Chapter 12
Chapter 12
What had started as a perfectly serious wager had suddenly taken on a very different flavor.
Zhouyou Shijie’s moves left the entire crowd blinded.
Most importantly, the quest terms stated in black and white that neither participant could receive assistance before the duel.
That meant Zhou Ming had genuinely obtained those skill books himself. They had not been gifts from the Divine Ember Queen.
“They’re only two skills!” Lin Tao’s lips twitched, but he quickly steadied his emotions. “I refuse to believe two skills are enough for you to beat me!”
“What if I add this piece of equipment?”
Zhou Ming had planned thoroughly. First, he invested all the Free Attribute Points from his first class advancement into Attack. Then he took a ring that gleamed with pale golden light from his inventory.
The Bronze Wolf King Ring rewarded by the tutorial village chief had risen all the way to Gold after Qianying enhanced it!
The quest explicitly prohibited assistance before the duel, but that rule could hardly extend all the way back to equipment he had obtained in the tutorial village.
Besides, he had already equipped the ring before. He had only removed it before coming here so his stats would not frighten the gods into rejecting the wager.
[Wolf King Ring] (Gold)
[Attack: 20-20]
[Traits: HP +10%, Attack +12%]
[Effect: Basic Armor Break. Attacking an enemy unit reduces its Defense by 10.]
[Required Level: 10]
[Description: A specially enhanced Wolf King Ring whose benefits far exceed what it once offered.]
…
No exaggeration needed!
An extra effect like that made the Wolf King Ring an exceptional piece of equipment at this stage of the game.
With utmost solemnity, Zhou Ming slipped the ring onto his finger as if performing a sacred ritual.
“The ring contains Qianying’s power. It’s so warm!”
Qianying fell silent.
“What are you waiting for?!” The old man finally lost his composure. He turned to his disciple and roared, “Attack him!”
In a little over ten seconds, Zhouyou Shijie’s strength had risen again and again.
If this continued, the elder feared his disciple would lose before the fight even began.
“All right!”
Lin Tao could no longer restrain himself. Sword in hand, he charged Zhou Ming, terrified that another item or piece of equipment might emerge from that inventory and increase his opponent’s power yet again.
His mental state had finally been shaken.
That was precisely what Zhou Ming had intended, and he was delighted to see it.
Whatever else his reveals accomplished, the psychological pressure they placed on his opponent was enormous.
Faced with Lin Tao’s furious charge, Zhou Ming remained calm but did not dare relax. He had chosen a fair duel and could not avoid it now. His only option was to meet Lin Tao head-on.
“Die!”
Lin Tao swung his sword. A chilling edge flared along the blade as its power abruptly surged. It traced a water-blue arc through the air and chopped viciously toward Zhou Ming.
“Ding!”
[System: Waterlight Blade · Lin Tao has used [Tidal Slash]. For 10 seconds, his next three attacks deal 50%, 100%, and 150% increased damage respectively and inflict a 20% Slow for 3 seconds!]
Lin Tao was the disciple of a god-tier expert after all. His skills were far beyond anything an ordinary Silver Boss could possess.
And unlike wild monsters, NPCs opened a battle by using skills immediately.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ming activated a skill of his own.
“Ding!”
[System: You have used [Rending Slash]. Your next attack deals damage equal to 200% of your Attack and causes the enemy to lose 0.2% of its maximum HP per second while reducing Movement Speed by 30% for 5 seconds!]
Clang!
Their swords collided in a shower of sparks. Lin Tao was thrown several steps backward, his hand numb from the impact.
This man… What monstrous strength!
-136!
-290!
“I’ve got this!”
Zhou Ming’s eyes lit up.
He had successfully developed a custom-created class and received enormous permanent stat rewards. That was precisely why he had dared gamble on defeating Lin Tao.
[Zhouyou Shijie] (Flame Demon Lord)
[Level: 11]
[HP: 3,240]
[Attack: 290-296]
[Defense: 239-246]
[Fame: 2,010]
[Luck: 2]
[Skills: Fallen Sword, Rending Slash]
[Talent: Awaiting Activation]
[Elemental Resistance: Metal 0% / Wood 0% / Water 0% / Fire 100% / Earth 0% / Wind 0% / Lightning 0% / Light 0% / Dark 0% / Ice 0%]
…
His Talent was awaiting activation!
