Chapter 196
Chapter 196
Meanwhile.
While Zhou Ming was having the elemental core embedded, the gods of the Merri Region had not been idle.
Witnessing the clash between two Saint-tier powerhouses only strengthened their resolve to join forces and kill Zhouyou Shijie.
The reason was simple.
Zhouyou Shijie was too difficult to kill. The power of any single region was no longer enough to suppress him.
“If we join forces, what should we do with the national borders?” a god-tier powerhouse asked.
“Disperse them for now!”
Long Kun’s desire to kill Zhouyou Shijie had completely eclipsed every other grudge and interest. He spoke decisively. “Recently, many adventurers have grown increasingly brazen as their strength rises. They beat and torment native residents weaker than themselves, and internal conflicts are worsening. We might as well give them something else to do.”
“Agreed!”
The gods voiced their approval.
Adventurers and native residents were not truly the same people. Incidents of poorly behaved adventurers deliberately harassing residents were all too common. If the national borders vanished and adventurers began fighting one another, such incidents would presumably decrease.
After every side reached a decision, they placed themselves under the rules’ constraints.
At the same moment, every adventurer received the news.
Ding!
[Server-Wide Announcement: Attention! As the various regions have grown increasingly connected, national borders have become meaningless. Effective today, they are officially abolished!]
Ding!
[Server-Wide Announcement: Adventurers may register to participate in the large-scale event [Defend the Frontier] and earn enormous rewards!]
…
“Holy shit, the borders are gone!”
“We finally have a major event!”
“Brothers, follow me! We’ll invade the Sakura Region and seize Kana Momonogi and Yua Mikami!”
“Is that all you aspire to? Pathetic! If we’re taking anyone, we can’t leave Arina Hashimoto and Saika Kawakita behind either!”
…
Naturally, the players were the most excited by this development.
The abolition of national borders meant that national warfare had officially begun. Everyone could invade foreign regions and conquer their cities.
Grudges from the real world would now extend into the game.
Zhou Ming, however, was currently on his way to a leveling map and had no interest in the event.
With his present reputation, appearing on any battlefield would inevitably draw attacks from the gods and demons. The battle’s intensity would probably soar straight to the highest level on the entire server.
For him, the losses would outweigh the gains.
Not to mention that current players provided pitifully little EXP.
He would leave it for later…
As Qianying carried him through the air, Zhou Ming opened his skill list and inspected the Trial of the Seven Sins.
[Trial of the Seven Sins] (???)
Description: Only by enduring the ultimate original sins can one become a true Demon Emperor.
Sin of Pride: [Demonic Flame Armor]
Sin of Envy: [Flame Soul Art]
Sin of Wrath: [Return to Ruin]
Sin of Sloth: [Soul Refinement]
Sin of Greed: [Immortality]
Sin of Gluttony: ??? (Automatically activates in 3 days.)
Sin of Lust: ???
…
“Only the final two trials remain!” Zhou Ming said with deep emotion.
Looking back, the road here had been filled with countless hardships. Now he was finally nearing the end.
“Keep going!”
Qianying smiled. “I believe you’ll become the God-Demon Orb’s true master!”
The farther Zhou Ming advanced, the deeper his foundation became.
She believed the God-Demon Orb could no longer easily create a trial capable of crushing him.
“Right!”
Zhou Ming nodded, fighting spirit surging. “Within three months, I have to do everything possible to complete the Trial of the Seven Sins…”
Gu Ming was ultimately a Saint-tier powerhouse. Zhou Ming would only stand a chance if he brought every aspect of himself as close to perfection as possible.
Moreover, he desperately wanted to know: if he earned the God-Demon Orb’s recognition and defeated Gu Ming, would that mean no one on the Destiny Continent could stop him and the truth behind the game would finally be revealed?
As the two spoke, the temperature around them began to change.
Ding!
[System Notification: You have entered [Snow Domain]!]
Snow blanketed the land, and glaciers stretched as far as the eye could see.
