Chapter 151

Earth.

Bloodkill City.

This is a large city with a population of 15 million, divided into two districts: East and West.

The East District is inhabited by the Jumang tribe.

They have human-like appearances and forms, with adult members averaging 2.3 meters in height; they enjoy painting complex totems on their skin, bearing a mark of honor on the left chest—each time they kill a strong enemy, a black ring is branded onto their left chest; their attire blends natural wildness with the mysterious aesthetics of ancient tribal times, creating a striking visual impact.

Every adult Jumang binds a blood-red ribbon around their left hand.

According to records in the StarNet database, in ancient times the Jumang faced an unprecedented crisis: foreign invasions and natural disasters struck their homeworld in succession, bringing their tribe to the brink of extinction; at this desperate moment, a hero named "Bing Xue Ya" stepped forward and single-handedly turned the tide of a war nearly leading to their annihilation.

During this war, Bing Xue Ya's left hand was accidentally severed; he wrapped his wounded stump with bandages and chose to lead his people onward in battle.

It was this indomitable courage, this vow to defend their homeland at all costs, that ignited unprecedented unity and combat power within the Jumang tribe.

Since then, binding a blood-red ribbon around the left hand became a cultural tradition of the Jumang; every year, on "Bing Xue Ya Day," adult Jumang are awarded the ribbon, symbolizing their role as protectors of the tribe.

Although they have been on Earth for nearly 190 years,

the blood-red ribbon remains an indispensable part of Jumang culture and the spiritual thread connecting past and future.

The third chieftain of the Jumang after their arrival on Earth once said in the StarNet database: "Though the sky we now look up to is no longer the same as that of our ancestors, we share the same blood and carry the same great dream of revival."

Though their temperament is combative, the shared history and cultural heritage make the Jumang internally highly united.

The West District of Bloodkill City is inhabited by the Yemo tribe.

This tribe arrived on Earth around the same time as the Jumang.

Every adult Yemo stands nearly two meters tall, with a slender build; they naturally possess sleek, well-defined muscles without needing deliberate training; their skin has a blue-purple hue, they prefer dim, cold environments, and in battle they resemble a coiled leopard—explosively powerful.

After integrating into Earth, the Yemo underwent massive changes under cultural influences from other tribes.

Upon first arriving, Yemo people refused to wear clothing.

Because their homeworld enjoyed spring-like weather year-round and all life coexisted harmoniously, they believed life originated from nature and should interact with it in its most primitive, purest state.

Wearing clothes, in their view, was a self-imposed bondage that severed their connection to nature; only nudity represented a return to nature and an embrace of life.

But after arriving on Earth and connecting to StarNet, the younger generation of Yemo underwent a transformation in thought.

The StarNet world exposed them to an overwhelming flood of external information.

This information broadened the Yemo's horizons and prompted them to reflect on their own traditions and customs; values once taken for granted were questioned, sparking fierce clashes between tradition and modernity.

This change did not happen overnight.

The first two generations of Yemo even proposed withdrawing from StarNet to preserve their original values, launching numerous internal education programs to correct the changing mindset of their people.

But the torrent of information from films, novels, games, and other entertainment products proved unstoppable; by the time the third generation arrived on Earth, the tide turned.

The new generation completely overturned the old generation's views, freely choosing their lifestyles and adopting clothing.

The original tradition was reclassified as intangible cultural heritage—for example, the annual "Nature Festival," on which all Yemo remove their clothing to celebrate and give thanks to nature together.

Though customs changed, the Yemo's innate reverence for nature's primal wildness never faded.

Like the Jumang, they deeply revere combat.

On their homeworld, the Yemo held an annual Blood Sacrifice Day, recording warriors' growth by hunting and killing large numbers of wild beasts.

Even now, their blood still runs with the thirst for battle.

Initially, the Yemo and Jumang attempted to integrate with other tribes, but conflicts frequently erupted.

To resolve this, StarNet proposed merging the two tribes into a single city, channeling their warriors' combat desires through internal fighting tournaments.

