Chapter 220
Chapter 220
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Your opponent has surrendered. You have won this match! (Note: Accumulate 3 Victory Points to advance to the next round.)]
When Heiwang left the arena, Zhou Ming received the system’s confirmation and obtained his second Victory Point of Round Two.
Of course, the tournament allowed at least some margin for error. As long as his luck was not too terrible in the matches to come, Heiwang could still advance.
Afterward, Zhou Ming returned to Hope Village. He sought swordsmanship guidance from the two Sword Saints while waiting for his next match.
“Leveling from here on will probably be a hassle. Why don’t you spend some more time training in the Snow Domain?” Renee suggested.
As everyone knew, Level 200 monsters had already reached [Destiny]’s upper limit!
It was almost impossible for Zhouyou Shijie to find monsters that gave more EXP than Wraith Swordsmen, unless he fought god-tier powerhouses head-on or sought out King-grade or Celestial Spirit-tier beings.
“There wouldn’t be much point!”
Zhou Ming shook his head. “I plan to enter seclusion and streamline my skills further. I’ll make my move when the time is right.”
Return to Ruin’s cooldown had now ended.
As the Flame Demon Emperor’s unique exclusive skill, Zhou Ming fully intended to put it to good use, merging the skills he had learned and transforming them into techniques uniquely his own.
“As long as you have a plan.” Renee sighed in relief. “What frightens me most is the thought that even you might run out of ideas for getting our group through this.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t lead everyone into a death trap!” Zhou Ming laughed despite himself.
Qianying added, “But you can’t shoulder everything alone either!”
“…”
Zhou Ming looked at Qianying in surprise. Her picturesque features carried an unmistakable resolve.
“Qianying, you know I can’t truly die,” Zhou Ming reminded her.
Qianying gently shook her head, her voice soft but firm. “As long as it doesn’t jeopardize our overall victory, you can act recklessly or be as willful as you like. No matter how many times you die, I’ll help you train back up. But if you’re thinking of facing Gu Ming alone, I… won’t allow it.”
Gu Ming was a Saint-tier powerhouse who stood above the mortal world!
If Zhouyou Shijie lost, the consequences would go far beyond merely leaving the Destiny Continent.
She understood that perfectly.
Therefore, this was the first time she had expressed herself with such an unyielding attitude.
“Okay!”
An indescribable warmth welled up in Zhou Ming’s heart. “This time, we’ll face him together!”
“Zhouyou Shijie, we’re comrades pursuing the same dream!” Ye Zhibei seized the opportunity to speak frankly. “I know you don’t want to watch our brothers and sisters in the Hope Faction sacrifice themselves, but… we can’t win overwhelmingly every single time… You understand that, don’t you?”
“…”
Zhou Ming gave no response.
Ye Zhibei had phrased it rather tactfully.
Even so, everyone understood what he meant.
They had to fight both great factions and defeat Gu Ming as well. How impossibly difficult would that be?
If not a single person on their side had fallen by the end, it would be far too perfect.
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Your [Round Two] match in the [Solo Competition] of [Pinnacle Showdown] is about to begin. Would you like to proceed immediately? (Note: Failure to enter the arena within 3 minutes will be treated as a forfeit.)]
Zhou Ming took the opportunity to confirm, then answered solemnly, “Precisely because I understand, I won’t lead everyone into a death trap.”
His strategic planning from this point onward had to be handled with the utmost care.
The Hope Faction’s six core members absolutely could not be lost so easily.
He did not think that was unrealistic.
[Destiny] was a special game world. Whether native or player, someone only died when their HP reached zero. There was no melodramatic nonsense where a successful ambush made someone suddenly drop dead.
That gave him tremendous room to maneuver.
…
Swoosh!
The scene shifted, and Zhou Ming appeared in the arena. His opponent in the final match of Round Two was a mage, and yet another “old acquaintance.”
[Blazing Staff · Gaibang Laosan] (Fire-Element Mage)
Level: 83
VS
[Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie] (Flame Demon Emperor / Sword Demon Emperor)
Level: 152
…
Gaibang Laosan?
