Chapter 18: Returning memories (1)
Point out any errors I made in the chapters, as I'm very lazy and sometimes can't be bothered to reread them. Also give your opinions on something I should change or add
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At this moment, there were a lot of changes occurring in Red Leaf Town as well. The number of players purchasing equipment in the Trade Area grew larger and larger, and an endless stream of shouts for purchase filled the air of the Trade Area. There were many new players walking around and looking at the stalls set up throughout the street, looking for required items and equipment.
---
Meanwhile, inside the Hotel at the Trade Area...
"I've previously asked you guys to collect Hard Stones, so just how many have you actually collected? Why is the number of Whetstones still zero?" Unstable Devastation's expression turned grim as he asked; he abruptly stood up after taking a look at his subordinate's report.
"Boss Unstable, under your commands, we desperately tried to purchase all the Hard Stones available. However, we're not sure why, but Hard Stones are extremely scarce on the market right now. Moreover, they're very expensive. After much determination, we only managed to collect slightly more than four stacks. However, our Guild has only recently started nurturing Forgers, so their success rate of making Whetstones is extremely low. So..." that subordinate timidly said.
Peng!
Unstable Devastation slammed his fist onto the table, snarling, "You bunch of useless wastes! I clearly notified you all of this matter long ago, and three or four hours have passed already. Yet, you guys couldn't even produce a single Whetstone? How is the elite team supposed to level up this way? Why do I even need you guys here?"
"Boss Unstable, maybe the other Guilds have discovered the issue of their weapons deteriorating quickly? Maybe that's why we only managed to purchase a few stacks of Hard Stones?" the Berserker, Five Rats, said.
"That's a high possibility. After all, it isn't only our Guild leveling up in high-level monster areas. However, Hard Stones aren't exactly rare, and they can be obtained from Level 2 monster areas or above. Moreover, normally nobody touches those things, so there should be a huge stockpile available in Red Leaf Town right now. There should also be plenty of players selling them on the Auction House. We also discovered this matter fairly quickly, so even if the other Guilds have taken action, it is impossible for them to buy them all out immediately!" Unstable Devastation nodded, then shook his head again. He could not make any sense of the situation.
After they started hunting Ye Feng's party, they discovered that the durability of their weapons fell extraordinarily fast. In the beginning, they paid no attention to it, only focusing on leveling up and their search for Ye Feng's party. However, after they were killed by Ye Feng and wanted to go back for revenge, their equipment and weapons were already close to scrap, some had even turned into scrap from dying. Without a choice, they had to postpone going back and repair their equipment, as well as get replacements for the ones they lost.
Although it would waste some time, the elite team's equipment was extremely precious. If they did not repair it all in time, resulting in their equipment turning into scrap, the Guild would suffer an irrecoverable loss. Moreover, without the equipment, they would also have no way to grind and level up. Thus, they needed to return and repair their equipment.
After repairing their equipment, Unstable Devastation began hearing complaints from his subordinates. The repair fees were too expensive, they said. The cost of repairs had nearly depleted all the money they had. As for classes that wore plate armor, they were even forced to borrow money from others for the repair fees.
This situation dumbfounded Unstable Devastation.
These players were all elites amongst elites. Normally, they carried a lot of money on their persons, and they were considered wealthy. However, their wealth was not enough to cover the fees.
Unstable Devastation quickly discovered the crux of the problem. The lower the remaining durability of a piece of equipment was, and the higher the level of the equipment was, the more expensive the resulting repair fee would be. Grinding high-level monster areas greatly depleted equipment's durability. Making a trip to-and-fro from town to these high-level areas also required them to waste at least two to three hours. Moreover, they could, at most, stay for three to four hours at these high-level monster areas before they needed to return to town to repair their equipment. This meant that they had to spend almost half their time in God's Domain just traveling.
As a result, the time needed for a single level-up almost doubled.
If they could negate the travel time, their leveling speed would surpass the other players.
When Unstable Devastation thought of this crucial matter, he immediately instructed his subordinates to look for a solution to this problem. The resulting solution was the Whetstones. Although this item could only repair a small amount of durability of a weapon, even that small amount was enough. Compared to equipment used for protection, a weapon's durability decreased at a much greater rate. If they used Whetstones to repair their weapons, the total cost would be much less than repairing it at the Smithy. Hence, Unstable Devastation quickly ordered his subordinates to purchase Whetstones. However, they quickly discovered that forgers did not normally create this item as its cost was simply too high. Moreover, Whetstones normally did not sell at all.
Unstable Devastation could only take a step back once again, and instead, choose to purchase Hard Stones, the materials required to make Whetstones. Hard Stones were also relatively cheap items. They were mainly used to create Whetstones and certain engineering components. Each stack was only around 30 Copper Coins, and there were 20 in a stack, which meant that they could make 20 Whetstones from a single stack of Hard Stones.
However, Unstable Devastation had received even more shocking news. If they could not purchase Whetstones directly, then so be it. However, how could Hard Stones be difficult to purchase as well?
In reality, it wasn't just Martial Union who had discovered this problem; the other Guilds had also discovered this issue. By the time they tried to purchase Hard Stones, they suddenly discovered that, be it the Auction House or the stalls in town, there were only scarce amounts of Hard Stones remaining. It was far from enough for the forgers in their own Guilds to create Whetstones with.
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Elsewhere, Feng had just set foot on the main street of the Trade Area. He watched as the various large Guilds tried to purchase Hard Stones at a high price; they purchased each stack for 80 Copper Coins. The price of Hard Stones had more than doubled.
Feng ignored them and went to the appointed Hotel. He had told Cola and the others to purchase Hard Stones from the Trade Market and Auction House with some money he left them after they died. Thus, there were barely any Hard Stones left there. He had around 90% of the Hard Stones available in White River City, and practically all of the Hard Stones in Red Leaf Town
Red Leaf town, Trade Area, Black Rose Bar.
At this moment, Fire Dance had gathered her entire team to discuss matters regarding the team's future development.
Fire Dance's team often frequented this Black Rose Bar, as it occupied a more secluded region; very few players came to this place. Thus, this place became the gathering spot for Fire Dance's team. Every time they completed a Dungeon raid or obtained some precious item, they would come to this bar to celebrate.