The decision proved effective.

Since then, the two tribes have held annual warrior combat tournaments to vent their battle lust.

After virtual games emerged, players from both tribes became regulars—either fighting, or on their way to fight.

But compared to virtual games, the warriors of both tribes prefer real-life combat tournaments.

The reason is simple: both tribes feel virtual games lack authenticity and cannot deliver the exhilarating thrill of real combat.

The Jumang and Yemo are among the two tribes with the lowest online rates for virtual games in the Earth Alliance.

Bloodkill City StarNet.

Berserker Lin: Anyone up for a D-class match? Let's face off against an E-class Yemo warrior. Split the livestream revenue 50-50. Sign a death contract. Thrilling, passionate battles await us.

Three Axes Slay Your Grandma: Tonight's F-class newbie match—online virtual duel. Livestream revenue to be discussed privately.

Ye Junluo: A-class match—defeat by knockout only. Looking for a strong Jumang opponent for offline combat.

Storm Warrior: Looking for E-class match tonight at 8 PM, online virtual duel.

…

While other races' StarNet forums mainly discuss virtual games, the Bloodkill City StarNet forum is entirely focused on combat tournaments.

This is also the favorite form of entertainment for both tribes.

They hold combat matches via livestream, earning subscription fees, with revenue shares pre-arranged.

Viewers include netizens from all tribes, as well as Jumang and Yemo spectators.

Matches are ranked S to F; E and F classes are called "Newbie Division," typically held in virtual arenas built by the Yuechi tribe.

Once a match reaches D-class, it is conducted via live offline broadcast.

Matches above D-class carry extremely high risk; warriors often die during combat.

But both tribes' warriors are accustomed to this and see no issue with it—though they still try to avoid fatalities.

Each match has a referee who immediately halts the fight once one warrior collapses, preventing the other from killing a defenseless opponent.

At this moment, a link appeared on the Bloodkill City StarNet forum.

The link immediately sparked curiosity among both tribes, igniting heated discussion.

Because they discovered the poster had no verification credentials—no one understood how they bypassed the authentication system to enter the Bloodkill City internal forum.

Soon after, a shocking piece of news emerged, drawing the attention of both tribes.

Dark Warrior: Something big has happened. The link downloaded the genuine version of Dark Lands. After entering the game, the physics performance is perfect. I can't take screenshots so I can't provide useful information. Everyone hurry and download — the link might be blocked soon.

Seeing the information posted by forum user "Dark Warrior."

Netizens of both races clicked the mysteriously pinned link one after another to download.

Unlike other races, members of the Giant Serpent Race and the Night Demon Race rarely joke around in their exchanges.

Seeing their clansmen say they could download a cracked version of Dark Lands, they didn't harbor the slightest suspicion.

Regarding Dark Lands, players of both races had long been looking forward to it.

Information spreading across the Star Net showed this was a virtual game that perfectly simulated real-world physics.

This setting was hugely attractive to both races, meaning future battles could avoid death.

They didn't like virtual combat precisely because previous virtual games had such poor realism, making the combat feedback experience unable to be as satisfying as in reality.

If Dark Lands had perfect physics performance, it meant they could fight to their heart's content without worrying about various risks.

They could even launch more thrilling combat modes in the game environment, such as war mode.

But in the Eclipse Race's first two rounds of qualification distribution, there were no slots for the Giant Serpent Race or the Night Demon Race.

To obtain Dark Lands qualifications, the management of both races had also negotiated with the Eclipse Race, hoping to acquire a batch of extra slots through diplomatic means.

But the Eclipse Race's response was like a rigid robot, stating that the qualification distribution process was set by the Star Net intelligence brain and they would not interfere in any way.

Mentioning the Star Net intelligence brain meant there was no room for negotiation. The rejected high-level members of both races could only abandon the idea.

This sudden appearance of a cracked Dark Lands download link drove both races into a frenzy.

In a short time, forty thousand slots were snatched clean.

As more and more information about the cracked version appeared on the forum and the game's perfect physics performance was confirmed, members of both races went completely wild.

