Chapter 144: Core of the System, Striving Upward Through the Struggle

The Primordial Altar.

A torrent of information generated by the players flashed rapidly through Qi Sheng's mind.

After three days of exploration, the novice players had basically grasped part of the background and settings of the Monster World.

The explored maps also began to diverge.

Some players headed to the mining district of the Emperor Tomb Village scene; after purchasing pickaxes, they earned the sacrificial power needed to boost their strength by mining. At this time, the mining district had upgraded to level 3, improving the grade of spiritual ores produced. Coupled with the spiritual qi nourishment of the Emperor Tomb Village scene, novices could also gain body-tempering experience while mining.

There were also novice players who had joined the ranks of veteran players, becoming experience babies along for the ride as they ventured into the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range to contend with the Black Black Tide and the Insect Black Tide.

Other novices went to the Colorful Mist Coast space, hunting low-level monsters in the comfortable environment.

More novice players were engaged in fierce combat with the Purple Black Tide army in the Winter Snowfield region.

Novice players all began their growth journey in ways they preferred.

During this process, veteran players welcomed a wave of benefits that only appeared when novice players debuted.

A large number of eliminated weapons and equipment found new uses.

For instance, low-grade weapons purchased from the mall, when consigned to the transaction row at a discounted price, would be snapped up instantly by novice players.

This was a happy event for veteran players, and likewise for novices, who could obtain beginner equipment at prices lower than those in the mall.

Supply for such weapons could not meet demand; after all, there were only thirty thousand veteran players, whereas the number of novice players was seventy thousand.

Many novices shouted on the forum for veteran players to quickly eliminate their current equipment and provide a wave of welfare sponsorship to the newcomers.

Besides mall weapons, many pieces of equipment crafted by veteran players were also bought in bulk.

For example, fishing rods eliminated early by fishing-faction players would be snapped up immediately if the price was right.

There were also earlier generations of weapons from the arms dealers; veteran players found them taking up space in their travel bags but were reluctant to discard them, so this time they could sell them to novice players in exchange for sacrificial power profits.

The arrival of novice players brought about a wave of equipment updates among veteran players.

The price of sacrificial power also skyrocketed during this period; converted to Human Federation credit coins, it reached a ratio of 1:320.

The culprits behind the surge in sacrificial power prices were the arms dealers and the Alchemist Guild; it was as if they had suddenly struck it rich, spending lavishly. As long as large amounts of sacrificial power were available, the price was negotiable, and they kept driving the price of sacrificial power higher.

In response, the pay-to-win players complained bitterly.

But what price one used to buy sacrificial power was a matter of personal freedom; aside from complaining, the pay-to-win players had no means to impose restrictions.

Some players did propose on the forum that everyone sell off their sacrificial power together, attempting to drive the price down.

At the time, quite a few players responded, but the sacrificial power sold was swallowed up in one gulp by the leaders of several major guilds, having no effect whatsoever on the upward trend.

The biggest change brought by the debut of novice players was the prosperity of the forum.

The daily increase in new posts grew more than threefold; during this time, a large number of old strategy guides were dug up and pinned to the top, with groups of novices exchanging guide content within the threads.

Examples included strategies for kiting Gargoyles while dealing damage, guided spellcasting for Harpy Mages, potent poison effect builds, and so on.

Strategy guides that veteran players considered outdated were, in the eyes of novice players, beginner manuals for exploring the world, capable of helping them find shortcuts to growth.

During this period, two Primordial monsters were successfully contained.

They were respectively:

[Magic Tower (Third-Generation Primordial)]:

Primordial Trait Introduction: Consumes spiritual energy to generate an energy magic tower. The tower can be controlled via spiritual energy to strike designated targets with energy beams, or it can be set to free-attack Cultivation Mode to assault any approaching target. (The tower's duration, attack intensity, and attack frequency are influenced by the user's spiritual energy strength and Soul Soul level).

The Magic Tower Soul Soul was contained by veteran players while exploring the Winter Snowfield region.

Furthermore, it was another powerful Soul Soul suitable for magic-system players.

After evaluation by the strategy-guide faction players on the forum, it received unanimously high praise, even spawning a new magic-system branch: the Star Vein Sect.

This sect was known on the forum as the Tower Defense Placement Style.

Among them, two Star Vein combinations received likes from a large number of players.

With the Magic Tower Soul Soul as the core, the most liked build was proposed by the forum player "Dark Archmage": the Triple Element Tower.

The matched Soul Souls were: Magic Tower, Bone Fire (Ink Flame), Running Thunder, Mud Demon (Dissolution), and Qi Devouring.