"Fire Dance, we understand what your intentions are. However, I will still tell you the same thing. We are only playing God's Domain to pass the time, and we don't have any great ambitions. We prefer to be free, and we aren't planning to earn any achievements through God's Domain. If you want me to join that person called Ye Feng's team, I can only tell you that I'm sorry."
"That's right, Fire Dance. If it were a normal situation, maybe joining would be fine. However, Ye Feng has a beef with Martial Union, and right now, Martial Union targets us too. Martial Union has already put out the word that, if we do not sever our relations with Ye Feng and apologize to them, we won't ever need to think about leaving town to level up and quest. If we leave town, they'll just kill us and send us back. If we join Ye Feng's team, won't we end up in an even worse situation?"
"That's right! Martial Union is just too powerful right now. There is no way Ye Feng can establish himself in Red Leaf Town. If you want us to join Ye Feng's team, I can only look for another way out of this."
"I, too, share this opinion. We have lost a lot of our levels, and our average right now is only Level 5. We can only apologize to Martial Union if we want to have the possibility to continue mingling in Red Leaf Town. If we join Ye Feng's team, we'll truly be finished."
"According to my investigations, the Martial Union branch in Red Leaf Town is completely under the control of that person called Unstable Devastation. He has gathered all the players from Martial Union in five different towns to Red Leaf Town, and he is prepared to go all-out developing in Red Leaf Town. There are many experts from Martial Union in Red Leaf Town right now. Their Guild's treatment is generous, and its development rate is impressively fast. I heard that their member count has already exceeded 1,000, and amongst them, there are over 200 elite members. They are much stronger than before."
"Martial Union has the ability to constantly target us and prevent us from leaving town to grind and level up. We can afford to provoke them any longer."
"Even if we reach Level 10 and go to White River City, Martial Union's member count would have exceeded 10,000 by then. It would only be a simple matter for them to deal with us. It was a mistake to provoke them right from the very beginning. Our only way out of this mess is to offer them an apology."
"Right, I agree as well. Our original goal in playing God's Domain was simply to mess around. We are completely different from that Ye Feng who has embroiled himself in a fight with Martial Union. If you, Fire Dance, wish to join him, please don't drag us in as well. We don't wish to be under surveillance 24 hours a day."
Fire Dance did not expect everyone to voice their opinions. They all expressed their refusal to join Ye Feng's team, and they even wanted her to apologize to Martial Union.
"Hah... I understand. I'll only ask this one last time, then.
"If there are any of you willing to join Ye Feng's team with me, please stand by my side."
Fire Dance understood their troubles. Previously, they were all veteran gamers of virtual reality games. However, the virtual reality games they played before only had a player base in the hundreds of thousands. Even until the later stages of the game, a top-tier Guild would only have several thousand members. On the other hand, God's Domain had made clear to them the true meaning of a large Guild and the true power of a game with over two billion players across the globe.
God's Domain was completely different from any other virtual reality games. It had utterly shattered their concept of virtual reality games, as it was practically a second reality.
Previously, they didn't think there was anything special about the various large Guilds. Only now did they truly understand how frightening a Guild could be in a virtual reality game. Just the members of Martial Union inside a single town reached the thousands, and it was still increasing. If they reached White River City, their member count would break into the tens of thousands. A team of independent players like themselves could not afford to provoke such a large Guild.
Moreover, such a large Guild like Martial Union was only an unrated Guild. As for third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate Guilds, they were tyrannical existences.
Although Martial Union was a very frightening existence in Red Leaf Town, Ye Feng's shocking performance had been deeply engraved onto Fire Dance's soul. She truly thought that she had wasted her time playing those other games before. Right now, only the thought of following Ye Feng filled her heart. She wanted to get to know and experience the world of apex experts.
"Fire Dance, wake up, alright? We will not follow you. Right now, our only way out of this mess is to apologize. Haven't you always dreamt of becoming an expert in God's Domain? If you continue fighting it out with Martial Union, you will head away from that goal. Stop being silly and acting foolish."
After Fire Dance finished speaking, aside from Water Buffalo, there was not a single person who walked towards Fire Dance's position. They all had their heads lowered, feeling that Fire Dance was simply too foolish. She had truly been bewitched by that Ye Feng for her to dig her own grave by joining him.
"Alright, since you guys have decided, Water Buffalo and I will join Big Brother Ye Feng by ourselves," Fire Dance's mood sank after hearing everyone's decision. They had joined each other after much difficulty, dreaming of reaching some achievements in God's Domain. Yet, the result was such in the end.
Soon after, Fire Dance opened her friends list, selected Ye Feng, and contacted him. Previously, she had told Ye Feng that she would contact him after speaking with her team. Now that everyone had finished their discussion, she had to notify him.
"Big Brother Ye Feng, I'm done on my side," Fire Dance said, disappointed. Although she had long since guessed such a result, she originally thought that three to five others would follow her. Now, however, there were only two of them. She was too embarrassed to even speak of this matter.
"Good timing, how many people do you have?"
At this moment, Feng had just finished meeting with Cola, Violet and the others. He was about to have them meet up with Blackie to level up and tell them to come to the Workshop in real life after logging out, so that he could return the memories of some of them. Now that Fire Dance was done right on time, he won't have to repeat himself.
"There are only two, Water Buffalo and myself. Everyone has their own opinions, so I can't demand this of them,"
"Two people? Alright. Do you guys have anything you need to do right now? If not, you can join me." Feng said, already knowing there were only the two of them. He had asked about the number simply because it would be weird if he already knew that there's only them.
"I don't have anything else to do here; Water Buffalo and I will meet you." Previously, Fire Dance had worried that she would disappoint Ye Feng with the news. However, after listening to his relaxed tone, she could not help but sigh in relief.
After disconnecting the call, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo bade farewell to everyone else. They did not know when they would meet again.
"Hah... I truly can't understand her. Why is she so obsessed with that guy?" an Assassin in leather armor said after Fire Dance departed. He could not help but sigh.
"I'm also very curious about that Ye Feng. Just what is so good about him? If she becomes Martial Union's enemy like this, by the time we enter White River City, she might very well still be in hiding in this town, not daring to leave. Would there even be a meaning to such a gaming life?"
The team members that chose to stay behind voiced their confusion, one after another.