Netizens who hadn't grabbed download slots kept @-ing the Welfare Officer, hoping more download slots would be opened.

But at this point the Welfare Officer account had already logged out of the forum, and even tracking through the intelligence brain yielded no information.

Half an hour later, the Blood City conference.

The clan leaders of the Giant Serpent Race and the Night Demon Race led their high-level members in convening a meeting.

They exchanged views on the cracked version qualifications, especially the identity information of the Welfare Officer.

The final conclusion was that the Welfare Officer was very likely an internal rebel member of the Eclipse Race, distributing important Dark Lands game qualifications to outsiders.

On how to respond to this incident, the two races diverged in their thinking.

"Although the qualifications downloaded from the cracked version carry the risk of being banned at any time, at the very least they can help us understand Dark Lands in advance. Perfect physics performance is exactly the virtual world we yearn for. I disagree with reporting the link."

Hearing the Giant Serpent clan leader's remarks, the Night Demon clan leader — with blue-purple skin and two tusks showing at the corners of his mouth — abruptly stood up and slammed his palm on the conference table:

"Da Long, since this matter involves the Eclipse Race, we should report it to the Eclipse Race. Don't forget how wretched we were when we first arrived. If not for the Eclipse Race providing technology and resources, we wouldn't be standing here today. I don't care how other races view the Eclipse Race — our Night Demon Race has always known to repay kindness. Friendship with the Eclipse Race is a rule written into our clan records. I demand we report this to the Eclipse Race!"

Seeing the Night Demon clan leader strike a posture ready for a fight, the hot-tempered Giant Serpent clan leader Da Long also stood up:

"Black Demon, the Star Net monitors the entire network. The cracked version downloaded from that link will be blocked sooner or later. What's wrong with letting our clansmen experience the cracked game for a while? Must we be as rigid as you?"

"I said no."

"Just because you bunch of wild monkeys were brought into modern civilization by the Eclipse Race and put on clothes, you must therefore hold the Eclipse Race supreme?"

This remark from the Giant Serpent Race instantly infuriated the Night Demon Race.

The running joke about Night Demons not wearing clothes was often poked fun at by the Giant Serpent Race on the Star Net, but that was limited to online — in reality it was undoubtedly taboo.

In fact, the civilization of the Night Demon Race was not primitive society; it followed a path of divine-sacrifice civilization that blended with nature.

Although it lacked the many technologies of modern civilization, it had its own unique strengths — otherwise it would not have been able to tear open space and descend upon Earth back then.

But what the Giant Serpent clan leader said was undoubtedly a provocation.

The furious Night Demon clan leader suddenly lunged at the Giant Serpent clan leader:

"I'll kill you!"

"Come on!"

The two clan leaders broke into a brawl in the conference room.

Seeing this scene, the management of each race did not step in to help, all stepping back to clear fighting space.

In fact, this scene happened often.

There was no problem that couldn't be solved by a fight; after fighting, a unified conclusion could always be reached.

For the two races that revere martial prowess, fighting was also a form of negotiation.

Although both races had a clan leader position, the clan leader was not the absolute decision-maker.

After integrating into the Earth Alliance, this position was impacted by the new culture, changing from the clan's ruler to the supreme arbiter of fairness and justice — its symbolic meaning outweighed its nominal power.

After a long while, the fight ended.

Members of both races sat on the ground panting.

The Giant Serpent clan leader extended his hand at this point.

Seeing this, the Night Demon clan leader reached out and clasped it, helping each other up to their feet.

"I still insist on my view — report the cracked version incident to the Eclipse Race. We must be grateful for the Eclipse Race's support back then. This report can also leave the Eclipse Race with a good impression of us, bringing more supportive policies in the future."

The Giant Serpent clan leader did not answer, turning to look at his clansmen.

"Raise hands and vote."

Faced with the inquiry, more than half of the Giant Serpent clansmen raised their right hands.

Receiving his clansmen's answer, the Giant Serpent clan leader turned to look at the Night Demon clan leader:

"Fine, we agree!"

