《Game of Misty Islands: I Can See Hints》 Chapter 1 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [Welcome to the Game of Misty Islands. You¡¯re now on a desolate island. Your sole objective is to survive.] Xia Feng looked at the first line on the transparent panel in front of his eyes and frowned. As described above, he was on a desolate island that was absolutely empty, and didn¡¯t even have any plants. The island had a coverage of about 100 square meters, and was surrounded by mist. The mist was so heavy that one couldn¡¯t see anything more than three meters away. Water was all there was. Wait, there were still a few trails leading to other islands. Every island had at least three trails that led to other islands. Besides, there was a distinction between day and night on the island. Every person could only go to 10 islands in a day. Once they set food on a new island, they could not return to the one they came from. All the information was listed on the transparent panel. ¡°This looks like a survival game,¡± Xia Feng whispered to himself, and looked at the two items in his hands that the system offered. They were a wooden stick and a rusty ring. Two lines of words, written in blue and surrounded by transparent panels, popped up from the two items. [Ordinary Wooden Stick: This is just an ordinary stick. Don¡¯t try to deal with the ferocious Misty Monsters with it.] [Shelter Ring: This is your storage as well as a place to rest. It can be expanded and upgraded.] After reading the item descriptions, Xia Feng concentrated his attention, and said to himself, ¡°Shelter, unfold.¡± The ring on his hand immediately glowed, and formed a wooden cottage in front of Xia Feng. It was ragged, dirty, and empty. It was two meters long, wide, and tall. The room was barely enough for him to fit in. ¡°You call this a shelter?¡± Shaking his head in disappointment, Xia Feng removed the shelter, and said to himself, ¡°Open the game menu.¡± Since it was a game, it naturally had a game menu. As expected, a translucent panel appeared in front of Xia Feng¡¯s eyes. [Chat] [Craft] [Trade] [Number of islands you can explore today: 10] [Number of islands you have explored: 0] [Time: 8:23 a.m.] The functions on the menu were all self-explanatory. Xia Feng fixed his eyes on the chat button. The information on the menu changed. Three new buttons popped up. [Public] [Regional] [Private] Xia Feng opened the public channel first. ¡°Director, are you there? I don¡¯t want to be part of a wilderness survival show. Take me home.¡± ¡°What is this place? Why am I on a desolate island?¡± ¡°Someone help me! I was bitten by the piranhas in the sea!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s making a practical joke? I¡¯ll call the police if you don¡¯t stop!¡± All kinds of dialogs passed in front of his eyes, and Xia Feng captured a piece of useful information. There were piranhas in the sea, so it was best not to dive into the sea. At the bottom of the public channel was a box where one could type messages. On the right side of the box was a small trumpet icon with the number one next to it. [Small Trumpet: You¡¯re given one of these things for a day. Each of them allows you to send one message.] On the public channel, everybody who sent a message had an avatar and a nickname. Their avatar was their real-life photo, and their nickname was their name plus a 10-digit ID number. After reading for two minutes and seeing no useful information, Xia Feng entered the regional channel. The regional channel looked like a chat group. It had 3,000 people in total. ¡°Brothers, does any of you know what¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°Brothers, I¡¯m terribly sorry. I promise I won¡¯t steal batteries from electric bikes anymore. Please let me go home.¡± ¡°Hahaha. This is a survival game? I¡¯m going to be the king of this world someday!¡± After reading for another two minutes, Xia Feng found nothing helpful, and quietly quit the channel. The private channel only contained private messages. There was nothing there yet. After that, Xia Feng checked the craft menu. [Ordinary Stone Spear: Wood 0/4, Stone 0/2] [Ordinary Iron Sword: Iron 0/2] [Wooden Bucket: Wood 0/6] [Stone Bowl: Stone 0/1] *** There was a lot of stuff he could make, but it all required materials. Obviously, in order to craft those items, he had to obtain materials first by exploring the islands. The last one was the trade menu, on which the rules of trading were listed. The trade was for free, and no commissions would be charged. The ways of trading included bartering, remote selling, and auctioning. It was allowed to offer items to others for free. After going through the game menu, Xia Feng shifted his attention to the trails around the island. He had no food or water. If he didn¡¯t act, he would starve in a few days. He had to make plans while he was still energetic. There were four trails that were connected to this island: one in front, behind, left, and right, respectively. For his convenience, Xia Feng simply numbered the trails. He called the trail on his left side Trail No.1. Starting from there, all the other trails were numbered clockwise. All the future trails would be numbered in the same way. Xia Feng came to Trail No.2. The trail was about one meter wide and made of hard black soil. ¡°I wonder if this trail is long, and what the island that it leads to looks like.¡± Standing at the edge of the island, Xia Feng calmed down and observed the trail carefully. All of a sudden, a golden line of words popped up in front of his eyes. [Island No.2: There¡¯s a wolfhound on this land. Your odds of beating it are 40%.] It was a simple golden line that wasn¡¯t included in a box. Xia Feng rubbed his eyes and looked again. The golden words were still there. Thinking for a moment, Xia Feng opened the game menu, and switched between the public channel and the regional channel. After 10 minutes, Xia Feng didn¡¯t see anybody mention that. ¡°Is it possible that only I can see that?¡± Xia Feng speculated, and turned around to look at the seawater. [This water is poisonous and undrinkable even if it¡¯s distilled. You will feel tired for a whole day if you drink it.] After seeing the hint, Xia Feng raised his eyebrows and came to Trail No.1. [Island No.1: It¡¯s not dangerous at all, and you can find materials and a Wooden Chest on it.] [Island No.3: It¡¯s full of poisonous fog. If you¡¯re good at holding your breath, you should be able to make it out alive.] [Island No.4: This one has some food, but two giant vipers are lurking here too. It¡¯s your call.] After reading the hints on all trails, Xia Feng decided to go to Island No.1. Crack. Holding the wooden stick tightly, Xia Feng set food on the hard black soil and moved slowly. After walking for 100 meters, he saw a glittering membrane ahead. Taking a deep breath, he went through it. Then, the environment suddenly became spacious. The second island looked similar to the first one, but it wasn¡¯t empty anymore. There were two bare trees and a stone on this island. Right below one of the trees was a Wooden Chest. Xia Feng was not in a rush to open the chest. He turned back first. Behind him was the sea, and the trail was already gone. He couldn¡¯t go back. He opened the game menu again, and the number of islands he could explore became nine. After that, Xia Feng finally rushed to the Wooden Chest. [Wooden Chest: This is a chest of the lowest level. It may contain a little surprise or danger.] That was the note that was included in the box in the game. [This Wooden Chest is safe. You can open it without worries.] That was the golden hint. Chapter 2 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After reading the hint, Xia Feng cautiously opened the ordinary chest. It went smoothly, and nothing surprising happened. [System Notification: 200g of biscuits +2] [System Notification: 500ml of water +2] [System Notification: Wooden Chest +1] Two bags of biscuits, two bottles of water, and an empty Wooden Chest. Xia Feng delightedly stored all the items in his Shelter Ring. There was a space of eight cubic meters in the Shelter Ring. It was just like a storage ring when it was not unfolded into a shelter. He only needed to think about it in order to store or fetch anything. [System notification: The Wooden Chest can be decomposed into two pieces of wood. Do you want to decompose it?] Xia Feng thought for a moment, and decided not to decompose it in case he needed it later. ¡°With the biscuits and water, at least I won¡¯t starve today.¡± Xia Feng looked at the two bare trees. [System notification: Wood detected. Do you want to collect it?] ¡°Collect it.¡± After a flash, the two trees turned into short stumps. [System notification: Wood +12] The two trees weren¡¯t tall, so it was reasonable that each of them was counted as six pieces of wood. Xia Feng went to the stone and collected it too. [System notification: Stone +4] ¡°I have wood and stone now. I can craft a stone spear to defend myself.¡± Xia Feng opened the craft menu. [Ordinary Stone Spear: Wood 12/4, Stone 4/2] [Requirements satisfied. Would you like to craft it?] [System notification: Wood -4, Stone -2] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully crafted an Ordinary Stone Spear.] A 1.6-meter-long spear appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands. The tip of the spear was made of stone, and the shaft was wooden. [Ordinary Stone Spear: This is a newly made spear that can deal with small monsters.] I can finally defend myself now. With the stone spear in his hand, Xia Feng finally had a sense of security. Nobody could tell if the Misty Monsters would show up at some point. This is rather handy. Xia Feng waved the stone spear, and felt quite satisfied. He stabbed at the air quickly for a moment, and then stopped practicing with a pant. Catching his breath, Xia Feng observed the trails that were linked to this island. There were five of them in total. [Island No.1: Good Lord. There¡¯s a pair of excited wolves on this island. You don¡¯t want to mess with them.] [Island No.2: This is a desolate island. A trip here will be a waste of your time.] [Island No.3: This is a good place. Two Bronze Chests are hidden here.] [Island No.4: A wild bear is sleeping here. You may be able to sneak past it if you¡¯re gentle.] [Island No.5: Don¡¯t come here unless you want to get yourself killed.] Undoubtedly, Xia Feng chose Island No.3. Before he set off, he opened the chat menu again. He checked other people¡¯s progress and collected intelligence. ¡°How long are these trails? I¡¯ve walked 10 meters, and it¡¯s still not over.¡± ¡°Help! There¡¯s a serpent!¡± ¡°By the time you read this message, I¡¯m probably already¡­ dead.¡± ¡°Emergency! I see two dogs that are mating. What am I supposed to do?¡± ¡°Major discovery¡­ But I won¡¯t tell you what it is. Are you angry?¡± Scanning between the public and regional channels, Xia Feng closed the game menu. He found no useful information. He came to Trail No. 3, and stepped on it. He only walked about 30 meters before he saw the glittering membrane. Crossing the glittering membrane, Xia Feng arrived at the third island. This island had a coverage of 200 square meters. Not far away on Xia Feng¡¯s left, there was a Bronze Chest. On his right side was a tiny area of red plants. Xia Feng came to the Bronze Chest first. [This Bronze Chest has no traps. You can open it without worries.] Confirming that it was safe, Xia Feng simply opened the Bronze Chest. [System notification: Source Crystal (Low Level) +1] [System notification: Recipe of Exquisite Water Purifier +1] [System notification: Bronze Chest +1] [System notification: The Bronze Chest can be decomposed into two pieces of bronze. Do you want to decompose it?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Exquisite Water Purifier?] Ignoring the system notifications, Xia Feng grabbed the recipe. In the recipe, some complicated patterns were drawn, with notes written in a language that Xia Feng could not understand. [Recipe of Exquisite Water Purifier: This can produce a piece of highly practical equipment that can purify water and make it drinkable.] In the Game of Misty Islands, all items were classified into different levels, including Ordinary, Exquisite, Rare, Superior, Perfect, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic. After checking the recipe back and forth, Xia Feng said to himself, ¡°Learn it.¡± [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] Xia Feng opened the system panel, and entered the craft menu. [Exquisite Water Purifier: Wood 8/6, Bronze 0/6, Water Spiritual Rune 0/1, Fire Spiritual Rune 0/1] Four kinds of materials were required. He had enough wood, and bronze shouldn¡¯t be a problem. What gave Xia Feng a headache was the Water Spiritual Rune and the Fire Spiritual Rune. He didn¡¯t know if it was easy to get them. Putting that matter aside, Xia Feng grabbed another item from the Bronze Chest. It was a transparent crystal the size of a thumb. [Source Crystal: It¡¯s a special item, and has a wide range of usages. You¡¯ll surely love it.] It did not clear things up at all. Xia Feng simply threw the Source Crystal into his ring, and decomposed the Bronze Chest. [System notification: Bronze +2] The hint mentioned two chests on this island. Why is there only one here? Xia Feng looked around, and didn¡¯t find any trace of a second chest. [Maybe you can try digging the heap of soil on your left.] The golden words popped up again. After reading that, Xia Feng came to the heap and started digging. The soil was quite loose and easy to dig. Very soon, Xia Feng dug out a large pit, and a deeply buried Bronze Chest was revealed. Xia Feng was going to open it when the golden words jumped out suddenly again. [This chest has a trap. You¡¯d better open it from behind.] After reading the hint, Xia Feng was quite shocked and felt lucky. Had it not been for the hint, he might have been caught in danger. Moving to the back of the chest, Xia Feng opened it prudently. Swoosh! The moment he opened the chest, a short arrow dashed out quickly, and eventually fell into the sea. [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +1] [System notification: Bronze +2] [System notification: Bronze Chest +1] I¡¯ve got a spiritual rune already? Xia Feng seized the spiritual rune up rather excitedly. [Fire Spiritual Rune: It¡¯s one of the four fundamental spiritual runes in the Misty Space, and contains mysterious power. It can be used for many purposes.] There was no telling what the Fire Spiritual Rune was made of. It was the size of a hand. On the surface of the spiritual rune was a fiery pattern. Collecting the Fire Spiritual Rune, Xia Feng decomposed the Bronze Chest. At this moment, he only needed a Water Spiritual Rune to make a water purifier. Thinking for a moment, Xia Feng took out a bottle of water, and opened the trade menu. [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: 500ml of water] [Item desired: 1 Water Spiritual Rune] [Alternative: N/A] [Stock: 1] Soon after he put it on sale, the chat channels were already exploding. Chapter 3 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°Seriously? Seriously? Someone is selling water?¡± ¡°Shoot! He¡¯s a big shot. Master Xia, do you need a loyal servant?¡± ¡°Can anybody tell me what the Water Spiritual Rune is? I humbly seek an answer.¡± ¡°So much water¡­¡± Xia Feng read the messages in the public channel. While everybody was discussing it heatedly, none really bought the water. It was mostly because they hadn¡¯t been on the Misty Islands for long, and they weren¡¯t too thirsty yet. Xia Feng didn¡¯t expect anyone to buy the water already, either. He simply put it on the market. If anyone bought it, it¡¯d be great; if nobody did, he wouldn¡¯t lose anything anyway. Noticing the 99+ private messages, Xia Feng opened a few random ones and read them. He simply closed the game menu after realizing that none of them was a buyer. All the thousands of private messages were marked as read. Then, Xia Feng moved to the red plants. [Bleeding Stopper: This is an herb that can stop bleeding. It¡¯s rather common on the Misty Islands.] After reading the note, Xia Feng squatted and picked the herbs. A few minutes later, no Bleeding Stoppers could be seen in this area anymore. [System notification: Bleeding Stopper +8] Circling the island and reading the hints of all the four trails, Xia Feng walked to Island No.4. On the third island, Xia Feng opened a Wooden Chest. He got two 500g pieces of bread and two 500ml bottles of water. Apart from them, he also got Wood +6 and Iron +2. After looting the third island, Xia Feng set foot on the fourth island with the help of the hints. On this island, Xia Feng opened a Bronze Chest, and acquired the Recipe of Exquisite Sharp Long Saber as well as Iron +2. [Recipe of Exquisite Sharp Long Saber: This can produce a very sharp long saber. It¡¯s not a spiritual weapon, but it¡¯s still sharp enough.] Xia Feng opened the craft menu. [Exquisite Sharp Long Saber: Iron 4/4, Bronze 8/4] He clicked ¡°Craft¡±. [System notification: Iron -4, Bronze -4] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully crafted an Exquisite Sharp Long Saber.] A long heavy saber appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands and shined coldly. He tore off a hair, and threw it at the edge of the saber, and the hair was cut off immediately. The sharpness of the long saber was quite obvious. On the fourth island, Xia Feng also harvested four stones and six purple vines. The purple vines all grew up around a stone pillar. So far, Xia Feng had already found a lot of items. Materials: 18 Wood (he had decomposed two Wooden Chests), six Stone, four Iron, eight Bleeding Stoppers, and six Purple Vines. Food: two 200g bags of compressed biscuits, four 500ml bottles of water, and two 500g pieces of bread. Weapons: one Ordinary Stone Spear and one Exquisite Sharp Long Saber. Special Items: one Fire Spiritual Rune, one Source Crystal, Recipe of Exquisite Water Purifier, and Recipe of Exquisite Sharp Long Saber. At this moment, it was merely nine in the morning. Xia Feng¡¯s exploration was definitely rewarding. After sorting out the items, Xia Feng began to examine the trails that were connected to the fourth island. Xia Feng circled the island and stopped. He had a problem. The fourth island was connected to three trails, but none of the islands that those trails led to was easy to pass through. [Island No.1: A bunch of killer bees nest here. Don¡¯t come unless you want to kill yourself.] [Island No.2: A highly aggressive Shadow Cat has claimed this place, and is ready to give birth. Don¡¯t approach it right now.] [Island No.3: This island was drowned by seawater and occupied by sea creatures. You¡¯ll die without any bones left if you come.] None of the three islands was easy to pass. Xia Feng carefully examined the three hints. The first island had killer bees. It shouldn¡¯t be hard if he had any equipment that could cover his body up. But the problem was that he didn¡¯t have any. The second island had a highly aggressive monster which, judging from the description, wasn¡¯t easy to deal with. There was no need to mention the third island that was occupied by sea creatures. It was impossible for Xia Feng to pass unless he could fly or build a boat. As he considered the three hints carefully, Xia Feng¡¯s eyes glittered. He came to Trail No.2, and stepped forward after a moment of hesitation. He lowered his head, and the golden words popped up again. If this is the case, then there¡¯ll be a solution for me. Xia Feng looked at the hint, and moved ahead slowly. Eventually, he stopped in front of the glittering membrane and waited patiently. Xia Feng checked the golden hint every three minutes. While he waited, he opened the game menu, and entered the trade module. [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: 500g of bread] [Item desired: 1 Water Spiritual Rune] [Alternative: N/A] [Stock: 1] Xia Feng put a piece of bread on sale. It instantly raised another round of exclamations. ¡°Look, Master Xia Feng is selling food this time!¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng, do you need a bed warmer? You can do anything to me as long as you give me one piece of bread.¡± ¡°So, what is the Water Spiritual Rune exactly? Why does he want it so badly?¡± Time flew quickly as he read the messages. An hour passed. In order to maintain his condition, Xia Feng had 100g of the biscuits and half a bottle of water as he waited. After Xia Feng finished the food and read the hint again, his pupils constricted. [Island No.2: A highly aggressive Shadow Cat has claimed this place, and is about to give birth. DO NOT approach it right now.] The hint had changed from ¡°ready to give birth¡± to ¡°about to give birth¡±. It was about what Xia Feng had anticipated. Then, Xia Feng stared at the hint and kept waiting. After another 15 minutes, the hint changed again. [Island No.2: A highly aggressive Shadow Cat has claimed this place, and is giving birth. If you want to deal with it, you¡¯d better wait for a minute before you go in.] One minute. Xia Feng counted down, and took out the Exquisite Sharp Long Saber. ¡°One, two, three¡­ 27, 28, 29¡­ 58, 59, 60¡­ Now is the time!¡± Finishing the countdown, Xia Feng stepped through the glittering membrane and emerged on the fifth island. The moment he arrived, he fixed his eyes on the center of the island. There, a black cat whose shoulder height was more than one meter was struggling to give birth on the ground. ¡°Hoooooooo¡­.¡± After Xia Feng appeared out of nowhere, the Shadow Cat roared, hoping to scare him off. Xia Feng had a moment of hesitation, and wondered if he should retreat. However, seeing how enfeebled the Shadow Cat was, he changed his mind. ¡°Let me kill it!¡± Xia Feng gritted his teeth, and charged forward with the Exquisite Long Saber. There were only eight meters between them. Xia Feng soon approached the Shadow Cat and slashed it. The Shadow Cat was in the middle of childbirth, and couldn¡¯t dodge effectively at all. It could only turn its body to prevent its vitals from being hit. Pu. Blood splashed out after the Exquisite Long Saber left a long and narrow wound on the Shadow Cat. The wound was almost 40 centimeters long, and blood was gushing out. ¡°Hoooooooo¡­.¡± The Shadow Cat groaned in pain. With its eyes bloodshot, the Shadow Cat exerted strength in its hindquarters, and squeezed its cub to death. After that, it quickly rose and lunged at Xia Feng madly. Xia Feng was already prepared for that. When the Shadow Cat lunged at him, he put the Exquisite Long Saber back, and stabbed it with the Stone Spear. Pu. The Stone Spear penetrated the Shadow Cat¡¯s body from its neck, yet it simply ignored it, and opened its mouth at Xia Feng, trying to die together with its enemy. Naturally, Xia Feng wouldn¡¯t be hit. He let go of the Stone Spear, and grabbed the Exquisite Long Saber before he slashed the Shadow Cat¡¯s mouth horizontally. Without any surprise, the sharp long saber killed the Shadow Cat easily. [System notification: Source Crystal (Low Level) +1] [System notification: Shadow Cat Skin +1] [System notification: Shadow Cat Blood +1,000ml] [System notification: Shadow Cat Meat +4] [System notification: Shadow Cat Bones +4] Chapter 4 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°Hu¡­ Hu¡­¡± Xia Feng breathed heavily, and gradually calmed down. Opening the craft menu, he made two stone bowls at the cost of two stones. He needed containers for the Shadow Cat¡¯s meat and blood. After they were properly stored, Xia Feng looked at the Shadow Cat¡¯s blood. [Shadow Cat¡¯s Blood: The blood of a misty monster. Drink it while it¡¯s still warm if you want to.] [You¡¯re still very weak. The tiny bit of spiritual power in this blood can strengthen you if you drink it, but you have to do it fast.] The line above was the system¡¯s note, and the next one was the hint. It can strengthen me. Xia Feng¡¯s eyes glittered. He raised the bowl and chugged the blood. The blood tasted rather awful. Finishing 1000 ml of the Shadow Cat¡¯s Blood without stopping, Xia Feng took a deep breath to stop himself from vomiting. Several minutes later, the discomfort declined. At this moment, the Shadow Cat¡¯s Blood kicked in. Xia Feng¡¯s body was hot, but not too badly. About 10 minutes later, the fever ebbed. I¡¯m a lot stronger than before. Waving the Exquisite Long Saber in his right hand, Xia Feng was quite delighted. Earlier, it was hard for him to wave the saber with one hand, but he could do it easily at this moment. He estimated that he was more than 50% stronger than before. Xia Feng looked at the Shadow Cat¡¯s meat hopefully. [Shadow Cat¡¯s Meat: This is the meat of a mist creature. Its taste is very delicious.] [There¡¯s a tiny bit of spiritual power in the meat too. It can strengthen you if you eat it over a long period.] So, the meat works too. Also, the hint doesn¡¯t ask me to eat it right now. I can store it. Xia Feng collected the Shadow Cat¡¯s Meat excitedly. He checked the bones and the skin. They were all materials for crafting, so he stored them as well as the Source Crystal. Plus the one he got earlier, he already had two Source Crystals. [System notification: You¡¯ve explored five islands. You¡¯re rewarded with the opportunity of a dungeon raid.] [System notification: The reward will expire if you don¡¯t enter in 30 minutes.] ¡°A dungeon?¡± Xia Feng rubbed his hands, but wasn¡¯t in a hurry to come in. He hadn¡¯t looted this island yet. If some other player came to this island, and claimed the treasures while he was in the dungeon, it would be a great shame. Xia Feng looked around, and saw a treasure chest at the edge of the island. It was an Iron Chest that he had never opened. Xia Feng walked to it, and opened the chest. [System notification: Iron Chest +1] [System notification: Wind Spiritual Rune +1] [System notification: Earth Spiritual Rune +1] [System notification: Recipe of Exquisite Healing Medicine +1] Spiritual runes and a recipe. Xia Feng smiled so hard that he could barely close his mouth. [Recipe of Exquisite Healing Medicine: It can produce miraculous potion that can quickly heal your wounds.] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Exquisite Healing Medicine?] ¡°Learn it.¡± [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] [Exquisite Healing Medicine: Bleeding Stoppers 8/4, Purple Vines 6/4, Invigorating Grasses 0/2, Fragrant Leaves 0/4] Four materials were required to make the healing potion, and Xia Feng only had two of them. He collected the items in the chest and continued looting. Luckily, he found four Invigorating Grasses, two pieces of iron, and four pieces of bronze where the Shadow Cat had been giving birth. There were no other items on this island. Xia Feng sat down on the ground and took a break. There were only five minutes to go until the closure of the dungeon. ¡°Enter the dungeon,¡± Xia Feng said to himself. Almost at the same time, a bright blue portal appeared in front of him. [System notification: The portal to the dungeon has been activated. Please enter in one minute.] Without hesitation, Xia Feng walked in with the Exquisite Long Saber. Crossing the portal, he found himself in front of an enormous palace. There were three entrances in the palace, which was completely dark. There was no telling what was inside. [Dungeon clearance requirement: You must pass it in 60 minutes. The faster you are, the more generously you¡¯ll be rewarded.] [System notification: Say ¡°return¡± to yourself to leave the dungeon anytime.] Seeing the time limitation, Xia Feng didn¡¯t waste any time. He approached the entrance on the left side, and observed it carefully, and the golden hint popped up. [The left entrance is absolutely safe. You can pass it smoothly.] Then, he checked the entrances in the middle and on the right side. [The central entrance has traps that will significantly slow you down.] [The right entrance is home to several giant spiders. You¡¯d better avoid them.] Xia Feng chose the left entrance. Behind the entrance was a narrow corridor that was about 30 meters long. He passed the corridor, and was faced with another junction of roads. With the help of the hint, Xia Feng made the best choice again. There were five junctions in total. Also, they were all the same. Each of them had three entrances, of which one was safe, one had nonlethal traps, and one had monsters in the way. Once he chose any of the entrances, it would be impossible to return. With the help of the hints, Xia Feng passed all the junctions easily in no more than three minutes. Passing through the palace, Xia Feng came to a canyon. On the two sides of the canyon were boundless cliffs, and in the middle was a pathway that was more than 10 meters wide and 100 meters long. Observing the environment for a while, Xia Feng stepped forward unhurriedly. After only three steps, the golden words suddenly popped out. [It¡¯s dangerous up ahead. You need to set foot on the right places¡ªor rush across the area fast¡ªto avoid the traps, but you¡¯re not fast enough.] Xia Feng¡¯s eyelids cramped after he saw the hint. He moved his eyes and gazed at the pathway. [Danger ahead¡­] [Danger ahead¡­] *** [This place is safe. You may step down.] After examining several places, Xia Feng finally found an area that he could set foot on. He moved over, and looked for the next safe area. It took him 10 minutes to pass through the 100-meter-long pathway. At the end of the canyon was an open ground, and the exit of the dungeon was at its center. However, the exit was guarded by two Armored Crocodiles. It was impossible to beat the Armored Crocodiles with strength. He could only use his wisdom. Xia Feng looked back at the pathway in the canyon, and had an idea. He picked up a few stones, and stored them in the Shelter Ring. Then, he marked all the safe areas near the end of the pathway on his side. After that, he moved forward, and threw the stones at the two Armored Crocodiles. Bam! Bam! Bam! After a few dull noises, the Armored Crocodiles charged at Xia Feng fast and ruthlessly. Xia Feng turned around and quickly entered the pathway. The two Armored Crocodiles closely chased him. Huala! The moment the Armored Crocodiles came in, they fell into a pit that was several meters deep. The bamboos with sharpened tips at the bottom of the pit wounded both Armored Crocodiles. Seizing the opportunity, Xia Feng rushed out of the pathway through the safe areas, and dashed into the portal to leave the dungeon. Then, the environment changed, and Xia Feng was back to the fifth island. The moment he came out, the portal to the dungeon disappeared. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully passed the first dungeon in 18 minutes and 52 seconds. Reward: an SS Dungeon Chest.] In ascending order, the quality of the Dungeon Chests was D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. An SS Dungeon Chest? Xia Feng rubbed his hands in excitement again. Chapter 5 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations A shiny luxurious appeared next to Xia Feng¡¯s feet. [SS Dungeon Chest: You can¡¯t get this chest unless you clear a dungeon with remarkable results. You¡¯ll find a big surprise in it.] Xia Feng quickly opened the chest. [System notification: SS Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal +6] [System notification: Wind Spiritual Rune +8] [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +8] [System notification: Water Spiritual Rune +8] [System notification: Earth Spiritual Rune +8] [System notification: Recipe of Superior Lightning Crossbow +1] [System notification: Upgrade Scroll For Ordinary Shelter +1] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Superior Lightning Crossbow?] ¡°Yes.¡± Xia Feng couldn¡¯t wait to respond. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] Xia Feng opened the craft menu, and checked the raw materials for the Lightning Crossbow. [Superior Lightning Crossbow: Gold 0/4, Silver 0/6, Iron 2/10, Wind Spiritual Runes 9/12, Fire Spiritual Runes 9/12, Earth Spiritual Runes 9/4] It required a lot of materials, and Xia Feng didn¡¯t have most of them yet. Fortunately, with the spiritual runes in the SS chest, he didn¡¯t need many more of those. At this moment, it was the other materials that he should pay attention to. Xia Feng looked at the SS chest. [System notification: Do you want to decompose the SS Dungeon Chest?] ¡°Dismantle it.¡± [System notification: Gold +6] [System notification: Silver +6] [System notification: Iron +10] I didn¡¯t expect the SS Dungeon Chest to be as useful. At this moment, he only needed several more spiritual runes to make the Lightning Crossbow. Thinking for a moment, Xia Feng changed the items that he wanted to exchange for water and bread into Wind Spiritual Runes and Fire Spiritual Runes. Then, he opened the craft menu, chose Exquisite Water Purifier, and clicked ¡°Craft¡±. [System notification: Wood -6, Bronze -6, Water Spiritual Rune -1, Fire Spiritual Rune -1] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully crafted a Water Purifier.] A machine that resembled a water fountain appeared before Xia Feng. It was mostly iron on the surface and wood inside. Mysterious patterns were engraved on it. It was about one meter tall and divided in two parts. The upper part contained the fluid to be purified, and the bottom part stored clean water. [Exquisite Water Purifier: It¡¯s a spiritual device that can purify water. You can use it by adding Source Crystals.] So, this is how the Source Crystals are used. Seeing the note, Xia Feng finally learned one of the Source Crystals¡¯ usages. [System notification: One Source Crystal (Low Level) can power the water purifier for a day.] Xia Feng picked up the bowl, and came to the edge of the island. He bent down, and carefully filled the bowl with water. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t assaulted by the piranhas. The bowl was quite large, with a capacity of two liters. Xia Feng poured all of its contents into the upper half of the water purified. Based on the ratio of the seawater in the container, Xia Feng estimated that the upper half of the water purifier could store five liters of water in total. The bottom part was of a similar size to the upper part, so its capacity was probably also five liters. ¡°Add one Source Crystal as the fuel and activate the water purifier,¡± Xia Feng said to himself. [System notification: Source Crystal (Low Level) -1] The water purifier was soon activated, and the mysterious circuits on it glimmered. [System notification: The water purifier can purify 500 milliliters of water in an hour.] 500 ml in an hour. That¡¯s good enough. Xia Feng put the Exquisite Water Purifier in his Shelter Ring in satisfaction. He then checked the time. It was noon. He took out the Upgrade Scroll For Ordinary Shelter. [Upgrade Scroll For Ordinary Shelter: It¡¯s a miraculous scroll that can upgrade ordinary shelters.] [Materials required for the upgrade: Bronze 0/10, Stone 4/12, Earth Spiritual Runes 9/1, Wind Spiritual Runes 9/1, Water Spiritual Runes 7/1, Fire Spiritual Runes 8/1] He was still short of some of the regular materials. Xia Feng opened the trade menu. He then searched with ¡°Bronze¡± and ¡°Iron¡± as keywords. A lot of people were selling them for other materials. However, their prices were all rather high. They charged 500 g of bread for two pieces of stone or bronze. Xia Feng didn¡¯t buy them. He decided to make deals with purified water later. Then, it was time to explore the sixth island. Xia Feng circled the island, and examined all the five pathways it was connected to. The best choice was Island No.4. [Island No.4: It¡¯s not only safe, but also contains a lot of materials you need as well as a Bronze Chest.] Setting foot on the pathway to Island No.4, Xia Feng moved forward. The glittering membrane soon appeared, and he approached the sixth island. This island was the largest that Xia Feng had seen so far. It had a coverage of almost 300 square meters, and contained many resources. First of all, Xia Feng looted all the materials. He got Stone +8, Wood +4, Bronze +2, Iron +2, and Pollen of Enchanting Flowers +6. The Pollen of Enchanting Flowers was scarlet and odorless. [Pollen of Enchanting Flowers: It¡¯s the pollen of the Enchanting Flowers, which are common plants in the Misty Space. It may cause hallucinations if taken in a large amount.] Collecting the materials, Xia Feng came to the center of the island. That was where the Bronze Chest was kept. He looked at the Bronze Chest, and the golden hint popped up. [This chest is safe. You¡¯re free to open it.] He simply opened it. [System notification: Bronze Chest +1] [System notification: Fire Stone +1] [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +2] He got two Fire Spiritual Runes, which was rather comforting. The Fire Stone was good stuff too. [Fire Stone: It¡¯s a helpful daily item in the Misty Space. If you have it, you¡¯ll constantly have access to fire.] He stored the items, and decomposed the Bronze Chest. [System notification: Bronze +2] After that, Xia Feng looked at the four trails that this island was linked to. [Island No.1: This place has the plant materials you need as well as a mysterious egg.] [Island No.2: A wild one-horned rhino lives here. Watch out for your anus.] [Island No.3: This is a resourceful island. Maybe you¡¯ll like it.] [Island No.4: You don¡¯t want to set foot in here unless you want to dance with snakes.] Reading the hints, Xia Feng wavered between Island No.1 and Island No.3. Does this mysterious egg have special functions such as, say, strengthening you? Standing on the trail towards Island No.1, Xia Feng squeezed his chin and considered. Two minutes later, Xia Feng opened the chat menu, and searched for ¡°egg¡±. He checked all the results, but found nothing helpful. Judging from the results, nobody had encountered the mysterious egg yet. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m in desperate need of the resources on Island No.3. I¡¯ll just go check the egg. Eventually, Xia Feng embarked on the trail to Island No.1. Moving for 100 meters, he successfully reached the seventh island. It was only half the size of the sixth island. There were only two things on this island: a tree that was full of broad green leaves which emitted special fragrance and a black egg that was buried next to the tree. Xia Feng approached the tree and checked the note. [Fragrant Tree: It¡¯s a tree that can release fragrance. The Fragrant Leaves that grow on it are good stuff.] Fragrant Leaves were the last materials he needed to make the Exquisite Healing Medicine. He quickly picked the leaves, and got Fragrant Leaves +12. Ignoring the Fragrant Tree that had become bare, Xia Feng turned to the black egg. [Spiritual Egg: A special creature is sealed inside. You can break the seal by dropping your blood on it, and you¡¯ll get a loyal partner.] [This is not your egg, but you can still incubate it.] Chapter 6 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Xia Feng was not in a hurry to incubate the spiritual egg. He only had limited food, and he didn¡¯t know if the pet would need to eat, or how much food it required if it did. He had to take all the details into consideration. Storing the spiritual egg, Xia Feng opened the craft panel. [Exquisite Healing Medicine: Bleeding Stoppers 8/4, Purple Vines 6/4, Invigorating Grasses 4/2, Fragrant Leaves 12/8] All the materials that the healing potion needed were ready. Xia Feng simply crafted it. [System notification: Bleeding Stoppers -4, Purple Vines -4, Invigorating Grasses -2, Fragrant Leaves -8] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully crafted an Exquisite Healing Medicine.] A green medical ball that was the size of two hands appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hand. [Exquisite Healing Medicine: It¡¯s a healing medicine that can be smeared or taken orally. It can treat many wounds.] Holding the medicine in his hand, Xia Feng crafted another two stone bowls. He put the medicine in one of the bowls, and put it in his Shelter Ring. He looked around at the six trails that the island was connected to. [Island No.1: A desolate island.] [Island No.2: Two misty monsters are fighting here. Take advantage of them if you¡¯re bold. Of course, you¡¯ll more likely be torn into pieces.] [Island No.3: It¡¯s very resourceful, but a young Sand Lizard just settled down here. You can kill it if you¡¯re brave enough.] [Island No.4: A group of Armored Lions are mating here. You can observe them if you¡¯re interested. Maybe you can learn something.] [Island No.5: A level-18 gale is raging here. You don¡¯t want to be blown into the sea.] [Island No.6: Five barbarians are having a nude meeting here. Do you want to join them?] None of the islands were satisfactory to Xia Feng. Also, something else occurred to him. He found that the misty monsters were particularly sexually active. Pacing back and forth on the island, Xia Feng decided to go to Island No.3. But before that, he took out the spiritual egg. The egg was purely black, with complicated mysterious patterns engraved to it. He took out the Exquisite Long Saber, and gently cut his fingertip. After a sting, his blood flowed out and dropped on the spiritual egg. Crack. Then, after a glow, the egg was broken, and a black dog walked out. ¡°Woof! Woof!¡± The black dog barked at Xia Feng warmly. It also stuck out its tongue, and licked Xia Feng¡¯s pants intimately. [Polar Devouring Dog: It¡¯s a rarely seen misty monster that¡¯s very good at fighting. It¡¯s said to possess the Heavenly Dog¡¯s bloodline. It¡¯s very good at swallowing and self-recovery.] [It looks like a dog, and it is a dog.] After reading the note and hint of the Polar Devouring Dog, Xia Feng named it Big Black. It was rather a silly name, but Xia Feng was never good at giving names. It was the dog that had to suffer. Big Black could mentally communicate with Xia Feng. Learning that it had been given such a stupid name, it quickly shook its head. Xia Feng selectively ignored it. Eventually, Big Black lowered its head in disappointment. With Big Black¡¯s help, Xia Feng went straight to Island No.3 with the Exquisite Long Saber. Crossing the glittering membrane, the man and the dog appeared on the eighth island. ¡°Woof!¡± Big Black was quite ferocious, and went straight at the young Sand Lizard at the center of the island. The Sand Lizard might be young, but it was already 1.5 meters long. It had been sleeping in the middle of the sand until it was woken up by Big Black¡¯s bark. The young Sand Lizard quickly rose, and fought Big Black fearlessly. Holding the Exquisite Long Saber, Xia Feng approached the battlefield from the flank. Big Black was very smart, and knew that Xia Feng wanted to ambush the enemy. It intentionally fought ruthlessly, and attracted the young Sand Lizard¡¯s full attention. With Big Black¡¯s cover, Xia Feng finally got an opportunity. He waved his long saber, and cut the young Sand Lizard¡¯s head. Blood instantly squirted out like a spring. Big Black quickly moved forward, and bit the young Sand Lizard¡¯s neck until it died. ¡°Hu¡­¡± Xia Feng just exhaled in relief when he heard a noise from the edge of the island. An adult Sand Lizard that was three meters long had arrived from some island. Seeing its only son dead, the adult Sand Lizard rushed towards Big Black with its thick limbs. Big Black was not scared at all even though it had just finished a fight. It bared its fangs and went at the enemy. Because its body was much smaller, Big Black was losing soon after the battle started. Its left foreleg was hurt with several wounds by the swipes of the adult Sand Lizard. Seizing the opening, Xia Feng left a long, narrow wound on the Sand Lizard¡¯s right foreleg. Sensing the pain, the adult lizard turned around, and was ready to attack Xia Feng. Big Black naturally wouldn¡¯t let it do that. It opened its mouth, and bit the lizard¡¯s tail when the lizard turned around. Xia Feng, on the other hand, stepped back in case he was bitten. He knew that most lizards were likely venomous. The adult Sand Lizard was rather flustered when attacked from both sides. In particular, its tail was bitten by Big Black, and it couldn¡¯t fight back. It could only wriggle as hard as it could, hoping to shake off Big Black. But Big Black simply bit the tail tightly without letting go. Xia Feng sneak attacked with the sharp weapon, and soon caused several huge wounds which bled profusely. Just like that, they finally wore the Sand Lizard to death after about 10 minutes. After the Sand Lizard died, Big Black trembled and collapsed on the ground too. Xia Feng instantly ran to it, and smeared the Exquisite Healing Medication on Big Black¡¯s blackening wounds. After that, Xia Feng even fed some of the medication to Big Black. He had to admit that the medication was rather useful. Soon enough, Big Black seemed to be energetic again even though it seemed weak a moment ago. ¡°Big Black, you made great contributions just now. I¡¯ll give you meat later.¡± Touching Big Black¡¯s head, Xia Feng comforted him. After confirming that Big Black was fine, Xia Feng looked at the system notifications. [System notification: Source Crystal (Low Level) +1] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Skin +1] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Blood +800ml] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Meat +3] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Bones +3] Those were from the young Sand Lizard. The following were from the adult one. [System notification: Source Crystal (Low Level) +2] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Skin +1] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Blood +1,200ml] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Meat +5] [System notification: Sand Lizard¡¯s Bones +5] In total, he got three Source Crystals, two sets of skin, 2,000 ml of blood, eight pieces of meat, and eight bones. The battle was slightly dangerous, but definitely rewarding. Reading the notes of those items, he found that they were similar to the Shadow Cat¡¯s. Xia Feng raised the bowl with 2,000 ml of blood, held his breath, and swallowed it. 15 minutes later, he sensed inexhaustible strength in his body, and waved his fists hard. His physical strength had almost doubled after he digested the bowl of blood. Chapter 7 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Storing the materials that the Sand Lizard dropped, Xia Feng glanced at Big Black, which was lying on the ground, and threw a bone to it. ¡°Big Black, come here. Here¡¯s a bone for you.¡± Big Black stared at the bone, and raised its head pitifully, as if it were saying, ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise to give me meat earlier?¡± Seeing that, Xia Feng put a piece of meat in front of Big Black. ¡°I was just messing with ya.¡± After saying that with a smile, he continued collecting materials. There were indeed a lot of resources in this place. They included 18 Wood, eight Stone, six Bronze, four Iron, 12 Evergreen Fruits, eight Numbing Vines, and eight Sour Grasses. [Evergreen Fruit: A fruit whose skin is forever green. It tastes awful, and is not suitable for eating.] [Numbing Vine: A vine that grows in the Misty Space. Its sap is slightly paralyzing.] [Sour Grass: A regular herb. It can only be used to mix with the sap of the Numbing Vine to increase the paralyzing effect.] Apart from them, there was also a Bronze Chest. Xia Feng simply opened it. [System notification: Bronze Chest +1] [System notification: Iron +2] [System notification: Wind Spiritual Rune +1] [System notification: Recipe of Exquisite Hallucinogenic Drug +1] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Exquisite Exquisite Hallucinogenic Drug?] Of course he learned it. A glimmer flashed. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] He opened the craft menu, and checked the materials needed. [Exquisite Hallucinogenic Drug: Pollen of Enchanting Flowers 6/2, Evergreen Fruits 12/4, Numbing Vines 8/2, Sour Grasses 8/2] He had all the necessary materials, so he simply crafted it. [System notification: Pollen of Enchanting Flowers -2, Evergreen Fruits -2, Numbing Vines -2, Sour Grasses -2] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully crafted an Exquisite Hallucinogenic Drug.] Xia Feng took out a stone bowl to pack up the drug. The drug was in the form of white powder. [Exquisite Hallucinogenic Drug: This is a drug that can paralyze both the mind and the body.] [Usages: 1. It can be directly absorbed, but it will take longer for the drug to kick in; 2. It can be dissolved in water and smeared on weapons so that it can flow into blood through wounds that the weapons cause. It works faster this way.] After reading the note, Xia Feng grinned in delight. It would be a lot easier to deal with the misty monsters with such a drug. Storing the drug well, Xia Feng checked the four channels that were connected to the island while Big Black was busy chewing a bone. It wasn¡¯t hard to make a choice this time. Xia Feng chose Island No.4, which had an Iron Chest and some resources. He and the dog set foot on the trail to Island No.4. No accidents happened this time. Xia Feng arrived safely, and opened the Iron Chest. [System notification: Iron Chest +1] [System notification: Small Map +1] [System notification: Earth Spiritual Rune +2] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Bone Armor +1] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Rare Bone Armor?] ¡°A Rare Armor? Of course I do.¡± Xia Feng couldn¡¯t be more excited. Then, there was a glow. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] Xia Feng quickly checked the materials for the armor. [Rare Bone Armor: Beast Bones 11/10, Silver 6/4, Iron 10/8, Beast Skins 3/2, Earth Spiritual Runes 11/6, Wind Spiritual Runes 10/4, Fire Spiritual Runes 8/2] The bones and skins that the misty monsters dropped were collectively called Beast Bones and Beast Skins. He had all the necessary materials, but they included a lot of spiritual runes. After a moment of hesitation, Xia Feng clicked ¡°Craft¡±. He might as well leave worries to the future, and craft whatever he could first. He had to craft it sooner or later, so he wasn¡¯t going to lose anything. [System notification: Beast Bones -10, Silver -4, Iron -8, Beast Skins -2, Earth Spiritual Runes -6, Wind Spiritual Runes -4, Fire Spiritual Runes -2] A glittering suit of magnificent armor appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands. The armor had a silver surface, and pointy beast bones had been embedded into the parts such as elbows, wrists, and knees. The armor looked rather intimidating in general. Maybe because of the Wind Spiritual Runes, it wasn¡¯t too heavy. With Xia Feng¡¯s current physical strength, he could use it easily. [Rare Bone Armor: A suit of spiritual armor that offers high defense. Your strength and speed are temporarily boosted after you put it on. Regular misty monsters can¡¯t hurt you anymore.] Xia Feng instantly put the armor on, and tried all kinds of movements. He didn¡¯t feel hindered at all. It was as convenient as before. Although it was battle armor, it was highly flexible. Generally speaking, he felt great in the armor. The only thing that was slightly pitiful was that the armor didn¡¯t have a helmet. Running for a few laps on the island in the magnificent armor, Xia Feng discovered that he was twice as fast as he used to be. As the note described, normal misty monsters couldn¡¯t hurt him anymore now that he was wearing this armor. After trying the armor for a while, Xia Feng reluctantly put it inside the Shelter Ring. The armor wasn¡¯t very heavy, but it would still be exhausting if he wore it all the time. After that, Xia Feng looted all the materials on the ninth island. He acquired two Bronze, two Stone and two Wood. He checked his inventory, and found that he had a lot more materials than what was needed to upgrade the shelter. [Materials required for the upgrade: Bronze 16/10, Stone 22/12, Earth Spiritual Runes 7/1, Wind Spiritual Runes 7/1, Water Spiritual Runes 7/1, Fire Spiritual Runes 6/1] Xia Feng took out the Shelter Upgrade Scroll, transformed the Shelter Ring into a shelter, and spoke to himself, ¡°Upgrade the shelter.¡± [System notification: Bronze -10, Stone -12, Earth Spiritual Runes -1, Wind Spiritual Runes -1, Water Spiritual Runes -1, Fire Spiritual Runes -1] The next moment, the entire shelter was enshrouded in a halo, and it quickly expanded. Very soon, it became a house that was mainly made of bronze and stone. It was much more spacious than the Ordinary Shelter. It had a coverage of 50 square meters and a height of four meters. The shelter was no longer empty, either. There was furniture like a wooden bed and chairs to rest on. ¡°Now, this is more like a shelter.¡± Xia Feng lay on the wooden bed comfortably. When the shelter was upgraded to Exquisite, he would be able to strengthen it with the materials he chose. However, he was not in a rush to do that. He had already explored nine islands. Considering what happened earlier, he might be given another opportunity to visit a dungeon when he explored the 10th island. Therefore, Xia Feng didn¡¯t move to the next island hastily, but stopped to make preparations. It would be great if he could craft the Lightning Crossbow, which would help him seek a high score in the second dungeon. Besides, he needed time to study the small map, and Big Black had to take a break too. At this moment, it was one in the afternoon. Xia Feng made another water purifier, and filled the two water purifiers with raw water. Then, he fell asleep in the shelter. He would take a nap and trade the purified water for other items after he had enough storage of it. Big Black could watch over the place and warn him if any misty monsters showed up, so he had no worries at all. Chapter 8 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations In the blink of an eye, it was already five in the afternoon. Xia Feng drowsily rose on the bed. Maybe because the Exquisite Shelter was warm and well-ventilated, he had the best sleep just now. Seeing that Xia Feng woke up, Big Black immediately moved to him from the door. Xia Feng touched Big Black¡¯s head, stretched his arms, and came to the water purifiers. They had already purified 4,500 ml of water, which could be sold first. It was worth mentioning that the water and bread that Xia Feng had put on the market were already sold for two Wind Spiritual Runes while he was asleep. Xia Feng opened the trade menu, consigned the 4,500 ml of water in different batches, and added a note this time. [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: 100 ml of water] [Item desired: 2 Bronze] [Alternative: 2 Iron] [Stock: 10] [Seller¡¯s note: The stock is limited. If you hesitate, it may be sold out. You can ask me if there¡¯s anything you want to know, and pay me if I know the answer.] [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: 500 ml of water] [Item desired: 1 Wind Spiritual Rune] [Alternative: 1 any Spiritual Rune] [Stock: 5] [Seller¡¯s note: The stock is limited. If you hesitate, it may be sold out. You can ask me if there¡¯s anything you want to know, and pay me if I know the answer.] [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: 100 ml of water] [Item desired: 1 Source Crystal] [Alternative: Recipes] [Stock: 2] [Seller¡¯s note: If there¡¯s anything special you want to sell, you can come to me.] Plus the bottles of water he got earlier, altogether 5,500 ml of water was put on the market by Xia Feng. Since he had monopolized the market, he would certainly make as much money as possible. After consigning the items, Xia Feng opened the public chat channel, and sent a message. [I¡¯m starting a consultation business. Come to me with your questions. As long as I know the answers, you can pay for them with your items. Everybody only has one chance.] [Of course, I don¡¯t want useless messages to cram my private channel. Whoever sends me garbage will be blacklisted by me.] After sending the long declarations to the public channel, Xia Feng copied it to the regional channel. As a result, both channels were exploding, not only because of what he said, but also because of the resources that he was selling. In the public channel. ¡°Good Lord, Master Xia Feng has so much water. I really want to suck up to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to report Xia Feng for cheating. How can he have so much water?¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng, I¡¯m going to have your baby!¡± ¡°I feel so jealous!¡± The regional channel was relatively more peaceful. ¡°Master Xia Feng, I can play cute. Can you offer me some water?¡± ¡°Master, we¡¯re in the same area. Do you think you can give me a discount?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xia Feng skimmed through the two channels, and switched to his private channel. The first person to ask questions had shown up. Lin Xiaowan1: Master Xia Feng, I have a question. Xia Feng: Just tell it to me. I¡¯ll give you a price if I know the answer, and reply ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± if I don¡¯t know. Lin Xiaowan: Alright, sir. I want to know what the Source Crystals are for. Xia Feng: 2 Bronze. Right after he sent the message. [System notification: Lin Xiaowan offers you 2 Bronze.] Accepting the bronze, Xia Feng sent Lin Xiaowan a message with the Source Crystal¡¯s usage that he knew as he promised. Everybody would know that in a couple of days, so Xia Feng might as well make some extra money with the information while he could. Lin Xiaowan: Thank you, can I ask one other question? Xia Feng simply said no, because he only took one question from one person. Although Lin Xiaowan was quite pretty, she wasn¡¯t nearby at all anyway. The next asker was named Wang Yufan. He asked why Xia Feng had so much water. Xia Feng looked at the guy¡¯s avatar. The guy was rather handsome, although not as handsome as him. Xia Feng simply gave a high price: 1 Source Crystal. He didn¡¯t expect that Wang Yufan would turn out to be so rich. [System notification: Wang Yufan offers you 1 Source Crystal.] Accepting the item, Xia Feng took a screenshot of the note of the Exquisite Water Purifiers, and sent it to Wang Yufan. Wang Yufan: Goodbye! Seeing the exclamation mark at the end, Xia Feng had no doubt that the guy was rather bummed. He had paid one Source Crystal for such a useless piece of information. After that, Xia Feng received a bunch of more questions, and he knew the answers to most of them, so he accepted a large batch of materials. He got Bronze +22, Iron +8, Source Crystal +4, Fire Spiritual Runes +3, Water Spiritual Rune +4, and Earth Spiritual Runes +2. There were more people who asked Xia Feng questions, but not everybody could offer Xia Feng the materials he demanded. Among those who could, there was a foreigner named Delsi who caught Xia Feng¡¯s attention. It was because the man asked him about the dungeon. Delsi asked Xia Feng what chests would be given after a dungeon was cleared. Xia Feng simply charged two Source Crystals, and he was paid instantly. Then, Delsi fell silent after learning the answer. Delsi was rather frustrated. He worked hard, and finally got an A Dungeon Chest with luck at the cost of being wounded. Delsi had been satisfied with his performance¡­ until he learned Xia Feng¡¯s result. He felt as awful as if he had eaten sh*t. SS was a level that he couldn¡¯t possibly reach at this moment. After Xia Feng answered everybody¡¯s questions, it was already seven in the evening. He sold another 1,000 ml of the 2,000 ml water he just purified for runes. Then, he and Big Black shared the other 1,000 ml of water. Not just that, Xia Feng also had a piece of Shadow Cat meat, and he was slightly stronger than before. Although it wasn¡¯t very obvious, he was definitely stronger than before. As for Big Black, he saved the last bone for the dog. Watching Big Black chewing the bone in silence in a corner, Xia Feng felt rather pitiful. However, looking at the only 11 pieces of meat he had left, Xia Feng thought that it would be better for a dog¡¯s teeth to grow if it had more bones. After that, Xia Feng took out the small map, and read the information on it. He discovered that he could see the next two islands on the map. The next two islands didn¡¯t just mean two islands in the mist. It meant that Xia Feng could explore all the islands that belonged to the 10th and 11th tier. However, Xia Feng could only choose two islands on a specific route to explore. Xia Feng studied the map, and made preparations for his operation. Very soon, a private message suddenly popped up. Lin Feifan: Master Xia Feng, hello, there¡¯s a question I want to ask you. Xia Feng: Just talk. Lin Feifan: Master, do you have any medication? My leg is wounded. I¡¯m probably going to die here if I don¡¯t treat it. Seeing that, Xia Feng frowned, and wondered how he should reply. One minute later, while Lin Feifan waited uneasily, a message popped up. Xia Feng: I do have medication, and it¡¯s quite effective. However, it¡¯s very expensive, if you know what I mean. Chapter 9 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations On a certain island that had a coverage of 100 square meters, a pale young man was leaning against the wall of an Ordinary Shelter. There was a 10-centimeter-long wound on the inner side of his thigh. It wasn¡¯t too deep, but it made it impossible for him to move. The young man was exactly Lin Feifan. He was not very lucky, but not too unlucky, either. It was the fourth island he had explored. He passed the first three islands smoothly, and acquired some materials and food. However, on the fourth island, Lin Feifan encountered a young misty monster. After a great battle, he finally killed the young misty monster at the cost of multiple wounds on his body. As he stared at the message that Xia Feng sent, there was struggle in his eyes. Finally, he took a deep breath, and fetched a handbook. He then took a screenshot of its note for Xia Feng. On the other hand, Xia Feng was rather surprised at the picture that Lin Feifan sent. He quickly sent a message. ¡°You can trade this for my medication as well as something else, including information and items. Think carefully about what you want.¡± Very soon, Lin Feifan replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything but the medication and a promise from you, Master Xia Feng.¡± Reading that, Xia Feng was deep in thought, and then replied, ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Lin Feifan responded, ¡°I want to be your assistant, Master Xia Feng.¡± Assistant? Interesting¡­ Xia Fen¡¯s lips curled as he got intrigued. ¡°Tell me more specifically about what you want to do for me. Right, your life is not in danger right now, is it? Send me the handbook first if it is.¡± Hardly had he sent the message when he received a notification. [System notification: Lin Feifan offers you a Handbook of the Misty Monsters.] Seeing how quick Lin Feifan was, Xia Feng wasted no time giving him the medication. Three minutes later. Lin Feifan: Thank you, Master Xia Feng, your medication is very helpful. My pain is gone the moment I apply it to my wound. Xia Feng: Now, let¡¯s talk about what you will do as my assistant. Lin Feifan: I can help you keep an eye on the market, and will inform you the moment the items you need become available. Lin Feifan: Also, I¡¯ll pay attention to any special items that are sold on the market, and inform you if I think they¡¯re useful to you. Besides, I can also¡­ Lin Feifan listed quite a few things he could do. After reading the messages, Xia Feng considered for a moment, and thought that he could accept it. In such a way, it would be more convenient for him to acquire the items he needed. Xia Feng: I can accept your request, but don¡¯t presume that I¡¯ll give you a lot of resources for you for free. Xia Feng: Remember that I need a capable ¡°assistant¡±, not a piece of garbage. Of course, if you do a good job, you¡¯ll be probably rewarded. After sending the two messages, Xia Feng sent the note of his Bone Armor to Lin Feifan. Lin Feifan: Don¡¯t worry, Boss. I will never hold you back. Xia Feng nodded in satisfaction, and then conducted an in-depth communication with Lin Feifan. Xia Feng didn¡¯t turn off the game menu until eight at night. He had already sold half of his water after such a short amount of time. He got 14 Bronze, six Iron, two Source Crystals, two Wind Spiritual Runes, and one spiritual rune of each of the other classes. At this moment, Xia Feng had accumulated a shocking amount of resources. He had 36 Bronze, 16 Iron, 14 Source Crystals, 10 Wind Spiritual Runes, nine Fire Spiritual Runes, 11 Water Spiritual Runes, and eight Earth Spiritual Runes. Seeing the market for water, Xia Feng consigned the 1,000 ml of water he¡¯d just made, and then crafted another three water purifiers. Because he only had 18 Wood left, he could only make three of them. All the five water purifiers worked at the same time, and Xia Feng only needed to wait and collect money. Filling the water purifier with unprocessed water, Xia Feng continued studying the map. It was already eight at night. He had to hurry up. At midnight, the number of islands that one could explore in a day would be refreshed. There were only three channels connected to the ninth island. According to the marks on the map, Island No.1 had a bunch of goblins, a Bronze Chest, and some materials. Island No.2 had two Wooden Chests and no dangers. Island No.3 was inhabited by an Iron-Clawed Beast that was quite strong. Reading the marks on the map, Xia Feng came to the three channels, and confirmed them with the golden hints. He finished the confirmation after a circle on the island. The golden hints were basically the same as the marks on the map. Then, Xia Feng continued reading. One of the islands that were connected to Island No.1 had an Iron Chest. There was nothing else interesting. Two of the islands connected to Island No.2 each had a Bronze Chest. They were also safe. However, on one of the islands connected to Island No.3, there was a Silver Chest that he had never opened. Xia Feng admitted that he was intrigued. However, he was still quite wary of the Iron-Clawed Beast. After all, according to both the map and the hint, it was quite strong. After a moment of hesitation, Xia Feng suddenly slapped his thigh¡ªit was time to use the great treasure he acquired just now. [Handbook of the Misty Monsters: This is a very valuable handbook on which information of most creatures in the Misty Space is recorded.] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Handbook of the Misty Monsters?] Of course he learned it. The handbook turned into a streak of light, and darted into Xia Feng¡¯s body. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it. Please read the handbook in the game menu.] Xia Feng instantly opened the game menu, only to find an additional ¡°Handbook¡± button. He clicked it, and the names of different misty monsters appeared in a row. [Earthworm] [Goblin] [Sand Lizard] *** There were too many monsters for him to read. Xia Feng searched for the Iron-Clawed Beast on the page. Immediately, the information on the Iron-Clawed Beast appeared in the handbook. [Iron-Clawed Beast: This is a solitary animal in the Misty Space. It has a pair of sharp forearms that can easily rip its enemy apart.] [Hint: The Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s skin is as hard as its claws. Regular weapons can hardly break its defense. You can try attacking its hind limbs.] There was also a 3D picture of the Iron-Clawed Beast down below. It looked like a raptor. After reading the information on the Island No.3, Xia Feng finally decided to go to Island No.3, mostly because the Silver Chest was too tempting. He summoned Big Black, folded the shelter, put on the Bone Armor, grabbed the Exquisite Long Saber, and set off. Going along the channel to Island No.3, Xia Feng simply pushed forward. When he approached the glittering membrane, Xia Feng squatted and touched Big Black¡¯s head. ¡°Big Black, I¡¯m going to keep the Iron-Clawed Beast busy while you sneak attack it from the back and bite its legs.¡± Big Black nodded its head like a human. Chapter 10 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After Xia Feng crossed the membrane, his vision was instantly broadened. ¡°Hoooooooo¡­.¡± The moment he set foot on the 10th island, a ferocious roar came at him. A two-meter-tall monster that had short forearms and thick legs rushed at Xia Feng. The Iron-Clawed Beast was very fast. It swiped at Xia Feng¡¯s head with its cold, shiny claws. After the previous battles, Xia Feng had already become calm and steady. He unhurriedly raised his Exquisite Long Saber, and slashed at the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s sharp claws. Cling¡­ The saber and the claw collided noisily, but neither of them was broken. With the help of the Bone Armor, Xia Feng didn¡¯t lose at all in the head-on clash. It was evident that he could already confront the misty monsters that were rather strong. After the first attack failed, the Iron-Clawed Beast launched another attack in another direction. It seized Xia Feng¡¯s saber with its claws while it opened its big mouth that was full of saliva, and tried to bite Xia Feng¡¯s head. Smelling the overwhelming stench, Xia Feng turned his head aside to avoid the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s mouth, and let it bite his shoulder. Crack¡­ After hearing a crack, Xia Feng felt that his shoulder blade was slightly painful. A tremendous amount of red blood dripped to the ground along the Bone Armor. The blood didn¡¯t come from Xia Feng, but from the Iron-Clawed Beast. The shoulder of the Bone Armor was full of sharp thorns. The Iron-Clawed Beast had hurt its own tongue with the bite. While the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s mouth was stuck on his shoulder, Xia Feng let go of the Exquisite Long Saber, and grabbed the mouth with both hands. Then, he exerted strength to prevent its maw from leaving his shoulder. ¡°Wu¡­ Wu¡­¡± After its mouth was shackled by Xia Feng, the Iron-Clawed Beast groaned in pain, and tried to break free. However, Xia Feng simply held on tightly no matter how the Iron-Clawed Beast struggled. Its sharp claws left nothing but a few marks on the Bone Armor when it scratched Xia Feng. After several seconds of struggling, the Iron-Clawed Beast suddenly trembled. Big Black had approached the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s back quietly. Instead of biting its legs as Xia Feng instructed, the dog opened its bloody mouth, and bit the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s genitals. Puchi¡­ Big Black bit brutally, and tore off the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s genitals. ¡°Wu¡­ Wu¡­ Wu¡­¡± The Iron-Clawed Beast jerked so hard that Xia Feng, who had no idea what happened, was shaken to the ground. ¡°Hoooooo¡­¡± The Iron-Clawed Beast jumped and roared in pain. At this moment, Big Black attacked the Iron-Clawed Beast from its back again, and bit its legs. Crack¡­ Big Black had a great biting force, and he broke the bones of the Iron-Clawed Beast easily. ¡°Wo¡­¡± The Iron-Clawed Beast screamed desperately again, and finally cramped and collapsed. It foamed nonstop as if it were suffering from epilepsy. Xia Feng finally saw what was going on. He couldn¡¯t help but cover his crotch when he saw the blood gushing out between the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s legs. ¡°You did that?¡± Xia Feng asked in a low voice after glancing at Big Black whose mouth was full of blood. Big Black raised its head proudly and opened its mouth, showing its bloodstained teeth, which made Xia Feng feel a chill. ¡°Big Black, here, this piece of Sand Lizard meat is for you.