Chapter 212
Chapter 212
Elsewhere…
After rushing between three different locations and preparing a total of twenty-four delicacies, Zhou Ming got ready to meet up with the others.
“Are there any other ways to obtain more delicacies?” Qianying asked curiously.
The items from the two Mysterious Merchants and the various kinds of dragon meat from the Dragon Domain!
Those were all known targets certain to yield something. Other places were much harder to predict.
“We’ll gather them slowly!”
Zhou Ming answered frankly, “I’ve prepared a few things myself, so I should be short by four at most!”
Four at most!
Renee was astonished. “That fast?”
“It’s not fast!”
Zhou Ming shook his head and corrected her. “Thanks to all the opportunities I’ve encountered, I wasn’t starting from zero!”
Qianying thought for a moment and immediately understood. “Xiaochi’s bloodline is unique. It should count as one too!”
“Roar!”
The flying Crimsonflame Sacred Dragon jumped in fright.
Had it become dinner?
“You’ll only suffer a minor injury. You’ll recover in minutes!” Zhou Ming reassured it.
Hearing that, the Crimsonflame Sacred Dragon relaxed.
It was willing to climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire for its master, but it could not literally climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire.
“If the Crimsonflame Sacred Dragon counts, then Xuanniao should count as a dish too!” Renee extrapolated. “I just don’t know whether eating it would inflict All Elemental Resistances -30% for seven days!”
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Xuanniao immediately flew out of the pet space and began arguing with Renee.
That joke was far too dark!
“Xiaoyou, Renee is obviously joking!” Zhou Ming could not help laughing. “When the time comes, you can cast Good Fortune Divination. That way, there won’t be any debuff!”
“So this is the kind of man you really are, Zhouyou Shijie!”
Renee feigned shock. “Because of that one sentence, poor Xiaoyou has already planted a seed of hatred in its heart!”
“…”
Xiaoyou shot her a sidelong glance and could not be bothered responding.
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: You have entered the map [Breezewind Plains]!]
Amid the noisy banter, the group arrived at the familiar Breezewind Plains.
Looking down, they saw lush green grass and scenery like a painting.
This map was where Zhou Ming had restarted after mutually killing the Flame Giant King. Everyone had also agreed to regroup here.
The instant he arrived, Zhou Ming saw Ye Zhibei, Cangxuan, Yun Wuyou, and Tingfeng Xiyu, who had already been waiting for quite some time.
“Brother Zhou, how should we proceed from here?” Ye Zhibei asked.
The upheaval before them was unprecedented in a century!
Everyone needed an objective!
An objective the entire Hope Faction could face together!
“Time waits for no one!”
Zhou Ming took the City Founding Token from his inventory and said gravely, “It is time for the Hope Faction to rise!”
“!!”
Everyone’s spirits soared.
“Are we finally building a city?” Complicated emotions filled Ye Zhibei.
The Hope Faction had wandered from place to place and continually accumulated strength, all to welcome this moment.
Taking the initiative to build a city meant counterattacking!
“You may think it’s a little early. After all, once we build a city, the gods and demons will have a target they can attack. We won’t be able to avoid clashes by remaining in the wilderness!” Zhou Ming said frankly. “But… I don’t have much time left. It’s time to settle everything!”
Establishing his faction and then facing god-tier experts would both require time.
He had to make every second count.
As for the possibility of all the gods attacking together, Zhou Ming had accounted for that as well. He had a way to avoid it temporarily and even profit from it.
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Your [Solo Competition] match in Round One of [Pinnacle Showdown] is about to begin. Proceed immediately? (Note: Failure to enter the stage within 3 minutes will be treated as a forfeit.)]
At that moment, an ill-timed system chime rang.
“Give me a moment. I’ll be right back!” Zhou Ming had no choice but to pause the discussion and compete in his match.
At his current level, leveling up quickly had become extremely difficult. Never mind Pinnacle Showdown’s generous prizes; the levels awarded to its champion alone were immensely valuable to him now.
…
Inside the special space, at the competition venue…
Players from every nation had gathered, filling the place with excitement.
This was an unprecedentedly grand event. Even with registration limited to players above Level 80, millions had entered, and only a scant few would truly distinguish themselves.
At that moment, a dark-skinned player in excellent equipment waited arrogantly for his opponent in one of the arenas.
“Blessing of the Sacred Bull is the Ganges Region’s strongest player. I wonder which unlucky bastard will get matched against him!”
“I heard his National Artifact is insanely powerful. Its crowd control is maxed out!”
“An Indian guy? Holy cow!”
…
A large audience surrounded the arena.
Even players who had not entered Pinnacle Showdown were extremely enthusiastic about watching.
After waiting for dozens of seconds, Blessing of the Sacred Bull grew impatient. “What region does that coward belong to? He doesn’t even have the courage to step into the arena!”
“You’re simply too strong!”
The players from the Ganges Region burst into laughter, swelling with shared pride.
Swoosh!
At that moment, white light flashed in the arena.
Here he came!
The Ganges Region players cheering for Blessing of the Sacred Bull all looked up.
[Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie] (Flame Demon Emperor/Sword Demon Emperor)
Level: 152
VS
[Shield of the Earth · Blessing of the Sacred Bull] (Child of the Earth)
Level: 102
…
“…”
The previously restless venue fell deathly silent.
“Please!”
Completely unaware of what had happened, Zhou Ming cupped his hands toward his opponent.
Blessing of the Sacred Bull looked grave. “Zhouyou Shijie, I’ve heard much about you. Show me whether you deserve to be the number one player in Destiny!”
3!
2!
1!
Heavenrend!
Zhou Ming did not hold back. A massive illusory sword wreathed in roaring flames appeared above Blessing of the Sacred Bull.
“Lock him down!”
Blessing of the Sacred Bull immediately used his ultimate trump card, golden light flaring in his eyes.
There it was!
The spectators focused with rapt attention.
As long as Blessing of the Sacred Bull’s crowd control lasted long enough, there was still a chance to turn the match around!
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Shield of the Earth · Blessing of the Sacred Bull has used the National Artifact skill [Brahma Art], placing you in the Out-of-Body state for 0.05 seconds! (Out-of-Body: Defense is reduced to 0, and the target cannot move.)]
Blessing of the Sacred Bull: “???”
Everyone: “???”
Was that duration serious?
Zhou Ming froze for a moment, then quickly recovered.
He now possessed the Yasakani no Magatama on top of his already high Mental Resistance. Even a god-tier expert using a forbidden spell would probably struggle to control him for long.
Slash…
Heavenrend’s massive sword crashed down, instantly piercing straight through the arena as a sea of flames spread outward.
-16,823,644! (Critical Damage)
…
After winning with ease, Zhou Ming returned to the Breezewind Plains.
“Then here’s the question!” Unable to contain his curiosity, Cangxuan resumed their earlier discussion. “Where are we building the city?”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh…
At those words, everyone turned toward Zhou Ming in unison, their faces full of anticipation as they waited for his answer.
Building a city was an affair of enormous importance.
They would leave the decision to Zhouyou Shijie.
“I want to build the city…”
…