"Good brother!" The Night Demon clan leader punched the Giant Serpent clan leader in the chest.

"Good brother." The Giant Serpent clan leader returned a punch.

……

The Moon, Eclipse City.

No. 3 Eclipse Archon, who was checking messages from the Star Web, suddenly received a notification showing that No. 1 of the Night Demon Clan requested a connection.

Feeling puzzled, he immediately accepted the connection.

"Hello there." A rugged face with two fangs, looking very much like an orc, popped up on the light screen and warmly greeted No. 3 Eclipse Archon.

"What is it?" No. 3 Archon nodded expressionlessly.

"I wish to report an emergency incident."

"Good." No. 3 Archon nodded again.

"A cracked download link for the Dark Zone has appeared on the Blood City Star Web forum, posted by an account named Welfare Officer..."

Before the Night Demon Clan Leader could finish speaking, the projection of the Star Web's AI brain materialized beside No. 3 Archon.

After listening to the Night Demon Clan Leader's account, No. 3 Archon could no longer remain calm; he immediately asked in a deep voice:

"How many download qualifications remain?"

"The Welfare Officer account that distributed the qualifications has restricted download permissions; further downloads are impossible."

Hearing this, No. 3 Archon looked at the Star Web projection beside him, fell silent for a long time, then turned his head to ask the light screen:

"Is your Night Demon Clan willing to exchange foreign currency with my Eclipse Clan?"

Hearing this, the Night Demon Clan Leader's expression froze in surprise.

Before this, the Night Demon Clan had applied multiple times to exchange foreign currency with the Eclipse Clan, hoping to purchase more Eclipse Clan technology.

But the Eclipse Clan's attitude had always been cold.

Who would have thought that this time, because of reporting an emergency incident, they would be actively asked if they were willing to exchange currency.

Facing the inquiry, the Night Demon Clan Leader, after a brief moment of daze, showed joy and nodded, saying:

"Of course, we are willing."

Unlike the suspicions of the Human Race's high command, the Night Demon Clan Leader agreed without hesitation, believing this was a reward for reporting an emergency problem.

And No. 3 Archon asking this question was precisely instructed by the Star Web after analyzing data information.

"Then should the distributed qualifications be revoked by banning the account?" the Night Demon Clan Leader continued to ask.

"They will not be revoked; continue using them."

"Hah?"

The always rigid Eclipse Clan actually agreeing was obviously beyond the Night Demon Clan Leader's expectations.

He immediately thanked him repeatedly.

In subsequent exchanges, the Archon began asking for more information about the cracked version, to which the Night Demon Clan Leader held nothing back.

Just as the Star Web launched an investigation into the distribution of qualifications.

A large number of Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan players logged into the game.

Qi Sheng, observing from behind the scenes, discovered through the Guide's statistics that 93.52% of players from both clans chose melee physical-type Painful Painful Minghun.

Among this batch of players, nearly half chose the Stone Statue build for their initial Painful Painful Minghun; everything was unfolding exactly as anticipated.

The Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan players who entered the game appeared unusually excited.

Many Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan players engaged in on-the-spot combat in the beginner scenario to test the realism feedback of the scenario.

The results they obtained left them extremely satisfied.

Just as advertised, the game Dark Zone features combat feedback that perfectly simulates real-world physical performance.

But this behavior also caused nearly 300 players from both clans who had not yet explored the game to enter the one-hour resurrection cooldown.

During this period, an interesting data point appeared.

According to the Guide's investigation feedback, the average pain feedback for Giant Python Clan and Night Demon players was adjusted to 52.8%.

That is to say, to better obtain combat feedback, they did not like the 10% pain feedback limit; they preferred the realism brought by normal pain.

Among the two clans, quite a few players even set their pain feedback to 100%.

This shows the passion of players from both clans for combat.

The only thing that gave Qi Sheng a headache was that Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan players, without understanding the game settings, rushed out of the spatial scenario to begin exploring and fighting.