Meanwhile, at the fountain plaza of Red Leaf Town, although it was still daytime in God's Domain, the benches that decorated the plaza were currently overcrowded with players. All around, one could see couples flirting with each other; the scene was the complete opposite of a battlefield.
"Big Brother Feng, sorry for making you wait," upon her arrival to the fountain plaza, she discovered Ye Feng enjoying the breeze as he waited for someone.
"No worries. All our members are finally here now. In the future, we will all be members of the same team. Let me introduce you all, then," Feng smiled as he started introducing each of the team members while waiting for Martial Union to arrive.
There were a total of six members present, excluding himself: the Guardian Knight, Cola, the Oracle, Drowsy Sloth, the Summoner, Gluttonous Mouse, the Cleric, Violet Cloud, the Assassin, Fire Dance, and the Berserker, Water Buffalo. Fire Dance, being Level 9, was the highest leveled player amongst them. Following her was Violet Cloud and Water Buffalo, who were both at Level 8. The remaining were all Level 7.
Looking at how Violet Cloud had raised herself to Level 8 just through cooking, the effort and suffering she had gone through were obvious. If it were not for Feng's stern command, Violet Cloud would not intend to go out to grind at all. She rather preferred continuously cooking and earning money.
When Cola and the others saw Fire Dance's level, admiration filled their hearts. Moreover, she was also a great beauty. Cola and the other two could not help but give Feng a thumbs-up. This was as expected of their leader!
As for Feng's level, nobody in the team could discern it, as Feng had hidden his information with the Demon Mask. The others could only see 'Unknown.' However, nobody felt concerned about his actions. Feng constantly felt like a mysterious expert to them; so it was only natural that they couldn't see his identity.
"Since everyone is familiar with each other now, I'll tell you guys what you need to do next," Feng said.
However, just as Feng was about to reveal their goal, a group of players suddenly appeared and surrounded the fountain plaza.
"Martial Union is dealing with an issue; all those uninvolved, leave immediately!"
Martial Union's members chased away the other players, taking complete control of the fountain plaza.
"Ye Feng, you've made me look for you for a long time now," a scholarly youth said as he stepped out from the crowd. This was Unstable Devastation.
There were over 400 members of Martial Union crowding the fountain plaza. When Cola and the others saw all these players, they immediately panicked, their expressions turning solemn.
Feng swept a glance over the players from Martial Union. The majority of them were Level 5 or Level 6; only a minority were Level 8 and Level 9 elites. He looked at Unstable Devastation and blinked "Do we know each other?" Feng asked in confusion.
Unstable Devastation nearly spat out blood when he heard Feng's question. He glared at Feng with eyes that could eat a person, but took a deep breath to calm down.
"I'm Unstable Devastation. The Vice Leader of Martial Union." Unstable Devastation answered. His voice held a hint of arrogance when he said 'Vice Leader', like it was something important .
"Unstable Devastation? Martial Union?" Feng looked downwards and put a hand on his chin, looking like he was trying to remember something "I think I have heard the name Martial Union somewhere before, but I have zero clue who you are." He continued after a moment of thinking.
A vein appeared on Unstable Devastation's forehead, as his face turned even more ferocious. This fucker placed a bounty on his guild and killed them all previously, but now he was pretending like he didn't know anything. He ground his teeth and held back the urge to curse at Feng, since there were many people around and he didn't want to ruin his image. He tried his best to calm down again, before shifting his sights towards Cola and the others. He then coldly said, "I'm here to give a warning for the teammates standing behind you. You all better come to your senses. If you sever your relationship with Ye Feng immediately, I assure you that I will not pursue past matters and let you all go."
"Of course, if you resolve to stand with the powerless Ye Feng, prepare to suffer the rage of Martial Union. I admit that killing Ye Feng himself is extremely difficult; however, it is only a simple matter for Martial Union to exterminate you all."
Although Unstable Devastation smiled as he spoke, Cola and the others could only feel a deep chill from his words.
They could not help but admit that Unstable Devastation's words sounded logical. They were not top-tier experts, and they did not possess that many lifesaving skills that could help them escape. Although Martial Union could not kill Ye Feng, that did not mean they could not get rid of them. As proven, they had died once before already. There would definitely be a second time in the future. If such a situation continued, they would not have a future in God's Domain to speak of.
Feng just remained silent as he stood there.
After quite some time had passed, Cola and the others exchanged glances with each other, smiles on their faces. They had all made their decisions, and they all stood by Feng's side without hesitation, having zero intentions of leaving.
Cola, Drowsy Sloth, Gluttonous Mouse, and Violet Cloud were originally players who others looked down on. They lived at the very bottom of God's Domain, and they only possessed the levels and equipment they had today because of Feng's help. By becoming enemies with Martial Union, at worst, they would only revert to their original states. So, how could they possibly betray Feng in this sort of situation?
As for Fire Dance and Water Buffalo, they had long since steeled their hearts to follow Ye Feng. They wished to experience the world of top-tier experts, and faced with such a threat, they paid no mind at all.
"Unstable Devastation, even in death, we would never betray our leader. If you have the ability, then come!" Cola laughed loudly as he looked at Unstable Devastation.
"Good! Very well said!" Unstable Devastation smiled with indignation, saying, "Don't say that I never gave you a chance. This is something you've all chosen for yourselves, so don't blame me for not lacking courtesy. Boys, get them!"
Immediately, more than 400 players in the fountain plaza surrounded Feng and the others. They all unsheathed their swords and armed their crossbows[1] as they eyed their prey.
However, none of them showed any intentions of rushing forward. Instead, they parted to the sides and opened a path, letting through twenty-odd players.
When these twenty-plus players arrived by Unstable Devastation's side, their complexions were as gloomy as water, and their expressions numbed. These players' levels were not high; only around Level 5 or Level 6. Their equipment was also nothing special. Compared to the elites of Martial Union, the difference was just too great. They did not seem like players from Martial Union at all.
"I'll be looking forward to your performances," Unstable Devastation spoke to these newcomers harshly. He then turned his sights towards Fire Dance, revealing a fierce sneer as he looked forward to the start of a good show.
These newcomers nodded their heads indifferently. They took out their weapons and walked towards Feng.
In the distance, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were immediately stunned when they saw these players.