He truly had not seen this man in a long time.
“You… I…”
The moment Gaibang Laosan saw his opponent’s game ID, his face fell. “Damn it!!”
For a moment, he had no idea what to say.
At his current level, he was not even qualified to make threats at Zhouyou Shijie. The two of them were no longer in the same league at all.
“Gaibang Laosan, long time no see!” Zhou Ming said with some nostalgia.
Perhaps it was nostalgia coloring his memories, but Zhou Ming felt no hatred toward the Gaibang Guild. His first fortune in the game, his first victory, and a great many other benefits had all come from the guild’s “Big Three.”
“Come on!”
Gaibang Laosan faced death with equanimity. “I’ll fight you with everything I’ve got!”
3!
2!
1!
[System Notification: Match begin!]
…
Great Waterball!
Against Zhouyou Shijie, Gaibang Laosan had no choice but to abandon the fire-element magic he specialized in.
Pop!
Zhou Ming raised his left hand, flames dancing across his palm, then clenched it sharply and crushed the approaching waterball into steam.
MISS!
Gaibang Laosan: “…”
“If you use fire-element magic against me, I might even be able to give you a pointer or two!” Zhou Ming said calmly.
“Who asked for your advice?”
Gaibang Laosan’s entire body shook. He raised a hand and unleashed the strongest move available to a third-advancement mage: Flame Tornado.
Raging flames spun continuously before him, forming a vertical tornado that roared toward Zhou Ming with rather impressive force.
“This move is too ordinary.”
Zhou Ming did not even bother dodging. He advised, “Don’t put too much faith in a skill as it is. You can improve it yourself. With Flame Tornado, for example, try compressing it with all your strength. Push the compression to its limit, and you might produce a new effect.”
Compress it?
Gaibang Laosan blinked, then hesitantly did as Zhou Ming suggested.
The tornado’s original width of two meters was immediately compressed to one, increasing its speed.
“You can do that?”
“It’s not that no one has thought of modifying skills themselves, but actually pulling it off is no easy feat!”
“I’ll give it a try later too!”
…
The players below the arena whispered among themselves, feeling that they had learned a great deal.
As the saying went, one example could reveal three!
If compressing Flame Tornado could strengthen it, then compressing other elemental skills to their limits should provide benefits as well.
Of course, compression was not the only way to improve a skill, but it was certainly effective and comparatively reliable.
“Not enough!”
Watching Gaibang Laosan’s attempt, Zhou Ming shook his head. “Once you can compress it to the width of a fist, or even the width of a laser beam, you should gain something extra.”
As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed to the side, flames gathering at his fingertip.
Whoosh!
The next second, fire shot out, yet it was as thin as a thread, concentrating every bit of its power at a single point.
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have successfully comprehended the skill [Flame Tornado] (A+ Rank)!]
“Something like that!”
Zhou Ming saw nothing unusual about it.
Creating lower-rank skills had long since ceased to be difficult for him. They were simply useless under normal circumstances and inferior to his basic attacks.
“So that’s how it works!” Gaibang Laosan’s expression grew complicated.
In Zhou Ming’s hands, Flame Tornado might as well have been a completely different skill!
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have received guidance from [Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie]. Fire-Element Damage permanently increases by 10%!]
“???”
Gaibang Laosan was dumbfounded. He immediately asked in confusion, “Zhouyou Shijie, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Nothing!”
Zhou Ming swung his sword and launched a wave of sword qi, smiling as he said, “Consider it my thanks to the Gaibang Guild for all the pressure and motivation it gave me!”
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have accumulated 3 Victory Points and successfully advanced to [Round Three] (Top 100)!]
Starting in Round Three, the number of participants would drop sharply. Anyone who stood out from the rest would rank among [Destiny]’s one hundred strongest players, so the level of competition would rise significantly from this point onward.
Upon returning to Hope Village, Zhou Ming immediately began streamlining his skills.
Truthfully, over the next three months, he had far more than one or two skills to fuse and improve!
…