Players from both clans assigned to the Di Zhai Mountain Range area generally died within a short time.

They were simply no match for the Black Tide and the Insect Tide.

As for the Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan players in the Winter Snowfield region, they could fight the Bliss Clan, but only barely.

The ultra-high freedom and perfect feedback made the players from both clans in the Winter Snowfield region appear unusually excited.

Full of boiling blood and roaring non-stop, they launched a face-to-face charge against the Bliss Purple Tide.

This scene reminded Qi Sheng of the performance of the Veteran Corps members after entering the Monster World.

The difference was that the Veteran Corps fought with skill and passion, while the Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan seemed like two reckless tribes, with nothing in their minds but fighting and charging.

This caused many Giant Python Clan and Night Demon Clan players to have their Shou Shou Jili turn negative right at the start.

Regarding this, Qi Sheng had expected it long ago.

Treat this extra expenditure as early investment; it will be repaid sooner or later. Once the strength of players from both clans gradually catches up, it will bring rich returns.

What is commendable is that the addition of players from both clans stirred up the combat passion in the Winter Snowfield region.

In some areas, a berserk charge mode was launched; Human Race players and Sky Feather Clan players also joined the charge, wanting to take down Gao Ta of Bliss in one blow.

But this idea was obviously unrealistic.

The Lord of Bliss can at any time channel vast amounts of Bliss Power, reaching a scale similar to the endless Black Tide.

Just as Qi Sheng wanted to continue checking relevant information about new players, he suddenly received feedback from the Guide.

His consciousness immediately jumped to the Colorful Mist Coast, near the Ascendant Clan territory to the northeast.

Before his eyes lay a domain shrouded in white mist, resembling the Evil Moon Domain, forming a world of its own.

Just now, an Exploration Party player discovered this new region.

The Guide, constantly monitoring players, detected the anomaly in this scene after an initial assessment of the situation.

Before this, this area was within the territory covered by the Ascended Clan.

But now it is occupied by a mysterious domain; more importantly, the nearby Ascended Clan has taken no action whatsoever.

Or perhaps they did act, but failed to dispel this domain that descended right at their doorstep.

Driven by curiosity, Qi Sheng's consciousness pierced through the thick white mist to probe inside the domain.

What appeared before him was not an ocean, but an island suspended above the ocean, indicating that the new faction had descended carrying the continental plates of their homeland world.

Achieving this proves that this faction possesses considerable comprehensive strength.

But what surprised Qi Sheng was that everything in the scene was in a static state.

Plants stopped growing, living organisms ceased functioning, and even the energy elements that should have been drifting in the air fell into an unexplainable state of cessation.

As his consciousness delved deeper into the domain, a group of humanoid alien warriors wearing peculiar attire came into view.

They stood upon the battlefield, their figures elongated by the sunset glow frozen in the scene; they generally wore armor emitting a black luster, with inner garments woven from plant fibers.

The weapons in their hands took various forms: some warriors held long swords flashing with cold light, others carried massive scythes on their backs, and some wielded elemental staves...

Analysis information activated, scanning a warrior on the battlefield, and relevant data floated into Qi Sheng's mind.

【Book Word · Physical Warrior】:

Hunting Level: 176

Target Introduction: A warrior created by the power of Book Word rules, unable to grow through any means outside of Book Word rules.

After understanding the details, Qi Sheng's gaze turned to another figure holding a magic wand and wearing an exquisite white robe.

【Book Word · Red Cloud Overturning Heaven】

Hunting Level: 259

Target Introduction: On a stormy night, a brilliant meteor streaked across the sky, landing squarely before a small hut of a poor couple. Accompanied by deafening thunder, the entire world cheered for her birth; she is a child chosen by fate, destined to become a great deity.

This analysis information left Qi Sheng stunned.

"Guide, what is this situation? How can there be such melodramatic analysis content? It can even predict the opponent's future. Has your analysis ability upgraded?"

Facing the question, the Guide rested his chin in thought:

【Indeed strange, it shouldn't be so, but the analysis certainly won't be wrong.】

He did not ponder this issue further.