"You guys... why are you all with Martial Union?" Fire Dance loudly questioned these players.
The twenty plus players that walked over were not strangers to Fire Dance. On the contrary, they were the ex-companions with whom Fire Dance shared both bitter and sweet times.
At this moment, Unstable Devastation looked at Ye Feng, laughter escaping his mouth as he said, "Hahaha! Ye Feng, I am an extremely generous person. Previously, these players aided you in killing many of Martial Union's members. I've promised them that, as long as they kill you and your companions, I will forgive all of their past transgressions, and Martial Union would no longer seek trouble with them."
"Ye Feng, don't you think that you should do something for them to compensate their losses?" Unstable Devastation jeered. Ye Feng had embarrassed him greatly last time, so he would not let him off the hook so easily.
He eagerly wished to see whether Ye Feng would dare take action or not. As long as Ye Feng took action, the headline on tomorrow's official forums would be: Publicly acknowledged Swordsman expert is an extremely treacherous person! He willingly killed his allies to save himself! At that time, only tatters would remain of Ye Feng's reputation. Unstable Devastation wanted to see just how Ye Feng intended to mingle in God's Domain in the future.
Unable to endure it any longer, Fire Dance abruptly burst out in rage. Her eyes sent a chill as she glared at Unstable Devastation, yelling loudly, "Unstable Devastation, you despicable little man! These people have all killed your Martial Union members under my commands! If you have the guts, then come at me!"
Originally, Fire Dance felt extremely joyful for being able to join Ye Feng's team. She did not think that she would cause Ye Feng such a mess. If Ye Feng killed all of these people right now, others would gossip, and nasty rumors about him would spread. Ye Feng would be slandered as a merciless person, a person willing to kill even those who had helped him in the past.
Although this matter was not of her doing, these people were still her past companions. She was responsible for leading them to kill the members of Martial Union. Now that these people had betrayed her and sided with Martial Union, bringing trouble to Ye Feng, she felt extremely apologetic towards Ye Feng.
"Fire Dance, we have no choice in this matter. We have to do this if we wish to obtain Martial Union's forgiveness and continue playing in Red Leaf Town."
"Fire Dance, this is our only way out. We hope that you can understand."
"That's right! They forced us, left us no way out. Let us kill you just this once!"
Fire Dance's companions closed the distance as they spoke. Some of the mage classes even started chanting their spells, prepared to launch their attacks.
"You guys..." Fire Dance's complexion turned extremely ugly. She immediately turned towards Feng, apologetically saying, "I'm sorry, Big Brother Ye Feng! I will definitely give you an account of this matter!"
"Unstable Devastation, you best listen up! I, Fire Dance, will immediately leave the team right now. I will no longer have any relations with Big Brother Ye Feng, so let me shoulder this debt between us!" Fire Dance immediately left the party. After her public declaration, she unsheathed her daggers as she walked forth, towards her companions. She intended to deal with these companions of hers personally. That way, Ye Feng would not experience in any sort of slander.
After seeing this, Unstable Devastation's complexion turned pale with anger. He did not think that this woman called Fire Dance would be so determined.
"Fire Dance, aren't you just making things harder for us? Regardless of the circumstances, we were once companions in the past. How could you treat us like this?"
"That's right! We've gone through life and death so many times together. Are you really going to treat us like this?"
Fire Dance's previous team voiced their accusations, one after another. These accusations deeply pierced Fire Dance's heart. The laughs and suffering they went through together, all the bonds had simply turned to smoke. The only thing she could do was hold back her tears and kill the emotions in her heart.
"Fire Dance, are you going to be so heartless as to kill us?" a middle-aged Assassin wearing grey-colored leather armor asked resentfully.
His words had immediately caused Fire Dance to pause.
However, immediately after, this middle-aged Assassin stabbed his dagger towards Fire Dance's heart.
Dang!
Before the gleaming dagger could reach its target, a pitch-black sword blocked the attack.
"Fire Dance, from the moment you agreed to join me, you became stuck with me. So unless I kick you out, you're not allowed to leave my party. Your resignation has been denied. And now that you're a member of my party, your problems are my problems as well. So, in regards to your painful memories, I will help you purge them all." Feng said as he smiled at Fire Dance, while standing in front of her. To Fire Dance, he towered like a mountain before her, blocking any and all dangers from reaching her.
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention one more thing to you guys. Anyone who joins my team has to keep in mind one important thing; if you constantly mind how others look at you, you will never truly improve your own strength and techniques. You don't have to care how others look at you. It is enough as long as you advance on the path that you wish to take. Only with that can you become a true expert."
"Big Brother Ye Feng..." Tears inadvertently leaked out from Fire Dance's eyes; Ye Feng's actions and words truly touched her heart. After listening to his words, it was as if the door to the realm of experts slowly opened for her. Maybe her hesitation held her back from becoming a true expert.
So what if he killed them? Who cared about others' opinions? The strong would never pay attention to such small matters. The only things they needed to consider were the courage to forge ahead and constantly raising their own strength!
By the side, after Water Buffalo listened to Ye Feng's words, his heart was inexplicably moved. He would never have thought Ye Feng would be such a dependable person; a person others could admire.
Meanwhile, Cola and the other two merely exchanged glances with each other, smiles plastered on their faces.
That's right! This was the leader that they respected and admired!
Immediately, Cola and the others stepped forward, one after another, blocking Fire Dance.
"Well said! So? What are you guys still waiting for?" Unstable Devastation felt extreme joy. He had recorded all of Ye Feng's words. When the time came, he could deny his actions.
"Ye Feng, you despicable little man! We've already helped you so much, yet, in the end, you still wish to kill us? You are simply inhuman!"
Fire Dance's ex-companions cursed, enraged. They all rushed at Ye Feng, one after another, intending to slash and bash him to death.
Feng only glanced at them and lightly waved the Abyssal Blade.
Thundering Flash!
Three electric arcs instantly weaved across the bodies of the twenty plus players, instantly killing everyone.
Meanwhile, the green prism marker above Feng's head instantly turned bloody red, giving others a chilling feeling.
"Big Brother Ye Feng!"
"Leader!"