In the demonstration video, after the Magic Tower received combined enhancements from different Soul Soul traits, the released damage beam carried Ink Flame, lightning, and dissolution triple elemental damage. A single level-20 Magic Tower Soul Soul could last for 5 minutes and 30 seconds, during which time spiritual energy could continue to be injected to extend its duration.

In terms of output intensity, bolstered by the Magic Tower Soul, the damage dealt was extremely high.

The only drawback was that the Magic Tower's defense was not high; without team protection, it was easily destroyed by external forces.

The second most-liked Star Vein sect was proposed by the forum player Night Approaches: the Tower Defense Construction Style.

The matched Soul Souls were: Magic Tower, Bone Fire (Ink Flame), Flowing Shadow, Light Shield, and Qi Devouring.

This set of Star Vein combinations performed excellently in the demonstration video.

At the start, Flowing Shadow clones were used to build five Ink Flame Magic Towers around oneself; next came the Magic Tower's output, letting the towers protect oneself while one provided a Light Shield to protect the towers, forming a double layer of protection.

This Star Vein combination sect had very high room for future expansion.

Theoretically, as long as one possessed enough Star Vein slots and body-tempering levels, one could build multiple towers with mixed elements, focusing on victory through quantity.

In the strategy guide post he published, Night Approaches also provided an enhanced version: the Element Torrent Tower.

The Soul Soul combination was: Ocean Absorption (not yet contained), Qi Devouring, Magic Tower, Ink Flame, Flowing Shadow, Light Shield, Running Thunder, Darkness (not yet contained), Divine Light (not yet contained), Water Explosion (not yet contained), Mental Spike (not yet contained), Mental Interference (not yet contained)...

The characteristic of this combination was mixed elemental attacks plus mental-level impacts, maximizing output efficiency.

Its performance in the demonstration scene left many players dumbfounded; after Night Approaches placed three Element Torrent Towers, he summoned thousands of monsters to launch a siege.

Yet the three Element Torrent Towers killed all thousands of monsters, which were of the same Soul Soul level, in just three rounds of output.

However, this combination was merely a future prospect; at the current stage, players' Star Vein levels, body-tempering levels, and even the number of contained Soul Souls were insufficient to create such a super Star Vein template.

The second Soul Soul to be contained was:

[Mark (First-Generation Soul Soul)]:

Primordial Trait Introduction: Marks a designated target by focusing one's gaze. All ranged attacks can trigger the mark to achieve an automatic trajectory correction effect. (Activating the Mark continuously consumes spiritual energy).

In testing, the Mark Soul Soul proved very suitable for use by ranged physical players and magic-system players.

One could cast a mark, throw a skill behind one's back, and then activate the Mark trait to accurately hit the target, though there was a possibility of interception midway.

After the Mark was activated, every second that a spell or arrow altered its flight trajectory would consume spiritual energy.

The greater the distance, the more spiritual energy was consumed.

It was suitable for powerful damage dealers to use, ensuring precise hits on designated targets and reducing ineffective output.

After testing by the forum's strategy-guide faction players, they also developed a weakness-strike tactic: marking a monster's fatal spot, such as the head, and then continuously striking that weakness, achieving precise strikes while moving, similar to a kiting tactic.

However, in terms of strength, it was classified as T3 tier for the current version, as no extremely powerful Star Vein combinations had been developed for it yet.

The opening of new exploration scenes brought an acceleration in the containment of Soul Souls.

But for novice players, Star Vein combinations were meaningless; what they cared about most was first raising their single Soul Soul level, then boosting their body-tempering to level 1, so they could inherit attributes to fight in their main body form.

After all, players who played the Monster Beast Style were ultimately a minority; the vast majority of players preferred, and were more accustomed to, fighting in their main body form.

Scrolling through forum information, Qi Sheng discovered that the popularity of a popular science strategy guide post was climbing at an astonishing speed, soon rocketing to the top of the forum popularity charts.

[Popular Science on Star Vein Levels, Body-Tempering Levels, and Star Vein Combinations.]:

Poster: May the Holy Light Be With You

Content:

Recently, I've noticed many novices asking about the comparison between Star Vein combinations that raise multiple Soul Souls and the Monster Beast Style that raises a single Soul Soul, wondering which is stronger.

I just want to tell you that the strength of the Monster Beast Style exists only in the early game; its late-game strength is unbearable to look at. Novices, don't be misled by Monster Beast Style players.

Here, let me explain to everyone why Star Vein combinations become stronger the later the game progresses.

Before explaining, everyone needs to understand one thing: the core argument of Monster Beast Style players has always been that cultivating multiple Soul Souls is difficult, not as easy as cultivating a single one, but this viewpoint is wrong! And wrong by a ridiculous margin!

