Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Inside a deserted alley, Zhou Ming and his old enemy faced each other with open hostility.
“Watch your tone, boy!” Shui Zhanqiu’s gaze turned icy. “I’m offering you a path to survival. You should be grateful and treasure this opportunity!”
Truthfully, he hadn’t wanted to come.
But the gods had insisted. Since his grudge with Zhouyou Shijie ran deepest, having him offer to wipe the slate clean would appear to be the greatest concession.
“No need!”
Zhou Ming’s expression was indifferent. “If I truly lose, I’d rather let the God-Demon Orb fall into the Dark Faction’s hands than allow you people to profit!”
“You!”
Shui Zhanqiu’s expression changed violently. He turned to leave in anger. “Then wait quietly for your death during the siege!”
“Wait!”
Zhou Ming stopped him.
“What? Regretting your decision?” Shui Zhanqiu asked with a smile.
Zhou Ming shook his head, amusement coloring his voice. “Not at all. I merely wanted to ask what rank your Talent is.”
This was a rare opportunity. After obtaining Sovereign’s Descent, he finally had the true body of a god-tier expert standing before him.
He had previously tried copying Cangxuan’s Talent, but the system informed him that Cangxuan was only a projection rather than the real body.
“You think you’re qualified to know what my Talent is?” Shui Zhanqiu’s smile vanished, replaced by contempt.
“…”
Zhou Ming only smiled.
I’m not qualified?
Hand it over!
“Ding!”
[You have used Sovereign’s Descent, successfully copying Hero of Water ยท Shui Zhanqiu’s Talent River God and raising its rank by 1!]
“Ding!”
[Your Talent has transformed into Water God (SS Rank)!]
[Water God] (SS Rank): Regenerate 0.5% HP per second.
Zhou Ming was deeply disappointed. “A god-tier expert with only an S-Rank Talent?”
River God!
That Talent was probably nothing special. Only after it had been enhanced into Water God did it become respectable.
“!!”
Shui Zhanqiu’s expression changed when Zhou Ming saw through his Talent’s rank.
In truth, there was nothing shameful about a god-tier expert possessing only an S-Rank Talent.
Unfortunately, the bastard before him was a freak who had fought Ning Wushen to a draw in the Talent Trial.
“With a Talent like that, I’d rather I really wasn’t qualified to know!” Zhou Ming said in heartfelt anguish.
“You… You…”
Shui Zhanqiu burned with fury but couldn’t find a rebuttal. He swept his sleeve and stormed away. “Sharp tongue. Let’s see how long you can keep laughing!”
He suddenly realized his disciple’s fury had not been caused entirely by a weak temperament.
This opponent’s mouth was simply too vicious.
“You’d better pray I never rise!”
Zhou Ming stopped teasing him, and his voice turned sharp.
Shui Zhanqiu froze mid-step.
“Because if I do, I’ll kill every last one of you!” Zhou Ming’s tone was more serious than ever, filled with intense killing intent.
Even the most patient person had limits!
These people had targeted him again and again. He would remember every offense.
One day, he would repay them a hundredfold!
“Don’t worry. You won’t live much longer!” Shui Zhanqiu dismissed the threat and vanished into the crowd.
After seeing off the unwelcome guest, Zhou Ming said calmly, “You’ve watched long enough. Care to come out?”
From around the corner, Gaibang Laoda emerged and cupped his fist. “Nothing escapes your notice!”
When he saw a god-tier expert arrive and approach Zhouyou Shijie, there was no way he could suppress his curiosity.
So he had quietly moved closer and listened to their conversation.
“Two days from now, show me whether your preparations can put me under any pressure!” Zhou Ming said directly.
With divine pet Xuanniao and War Soul equipment, he genuinely couldn’t imagine how another player could oppose him.
“You’ll find out when the time comes.”
Gaibang Laoda’s eyes flickered. Then something occurred to him. “Come to think of it, you don’t seem surprised that I changed class to Star Guardian.”
