Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Anything beyond god tier belonged to an entirely different dimension.
Perhaps it could be called Saint tier, the same level as the Ask the Heavens in Zhou Ming’s possession.
“Half a step beyond god tier!”
Qianxuan’s voice was grave as he answered honestly. “However, with the aid of a special formation, the enemy already possesses combat power that can just barely rival Saint tier!”
“As long as they haven’t truly reached Saint tier!”
Zhou Ming breathed a sigh of relief instead.
He had known this trip would bring trouble. That was why he had brought the entire fighting force of the Hope Faction with him.
Qianxuan stared at him in astonishment. “You’re confident you can deal with them?”
As long as they haven’t truly reached Saint tier!
Wasn’t that statement a little too arrogant?
“If my guess is correct, the Light Domain and the Dark Domain are two separate worlds and must be quite far apart. The enemy also reached the Light Domain through cross-domain teleportation, didn’t they?” Zhou Ming asked directly.
“That’s right!”
Qianxuan nodded, then cupped his fists. “Please lend us your aid!”
“I can help repel the invading forces of the Dark Domain and even destroy their cross-domain teleportation array, but I do have one small condition. I wonder if I should mention it.” Zhou Ming was in no particular hurry to act.
The City of Light’s barrier could hold for quite some time yet.
He and Qianying had not arrived in the Light Domain at the last possible moment.
“???”
One small condition?
Qianxuan and Zihong exchanged a glance, then turned toward Qianying in unison. “Qianying, this friend of yours…”
“You can’t expect them to spend their strength for free, can you?” Qianying saw nothing wrong with it. “If we did, who would ever be willing to rescue the Light Domain in the future?”
“Er…”
Qianxuan froze, then laughed. “You have a point!”
In truth, he had never expected the other party to help without compensation. It was simply customary to offer thanks after the crisis had passed. Raising the subject unprompted now made it sound somewhat like taking advantage of their desperation.
With that thought, he looked at Zhou Ming. “Young man, what is your condition?”
The other party had called it a small condition!
And what was the key word?
Small!
Clearly, this was only a formality.
When he thought about it, they were all Qianying’s friends. How could they possibly make some outrageous demand?
“Does the Light Domain have any Saint-tier equipment, or anything close to Saint tier?” Zhou Ming asked solemnly.
“!?”
The corner of Qianxuan’s mouth twitched. “The Light Domain possesses no equipment that precious.”
“Then do you have any SSSS-rank items, or anything close to SSSS rank?” Zhou Ming asked again.
Qianxuan could take no more. “You little brat, are you trying to take the Core of Light?”
“Of course not!”
Zhou Ming shook his head in denial. “I only want to borrow it!”
Just as he had expected, the Core of Light was the item that could help him survive the Sin of Greed.
“Absolutely not!”
Qianxuan refused without hesitation. “If I give you the Core of Light, the City of Light will stop operating.”
“It won’t…”
Qianying interjected at the perfect moment, sounding surprised. “Didn’t you tell me before that the City of Light would only stop operating completely one month after losing the Core of Light, Father?”
“Qianying, you…!”
Qianxuan’s face darkened. He nearly coughed up three liters of blood.
He had invited a wolf into his home!
After going to such extraordinary lengths to send his daughter a distress signal, he had ended up inviting a wolf into his home!
“Lord Qianxuan, aren’t you misunderstanding something?” Zhou Ming said, torn between laughter and exasperation. “The rules will enforce our agreement. Are you afraid I won’t return it?”
The Light Domain also existed within a world governed by digitized rules, so naturally, its quests carried binding restrictions as well. That was precisely why Zhou Ming could make this request so openly.
Besides, he would never cheat Qianying’s parents.
Qianying also knew that he would do no such thing.
His primary reason for wanting the Core of Light was to clear the Sin of Greed.
His life was at stake. How could he possibly have time to worry about other people’s feelings?
“…That’s true!”
Only after Qianxuan calmed down did he realize that he had missed the obvious. The Core of Light was simply so important that the very mention of it had made him lose his composure.
“Fine!”
After careful consideration, Qianxuan gritted his teeth and agreed. “If you truly have the ability to repel the experts of the Dark Domain and destroy their cross-domain teleportation array, then what harm is there in lending you the Core of Light for fifteen days?”