They clearly haven't figured out what the core setting of the game is.

Because the strength of a Soul Soul trait is not influenced solely by the Soul Soul level; it is also affected by one's own attributes.

Take the Harpy Mage as an example.

A level-1 Harpy Mage has a perception range with a radius of 50 meters; a level-2 Harpy Mage Soul Soul has a perception radius of 75 meters. Increasing by one level raised the perception radius by 25 meters. (Subsequently, as the Soul Soul level increases, the perception range added per level will increase significantly).

Suppose a level-1 Harpy Mage is paired with a level-2 Qi Devouring; the perception range radius becomes 56 meters.

Surely some novices are puzzled: where did the extra 6-meter radius come from?

Here, we must mention a core setting in the game: attribute amplification of Soul Soul effects.

Besides the Soul Soul level, the Harpy Mage's perception range is also influenced by the spiritual energy strength attribute; the higher the spiritual energy attribute, the higher the additional perception range.

It's just that this isn't as high an increase as that brought by leveling up the Soul Soul itself.

Therefore, many Soul Souls, once inlaid, don't need to have their levels raised at all, or only need to be raised a few levels casually before they can be used.

Take my Star Vein combination as an example: Ink Flame (level 39), Qi Devouring (level 23), Flowing Shadow (level 22), Extreme Speed (level 8), Bind (level 5), Harpy Mage (level 1).

I opened six Star Vein slots, among which the Harpy Mage has always remained at level 1.

But do you know what my perception range is when I activate the Harpy Mage trait?

Answer: A perception radius of 155 meters.

Aside from the initial 50 meters, the entire coverage of the perception range is additional enhancement brought by spiritual energy attributes.

Explaining it to this point, brothers, do you understand?

Not every Soul Soul needs to be heavily cultivated and leveled up; as long as the trait is useful, just inlay it and be done with it.

The only thing players need to judge is whether the factor influencing the Soul Soul trait's effect is blood qi strength or spiritual energy strength; other issues are not issues.

The spiritual energy strength increase I gain from raising Ink Flame can radiate and strengthen other Soul Souls; this is the core setting of the game.

So when Monster Beast Style players say that having many Soul Souls is hard to cultivate, they are purely misleading newcomers.

Let me put it this way: in the late game, without the enhancement rules of the Monster Beast Style, this sect would be the lowest rung among all sects; where would its growth potential come from?

If one insists on asking what the disadvantage of the Star Vein sect is, there is only one: the cost of Star Vein levels is very expensive.

As for the cost of raising body-tempering levels, that is not a problem at all.

The process of raising body-tempering levels brings attribute amplification, so the expenditure in this aspect is inherently strengthening one's own strength.

But raising the Star Vein rank is different; it is an ever-increasing expense.

Opening the second Star Vein slot costs 500 Sacrificial Power, the third costs 1000 Sacrificial Power... by the seventh Star Vein, the cost reaches 16,000 Sacrificial Power, becoming more expensive the further one goes.

Therefore, the greatest expenditure for players using the Star Vein Combination Sect is truly not the Body Tempering rank, but the Star Vein rank.

A Body Tempering rank of 3 is roughly sufficient for three main Soul Souls in the early stage, but the Star Vein rank becomes more expensive the higher it goes; this is precisely the charm of the Star Vein Combination gameplay, so Monster Stream players, please do not mislead newcomers.

I am very lazy and did not want to post a guide, but seeing a group of Monster Stream players shouting for newcomers to join their Monster Stream, I simply could not hold back anymore.

Comment Section:

Berserk Chick: Liked and supported. Your point is something not only newcomers but actually many veteran players have failed to realize: in the Star Vein Combination Sect, the Star Vein rank is the core, yet many players believe the Body Tempering rank is the core. One can only say that Body Tempering provides an all-around boost, while Star Veins offer a super boost unique to the Combination gameplay.

I Am Old Six: Thanks for the guide post. I am a two-month veteran player with four Star Vein slots, yet I am still burying my head in raising my Body Tempering rank; it seems I have put the cart before the horse. It turns out Star Veins are the mainstream for our gameplay style, allowing us to enhance the performance of Soul Soul traits through attribute increases.

May the Holy Light Be With You (OP) replying to I Am Old Six: Raising the Body Tempering rank is not a loss; it must be raised eventually in the late game. For example, for the Qi-Eating Soul Soul of the Magic System, the recovery effect brought by Mental Power amplification is far inferior to the effect brought by raising the Qi-Eating Soul Soul rank itself.