“Someone in the Gaibang Guild already leaked that to me,” Zhou Ming replied frankly.
…
Gaibang Laoer’s furtive behavior back then had allowed Zhou Ming to guess most of the truth long ago.
Gaibang Laoda’s heart tightened at the answer.
“Farewell!”
Without saying anything else, Zhou Ming logged out.
…
Elsewhere, Gaibang Laoda returned to the city gate with a dark expression.
“Everyone, stop!”
“Boss, what’s wrong?” Gaibang Laoer asked in confusion.
“We have a mole. Stop recruiting!”
“What?!”
Gaibang Laoer and Gaibang Laosan looked at each other.
The Gaibang Guild’s recruitment screening was so strict, yet a spy had still slipped inside?
“There is no need to stop!”
Mo Yun appeared beside Gaibang Laoda. “Whether or not there is a mole will not affect the outcome!”
“Master, you’re here!” Gaibang Laoda hurriedly greeted him.
“In this plan, having adventurers oppose Zhouyou Shijie is merely one component,” Mo Yun said. “Killing him would be best. Failure is acceptable.”
“Understood.”
Gaibang Laoda grasped his meaning.
Even if he couldn’t defeat Zhouyou Shijie, they possessed other methods to kill him.
“Master!” Gaibang Laoda called as Mo Yun prepared to leave.
“Hm?”
Mo Yun turned. “Do you have another question?”
Gaibang Laoda drew a deep breath and voiced the concern weighing on him. “What if, and I only mean if… What if Zhouyou Shijie rises?”
You’d better pray I never rise, because if I do, I’ll kill every last one of you!
Zhouyou Shijie’s declaration had shaken him deeply.
The opponent Zhou Ming faced was a god-tier Boss.
Thanks to his prominent family background, Gaibang Laoda understood better than most how profound Destiny’s significance truly was. Even in the late game, its god-tier Bosses might remain completely beyond players’ reach.
“Rises?”
Mo Yun shook his head and scoffed. “He won’t survive!”
“I said if…”
“Hm?”
Mo Yun frowned, anger entering his voice.
“Forgive me!”
Gaibang Laoda abandoned the question. “Your disciple spoke out of turn.”
“There are no ifs. He has no hope of ever reaching the height where the gods stand. No one could survive under such crushing pressure!” Mo Yun’s gaze sharpened as he enunciated every word. “If you insist on proposing an impossible scenario, then I can tell you plainly: should he truly reach that step and obtain divinity, what follows will be…”
“The twilight of the gods!”
…
The next day, Zhou Ming logged in promptly after eating.
A storm was coming!
On the eve of the siege, he still had preparations to make.
After all, he faced far more than a monster siege from the Dark Faction. He also needed the million gold coins demanded by the Sin of Envy.
“Today, I have to push my combat power to the absolute limit of this stage!”
Zhou Ming considered his next move, then walked into the general store.
Qingshui City had advanced into a secondary city, so the grade of items available for purchase had risen accordingly.
“Welcome!”
The shopkeeper saw the visitor’s name glowing blood-red and immediately became terrified, a stark contrast to his attitude during Zhou Ming’s previous visit.
“I’m just browsing,” Zhou Ming said calmly.
His Infamy had now reached a horrifying level.
Killing a few people might inspire disgust. Killing more than a thousand inspired fear.
“Of course, please take your time!” The shopkeeper forced a smile, terrified of offending him.
At the counter holding skill books, Zhou Ming swept his gaze across many items of far higher rank than Fireball.
“Come to think of it, the reward for the first Gold Boss kill was a skill too!”
Zhou Ming slapped his forehead.
How had he managed to delay inspecting something so important?
He opened his inventory and fixed his gaze on a skill book with a fiery red cover.
As a reward for the first Gold Boss kill, its power was guaranteed!
“Wait!”
An idea flashed through Zhou Ming’s mind.
A skill book should count as an item, shouldn’t it?
“Xuanniao, come on out! I choose you!”
…