¡± Xia Feng quickly took out a piece of meat, and told Big Black to go away. This is one brutal dog. After giving a piece of beast meat to Big Black, Xia Feng picked up the Exquisite Long Saber. He approached the Iron-Clawed Beast, stabbed the long saber into its neck, and put an end to its miserable life. RIP¡­ Looking at the bleeding genitals of the Iron-Clawed Beast, Xia Feng silently prayed for it. It was so poor! [System notification: Source Crystal +3] [System notification: Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s Skin +1] [System notification: Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s Blood +1,000 ml] [System notification: Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s Meat +4] [System notification: Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s Bone +4] [System notification: Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s Claw +2] Apart from the old loot, the Iron-Clawed Beast had also dropped two claws. [Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s Claws: Those sharp claws can easily tear steel apart, and are great materials to make weapons.] Xia Feng drank the beast blood as before, and got strengthened again. He discovered that the blood of different misty monsters had different effects. The Sand Lizard¡¯s blood was more effective than the Shadow Cat¡¯s. The Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s blood was even more effective than the Sand Lizard¡¯s. After drinking 1,000 ml of blood, Xia Feng felt that he was one-third stronger than before. At this moment, Xia Feng was four times as strong as an ordinary person. Xia Feng felt that his strength might have been doubled if he had drunk the Iron-Clawed Beast¡¯s blood before he strengthened himself. But of course, it would¡¯ve been impossible for him to kill the Iron-Clawed Beast if he hadn¡¯t strengthened himself. Soon after the Iron-Clawed Beast died, a system notification popped up again. [System notification: You¡¯ve explored 10 islands. You¡¯re rewarded with the opportunity for a dungeon raid.] [System notification: The reward will expire if you don¡¯t enter in 30 minutes.] There¡¯s indeed a reward. He didn¡¯t enter the dungeon in a hurry, as he still had 30 minutes for preparation. He searched the 10th island, but found nothing. Undoubtedly, this was a desolate island that had nothing but the Iron-Clawed Beast. Xia Feng released the shelter to take a break. He was rather tired from the fight. It was already night, but the night in the Misty Space wasn¡¯t dark at all. Everything was still visible, although not clearly as in the day. Time went by quietly. Xia Feng had 100g of biscuits to keep himself in his best state. Nobody knew what was awaiting him in the next dungeon. ¡°Enter the dungeon,¡± Xia Feng said to himself after making full preparations. A bright blue portal appeared, and Xia Feng and Big Black stepped in together. This time, Xia Feng came to a forest. [Dungeon clearance requirement: Kill five Gray Wolves in 60 minutes. The more Gray Wolves you kill, the more generously you¡¯ll be rewarded.] [System notification: Say ¡°Return¡± to yourself to leave the dungeon anytime.] Xia Feng opened the game menu, clicked Handbook, and searched for Gray Wolves. [Gray Wolf: A gregarious creature in the Misty Space. They¡¯re not strong as individuals, but terrifying as a pack.] [Hint: When you¡¯re surrounded by a pack of Gray Wolves, you must find their king and kill it first.] After reading the hint in the handbook, Xia Feng was rather solemn as it could be hard to get a high score in this dungeon. Closing the game menu, Xia Feng slowly approached the wood. When he came closer, golden words suddenly popped up. [Eight meters ahead of you, two Gray Wolves are wandering.] [120 meters in the front on your left, three Gray Wolves are wandering.] [100 meters in the front on your right, two Gray Wolves are wandering.] Seeing the three hints, Xia Feng¡¯s eyes started glittering. Let the hunting begin! Chapter 11 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations After observing the terrain for a while, Xia Feng decided to start with the two Gray Wolves on his left side. Walking for some distance with Big Black to the right, Xia Feng hid himself in a bush. Then, he ordered Big Black to lure the two Gray Wolves. Big Black was not only brutal, but also quite smart. With Xia Feng¡¯s order, it pressed into the forest. Then, as the bushes rustled, Big Black suddenly dashed out, closely followed by two wolf-like monsters whose skin was gray. Both of the Gray Wolves had a shoulder height of more than one meter. They looked rather ferocious. Big Black led the two Gray Wolves past the bush where Xia Feng was hiding. When the two Gray Wolves passed the area¡­ Puchi¡­ After a cold flash, blood sprinkled out, and one of the Gray Wolves lost its head. At the same time, Xia Feng kicked the other Gray Wolf right in the abdomen. He exerted his strength, and kicked the Gray Wolf more than 10 meters away. Before the Gray Wolf stood up, Big Black had already rushed to it, and slit its throat. ¡°Big Black, nice job.¡± Xia Feng touched Big Black¡¯s head, and complimented it with a smile. Big Black seemed rather delighted, and wagged its tail happily. Maybe because they were in the dungeon, the two wolves didn¡¯t drop anything after they were killed. Xia Feng dragged their bodies away, and continued the journey with Big Black. In the same way, they took care of the two Gray Wolves in the middle. When they came to the three Gray Wolves on the left side, Xia Feng failed to finish them off at the same time, and the last one of them survived. ¡°Aoooo!¡± The third Gray Wolf howled in a penetrating manner. Puchi¡­ Xia Feng stabbed and killed the last Gray Wolf, but the howl had already spread out. Seeing that the wolf pack had already been alarmed, Xia Feng simply asked Big Black to hide itself, and then charged into the forest. Big Black was a pet, and could not quit the dungeon alone. Faced with the wolves, it could likely die here without the protection of armor. Xia Feng would rather not see that happen. Therefore, Xia Feng broke into the forest with his saber on his own. The wolves came quite fast. Xia Feng ran into a Gray Wolf after covering only 20 meters. He waved his long saber, and the Gray Wolf collapsed. The whole process took no more than five seconds. With Xia Feng¡¯s physical strength that was four times what an ordinary person had, and the help of the Bone Armor, he could easily kill solitary wolves. Very soon, the second and the third Gray Wolves came at him. Xia Feng took them down without mercy. ¡°Come on, let me enjoy a killing spree today.¡± Watching the aggressive Gray Wolves, Xia Feng couldn¡¯t feel more confident. A brutal battle instantly started. Xia Feng held the Exquisite Long Saber, and dashed among the wolves. For every step he took, blood would spring up. Very soon, the forest was already drenched in blood. Since his body was fully covered by the Bone Armor, the regular Gray Wolves couldn¡¯t hurt him at all. They couldn¡¯t even make a scratch on the Bone Armor with their claws. After a dozen Gray Wolves died, all the regular Gray Wolves backed off. A giant wolf whose shoulder height was more than two meters, and whose fur had turned silver appeared several dozen meters in front of Xia Feng. It was the Silver Moon Wolf King, the leader of this wolf pack. Next to the Silver Moon Wolf King was a dozen big black wolves whose shoulder height was 1.5 meters. They were the elites of the Gray Wolves. ¡°Aoooo!¡± The Silver Moon Wolf King howled, and the elite black wolves ran out like a storm. The first elite black wolf approached Xia Feng in only a few seconds. It leaped almost five meters high, and went straight for Xia Feng¡¯s head. ¡°You dare to jump? Watch me slide!¡± Xia Feng slid under the bottom of the Gray Wolf, and waved the long saber. A long and narrow wound was torn open in the abdomen of the Gray Wolf, and guts dripped out. Xia Feng killed the wolf with one attack, but he wasn¡¯t happy at all. The other black wolves seized the opportunity to ram him. A terrifying force burst out, and Xia Feng was knocked away. He didn¡¯t manage to regain balance until he collapsed in a large area of trees. At this moment, the elite black wolves lunged at him again. Xia Feng fought them with his saber. Then, another brutal battle ensued. Eventually, Xia Feng had to quit the second dungeon after he killed six elite black wolves and got wounded multiple times. ¡°Quit the dungeon.¡± While saying that to himself, Xia Feng stared at the Silver Moon Wolf King that never took action. If they ever met again, Xia Feng would certainly fight it. In the next moment, Xia Feng returned to the 10th island. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully passed the second dungeon. You killed 22 regular Gray Wolves and seven elite black wolves in total. Reward: an SS Dungeon Chest.] Another SS Dungeon Chest? Xia Feng was slightly surprised. He¡¯d thought that it would be a miracle if he got an S this time. However, on second thought, it did make sense. Not everybody who had explored 10 islands could be as strong as he was. After all, this was only the second dungeon, and its requirements couldn¡¯t be too high. While he was considering, a glamorous SS Dungeon Chest appeared next to his feet. Xia Feng came back to himself, and opened the chest. [System notification: SS Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal +6] [System notification: Wind Spiritual Rune +10] [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +10] [System notification: Water Spiritual Rune +10] [System notification: Earth Spiritual Rune +10] [System notification: Formula of Spiritual Endowment Fluid +1] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Frost Blade +1] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Formula of Spiritual Endowment Fluid?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Rare Frost Blade?] ¡°A formula?¡± A new term popped up. Xia Feng mumbled its name out loud, and chose to learn it. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] Opening the craft menu, Xia Feng displayed the materials required for the new items. [Rare Frost Blade: Silver 2/4, Iron 16/6, Water Spiritual Runes 18/8, Earth Spiritual Runes 18/4, Wind Spiritual Runes 20/6] [Spiritual Endowment Fluid: Source Crystal (Low-Level) 20/10, Spiritual Containment Fruits 0/2, Mind Giving Grasses 0/2, Fire Spiritual Runes 16/20, Water Spiritual Runes 18/20, Earth Spiritual Runes 18/20, Wind Spiritual Runes 20/20] Seeing the materials that the two items required, Xia Feng, who had considered himself rich, was stupefied. The formula of the Spiritual Endowment Fluid, in particular, demanded a shocking number of materials, including 10 Source Crystals, 80 spiritual runes, and two materials he had never heard of. Xia Feng was so scared that he instantly opened the description of the Formula of the Spiritual Endowment Fluid. [Formula of Spiritual Endowment Fluid: A very precious formula that allows you to make Spiritual Endowment Fluid, which has the powerful effect of transforming an ordinary person¡¯s body into a spiritual body.] A spiritual body. After reading the description, Xia Feng etched the two words in his brain. Chapter 12 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Storing all the items, Xia Feng dismantled the dungeon chest by the way. [System notification: Gold +6] [System notification: Silver +6] [System notification: Iron +10] With those materials, he basically had all the materials needed for the Lightning Crossbow and the Frost Blade except two pieces of Silver. Xia Feng opened the trade menu, and searched for Silver. The result was empty. It meant that nobody had Silver yet. Or even if they did, none of them was selling it. He checked the time. It was 10 at night. There were two hours to go until the number of explorations was reset. In the last two hours, Xia Feng crafted the Superior Lightning Crossbow. [System notification: Gold -4, Silver -6, Iron -10, Wind Spiritual Runes -12, Fire Spiritual Runes -12, Earth Spiritual Runes -4] An awesome golden-and-silver crossbow appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hand. The Lightning Crossbow had three slots in total, allowing it to shoot three arrows at once. It could also shoot one. If it shot three arrows, it could more likely hit the target; if it shot one arrow, it would be more powerful. The arrows had to be crafted. One piece of Iron could be turned into five arrows. They could be reused until they were destroyed. [Lightning Crossbow: A very powerful crossbow. The arrows it shoots out are highly penetrative, and the lightning on them is paralyzing. It can store 10 arrows at the same time] [System notification: The Lightning Crossbow is powered by Source Crystals. One Source Crystal can support 100 shots. If three arrows are shot at the same time, it¡¯s considered as three shots.] Xia Feng opened the craft menu, and forged 20 arrows with four pieces of iron. Loading 10 arrows into the crossbow, he grabbed the crossbow in his hand. It was very convenient to fire the Lightning Crossbow. He could control it with his mind. Basically, when Xia Feng aimed at one place, he could shoot out arrows by thinking about it. Due to the lack of suitable targets in the area, Xia Feng couldn¡¯t practice the Lightning Crossbow, and could only try it later. Storing the Lightning Crossbow, Xia Feng opened the trade menu, and searched for Spiritual Containment Fruit and Mind Giving Grass. As he expected, nobody was selling those things. Xia Feng opened the private channel, found Lin Feifan, and sent him a message. ¡°Pay attention to Spiritual Containment Fruit, Mind Giving Grass, and the special recipes. Inform me if anyone sells them.¡± Lin Feifan soon replied, ¡°Alright, Boss.¡± They had agreed that Lin Feifan would call Xia Feng boss. ¡°This is your advance pay. Do your job well, and don¡¯t get killed.¡± After sending another message, Xia Feng opened the craft menu. He crafted a sharp long saber at the cost of four Iron and four Bronze, and offered it to Lin Feifan. [System notification: You offer an Exquisite Sharp Long Saber to Lin Feifan.] According to what he had learned, Lin Feifan killed a young misty monster on his own, so he was worth investing in. Lin Feifan instantly replied, ¡°Thank you, Boss.¡± Xia Feng didn¡¯t respond to Lin Feifan anymore. He took a look at the materials he had. No Wood, 10 Stone, 18 Bronze, eight Iron, two Silver, and eight Gold. 20 Source Crystals, four Fire Spiritual Runes, 18 Water Spiritual Runes, 14 Earth Spiritual Runes, eight Wind Spiritual Runes. There were also herbs and other miscellaneous stuff that Xia Feng didn¡¯t bother to count. Thinking for a moment, Xia Feng crafted another two Exquisite Sharp Long Sabers at the cost of eight Iron and eight Bronze, and consigned them. [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: Exquisite Sharp Long Saber] [Items desired: 6 Bronze, 6 Iron, 2 of any spiritual runes] [Alternatives: Recipes, any four spiritual runes, Spiritual Containment Fruit, Mind Giving Grass] [Stock: 2] [Seller¡¯s note: Only two are available. There¡¯s no telling when the next batch will be made.] The Exquisite Sharp Long Sabers were quickly sold after they were put on the market. Then, the public channel was exploding again. ¡°Shoot, Master Xia Feng is starting to sell weapons!¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t compare to him! I don¡¯t even have enough food!¡± ¡°Master, can you lend me one saber? I¡¯ll definitely give you two tomorrow.¡± At the same time, messages popped up on Xia Feng¡¯s private channel too. ¡°Master Xia Feng, do you have more of those sabers? My Internet just lagged.¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng, please sell me another saber.¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng¡­¡± Basically, everybody was begging Xia Feng to sell more sabers because they failed to buy one. It would be stupid not to make money out of this, so Xia Feng continued crafting. A few seconds later, another three Exquisite Sharp Long Sabers were put on the market. They were sold out the moment they became available. It was the first day in the game. Many people were in dire need of a weapon after the dangerous adventures on the islands. Because of that, Xia Feng quickly sold out 43 Exquisite Sharp Long Sabers. In the meantime, Xia Feng didn¡¯t change the price at all. He earned 85 Iron, 86 Bronze, and 86 spiritual runes. The 86 spiritual runes included 22 Fire Spiritual Runes, 24 Wind Spiritual Runes, 25 Water Spiritual Runes, and 15 Earth Spiritual Runes. It was obvious that selling weapons was highly profitable anywhere. However, it was only profitable for now. He couldn¡¯t earn as much money when other people looted similar recipes. At this moment, Xia Feng was only taking advantage of the information that other people didn¡¯t know. Putting another five Exquisite Sharp Long Sabers on the market, Xia Feng released the shelter, and took a rest on the wooden bed while he waited for midnight. Time went by second by second. Very soon, it was the start of the second day in the game. [System notification: The Combat Ability System and the Regional Rank are activated.] [System notification: Measuring your combat ability. Measurement succeeded. Your combat ability is 971 and the top of your region. Do you want to hide your combat ability (this is the privilege of the top)?] [System notification: The top 10 on the Regional Rank will be rewarded.] [System notification: The Planetary Rank will be activated on the seventh day of the game.] ¡°Hide part of my combat ability, and make it 10 points higher than the second place,¡± Xia Feng said to himself. He didn¡¯t know if it would work, but he decided to try it. [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully hidden your combat ability. It¡¯s now 131.] [System notification: If you stay on top of the ranking for more than 12 hours, you will be given a Top Fighter Chest at the beginning of the next day.] After reading all the notifications, Xia Feng opened the regional chat channel, and checked the rank. First: Xia Feng, 131 Combat Ability Second: Drake Haski, 121 Combat Ability Third: Lin Xiaowan, 108 Combat Ability Fourth: Zhang Yu, 101 Combat Ability *** There was an ¡°acquaintance¡± on the ranking. Xia Feng didn¡¯t expect Lin Xiaowan to be in his region too. After a quick glance, Xia Feng quit the ranking menu, and intended to go to the 11th island for the Silver Chest. Before he quit, he glanced at the regional channel, and one of the messages caught his attention. Drake Haski: I thought that Xia Feng was so good, but he only has 10 more points of combat ability than I do. I¡¯ll surpass him soon. Drake Haski was a special force soldier who had already explored eight islands thanks to his remarkable body build. Also, Drake Haski had secured an A rating in the first dungeon. A moment earlier, he found the Recipe of Exquisite Leather Armor from a Bronze Chest. Drake Haski believed that he would definitely eclipse Xia Feng after he made the Exquisite Leather Armor. Chapter 13 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Earlier, everybody in the region channel had been sucking up to Xia Feng. After Drake Haski said that, the whole channel fell into silence. Nobody dared to agree or disagree with him. They couldn¡¯t afford being involved in the competition of the top two on the ranking. Seeing that, Xia Feng simply put on a smile, and didn¡¯t say anything. Some people were just headstrong. They wouldn¡¯t realize they were wrong until they hit a wall. Reading the messages that Drake Haski sent and remembering his name, Xia Feng turned off the game menu. When he finally moved his eyes away, he found that the number of participants in the regional channel had declined from 3,000 to 2,533. After only one day, one-sixth of the population in Xia Feng¡¯s region was gone. It was a rather devastating discovery. Folding the shelter and putting on his equipment, Xia Feng walked to Channel No.3. The 10th island was connected to seven channels. The third channel led to an island that had a Silver Chest, a Bronze Chest, and other miscellaneous assets. However, there were other things on this island except the resources. When Xia Feng stood in front of Channel No.3, a line of tiny words popped up. [Island No.3: There¡¯s a nest of Underground Demons on this island, and an adult lives in it. It¡¯s enjoying itself, and it¡¯s a perfect time to kill it.] ¡°Seriously?¡± After reading the hint, Xia Feng didn¡¯t know what to say. It seemed that the hint always prompted him to do sordid things. However, he really liked it. Taking Big Black with him, Xia Feng set foot on the channel, and went straight to the 11th island. While he was on his way, Xia Feng opened the handbook, and checked the Underground Demon¡¯s information. [Underground Demon: A non-gregarious creature in the Misty Space. They¡¯re highly sturdy and remarkably strong.] [Hint: The Underground Demons are highly lustful. However, they¡¯ll be enfeebled for a while after each session. You need to seize the window.] After reading the information, Xia Feng finally realized why he was asked to kill the Underground Demon after its climax. When he reached the glittering membrane, the golden hint said that the Underground Demon just went into a 30-minute weak period. Without any hesitation, Xia Feng crossed the glittering membrane. The environment changed, and a three-meter-tall humanoid creature as strong as a bear appeared before Xia Feng¡¯s eyes. The 11th island was quite large. It took up a space of more than 500 square meters. There was a tiny stone hill on the island and a cave at its bottom. The Underground Demon was standing at the entrance of the cave. In front of the Underground Demon was a puddle where several 30-centimeter-long fish that had red stripes and were as thick as baby arms were swimming. The moment he saw the Underground Demon, Xia Feng raised his right arm, and aimed at the Underground Demon. ¡°Three consecutive shots.¡± In order to increase his precision, Xia Feng simply shot three arrows at once. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Three 20-centimeter-long arrows drew an elegant curve in midair, and darted right towards the Underground Demon¡¯s groin. Perhaps because of the hint and Big Black, Xia Feng¡¯s mind had weird changes. The Underground Demon was enjoying itself, and was caught unprepared by Xia Feng¡¯s sudden arrival and attack. Having no time to dodge at all, the Underground Demon was directly hit. Puchi¡­ For lack of skills, only two of the three arrows hit the Underground Demon. One of them brushed past the Underground Demon¡¯s abdomen. The last one, however, penetrated the Underground Demon¡¯s right thigh, and was only several centimeters away from its giant penis. For some reason, Xia Feng was rather disappointed to see that. Damn¡­ What am I disappointed about? Xia Feng patted his face, and dismissed the weird thoughts in his head. ¡°Hoooooooo¡­.¡± Under the pain, the Underground Demon roared, and struggled to get back to its feet. However, the lightning on the arrows was paralyzing. The Underground Demon failed to stand up quickly. Seizing the opportunity, Xia Feng raised his hand, and aimed at the Underground Demon¡¯s abdomen. As a terrible shooter, Xia Feng could only aim at the parts that could be hit easily. Fortunately, he was only 30 meters away from the Underground Demon. Considering the speed of the arrows, the distance practically didn¡¯t exist. He performed another three consecutive shots, and the three arrows hit the Underground Demon precisely. However, the Underground Demon was so sturdy that the arrows could hardly kill it. The Underground Demon simply extended its gigantic hands, and plucked the arrows in its body. Puchi¡­ Blood gushed out, but the Underground Demon ignored it, threw the arrows away, and rushed towards Xia Feng. Xia Feng quickly moved to dodge with the stone hill as his cover. The Underground Demon was sturdy, and there was no telling how strong it was. Therefore, he would rather not have a head-on clash with the Underground Demon. Besides, with the Lightning Crossbow in his hand, Xia Feng could attack it remotely. The Underground Demon was a quick and sturdy monster. It was a perfect target for him to practice shooting on. So, Xia Feng lured the Underground Demon to run around the stone hill. Half an hour later, when the 13th arrow pierced the Underground Demon, it finally collapsed, and couldn¡¯t rise again. It¡¯s finally dead. This creature is truly tough. Xia Feng breathed heavily, and came to the Underground Demon. [System notification: Source Crystal +3] [System notification: Underground Demon¡¯s Skin +2] [System notification: Underground Demon¡¯s Blood +1,500 ml] [System notification: Underground Demon¡¯s Meat +6] [System notification: Underground Demon¡¯s Bone +6] Perhaps due to its enormous body size, the Underground Demon dropped more materials. Xia Feng checked them one by one. To his surprise, the Underground Demon¡¯s blood had a different effect from the blood of other misty monsters. [Underground Demon¡¯s Blood: It has special usages that may be related to your skin.] [The blood contains special power. If you smear it on your skin, it will increase the defensive ability of your skin.] Reading the note and the hint, Xia Feng didn¡¯t smear the blood immediately. He decided to get the Silver Chest first. Looting the whole island, Xia Feng got Wood +12, Stone +12, Purple Vines +6, Invigorating Grasses +4, a Bronze Chest, and a Silver Chest. Apart from them, he also found several fish. [Spear Swallowing Fish (Female): This is a special fish that reproduces very fast.] [This Spear Swallowing Fish is already pregnant, and will lay eggs within a day.] There were altogether five Spear Swallowing Fish, two female, and the other three male. Xia Feng left them in the puddle for now. He would make a bucket, and take them away after opening the chests. After he came to the Silver Chest, Xia Feng took a look at the hint. It was safe, so he simply opened the chest. [System notification: Silver Chest +1] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Wind Boots +1] [System notification: Recipe of Exquisite Flower Pots +1] [System notification: Seedling of Milk Fruit Tree +1] Chapter 14 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Silver Chest?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Rare Wind Boots?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Exquisite Flower Pots?] ¡°Yes, yes, and yes¡­¡± Xia Feng replied to all the questions. [System notification: Silver +2] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] He skillfully opened the craft menu, and searched for the keywords. [Rare Wind Boots: Silver 4/4, Beast Skin 4/2, Beast Bone 10/2, Wind Spiritual Rune 32/10, Earth Spiritual Rune 29/6, Fire Spiritual Rune 26/4] [Exquisite Flower Pot: Bronze 82/2, Stone 22/4, Wood 12/2, Wind Spiritual Rune 32/1, Fire Spiritual Rune 26/1, Water Spiritual Rune 43/1, Earth Spiritual Rune 29/1] Both recipes were meant to make spiritual devices. Xia Feng looked at the white seedling in his hands. [Seedling of Milk Fruit Tree: It¡¯s a seedling that can be grown in a pot. The Milk Fruit that it yields can make you full and contains abundant nutrition.] [It takes four days for the seedling to grow up. You may fertilize it if you want it to grow faster.] After reading the note and hint of the seedling, Xia Feng crafted an Exquisite Flower Pot. He also crafted the Frost Blade. He didn¡¯t need the Wind Boots just yet. [System notification: Bronze -2, Stone -4, Wood -2, spiritual runes of each class -1] [System notification: Silver -4, Iron -6, Water Spiritual Rune -12, Wind Spiritual Rune -6, Earth Spiritual Rune -4] A pot and a sharp blade appeared in front of Xia Feng. The pot was one meter tall and 80 centimeters in diameter. It was utterly empty. Xia Feng had to fill it with soil. The Frost Blade was stabbed into the ground. Its coldness had covered the ground with a layer of ice. [Rare Frost Blade: A piece of powerful rune equipment that can deal frost damage.] [Note that the sword can hurt your enemy as well as yourself. It¡¯s best to hold its grip.] Xia Feng seized its grip, only to find that it was cold but not freezing. He waved the Frost Blade, and found that it was convenient to use. He wondered what its performance in real battles would be. Putting the Frost Blade away, Xia Feng opened the craft menu, and made a shovel at the cost of two pieces of Iron and Wood. He found a place where the soil was soft, and filled the pot with an appropriate amount of soil before he planted the seedling of the Milk Fruit Tree in it. [System notification: The pot has to be powered by Source Crystals. One Source Crystal can last 30 days.] ¡°Add a Source Crystal.¡± Xia Feng wasn¡¯t petty about that. After adding it, he looked at the seedling again, and found a four-day markdown above it that indicated its maturity. Four days. That¡¯s not very long. Xia Feng patted his hands, and came to the Bronze Chest. [Attention, the surface of this Bronze Chest is poisoned. DO NOT open it with your hands.] A golden hint suddenly popped up. Xia Feng raised his eyebrows, and opened the chest with his shovel. [System notification: Bronze Chest +1] [System notification: Fertilizer (Low-Level) +2] [System notification: Recipe of Ordinary Toilet Paper] [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Bronze Chest Chest?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Ordinary Toilet Paper?] A recipe for toilet paper? Xia Feng was quite delighted. He had been wondering how he could clean himself if he wanted to do a number two. He couldn¡¯t use the drinking water, which would¡¯ve been a huge waste. It wasn¡¯t a problem anymore. He had toilet paper. ¡°Dismantle it and learn it,¡± Xia Feng mumbled. [System notification: Bronze +2] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] [Ordinary Toilet Paper: Wood 8/4] It seems that I have to purchase wood in bulk. Thinking that, Xia Feng chose to craft some toilet paper. [System notification: Wood -8] Two rolls of toilet paper appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands, flawless and soft. They were perfect for personal hygiene. Xia Feng didn¡¯t open them, but simply put the toilet paper on sale. [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: Ordinary Toilet Paper] [Item desired: 6 Wood and 1 of any spiritual rune] [Alternatives: Recipes, Spiritual Containment Fruit, Mind Giving Grass] [Stock: 2] [Seller¡¯s note: Toilet paper is here. Time to buy it if you¡¯re feeling the urge.] The toilet paper wasn¡¯t sold immediately, mainly because its price was too high. Six wood was acceptable, but most people were reluctant to pay with a spiritual rune. Xia Feng didn¡¯t intend to lower the price, as he was the only supplier. Besides, a roll of paper could be used for a long time, and it wasn¡¯t really expensive. He opened the chat channel, which was quite lively even though it was midnight. ¡°Shoot! Shoot! Shoot is all that I can say! It¡¯s the toilet paper that I¡¯ve been wishing for!¡± ¡°Finally! I can finally unleash my passion. I¡¯m not comfortable if a day goes by without me touching myself.¡± ¡°Damn it, I can finally take a dump.¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng, you¡¯re awesome! I kneel to you!¡± ¡°Same here! You¡¯re truly awesome, Master Xia Feng. You¡¯re doing us a favor!¡± Reading all the messages, Xia Feng knew that his toilet paper would be sold sooner or later. At the same time, Drake Haski was also reading the messages on one of the islands. He couldn¡¯t have been more jealous. He clutched the two spiritual runes that he acquired at a high cost, and made an Exquisite Leather Armor in the craft menu. The Exquisite Leather Armor was a piece of spiritual equipment that increased Drake Haski¡¯s combat ability by 70 points. ¡°Xia Feng, I¡¯m the best in our region!¡± Putting on the freshly made armor, Drake Haski opened the local ranking, and read it delightedly. First: Xia Feng, 201 Combat Ability Second: Drake Haski, 191 Combat Ability How is it possible? Drake Haski rubbed his eyes, and looked at the ranking again, but it was still the same. That¡¯s impossible! How am I still short by 10 points? Drake Haski found the fact hard to accept. He had always been somehow condescending because of his education. He despised the people from other countries from the bottom of his heart. Yet, he had been eclipsed by someone that he thought to be a weakling. At this moment, someone noticed the change in the ranking. ¡°Look, Master Xia Feng¡¯s combat ability increased again. It¡¯s above 200. Oh my God.¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng is really awesome! Do you need more fangirls?¡± ¡°Master, this is a moment that calls for celebration. Do you think you can give me some paper for me to wipe my tears?¡± Reading the messages in the regional channel, Drake Haski couldn¡¯t have been grimmer. He took out a recipe that he had been cherishing, and found his friend Delsi, planning to exchange it for a weapon to increase his combat ability again. In any case, he had to be on the top of the rank and step on that worthless man. A minute later, Drake Haski acquired an Ordinary Spiritual Crossbow, which increased his combat ability by 50 points. He opened the rank again. First: Xia Feng, 251 Combat Ability Second: Drake Haski, 241 Combat Ability Looking at the rank, Drake Haski lost his cool. ¡°F*ck!¡± Chapter 15 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°Look, the ranking has changed again.¡± People were still chatting in the regional channel. ¡°Drake Haski and Master Xia Feng have both got another 50 points of combat ability.¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious. Why is Master Xia Feng¡¯s combat ability always 10 points higher than Drake Haski¡¯s?¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious too, but it¡¯s none of us the rookies¡¯ business.¡± They all talked enthusiastically. They didn¡¯t consider it a big deal, but when Drake Haski saw the message, his deep brown eyes flashed. He instantly sent a private message to his good buddy Delsi. ¡°Delsi, is it possible for the top on the regional ranking to conceal their combat ability?¡± Delsi had the highest ranking in his region. Very soon, Delsi responded, ¡°Yes. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°F*ck¡­ I was tricked by that monkey Xia Feng,¡± Drake Haski replied furiously. He had finally understood the truth. ¡°What? Xia Feng is in your region?¡± Delsi was quite shocked to receive the message. ¡°Delsi, I¡¯m going to surpass Xia Feng, and make it to the top of the ranking.¡± Drake Haski swore to humiliate Xia Feng as how he was humiliated. ¡°Drake, you must calm down. Xia Feng is a terrifying man. The rating of his first dungeon clearance is SS.¡± ¡°What? SS?¡± Drake Haski was quite shocked. Thinking how hard he fought to get an A, he lost all his competitiveness. The gap between them was too huge. Delsi didn¡¯t reply to Drake Haski again. He wanted his comrade to calm down for a moment. On the other hand, Xia Feng was busy collecting money, and paid no attention to the ranking. He wouldn¡¯t be notified unless someone¡¯s combat ability really surpassed his own. Although the toilet paper wasn¡¯t instantly sold, he managed to sell 10 rolls as time went by. He got two Fire Spiritual Runes, two Earth Spiritual Runes, three Wind Spiritual Runes, three Water Spiritual Runes, and 20 Wood in total. Making another five rolls of toilet paper and putting them on sale, Xia Feng received a private message. Lin Xiaowan: Master Xia Feng, since fate has arranged for us to come to the same region, can you give me a discount on your toilet paper? It was well known that women needed toilet paper more badly than men did. Xia Feng considered for a moment, and sent two messages back. ¡°Yes. ¡°I can give you a discount. Five wood and a spiritual rune of any class.¡± Lin Xiaowan was very happy to see the first message. But she was infuriated after reading the second one. A discount of one wood? That was so petty. ¡°Master Xia Feng, can you lower the price a bit more? It¡¯s not easy for a girl to live in such a place. Many things are inconvenient.¡± ¡°No!¡± A simple reply silenced Lin Xiaowan. Lin Xiaowan gnashed her teeth, and replied, ¡°Master Xia Feng, I bet that you don¡¯t have a girlfriend!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of a girlfriend? She¡¯d only slow me down. You¡¯ve wasted a lot of my time. The discount that I promised is gone. You¡¯d better buy it in the shop.