Geng Prime Minister: Post bookmarked and liked. This issue indeed exists; the importance of the Star Vein rank has been severely underestimated on the forum. Only in the early stage is the Body Tempering rank more important than the Star Vein rank, but in the late game, the importance of the Star Vein rank far exceeds that of the Body Tempering rank.

Do Not Snatch the Abbot from Me: I do not care; the Monster Stream is number one under heaven. I believe the officials will release enhancement rules for the Monster Stream in the late game. My Monster Stream is destined to be invincible under heaven; in the late game, a single stomp will make the great earth tremble, raising my body will block out the sun and sky, a single spit will turn into a vast ocean, one sneeze will cause the heavens to collapse and the earth to split, and a single palm strike will shatter mountains and rivers.

Flirting Little Bull: Are not all Monster Stream players mounts? If a Monster Stream player is not ridden, their monster life is incomplete. I have always believed that the emergence of Monster Stream players is meant to compensate for the game's lack of a mount function (Brick-Moving Party laughing arrogantly.jpg).

The appearance of this educational post correctly explained the respective characteristics of the Star Vein rank and the Body Tempering rank, as well as the comparison of their importance.

Just as the player stated, the Monster Stream only displays powerful performance in the early stage when the number of embedded Soul Souls is small.

In the late game, the rise of the Star Vein Combination Stream is inevitable.

As the Star Vein slots continue to open and the number of embedded Soul Souls increases, the players' strength will undergo a qualitative transformation.

This is the combat power amplification brought by fusing trait powers, and it is also the core setting of the Star Vein Combination growth system crafted by Qi Sheng.

The player who posted the thread indeed touched upon the core key of the growth system.

The Monster Stream is playable, but it is ultimately not the core gameplay of the game; the combat power amplification it provides will gradually create a significant gap compared to the Star Vein Combination gameplay as time goes on.

As for whether territory rules enhancing the Monster Stream gameplay will be accommodated in the future, he himself is unclear.

Just then, Qi Sheng suddenly recalled the world rule brought by the external faction he saw before discovering the Winter Snowfield scene: Gigantification.

He turned his head to look at the Guidance floating beside him:

"Guidance, can the Challenger System integrate the power of world rules brought by external factions?"

[Of course it can, but the fusion process will inevitably consume a large amount of Sacrificial Power. The Challenger System we have built can be understood as a growth system similar to Star Vein slots; every rule territory is like a Soul Soul. Although external world rules do not match, consuming Sacrificial Power can make this rule compatible with our Challenger System, providing players with the blessing of external world rule power.]

[You, who possess Di Zhao to solidify our origin, can generate Sacrificial Power that transforms all things; there is nothing that cannot be achieved. If it cannot be done, it only proves that the Sacrificial Power is insufficient.]

Guidance's answer gave Qi Sheng an additional goal.

Henceforth, every time the player legions eliminate a cheating faction, the cheats they used will become growth assistance for the player legions.

The premise is that the cheats must still exist after they are eliminated.

Just then, information fed back by Guidance interrupted his thoughts.

His consciousness immediately switched to the Winter Snowfield scene.

Winter Snowfield.

A bonfire flickered in the cold wind; over ten Tianyu Clan players sat around it, warming themselves by the fire and eating to replenish their stamina.

The equipment they wore was all discarded gear from veteran players, most of which was Mall equipment.

Mall equipment requires no worry about whether it fits; in the hands of any player, it will automatically adjust to an adaptive wearing Cultivation Mode.

"This damn weather is freezing me to death."

The leader, Yu Ling, exhaled a cloud of white mist, rubbed his hands vigorously over the firepile while unable to help complaining, then reached up to pat his hair, knocking the snowflakes off his white hair.

Once his hands were warm, he took a can of food from his Spatial Satchel and began eating in large mouthfuls to replenish his stamina.

"Stupid Bird, why are we not going to fight the Purple Black Tide? Why are we blazing our own exploration trail?" a Tianyu Clan player sitting beside him asked curiously at this moment.

"Obviously for the hidden rewards. Have you not seen many guide posts on the forum writing that many special rewards are discovered when exploring unknown scenes? This new map, the Winter Snowfield, is still in the initial stage of exploration, so it definitely hides quite a few easter egg scenes; finding one means getting rich."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up to develop. We have already fallen quite far behind the Human Clan in strength; let us strive to catch up soon... I wonder which map the Moon Eclipse Clan is in; their strength is probably even higher than the Human Clan's. Once I grow strong enough, I will kill them until they quit the game."

