefully, then frowned. “The objective is wrong!”
“What is wrong with it?” the elder snapped. “You proposed these terms yourself. Are you trying to back out now?”
“He’s scared!” Lin Tao jeered from the side.
Ignoring their barking, Zhou Ming spoke in a deep voice. “Add this: before and during the duel, no one may provide either participant with assistance, and neither participant may use an item obtained through someone else’s power!”
The experts fell silent, clearly reluctant to agree.
Too much was at stake.
How could they truly stand aside? Naturally, they had planned to secretly help Lin Tao win.
“Weren’t you the ones who said you would reject an unfair wager?” Zhou Ming refused to yield an inch. “You agreed to these conditions yourselves. Are you trying to back out now?”
“They’re scared!” Qianying added helpfully.
Dragging Zhouyou Shijie into this conflict had never been her wish, but now that matters had reached this point, she would support him without reservation.
“Very good, Zhouyou Shijie. This old man truly underestimated you!” The elder’s face showed no emotion. “Fine. Your request is granted!”
“Ding!”
[System: Attention! The difficulty of the hidden quest [The Wager] has changed and is now SS!]
Zhou Ming was not surprised.
He knew something had been wrong!
Lin Tao was strong, but nowhere near strong enough to push the difficulty all the way to the unprecedented SSS Rank.
Giving a player an SSS-Rank quest at the start of the game was nothing but deliberate torture!
“Are you satisfied now?” someone urged.
“Qianying, check the quest for me. Are there any other problems?” Zhou Ming remained in no hurry to accept. He continued searching for loopholes in the terms.
Everyone present was an old fox. He could not afford carelessness.
Qianying understood at once. She carefully read every detail before speaking.
“God-tier experts often carry items with unimaginable powers. For people like them, many restrictions can be removed!”
“I understand!”
Insight flashed through Zhou Ming’s eyes. “If I win, not only are you forbidden from hunting Qianying or me, none of you may use any method to remove the quest penalty!”
The battlefield fell silent once more.
With that final clause, every possible avenue for interference had been sealed.
“Very well!”
After what seemed to be a private discussion, Lin Tao’s master spoke as their representative.
“As you wish. A fair fight!”
“Ding!”
[System: Attention! The difficulty of the hidden quest [The Wager] has changed and is now S!]
[The Wager] (Difficulty: S)
[Description: There is always value in exercising caution at every step.]
[Objective: Defeat Waterlight Blade · Lin Tao in a fair duel.]
[Quest Reward: The gods abandon their pursuit and may not trouble Zhouyou Shijie or the Divine Ember Queen.]
[Penalty for Failure: Surrender the God-Demon Orb and persuade Qianying to aid the gods.]
[Note 1: Before and during the duel, neither participant may receive assistance or use items obtained through abilities that do not belong to them.]
[Note 2: Neither side may use any method to remove the quest penalty.]
…
Goddamn!
What a pack of treacherous bastards!
Zhou Ming cursed inwardly. Qianying’s enemies were clearly not honorable or decent people.
“There should be no more problems now,” Qianying reminded him.
“Good!”
Zhou Ming nodded, battle intent blazing in his eyes. “Let’s do this!”
“Ding!”
[System: You have obtained the hidden quest [The Wager] (Difficulty: S)!]
Once Zhouyou Shijie formally accepted the quest, every gaze shifted toward the other participant.
Waterlight Blade · Lin Tao!
Unlike Zhouyou Shijie, he had no right to refuse the quest.
“Hmph!”
Under everyone’s watch, Lin Tao stepped forward and snorted. “Let’s see how a man without a single skill intends to beat me!”
The duel might be fair, but their status panels were on entirely different levels. Lin Tao also possessed powerful skills taught by his master.
There was no conceivable way he could lose to Zhouyou Shijie.
“Is that so?”
A smile tugged at Zhou Ming’s lips. He slowly took a skill book from his inventory and tore it apart.
The quest difficulty had been set.
That did not mean he could not lower it further.
“Ding!”
[System: Learn [Fallen Sword] (Rare A-Rank)?]
“Yes!”
Zhou Ming accepted without hesitation.
Fallen Sword!
It was the reward for his first boss kill!
A thread of white light flowed into the space between his brows, and Zhou Ming instantly understood how to use the skill.
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! You have learned [Fallen Sword] (Rare A-Rank)!]
“So you were hiding something after all!” Lin Tao drew a sword that gleamed with watery blue light, but remained composed. “Unfortunately, it is useless!”
Zhouyou Shijie’s status panel was still far inferior to his.
And any skill learnable at Level 10 could not possibly be strong enough to turn the battle around.
“Is that so?”
Zhou Ming’s smile did not fade. In full view of the crowd, he took out another skill book.
If one was not enough, he would use two!
Lin Tao stared at him.
So did the gods.
“Ding!”
[System: Learn [Rending Slash] (Rare A-Rank)?]
“Yes!”
Zhou Ming accepted again.
Rending Slash!
This was his reward for being the first to complete class advancement!
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! You have learned [Rending Slash] (Rare A-Rank)!]
“Bastard!” Lin Tao’s master glared furiously. “You’re playing dirty, boy!”
Zhou Ming had used his ordinary-looking panel to trick them into accepting the wager, then rapidly learned new skills to increase his strength!
What a treacherous brat!
“I learned from all of you,” Zhou Ming replied modestly.
…