¡± After sending the message, Xia Feng closed the game menu. Then, he released five water purifiers, and fetched 10 liters of purified water. He put nine liters of the water on the shop at the price of one spiritual rune per 500 milliliters. As for the remaining liter of water, Xia Feng fed 300 milliliters to Big Black and the same amount to himself. The last 400 milliliters were exchanged for 40 Wood in the shop. He crafted five buckets with 20 Wood and five rolls of toilet paper with the other 20 Wood before he put the paper on sale again. Filling one of the buckets with water, Xia Feng put the five Spear Swallowing Fish in it. During the process, one roll of toilet paper was bought, probably by Lin Xiaowan. On an island with a coverage of 300 square meters, Lin Xiaowan clutched the toilet paper in her hands, and mumbled, ¡°What an inconsiderate man. You¡¯re doomed to single life forever.¡± At this moment, Xia Feng was already observing the four channels that were connected to the 11th island. [Island No.1: Underneath this island is an active volcano that¡¯s about to erupt. It depends on your luck whether or not you can pass it.] [Island No.2: It has two Bronze Chests and some materials. However, the bloodthirsty bats that live here won¡¯t be easy to deal with.] [Island No.3: This is a mysterious island where a mysterious merchant lives. After you pass the test on the island and win the merchant¡¯s approval, you may exchange for one item from him.] [Island No.4: There¡¯s an Iron Chest and a group of barbarians who love feasting on human beings on this island. Try not to be eaten by them.] After reading all the hints, Xia Feng opened the handbook and searched for the bloodthirsty bat, barbarian, and mysterious merchant. The bloodthirsty bats were ferocious and gregarious creatures. They were very hard to deal with. The barbarians were intelligent creatures who knew how to use tools and traps. They weren¡¯t easy to deal with, either. There was no information on the mysterious merchant in the handbook. After much deliberation, Xia Feng set foot on Channel No.3 to the mysterious island with Big Black. He had thrown the two bags of fertilizers into the pot before he left. One bag of low-level fertilizer could shorten the Milk Fruit Tree¡¯s growth by a day. Very soon, a glowing membrane appeared in front of Xia Feng¡¯s eyes again. He crossed the membrane, and it wasn¡¯t a familiar scene that he saw. He found himself in the middle of thick fog. He couldn¡¯t see anything three meters away. [System notification: You¡¯re reached the mysterious island, which has four tests in total. After you pass each test, a channel to another island will be revealed. If you pass all the four tests, you will meet the mysterious merchant.] I¡¯m best at passing tests. Xia Feng wasn¡¯t worried at all after reading the system notification. No traps were dangerous to him with the golden hints. Xia Feng boldly stepped forward, but stopped very soon. [Dangerous. Don¡¯t go any further. The fog ahead is poisonous.] Seeing the hint, Xia Feng turned left, and the same golden hint popped up again soon enough. [Dangerous. Don¡¯t go any further. The fog ahead is poisonous.] He turned right. The result was the same. What does this mean? I can¡¯t go forward, left, or right. Should I go back? Xia Feng returned to the original point, and looked back in confusion. Behind him was thick fog too. He tentatively walked back, only to see nothing but seawater. Undoubtedly, it was a dead end. None of the four directions was safe. Xia Feng was caught in deep thought. Not anxious at all, Xia Feng took out a wooden chair and sat down on it before he considered the situation carefully. Chapter 16 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations An illusionary crow flew past him in the sky. It seems that I was too careless. This is more difficult than I thought. After sitting for 10 minutes, Xia Feng stood up, and subconsciously patted Big Black¡¯s head. ¡°Woof! Woof! Woof!¡± Big Black had been squatting next to Xia Feng. It raised his head and barked angrily when it was suddenly attacked, as if it were a poor wife who had been wronged. It was you who were incautious. Why do you have to beat me? Xia Feng had no time to care about Big Black¡¯s feelings. He simply scratched his head, and walked back and forth. Seeing that, Big Black was even angrier. It lowered its head and began to dig crazily. Shua! Shua! Shua! Soil was splashing all over the place, and Xia Feng¡¯s thinking was disrupted. ¡°Big Black, what are you doing?¡± Looking at the mud on his shoes, Xia Feng turned back and looked at Big Black. His eyes glittered when he saw the pit that Big Black dug out. Right! Why did it never occur to me? He slapped his thighs excitedly, and came to Big Black with his shovel before he started digging too. Big Black was venting its fury when a shovel suddenly fell, and nearly hit its paw. Woof¡­ Can you be any more inhumane? Xia Feng didn¡¯t bother with Big Black at all. He quickly dug out a huge pit. With his strength, it was quite easy for him to do the job. After digging a pit that was about two meters deep, Xia Feng began to dig forward. Big Black figured out Xia Feng¡¯s plan too, and eagerly helped him with the task. Thanks to the joint efforts of the man and the dog, a 10-meter-long tunnel was soon dug out. They had already entered the area of the poisonous fog, but there were no golden hints. It meant that this might be a solution. To find out whether or not he had entered the area, Xia Feng lifted the shovel above his head, pretending that he would dig up. [Dangerous. The air above is poisonous. Don¡¯t dig up unless you want to die.] As expected, he was already within the coverage of the poisonous fog. Confirming that, Xia Feng took a rest, and then continued digging. Every time Xia Feng dug five meters ahead, he would check if he was still in the poisonous fog area. After he dug about 40 meters ahead, a golden hint popped up again. [Dangerous. A pit that¡¯s exposed to the air lies in front of you. You¡¯d better excavate in another direction.] Having no choice, Xia Feng had to turn right. He ran into several more traps, and avoided or resolved all of them with the help of the hints. He couldn¡¯t remember how far he had dug, but when he raised his shovel, there were no more hints of danger. Waving his slightly exhausted arm, Xia Feng dug crazily to the surface of the ground. He looked around after crawling out of the tunnel, and found that he was still in the middle of the fog. [System notification: You have passed the first test. You may continue with the tests, or leave from here.] When the system notification popped up, a channel appeared on his right side. [Island No.1: This island has abundant resources, no chests, and no monsters.] Xia Feng hesitated for only two seconds before he continued his quest. Now that he had already come to this island, he didn¡¯t want to be a quitter. Also, Island No.1 wasn¡¯t temping enough at all. He could find the materials on it sooner or later. Xia Feng and Big Black pressed forward. About a dozen meters later, they smelled a weird fragrance. [Warning. The fragrance is innocuous, but has some special effects. You¡¯d better not inhale too much of it.] Seeing the hint, Xia Feng crafted a roll of paper. He cut some of the paper, wet it, and then covered his mouth and nose with it. After moving dozens of meters further, he heard the crisp sound of bells. [Warning. The sound of the bell is hallucinogenic. Together with the fragrance in the air, it will trigger infinite lust in any creature.] The moment the bell rang, Big Black, which had no protection at all, was enchanted. It found a pile of soil, lay on it, and started doing the most primitive action of any animal. Seeing that, Xia Feng tried to hold back his laugh, and continued walking forward while pretending to be dizzy. Very soon, a sexy woman in red clothes appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s sight. A little bell was attached to her right hand. It was the source of the sound. [This is a Charming Spirit that absorbs the essence of males to strengthen itself. If you want to die a happy death, you may sleep with it. If you don¡¯t want to die, keep a distance from it or kill it.] Reading the hint calmly, Xia Feng walked to the Charming Spirit with confusion in his eyes. He had already stored the wet toilet paper into his Shelter Ring, and he had been holding his breath. ¡°Sir, have fun with me.¡± The Charming Spirit slowly took off her red clothes, and revealed her alluring naked body. She truly had a great body figure. Puchi¡­ All of a sudden, a freezing long blade appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands, and stabbed into the Charming Spirit¡¯s heart. ¡°Your body figure is great, especially your 36D boobs. Unfortunately, I love small ones.¡± Glancing at the Charming Spirit whose eyes were wide with disbelief, Xia Feng heartlessly plucked his blade and slit her throat. [System notification: Source Crystal +2] [System notification: Charming Spirit Blood +500 ml] The bell stopped ringing after the Charming Spirit died, and the illusions were gone. Big Black woke up from the soil. It looked at its genitals as well as the long hole underneath it in confusion. Then, it seemed to have realized something. It guiltily waved its limbs, and destroyed the long hole. Xia Feng pretended that he didn¡¯t see it. He thought that he didn¡¯t need to worry about the food for the Spear Swallowing Fish anymore. He was quite delighted at the thought of that, so he took out the Charming Spirit Blood, and checked the note. [Charming Spirit Blood: It can increase the males¡¯ performance in bed without any side effects.] [Although you¡¯re strong enough and already remarkable in bed, this bowl of blood will still be of great help.] Holding the bowl of Charming Spirit Blood, Xia Feng drank all of it since nobody was here to see him at all. It doesn¡¯t taste bad. I wish there were more of it. The blood of the Charming Spirit was not salty at all. Instead, it was sweet and delicious. If possible, Xia Feng really wanted another bowl of it, certainly not because it could improve bed performance, but because it was delicious. Very soon, Xia Feng and Big Black walked out of the range of the second test. Chapter 17 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [System notification: You have passed the second test. You may continue with the tests, or leave from here.] The mist was gone, and the second channel showed up. [Island No.2: There¡¯s an Iron Chest on it that may contain things you need.] An Iron Chest. Xia Feng was tempted as he might find rare recipes in it. Weighing the pros and cons, Xia Feng held himself back and continued the quest. The third test was a maze in a cave that contained some traps. With the help of the golden hint, Xia Feng passed the test easily. There was also an Iron Chest on the third island that just showed up. Besides, an Iron-Clawed Beast lived on the island too, which was another temptation to Xia Feng. After all, the Iron-Clawed Beast was no longer dangerous to Xia Feng, and its blood could strengthen him. Eventually, Xia Feng decided to continue the quest. He was unwilling to abandon the chance to meet the mysterious merchant after passing three tests. Xia Feng took the fourth test with Big Black. The fourth test was a simple one that was about strength. A Rock-Armored Bear was on his path. The Rock-Armored Bear was as strong as the Underground Demon. It had great physical strength too. With the Lightning Crossbow and the Frost Blade, Xia Feng managed to wear the bear out to death. During the battle, Big Black showed its ultimate trick again, and bit off the bear¡¯s genitals. Even Xia Feng was more or less scared to see the blood in the dog¡¯s mouth and the brutality on its face. The items that the bear dropped were similar to the Underground Demon¡¯s, except that its blood was drinkable, and strengthened Xia Feng again. After the Rock-Armored Bear was killed, the fog roiled and revealed a fourth path. At the end of the path was a human-shaped creature wearing a black robe, staring at Xia Feng in silence. [Mysterious Merchant: A merchant that wanders in the Misty Space. People call it the Mysterious Merchant because of its mysterious background. You may get a desirable treasure from it.] [This Misty Creature is not hostile to you. You may try to approach it.] After reading the note and the hint, Xia Feng approached the mysterious merchant. ¡°Mysterious merchant, greetings,¡± Xia Feng greeted politely. ¡°Brave adventurer, greetings,¡± the mysterious merchant replied in a friendly manner. Xia Feng looked at the mysterious merchant¡¯s face underneath the black veil, but he saw nothing but blackness. Since he couldn¡¯t see anything, Xia Feng stopped checking how the mysterious merchant looked, and cut to the chase. ¡°May I know what you¡¯re selling, and what currency you accept?¡± ¡°I sell a lot of goods. You can pay with Source Crystals, or barter with me.¡± While talking, the mysterious merchant waved his hand, and released five glittering balls before he continued, ¡°Based on your current condition, I¡¯ve picked five items that are the most suitable for you.¡± Xia Feng got interested, and looked at each of the five balls. [Recipe of Superior Wings of the Sky: This is a special spiritual device that allows you to fly to the sky.] [Price: 500 Source Crystals (low-level), or any equivalent item.] Xia Feng was already breathing heavily after seeing the first item. It was needless to say how precious a piece of superior flying equipment could be. Then, it was the second item. [Recipe of Perfect Bronze Armor: This is a powerful spiritual armor. If you craft it and put it on, your ability to survive will be significantly enhanced.] [Price: 3,000 Source Crystals (low-level), or any equivalent item.] Lum-Dum¡­ Lum-Dum¡­ After Xia Feng read the descriptions, his heart pounded as they were all too exciting. Perfect armor was so tempting, but its price was also unimaginably high. The third item. [Certificate of the Mist: A certificate to create a real organization in the Misty Space. It¡¯s an extremely rare and precious treasure.] [Price: Unknown] Xia Feng slightly frowned at the description of the third item. He didn¡¯t know that he needed a certificate to found an organization here. Couldn¡¯t he just found one? Also, the price for that thing was unknown, which was rather perplexing for Xia Feng. Leaving it alone for now, Xia Feng continued reading. [Spiritual Endowment Fluid (one bottle): It¡¯s a precious potion that may transform an ordinary creature into a spiritual body.] [Price: 1,000 Source Crystals (low-level), or any equivalent item] Reading the description of the Spiritual Endowment Fluid, Xia Feng was quite surprised at its price. However, he already had its recipe, and it was unnecessary for him to exchange for it. The last item. [Junior Voyage Ship: You may travel on the sea with this boat.] [Price: 5,000 Source Crystals (low-level), or any equivalent item] Xia Feng felt dizzy after checking all the items. They were not just good stuff, but great stuff. The Junior Voyage Ship, in particular, made Xia Feng drool. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t afford any of the items. Oh, wait, there was still the mysterious Certificate of the Mist. ¡°Esteemed mysterious merchant, do you have other items available? Those are all too expensive for me,¡± asked Xia Feng rather awkwardly. ¡°No, you can afford one of them.¡± The mysterious merchant slightly shook its head. ¡°Do you mean¡­¡± Xia Feng looked at the third item, which was the Certificate of the Mist. ¡°Exactly.¡± The mysterious merchant nodded. ¡°In fact, the Certificate of the Mist is the most precious one of the five items.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford it.¡± Xia Feng furrowed his brows. ¡°You only need to pay one low-level Source Crystal,¡± said the mysterious merchant shockingly. ¡°You have 30 seconds to consider. I¡¯ll leave in 30 seconds whether you buy it or not.¡± Hearing that, Xia Feng handed over a low-level Source Crystal to the mysterious merchant. The mysterious merchant waved his robe, and the Source Crystal disappeared. So did all the items except the Certificate of the Mist. ¡°Brave warrior, I¡¯m leaving, but we¡¯ll meet again. Remember my codename: Xiu.¡± The mysterious merchant¡¯s words were still echoing in Xia Feng¡¯s ears, but he had already vanished at some point, leaving Xia Feng alone in the place. Looking at the glittering ball, Xia Feng extended his hand to it. [System notification: Certificate of the Mist +1] The Certificate of the Mist was the size of an adult¡¯s hand and in the shape of a star. One side of the Certificate of the Mist was a mysterious pattern, and what appeared to be mist was engraved on the other side. [System notification: Certificate of the Mist detected. Would you like to found an organization?] Chapter 18 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Xia Feng was deep in thought after seeing the notification. He made a decision after a moment of consideration. ¡°Yes,¡± said Xia Feng softly. [System notification: Organization founded successfully. Organization panel activated. Please check it in the game menu.] Before Xia Feng acted, the game menu had already popped up. Before, there had been three sections on the menu, namely Chat, Trade, and Craft. At this moment, a new section, Organization, had been added. It was not hard to imagine how important it was. As he clicked on the organization panel, a new menu showed up. [Organization name: N/A] [Organization leader: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Organization level: 1 (Upgradeable; click to view the requirements for upgrade)] [Organization members: 1/100] [Organization prosperity: 0] There were also three branches in the menu. [Organization Storage] [Organization Chat] [Organization Dungeon] After exploring the menu for a long time, Xia Feng finally figured out what it was about. In general, it was similar to the guilds in lousy MMORPGs. Xia Feng could invite other adventurers to his organization to build it up. The items in the Organization Storage could be shared by all members. Of course, the storage wasn¡¯t free. A credit point system was imposed in an organization. One could receive credit points by contributing items to the storage, and spend the credit points on buying or renting items from it. The leader of an organization could decide if an item in the storage could be bought or rented. The Organization Channel, evidently, was a medium for the members to communicate. It was similar to the regional channel. The Organization Dungeon in the end was a benefit for the members. Every once in a while, the leader of an organization could conquer dungeons with its members and win rewards. After figuring out the functions of the organization menu, Xia Feng already had some plans. However, it wasn¡¯t the time to implement them yet, at least not until he finished his business. For example, he should use up his exploration opportunities for the day first. Xia Feng was at the edge of the island. Not far ahead was a channel to another island. [Island No.4: It has abundant assets, as well as a horde of cunning gnomes.] [Those gnomes know how to make traps, but they¡¯re not strong. You may want to rob them. It¡¯s said that gnomes love collecting treasures. But they¡¯re very timid and may run off.] Bad hint. Do you want me to do bad things again? Xia Feng put on a smile and looked back. He didn¡¯t go to any of the other islands. After the conversation with the mysterious merchant, Xia Feng found that the Source Crystal was likely the hard currency in the Misty Space. If so, he certainly had to gather more of them. Putting on his equipment and crossing the glittering membrane, he found himself in a spacious environment. Phew, it feels much better to see things clearly. Xia Feng took a long breath of relief at the edge of the 13th island. The mysterious island was enshrouded in thick fog. Nobody would feel comfortable after spending a long time there. The 13th island was quite large, and had a coverage of almost 10,000 square meters. Ahead of him, a group of one-meter-tall gnomes, who had huge ears and green skin, was working on the island. ¡°Squeak¡­¡± Xia Feng raised their attention the moment he showed up. They stopped whatever they were doing, and gathered with pointy sticks in their hands. ¡°Big Black, don¡¯t run about. Stick with me.¡± Seeing that, Xia Feng stepped forward with a smile. [Warning. There¡¯s a trap ahead of you. You¡¯d better move in another direction, or jump five meters to cross the trap.] The golden hint popped up in time. On the other side, the gnomes all gazed at Xia Feng with excitement in their brownish eyes. New prey fed himself to them today. However, to their disappointment, the new prey stopped moving after only taking one step forward. Waiting for a moment, the gnomes, seeing that the prey was still, couldn¡¯t help but attack him. Several gnomes picked up stones from the ground, and threw them at Xia Feng. Bam! Bam! Two of the stones smashed into Xia Feng¡¯s armor successfully. Xia Feng seemed to be provoked. He glared at the gnomes furiously. He¡¯s angry! He¡¯s angry! He¡¯s about to move! All the gnomes became thrilled. They could envision how Xia Feng would fall into the trap. However, Xia Feng shockingly leaped with Big Black, and crossed almost 10 meters in the blink of an eye. He checked his surroundings the moment he landed. Perhaps because the gnomes were confident in the first trap, or maybe for some reason, there were no other traps here. ¡°Big Black, go at them!¡± Therefore, Xia Feng and Big Black charged at the gnomes who didn¡¯t know what was going on. The Lightning Crossbow appeared on his wrist, and the Frost Blade emerged in his hands too. All the gnomes grimaced in bewilderment. Why had the prey reached them so quickly? They weren¡¯t even ready to flee yet. ¡°Why didn¡¯t he step on our trap?¡± It went without saying that none of the 30 gnomes survived Xia Feng¡¯s magnificent attacks. They gave 37 Source Crystals to him. Collecting the Source Crystals in satisfaction, Xia Feng looked around at the plants and started looting them. [System notification: Rice +300, Rice Seeds +30] [System notification: Vegetables +100, Vegetable Seeds +10] [System notification: Earth Fruits +200, Earth Fruit Seedlings +10] [System notification: ¡­] After the looting, the land that looked rather prosperous earlier became completely barren. After looting the materials, Xia Feng looked at the gnomes¡¯ cave. According to the hint he saw earlier, there might be good stuff in the cave. It was an underground cave, but its entrance was fairly easy to find. Xia Feng entered through the entrance, and came to an underground space with a coverage of several hundred square meters. There was a chest in the cave. Xia Feng opened it and acquired 30 Wood, 30 Stone, 20 Bronze, 10 Iron, four Silver, and an alchemy manual. [Basic Alchemy Manual: It records some basic methods of alchemy in an ancient language.] [If you can understand the tadpole-like words in it, this alchemy manual will be a treasure; if you can¡¯t, it¡¯s no better than toilet paper.] Another item that I can¡¯t use yet. I might as well put it away first. Throwing the alchemy manual into the Shelter Ring, he searched the gnomes¡¯ cave again. He found nothing else, and returned to the surface. When Xia Feng was going to the next island, a private message popped up. Lin Feifan: Boss, I¡¯ve reached out to several men who have recipes and want to sell them. Would you like to speak to them? Xia Feng quickly replied after reading the message. ¡°Yes. Let them contact me.¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Any recipe was worth collecting. Xia Feng received multiple messages very soon. Bu Pingfan: Master Xia Feng, what do you think of my recipe? Random Guy A: Hello, Master Xia Feng. This is my recipe. Random Guy B: Hello, Master Xia Feng. This is my recipe. Xia Feng checked their recipes one by one. [Recipe of Exquisite Power Gauntlet: This is a spiritual device that can increase the strength of your arm. You can only wear one on each arm.] [Recipe of Ordinary Shelter Furnace Expansion: This is a one-time recipe that can create a furnace in your shelter. Requirement: An exquisite or better shelter.] [Recipe of Exquisite Gas Mask: This is a very practical tool that offers great protection. If you craft it, you won¡¯t be scared of ordinary poisonous gas.] All of the recipes were very useful. Xia Feng asked about their prices one by one. Random Guy A, who had the Recipe of Ordinary Shelter Furnace Expansion, wanted food. Xia Feng easily exchanged two pieces of Shadow Cat Meat for that. It was a fair deal. Both of them got what they needed. Random Guy B had the Recipe of Exquisite Gas Mask. He demanded five spiritual runes of each class. Xia Feng didn¡¯t think the price was unacceptable, but he tried to bargain with the guy, and eventually paid three spiritual runes of each class for that. As for Bu Pingfan, his demand was slightly weird. He wanted to work as Xia Feng¡¯s assistant too. Looking at his name, Xia Feng couldn¡¯t help but associate Bu Pingfan with Lin Feifan. He sent a private message to Lin Feifan. ¡°Do you know that guy named Bu Pingfan?¡± Hardly had he sent the message when Lin Feifan replied. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m sorry¡­ Pingfan is my best friend. We grew up together. I accidentally divulged the secret when I talked to him earlier.¡± Xia Feng couldn¡¯t tell if Lin Feifan was telling the truth. However, considering that Lin Feifan had done a good job, Xia Feng decided to trust him for this time. ¡°Don¡¯t do that again.¡± Xia Feng didn¡¯t get the Power Gauntlet in the end. He refused Bu Pingfan¡¯s demand. After Xia Feng turned him down, Bu Pingfan declared that he wouldn¡¯t accept anything else for the Power Gauntlet. That was the end of the trade. Xia Feng bartered with Random Guy A and Random Guy B. [System notification: Shadow Cat Meat -2, spiritual runes of each class -3] [System notification: Recipe of Ordinary Shelter Furnace Expansion +1] [System notification: Recipe of Exquisite Gas Mask +1] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Ordinary Shelter Furnace Expansion?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Exquisite Gas Mask?] ¡°Learn them,¡± Xia Feng mumbled. After a flash, he successfully learned them. He opened the craft menu. [Ordinary Shelter Furnace (one-time): Stone 48/4, Bronze 100/4, Iron 76/2] [Exquisite Gas Mask: Plastic 0/2, Beast Skin 4/1, Iron 76/2, Wind Spiritual Rune 24/2, Water Spiritual Rune 34/2, Fire Spiritual Rune 24/2] Xia Feng remembered seeing plastic in the market. It was about the same price as iron. Xia Feng bought 10 pieces of them in a row. [System notification: Plastic +10] [System notification: Iron -10] After the materials were ready, Xia Feng crafted two Gas Masks, one for himself and the other for Big Black. Before the equipment was made, the system had modified it according to the specs of its user. [System notification: Plastic -4, Beast Skin -2, Iron -4, Wind Spiritual Rune -8, Fire Spiritual Rune -4, Water Spiritual Rune -4] Two Gas Masks that could cover the entire head appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands. He tried it on, and found that it was very convenient. It didn¡¯t block his eyesight, and breathing was very easy. Then, Xia Feng set up the shelter, and crafted the furnace in it. ¡°Big Black, you¡¯re going to enjoy yourself.¡± Xia Feng looked at the furnace in satisfaction as he could cook when he was hungry. As it happened, he had reaped a lot of vegetables and rice. He could enjoy his life. However, it was not the time for enjoyment yet. He had to use up the exploration opportunities first. Folding the shelter, Xia Feng began to observe the five channels that were connected to the island. [Island No.1: A highly corrosive acid rain is going on here. You wouldn¡¯t want to experience that.] [Island No.2: There¡¯s a white pig in heat. It¡¯s willing to be ravaged by any male creature right now. You may go there and enjoy yourself if you¡¯re interested. There¡¯s also a Bronze Chest and some assets.] [Island No.3: It has an Iron Chest, but a bunch of Night Demons are lurking here. They¡¯re extremely dangerous. You can¡¯t see them at all at night.] [Island No.4: There are some assets on it, but you probably don¡¯t need them.] [Island No.5: Poisonous gas permeates this island, which is also home to an adult Poisonous Smoke Beast. However, there¡¯s a Silver Chest in the beast¡¯s lair.] After reading the hints on the five channels, Xia Feng opened his handbook, and looked for the creatures. [White Pig: Harmless, delicious, and highly fertile.] [Hint: If you run into one, you may try to catch it.] [Night Demons: Extremely dangerous creatures in the Misty Space. They often appear at night. Ordinary people can¡¯t see them.] [Hint: If you have a Spiritual Lamp, you may try to deal with them.] [Poisonous Smoke Beast: A rarely seen animal in the Misty Space that does not like to move. They usually live in highly poisonous places. People don¡¯t see them often.] [Hint: If you¡¯re in conflict with them, kill them as soon as possible, or the poisonous smoke it releases will corrode and evaporate you.] Xia Feng wanted to go to Island No.5 the most. After all, the Silver Chest was really attractive. However, Island No.3 was also an option, as long as he waited. He was sure that the Night Demons would be inactive during the day. After thinking it over and over, Xia Feng decided to go to Island No.5. The Exquisite Gas Mask he just made proved useful. Putting the Gas Masks on Big Black and himself, Xia Feng came to the 14th island through Channel No.5. The island wasn¡¯t very big, with a coverage of only 200 meters. Visible poisonous gas was everywhere. [The poisonous gas here is so dense that you can only survive 10 minutes even with the Gas Mask.] 10 minutes is enough. Xia Feng walked to the Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s lair at the center of the island. He was not confident of shooting it from so far away, so he had to get closer to the target. The Poisonous Smoke Beast was only one meter tall. It had short limbs and a skin full of ulcers. As he approached the Poisonous Smoke Beast, the poison density soared. The golden hint popped up, warning Xia Feng that his Gas Mask would expire in five minutes. Chapter 20 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations At this moment, Xia Feng was only five meters away from the Poisonous Smoke Beast. To prevent any accident from happening, Xia Feng had to make sure that he could kill the target with one shot. The Poisonous Smoke Beast was sleeping in its lair, and didn¡¯t sense Xia Feng¡¯s arrival at all. Xia Feng slowly raised his arm, and aimed the Lightning Crossbow at the Poisonous Smoke Beast. Swoosh! An arrow, mixed with purple lightning, darted out and penetrated the Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s head precisely. The Poisonous Smoke Beast cramped and stopped breathing. The Poisonous Smoke Beast wasn¡¯t as sturdy as the Rock-Armored Bear. One arrow was enough to kill it. [System notification: Source Crystal +2] [System notification: Poisonous Smoke Beast Blood +1,000 ml] [System notification: Poison Bag +1] [Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s Blood: It contains lethal poison that takes effect very quickly.] [Poison Bag: It¡¯s the Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s gallbladder. It can heal you from any poison and make you resistant to poisons. It¡¯s a rarely seen treasure.] Xia Feng swallowed the Poison Bag. He didn¡¯t feel anything, as if nothing had happened. However, when Xia Feng looked at the air again, the hint changed. [Strong poison still lingers in the air, but you¡¯re strong enough to persist for half an hour in this place. Regular poisons can¡¯t do anything to you anymore.] Receiving a windfall, Xia Feng walked into the Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s lair. A Silver Chest Had been placed in the deepest part of the lair. [Careful. This chest is contaminated with the Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s saliva, which is lethal. Don¡¯t touch it unless you don¡¯t want your hand anymore.] After reading the hint, Xia Feng had a deeper understanding of the Poisonous Smoke Beast¡¯s toxicity. He felt lucky that he had killed the Poisonous Smoke Beast with one strike, or there was no telling what could¡¯ve happened. As (un)usual, he opened the Silver Chest with the shovel. [System notification: Silver Chest +1] [System notification: Wind Spiritual Rune +2] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Power Gauntlet +1] [System notification: Junior Bloodline Evolution Potion +1] [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Silver Chest?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Rare Power Gauntlet?] ¡°Decompose and learn.¡± After saying that, Xia Feng stored everything into the Shelter Ring, and examined the channels to the next island. Although he could endure much longer, Big Black couldn¡¯t. There were three channels connected to the 14th island. Xia Feng looked around and chose Island No.2, which had two Armored Crocodiles and some materials he needed. Island No.1 had much fewer resources, and a tornado was raging on Island No.3. Moving quickly, Xia Feng and the dog soon reached the 15th island. Shua! Shua! Noise of friction burst out as two huge crocodiles that were almost five meters long went straight for Xia Feng. Xia Feng raised his hand and shot out an arrow with his Lightning Crossbow, penetrating the head of an Armored Crocodile. Very soon, the second Armored Crocodile was shot to death too. While the two Armored Crocodiles were reasonably sturdy, they were not nearly as good as the Underground Demon, and could only be compared to an adult Sand Lizard. After killing the two Armored Crocodiles, Xia Feng received four Source Crystals, two Beast Skins, eight Beast Bones, 2,000 ml of Armored Crocodiles¡¯ Blood, and eight portions of Armored Crocodiles¡¯ Meat. Xia Feng didn¡¯t drink the Armored Crocodiles¡¯ Blood, but gave it to Big Black, because it wasn¡¯t very effective on him anymore. Xia Feng checked the information of the Junior Bloodline Evolution Potion. [Junior Bloodline Evolution Potion: A rare drug in the Misty Space that can facilitate the evolution of the Misty Creatures that have thin bloodlines.] [Your big black dog needs the potion.] ¡°Big Black, come here. I have good stuff for you.¡± Seeing that Big Black had drunk up the Armored Crocodiles¡¯ Blood, Xia Feng waved at it. Hearing the call, Big Black quickly ran to him. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± Big Black obediently opened its mouth that was best at biting off genitals, and Xia Feng poured the potion into it. The next moment, Big Black¡¯s fur bristled like the spines of a hedgehog. Then, a black light emanated from Big Black and enshrouded its body. The light was gone dozens of seconds later, and Big Black, which was 50% bigger, was revealed. Earlier, Big Black had a shoulder height of one meter, but it had reached 1.5 meters at this moment. All its fur was smooth, shiny, and hard. Sharp talons had grown out, and its teeth were even sharper. It seemed that biting off certain body parts was easier now. Big Black ran around Xia Feng excitedly after the successful evolution. It even tried to stand up and lick Xia Feng, but Xia Feng simply pushed it aside. After that, Xia Feng examined the information of the Rare Power Gauntlet, and found that it was similar to the Exquisite Power Gauntlet. It required the following materials. [Rare Power Gauntlet: Silver 6/2, Iron 62/4, Beast Bone 24/2, Fire Spiritual Rune 20/8, Earth Spiritual Rune 24/8] All the requirements were met. Also, Xia Feng found that the materials for the Rare Wind Boots were ready too. So, he crafted all of them. [System notification: Silver -2, Iron -4, Beast Bone -2, Fire Spiritual Rune -8, Earth Spiritual Rune -8] [System notification: Silver -4, Beast Skin -2, Beast Bone -2, Wind Spiritual Rune -10, Earth Spiritual Rune -6, Fire Spiritual Rune -4] A pair of flawless boots and a gauntlet appeared in front of Xia Feng¡¯s eyes. Putting on the two pieces of rare equipment, Xia Feng saw another increase in his combat ability. Plus the Frost Blade he got earlier, Xia Feng¡¯s combat ability had reached 1,666. He was definitely the best of his planet with such a combat ability. He had four pieces of rare equipment, a superior one, and his body was very strong too. So, the rating was quite understandable. After looting the 15th island, Xia Feng wasted no time going to the 16th island. Maybe because he had run out of luck, he only got some materials and two Bronze Chests from the next four islands. Also, nothing good came from the two Bronze Chests. By the time Xia Feng cleared the 19th island, it was already three a.m. It was worth mentioning that Xia Feng wasn¡¯t rewarded with a third dungeon opportunity after he explored the 15th island. Xia Feng speculated that the reward wouldn¡¯t come until he finished the 20th island. Therefore, instead of exploring the last island in a hurry, he decided to found his organization first. Before that, he put a bunch of items on sale as before. Most of the items were the vegetables and rice he had collected. He mostly demanded spiritual runes, Source Crystals, and other common materials. After raising another round of exclamations in the world and regional channels, Xia Feng threw a message to the public channel. ¡°People from the State of Xia with a combat ability higher than 150 points, call me with a screenshot of your combat ability if you want to establish an organization with me. This offer expires at noon today.¡± Chapter 21 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The moment Xia Feng sent the message, the entire public channel exploded like a pot of hot boil that had just been mixed with a few drops of water. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand what Master Xia Feng means. Can someone explain it for me?¡± ¡°Brother Xia Feng, please let me play with you. I have big boobs. Can you let me join your organization?¡± ¡°What does organization mean? I¡¯ve never heard about it before.¡± ¡°The masters always do things that we don¡¯t know. I¡¯d better buy some of his vegetables right now instead of chatting with you.¡± ¡°You want to buy vegetables? Do you even have a wok or a source of fire? The messages kept popping up. There were a lot of people in the public channel even though it was three in the morning. The news that Xia Feng was recruiting members for his organization quickly spread out among the players. The public channel was quite heated, yet nobody spoke to Xia Feng. At this moment, whoever had 150 Combat Ability was definitely among the best of the players. Those people were all proud, and wouldn¡¯t work for anyone randomly. Xia Feng, too, wouldn¡¯t have made a reckless decision if he had seen such an offer. Therefore, he wasn¡¯t anxious at all. He had set a deadline anyway. All he had to do was wait. Very soon, the first private message arrived. Xia Feng saw that it came from Bu Pingfan, who was Lin Feifan¡¯s friend and grew up with him. ¡°Master Xia Feng, this is a screenshot of my combat ability. Please take a look.¡± Xia Feng glanced at it. The guy¡¯s combat ability was 198, top of his region. A player¡¯s name on the ranking was highlighted in yellow so that it would be easier for them to find themselves. ¡°Okay, you meet my requirements,¡± replied Xia Feng. Soon, Bu Pingfan sent another message with a clear purpose. ¡°Master Xia Feng, what do I have to pay, and what will I get, if I want to join your organization?¡± Xia Feng turned what he had already thought into text and sent it back. ¡°You¡¯ll get a lot of things. ¡°First of all, we¡¯ll be sharing the information we know. ¡°Secondly, you can ask for my help if you¡¯re in trouble. Of course, my help won¡¯t be free, and I won¡¯t help you with everything. ¡°Lastly, you can ask me another question for free. I¡¯ll answer it as long as it¡¯s a valid question.¡± It was the first message. Xia Feng quickly sent another one. ¡°As for what you have to pay, to be honest, I¡¯m not quite sure. You¡¯ll have to find out after you join my organization.¡± After Xia Feng sent the message, Bu Pingfan didn¡¯t respond until more than 10 minutes later. ¡°Master Xia Feng, I would like to join your organization. What should I do?¡± Without further ado, Xia Feng opened Bu Pingfan¡¯s profile and found the ¡°Invite him to your organization¡± button at the bottom. He then clicked ¡°Confirm¡±. Next moment, an invitation was sent as a private message from Xia Feng. The front side of the invitation was two calligraphic words: Xia Alliance. [System notification: Bu Pingfan has joined the Xia Alliance.] Bu Pingfan sent a message. ¡°Master Xia Feng, I¡¯ve accepted your invitation. Now, I would like to ask you a question as you promised.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Master Xia Feng, what¡¯s your current combat ability?¡± ¡°1,666.¡± The private channel was quiet for three seconds. ¡°Shoot! Are you even a human being, Master Xia Feng? I need to calm myself down. Bye bye.¡± Bu Pingfan was greatly frustrated by the four-digit number, which was far larger than his own. The number was highly humiliating and hurtful. Very soon, another message came. It was from Lin Feifan. He sent a screenshot. His combat ability was 151 points, ranking second in his region. Xia Feng gave him an invitation with a line of words on it. ¡°Make it to the top of your regional ranking as quickly as possible. I¡¯ll give you two days.¡± ¡°Boss, consider it done.¡± Lin Feifan made a promise confidently. He would do the same even without Xia Feng¡¯s instruction. After that, some other people sent private messages to Xia Feng too. Most of them had a combat ability higher than 150, but some were short by a slim margin. Xia Feng declined those people without hesitation. Xia Feng was not exactly inconsiderate, but as the leader of an organization, he had to prove that he was a man of his word. He had given every new member of the organization a chance to ask him a question in order to show his strength and invoke awe in those members. He had never worried that his secrets would be exposed in such a way. As long as he was strong enough, he could keep those men under his control even without any trump cards. Xia Feng hired five people in total, including Lin Feifan and Bu Pingfan. Everybody except Bu Pingfan was the second or third place on the local ranking of combat ability. Their purpose in joining the Xia Alliance was simple. They wanted to reach the top of the ranking. Xia Feng was glad to see that. One wouldn¡¯t strive to become stronger unless they had a target. When it was noon, Xia Feng opened the organization menu. [Organization name: Xia Alliance] [Organization leader: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Organization level: 1 (Upgradeable; click to view the requirements for upgrade)] [Organization members: 6/100] [Organization prosperity: 0] He clicked the ¡°organization members¡± column, and new information instantly showed up. [Ordinary members: Bu Pingfan, Lin Feifan, Bai Xiaoxue, Zhang Junzhe, Luo Yu.] Three of them were guys, and two were girls. The demography was quite balanced. Seeing the two girls, Xia Feng couldn¡¯t help but remember Lin Xiaowan. She had actually reached out to Xia Feng too, but her combat ability didn¡¯t meet the requirement, and she was heartlessly declined. The organization members were divided in three levels, namely Ordinary, Elite, and Core. The higher a member¡¯s level was, the more permissions they would have. Every new member of an organization was in the ordinary level. To improve their level, they had to win enough credit points and the approval of the organization leader. After checking the details of the members, Xia Feng focused his attention on the organization level. [Organization level: 1 (Upgradeable)] [Upgrade requirements: Wood 0/1,000, Bronze 0/300, Iron 0/100, Source Crystal (low-level) 0/30, Water Spiritual Rune 0/20, Fire Spiritual Rune 0/20, Wind Spiritual Rune 0/20, Earth Spiritual Rune 0/20] A lot of materials were needed, but it was not entirely unacceptable. The materials here were those in the organization storage. Members could get credit points by offering materials to the storage. They could exchange for the items in the storage with credit points, which were also related to prosperity. The more total credit points an organization had, the more prosperous it would be. Prosperity, on the other hand, decided the cooldown of dungeons. The higher the prosperity, the shorter the cooldown. Thinking about the dungeon, Xia Feng opened the organization channel, and pinged all the members. ¡°Everybody, I¡¯m going to activate a dungeon in five minutes. Are any of you too busy to participate?¡± Lin Feifan was the first to reply to the message. ¡°I¡¯m not busy, Boss!¡± Bu Pingfan followed him. ¡°I¡¯m not busy, Boss!¡± The other three members all replied, ¡°I¡¯m not busy, Boss!¡± It was evident that human beings were repeaters in nature. So, five minutes later, Xia Feng mumbled to himself, ¡°Start the organization dungeon.¡± Chapter 22 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The moment Xia Feng thought of that, a portal to the dungeon was opened. [System notification: Organization dungeon activated. Please enter in half an hour, or you will be abandoning the dungeon raid.] Xia Feng entered the dungeon with Big Black. [System notification: You¡¯ve entered the organization dungeon, which will be active for an hour. You may quit anytime.] [System notification: Members of your organization will receive credit points for the monsters they kill in the dungeon. The higher their credit points are, the better they¡¯ll be rewarded.] Xia Feng appeared in the middle of rocks. He couldn¡¯t see anything but rocks. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the dungeon raid would still be in the solo mode.¡± Without wasting his time, Xia Feng looked around and moved on. [A monster is lurking 10 meters on your right, and is about to attack you.] After he walked a few steps, a golden hint popped up. Xia Feng pretended that he didn¡¯t see it, and moved forward as usual. ¡°Hu¡­¡± A monkey-like monster jumped out of the rocks, and lunged at Xia Feng. Swoosh! An arrow that glittered with purple lightning darted out, and penetrated the monkey¡¯s head. [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a Stone Monkey. Credit point +1] No materials were dropped. The Stone Monkey fell to the ground as a stone after it was killed. Xia Feng moved on. [Two monsters are conspiring against you on your left.] A dozen seconds later, two Stone Monkeys lunged at Xia Feng from his left. He shot one of them. The other managed to approach Xia Feng, but it was cut into halves by the Frost Blade. [System notification: You¡¯ve killed two Stone Monkeys. Credit points +2] The organization dungeon seemed pretty simple. One would encounter monsters as long as one walked on. All the organization members needed to do was kill those monsters. After figuring that out, Xia Feng moved a lot faster. Then, system notifications popped up in front of Xia Feng¡¯s eyes nonstop. [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a Stone Monkey. Credit point +1] [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a Stone Leopard. Credit points +2] [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a Stone Tiger. Credit points +2] Xia Feng made fast progress in the first half an hour. He could easily kill the ambushing monsters with his strength and the golden hints. However, in the second half of the hour, more monsters were attacking him. No more than five of them attacked him at the same time earlier, but at this moment, a dozen were coming at once, and they were all stronger. [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a group of Stone Monkeys. Credit point +15] Xia Feng coldly killed the last Elite Stone Monkey that snuck up on him. The Elite Stone Monkeys were evolved versions of regular Stone Monkeys, and each yielded two credit points. 12 Stone Monkeys had attacked Xia Feng this time, and three of them were elites. After killing those Stone Monkeys, Xia Feng went forward. Soon enough, he was surrounded by 15 Stone Leopards. A tough battle began. The Stone Leopards were not weak. Each of them was as strong as an adult Sand Lizard. It took Xia Feng almost 10 minutes to eliminate all the Stone Leopards. [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a group of Stone Leopards. Credit points +30] 50 minutes had already passed. Xia Feng could deal with one last wave. Seeing the wounds on Big Black, Xia Feng petted the dog, and said, ¡°Big Black, wait for me here. Don¡¯t run off.¡± Big Black had become a lot stronger since the evolution. It could finish a Sand Lizard on its own at this moment. However, in such a group fight, it tended to get wounded easily due to the lack of armor. After making arrangements for Big Black, Xia Feng continued the raid. About 100 meters later, a dozen Stone Tigers hopped out and pounced at Xia Feng. An arrow shot out and instantly killed one of them. The Lightning Crossbow was so powerful that it could kill the Stone Tigers with one arrow as long as it hit their vitals. Although Xia Feng tried his best to keep moving, the Stone Tigers finally approached him after he shot four of them down. In such a moment, the Lightning Crossbow was no longer useful. However, Xia Feng excelled in melee battles too. His left hand, in particular, was astonishingly strong after he put on the Rare Power Gauntlet. It could easily punch a Stone Tiger so hard it¡¯d be dizzy. Finally, when the dungeon was about to be closed, Xia Feng killed all the Stone Tigers, and received 30 credit points. Seeing that the dungeon would be closed in 30 seconds, Xia Feng stopped moving forward, and waited for its end. [System notification: The dungeon is closed. You¡¯re going to be teleported back to the Misty Space.] Xia Feng¡¯s eyes flashed. When he could see things again, he found himself back on the 19th island. [System notification: Calculating dungeon points. Please wait.] At the same time, the other five members of the Xia Alliance were all gazing at the game menu on their respective islands. The menu displayed the credit points they received from the dungeon raid. Xia Feng was on the first line. Xia Feng: Calculating credit points. Bu Pingfan: 21 credit points, rating: D Lin Feifan: 16 credit points, rating: D Bai Xiaoxue: 20 credit points, rating: D Zhang Junzhe: 18 credit points, rating D Luo Yu: 20 credit points, rating D Their credit points were all quite low, which was understandable. After all, the dungeon raid was rather challenging. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re so strong. You made it to the end of the dungeon raid.¡± In the Xia Alliance¡¯s channel, Lin Feifan sent a message. ¡°He¡¯s absolutely inhuman. I didn¡¯t even survive 10 minutes. Those monsters were cunning and unpredictable.¡± Bu Pingfan made a remark too. Indeed, the man with a four-digit combat ability was someone that he could only admire and couldn¡¯t compare to. When they sent messages, Xia Feng¡¯s result had been calculated. [System notification: You have received 137 credit points, rating: B] Xia Feng was slightly disappointed as the rating didn¡¯t even reach A. [System notification: All organization members have been rated. Distributing rewards¡­] [System notification: Level-B Organization Dungeon Chest +1] [System notification: The Xia Alliance has acquired 232 credit points in total from the dungeon. The following materials are saved in your storage as rewards.] [System notification: Wood +30, Stone +30, Bronze +10, Iron +10, Source Crystal +1] A few consecutive system notifications popped up, and a chest appeared at the bottom of Xia Feng¡¯s feet. In the meantime, the other five members of the Xia Alliance got their chests too. However, they were less lucky, and their chests were all level-D. Instead of opening the chest in a hurry, Xia Feng checked the dungeon raid results in the game menu first. He finally felt better when he saw that the five members all earned only around 20 credit points. Their ratings were all D, which meant that his performance was actually not bad. After all, the five members of the Xia Alliance were in the top tier of their planet. After confirming the situation, Xia Feng closed the menu, and opened the Level-B Organization Dungeon Chest. Chapter 23 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [System notification: Level-B Organization Dungeon Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal +6] [System notification: Spiritual runes of each class +8] [System notification: Blueprint of Bronze Chariot +1] [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Level-B Organization Dungeon Chest?] The rewards aren¡¯t bad, but what¡¯s the blueprint about? It¡¯s not a recipe, and I don¡¯t know how I can learn it. Xia Feng examined the rewards in the chest, and picked up the blueprint. [Blueprint of Bronze Chariot: The way to make an ancient chariot is written on this in a primordial language. If you craft it, it will be a great vehicle for you to enter the battlefield.] [It¡¯s a very precious design. Although you can¡¯t use it yet, you might want to cherish it first.] Reading the note and the hint of the Bronze Chariot, Xia Feng slightly frowned. Another ancient language. Just like the alchemy manual he got from the gnomes, it couldn¡¯t be learned as easily as the recipes. Looks like the Misty Space is quite complicated. Collecting the Blueprint of Bronze Chariot, Xia Feng simply decomposed the chest. [System notification: Iron +6, Silver +4] He received four pieces of Silver, and could craft another piece of rare equipment. Putting away the materials, Xia Feng sent a message to Lin Feifan, and asked him what he got from the chest. Lin Feifan replied that he got two Source Crystals and two spiritual runes of each class. There were no recipes, but it wasn¡¯t bad that a chest of the lowest level had yielded so much stuff. After that, Xia Feng counted his resources. After half a day, Xia Feng had received 30 Source Crystals, 76 Iron, 88 Bronze, numerous Stone and Wood, and no Silver from selling the Exquisite Sharp Long Saber, toilet paper, water, vegetables, and rice. The rest of his earnings were all spiritual runes, which were the majority. He got more than 100 of them. To be more exact, he acquired 28 Water Spiritual Runes, 33 Fire Spiritual Runes, 36 Wind Spiritual Runes, and 32 Earth Spiritual Runes. Xia Feng truly had a terrifying amount of resources. Seeing that it was already half past one, Xia Feng opened the trade menu, and searched for seasonings. Contrary to his expectations, he did find salt, MSG, oil, and other stuff. He truly wondered how those materials were obtained. He simply paid 10 Iron and 20 Bronze for some of the seasonings. Then, he crafted a huge wok at the cost of four Iron, two Bronze, and two Wood. Items such as woks, buckets, and bowls didn¡¯t require recipes. One could craft them in the system as long as one had the necessary materials. Then, Xia Feng came to the furnace, added two pieces of Wood as fuel, and then ignited it with a fire stone. After the fire rose, he placed the wok on it, and started cooking. Very soon, the fragrance of food spread out of Xia Feng¡¯s shelter. Big Black had been gazing at the Spear Swallowing Fish until it smelled the fragrance. It quickly ran to the door of the shelter. It fixed its eyes on the wok, and kept its mouth wide open, almost drooling. Although it had only been a day since he had any dishes, it felt like a long time to Xia Feng, so he made three dishes in a row. One was a bowl of vegetables, one was a bowl of meat, and the last was a mixture of vegetables and meat. All the three bowls were full. After making the dishes, Xia Feng washed rice and boiled it in a pot. ¡°Woof! Woof! Woof!¡± When he put a lid on the pot, Big Black suddenly began to bark. ¡°Has something arrived at the island?¡± Xia Feng was mentally connected to Big Black, and could understand its barking. Xia Feng quickly put on his equipment, and strode out of the shelter. The moment he came out, he overheard someone speaking English. Back in college, Xia Feng scored more than 500 points in the College English Test, and was fluent in oral English, so he could understand them well. ¡°William, I smell delicious food. Someone¡¯s cooking here. It¡¯s time for us to enjoy ourselves.¡± ¡°Polk, tread carefully. This is the Misty Space.¡± Hearing the voices, Xia Feng put the Lightning Crossbow and the Frost Blade back to his Shelter Ring. As the voices got closer and closer, Xia Feng saw two brawny foreigners. Both of them were equipped. If Xia Feng had seen them, they naturally saw him too. Upon seeing Xia Feng¡¯s face, one of the foreigners excitedly exclaimed, ¡°Are you Xia Feng?¡± From the conversation he overheard, Xia Feng knew that the guy was probably William. Is it possible to team up in the Misty Space? Seeing that the two foreigners were quite familiar with each other, and didn¡¯t seem to have just met, Xia Feng had a guess. ¡°Xia Feng, hello. Can you understand us?¡± Seeing the fully armed Xia Feng as well as the Exquisite Shelter behind him, William opened his mouth with a smile. A hint of greediness flashed in his eyes while he talked. Xia Feng furrowed his brows and looked at William, as if he were trying to figure out what the guy was talking about. William smiled even more delightedly after seeing that. He dropped a hint at Polk, who was hesitating, and stepped forward before he said, ¡°Xia Feng, I smelled food. Can you let us have a taste of that? Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely pay for the food.¡± While talking, William slowly approached Xia Feng. ¡°Do you speak Chinese?¡± Xia Feng asked in Chinese without any wariness on his face, as if he didn¡¯t notice William¡¯s intentions. Because of their professions, both William and Polk knew some Chinese, and understood what Xia Feng said. However, they both pretended that they didn¡¯t. William spoke in English again. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± While talking, William had come only five meters away from Xia Feng. Polk, on the other hand, had put his hands behind his back, and summoned a spiritual crossbow at some point. ¡°We don¡¯t know each other¡¯s language. I don¡¯t think we should communicate any further,¡± Xia Feng said in irritation while glancing at the two foreigners, and turned around, walking back to the shelter. The moment he turned around, the Lightning Crossbow and the Frost Blade appeared in his hands. Then, Xia Feng rolled and vanished from where he used to be. Half squatting, he raised his arm and aimed at Polk, shooting three arrows at the same time. At exactly the same time, Polk happened to be shooting an arrow at where Xia Feng stood a moment earlier. It was impossible for him to dodge. The three arrows easily ripped apart Polk¡¯s exquisite armor and penetrated his body. Pu¡­ Polk vomited a mouthful of blood and fell backwards. ¡°Polk!¡± Seeing that, William¡¯s eyes became bloodshot. A rare spiritual saber appeared in his hand, and he cut at Xia Feng¡¯s head. ¡°Humph, you know nothing about power.¡± Xia Feng sneered, and waved the Frost Blade with his left hand that was wearing the Power Gauntlet. Cling¡­ After a noise of collision, William was flung away and fell to the ground. Lying on the cold ground, William sensed that half of his body had been paralyzed. He cried in fear, ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Chapter 24 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°Nothing is impossible.¡± Xia Feng approached William expressionlessly. William was panicked to see the aggressiveness in Xia Feng¡¯s eyes. Half of his body was still numb. He couldn¡¯t fight back at all. Thinking quickly, William finally came up with a solution to save his life. He showed the public channel to Xia Feng, and threatened him in lousy Chinese, ¡°Xia Feng, don¡¯t come any closer, or I¡¯ll state in the public channel that you kill other people for their treasures.¡± In William¡¯s opinion, someone as famous as Xia Feng would definitely cherish his reputation. As long as he took advantage of that, he might be able to survive. He didn¡¯t need to beg Xia Feng for mercy. As long as he bought enough time for his body to recover, he was confident in running away. Seeing William¡¯s juvenile behavior, Xia Feng slowly raised his arm, aimed the Lightning Crossbow at William, and put on a dangerous smile. ¡°I may spare your life if you cut off one of your hands and feet.¡± Xia Feng¡¯s voice was cold and emotionless. However, it sounded like the most wonderful music to William. He¡¯s scared! I need to buy myself more time! William roared inwardly crazily. He didn¡¯t notice at all that a black shadow was approaching him from one side. When William was completely unprepared, Big Black lunged at William. There was no telling whether it was intentional or coincidental, but one of Big Black¡¯s paws happened to land on William¡¯s crotch. Although William was protected by exquisite armor, Big Black was simply too strong. After a crack, William¡¯s eyes bulged and his body was shaking. My balls are broken¡­ Hardly had the idea appeared in William¡¯s head when Big Black¡¯s mouth approached his neck, and bit it off with a rack. Before his death, William managed to send the message that he had already typed to the public channel with his last thought. ¡°Xia Feng is a villain who covets my equipment and tried to kill me for that. I¡¯m dying. Brothers, avenge me if you have a chance.¡± The entire public channel exploded after reading that message. ¡°What? Xia Feng is a robber? You never really know what a guy really is.¡± ¡°Seriously? I can¡¯t believe he did that. I shouldn¡¯t have adored that son of a b*tch!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always known that Xia Feng was a hypocrite. Don¡¯t you see how expensive his goods are?¡± One message slid in the public channel after another. Basically, they were all speaking ill of Xia Feng. Those people seemed rather brainless to have been convinced by William so easily. However, that was just the real reaction of certain human beings. When someone was more excellent than them, they would be jealous of him for no good reason. Besides, when this excellent person might have made a mistake, they would subconsciously think that he had indeed made a mistake. The keyboard warriors were typical examples of those people. They didn¡¯t want anything good to happen to other people. Xia Feng couldn¡¯t care less about the messages in the public channel. It was nothing but a minor indignation which couldn¡¯t affect him. On the other hand, Xia Feng thought that he should pay more attention to Big Black¡¯s special quirk. He had instructed the dog to bite William to death directly lest the guy employed any backup plans. He didn¡¯t expect the dog to attack William¡¯s genitals again. Driving Big Black away, Xia Feng took off William¡¯s and Polk¡¯s Shelter Ring and equipment. [System notification: Ownerless Shelter Ring +2] [System notification: Exquisite Spiritual Armor +2] [System notification: Exquisite Spiritual Crossbow +1] [System notification: Rare Awesome Machete +2] Those two had great equipment. Their combat ability must¡¯ve surpassed 300. ¡°No wonder they dared to attack me. Unfortunately, they were still not as strong as me.¡± Collecting their equipment, Xia Feng calculated the items in the Shelter Rings. Materials were all there was except for an Exquisite Spiritual Bow. Xia Feng didn¡¯t count Wood or Stone. The remaining resources included 56 Bronze, 28 Iron, two Silver, 18 Source Crystals, eight Wind Spiritual Runes, six Fire Spiritual Runes, six Water Spiritual Runes, 10 Earth Spiritual Runes, 14 Beast Meat, 24 Beast Bone, and six Beast Skin. There were also other miscellaneous materials. One of them drew Xia Feng¡¯s attention. It was 12 portions of gunpowder. [Gunpowder: A special material in the Misty Space and a necessity to make spiritual bombs.] ¡°There are bombs in this world,¡± Xia Feng mumbled, and put away all the materials. He then enjoyed the dinner that he hadn¡¯t had for a long time. After he finished the food and became full, Xia Feng wandered around the 19th island. The island was only connected to three channels. [Island No.1: This is a desolate island where you won¡¯t find anything.] [Island No.2: This is a resourceful island, but two ferocious cyclops are conducting a sacred sport here. Don¡¯t come here if you don¡¯t want to be smashed to pieces.] [Island No.3: There are two Silver Chests here, but only one of them is real. The other is the imitation of a Chest Monster.¡± A Chest Monster? Xia Feng considered the strange phrase, and searched for it in the handbook of monsters. [Chest Monster: A strange creature in the Misty Space that can disguise itself as a chest. Don¡¯t touch it with your limbs, or you¡¯ll be swallowed.] [Hint: The Chest Monster¡¯s disguise is very clever. Don¡¯t try to identify it in regular ways.] After reading the information, Xia Feng gained a rough understanding of the Chest Monster. Such monsters were unrecognizable and untouchable. From that point of view, they could be quite dangerous, and might easily kill other people. However, they posed no challenge to Xia Feng who had hints. Folding the shelter, Xia Feng quickly stepped on Channel No.3, and came to the 20th island. The island was not very large, and only had a coverage of 100 square meters. Two Silver Chests were lying quietly at the center of the island. They looked absolutely the same on the surface. Even their notes were the same. However, the golden hints on them were different. [The one on the left side is the normal Silver Chest. It¡¯s safe and you can open it.] [The Silver Chest on the right side is the disguise of a Chest Monster. You may want to slash and kill it with your saber.] Reading the hint, Xia Feng quietly approached the two Silver Chests. He picked up the Frost Blade and waved it, cutting the Chest Monster into halves. [System notification: You¡¯ve killed a Chest Monster. Silver +4] Collecting the loot, Xia Feng opened the Silver Chest. [System notification: Silver Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal +2] [System notification: Mid-sized Map +1] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Spiritual Bomb +1] Chapter 25 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Silver Chest?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Rare Spiritual Bomb?] ¡°Decompose and learn.¡± [System notification: Silver +2] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned it.] Xia Feng opened the game menu, and searched for ¡°bomb¡± on the craft panel. [Rare Spiritual Bomb: Gunpowder 12/6, Iron 166/4, Bronze 244/8, Source Crystal 88/2, Fire Spiritual Rune 55/16, Earth Spiritual Rune 60/8] It required a lot of materials, so Xia Feng didn¡¯t craft it immediately, but read its description first. [Recipe of Rare Spiritual Bomb: A special spiritual weapon that can only be used once. It¡¯s very powerful.] Thinking for a moment, Xia Feng decided that he should make a bomb for emergencies. He was rather curious about bombs in the Misty Space. Refocusing his attention on the recipe, Xia Feng chose to craft it. [System notification: Gunpowder -6, Iron -4, Bronze -8, Source Crystal -2, Fire Spiritual Rune -16, Earth Spiritual Rune -8] A block of iron that had complicated patterns engraved on its surface appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hand. It looked like a grenade. There was a ring on one end that was probably for detonation. [Rare Spiritual Bomb: It will explode three seconds after you pull the ring out. Don¡¯t blow yourself up.] [This thing can blow both your enemy and yourself to pieces. Make sure you¡¯re at a safe distance before you use it.] Carefully storing the spiritual bomb, Xia Feng wandered on the island. He didn¡¯t find anything, but he did receive a system notification. [System notification: You¡¯ve explored 20 islands. You¡¯re rewarded with the opportunity of a dungeon raid.] [System notification: The reward will expire if you don¡¯t enter in 30 minutes.] Xia Feng chose to enter it without any waiting this time. ¡°Open the dungeon,¡± Xia Feng mumbled. A portal was opened. It looked no different from those of the previous two dungeons.] [System notification: The portal to the dungeon has been activated. Please enter in one minute.] Xia Feng stepped across the portal followed by Big Black. They arrived at the edge of a prairie. On his left side was a prairie, and on his right sand was a forest. [System notification: Token of the Golden Herd¡¯s Friendliness +1] [System notification: This dungeon will expire in 24 hours. You will assist the Golden Herd to weaken the werewolf tribe. The more they¡¯re weakened, the higher your rating will be. Contrarily, if the Golden Herd is weakened, your rating will be lowered too.] [System notification: You may leave the dungeon anytime.] [Dungeon background: The Golden Herd is a branch of the Golden-Horned Divine Bulls and Cows. They had been living in peace in the prairie until a werewolf tribe arrived half a year ago.] [The werewolves were so ferocious that they dominated the prairie, and intended to enslave the Golden Herd as their mounts.] [The Golden Herd fought back but failed. Their king failed, and the young prince led the survivors to escape from the prairie and enter the Golden Herd Mountain.] This dungeon is rather interesting. It even has a background. Xia Feng read all the system messages, and took out a handful of golden hair. [Token of the Golden Herd¡¯s Friendliness (Temporary): This is the hair of the Golden Herd¡¯s king. You can win their trust with the token and communicate with them.] Putting away the golden hair, Xia Feng wasted no time looking at the mountain on his right side. He had to locate the Golden Herd first, and learn more about the werewolf tribe. With the golden hints, Xia Feng tried a few directions, and finally found the one where the Golden Head was in. The whole process took him no more than 30 seconds. If anybody else had been here, it would¡¯ve taken them much longer to find the Golden Herd. Following the hints, Xia Feng moved forth. The plants on the mountain weren¡¯t too dense, and the journey wasn¡¯t too hard. With Xia Feng¡¯s body build, it took him only a dozen minutes to find the Golden Herd. They were actually more of a Yellow Herd than a Golden Herd. Their skin was brownish-yellow, and they only had a circle of golden hair around their neck. Apart from that, they had huge horns that looked like those of a buffalo, except that the horns were apparently sharper and more suited for battle. Xia Feng didn¡¯t try to hide himself. He was noticed by the Golden Herd that were eating grass. They were all seething. Seeing that the bulls were sniffing and about to charge at him, Xia Feng hurriedly took out the golden hair that the system gave him. The restless bulls were pacified the moment they saw the golden hair. They made way for a little golden bull, which approached Xia Feng. The bull was little only compared to the other bulls, which were almost two meters tall. In fact, the little golden bull was about 1.5 meters tall too. While Xia Feng observed the little golden bull, a childish voice suddenly echoed in his head. ¡°Esteemed human friend, greetings.¡± Xia Feng looked around, and then focused his eyes on the little golden bull that was staring at him. ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± asked Xia Feng uncertainly. Under his watch, the little golden bull slowly nodded, and sent another message to Xia Feng. ¡°Esteemed human friend, are you going to help the Golden Herd get back what belongs to us?¡± Xia Feng thought for a moment, and nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m here to help you deal with the werewolf tribe. Can you tell me the general situation of the werewolf tribe?