Glancing around, except for a very few warriors who had names, the vast majority of warriors bore the "Book Word" name prefix, followed only by the warrior's class designation.

These warriors were all frozen within the scene, unable to move freely.

Some were still swinging swords to strike, yet their bodies, which should naturally lean forward, were frozen in mid-air, held up by invisible force.

This scene appeared extremely eerie.

Judging by their postures, these Book Word warriors were engaged in a fierce battle, but for some unknown reason, they had fallen into an immobile, frozen state.

Examining the details revealed that even the basic elements constituting the scene had ceased functioning, as if the entire scene had been struck by a dimensional-reduction force in an instant, causing all things to freeze.

"Guide, is this scene suppressed by the rules of a Time-Chain world?" Qi Sheng asked, unable to understand.

【Boss, it is indeed strange. Everything in the scene has stopped running, but initial tests show that external things are unaffected here.】

Speaking thus, the Guide burned Shou Shou Jili to condense a plant seed and threw it toward the ground.

After the plant seed hit the ground, it grew rapidly under the infusion of Shou Shou Jili, not restricted by the scene's time stop.

In other words, the time-stop effect was limited to everything within the scene, while external things remained completely unaffected.

At this moment, if an external enemy were to break into the scene, they would face a group of Book Word warriors with no power to resist.

This stoppage restricted only their own side but was ineffective against enemies, which truly left Qi Sheng puzzled.

"So what exactly is the reason?"

【I need to deeply analyze the scene, but it will consume Shou Shou Jili. Boss, grant permission.】

"Granted." Qi Sheng finished speaking and connected a permission tether to the Guide.

Intelligence has always been content Qi Sheng valued highly; only by understanding the situation of the outside world could he better formulate the growth direction of the player legion, so this expenditure seemed very necessary to him.

The Guide nodded, and immediately the energy in the Shou Shou Jili pool surged and burned.

Driven by Shou Shou Jili, the frozen things in the scene were deeply analyzed and read.

【Boss, this scene is off. I found that everything in the scene was not subjected to a time-stop restriction, but rather a cessation due to a lack of driving force.】

"What do you mean?" Qi Sheng asked, astonished.

【If it were time suspension, then the motion, change, and flow of time for all objects would enter a state of absolute stillness.】

【And cessation due to a lack of driving force refers to the static state of things caused by the absence of external propulsion.】

【It can be understood as a movie: halfway through, the pause button is suddenly pressed, so the movie frame is frozen, but everything outside the movie continues to operate according to its original laws. At this point, an external force simply needs to press the "play button" that propels the process to consume electricity and let the content within the movie frame continue playing.】

"In other words, this scene has fallen into a stagnant state because there is no supply of new energy?"

【Correct. Take the Monster World as an example: every minute and second of the world's operation produces vast resources and energy, but this world cannot generate energy freely, causing it to stagnate after the external energy supply is cut off.】

"Look at the replay footage of the scene."

【Okay.】

Shou Shou Jili continued to be consumed, and the scenery within the scene was replayed.

Just like when viewing the Mechanical Overlord descending into the Monster World, the images in the scene replayed in Qi Sheng's mind in the form of video footage.

The constantly pieced-together information was pushed forward under the Guide's control, finally stopping at the initial point of the Book Word Clan's descent and replaying in reverse.

In the video footage, a constantly expanding pitch-black spatial rift suddenly tore open above the sea, resembling a malevolent god's eye rapidly opening.

Countless light points spilled from the rift, assembling on the sea surface.

An island formed amidst the gathering light points, expanding at high speed, with thick white mist spreading outward from the island's edges.

This scene instantly alarmed the Ascendant Clan members on the nearby Ascension Island; a vast number of Ascendant Clan warriors flew out of the island and entered the white mist domain.

The view then cut to the domain scene.

Facing the Ascendant Clan's invasion, the originally blank scene underwent violent changes.