Fire Dance and the others immediately panicked. If a player actively killed other players within a town, the guards would hunt them until death. Moreover, after the offending player revived, the guards would toss them in jail. Judging by the intensity of Feng's red name, he would lose at least three levels after death, maybe even four.
"Hahaha! Ye Feng's name is finally red and he's used that powerful skill! Without the town's protection, we can kill you here without any repercussions and make you lose all of your items!" Unstable Devastation laughed madly, saying, "Everyone else, get him! I will immediately promote whoever manages to kill Ye Feng into the leader of an elite team!" Unstable Devastation was excited when he saw Feng use Thundering Flash. He thought that the only reason Ye Feng previously killed him and his team was because he had been careless and didn't know Ye Feng had such a powerful skill. However, such a powerful skill must have a long cooldown, so he believed that Ye Feng was now powerless, and he would be able to easily kill him.
However, immediately after Unstable Devastation finished his words, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Has Ironsword Lion never told you how he died?" The next moment, Unstable Devastation was sent flying over the Martial Union members' heads, his HP reducing by half. By the time he landed, he was over twenty yards from his previous position. Everyone looked towards Unstable Devastation's previous location to see Ye Feng retracting his leg from a kicking position. It was evident what had happened, however, that only served to dumbfound the surrounding players even more. How high would Ye Feng's strength have to be to kick someone that far?
What they didn't know was that Feng had held back a lot of his strength. Had he not, Unstable Devastation would have turned into particles of light before he even managed to hit the ground
"Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, block him! Elementalists, use Ice Spheres! Focus all attacks and eliminate him!" Unstable Devastation commanded after snapping out of it and took out a Intermediate Recovery Potion to recover his lost HP.
Reacting quickly, the Shield Warriors and Berserkers immediately used Charge at Feng.
Seeing that more than ten warriors charged at Feng and were about to stun him, Feng abruptly leaped up, the Abyssal Blade carrying with it the power of thunder and lightning as he landed.
Boom!
A wave of thunder and fire devoured all of the warriors. Even the highest leveled Shield Warrior could not react in time and activate Shield Wall before Feng's Thunder Flame Explosion devoured him. There were no survivors. They all died in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a pile of equipment.
When the players from Martial Union witnessed this scene, they all stared in shock.
Previously, it was no big deal when Feng had instant-killed those crippled Level 5 to Level 6 players. However, the players he had just killed were no random Tom, Dick, or Harry. They were all Level 8 or Level 9 elites of Martial Union.
"Ranged players, attack with everything you've got!" Only now was Unstable Devastation aware of how formidable Feng was. His monster-like Attack Power could even instantly kill a Shield Warrior that boasted the highest Defense amongst all classes. No one present could defend against his attacks. Fortunately, they had the advantage of numbers. They could exhaust Feng to death.
Feng started calmly walking towards Unstable Devastation with a cold smile on his face. At this moment, the Guardian Knights all activated Protection Blessing as they rushed forward. Meanwhile, the mages behind them shot out streak after streak of magic.
Fireballs and Ice Spheres flew at Feng, one after another. However, the attacks seemed to be avoiding Feng as none of them managed to land, merely brushing past him as he continued walking with the same smile. He didn't even glance at the incoming magical attacks or the mages casting them. His gaze never left Unstable Devastation who was starting to feel bone-chilling fear.
Faced with another wave of melee classes charging at him, Feng activated Dark Violet Dance, using the 12-yard cone attack to engulf the Guardian Knights. Taking a step forward, Feng instantly circled the Guardian Knights, and continued walking forwards, using Earth Splitter to get rid of all the players in front of him before he resorted to regular attacks to one-shot any player that approached him. During all this time, his gaze didn't leave Unstable Devastation's eyes.
"Everyone, block him for me!"
Even when bombarded with so many spells and sieged on all sides by so many players, Feng still walked forth, step after step, leaving behind a massacre as he advanced. It was the first time Unstable Devastation felt such a deep-seated fear. To Unstable Devastation, Feng was no longer a player, but a devil. There was also the tangible killing intent that surrounded Feng. Although Unstable Devastation knew that this was only a game, the realistic effects of virtual reality caused Unstable Devastation to forget that this was just a virtual world completely. He had even forgotten how many elites of Martial Union had died and how grave the losses were to Martial Union.
The only thing Unstable Devastation knew was that he was in an extremely dangerous situation. If he did not escape immediately, only death awaited him.
Immediately, Unstable Devastation activated one of his lifesaving skills. He dashed forth, unhindered, then leaped high into the air. He was currently immune to all restricting effects. Feng's grin only widened when he saw Unstable Devastation in the air, and he slightly bent his knees.
Unstable Devastation suddenly felt something grab his leg while in mid air. He turned around to see what it was in confusion, and nearly shat himself when he saw Ye Feng grinning at him like a devil while holding his leg. With a swing of Feng's arm, Unstable Devastation flew downwards at a high speed, hitting the ground in the next moment and creating a pit.
Feng gently landed next to him like a weightless feather. As Unstable Devastation was trying to get up, Feng stepped on him and pushed him back into the pit while taking out a Level 20 Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold sword from his bag. Before Unstable Devastation could try to swing his arms to get Feng's foot off of him, Feng stabbed the two swords through his armguards and arms, nailing him to the ground.
Although players couldn't use a weapon's skills and attributes unless they equip it, they could still stab and hit people with them. But there was no point in doing that, as it's like hitting someone with a sharp stick, it wouldn't do much damage even if you stab someone through the heart, so people didn't do it as it was much more effective to use the weapon they have equipped. However, Feng wasn't relying on them to do damage, in fact he wanted to do as least damage to Unstable Devastation with them as possible. Since the weapons still retained their sharpness, it was easy for the Level 20 Dark and Light Gold swords to pierce through Unstable Devastation's Level 8 Iron rank armguards; and come out on the other side.
When the swords stabbed through his arms, Unstable Devastation groaned in pain. As an expert, he always kept his pain perception at 30%, so even though it didn't hurt as much as getting stabbed in real life, he still felt a stinging pain.
While Unstable Devastation was still reeling from the pain, Feng, who was still stepping on him, crouched down, leaned forward slightly, and slapped him across the face; taking away some of his HP.
The slap made Unstable Devastation even forget about the pain from his arms as he looked at Feng in disbelief, wondering if Ye Feng had really just slapped him. However, the stinging from his cheek told him that it was true. Before Unstable Devastation could curse at Feng, another slap turned his head sideways.