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The little golden bull quickly made a reply. Then, the man and the bull talked to each other. Xia Feng learned a lot of useful information from the half-hour conversation. First of all, there were more than 300 werewolves in the tribe. Also, the werewolves were quite strong as individuals. Xia Feng¡¯s rating would probably be very low if he were to tackle the quest on his own. The best solution was to make use of the Golden Herd¡¯s power to deal with them. According to the little golden bull, his herd was no weaker than the werewolf tribe. However, the werewolves were very cunning, and often played tricks against the Golden Herd. The former king and the little golden bull¡¯s mother had both died when they covered the herd¡¯s retreat after falling for the werewolves¡¯ trap. Figuring out the situation, Xia Feng asked the Golden Herd to lead him to investigate the surroundings of the werewolf tribe. The little golden bull accepted the request quickly, and volunteered to lead the way. It let Xia Feng ride on itself, and then it started galloping in the forest. On the back of the little golden bull, Xia Feng held on tight to its golden fur, and quite enjoyed himself as everything around flashed past him. He subconsciously looked at Big Black, which sensed something and looked back at Xia Feng. Never mind. He¡¯s simply too ugly. I would rather not ride that. Looking at Big Black¡¯s grinning mouth, Xia Feng lost interest in riding it. It was much better to ride the little golden bull. Chapter 26 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The little golden bull ran a few minutes in the woods with Xia Feng on its back, and reached a cliff. ¡°Xia Feng, look, the werewolf tribe is right up ahead.¡± The little golden bull raised its hoof and pointed forward. It had learned Xia Feng¡¯s name during the previous communication. Xia Feng had seen it without the bull¡¯s cue. That was the only area with buildings in the vast prairie. It couldn¡¯t be more eye-catching. The cliff was too far away from the werewolf tribe. Even with Xia Feng¡¯s eyesight, he couldn¡¯t see things clearly. All he could see were some vaguely moving shapes. Xia Feng turned around, and asked, ¡°Can we get any closer?¡± The little golden bull slightly shook its head. Frowning, Xia Feng stared at the werewolf tribe, deep in thought. A moment later, a large batch of werewolves came out of the tribe. ¡°Where are they going?¡± Xia Feng¡¯s eyes glittered when he saw that. ¡°They¡¯re going hunting,¡± replied the little golden bull. ¡°So, they¡¯re the hunters among werewolves.¡± Xia Feng scratched his chin, and said to the little golden bull, ¡°Have you tried attacking their hunters?¡± ¡°We have, but we¡¯re too loud when we¡¯re running. The cunning werewolves notice us early every time.¡± The little golden bull soon gave an answer. Xia Feng thought for a moment, and gave up the idea of ambush. Bulls could only deal damage in a head-on clash with charging. They weren¡¯t cut for ambushes. Massaging his temples, Xia Feng thought quickly, and came up with another plan. ¡°Is there a vast canyon in this area?¡± The little bull tilted its head and looked at Xia Feng before it pointed at the right side of the cliff, and said, ¡°You mean like this one?¡± Xia Feng moved quickly to the right side of the cliff. Very soon, he saw a huge canyon. The canyon was quite spacious and surrounded by steep mountains hundreds of meters tall on three sides. Its only entrance was about 300 meters from the edge of the forest. The entrance of the canyon was 100 meters long and 10 meters wide. It was perfect for Xia Feng¡¯s plan. ¡°This is the place.¡± Xia Feng confirmed the location, and informed the little golden bull of his plan. After hearing the plan, the little golden bull left the cliff, and carried it out without hesitation. Xia Feng stayed on the cliff to observe the werewolf hunters. He also opened the trade menu. He searched for gunpowder, and found several people who were selling it. They were mostly demanding materials and food in return. Xia Feng bought all of their stock, which was 26 portions of gunpowder. Then, Xia Feng opened the craft menu, and crafted another two spiritual bombs, however reluctantly. No pain, no gain. Xia Feng was hoping to score an SSS rating this time. [System notification: Gunpowder -12, Iron -8, Bronze -16, Source Crystal -4, Fire Spiritual Rune -32, Earth Spiritual Rune -16] Feeling insecure, Xia Feng opened the channel of the Xia Alliance and pinged everybody. ¡°Does any of you have Fire Spiritual Runes? I need nine. I can exchange the spiritual runes of other classes for them.¡± Soon after he sent the message, a system notification popped up. [System notification: Lin Feifan has offered you 5 Fire Spiritual Runes.] This kid. Xia Feng was more or less touched. He sent a screenshot of the two foreigners¡¯ equipment to him in the private channel. ¡°What equipment do you want?¡± ¡°Boss, do you not need any of that equipment?¡± Lin Feifan soon replied. ¡°I looted it from two foreigners. It¡¯s not good enough for me,¡± Xia Feng spoke bluntly. ¡°Very well. I¡¯d like the Exquisite Spiritual Bow.¡± Lin Feifan didn¡¯t refuse it. Xia Feng simply offered the equipment. [System notification: Exquisite Spiritual Crossbow -1] ¡°Thank you, Boss.¡± Lin Feifan was enthused to receive the crossbow which further increased his combat ability. He was not far away from the top. ¡°Okay, time to increase your combat ability.¡± Hardly had Xia Feng ended the conversation with Lin Feifan when he received a few more private messages. The other four members of the Xia Alliance told Xia Feng the number of Fire Spiritual Runes they had, and what class of spiritual runes they wanted in return. After bartering with them, Xia Feng acquired 27 Fire Spiritual Runes in total. Correspondingly, he gave away 12 Water Spiritual Runes, eight Water Spiritual Runes, and two Earth Spiritual Runes. Xia Feng made another spiritual bomb. Four spiritual bombs should be enough. After all, the bombs were Rare, and should be very powerful. 15 minutes later, the little golden bull reached the cliff with the herd. Xia Feng asked Big Black to keep an eye on the werewolf hunters, while he led the herd to the entrance of the canyon. He gave a strange order, which was to let the bulls poop while they moved towards the werewolf hunters. He didn¡¯t let them stop until they had pooped for hundreds of meters. Then, Xia Feng asked some of the golden bulls to hide themselves beyond the canyon, and let only 10 of them stay inside the canyon. After the herd was set, Xia Feng found several vines, and tied them to the rings on the bombs. He then buried the bombs in the canyon. When everything was set up, Xia Feng led the little golden bull away from the canyon, and ran to the werewolf hunters. *** Half an hour later, in an unknown forest, the little golden bull was chasing Big Black in the woods, stained with blood. One of the tall hunters among the werewolves pointed at the little golden bull, and excitedly shouted, ¡°Captain, look, it¡¯s the little golden bull, the leader of the Golden Herd.¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± The captain of the hunting team instantly looked over. Its eyes widened the moment it saw the little golden bull. ¡°It¡¯s really the little golden bull! We must be truly blessed! Everybody, catch the little golden bull!¡± While giving the order, the captain lunged at the little golden bull ferociously. They didn¡¯t have to be afraid of the bulls at all in the woods. Besides, the little golden bull was alone. Their main target was to look for the little golden bull. Hunting was their secondary purpose. As long as they caught the little gold bull, and fetched its blood for their chief, their chief would grow much stronger, and could lead their tribe to unite this island. The little golden bull, which was pretending to chase Big Black, noticed the werewolves immediately. It instantly turned around, and quickly directed the werewolves to the canyon. The werewolves chased it without thinking. They had nothing to worry about in the woods even if they were faced with the herd. Just like that, 100 werewolves were attracted to the canyon by the little golden bull. The little golden bull was so fast that its golden fur seemed to be glittering when it was running at full speed. It quickly lured the werewolf hunters to the edge of the canyon. ¡°Captain, there are a lot of bull feces here.¡± Behind the little golden bull, a werewolf pointed at the ground after accidentally stepping on the bull feces. ¡°It means that we¡¯re approaching them. Everybody, hurry up! We have to catch the little golden bull, got it?¡± the captain commanded loudly. Then, the werewolf hunters continued rushing, and came to the canyon. They were excited to see the little golden bull inside the canyon with only a dozen other bulls. ¡°Brothers, charge!¡± The captain initiated the charge with bloodshot eyes. At that moment, it could see the picture where the little golden bull was caught alive. It never occurred to the werewolf captain that this could be a trap. Based on what happened in the past half year, the golden bulls had more brawn than brains. They could only charge in head-on clashes, and they didn¡¯t know how to devise traps. It was also why the werewolf chief had dared to send a team to hunt the little golden bull. Those stupid bulls were destined to be their prey. However, the werewolves miscalculated. While the bulls didn¡¯t know anything about traps, they had a human supporter. Human beings were better than any beast in terms of cunningness. Therefore, the werewolves¡¯ tragic ending was inevitable. 100 werewolves howled and eagerly rushed into the canyon. Then¡­ BOOM! ¡­four mushroom clouds rose to the sky. At the same time, the werewolves in the base several kilometers away heard the explosion that was louder than thunder too. Chapter 27 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°What was that?¡± Lang Tuo, chief of the werewolves, dashed out of its cottage and looked at the canyon. For some reason, it had a grim sense of foreboding. In the canyon, Xia Feng lost his hearing for a moment after he detonated the bombs. Hum¡­ Then, he realized that the earth was shaking. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Keep a distance from the entrance!¡± Xia Feng bellowed, and retreated carefully. He sort of underestimated the power of the rare spiritual bombs. No, he had greatly underestimated their power. At this moment, smoke and stones were splashing at the entrance of the canyon, and screams were echoing. The four spiritual bombs were so powerful that they had blown up the entire passage. After the smoke dispersed, and peace returned everywhere, Xia Feng saw the miserable look of the werewolf captain. The werewolf captain was in a mess, and had wounds all over. It had lost one of its arms too. In a daze, it stood at the entrance of the canyon. It couldn¡¯t help but roar when it thought of its compatriots who protected it in the explosion. ¡°Howl!!!¡± It couldn¡¯t have sounded more poignant. ¡°Xia Feng, you¡¯re so good. You killed so many werewolves!¡± In the center of the canyon, the little golden bull stared at Xia Feng excitedly with admiration all over his eyes. That was 100 werewolves! The Golden Herd had fought the werewolves for half a year, but hadn¡¯t even killed 30 of them. Xia Feng, on the other hand, had slain 100 elite werewolves in only a couple of hours. The little golden bull thought that Xia Feng was awesome. No wonder its mother always told it not to piss off human beings, who were a terrifying species. ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Xia Feng coughed awkwardly when the little golden bull praised him. His method was not exactly brilliant. He knew himself pretty well, and he was not extraordinarily smart at all. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that alone. It¡¯s not bad that the werewolf captain is still alive. We can use it against the werewolf tribe.¡± To ease the awkwardness, Xia Feng quickly changed the subject. He put on his equipment, and approached the werewolf captain step by step. ¡°Level 0 equipment.¡± The little golden bull was excited to see Xia Feng¡¯s equipment. It didn¡¯t expect Xia Feng to have so many level 0 weapons. In such a case, it would be a lot easier to deal with the werewolf captain. While the little golden bull mused, Xia Feng had already approached the werewolf captain. The captain was too badly wounded to put up any resistance. Xia Feng caught it alive without any trouble. He then broke the hand and leg nerves of the werewolf captain so that it couldn¡¯t escape. He also removed its teeth and tongue too. Grabbing the werewolf that was almost as tall as himself, Xia Feng came to Big Black, and asked, ¡°Big Black, can you carry it over there?¡± The Big Black reluctantly nodded, and carried the half-dead werewolf on its back. ¡°Can you cross those ruins?¡± Xia Feng turned back and looked at the little golden bull and its compatriots. ¡°Yes. My people are very smart.¡± The little golden bull raised its head proudly, and Xia Feng smiled without giving any remark. They started their journey. After an hour, they finally crossed the ruins, and got out of the canyon. The trip was truly an eye-opener for Xia Feng, who had never known that bulls could really climb mountains, however slowly. All the bulls were gathered outside of the canyon. There were about 180 of them. ¡°Xia Feng, we¡¯re going to the werewolf tribe and knock all of them to death.¡± Gathering its people, the little golden bull made a suggestion eagerly. It was quite thrilled. After being suppressed by the werewolves for half a year, it could finally get back at them. ¡°How? Didn¡¯t you say that you and your people couldn¡¯t pass the traps around the werewolf tribe?¡± asked Xia Feng in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re so awesome. I¡¯m sure you can take care of the traps for us. Then, I¡¯ll lead my people to kill those werewolves with our horns and avenge my father and mother.¡± The little golden bull was blindly confident in Xia Feng. Xia Feng rubbed his temples with a headache, thinking that it was a wonder that the little golden bull had survived with its herd for such a long time. However, Xia Feng did have a plan. Since the night had fallen, he could carry it out now. He gritted his teeth, and crafted another spiritual bomb. [System notification: Gunpowder -6, Iron -4, Bronze -8, Source Crystal -2, Fire Spiritual Rune -16, Earth Spiritual Rune -8] Then, he found a vine, and tied the spiritual bomb to the werewolf captain. Taking advantage of the veil of the night, Xia Feng snuck to the werewolf tribe. He knew from the golden hint that he wasn¡¯t spotted, and no traps were triggered. He had already knocked out the captain, and put it at the center of a trap. After it was done, Xia Feng met with the little golden bull, and informed it of his plan. The little golden bull accepted Xia Feng¡¯s plan without thinking. However, it did one last thing before it carried out the plan. It let Xia Feng grab its horns, which then emitted golden light. The golden light was passed on to Xia Feng¡¯s hands, and eventually gathered into the picture of two golden horns on his palms. ¡°Xia Feng, with that, you can temporarily bring out the real power of level 0 weapons. You can deal with the werewolf leader with that.¡± The little golden bull seemed slightly tired after doing that. Before Xia Feng could ask, it had turned around and rushed with its compatriots on the prairie as Xia Feng had instructed. Rumble¡­ The noise that sounded like a marching army broke the silence of the night. The werewolves at their home all ran out of their base. Lang Tuo came out of the base with a mace, wearing a beast hide. The night here wasn¡¯t as bright as that in the Misty Space. It was quite dark. Nevertheless, Lang Tuo saw the captain of the hunting team hundreds of meters away easily. ¡°Lang Ye? How did he turn into this?¡± Seeing the miserable look of the captain, Lang Tuo¡¯s face changed, and it walked to the captain quickly. When Lang Tuo approached Lang Ye, Big Black, which was hiding in the dark while using its fur¡¯s color to its advantage, barked loudly. ¡°Woof! Woof!¡± In the next moment, Xia Feng pulled the vine without hesitation. ¡°Oh no! Everybody, fall back!¡± Lang Tuo sensed something wrong, and quickly moved back. However, its compatriots didn¡¯t react as fast as it did. With a boom, a storm-like rain took place as dozens of werewolves were ripped into pieces. At the same time, the traps nearby were all revealed by the aftermath of the explosion. Rumble¡­ At the same moment, the little golden bull charged at the werewolves with its compatriots. The magnificent aura of the bulls instantly rose. Xia Feng finally figured out the usage of the horn picture too. The horn picture contained a mysterious power that could temporarily strengthen Xia Feng, and allow him to bring out the real power of spiritual weapons. Xia Feng directed the mysterious power in the horn picture into his eyes. The fuzzy view around him was instantly gone, and it was as bright as day. Xia Feng raised the Lightning Crossbow, and instilled the mysterious power into it. Purple lightning arose. Three arrows that were wreathed in brutal lightning were shot towards the chief of the werewolf tribe. They were over 10 times more unstoppable than the arrows without the mysterious power. Chapter 28 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Swoosh! Thanks to the enhancement of the mysterious power, the three lightning arrows reached Lang Tuo precisely. Where is the attack coming from? Lang Tuo dodged the explosion. It saw that its compatriots were wounded, and the golden bulls were coming. Before it realized what was going on, three lightning arrows had come at it. Lang Tuo waved its mace, which shined brilliantly, showing that it was also a level 0, or a spiritual weapon. Glimmering, the mace hit the three lightning arrows. Boom¡­ An explosion burst out under the night sky, and a huge blast was raised by the collision. Lang Tuo wasn¡¯t weak at all. It successfully knocked the arrows away. Rumble¡­ However, the little golden bull had charged close to the werewolves with its companions too. They were like a magnificent, unstoppable army. Having no time to care about its compatriots, Lang Tuo quickly jumped away to evade the bulls. The other werewolves weren¡¯t as swift. Many of them were knocked into the air or trampled. Some of them were even crushed into pieces, with their blood bursting out. ¡°Damn it, you stupid bulls all deserve death!¡± Looking at that, Lang Tuo¡¯s face was so gloomy that it was almost raining. It cursed and looked at the source of the arrows. Then, it couldn¡¯t move its eyes away anymore. Lang Tuo¡¯s big eyes suddenly contracted, and it mumbled in a daze, ¡°A human? How can there be a human here? ¡°Wait, this human doesn¡¯t even have a spiritual body. He can¡¯t be a real human.¡± Very soon, Lang Tuo rejected its own speculation. Before it could think further, Xia Feng had quickly approached Lang Tuo by boosting himself with the Wind Boots. ¡°Little golden bull, leave this werewolf chief to me. You take care of the other werewolves. Don¡¯t spare any of them.¡± Putting away the Lightning Crossbow, Xia Feng stared at Lang Tuo aggressively with the Frost Blade. ¡°If you were a real human, I might have been scared of you, but you¡¯re just a fake human without a spiritual body. How do you dare to challenge me? Try this!¡± Lang Tuo waved the mace ferociously and struck at Xia Feng. Xia Feng had already put the Power Gauntlet on his right arm. The mysterious power flooded in and strengthened his arm. Clang¡­ Xia Feng raised his blade to block the attack. His magnificent strength knocked Lang Tuo away. Sensing his arm going numb, Lang Tuo cried in disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You don¡¯t even have a spiritual body! How can you be so strong?¡± Then, he focused his eyes on Xia Feng¡¯s wrist. Another level 0 weapon. Also, it¡¯s at least an advanced level 0 weapon. Lang Tuo counted five powerful level 0 weapons that the fake man had. That was truly unbelievable. He was a level 0 expert, and he only had one medium level 0 weapon. Is he a real human? Why else could he have so many level 0 weapons when he doesn¡¯t even have a spiritual body? The idea flashed in Lang Tuo¡¯s heart. He couldn¡¯t think any further, as Xia Feng had dashed at it again with the Frost Blade. Whether you are a real human or not, I¡¯ll just kill you, loot your weapons, and take down the little golden bull. Then, this island will be mine. Lang Tuo fought Xia Feng without fear. As they fought, frost and spiritual light were splashing, and pits large and small appeared on the ground nonstop. On the other hand, the little golden bull charged through the werewolf tribe with its herd. Screams and groans never stopped until there were no surviving werewolves in the tribe. Xia Feng, however, was losing the battle. The horn mark didn¡¯t belong to him anyway, and its power could be worn out. During the long battle, the horn mark was already fading away. Lang Tuo had clearly noticed that too. It waved its mace even more forcefully, hoping to kill Xia Feng in the next attack. Bam¡­ In another collision, Xia Feng didn¡¯t defend himself anymore, and simply took the hit on his shoulder. ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Thanks to the protection of the beast bone armor, he wasn¡¯t crippled by the attack, but he did gasp because of the excruciating pain. Holding back the agony, Xia Feng waved the Frost Blade, and cut open a wound on Lang Tuo¡¯s furry right leg. Immediately, an intense stream of frost power surged out and froze Lang Tuo¡¯s right leg. Lang Tuo summoned its power on the right leg, trying to unfreeze it. Exactly at that moment, a black shadow dashed out of the night as quickly as lightning. Big Black emanated intense black light, and looked like black lightning when it approached Lang Tuo. It didn¡¯t choose to bite Lang Tuo¡¯s vitals such as the neck, because the attack would likely fail. Therefore, as usual, Big Black aimed at Lang Tuo¡¯s crotch and bit it. Puchi¡­ Perhaps because it had gained too much experience in such attacks, for Big Black had bitten off Lang Tuo¡¯s genitals in the blink of an eye. Lang Tuo couldn¡¯t dodge the attack easily when its right leg was frozen. ¡°Aoooo!¡± The painful howl of a wolf echoed through the prairie. Seizing the opportunity, Xia Feng waved the Frost Blade again. Puchi¡­ Lang Tuo tried to defend itself, but the strong sense of pain made it impossible for it to gather its strength. The Frost Blade left another huge wound on its body. It also deprived Lang Tuo of its last chance of survival. While the power of the frost was still active, Xia Feng took out the Lightning Crossbow, and shot an arrow through Lang Tuo¡¯s head. ¡°Phew¡­ It¡¯s finally over.¡± Xia Feng was greatly relaxed to see the werewolf chief fall. If the battle had lasted any longer, the mysterious power on the golden horn picture would¡¯ve run out. The dungeon came to an end after the werewolf chief was taken care of. However, Xia Feng didn¡¯t quit it immediately, as there were other things to do. For example, he needed to loot the werewolf tribe, ask the little golden bull about the mysterious power and the level 0 weapon, and so on¡­ When Lang Tuo died, the little golden bull, who had finished off all the werewolves, ran close. ¡°Xia Feng, you¡¯re so good!¡± The little golden bull looked at Xia Feng with admiration after a glimpse at the dead werewolf chief. It hadn¡¯t been the first time that the little golden bull flattered him like that, but Xia Feng was still not used to it. So, as usual, he raised his hand and changed the subject. ¡°Little golden bull, what¡¯s the mysterious power in the golden horn picture?¡± Xia Feng looked at the little golden bull hopefully, expecting a satisfactory answer. However, the little golden bull shook its head, claiming that it couldn¡¯t confess, and looked up at the sky. Xia Feng didn¡¯t understand and asked further, but the little golden bull simply refused to tell. It eventually ran off with its compatriots. There was nothing Xia Feng could do except to watch them go away. After throwing a few pieces of meat to Big Black which seemed exhausted, Xia Feng walked into the werewolves¡¯ base, and searched for loot with the hints. He found more loot than he had anticipated. There were 108 Source Crystals (low-level), 72 Water Spiritual Runes, 97 Fire Spiritual Runes, 86 Wind Spiritual Runes, and 74 Earth Spiritual Runes. After that, Xia Feng ended the dungeon raid. He activated the dungeon portal, and returned to the 20th island. [System notification: The third dungeon is closed. You¡¯ve completely destroyed the werewolf tribe, and the Golden Herd barely suffered any loss. Reward: an SSS Dungeon Chest.] A super awesome luxurious chest appeared in front of Xia Feng¡¯s eyes. Chapter 29 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The chest looked extremely luxurious, and glowed with beautiful diamonds and jade. Xia Feng rubbed his hands, and opened the SSS chest. [System notification: SSS Dungeon Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal (Low Level) +1] [System notification: Wind Spiritual Rune +20] [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +20] [System notification: Water Spiritual Rune +20] [System notification: Earth Spiritual Rune +20] [System notification: Dao Source Breathing Technique (Part I) Page +1] [System notification: Blueprint of Immortal Bronze Divine Boat +1] [System notification: Dictionary of Ancient Words +1] There were altogether eight items in the SSS dungeon chest. Apart from the Source Crystals and the spiritual runes, the other items all had awesome names. Xia Feng picked up a glittering item that looked like a page from a book. [Dao Source Breathing Technique (Part I) Page: A piece of paper made of special materials. It records the first half of the Dao Source Breathing Technique. You can acquire the knowledge by focusing your mind on it.] [This item is extremely precious to you. It¡¯s one of a kind and the solidest foundation for you to grow into an expert. The sooner you accept the knowledge, the better.] The hint taught Xia Feng the importance of the item. Xia Feng stored the paper into the Shelter Ring first. Then, he examined the other two items. [Blueprint of the Immortal Divine Boat: Countless people have been fighting hard for the blueprint. It records the way to craft the Immortal Bronze Divine boat in ancient words.] [If you craft the Immortal Bronze Divine Boat, it will be the best weapon for you to travel by ship. It¡¯s a boat that never sinks.] It was another blueprint, similar to the bronze chariot, except that it had an ¡°Immortal¡± prefix, which made it clear that it was much more advanced. The last item was a thick book. [Dictionary of Ancient Words: Written by ancient sages, it records all the ancient words. There are few copies of this right now.] [As an illiterate man, you should know how important this dictionary is to you.] Looking at the note of the ancient dictionary, Xia Feng was rather delighted as he had been looking forward to it for a long time. He had multiple items that were written in ancient words. There were the alchemy manual and the blueprints of the bronze chariots as well as the Immortal Bronze Divine Boat. Besides, he would definitely run into more similar items in the future. The importance of the dictionary was obvious. Carefully putting away the dictionary, Xia Feng dismantled the SSS chest. [System notification: Spiritual Jade +10, Crystal Diamond +10, Gold +10, Silver +10] It was another harvest, including materials he had never seen and so much gold and silver. Storing all the items well, Xia Feng unfolded the shelter, and sat cross-legged on the wooden bed. He took out the glittering page and stared at it. The golden page was full of dense, small words. Xia Feng could hardly read the words clearly, much less understand them. However, as Xia Feng focused his attention on the page, the words on it came alive. The mysterious small words hopped on the page and surged into Xia Feng¡¯s eyes, taking his mind to a mysterious space. In the mysterious space, divine cranes were flying in thick fog, and mountains soared into the sky like swords. At this moment, someone in white was solemnly seated on the tallest mountain in the mysterious space. The guy seemed to be a man. Although Xia Feng could see everything else, he couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s face. The man in white, seated solemnly on the peak, took a long breath. Instantly, the world was changing. The fog surged, and the cranes cackled. The sun in the sky lost its brilliance too. So terrifying¡­ Observing the scene, Xia Feng felt such a heavy pressure that he could hardly catch his breath. After inhaling air, the man in white exhaled the air after his body moved in a special pattern. At that moment, everything in the world seemed to be reborn. The glory of nature was restored. The cranes flapped their wings again, and the fog was peaceful again. The man in white seemed to have turned into a master of this place whose breath influenced everything around him. Gradually, Xia Feng was attracted to the breathing pattern of the man in white. He seemed to have turned into the man in white, and he experienced the Dao Source Breathing Technique together with him. On the 20th island, Xia Feng sat on the wooden bed in the Exquisite Shelter with his eyes closed, while his body unconsciously copied the breathing pattern of the Dao Source Breathing Technique. The imitation lasted several hours. When Xia Feng finally woke up, he found that there were only several minutes to go until midnight. My body¡­ The moment he woke up, Xia Feng found that incessant strength was surging from his body. His skin was smooth and healthy, and his body was agile and swift. He felt like he could fly. It seemed that his body had leaped to a higher level as if he had been reborn. [System notification: Your body has been transformed into a spiritual body by a mysterious power.] When Xia Feng was about to explore his body changes, a system notification popped up. This is the spiritual body state? It¡¯s much stronger than my old body! Xia Feng rose in delight, and walked out of the shelter. He exercised on the island while he got used to his new body. Very soon, it was the midnight of the third day. When Xia Feng was excited about his physical changes, he heard a mechanical voice. [Due to the fact that an adventurer passed a dungeon trial with an SSS rating, major updates will be implemented in the game. The update will take 10 seconds. Please wait patiently, adventurers.] An enormous number appeared in front of Xia Feng the moment the mechanical voice sounded. 10, 9, 8¡­ 3, 2, 1¡­ When the countdown came to an end, a series of system notifications popped up. [System notification: System Forum activated. Please figure out its function on your own.] [System notification: The World Rank of the Blue Planet is activated in advance. If you get a high ranking, you¡¯ll receive copious rewards 10 days after the game¡¯s launch.] [System notification: Game difficulty increased. Odds of Misty Monsters appearing increased. Some Misty Monsters may have special mutations.] [System notification: Game rewards increased. Odds of chests appearing increased. Please explore freely.] [System notification: Your combat ability is now 3,221, top of the World Rank of the Blue Planet. Keep it up.] [At the end of the 10th day in the game, the player who has been at the top of the World Rank of the Blue Planet for the longest time will receive an additional bonus.] [System notification: You¡¯ve received a Top Combat Ability Chest because you were at the top of the regional rank yesterday.] Chapter 30 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations A quaint chest appeared near Xia Feng¡¯s feet. I wonder what I can get from this Top Combat Ability Chest. Xia Feng lowered his head and looked. [Top Combat Ability Chest: Nobody knows what they¡¯ll get from this chest. Maybe a bottle of water, or maybe an unparalleled treasure.] [Your luck depends on your looks. A man as handsome as you will definitely get some great.] Damn right. This hint is pretty obvious. Xia Feng was quite satisfied with the golden words. Xia Feng opened the chest, and found a scroll in it. [System notification: Top Combat Ability Chest +1] [System notification: Scroll of Five Elements Spiritual Technique +1] Xia Feng picked up the scroll, and found the words ¡°Five Elements Spiritual Technique¡± on it. [Scroll of Five Elements Spiritual Technique: A scroll that records the basic Five Elements Spiritual Technique. You can learn some of the basics of the Five Elements Spiritual Technique from it.] [Requirement: A spiritual body.] [System notification: You have met the requirement. Do you want to learn the Scroll of Five Elements Spiritual Technique?] ¡°Learn it.¡± Xia Feng didn¡¯t hesitate at all. The scroll turned into glimmering sparks, and melted into Xia Feng¡¯s head. A few minutes later, flames popped up on Xia Feng¡¯s hand. The flames looked quite feeble, and seemed to be dying out whenever there was a gentle blow. Xia Feng had planned to invoke fire and unleash a fireball. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t good enough. He had just developed a spiritual body. His spiritual power was still too insignificant for him to use a spiritual technique. Xia Feng tried a few more times to no avail, so he stopped experimenting. He opened the game menu, and found the new forum module. He intended to see other people¡¯s reactions, so he entered the public channel. ¡°Shoot, someone got an SSS rating in a dungeon. I¡¯m so embarrassed with a D rating.¡± ¡°The forum is finally here! I wonder if you¡¯ll receive special rewards if you post enough threads.¡± ¡°Why are you all excited? Did you not see the notification that the number of monsters will increase and they might mutate?¡± ¡°Someone please kill me. I¡¯m so traumatized. My combat ability is no more than 100, yet Xia Feng¡¯s is above 3,000. How can I play this?¡± All kinds of messages were rolling in the public channel. When a mass of humanity coalesced into one place, all sorts of things could happen. Then, Xia Feng opened the regional channel, which had exploded too. The reason was simple. Xia Feng¡¯s combat ability had been exposed on the World Rank. Everybody in the region who was still alive was sucking up to him. Even Drake Haski had joined them too, and repeated all the messages that praised Xia Feng. Quitting the channel, Xia Feng opened the forum module. The moment he entered it, ¡°World Rank of Combat Ability¡± occupied the whole screen for three seconds. Three seconds later, a list appeared, and Xia Feng was on the top. [World Rank of Combat Ability] First: Xia Feng, 3,221 Combat Ability Second: Shangguan Hongyue, 1,466 Combat Ability Third: Peter Shaw, 1,413 Combat Ability Fourth: Sax, 1,298 Combat Ability Fifth: Wang Teng, 1,274 Combat Ability *** 100,000th: Random Guy, 257 Combat Ability The World Rank only kept a record of the top 100,000 players. It meant that only one person in tens of thousands of players could make it to the rank. Xia Feng was slightly surprised at the ranking. He didn¡¯t expect to see so many players from the Blue Planet with a combat ability above 1,000. All the top 13 on the ranking had a combat ability above 1,000. I really can¡¯t underestimate other people. While I have the golden hints to help me, other people may have special privileges too. Thinking quickly, Xia Feng read the ranking rewards at the bottom of the rank. Rewards for the top place: Spiritual Jade Chest x3, Epic Recipe x1, Perfect Recipe x3, Source Crystal (low-level) x10,000, Random Blueprint x1, Level 3 Spiritual Martial Art or Level 3 Spiritual Technique x1 Rewards for the second place: Spiritual Jade Chest x2, Perfect Recipe x3, Source Crystal (low-level) x8,000, Random Blueprint x1, Level 2 Spiritual Martial Art or Level 2 Spiritual Technique x1 Rewards for the third place: Spiritual Jade Chest x1, Crystal Diamond Chest x2, Perfect Recipe x2, Source Crystal (low-level) x5,000, Random Blueprint x1, Level 2 Spiritual Martial Art or Level 2 Spiritual Technique x1 Rewards for the fourth through 10th places: Crystal Diamond Chest x3, Perfect Recipe x1, Superior Recipe x2, Source Crystal (low-level) x3,000, Level 1 Spiritual Martial Art or Level 1 Spiritual Technique x1 Rewards for the 11th through 50th places: Crystal Diamond Chest x1, Golden Chest x3, Superior Recipe x3, Source Crystal (low-level) x1,500, Level 0 Spiritual Martial Art or Level 0 Spiritual Technique x1 Rewards for the 51st through 300th places: Golden Chest x5, Superior Recipe x2, Source Crystal (low-level) x1,000, Level 0 Spiritual Martial Art or Level 0 Spiritual Technique x1 Rewards for the 301st to 1,000th places: [¡­] Rewards for the 1,001st to 10,000th places: [¡­] Rewards for the 10,001st to 100,000th places: [¡­] Xia Feng was quite intrigued to read about the rewards, especially those for the top, which included an epic recipe. So far, the best recipe he had was only a superior one. Also, there were Spiritual Jade Chests, which seemed two levels higher than Golden Chests, and other great items. When Xia Feng read the ranking, a beautiful woman was checking the ranking too. She was shocked for a moment to see Xia Feng on the top of the ranking with a combat ability much higher than hers. She slightly frowned while touching a transparent, glittering orb in her hand, and mumbled, ¡°Xia Feng, I thought you were just a clown who reveled in other people¡¯s attention. I didn¡¯t know you were so strong.