Directly in front, a handsome white-haired Tianyu clansman poked the bonfire with a wooden stick and said in a displeased tone:

Hearing this, Yu Ling swallowed the food in his mouth, raised his head, and looked at his good brother:

"You are just tough-tongued. Every time I hear you talk about slaughtering the Moon Eclipse Clan indiscriminately, are you not beaten until you flee in panic, only to resurrect and continue being tough-tongued, claiming you will definitely kill them next time? The question is, have you ever won?"

"Of course I have. I calculated it; in the previous conquest game, I killed at least 300 Moon Eclipse clansmen."

"Then how many times were you killed?"

"That was not recorded; it is not important."

Hearing these words, all the Tianyu clansmen before the bonfire burst into laughter.

Resisting the Moon Eclipse Clan has always been a tradition for the Tianyu Clan when playing virtual games, and it is also a gaming tradition for many Earth races.

In every game, a coalition of alien races fights against the ruling position of the Moon Eclipse Clan in the virtual game.

This game is no exception; although they have yet to witness Moon Eclipse Clan players, they have already prepared for future resistance.

After a brief rest, the group, led by Yu Ling, flapped their wings and flew into the sky.

The cold wind above was biting, whistling as it slashed across their cheeks.

The group of Tianyu clansmen moved in their original forms; without the blessing of Soul Soul attributes, they felt every inch of skin being invaded by the cold current, freezing until their teeth chattered.

Struggling to maintain bodily balance in the strong air currents, every wing flap felt like fighting against nature; breathing in the icy air felt as substantial as pouring it into their lungs, making breathing difficult and painful, their throats seeming to be tightly strangled by an invisible pair of hands.

Snowflakes continuously smashed against their bodies, accumulating on their white hair before being blown away by the gale, repeating in a cycle.

"Oh my god, I am going to freeze to death; why do not we just switch to Soul Soul form and walk over?" a Tianyu Clan player complained in the team voice channel.

"As a member of the Tianyu Clan, do you not feel ashamed saying the word 'walk'? We are eagles soaring in the sky; the sky is our home turf, we fear no biting cold wind, and we fight against the vast heavens."

As Yu Ling spoke, his body shivered; the cold wind rushing into his mouth suddenly changed his expression, causing his body to tremble along with it, drawing a round of mockery from his friends.

While chatting idly, over ten figures shuttled through the sky above the silver-clad snowy ground, cutting across a quiet and profound winter scroll.

Half an hour later, a Challenger Prompt sounded in their minds:

[Challenger Prompt: New scene discovered: Snow Giant Mountain Range; obtain 300 points of Sacrificial Power reward (shared by team players).]

Accompanying the prompt, the map automatically popped up; the fog at their location dissipated, revealing the four golden characters "Snow Giant Mountain Range" as a label.

Cheers immediately erupted in the team chat channel.

At this moment, the over ten figures dove down, folded their wings after passing through the falling snow, and landed on the ground.

Ahead lay a snow-covered mountain range, blanketed in pure white snow.

Between the mountain ridges, gullies crisscrossed and glaciers intertwined, resembling the veins of the earth.

Yu Ling and the others decided to begin their exploration from here, searching for potentially hidden bonus scenes.

Climbing upward along the rugged mountain path, their vision pierced through the falling snow to see a brilliant starry sky lying across the horizon, the vast galaxy magnificent and awe-inspiring.

"Get the gear ready," Yu Ling said in a deep voice at this moment.

With that, he raised his hand and condensed a Scattered Arrow Bow, while the other players who had not embedded the Scattered Arrow Soul Soul took out various weapons purchased from the Trading Row.

Gazing forward, they saw a group of round-bodied, innocently cute snow monsters.

Focusing their gaze, analysis information flooded into their minds:

[Snow Fluff Ball]:

Hunting Rank: 2

Target Analysis: Low-level monsters growing in the Winter Snowfield region; they are at the bottom of the snowfield ecological chain and are also one of the main food sources for high-hunting-rank snowfield monsters.

Target Analysis: A low-level monster native to the Winter Snow Plains, occupying the bottom tier of the snow plain ecosystem and serving as a primary food source for high-hunting-rank snow plain creatures.

Seeing that the hunting rank of this group of round monsters was only 2, Yu Ling and the others immediately became excited.

This group of monsters posed no threat and was perfect for leveling up.

The Tianyu Clan warriors one after another switched to their Soul Soul forms, charging into the Snow Fluff Balls to begin their slaughter Cultivation Mode.

Facing the attack, the Snow Fluff Balls bulged like inflated balls, using their heads to ram the Tianyu clansmen, but this method of attack posed no substantial threat whatsoever.

Before long, the squad led by Yu Ling had slain dozens of Snow Fluff Balls.

On the ground lay a pile of fur left behind after extraction.