The visual effect of the changes resembled the scene-loading process of an old game; the initial scenery appeared extremely blurry, then filled with delicate textures and rich colors, making the mountains and rivers on the land appear more three-dimensional.

Subsequently, countless white light pillars descended from the still-expanding spatial rift in the sky, generating Shu Yan Clan warriors upon hitting the ground.

Without any communication, a great battle was imminent.

The Ascendant Clan warriors gathered elemental power through their spiritual roots, launching a relentless bombardment against the island.

The Shu Yan Clan warriors also launched a counterattack against the attacking Ascendant Clan.

However, to Qi Sheng, the combat methods of the vast majority of Shu Yan Clan warriors seemed extremely clumsy; they did not dodge, attacking blindly, much like the Blissful Evil Spirits created by the Lord of Bliss.

The difference was that he could see that every Shu Yan Clan warrior possessed self-awareness.

Simply noobish.

Yet, individual Shu Yan Clan warriors in certain local areas were terrifyingly fierce, as if possessed by a God of War, capable of fighting Ascendant Clan warriors across level gaps.

This scene made Qi Sheng frown involuntarily.

Except for players, cross-level combat is extremely difficult for all life forms in the Monster World.

This is because the concept of Hunting Level, from its initial setting, included the target's physical strength, mental strength, and ability characteristics; the only thing not calculated was the target's combat technique and combat awareness.

Furthermore, the Painful Painful Minghun level of players is another calculation system entirely; it calculates strength but does not calculate the fusion amplification effects brought by different Painful Painful Minghun combinations.

For example, a combination of six Painful Painful Minghun with an average level of 23 can challenge a life form with a Hunting Level of 32 across levels.

Therefore, players have a systemic design advantage in cross-level combat, but for other factions, it is very difficult.

Yet the Shu Yan Clan warriors' combat style had no distinctive features and offered no tactical advantages, yet they held their own against targets with higher Hunting Levels.

Occasionally, their own Hunting Level would even suddenly increase.

This point is very similar to the Ancient God Clan's Dou Hun power, gaining amplification through combat.

But the problem lies in the fact that the Ancient God Clan's combat growth has logic to follow, producing Dou Hun power through combat to gain amplification of life strength.

The Shu Yan Clan's combat power increase, however, is very abstract.

The feeling Qi Sheng got was: unable to win, then suddenly exploding with power to increase combat strength.

This situation occurred among multiple Shu Yan Clan warriors.

Continuing to watch, more and more bizarre events occurred.

He discovered that the combat techniques of the Shu Yan Clan warriors could transfer.

A Shu Yan Clan warrior who was originally very strong suddenly seemed to have their self-awareness drained, their combat becoming rigid, while some Shu Yan Clan warriors who were originally rigid in combat were suddenly as if possessed by a God of War, becoming extremely powerful.

This power was even somewhat abstract.

When elemental impacts released by the Ascendant Clan were in situations where dodging was fundamentally impossible, the Shu Yan Clan warriors suddenly flashed and leaped, dodging the attacks.

Besides the inexplicable dodging, the Shu Yan Clan warriors in battle seemed protected by some force capable of modifying the rules.

When a Shu Yan Clan warrior was about to be killed by the Ascendant Clan, the ground before them suddenly split open, swallowing the attacking Ascendant Clan warrior.

Or a sudden gale strong enough to tear space would blow up, sweeping away all the Ascendant Clan members surrounding the Shu Yan Clan warrior.

Or a spatial rift would suddenly open, teleporting the Ascendant Clan warrior to a spot in the scene, where they were met with a head-on strike by their unsuspecting kin.

If explained using game concepts, this group of Shu Yan warriors seemed like players with their Luck attribute maxed out; any action they took would receive assistance from the world (scene) rules.

In the replay footage, numerous combat scenes suddenly interfered with by external forces appeared.

Secondly, the elements within the scene would also be affected briefly.

For instance, when an Ascendant Clan member with a Water Spiritual Root attempted to gather water elemental energy, the water elemental energy in the scene suddenly vanished for a period, catching the Water Spiritual Root Ascendant Clan warrior off guard and leaving them beaten.