¡± She was none other than Shangguan Hongyue. The glittering orb in her hand could predict danger. Shangguan Hongyue had been exploring the misty islands with the orb. That was how she became so strong. There¡¯s still a long time to go until the renewal of the ranking. Xia Feng, let¡¯s wait and see. I¡¯ll be at the top of the rank. Without reading other content, Shangguan Hongyue closed the menu and chose a channel. Her island was connected to four channels. Shangguan Hongyue had already chosen the best one with the divination orb. When Shangguan Hongyue resumed her exploration, Xia Feng closed the world ranking, and entered the forum. The world ranking was a subsection of the forum accessible in the top right corner of the forum. The moment he entered the homepage of the forum, his attention was caught by one particular thread entitled ¡°Mysteries of Xia Feng, Who Ranks Top¡±. Xia Feng clicked the thread and read it. Chapter 31 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [Xia Feng, top of the World Ranking, has a combat ability much higher than that of the others. Is he a cheater, or someone from the closed beta test?] [It¡¯s well-known that every game has a closed beta test and an open beta test. My guts tell me that Xia Feng as well as the other people on top of the World Ranking have played the game earlier. Why else could they be so better than others?] That was the content of the entire threat, posted by a guy named Zhen Jidu1. The threat was so heated that tens of thousands of people replied to it in a couple of minutes. First floor: Shoot, so I¡¯m not the only one who doesn¡¯t feel right about it? Those in the top of the World Ranking all have crazy combat ability. Second floor: I don¡¯t think playing the game early can make them so awesome. I believe they¡¯re cheaters. Third floor: In my opinion, Xia Feng might have traveled here from the future. He¡¯s gaining advantages because he knows what will happen. Fourth floor: You all made good points. *** Xia Feng checked all the replies, and found that almost everybody thought that those in the top of the World Ranking had uncanny combat ability. Xia Feng didn¡¯t know what to say. After all, he did have a cheat. I do wonder if the second place and behind on the ranking have any cheats. Closing the thread that was full of jealousy, Xia Feng continued reading, only to find that it was similar to any online forum on the Blue Planet. Xia Feng found a lot of threads that requested help. Although he intended to show off and enjoy the vanity of being admired, he decided to wait for a few days until people were less interested in him. Turning off the forum, Xia Feng returned to the shelter, only to find that the pregnant Spear Swallowing Fish had laid eggs. There were a lot of eggs, but it was hard to tell how many of them would survive. To prevent the Spear Swallowing Fish from starving, Xia Feng summoned Big Black, and tricked it into feeding the Spear Swallowing Fish with two pieces of beast meat. Xia Feng took out the mid-sized map, and read it carefully. The mid-sized map illustrated one more island than the small map did. The small map only showed the two islands to come, whereas the mid-sized one showed three. Xia Feng calculated the optimal route according to the map. A view of three islands meant 100 possible routes. Also, he had to investigate the creatures on them. It took him an hour before he finally picked the best route. On this route, the 21st island had a Silver Chest, as well as two Poop Beasts. The Poop Beasts loved pooping. They were like large versions of toads. Their way of attack was to spew out stinky smoke. They were not strong, but they were very disgusting. It was best to finish them off before they let out the smoke. Making preparations, Xia Feng came to the shelter. Xia Feng patted Big Black¡¯s head, and gave it a reminder. Then, while Big Black watched affectionately, he put the bucket into his shelter. Xia Feng intended to let the five Spear Swallowing Fish produce more fish for him. He wouldn¡¯t sell them yet. Besides, other players were still too poor to pay a good price. He might as well wait a few days. After putting away everything, Xia Feng put the Gas Masks on himself and Big Black before he went to Channel No.3. [A real warrior dares to face a place full of excrements. There¡¯s a Silver Chest and two disgusting Poop Beasts. Kill them for the environment!] The hint was basically the same as the information on the mid-sized map, except that it was more elaborate. Crossing the glittering membrane on the channel, Xia Feng reached the 21st island. All that he could see was wet waste, which had resulted in a vague layer of yellow gas across the island. Xia Feng could almost smell the stench behind the Gas Mask. More importantly, Xia Feng found himself standing right on the top of some ordure. He did not want to spend any more time in this place. Taking out the Lightning Crossbow, he fired at a Poop Beast at the center of the island. Swoosh! It went quite well. The first Poop Beast was instantly killed. Before Xia Feng could shoot again, the second Poop beast had leaped, and reached Xia Feng with its decaying and festering body. Xia Feng instantly switched his weapon, and grabbed the Frost Blade. When the Poop Beast was about to spout smoke, he pierced its head. The two Poop Beasts dropped four Source Crystals as well as two Smelly Bladders. [Smelly Bladders: The bladders of the Poop Beasts that contain abundant smelly smoke.] [It may be very useful if you throw those things at an enemy.] Killing the two Poop Beasts, Xia Feng found the Silver Chest. He didn¡¯t open it immediately, but stored it into his Shelter Ring. Then, Xia Feng found the channel to the 21nd island on the route that he had decided, and continued the journey. Big Black followed him closely, although it looked rather dizzy. Crossing the glittering membrane again, Xia Feng came to the 22nd island, which had no chests, but had a Cave of the Dead, a special terrain that Xia Feng had never seen before. The entrance to the Cave of the Dead lay in the center of the 22nd island. It was absolutely dark, and there was no telling what was behind it. [System notification: Special Terrain: Cave of the Dead has been detected. There are a lot of undead creatures in it. Defeat them and reach the end of the cave for rewards.] [This Cave of the Dead has more than one floor. You can try your luck if you¡¯re brave enough.] Standing outside the Cave of the Dead, Xia Feng read the note and the hint without entering in a hurry. He took out the Silver Chest and opened it. [System notification: Silver Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal +3] [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +2] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Silver Thread Gloves +1] He decomposed the Silver Chest, learned the recipe, and opened the craft menu. [Silver Thread Gloves: Silver 21/4, Iron 146/8, Spiritual Silk 0/2, Fire Spiritual Rune 121/5, Water Spiritual Rune, 152/5, Earth Spiritual Rune 96/5, Wind Spiritual Rune 158/5] He was short of the Spiritual Silk. He searched for it on the trade menu. Out of his expectation, the only person who was selling that was Lin Xiaowan, Xia Feng¡¯s old acquaintance. She was selling six pieces of Spiritual Silk for 30 Source Crystals. Also, the buyer had to be approved by her first. Seeing that, Xia Feng thought for a moment, and sent a private message to Lin Xiaowan. Several minutes passed. He didn¡¯t receive a reply. Without waiting anymore, Xia Feng closed the game menu, and entered the Cave of the Dead. [System notification: You¡¯ve entered Special Terrain: Cave of the Dead.] Chapter 32 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations The environment changed the moment he entered the cave, just like when he crossed the glittering membrane. Swoosh! All of a sudden, an arrow shot from the darkness toward Xia Feng¡¯s face. After he developed a spiritual body, Xia Feng¡¯s physical attributes and senses had been significantly improved. Faced with the unexpected attack, Xia Feng unhurriedly blocked it with the Frost Blade. Cling¡­ The arrow was easily deflected. It would¡¯ve been very difficult for Xia Feng to block the arrow without a spiritual body, mainly because it was too unexpected. After blocking the attack, Xia Feng finally had the time to observe the environment. The place looked like a cave with a very dark environment. Xia Feng only managed to see things in such darkness now that he had a much better eyesight. The cave was quite spacious and square-shaped. It was dozens of meters wide, and he didn¡¯t know how long it was. There were a lot of Undead Skeletons in the cave. Most of them held bone swords and sabers. Some carried bone bows. Some of the Undead Skeletons sensed the intruder, and surrounded Xia Feng with cracking noises. ¡°Big Black, protect yourself,¡± Xia Feng issued a warning, and went at the enemy. He waved the Frost Blade, and cut the chest of a human-shaped skeleton. An enormous force burst out, and knocked the skeleton away. However, the skeleton stood up again from the ground only two seconds later. If I can¡¯t kill you by attacking your chest, let¡¯s try your head! Seeing that, Xia Feng jumped away from the bone saber of an Undead Skeleton. Then, he thrust back, and precisely drove the Frost Blade into its head. The tiny power of frost burst out, and quickly froze the head of the Undead Skeleton. Xia Feng rolled his arm as well as the Frost Blade, shattering the Undead Skeleton¡¯s skull. Crack¡­ Crack¡­ The skull was broken, and the Undead Skeleton instantly fell apart into individual bones. [System notification: Soul Crystal (Low Level) +1] After the Undead Skeleton was killed, it dropped a material that Xia Feng had never seen. It was a black crystal that felt cold and looked similar to the Source Crystal. He had no time to examine it, as the other Undead Skeletons had surrounded him again. Then, a bone arrow swooshed at him. It was quite dangerous. Xia Feng had to deal with the arrows and three Undead Skeletons at the same time. Luckily, Big Black rushed and knocked away one of the Undead Skeletons in time. Xia Feng felt a lot less pressure now that one of the Undead Skeletons was gone. He blocked an arrow with his blade first. Then, he clenched his fist and punched away another Undead Skeleton. After that, he kicked the third Undead Skeleton off. Taking advantage of the rigidity of the Undead Skeletons¡¯ bodies, Xia Feng waved the Frost Blade while they tried to rise. Very soon, all the three Undead Skeletons cracked into fragmented bones, and offered another three Soul Crystals to Xia Feng. Finishing off the four Undead Skeletons, Xia Feng moved forward at the one that kept shooting arrows. Shua¡­ Xia Feng was very fast, and covered dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. There were five Undead Skeletons ahead, and the archer who ambushed him was among them. Another battle began. With the experience he just acquired, it was very easy for Xia Feng to deal with the Undead Skeletons. Very soon, all the five Undead Skeletons were killed. Before Xia Feng could catch his breath, noises came from the depths of the cave. Three bigger Undead Skeletons, more than two meters tall with shields and machetes, were coming at Xia Feng with a dozen regular Undead Skeletons. ¡°What a bunch of sore losers. They sent so many soldiers to me,¡± Xia Feng mumbled, and quickly retreated to the entrance. He pretended that he was leaving the cave, and a system notification popped up. [System notification: Each person can only enter the Cave of the Dead once a day. Consider carefully before you leave.] Xia Feng turned around and took out the Lightning Crossbow, shooting out three arrows quickly. He didn¡¯t aim at the skulls of the three Greater Undead Skeletons in the lead, but at their knees. If he aimed at their skulls, the arrows would probably be blocked by their shields. After all the exercise, and with a better body, Xia Feng¡¯s precision was a lot higher. Two of the three arrows successfully shot the knees of one Greater Undead Skeleton. Bam¡­ The victim instantly fell to the ground, tripping up a few regular Undead Skeletons behind it. Those Undead Skeletons fell on top of the Greater Undead Skeleton too. As a result, the Greater Undead Skeleton couldn¡¯t get up immediately. In the same way, Xia Feng shot down another Greater Undead Skeleton. At this moment, the last Greater Undead Skeleton had reached Xia Feng with four regular Undead Skeletons. Putting away the Lightning Crossbow, Xia Feng slid between the Greater Undead Skeleton¡¯s legs with the Frost Blade in hand. Seeing the sliding Xia Feng, the four regular Undead Skeletons behind it slashed with their weapons at him. Xia Feng was protected by the Bone Armor, and was not very afraid of the attacks. Covering his head, he knocked away the Undead Skeletons and broke free. In the meantime, he killed one of the Undead Skeletons on the way. The Undead Skeletons had an obvious shortcoming, which was their clumsiness. Taking advantage of their shortcoming, Xia Feng began to kite them, and even made a spiritual bomb when he was free. [System notification: Gunpowder -6, Iron -4, Bronze -8, Source Crystal -2, Fire Spiritual Rune -16, Earth Spiritual Rune -8] Holding the spiritual bomb, Xia Feng made a signal at Big Black which was hiding in the dark. ¡°Big Black, come here!¡± Hearing the call, Big Black dashed from the dark, circumvented the Undead Skeletons, and rushed to Xia Feng. At this moment, Xia Feng was in the center of the cave, whereas the Undead Skeletons were near the entrance. Looking at the Undead Skeletons that were approaching aggressively, Xia Feng pulled the ring on the spiritual bomb, and threw it to the Undead Skeletons. ¡°Big Black, run!¡± The moment he threw out the spiritual bomb, Xia Feng fused whatever spiritual power he had into the Wind Boots, and escaped from the Undead Skeletons like a wind. Boom! A gigantic explosion hit Xia Feng¡¯s back. The powerful blast instantly flung Xia Feng and Big Black away. The cave slightly shivered because of the powerful explosion too. However, the cave was solid enough and didn¡¯t collapse. Xia Feng had confirmed it, or he wouldn¡¯t have dared to use the spiritual bomb. Lying on the ground, Xia Feng saw notifications popping up in front of his eyes. [System notification: Soul Crystal +1] [System notification: Soul Crystal +1] [System notification: Soul Crystal +1] *** [System notification: Soul Crystal +3] [System notification: Soul Crystal +3] Huh? Only two of the Greater Undead Skeletons died? Reading all the notifications, Xia Feng rose from the ground. Chapter 33 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations At the center of the explosion, a Greater Undead Skeleton, which had lost most of its body parts, moved the shattered bones away and tried to stand up. However, it only had its upper body left, and its lower half had been blown up. It couldn¡¯t rise at all. Xia Feng was greatly relieved when he got closer and saw that. The Greater Undead Skeletons were very strong. Their bones were hard and their strength was enormous, which made them tricky to deal with. Xia Feng had tried a head-on clash with them earlier, and his hand was still hurting. If someone else had run into those Great Undead Skeletons, they could¡¯ve only run off in panic. Finishing off the last Great Undead Skeleton and receiving another three Soul Crystals, Xia Feng walked to the depths of the cave. Watching Xia Feng go away, Big Black tentatively opened its mouth, and bit one of the bones that the Undead Skeletons left. Crack¡­ Big Black was in so much pain that it almost shed tears after the bite. The bone was too hard. It failed to chew it, and nearly broke its teeth. Spitting out the bone angrily, Big Black grimaced and followed Xia Feng. The cave was almost three hundred meters long. Xia Feng found a chest, as well as a channel to the next floor, at its end. Xia Feng glanced at the channel again. It was just as dark as the entrance. A golden hint popped up. [This is a channel to the second floor of the Cave of the Dead. Unknown dangers lurk inside. Tread carefully.] Xia Feng focused his attention on the chest, which was black. [Chest of the Dead: A chest left by the dead. You may find good stuff, or maybe nothing.] [Careful. There¡¯s a trap in the chest. You¡¯d better open it with your Gas Mask on.] Seeing the golden hint, Xia Feng put the Gas Masks on himself and Big Black without hesitation. Then, he opened the chest prudently with his shovel from one side. Big Black watched quietly. It had always been quiet and obedient except during battles. Well, maybe also except when the Spear Swallowing Fish were fed. The chest was slowly opened. Chi¡­ Black smoke emerged from the chest the moment it was opened. Xia Feng backed off quickly. Several minutes later, the black smoke gradually dispersed, and Xia Feng finally came to the Chest of the Dead. [System notification: Chest of the Dead +1] [System notification: A Necromancer¡¯s Self-Reflections +1] ¡°A Necromancer¡¯s Self-Reflections? What¡¯s that?¡± Xia Feng picked up the only item in the chest in confusion. It was a thick journal that must¡¯ve been very old. [A Necromancer¡¯s Self-Reflections: This is the legacy of a powerful necromancer that he left for someone lucky.] [Clearly, you¡¯re not that lucky guy. Don¡¯t waste the good stuff.] Xia Feng¡¯s eyelids twitched. What was that about? Why couldn¡¯t he be the lucky guy? Also, the necromancer was an idiot too. Did he mean to poison his heir by putting his legacy in a chest that had a lethal trap? Eventually, Xia Feng didn¡¯t open the journal, but simply threw it into his storage. Then, Xia Feng decomposed the Chest of the Dead. Remembering that the Top Combat Ability Chest hadn¡¯t been dismantled yet, he processed it too. [System notification: Soul Crystal +10] [System notification: Source Crystal +10] So far, Xia Feng had gathered 40 Soul Crystals in total. The Soul Crystal¡¯s description was similar to that of the Source Crystal. Xia Feng hadn¡¯t figured out its usage yet. Putting away all the stuff, Xia Feng entered the second floor of the Cave of the Dead fully armed, with the Lightning Crossbow in his left hand and the Frost Blade in his right. The second floor of the Cave of the Dead was no longer a cave, but a spacious palace. By Xia Feng¡¯s conservative estimate, the palace had a coverage of tens of thousands of square meters. The palace was also empty. Except for four thick pillars that supported the palace, the only thing that could be seen was a tall, majestic throne at the center of the palace. On the throne was seated a human-shaped creature that wore armor and a helmet. His head was lowered, and his face couldn¡¯t be seen. Even though the human-shaped creature was just sitting quietly, he was releasing an intimidating vibe. Xia Feng¡¯s heart was palpitating when he simply looked at the guy from far away. Should I retreat right now? All of a sudden, the idea popped up in Xia Feng¡¯s head. The creature on the throne looked very tough, and there were no chests around him. Exploring the place wasn¡¯t worth the risk. Of course, Xia Feng would never admit that he wanted to leave only because he was scared. ¡°Woof! Woof! Woof!¡± At this moment, Big Black¡¯s stifled barking came into Xia Feng¡¯s ears. Detecting Big Black¡¯s thoughts, Xia Feng frowned, and asked, ¡°Big Black, are you telling me to run because you think this place is dangerous?¡± Big Black nodded quickly and anxiously. Xia Feng had never seen Big Black like that. Without any hesitation, he chose to trust Big Black, and intended to leave immediately. However, the moment he had the idea, his heart raced beyond his control. Lum-dum¡­ Lum-dum¡­ Inside the quiet palace, Xia Feng heard his own beating heart loud and clear. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead and then dripped off. He couldn¡¯t move anymore. When Xia Feng was about to turn around and leave, a pressure as heavy as a mountain fell on him, making it impossible for him to move. There was no telling how long it lasted. Maybe a second, maybe a year, or maybe a century. The friction of armor echoed in the palace. Gulp¡­ Xia Feng swallowed with difficulty, and raised his eyes, looking ahead. The human-shaped creature that had been sitting stood up with his head as lowered as before. When Xia Feng looked ahead, the human-shaped creature at the throne was slowly raising his head, and was about to look back. All of a sudden, a strong sense of death gripped Xia Feng¡¯s heart. At this moment, Xia Feng¡¯s head was filled with an uncanny feeling. I¡¯ll die. I¡¯ll certainly die if he looks me in the eyes. The feeling came rather unexpectedly, but Xia Feng had no doubt about that. At the life-and-death moment, Xia Feng¡¯s mind went blank. He unconsciously activated the Dao Source Breathing Technique. As a special rhythm spread out of his body, he found that half of the pressure on his body was gone. I can move now? The idea flashed in his head. Xia Feng quickly grabbed Big Black, which had already collapsed, and rushed back to the door behind him. The moment Xia Feng disappeared, the human-shaped creature happened to have raised his head, revealing a pale, bloodless human face. He glanced at where Xia Feng had been standing and didn¡¯t see anything. Then, he slowly sat back on the throne like a machine. On the 22nd island, Xia Feng rushed out of the Cave of the Dead, and embarked on Channel No.1 without any hesitation. Several seconds later. Looking at the glittering membrane near at hand and the peaceful trail behind him, Xia Feng sat down on the ground without caring about his image. That was horrifying. What was that? Recalling his experience on the second floor of the Cave of the Dead, Xia Feng was still frightened. Next to him, Big Black lay still on the ground as if it were already dead. Chapter 34 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Xia Feng and Big Black weren¡¯t fully back to themselves until after an hour of rest. During the hour, they had water and some food. Looking back at the 22nd island, and remembering the feeling of helplessness on the second floor of the Cave of the Dead, Xia Feng clenched his fists. He then focused his attention on the glittering membrane before him. A golden hint popped up. [Island No.1: There¡¯s a Golden Chest on it, but it¡¯s guarded by a Mutated Gold Eater that wants to swallow it but never succeeded due to the blockage of a mysterious power.] It was similar to the information on the mid-sized map, but more detailed. Xia Feng had already read the description of the Gold Eater, which was a special creature of the mist that fed on metals. It was extremely sturdy and very slow. Putting on his equipment, Xia Feng came to the 23rd island with Big Black which was still not very energetic. The island was quite large. There was a small hill at the center of the island. Next to the hill was a Golden Chest, and a cube lay right beside the Golden Chest. It had to be the Mutated Gold Eater. Xia Feng took out a piece of gold, and intended to loot the Golden Chest as he planned. However, an accident happened. On Xia Feng¡¯s right, four fully armed men jumped out of nowhere. I¡¯ve run into other players again? Xia Feng frowned, and didn¡¯t move recklessly. The players who had just arrived seemed quite experienced. They dispersed the moment they arrived at the island, and they sized up the environment quickly. Very soon, someone discovered Xia Feng. The player who discovered Xia Feng pointed at him, and exclaimed, ¡°Xia Feng? We¡¯ve met Xia Feng, the top on the World Ranking?¡± ¡°What? Xia Feng?¡± Zhou Xing, captain of the squad, looked at Xia Feng immediately when he heard his teammates¡¯ shouts. When he saw Xia Feng¡¯s face, he looked quite shocked. ¡°He¡¯s really Xia Feng.¡± He didn¡¯t expect to run into Xia Feng, top on the World Ranking, in such a place. While Zhou Xing considered whether they should leave and avoid contact with Xia Feng, one of his teammates prodded him, and said, ¡°Captain, look, a Golden Chest.¡± Hearing that, Zhou Xing looked where his teammate was pointing, and breathed heavily when he saw the Golden Chest. Almost every Golden Chest contained a superior recipe. He luckily opened two of them in the past. ¡°What do we do?¡± Very soon, Zhou Xing was caught in a dilemma. ¡°Should we retreat?¡± ¡°Or should we compete with Xia Feng for the chest?¡± That was definitely a tough choice. Seeing that the new players showed no reaction after a long time, Xia Feng walked to the Golden Chest with a piece of gold. Hardly had Xia Feng moved when the members of Zhou Xing¡¯s team shouted, ¡°Captain, Xia Feng is walking to the Golden Chest! He¡¯s going to open it!¡± Judging from their voices, it was not hard to tell that they wanted to compete over it too. ¡°I know. Don¡¯t yell,¡± Zhou Xing scolded them coldly. Then, he walked to Xia Feng voluntarily. ¡°Anything I can help you with?¡± Xia Feng said indifferently to the four strange players in his way as he raised his eyebrows. He was not in his best mood after the incident in the Cave of the Dead. He only wished that those people wouldn¡¯t piss him off even more. ¡°Xia Feng, greetings. I¡¯m Zhou Xing, the 37th place on the World Ranking right now,¡± Zhou Xing spoke, and extended his hand. Xia Feng looked at him, but didn¡¯t shake his hand, as he wasn¡¯t certain if the guy hadn¡¯t smeared poison on his hand or anything. Glancing at the man who called himself Zhou Xing, Xia Feng directly asked, ¡°Are you going to stop me from opening the Golden Chest?¡± ¡°I can exchange something for that.¡± Zhou Xing didn¡¯t deny it, and tried to negotiate with Xia Feng. ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary. What do you think can possibly compare to a Golden Chest?¡± Xia Feng declined his request immediately. ¡°I¡¯ll give you 10 seconds to consider.¡± Xia Feng glanced at the five strange players, and grabbed the Frost Blade. ¡°Move, or die.¡± ¡°Xia Feng, I think we can talk nicely. I have a secret that I¡¯m sure you¡¯re very interested in.¡± Zhou Xing backed off to a safe distance, and tried to persuade Xia Feng again. Unfazed, Xia Feng opened his mouth. ¡°You have three seconds.¡± Three seconds had already passed as he talked. Xia Feng dashed forward and pointed the freezing Frost Blade at Zhou Xing¡¯s face. Zhou Xing quickly backed off to avoid Xia Feng¡¯s attack while he roared, ¡°Xia Feng, have you ever heard about the closed beta tester?¡± ¡°The closed beta test?¡± Xia Feng was quite intrigued, but he didn¡¯t slow down at all, and attacked even faster. Zhou Xing was quite angry about Xia Feng¡¯s arrogance. He took out a red sword and fought back. Zhou Xing¡¯s teammates all dispersed, and took out their remote weapons, ready to fire at Xia Feng anytime. Clang¡­ When the Frost Blade hit Zhou Xing¡¯s longsword, an enormous force burst out like a torrent, and knocked Zhou Xing away. The red sword in his hand was also flung away, landing on the ground. ¡°How can the gap in our strength be so huge?¡± Zhou Xing mumbled to himself in shock, wearing the same expression as the dead William had. He had drunk a lot of beast blood to strengthen himself these days, and thought that Xia Feng couldn¡¯t have been much stronger than himself. Little did he expect that Xia Feng¡¯s strength would completely suppress his own. Naturally, Xia Feng wouldn¡¯t explain that both his strength and his speed could easily suppress Zhou Xing¡¯s. Xia Feng would¡¯ve killed the guy named Zhou Xing, but he decided to spare his life for what the guy just said. Glancing at Zhou Xing who was lying on the ground with a shaking right hand, Xia Feng waved his blade and easily deflected three arrows. Then, Xia Feng jumped at Zhou Xing¡¯s teammates. When Xia Feng attacked his teammates, Zhou Xing swallowed a pill. His pale face was red again, and his right hand didn¡¯t shake anymore. During these few seconds, Zhou Xing¡¯s teammates had all collapsed. They were no match for Xia Feng at all. Zhou Xing quickly picked up his red sword, and gazed at Xia Feng coldly. ¡°You think you¡¯ve won? There¡¯s no telling who the winner is! Berserker!¡± Zhou Xing roared, and became much more intimidating. He even grew taller. After his strength increased, Zhou Xing stomped and threw himself at Xia Feng like a cannonball. However, five seconds later, Zhou Xing fell on the ground again in the berserker state. Pointing the Frost Blade at Zhou Xing with a playful smile, Xia Feng remarked, ¡°Now I¡¯m the winner, am I not? ¡°Okay, now we can talk. What was the beta tester that you mentioned?¡± Chapter 35 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°You¡­¡± Sensing the coldness from the Frost Blade, Zhou Xing lost all his fury and resolve. ¡°Why? You¡¯re unwilling to tell?¡± Xia Feng pointed the Frost Blade at Zhou Xing¡¯s teammate. His implication was obvious. ¡°Xia Feng, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so shameless as the top on the World Ranking.¡± Zhou Xing was reluctant to admit defeat. ¡°I beat you fair and square. How¡¯s that shameless? As for what I¡¯m doing right now, it¡¯s just a method,¡± Xia Feng solemnly corrected him. Then, he took out the Lightning Crossbow, and aimed it at Zhou Xing¡¯s teammates. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another 10 seconds.¡± This time, Zhou Xing replied without any hesitation. Staring at Xia Feng, he solemnly said, ¡°I took part in the closed beta test.¡± ¡°Tell me about your closed beta test experience.¡± Xia Feng asked further as he had already guessed that piece of information from their earlier communication. The man only confirmed it. His life being at Xia Feng¡¯s mercy, Zhou Xing could only answer questions obediently. ¡°The closed beta test started 10 days before the open beta test. There were 3,000 players. Rules in the closed beta test were almost the same as those in the open beta test.¡± ¡°Almost the same?¡± Xia Feng repeated those words. ¡°Yes, but there¡¯s one difference. The players in the closed beta test wouldn¡¯t really die.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t die?¡± Xia Feng frowned. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it mean that you could go anywhere you wanted?¡± If that was true, Xia Feng might have to reevaluate the players from the closed beta test, for they probably knew more than he had anticipated. However, what Zhou Xing said made him give up the plan of reassessment. ¡°Do you think it was a good thing that we wouldn¡¯t die?¡± Fright appeared on Zhou Xing¡¯s face as he talked about it, as if he remembered something horrible. He licked his dry lips, and mumbled, ¡°While the players in the closed beta test wouldn¡¯t die, we would be confined in a dark room for 24 hours after we took a fatal hit. ¡°During the 24 hours, we couldn¡¯t talk or move. We could only gaze at the quiet, dark environment. Trust me, that¡¯s even more horrifying than death.¡± Zhou Xing breathed heavily after saying that. Clearly, he had been personally confined in a dark room earlier. Xia Feng was quite surprised at Zhou Xing¡¯s description. He didn¡¯t expect such a rule. But of course, Xia Feng wouldn¡¯t sympathize with him just because of that. After that, Xia Feng interrogated Zhou Xing for other information about the beta test. However, Zhou Xing¡¯s answers were slightly disappointing. Most of what he mentioned wasn¡¯t new to Xia Feng. There were only several things that Xia Feng didn¡¯t know. For example, the UID of the players from the closed beta test in the open beta test was 1 to 3000. There was no telling whether Zhou Xing was keeping secrets, or that was really all he knew, but Xia Feng wasn¡¯t satisfied with the inquiry. Therefore, he intended to extort something from them. Clearing his throat, Xia Feng casually said, ¡°Okay, enough chitchat. Now let¡¯s talk about business.¡± He was not a bloodthirsty person. Also, Zhou Xing had never shown any intention of killing him, so he decided to spare them. ¡°Chitchat? Business? What do you mean, Xia Feng?¡± Zhou Xing suddenly had a bad feeling. He realized that he might have underestimated the guy¡¯s brazenness. ¡°My meaning is simple. You and your teammates are all under my control. Trade things for your life.¡± Xia Feng looked around at Zhou Xing and his teammates, and listed the ransom that they had to pay. ¡°Zhou Xing, as the captain, your life is more valuable. You can get it back with a piece of superior equipment. As for your teammates, each of them will give me one piece of rare equipment.¡± ¡°Xia Feng, how shameless of you.¡± Zhou Xing gnashed his teeth. ¡°Very well. For that, you¡¯re losing all your Source Crystals. Remember to give me your Source Crystals when you hand over your equipment.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Zhou Xing was infuriated and about to yell, but he managed to hold back the profanities when he saw the wicked smile on Xia Feng¡¯s face. Eventually, Zhou Xing and his teammates paid one piece of superior equipment, three pieces of rare equipment, and 156 Source Crystals for their lives. Looking at Zhou Xing and his teammates who were about to leave through one channel, Xia Feng waved at them with a brilliant smile. ¡°Guys, good bye. I look forward to meeting you again.