Ding!
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have activated the hidden world quest [Core of Light] (Difficulty: S Rank). Do you wish to accept?]
[Core of Light] (Difficulty: S Rank)
Description: This is the foundation of the Light Domain. I advise you not to do anything reckless.
Quest Objective: Defeat the invading forces of the Dark Domain and destroy the cross-domain teleportation array.
Quest Reward: You may borrow the [Core of Light] for 15 days. You must return it unconditionally afterward, or your Level will decrease by 50 and all Attributes will decrease by 10,000.
Failure Penalty: None
…
“Yes!”
Zhou Ming accepted the quest without hesitation.
Its S-rank difficulty indicated that defeating the enemy would not be especially hard.
“Boom!!”
At the same time, the assault on the barrier grew even fiercer. Cracks spread from the spot where the spearhead struck.
Once the barrier shattered, a siege was certain to erupt.
“Qianxuan, come out and die!” a cold voice shouted.
Looking up, Zhou Ming saw the black spear fly away and into the grasp of a black-robed man. The man had dark skin and ugly features, but the aura pouring from his body was overwhelmingly powerful.
[Sovereign of Darkness ยท Reeves] (???)
“Brother Zhou, how do we fight this?” Ye Zhibei asked.
Zhou Ming analyzed the situation rationally. “A head-on confrontation would be unwise!”
The enemy was no half-baked, half-step Saint-tier powerhouse like Wu Xing. Even Reeves’s tier could no longer be inspected, which proved that he truly possessed strength rivaling Saint tier.
If they clashed with him directly, victory was uncertain, but devastating losses were guaranteed.
“…”
Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.
If they did not fight Reeves head-on, how were they supposed to drive him out of the Light Domain?
Under everyone’s gaze, Zhou Ming thought for a moment before the corner of his mouth curved upward. “I think attacking what the enemy must defend is a rather good strategy!”
“You mean…”
…
“Clang!”
At a certain moment, beneath the anxious gazes of the City of Light’s residents, Cangxuan and Ye Zhibei attacked without hesitation, forcing Reeves to abandon his attempt to shatter the barrier.
Every monster that approached the two Sword Saints was instantly torn apart by their razor-sharp sword intent.
“So you’re the reinforcements Qianxuan found?” Reeves remained perfectly calm and grinned viciously. “Killing two more god-tier powerhouses would suit me just fine!”
His enemies were strong, but they were no match for him.
Moreover, killing a god-tier powerhouse would bring extraordinary benefits, regardless of whether it counted as some so-called server-wide first kill.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
The next instant, Zhou Ming and the others all left the barrier.
“Move!”
Under Zhou Ming’s lead, all six turned and flew toward the Dark Domain’s teleportation array.
“Don’t even think about it!”
At the sight, Reeves had no choice but to suspend his attack on the City of Light and move to stop them.
“Will this really work?” Qianxuan asked worriedly.
Zihong answered with certainty, “Five god-tier powerhouses are present, yet they all follow Zhouyou Shijie’s lead. He must possess extraordinary abilities!”
“Whoosh!”
They raced through the air.
The two groups streaked beneath the pure white sky.
The two Sword Saints fought Reeves while retreating, providing Zhou Ming with a relatively safe environment.
“You want to destroy the cross-domain teleportation array to stop the Dark Domain’s invasion, then trap us like fish in a barrel?” Believing he had seen through their plan, Reeves found it laughable. “Did you really think I wouldn’t anticipate such a childish scheme?”
“This plan does seem a little too simple,” Renee said, scratching her head.
“There’s no need to destroy it just yet!”
Zhou Ming turned to Qianying and asked quietly, “Qianying, if you leave a mark in the Light Domain, can you teleport back from the Dark Domain?”
“With Targeted Teleportation?”
Qianying thought for a moment, then nodded. “The distance is too great. The mark would last a few hours at most!”
“That’s enough!”
Relieved, Zhou Ming began issuing orders. “Renee, Ye Zhibei, Cangxuan, stay behind and deal with Reeves. Yun Wuyou and Qianying will come with me to the Dark Domain!”
“Go to the Dark Domain?”
Renee’s thoughts turned, and she immediately realized something. Her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me you want to…”
…