And without him noticing, his Fire Resistance had soared to 100%, high enough to make him immune to all fire-element damage!
The status panel contained too much information. Unfortunately, everything had happened so quickly that Zhou Ming had no time to process it.
The watching gods, meanwhile, had fallen silent.
The first exchange clearly favored Zhouyou Shijie. His damage was more than twice Lin Tao’s!
Of course, that was partly because Lin Tao’s skill built its damage across three consecutive strikes rather than exploding all at once.
“Don’t get smug!”
Lin Tao’s face darkened. His body shook as he drew water energy around himself, forming a faint mist.
“Ding!”
[System: Waterlight Blade · Lin Tao has used [Water Element Art]. Attack +50% and Defense +50% for 5 minutes!]
“With Water Element Art active, Lin Tao’s victory is practically assured!”
“This old man only dared accept the wager because I knew the boy had mastered Old Shui’s Water Element Art!”
“Old Shui found himself an excellent disciple!”
…
The surrounding experts praised Lin Tao one after another, bolstering his confidence while pressuring Zhou Ming.
Favored by the gods, Lin Tao’s confidence swelled. He lunged again.
“Zhouyou Shijie, your death has come!”
Knowing the stat gap had shifted against him, Zhou Ming abandoned any thought of trading blows. He retreated rapidly and opened the distance.
He had not known the effect of Rending Slash before. A quick glance during the battle told him everything he needed.
It was a divine skill!
Against a boss with a vast health pool in particular, percentage-based HP loss was unbelievably powerful.
“Coward! Don’t you dare fight me head-on?” Lin Tao chased him.
The final two strikes of Tidal Slash were far stronger!
Lin Tao had never expected to be knocked backward and lose his chance to use them.
Zhou Ming ignored the taunt. While kiting Lin Tao, he raised his left palm toward him. Dense fire energy gathered in his hand.
If Rending Slash was a divine skill for farming monsters, Fallen Sword was made for fighting players.
“Swoosh!”
A gigantic crimson sword projection suddenly formed in the air, more than three meters long.
Lin Tao’s heart hammered with alarm. Sensing danger, he snapped his head up. The sword projection plunged like a meteor, its momentum whipping powerful winds in every direction.
“Dodge!” the elder shouted, his face changing dramatically.
Lin Tao obeyed at once, but the sword projection followed directly above him like a shadow. There was no escaping it.
“Sshk!”
Two seconds later, Fallen Sword crashed down. It expanded rapidly in Lin Tao’s pupils, leaving him no choice but to grit his teeth, raise his blade, and block.
Boom!
The impact blasted a crater into the ruins.
Under the powerful Suppression, Lin Tao nearly dropped to his knees. He looked battered, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
“What in the world is happening?” a god-tier expert exclaimed. “Where did he get so many powerful skills?”
Admittedly, they knew little about adventurers.
But could it be worth remembering that not even one full day had passed since adventurers descended upon the Destiny Continent?
“Ding!”
[System: You have used [Fallen Sword], dealing 420 damage to Waterlight Blade · Lin Tao, inflicting Suppression for 1.25 seconds, and reducing Movement Speed by 30% for 5 seconds!]
Absolutely brutal!
Zhou Ming could not have been more satisfied with the skill.
Once Tidal Slash expired, he moved in to trade damage again. The instant Rending Slash came off cooldown, he struck and refreshed its Slow.
Twenty seconds later, a second Fallen Sword arrived exactly on time.
60%!
40%!
With two slowing effects layered on him, Lin Tao was completely passive. Humiliation filled him as he watched his HP fall without being able to do a thing.
“Do you not have the courage to face me directly?” Lin Tao roared at Zhou Ming, who hovered at a distance. “Coward!”
Zhou Ming ignored the accusation and replied calmly, “I thought Water Element Art made your victory practically assured.”
“You!”
Lin Tao’s face shifted between green and white.
“I only dared accept the wager because I knew you’d mastered Old Shui’s Water Element Art!” Zhou Ming laughed, deliberately attacking his state of mind.
The gods had nothing to say.
This man’s mouth was absolutely vicious!
“Old Shui!”
Zhou Ming turned to the elder and gave him a thumbs-up. “You found yourself an excellent disciple!”
The elder fell silent.
“You… I…”
Lin Tao spluttered with rage, his face turning purple. He suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
…