As icy air rushed toward him, Zhou Ming returned to the Snow Domain and found himself surrounded by endless white.
He had chosen this place for two reasons. First, the Snow Domain was vast and rarely visited, making him difficult to discover. Second, it was a high-level danger map whose monsters were quite formidable.
After descending onto a glacier, Zhou Ming looked into the distance and saw white-furred bear monsters roaming about. They were powerfully built and stood more than three meters tall on their hind legs, presenting an intimidating sight.
[Snowfield Ice Bear] (Enhanced Grade ★★★★)
Level: 180
HP: 10,000,000
Attack: 106,700-115,200
Defense: 71,000-75,300
Skills: [Super Toughness], [Savage Charge], [Advanced Fury]
Description: A special creature native to the Snow Domain, with thick hide and immense strength. Weigh your abilities carefully before provoking one.
…
Even ordinary monsters were divided into higher and lower grades.
Enhanced grade stood one tier above Elite grade.
“I can finally level properly!” Zhou Ming said with deep emotion.
The last time he had ground monsters for levels, his targets had been Level 100 Evil Flying Insects. Now he was preparing to solo Level 180 monsters. The difference was enormous.
Too many matters had piled up. If he was not handling one problem, he was on his way to handle another, leaving him dizzy with work.
Zhou Ming reached an area where Snowfield Ice Bears gathered and placed the Crimsonflame Sacred Dragon somewhere safe. Before he could attack, the bears spotted the intruder, hostility filling their eyes as they charged first.
Heavenrend!
Zhou Ming opened with his usual move. Without gathering power, he activated it instantly.
“Riiip…”
The Heavenrend greatsword formed from blazing fire crashed down from above and pierced a Snowfield Ice Bear, while the powerful wave of flame it unleashed sent the other monsters flying.
Ice and snow melted, splashing outward as water.
Ding!
[System Notification: You have used [Heavenrend] (Exclusive SSSS Rank), dealing 10,035,687 Critical Damage to a Snowfield Ice Bear. The Snowfield Ice Bear has died, so Suppression cannot be inflicted. Units within a 300 x 300 area receive 753,626-795,612 damage, with a high chance of suffering Burn, Launch, Knockback, and other effects!]
The Snowfield Ice Bear at the center of the attack was instantly killed by Heavenrend while Zhou Ming was in his normal state. The HP of the nearby bears also dropped sharply in unison.
Amid the eruption of fire elemental energy, Zhou Ming could faintly see dark-element damage as well.
This was the elemental core’s formidable power.
It did more than simply increase dark-element damage by 100%. Its effect also applied to area damage.
Ding!
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have successfully killed [Snowfield Ice Bear]. Current Level EXP +35.7%!]
Ding!
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have successfully killed [Snowfield Ice Bear]. Current Level EXP +35.5%!]
…
There was no need to explain how generous the EXP was when fighting monsters sixty levels above him.
After swiftly dealing with the first wave, golden light shone around Zhou Ming as he returned to Level 120. His HP was completely full, and he felt no pressure whatsoever.
Before venturing deeper into the Snow Domain to challenge more difficult monsters, he placed a hand on the God-Demon Orb embedded in Ask the Heavens and tried to communicate with it.
In fact, Level 120 was a new watershed, signifying that he could undergo his third class advancement.
“Gurgle…”
Fire elemental energy seeped from the God-Demon Orb, making the already vigorous blood and vitality within Zhou Ming boil.
Flames surged dozens of meters into the sky. They refused to go out beneath the heavy snow and shone with dazzling brilliance.
Throughout the class advancement, Zhou Ming’s own power continued to rise.
This was not the pleasure of seeing numbers increase through external equipment. He could clearly feel every inch of his skin being tempered, a sensation too wondrous to describe.
After a long while, the flames died away. Just as Zhou Ming thought everything had proceeded naturally, an unexpected system chime rang in his ears, bringing him an exceptionally welcome surprise at exactly the right moment.
…