"You're really stupid, you know?" *Slap* "Did you really think that this little stunt would achieve anything?" *Slap* "Don't tell me you thought you could kill me if I didn't have the protection of the town?" *Slap* "Didn't it ever cross your mind why I would dare to kill someone in the town?" *Slap* "Or why I wasn't scared of you guys attacking me after I killed?" *Slap* "Or did you think that I wouldn't dare to kill those guys and you people?" *Slap* "Or that I would actually care what people thought of me?" *Slap* "Please. I couldn't give a damn what some casuals, I don't even know the names of, thought of me," *Slap* "The only thing that matters in this world is strength." *Slap* "Moreover..." Feng stopped slapping him for a second while narrowing his eyes with killing intent radiating from him. He clenched his hand into a fist *Punch* "Actually, your little stunt here actually angered me a bit." *Punch* "Because of you, Fire Dance, one of my party members, almost cried." *Punch* "What would people think of me if they found out a girl in my party cried because of me?" *Punch* "How am I supposed to get by later in life if that happened?" *Punch*
The people around stood rooted to the ground as they watch Unstable Devastation get slapped and punched while being lectured, completely dumbfounded. The others from Martial Union were similarly shocked as they witnessed this sight. Unstable Devastation was one of the big bosses of Martial Union. He was also a Level 8 Ranger. Yet, when facing Ye Feng, he had no power to retaliate at all. Just how strong was this Ye Feng?
As they listened to Feng lecture Unstable Devastation, they found the first part confusing as why didn't he fear killing in towns? The part about not caring about others' opinions and that only strength mattered was inspiring. Indeed, god-rank experts have a completely different mindset than regular players. But they became speechless after the last part. Didn't he just say that other people's opinions didn't matter and that only strength was important? Why did he immediately contradict himself? But they quickly figured out what he meant by 'get by in life'.
Meanwhile, Feng's party members had worship in their eyes as they watched an expert like Unstable Devastation become completely helpless in front of their leader, while Fire Dance turned beet red from Feng's words.
Blackie shook his head and thought that Feng was showing off too much, but when he felt the killing intent and brutality, as well as saw Feng's smile that was widening, his face contorted as he realized that side of Feng was slowly coming out. He wondered if he would have to interfere, but Feng suddenly stopped punching Unstable Devastation, causing him to feel relieved.
'The guards are going to be here soon.' Feng thought to himself and controlled the urge to kill that was creeping into his mind, he stood straight and looked at Unstable Devastation who looked like he was about to pass out. Perhaps there were stars spinning from his perspective.
"Wait... I think I remember you now. You're one of the guys I killed a few hours ago." Feng said as if he had just realized something "Ohhhh, so that's why you wanted to attack me." he nodded to himself, seemingly pleased with his realization and conclusion.
"Right didn't you say I'm going to be your stepping stone?" Feng asked while grinning. He lifted his foot from Unstable Devastation's chest, and then stepped onto his face. A pure blue flame appeared on his foot, and spread onto Unstable Devastation's face, before going to the rest of his body.
"Ahhhhhh" The feeling of being burned alive awoke Unstable Devastation from the beating he just received, and he couldn't help but scream. Feng had complete control over the Ice-Blue Devil flame, so he could do the least amount of damage while causing as much pain as possible, while also destroying Unstable Devastation's equipment.
The members of Martial Union didn't know if they should interfere. On one hand, their leader was being slowly burned to death; on the other, they were really scared. They might even become Feng's next target. So they just stood there in indecision, leaning towards the second option while listening to Unstable Devastation's screams. The guards should come soon anyway.
Why hadn't the town guards arrived yet?
This thought suddenly appeared in their minds. They felt that only the guards could protect them from Feng.
A few seconds later, all of Unstable Devastation's equipment was destroyed. At that point, Feng decided to put him out of his misery. The flames on Unstable Devastation's body increased, and his screams got even louder for a second before turning silent. With the screams gone, the entire plaza was deafly silent.
Feng noticed a Secret-Silver ranked longbow dropping after Unstable Devastation's death. It was probably the only thing that could drop, except the items in his bag, after Feng destroyed all of his equipment. He casually picked up the longbow and placed it in his bag. He then turned to look at the other members of Martial Union.
Although Feng did not take any action, only sending them a glance, his might had already deeply engraved into their minds.
The members of Martial Union all halted their actions, inadvertently backing off. They all revealed fearful expressions as they looked at Feng.
Faced with the members of Martial Union who dared not move, Feng only swept a glance at them; he did not rush up and kill them, merely walking towards where he had killed all the players to pick up the loot while humming to himself. As for the ones who were still alive? He couldn't be bothered with them. He'd only waste time to kill them and coins to compensate for killing in town. Their equipment was all low level and mostly Bronze and Common, so he won't get anything from killing them.
Meanwhile, Feng's actions had caused plenty of the surrounding onlookers to become tongue-tied.
A single glance from Feng was enough to petrify the hundreds of players from Martial Union. This power was just too frightening.
"Just who is this guy?"
"Is he a god-ranked expert?
The onlooking players were with both curious and shocked as they watched Feng. He had single-handedly faced off against several hundred players and even managed to kill tens of players without receiving any damage. Even a god-ranked expert was not capable of such a feat.
After some time, the town guards finally arrived.
"The guards are here! We're saved!"
Seeing dozens of guards in silver heavy-armor rushing over, the members of Martial Union sighed in relief.
At this moment, thousands of players surrounded the fountain plaza of Red Leaf Town.
Due to the increase of new players in God's Domain, Red Leaf Town had become the most prosperous town among the few surrounding towns. The player count in Red Leaf Town was already close to 20,000. Hence, the scene of Martial Union suddenly chasing away all the players from the town's fountain plaza would naturally attract the attention of other players; curiosity would grow over the disturbance.
This wasn't limited to independent players; even the other large Guilds had sent players over to investigate what Martial Union was up to.
When all these players arrived, they discovered that Martial Union currently attempted to carry out a vendetta against an independent player. Moreover, they did so right in the middle of Red Leaf Town. However, Red Leaf Town possessed a protective mechanism for players. If they started a battle here, the town guards would definitely appear. Not only would they kill red players on the spot, but they would also jail them upon revival. No matter how one looked at it, killing someone in town was unwise. Both sides would only suffer losses.