¡± Hearing that, Zhou Xing and his teammates walked away without looking back. They had never seen anyone as shameless. To make things worse, this shameless guy was too strong to beat. Seeing off Zhou Xing and his team, Xia Feng looked at the equipment he got. It included one belt and three red swords. [Superior Endurance Belt: This is a piece of spiritual equipment that can increase your endurance. You¡¯ll gain more endurance if you put it on.] [This is great equipment, but some self-control is always necessary.] It was not a bad belt, not because it could increase endurance, but because it was pretty. Just look at the runes on the surface of the belt. Xia Feng quickly put on the belt, and looked at the red sword. [Rare Red-Striped Longsword: This is a sharp spiritual sword. The wounds it causes will continue to bleed.] [It¡¯s hard to stop the wounds caused by this sword from bleeding. Use it cautiously.] The Red-Striped Longsword was almost as good as the Frost Blade. Xia Feng happily collected all the spiritual equipment. At this moment, he had a lot of spiritual equipment. He thought that he could give some of it to the members of the Xia Alliance to strengthen them. I thought 100-200 points of combat ability wasn¡¯t bad, but they couldn¡¯t even make it to the World Ranking. I miscalculated. While thinking, Xia Feng took out a piece of gold, and threw it to the far end of the island. After dropping the gold, Xia Feng ran as fast as he could, and stopped 10 meters away from the Gold Eater. All he needed to do next was wait patiently. The Gold Eaters fed on metals. They wouldn¡¯t randomly attack other creatures as long as they weren¡¯t pissed off. About 10 minutes later, the iron cube near the Golden Chest finally moved. It slowly extended its arms, and then its feet. Soon, a two-meter-tall Gold Eater revealed itself in front of Xia Feng. Is this a Mutated Gold Eater? It¡¯s so much bigger than a regular Gold Eater. Looking at the Mutated Gold Eater that was gradually attracted to the gold, Xia Feng was quite surprised. Normal Gold Eaters were only 1.5 meters tall. Watching the Gold Eater go away, Xia Feng quickly ran to the Golden Chest and opened it. [System notification: Golden Chest +1] [System notification: Upgrade Scroll For Exquisite Shelter +1] [System notification: Recipe of Perfect Wings of Light +1] [System notification: Recipe of Ordinary Holy Lady Stick +1] Xia Feng rubbed his eyes hard after reading the system notifications before he looked at them again. His eyes didn¡¯t deceive him. It was exactly a perfect recipe for wing equipment. ¡°Shoot! I¡¯m really lucky!¡± Chapter 36 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Golden Chest Chest Chest?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Perfect Wings of Light?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Ordinary Holy Lady Stick?] ¡°Dismember it and learn them,¡± Xia Feng mumbled. There were two flashes of light. [System notification: Gold +2] [System notification: You¡¯ve successfully learned them.] [Perfect Wings of Light: Crystal Diamond 10/6, Spiritual Feather 0/8, Source Crystal 366/30, Spiritual Bone 0/4, Wind Spiritual Rune 158/36, Earth Spiritual Rune 88/18] Xia Feng didn¡¯t have two materials that the Wings of Light required. He searched for them on the trade menu, but nobody was selling them. It seems that I¡¯ll need luck to craft the Wings of Light. Turning off the trade menu regretfully, Xia Feng sent a message to Lin Feifan, and asked him to keep an eye out for Spiritual Feathers, Spiritual Bones, and Spiritual Silk. He wanted to be informed the moment the materials became available. After that, Xia Feng read the description of the Holy Lady Stick. [Ordinary Holy Lady Stick: This is no spiritual equipment, but it has automatic vibration function and is extensible. It¡¯s an item that many female creatures love.] [It¡¯s said that the item is a symbol of the sacredness of the Holy Ladies, who cannot be married, and can only take care of their needs with this.] [This is good stuff. Not only can female creatures use it, but male creatures may also experience unusual pleasure with it.] Why do I feel that the golden hint is getting more and more lewd? Reading the note and the hint, Xia Feng opened the craft menu, and looked for the materials that the Holy Lady Stick required. [Ordinary Holy Lady Stick: Rubber 12/4, Sponge 8/2] Both materials were available. Xia Feng didn¡¯t even remember when he looted them. He had been keeping them in storage because they weren¡¯t useful. They could finally be used now, although they weren¡¯t large in number. He searched for Rubber and Sponge in the market, and found a lot of sellers, so he made three Holy Lady Sticks in a row. [System notification: Rubber -12, Sponge -6] Three ugly sticks appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hands. Their description had to be censored, but they did feel warm. Xia Feng put them on the market. [Seller: Xia Feng-0364133458] [Item to be sold: Ordinary Holy Lady Stick] [Item desired: 2 Source Crystals and 4 Iron] [Alternative: 2 of any Spiritual Runes and 4 Iron] [Stock: 3] [Seller¡¯s note: A bliss for the female players. Of course, you¡¯re free to try it too if you¡¯re gay.] After Xia Feng set up the Holy Lady Stick, he found that his other items on the market had been sold out. It was already the third day in the game, and water was no longer as in demand as before. After all, Xia Feng couldn¡¯t be the only player from the Blue Planet that had a water purifier. Interestingly enough, there were few items like the Holy Lady Stick or the Spear Swallowing Fish. Xia Feng looked at the price of water, only to find that it was one Spiritual Rune per two liters. He had more than 40 liters of water, so he put 40 liters of them on the market. A lot of other people were selling toilet paper. Because of its cheap materials, the toilet paper was hardly profitable, so Xia Feng didn¡¯t sell it anymore. He didn¡¯t sell vegetables, either, and kept them for himself. Xia Feng checked the system notifications, and counted the items he got for the items he sold. There were 60 Iron, 102 Bronze, 18 Source Crystals, 10 Fire Spiritual Runes, eight Water Spiritual Runes, 11 Wind Spiritual Runes, and eight Earth Spiritual Runes. They weren¡¯t much, but still better than nothing. The items that the players acquired from trades wouldn¡¯t go into the Shelter Ring directly. The players had to claim them. After that, Xia Feng checked the upgrade scroll of the Exquisite Shelter. It was basically the same as the Ordinary Shelter. He could upgrade the Exquisite Shelter to the Rare level with enough materials. Xia Feng didn¡¯t use it in a hurry. He decided to use up the exploration opportunities of the day first. After claiming all the materials, Xia Feng glanced at the Gold Eater that was still chewing the gold, and wandered around the island. The 23rd island was connected to four channels. Xia Feng came to the one through which Zhou Xing and his team left. [Island No.1: Two loving ligers were about to reach their climax when they were interrupted by four strangers. A battle of men and beasts is going on here. You can join if you¡¯re interested. There¡¯s an Island No.1 here.] Reading the note, Xia Feng held back his laughter, and moved to Channel No.2. [Island No.2: It has been habituated by a group of highly territorial Wind Birds. A king has emerged among them. They¡¯re very dangerous.] [However, the bird king has the materials you need. There¡¯s also a Silver Chest on the island. It¡¯s up to you whether or not to explore it.] The materials I need? They must be the Spiritual Feathers. Xia Feng was deep in thought. Instead of jumping to any decision, he decided to examine the other two channels first. [Island No.3: A horde of kobolds lives here. They¡¯re very strong and hostile to humans. However, if you eliminate them, you will get abundant rewards.] [Island No.4: This is an island that¡¯s about to be drowned. It barely has any resources, but it has a damaged Voyage Boat. There¡¯s no telling if it can sail again, but you can try your luck.] [Note that sailing is very dangerous if you¡¯re not strong enough. You may get lost in the sea easily. Also, the Shelter Ring below the quality of Superior cannot keep a Voyage Boat.] Xia Feng was caught in a dilemma after reading the descriptions. He wondered if he should challenge the Wind Birds on Island No.2, or find the Voyage Boat on Island No.4. Xia Feng was no stranger to a Voyage Boat. He had seen one from the mysterious merchant. It should be a powerful tool that could sail. However, this Voyage Boat was already damaged, and Xia Feng couldn¡¯t store it yet. Eventually, Xia Feng gave up the boat, and chose Island No.2. It was better to be realistic. Tempting as the Voyage Boat was, he might get nothing in the end if he went to that island. It was better to play with the birds. After making the decision, Xia Feng searched for Wind Birds in the handbook of monsters. [Wind Birds: A very brutal animal in the Misty Space. They¡¯re gregarious, territorial, and highly ferocious. Their feathers are sharper than swords. They¡¯re extremely fast too.] [Hint: Don¡¯t back off when you¡¯re faced with the Wind Birds. Your odds of survival will be greater if you confront them bravely. They¡¯re not very sturdy. It will be best if you have a shield that¡¯s hard enough to resist their impact.] Chapter 37 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations ¡°A shield?¡± Xia Feng was briefly stunned after reading the Wind Birds¡¯ information. He searched for shields on the trade menu, only to find nothing. There was barely any equipment on the trade menu, not to mention shields. Few people could afford equipment, After all, the spiritual equipment was quite costly. Those who could afford equipment usually weren¡¯t short of it. As a result, there were few equipment sellers. Xia Feng¡¯s Exquisite Sharp Long Saber was a hit only because it was made of cheap materials, and he sold it at a low price. But that was clearly not the case anymore. The non-spiritual weapons were usually lousy. Most of them were Ordinary. Few of them were Exquisite, and even fewer were Rare. However, every spiritual weapon was very costly, and it might not be sold immediately if it was put on the market. As a result, one might not be able to transform the resources into one¡¯s strength quickly. Turning off the trade menu, Xia Feng opened the World Rank, and checked Shangguan Hongyue¡¯s UID. [Shangguan Hongyue ¨C 0000000001] As I expected, she¡¯s from the closed beta test. Xia Feng continued reading, and found that most people on the top of the rank had a small UID. Quitting the World Ranking, he saw the most heated thread on the forum again. [Mysteries of Xia Feng, Who Ranks Top] The thread was so popular that more than a billion people had read it. Xia Feng¡¯s eyes glittered when he saw that. If so many people wanted to know why his combat ability was so high, why couldn¡¯t he tell them an answer? A bold and creative idea took shape in Xia Feng¡¯s head. He clicked ¡°Post¡±, and typed in the subject. [I am Xia Feng. This is why I have the highest combat ability. Read it if you¡¯re interested.] Then, Xia Feng set up a requirement for reading the thread. ¡°You need to pay at least one Source Crystal to read the post. ¡°Besides, the post will not be unlocked until 1,000,000 Source Crystals are paid. ¡°The 1,000,000 Source Crystals have to be raised in six hours, or the post will be aborted, and the Source Crystals will be returned to the patrons. This is the only chance.¡± After setting up the requirement, Xia Feng typed content in the post, and made an advertisement. ¡°PS: I need a high-quality shield. Money is not a problem. I have nothing but money. Also, anyone who has Spiritual Silk, Spiritual Feathers, Spiritual Bones, or similar items can contact me too. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s cut to the chase. Here¡¯s the main content. Please read carefully. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you the truth: I¡¯m an alpha test player! ¡°My combat ability is so high because I¡¯m the only alpha test player who survived, and I know a lot of secrets about this game. ¡°On the other hand, the players on the top of the World Ranking are all from the closed beta test. Their UID is from 1 to 3000. ¡°There were 3,000 players in the beta test. None of them died. From what I gathered, it was because they would only be detained for a day without being killed when they took a fatal hit. ¡°Next, I¡¯m going to divulge some of the unimportant information to you. Some of you may already know it. ¡°As for the important information, please allow me to sort it out first before I inform you.¡± After writing a long article, Xia Feng read it through, and didn¡¯t notice anything wrong, so he clicked ¡°Post¡±. The forum had been particularly active since it was opened. Many people had been spamming on the forum as they were too scared to explore the misty islands. Very soon, someone discovered Xia Feng¡¯s post. After all, everybody knew the nickname of the top of the World Ranking. When they saw the subject of Xia Feng¡¯s thread, all of the viewers were thrilled. The truth of the highest combat ability lay right before their eyes. Nobody questioned the authenticity of a thread that Xia Feng personally posted. Besides, even if it were fake, they would only be wasting one Source Crystal, which wasn¡¯t too precious. Therefore, the players who found the thread paid one Source Crystal, and quickly relayed the message to public and regional channels. ¡°Shoot, Master Xia Feng posted a thread on the forum, and revealed the truth about his combat ability! Check it out on the forum!¡± ¡°What? The truth about his combat ability? Are you serious?¡± ¡°I just checked it. I think it¡¯s fake. Rumor has it that Xia Feng killed someone for their treasure. He¡¯s probably trying to swindle us out of Source Crystals.¡± ¡°Whether it¡¯s fake or not, I¡¯m going to pay. It¡¯s just a Source Crystal anyway.¡± Messages were rolling in the public channel quickly. The news that Xia Feng was about to reveal the truth swept across all the living players like a level 18 gale at an unparalleled speed. A tremendous number of players surged to the forum and checked Xia Feng¡¯s post. Many impatient players paid a Source Crystal. Some even paid many Source Crystals just to speed up the unlocking progress. Therefore, the unlocking progress of Xia Feng¡¯s thread increased at a high speed. One-millionth¡­ One-thousandth¡­ One-hundredth¡­ One-tenth¡­ The income of Source Crystals slightly slowed down after the progress reached three-tenths. At that moment, it had only been half an hour since Xia Feng posted the thread. It meant that he had earned more than 300,000 Source Crystals in only half an hour. Also, the number was still growing at a horrifying speed. Xia Feng did not know any of that. After posting the thread, he started making preparations for the 24th island. Firstly, he crafted 100 arrows, and then smeared Exquisite Hallucinogenic Drug on them. Then, he crafted a few healing medications, and put them into his Shelter Ring for emergencies. Lastly, and most importantly, he practiced the Dao Source Breathing Technique and accumulated spiritual power. He didn¡¯t need much. It would be enough if he could activate the Lightning Crossbow several times. Soon, it had already been four hours since Xia Feng posted the thread. Inside the Exquisite Shelter, Xia Feng sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, and his body moved in a special rhythm. All of a sudden, a system notification popped up from Xia Feng. The players would sense it when a system notification appeared. Xia Feng quickly opened his eyes. [System notification: The requirement for your post was met and it¡¯s unlocked. Please claim your rewards in the post.] It¡¯s finally unlocked? Seeing that, Xia Feng didn¡¯t enter the game immediately. Instead, he walked out of the shelter with the Lightning Crossbow. The Gold Eater had left the island at some point. Xia Feng aimed the Lightning Crossbow at the hill, and his spiritual power burst out. Swoosh! An arrow shining with electricity darted into the stone hill ferociously. Boom! After a huge explosion, a lot of stones were blown away from the part of the hill where it was hit, resulting in a round hollow about one meter in diameter. Sensing that it cost about half of his spiritual power, Xia Feng nodded in satisfaction. That should be powerful enough to deal with the king of the Wind Birds. After confirming the result of his four hours of cultivation, Xia Feng finally opened the game menu and found his thread. After only a couple of hours, millions of people had viewed the thread, even though they had to pay a Source Crystal for that. It was not hard to imagine the attention that the thread had attracted. Chapter 38 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations [System notification: Do you claim the 3,577,281 Source Crystals to unlock your post?] ¡°Claim them,¡± Xia Feng mumbled. [System notification: Source Crystal +3,577,281] Looking at the hill of Source Crystals in the Shelter Ring, Xia Feng was rather excited. This is probably what turning rich overnight feels. Thinking about that, Xia Feng skimmed through the replies. First Floor: I haven¡¯t read yet, but I¡¯m going to post a reply first. Brothers, thumb me up! Second Floor: Shoot! I lost my first floor because of lagging. Third Floor: With my 20-year novel-reading experience, I scanned the thread in one second. I didn¡¯t expect to see alpha test and beta test players in such a real game. You really don¡¯t know the fate¡¯s arrangement. Fourth Floor: I¡¯ve been single for 30 years, yet your hands are still faster than mine. I have to say that Master Xia Feng is awesome. Xia Feng quit the thread after reading a few replies. Those people must¡¯ve spent all the time on the Internet back on the Blue Planet. Turning off the game menu, Xia Feng checked his equipment, and was ready to go. However, when he was about to set off, a private message popped up. Shangguan Hongyue: I have the shield you need. One second later, a screenshot was delivered. [Superior Golden Shield: A spiritual shield that¡¯s mainly made of gold. It¡¯s very sturdy.] Xia Feng was quite surprised to receive Shangguan Hongyue¡¯s message. He replied, ¡°What do you want from me?¡± On the other hand, Shangguan Hongyue, who had used up the exploration opportunities for the day, massaged her temples tiredly on an island with a coverage of almost 500 square meters. She had just explored her 30th island, and was ready for a rest when her friend sent her a message and refreshed her. It had never occurred to her that Xia Feng was an alpha test player. She was quite suspicious at first. However, when she looked at the rank, and found that Xia Feng¡¯s combat ability reached 5,000, she was convinced. She could not think of a second reason why Xia Feng¡¯s combat ability could be so high. As the person who ranked first in the closed beta test, and with a talent and a divination orb, she only had 2,000 points of combat ability. She used to be the best in the closed beta test, yet she was completely eclipsed by Xia Feng. How could¡¯ve Xia Feng done that if he weren¡¯t an alpha test player? Unless, Xia Feng was cheating¡­ However, Shangguan Hongyue was more inclined to believe that Xia Feng was an alpha test player than to believe that he was cheating. Receiving Xia Feng¡¯s message, Shangguan Hongyue thought for a moment, and replied, ¡°I can craft a Golden Shield for you as long as you pay for the raw materials, but you have to answer a question.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± Xia Feng instantly replied. Without further ado, Shangguan Hongyue opened the craft menu, and took a screenshot of the materials that the Golden Shield needed. [Superior Golden Shield: Gold 2/8, Source Crystal 102/8, Earth Spiritual Rune 22/16, Fire Spiritual Rune 19/10, Water Spiritual Rune 18/8] Xia Feng offered six pieces of gold to her so that she could craft a Golden Shield. He then bought it from her. 10 seconds later, a dialog popped up. [System notification: Superior Golden Shield +1] A shield one meter long and 60 centimeters wide appeared in Xia Feng¡¯s hand. It was glowing fascinatingly. ¡°Ask whatever you want to know.¡± Xia Feng sent a message, but actually he already knew what she was going to ask. ¡°Are you an alpha test player or not?¡± ¡°Of course¡­ not.¡± After the reply, Xia Feng turned off the game menu. Having acquired a superior shield, Xia Feng walked to Channel No.2 delightedly. On the other hand, Shangguan Hongyue was stunned as she gazed at the game menu. Reaching Channel No.2 in delight, Xia Feng subconsciously looked at the hint again. [Warning. Someone is trying to tame the king of the Wind Birds and making great progress. You¡¯d better hurry if you want to kill it.] Seeing how greatly the hint had changed, Xia Feng was shocked, and rushed without much thinking. Reaching the glittering membrane in 10 seconds, Xia Feng gritted his teeth and crossed it even though he only had half of his spiritual power left. He had planned to restore all his spiritual power before he explored the 24th island. But apparently, sometimes things didn¡¯t go as planned. The environment changed. Xia Feng found himself on a rather spacious island that was bigger than any of the precious 23 islands. Xia Feng was on a slope. In front of him was a forest, and behind him was a cliff. On the cliff, there was a protruding rock and a nest on it. The nest was built by the king of the Wind Birds. At this moment, a girl in a white dress seemed to be communicating with the king of Wind Birds on the nest. When Xia Feng looked at her, a golden hint quickly popped up. [This mysterious girl is about to tame the king of the Wind Birds.] Seeing the hint, Xia Feng took out the Lightning Crossbow and fired at the nest. When the arrow darted out, Xia Feng shouted, ¡°The lady up there, release that bird and let me.¡± Jiang Yuxi was trying to communicate with the king of the Wind Birds, and turn it into her partner. Over the past two days, she had run into a lot of creatures, and turned quite some of them into her partners. However, she had never seen a bird until she came here. Everything had been going well. With her friendliness with animals, she managed to reach the king¡¯s nest, and have a nice conversation with the king. However, when the king of the Wind Birds was about to accept her request to become her partner, an arrow flew close and darted into the cliff. The unexpected arrow took Jiang Yuxi by surprise, and infuriated the king of the Wind Birds. It flapped its wings, flew up from the nest, and gazed at Xia Feng on the slope with its sharp eyes. ¡°Caw!¡± The king of the Wind Birds was so short-tempered that it swooped at Xia Feng the moment it locked onto him. At the same time, when the king of the Wind Birds cawed, several other Wind Birds soared from the forest and attacked Xia Feng together. On the rock at the cliff, Jiang Yuxi came back to herself. She was anxious to see Xia Feng surrounded by the Wind Birds. As a kindhearted girl, she shouted at the king of Wind Birds, ¡°Little White, he¡¯s my friend! Don¡¯t kill him!¡± Jiang Yuxi¡¯s voice was beautiful and penetrative. It seemed to have the magic power to subdue the king of the Wind Birds, which stopped swooping. However, the moment before Jiang Yuxi spoke, Xia Feng had already aimed the Lightning Crossbow at the king of the Wind Birds and pulled the trigger. Hiu¡­ An arrow went straight at the king of the Wind Birds. Looking at the flying arrow, Xia Feng blinked his eyes. He glanced at the stumped girl on the rock, and mumbled to himself, ¡°I wonder if she¡¯ll believe me if I tell her that I didn¡¯t do it on purpose this time.¡± Chapter 39 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Hardly had the king of the Wind Birds stopped when an arrow was shot at it. Instantly, its heart was filled with overwhelming fury. The king of the Wind Birds flapped its wings to dodge the arrow before it swooped at Xia Feng again. The king of the Wind Birds was so fast that it crossed 100 meters, and approached Xia Feng in the blink of an eye. It opened its mouth, aimed at Xia Feng¡¯s head, and snatched at Xia Feng¡¯s heart. The attack was definitely fatal. Seeing that a tragedy was about to happen, Jiang Yuxi opened her hand and covered her face, closing her eyes pitifully. Bam! It was a dull collision rather than a scream she anticipated. Jiang Yuxi opened her eyes curiously, and looked at Xia Feng through her fingers. On the slope, the king of the Wind Birds, which looked majestic a moment ago, lay on the ground with whites all over its eyes as if it were dead. Not far away in front of the bird, Xia Feng was standing coldly with the Golden Shield in one hand and the Frost Blade in the other. Glancing at the king of the Wind Birds which was still unconscious, Xia Feng waved the Frost Blade and cut at its head. On the rock, the moment she saw that, Jiang Yuxi shouted, ¡°No, Little Tiger, save Little White! But don¡¯t hurt him!¡± Hardly had she said that when a two-meter-tall smilodon with long fangs ran out of the woods near the slope. When the Frost Blade was about to pierce the king of the Wind Birds, it knocked away Xia Feng who was utterly unprepared. Then, cracking noises came close as Xia Feng crashed into bushes. Big Black had been following Xia Feng. Watching Xia Feng who had been knocked away, it bared its fangs at the smilodon. Then, it smartly turned around and ran to Xia Feng. Being far smaller, Big Black knew better than challenging the formidable enemy. By the time Xia Feng crawled out of the bushes, the king of the Wind Birds had already woken up. It was glaring at Xia Feng under the protection of four Wind Birds, as if it were going to swallow Xia Feng in one piece. The king of the Wind Birds did not see it coming that the shameless human would hide behind a tough shield a moment before the collision. At this moment, its beak was so painful that it couldn¡¯t even feel it. Xia Feng switched his equipment again, and aimed the Lightning Crossbow at the king of the Wind Birds. ¡°Sir, please stop!¡± The girl¡¯s voice came from the cliff again. Xia Feng pretended that he didn¡¯t hear it, and fired another three arrows at the king of the Wind Birds. Hoooooooo¡­. An intimidating roar echoed, and the smilodon that had just knocked Xia Feng again deflected the arrows with its sharp claws that were covered in scales. At this moment, the girl had arrived at the slope on the shoulder of a gorilla that was more than four meters tall. Looking at the real-life version of Beauty & Beast, Xia Feng asked the girl, ¡°What can I do to make you give this king of Wind Birds to me?¡± The girl looked only about 18. Her soft black hair was flying in the wind. Her face wasn¡¯t very pretty, but it was very pleasant. With her white long dress, she almost looked sacred. The girl jumped off from the gorilla, and softly begged Xia Feng, ¡°Brother, can you spare Little White?¡± ¡°No, it has materials that I need.¡± While talking, Xia Feng raised his Lightning Crossbow. His movement seemed to provoke the smilodon and the gorilla. Both of them hopped to the girl and glared at Xia Feng warningly and dangerously. Also, in the forest behind Xia Feng, the leaves were rustling too. A serpent as thick as a bucket blocked Xia Feng¡¯s retreat, sticking out its forked tongue. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Looking at the beasts that surrounded him, Xia Feng grew cold and aggressive. The beasts were all highly sensitive. The moment they detected Xia Feng¡¯s killing intent, their bodies tightened, and they could attack anytime. Big Black¡¯s fur bristled too, and it was ready to fight for life. When the atmosphere grew grave, Jiang Yuxi¡¯s panicked voice echoed. ¡°No, no, I¡¯m not threatening you. Please don¡¯t misunderstand me, sir.¡± While talking, she waved her hand to make the beasts back off. Seeing that, Xia Feng was more or less relaxed, and lowered the Lightning Crossbow. Seeing that Xia Feng put down the Lightning Crossbow, Jiang Yuxi delightedly asked, ¡°Sir, are you Xia Feng, the one on the top of the World Ranking?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Xia Feng nodded and admitted it. After confirming Xia Feng¡¯s identity, Jiang Yuxi looked at Xia Feng with admiration, and exclaimed, ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so strong. How did you get 5,000 points of combat ability? Mine is only 46.¡± ¡°Your combat ability is 46?¡± Xia Feng almost lost his cool. He glanced at the three beasts that were still glaring at him. ¡°Do you take me for a fool? Those three big guys, combined, are probably even stronger than me, and they¡¯re all your pets. Your combat ability¡­¡± Xia Feng suddenly paused as he realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Why is this girl not on the World Ranking? Is she not from the Blue Planet at all? Xia Feng had a lot of random thoughts. ¡°Brother Xia Feng.¡± Suddenly, the girl¡¯s crisp voice entered Xia Feng¡¯s ears, and woke him up. Jiang Yuxi had reached out to Xia Feng, and pointed at the three beasts before she explained, ¡°Brother Xia Feng, I didn¡¯t lie to you. My combat ability is really 46. Little Tiger, Little Bear, and Little Snake aren¡¯t my pets; they¡¯re my partners.¡± ¡°Partners?¡± Xia Feng was even more stupefied to hear that word. It was not until hearing the girl¡¯s elaborate explanation that Xia Feng finally understood why the girl named Jiang Yuxi called the three beasts her partners. According to her, animals had been close to her, and never hurt her ever since her childhood. Even when she came to this strange game world, that talent had been retained by her. No Mist Monsters ever attacked her voluntarily. Furthermore, Jiang Yuxi found that she could communicate with animals after she transmigrated to this game world. With her ability, she became partners with the three beasts, which were all very loyal to her. After hearing Jiang Yuxi¡¯s description, Xia Feng felt so jealous as if he had eaten 10 lemons in a row. The gap between him and her was too huge. Nevertheless, Xia Feng didn¡¯t give up on the materials. After negotiation, the two of them agreed that they would pluck feathers from the king of the Wind Birds, and see if they could get ¡°Spiritual Feathers¡±. Chapter 40 Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations On the slope, the king of Wind Birds shivered on the ground, and subconsciously stepped back when Xia Feng approached maliciously. ¡°Be nice, Little White. It won¡¯t take long.¡± Behind the king of the Wind Birds, Jiang Yuxi extended her hand, and gently touched its head. The king of Wind Birds, which seemed rather scared, was soon appeased. Xia Feng bent down, and tried to lay his hand on the king of the Wind Birds¡¯ feathers. At this moment, Jiang Yuxi¡¯s gentle voice sounded again. ¡°Brother Xia Feng, Little White is only three months old. It¡¯s still a baby bird. You must be gentle when you pluck its feathers.¡± Xia Feng didn¡¯t respond, but simply nodded softly. Then, while the king of the Wind Birds was highly anxious, he grabbed a feather and yanked. His movement wasn¡¯t rough, but it was definitely not gentle, either. ¡°Caw!¡± A painful caw echoed on the slope. Xia Feng looked at the bloodstained feathers in his hand, and a system notification popped up. [King of the Wind Birds¡¯ Feathers: Feathers that contain spiritual power. Two of them can be combined into a Spiritual Feather.] ¡°It really works!¡± Xia Feng¡¯s eyes glittered. Amazed by the discovery, he looked at the king of the Wind Birds that was hiding in Jiang Yuxi¡¯s arms with so much passion as if it were a naked beautiful woman. When Xia Feng leered in such a way, the king of the Wind Birds, which had endured pain in the first place, unleashed its brutality again. Invisible air currents surged on its feathers, and caused a tiny tornado that hovered next to its wings. Xia Feng quickly took out the Golden Shield to protect himself in case of unexpected attacks. ¡°Little White, be nice.¡± At the critical moment, Jiang Yuxi managed to soothe the agitated king of Wind Birds. A dozen minutes later, Jiang Yuxi presented 15 feathers to Xia Feng. The king of the Wind Birds had made it clear that it didn¡¯t want Xia Feng to pluck its feathers. Having no choice, Jiang Yuxi came up with a compromise, which was that she would pluck the feathers and give them to Xia Feng There was no telling if the king of the Wind Birds¡¯ brain was damaged by the impact earlier, but it showed no resistance when Jiang Yuxi did the plucking. It even seemed to be enjoying it. Xia Feng wasn¡¯t too bothered. All he wanted was the feathers. He didn¡¯t really care how they were given to him. Xia Feng glanced at the feathers, and mumbled, ¡°Combine into Spiritual Feathers.¡± Next moment, all the 16 feathers glimmered, and melted into eight larger glittering feathers. [Spiritual Feathers: Feathers that contain a tiny bit of spiritual power and the main material to make winged spiritual equipment.] He had got the Spiritual Feathers. He needed to find Spiritual Bones. Thinking of that, Xia Feng glanced at the smilodon that was lying on the ground, wondering if it had Spiritual Bones. ¡°Brother Xia Feng, what do you want?¡± Sensing that something was wrong with Xia Feng¡¯s eyes, Jiang Yuxi moved and stood in Xia Feng¡¯s way with her head held high. ¡°Nothing. This tiger looks magnificent. I¡¯m just appreciating it.¡± Xia Feng¡¯s eyes passed Jiang Yuxi¡¯s bosom without causing any disturbance. ¡°Really?¡± Jiang Yuxi looked at Xia Feng suspiciously. Xia Feng shrugged and ignored Jiang Yuxi. He turned around and looked for the Silver Chest. [Go 600 meters in this direction, and you may find what you want.] When Xia Feng looked at his right side, a golden hint popped up. Following the hint, Xia Feng moved on with Big Black. Very soon, he found a Silver Chest among bushes and opened it. [System notification: Silver Chest +1] [System notification: Source Crystal +3] [System notification: Fire Spiritual Rune +2] [System notification: Recipe of Rare Agility Belt +1] [System notification: Do you want to decompose the Silver Chest?] [System notification: Do you want to learn the Recipe of Rare Agility Belt?] Xia Feng chose to decompose the Silver Chest, but he didn¡¯t learn the recipe. [System notification: Silver +2] A Rare belt was too advanced for Xia Feng for now. There was no need to learn it yet. Maybe he could trade it for something else. He didn¡¯t think there were a lot of belt recipes. Collecting the recipe, Xia Feng walked to the edge of the 24th island. There were few animals on this vast island. Xia Feng walked hundreds of meters, and didn¡¯t find any. Xia Feng went to Channel No.1 first. [Island No.1: This is an Island of Chaos with a huge coverage. You may find players of other species here. It contains both danger and opportunities. Consider carefully before you enter.] Island of Chaos? Players of other species? Xia Feng frowned after reading the hint. He had never seen such information earlier. ¡°Brother Xia Feng, are you going to leave?¡± Jiang Yuxi¡¯s voice came from far away. She approached Xia Feng with three beasts and the king of the Wind Birds. ¡°Of course. I can¡¯t live here with you, can I?¡± Xia Feng teased her, and she instantly blushed. Without chatting with Jiang Yuxi any further, Xia Feng checked other channels along the edge of the island. [Island No.2: This is a desolate island. You can¡¯t get anything from here.] [Island No.3: This island is full of swamps and miasma. Inside the swamps are brutal and dangerous Armored Crocodiles, but there are a lot of chests too.] There were altogether three channels on the 24th island. Xia Feng returned to Channel No.1 after a circle. ¡°Brother Xia Feng, what are you doing?¡± Jiang Yuxi had been following him. She didn¡¯t know why Xia Feng circled the island. Naturally, Xia Feng didn¡¯t explain. After much deliberation, he decided to go to Island No.1. He was quite curious about the alien players mentioned in the hint. He intended to meet them. More importantly, it was unnecessary to go to the other two islands. The desolate island was definitely not an option, and the one with swamps didn¡¯t have a favorable environment, either. After making the decision, Xia Feng put on his equipment and moved to Channel No.1, closely followed by Jiang Yuxi. ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Xia Feng pointed back at Channel No.2 after several steps. ¡°The island behind that channel is more suitable for you. Don¡¯t follow me. The island I¡¯m going to is very dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared of dangers. Little Tiger and Little White will protect me,¡± Jiang Yuxi replied with a grimace while pointing at her gigantic partners. Xia Feng looked at the beasts, and didn¡¯t say another word. He kept walking. That girl was free to go anywhere she wanted. It was not his business anyway. Very soon, the glittering membrane appeared in front of Xia Feng. [System notification: Behind this glittering membrane is an Island of Chaos that has players of other species.] Xia Feng had already learned that. He crossed the border after only a quick glance. [System notification: You have entered the Island of Chaos. The score system is activated. You¡¯ll receive points for killing players of other species.]