Through analysis, it could be discovered that this fur was all spiritual material, usable for sacrificing to Di Zhao or for crafting into warm clothing.

This unexpected gain invigorated the spirits of the entire squad.

One of the joys of playing the game for them was killing monsters to level up, especially the joy brought by monster drops.

Although the Monster World lacks the setting of monsters randomly dropping equipment, reducing the sense of unknown expectation during treasure hunting, the setting of dropping materials adds a layer of realism.

Storing the dozens of pelts into their Spatial Satchels, they continued their journey.

Summoning the map revealed that their current position was 27 kilometers in a straight line from the Novice Village exit.

The top right corner of the map also displayed real-time changing local weather icons, but the Winter Snowfield region remained in heavy snow weather without any change.

"Should we die back or fly back later?" Yu Ling asked in the voice channel.

"Nonsense, of course we die back; flying back would be too much suffering. Hurry up and raise the Body Tempering to rank 1; without the blessing of Soul Soul attributes, this weather is too unfriendly to us." A Tianyu Clan player in the team, having switched back to his main form, shivered and complained.

While the Tianyu player squad chatted idly, they continued exploring deeper into the mountain range.

Along the way, they encountered two more waves of Snow Fluff Balls moving in groups, raising everyone's Soul Soul rank to level 6.

Just then, a Challenger Prompt sounded in their minds:

[Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Domain Node region "Kongyuan Peak" discovered.]

[Challenger Notification (All Channels): Domain node region "Kongyuan Peak" discovered.]

Territory Type: Resource

Territory Type: Resources

Territory Trait: Spiritual Ore Generation (Special Spiritual Ore)

Trait Description: Continuously generates a single type of spiritual ore, "Void Origin Stone," which can be used to craft space-type items or consumed to open spatial inventory slots.

Domain Status: Occupied by Monsters

……

The discovery of the new scene was immediately fed back to Qi Sheng's mind by the Guide.

This domain scene made Qi Sheng's eyes light up.

The special ore "Void Origin Stone" is one of the crucial resources for opening space.

At the current stage, a major expenditure for veteran players lies in opening spatial inventory slots.

Although Sacrificial Power can transform all things, the higher the grade of the item being transformed, the more resources are consumed.

Space-type resources are among those with the highest transformation costs.

Nowadays, there are increasingly many places to spend Sacrificial Power; too many veteran players complain that the output of Sacrificial Power is too low while the places to spend it are too numerous.

If this domain node could be contained, the price of opening spatial inventory slots could be lowered in the future, allowing players to spend more Sacrificial Power on improving their own strength.

The viewpoint switched at this moment to the players who had discovered these domain nodes.

……

"Holy crap, we actually found a special scene, brothers."

"Finding it is useless; how many domain nodes have been discovered in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region? The key is whether we can take them down."

"Is there a possibility that this node is occupied by weak Snow Fluff Balls, allowing us to capture it with our current strength?"

"Let's go; we'll know once we take a look."

Filled with anticipation of capturing the node, the group climbed up the snow mountain.

Although they were all novice players, they knew that domain nodes were generally occupied by various factions and were not something a small team could easily capture.

Crossing a massive boulder that blocked their view, ahead lay a steep mountain ridge and cliff Iron Face.

Just as the Sky Feather Tribe players prepared to advance toward the domain node location marked on the map, the ground suddenly trembled.

A terrifying creature with curved ox horns on its head raised its head from the wind and snow, emerging from below the cliff.

The monster's body was so huge it resembled a moving small hill; even the towering snow mountain appeared slightly inferior in contrast.

Its burly body was covered in sharp, hard ridged spines that emitted a cold glint under the reflection of ice and snow; most striking were the pair of curved ox horns atop the monster's head, resembling ancient tree roots deeply embedded in the firmament, while the two thick arms it raised to scale the peak looked like two heavenly pillars.

Discovering the invasion of the Sky Feather Tribe players into its territory, the monster lifted its head and let out a deafening roar.

The sound was like a surging Black Tide of thunder, echoing and reverberating between the snowy ridges.

It shook the falling snowflakes from the sky into a whirlwind, creating a snowless world within that area.

The terrifying scene before their eyes stunned the group of Sky Feather Tribe players.

After their gazes focused, the monster's analysis information appeared:

[Snow Ridge Great Desolation]:

Hunting Level: 92

Target Introduction: A monster generated through multiple generations of evolutionary changes after Snow Fluff Balls long-term absorption of energy from the Void Origin Peak node; it possesses space-type attack capabilities.

……

Seeing the Hunting Level, the group of Sky Feather Tribe players were dumbfounded.

If the Hunting Level were below 15, they would have confidence in defeating the monster through skilled combat coordination.