At this stage of the game, no matter how many players one had on their side, they still would not dare provoke the town guards.
Every player clearly understood how powerful these guards were.
As these guards would normally patrol around the town, players could easily find one and observe their statistics.
The normal guards alone were Level 60, while the guard captain was a Level 80 Elite. It would not matter how many players went up against them; any who resisted would only meet their demise. To put it another way, the current players in God's Domain had no abilities whatsoever to retaliate against the town guards.
However, nobody would have imagined that someone would actually take action. Moreover, the one who took action was that independent player.
Originally, everyone thought that the independent player was fated to die.
In spite of that, the results exceeded everyone's expectations. One man alone had massacred the players from Martial Union, instilling a paralyzing fear. This feat was too heaven-defying!
Unfortunately, even if that independent player were powerful, he would still die at the hands of the town guards. Who told them to start a fight right in the middle of town?
The town guards that hurried over had surrounded the fountain plaza, detaining all of the players involved in causing this ruckus.
"Big Brother Ye Feng, I'm sorry! It's my fault for dragging you into this mess!" Fire Dance apologized as she walked over.
Feng's character name had begun to turn black due to the high intensity of the red color. Just looking at it caused one to shudder. Including her past companions, Feng had killed more than a hundred players during this battle. With this Crime Value, if Feng died, he would lose at least seven Levels. Meanwhile, the town guards had them surrounded. The guards would kill all Red Players, leaving Feng no chance to escape.
This was still not the most important point. After the guards killed him, Feng would immediately revive in jail, and his Crime Value would determine the duration of his imprisonment. With Feng's Crime Value, he would be locked up for around a week before he could clear away his Crime Value.
The players of Martial Union watched Feng with ridiculing expressions. Although they, too would receive punishment, compared to Feng, theirs would significantly pale in comparison.
"Relax," Feng laughed.
Cola and the others had smiles on their faces. It was especially true for Violet Cloud. This was not the first time she had experienced such a situation. Martial Union had also caused the previous incident she encountered. She would have never imagined that history would repeat itself.
The reactions of Feng's teammates confused Fire Dance and Water Buffalo.
Why, as teammates, were Cola and the others not worried for Feng one little bit?
"Big Sister Fire Dance, you should relax. Our leader isn't an ordinary person," Violet Cloud giggled as she spoke.
The moment Violet Cloud finished speaking, a guard, donned with silvery-grey-colored heavy armor, walked up.
"Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter, we meet again. How may I be of service to you this time?" the guard captain was all smiles as he greeted Feng respectfully.
Compared to the last meeting, Feng's current reputation was much higher. Hence, the guard captain spoke to Feng with even more respect.
Although Feng and his teammates felt that the guard captain's actions were only natural, this scene shocked the other onlookers. It was especially true for the members of Martial Union; their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock. Feng was clearly a devil of massacre, yet, instead of quickly killing him, the guard captain spoke to him with such regard? What was going on in this world?
"Isn't that person Ye Feng?"
"I remember him. Last time, he killed the members of Martial Union right in front of the guards. In the end, he got away with simply paying a small sum of money. I was dumbfounded at that time, but later on, I found out that if a player became a noble, they gain special privileges. Even if he killed players right in front of the guards, he would not receive any sort of punishment. At worst, he would have to pay a small compensation fee."
"Yea, he was also the first to enter the City, so he's at least at Level 10 right now."
"How could Martial Union be so forgetful this time? They still dare to take action against Ye Feng inside of Red Leaf Town. Don't they know that Ye Feng is a noble of Red Leaf Town? How foolish could they get?"
"You might not know this, but the Martial Union in Red Leaf Town has already changed. The previous members have long since left the Guild, and Unstable Devastation is the new leader. Right now, the members of Martial Union are all players called in from other towns. A large majority of them also consist of newcomers, so they have no idea about this matter at all."
Some of the players aware of the previous incident simply shook their heads while laughing. They felt that Martial Union, as a Guild, was truly beyond salvation. Although it's already been two days and a lot of people have forgotten that someone has already entered the city, they should be at least a bit familiar with the name Ye Feng. At the very least, before they tried to deal with Ye Feng, they should have investigated and tried to understand more about him. Regardless of what others said, Ye Feng was one of the few players who managed to clear the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard and was the first to enter a city.
Hearing the explanation from these knowledgeable players, the faces of everyone from Martial Union turned grim. Only now did they know why Feng behaved so calmly. However, now that matters had reached this point, they could only glare at him, their gazes full of reluctance.
"Esteemed Lord Guard Captain, this isn't the first time these people from Martial Union have provoked me in town. I wonder if there is any way to prevent such incidents from happening in the future?" Feng asked with a smile.
"Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter, since this Guild called Martial Union has a record of past offense, with My Lord's high status, you can employ your rights to chase this Guild out of Red Leaf Town. However, you will have to pay a fixed amount of reputation to utilize this right. What will My Lord decide?" the Guard Captain stated.
"I wish to employ this right."
System: You have used your special privileges; Reputation in Red Leaf Town reduced by 100 points. Red Leaf Town will deport all members of Martial Union.
"As you wish, Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter!"
Immediately, the guard captain gave out the deportation order to his subordinates. However, all members of Martial Union currently in the fountain plaza would first sit in jail for three hours before their removal from Red Leaf Town. As for the other members of Martial Union, the guards would immediately exercise them from Town, and any who resist would be immediately killed.
Simultaneously, all members of Martial Union within Red Leaf Town received the deportation notice. The notice stunned every one of them, and even Unstable Devastation, who just revived with a stomach full of anger, was dumbfounded.
He had already given up on his plan to develop Martial Union in five different towns, and after much difficulty, he only just managed to solidify Martial Union's foundation in Red Leaf Town. Just as he was about to welcome a bright future, that future shattered.
"How could this be? Just what happened?" Unstable Devastation's mental state was a mess right now. Everything had happened far too quickly for him to react, and he was still feeling numb from the pain of getting burned alive.
He had wasted so much manpower, resources and a great amount of time, yet it all had gone to waste.
Just who was this Ye Feng?
Why did he possess such great authority? How could a Red Player have the authority to deport an entire Guild from a town?
For a time, countless questions darted through Unstable Devastation's mind. However, regardless of how hard he racked his brain, he could not think of any way to deal with this matter. He also could not change the fact that they were being deported. He could only watch as guards walked up to him, intending to chase him out of Red Leaf Town.
Everyone had sentimental attachments for their homeland. If they suddenly moved, within a short time, they could not adapt to the new location.
It was even more so for average players. They would not suddenly accept having to leave the location with which they were most familiar. Thus, they all promptly chose to leave Martial Union instead.
For a time, the member count of Martial Union frantically decreased. Only a few moments had passed since the deportation started, and the member count had already dropped below 500. The majority of the members who stayed mostly consisted of the members that Unstable Devastation had originally brought over from other towns. Hence, they did not choose to leave the Guild immediately. However, leaving for another town now would greatly impact their leveling speed. As a result, the Guild's development would stagnate for a long period.
The loss they incurred was simply immeasurable.
Watching the town guards deport the members of Martial Union, the onlooking players were at a loss; they were shocked into speechlessness.
Just what was happening here?
Could that Red Player be the new mayor of Red Leaf Town?
However, compared to Martial Union's exorcism, the members of other Guilds concerned themselves with another matter.
"Boss, I've discovered big news here. Look at the recording I just sent to you."
"Vice-Leader, I discovered another god-ranked expert."
"Big Bro, something big happened in Red Leaf Town. Someone in the fountain plaza has flipped over Martial Union's several hundred players by himself, and even the guards could do nothing against him."
The members of various large Guilds started contacting the upper echelons of their Guilds. They intended to report this unbelievable incident, letting the upper echelons determining their next move.
Originally, these upper echelons refused to believe the reports. However, after watching the irrefutable evidence, they were all greatly shocked.
Could a single player be so strong?
Feng had killed a Level 9 Shield Warrior in a single hit. Moreover, they were very familiar with this Shield Warrior. He was Cold Mountain Fighting Spirit, the core MT of Martial Union's elite team, and he was fully geared with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Yet, he still died from a single hit.
"Xuanzi, listen up. You must keep an eye on him. I'll hurry over there now. For such a god-ranked expert to actually be an independent player, we must recruit him. Remember, you absolutely cannot provoke him. If any problems occur, it'll all be on your head," Undefeated Wolf, the Vice-Leader of the third-rate Guild, Heaven's Crown, said sternly.
"Boss, rest assured; I'll keep an eye on him. I will not let him out of my sight."
At this moment, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds had made a similar decision: to recruit Feng into their Guilds, no matter what it took. One could no longer use the normal standard to judge a great expert like Feng. He was a tactical-ranked expert that could single-handedly decide the results of a team battle. If they could recruit him, be it Team Dungeons or fighting field Bosses, he would have a decisive role.
After the guard captain respectfully left, Fire Dance finally understood why her new teammates were not concerned one bit for Ye Feng.
However, more questions tumbled through her mind now.
Just who was Ye Feng?
Standing by the side, Water Buffalo finally managed to shut his hanging jaw. There was a saying commonly used in virtual reality games; a team's achievements depended on their leader. Right now, even the guard captain treated Ye Feng with such respect. With a team leader like Ye Feng, just to what heights would he lead them?
"There's too many people here. Let's go to a restaurant with fewer people before we continue our discussion." Feng surveyed his surroundings, discovering that there were over three or four hundred players staring fervently at him. This was not a suitable place to speak about his future plans.
Cola and the others nodded; they could no longer endure the countless stares either.
These gazes all belonged to independent players that wished to join their team. Among them, there were plenty who were Level 7 or Level 8. There were even quite a few wealthy players who offered tens of thousands of Credits in exchange for power-leveling, or in some cases, assistance with their quests.
There were also plenty of good-looking female players running up, asking to become friends. That aroused the envy of many male players. However, they were helpless in the face of Feng's ferocity. Feng was like a hero from ancient times. In this day and age, men who possessed powerful techniques were very attractive to beautiful women, not to mention a god-ranked expert like Feng.
"Sister Fire Dance, you have to strive harder! This is a great chance for you right now. In the future, as leader's popularity grows larger and larger, who knows, there might be even more powerful beauties joining the team!" Water Buffalo nudged Fire Dance, laughing quietly.
"Scram! Who said that I wanted to become Big Brother Ye Feng's girl-girlfriend!" Fire Dance stuttered, a light blush suddenly appearing on her cheeks.
---
Atop a hill, outside Red Leaf Town, hundreds of Martial Union's members gathered. They could only observe Red Leaf Town from the hilltop, not daring to go near the town.
"Despicable! Despicable! That damnable Ye Feng! All my plans have been ruined now because of him!" Unstable Devastation coldly glared at Red Leaf Town, his heart burning with anger.
Previously, he had looked down upon Ye Feng. He merely thought of Ye Feng as a vagabond expert; how powerful could he be?
Only now did he realize the crux of the problem; Ye Feng was no ordinary expert. As proven, he was even capable of deporting their entire Guild. If Unstable Devastation had known of this matter earlier, he would not have taken such a foolish action.
He was about upload the footage he had previously recorded, but suddenly remembered Feng's words, and realized that it wouldn't be effective, so, for only that reason, he decided not to upload the recordings. It definitely wasn't because he was scared that Ye Feng would come after him. He wasn't scared at all!
---
Inside a restaurant in Red Leaf Town, Feng finally managed to break away from all the pestering that had overwhelmed him. Nobody could disturb him inside a private room. He spent more than ten minutes discussing and arranging the necessary tasks for Cola and the others.
"Alright, everyone's dismissed. Go to the Silent Swamp and meet up with Blackie and Lonely Snow. Also, take these two Group Isolation Scrolls. Find a place inside of town to use these, then leave town and head for the Silent Swamp," Feng took out two Tier 1 Group Isolation Magic Scrolls, handing them to Fire Dance and Cola.
As he got up, he said "Right, you guys come to our Workshop in real life after you log off. Blackie will give you the details when you meet up, so I'll be expecting you there by the end of the day." Finished speaking, Feng immediately left the restaurant, not giving them a chance to refuse.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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