But a Hunting Level of 92 had already exceeded the limit of what they could handle.

Absolute suppression by strength could not be compensated for by tactics or items.

The violent airflow brought by the roar alone caused their health bars to drop by more than half; by any measure, it was a dead end.

The leading Spirit Tamer at this moment took out a game-version cigarette from his spatial inventory, purchased from the Trading Row and made by a Spirit Chef player using spiritual plants, priced at 0.05 Sacrificial Power per stick; calmly lighting it, he took a deep drag, turned around, slowly closed his eyes, and sighed with emotion as he exhaled white mist:

"Thrilling."

The other Sky Feather Tribe players also sighed one after another, each lighting a cigarette, looking at the Snow Ridge Great Desolation with indifferent expressions, adopting an air of calmness that placed life and death beyond consideration.

Just then, a terrifying giant hand carrying a wild wind slammed down violently.

Boom!

The protruding mountain peak was instantly flattened.

More than ten Sky Feather Tribe players were unquestionably slapped into black mist by the Snow Ridge Great Desolation, their souls returning to Di Zhao.

After the players died, Qi Sheng's consciousness continued to advance below the Snow Ridge.

Sweeping his consciousness over, he discovered 387 Snow Ridge Great Desolations living in the snow valley below the Snow Ridge; he immediately abandoned the idea of issuing a Purification Mission.

Although it was occupied by monsters, the strength of this batch of monsters was clearly beyond what players at the current stage could contend with.

The viewpoint jumped at this moment to the main battlefield of the Winter Snowfield.

The abstract hooligan brawling continued to play out; the scene could be described as noobs pecking at each other.

Novice players were already very weak; Qi Sheng always believed that the vast majority of players at the current stage relied on attribute suppression to defeat opponents, while their own combat skills and combat awareness were far inferior to the various factions of the Monster World, including those weak races.

In a 1v1 situation with similar attributes, players would most likely suffer a crushing defeat.

The Ancient God Arena proved this point very well.

But the Bliss Evil Spirits used facts to prove that no one could be weaker than them at the same combat power level.

This was also the first time Qi Sheng had seen players in the Monster World complete a level-skipping monster kill while at a numerical disadvantage.

But this was precisely the reason he chose to open the Novice Village space here.

The monsters on the snowfield would eventually be killed off completely.

But the troops created by the Lord of Bliss would not.

It had invested considerable resources here and certainly would not give up easily; choosing to establish a test base on this snowfield was also due to the value of using a large number of low-level monsters for training troops.

Theoretically, by providing players for the Lord of Bliss to train troops, was he not helping it develop?

As for whether the combat power system created by the Lord of Bliss could keep up with the players' growth speed, he was even less worried.

The positioning of the Lord of Bliss was different from that of the Earth Chant Evil Spirit.

The Earth Chant Evil Spirit was merely an insignificant combat unit within the terrifying Black Black Tide; there were too many Evil Spirit Warriors stronger than the Earth Chant Evil Spirit, so it could not exclusively enjoy the support resources given by the Black Black Tide.

But the Lord of Bliss itself was the leader of a faction, capable of supplying massive resources to the test base.

The only problem needing worry was how long the Lord of Bliss could endure under the players' rapid growth, and whether it would have an emotional breakdown and give up playing prematurely.

……

Bliss Main Hall.

Above the Random Teleportation Altar, the Lord of Bliss sat cross-legged; standing beside it was Xie Yu, one of the twelve path gods of the Bliss Clan.

Just then, a message from the test base emerged in the Lord of Bliss's mind.

In the footage transmitted from the Winter Snowfield, a group of player clans were engaging in a snow brawl with the Bliss Evil Spirits it had replicated and created; both sides fought like hooligans, the combat was utterly chaotic, and the scene was a mess.

"My Lord, how should we deal with the player clans? Do you need me to intervene?" Xie Yu, standing to the side, asked in a deep voice.

Hearing this, the Lord of Bliss shook its head with a calm expression:

"The testing ground happens to lack whetstones; the strength of this descending player clan is far inferior to the members of the player clan that invaded the Bliss Palace last time, making them perfectly suited for the current Purple Black Tide; in my view, this is a good thing."

After speaking, the Lord of Bliss turned its head to look at Xie Yu:

"Our experiments cannot remain forever in the infrastructure construction stage; only actual combat can help us discover flaws and find directions for improvement and progress."

Hearing this, Xie Yu opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped, ultimately choosing silence.

"Xie Yu, do you want to ask me why I insist on imitation, and why I am simultaneously imitating the legion and ability architectures of these three models: the Terrifying Black Black Tide, the Combat Insect Race, and the Blue Lamp Race?"

Xie Yu lifted his head, looking at the towering figure sitting cross-legged on the teleportation array; after hesitating, he still nodded:

"My Lord, why not choose one direction? To imitate three directions simultaneously will undoubtedly waste a vast amount of Bliss Power."

Hearing this, a hint of a smile appeared in the Lord of Bliss's eyes:

"Because I cannot judge which legion model is more suitable for us; I have never given up on the path of pursuing innovation, yet I also understand how difficult technological innovation is; these three legions are all powerful races in my eyes that have climbed to the peak of the world; I wish to try walking the path they took to climb to the summit once again, learning their essences, blending the strengths of many schools, and ultimately forging my own peak path."

Speaking, the altar rotated, bringing the Lord of Bliss to Iron Face Xie Yu directly, as it said softly:

"Have you ever thought about returning to our homeland?"

"I swear to follow my Lord to death; if the Lord does not retreat, I will not retreat," Xie Yu immediately knelt on one knee and said.

"I know you miss the past; am I not the same?" Speaking, the Lord of Bliss raised its right hand; instantly, purple light enveloped the scene of the main hall.

Bliss Power generated an illusion of the homeland.

The Lord of Bliss's gaze pierced through the crisscrossing light and shadow, penetrating the river of time, returning to the past within the illusion; its eyes hid an indescribable tenderness and nostalgia, as if gently stroking the contours of old times within its memories.

The corners of its mouth unconsciously curved upward.

"Shrouding the world in Bliss, my world will henceforth have no pain, sorrow, or despair..."

The Lord of Bliss looked at itself standing at the peak of the world within the memory scene, its eyes full of nostalgia.

"At that time, my goals were pure, and I bore no shackles."

As it spoke, a trace of imperceptible sadness quietly climbed onto the Lord of Bliss's brows, but it was quickly submerged by that nostalgia.

"After coming to this world, do you know why I am unwilling to go back?"

Facing the inquiry, Xie Yu remained silent for a brief moment before speaking:

"This subordinate does not know."

"Only after realizing one's own ignorance can the pride deep in one's bones be shattered; but admitting one's ignorance does not equate to denying oneself; I have merely found a broader path."

"The former me already stood at the mountain peak, looking down upon all living beings in the world; only until curiosity drove me through the clouds above did I discover I was merely standing at the starting point of an even higher peak; what was frustrated was the pride deep in my bones, and what was ignited was the hot blood chasing the future."

Speaking to this point, a trace of self-mockery appeared in the Lord of Bliss's eyes:

"The process of having one's confidence frustrated is undoubtedly painful; the Calamity War of those years is forever imprinted in the depths of my heart, becoming a haze that showed me my own insignificance, but this pain also urges me forward; now, more and more living beings are entering the Monster World, and the global situation changes every minute and every second."

"Countless living beings vie for the summit of the world, striving to cross over; only then did I realize this vast world could become so magnificent. In that moment, I swore an oath: even if I am crushed to dust, I will join this long struggle to cross over, even if I ultimately become a stepping stone trampled beneath other powers."

"To choose between being an ant ruling a minor world or contending with countless races in the vast world, I chose the latter."

"Though I am but an ant, I refuse to eke out an existence in dark corners. I gaze up at the firmament, vowing to measure the world's edges with my slender legs and shake the seemingly impregnable wall of fate with my meager strength. I firmly believe that being born weak is not the final chapter of my destiny, but the overture inspiring me to rise and strive. I will start as the weak and stand proudly atop the mountain peaks."

Xie Yu standing before him remained silent; in the eyes of the Lord of Bliss, it saw endless desire.

It seemed as though everything in the world could be trampled beneath its feet. Past confusion and cowardice had been swept away by the surging heroism in its heart, leaving only boundless longing for the future and a thirst for conquest. Its ambition seemed ready to pierce the firmament, to grasp the stars and bright moon, writing its own legendary chapter in the Monster World with a fearless stance.

"My Lord, Xie Yu vows to follow in your footsteps unto death."

Upon hearing this, the rapidly shifting Iron Face of the Lord of Bliss froze, and a smile appeared on his handsome visage:

"The resources allocated to the testing grounds account for less than one ten-thousandth of the Jile Palace's output. Continue to increase resource investment in the future. Imitation and replication are not only how we learn and progress, but also how we understand our opponents. If we have the chance to stand at the summit of the world in the future, these three powerful races will be formidable enemies as we continue to climb. Only by understanding them can we defeat them more effectively."

"This subordinate understands." As Xie Yu spoke, its gaze also became resolute.

(End of Chapter)