It was precisely under the constant interference of unknown external forces that the Shu Yan Clan warriors, as if aided by gods, won the initial battle with a force that swept away withered grass.

Facing the heavy casualties of their kin, the Ascendant Clan was forced to withdraw from the Shu Yan scene shrouded in white mist.

After the war ended, everything in the scene that did not belong to it quickly dissolved, ultimately transforming into energy to be swallowed and digested by the scene.

After this, the scene suddenly stopped operating, and everything fell into a state of suspension.

The Shu Yan Clan warriors who wished to pursue the Ascendant Clan also froze in place, unable to take any further action.

There was another phenomenon worth noting in the image footage.

All the Shu Yan Clan warriors were intelligent life forms, but after the scene froze, they seemed to have their souls drained, and the consciousness remaining within their bodies also vanished.

After watching the image footage, Qi Sheng's doubts deepened.

The feeling he got was that the Shu Yan Clan warriors in the entire scene were very much like players.

During combat, all players logged into the game, the server activated and operated, and the Shu Yan Clan warriors controlled by the players engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Ascendant Clan warriors.

But after the battle ended, all players logged off, the consciousness within the Shu Yan Clan warriors vanished, and after the server shut down, they fell into a state of bodily suspension.

After stating Ji De Xiang Fa to the Guide, the Guide's consciousness body nodded:

【Boss, the hypothesis you mentioned is indeed very similar; perhaps we can proceed to investigate by heading to the spatial coordinates torn before the scene descended.】

"Let's go."

Upon receiving the reply, the Guide's consciousness immediately contacted Yan Ming.

Not long after, a spatial rift tore open in the sky above, and Qi Sheng and the Guide's consciousness entered it.

Passing through the spatial tunnel, the scene before Qi Sheng left him stunned.

Before his eyes lay a pitch-black space, filled with dense special energy particles; in the entire world, there were only three items.

A heavy, ancient book suspended in mid-air, a pen with an exquisite design embedded with various colored crystals on its surface, and a pitch-black hand holding the pen.

After the analysis information activated, relevant information flooded into his mind.

【Rule · Book】

Rule Analysis: Can create a self-contained world governed by its own rules.

【Rule · Brush】

Rule Analysis: Can consume Ink Power to drive the progression of the Book World, and modify the manifestation of rules and changes of things within the Book World.

【Rule · Holder】

Rule Analysis: Can create "Ink Power" by devouring matter; when combined with the Brush, it can drive the rewriting of content within the Book World's scenes. Every modification consumes Ink Power; the higher the modification intensity, the more Ink Power is consumed.

……

The analysis content made Qi Sheng understand what a frozen scene actually was.

The Guide spoke up at this moment:

【Boss, I understand now. The so-called frozen scene can be understood as a novel: the Book is the framework of the domain scene, the Brush is the scene modifier, and the Holder is the booster force that provides energy output and drives the Brush.】

【The Within Shu Yan Clan and the Ascendant Clan erupted into war within the "Book" scene framework, always being interfered with by the Holder and the Brush. Every time the Holder rewrites content, everything in the scene is affected; therefore, in the replayed scene, Within Shu Yan Clan warriors appeared with various mysterious external forces aiding them in battle.】

【To summarize: the Within Shu Yan Clan is a faction composed of a single life form. It possesses the ability to modify scenes. Through war, it devours energy, converts it to produce ink, then consumes the ink to alter the scene structure for combat. It can even raise the strength of any Within Shu Yan warrior by several levels with a single stroke.】

【For example, if the Holder writes a passage stating that a certain Within Shu Yan warrior, in a losing situation, unleashes a hidden power and gains a strength boost, that passage will consume the corresponding Ink Power, and the effect will then manifest on the described Within Shu Yan warrior.】

【When the Holder and the Brush cease operation, a scene without Ink Power injection will fall into a stop under no external drive. This explains why external forces entering the scene are unaffected by the time freeze; essentially, the entire scene is a novel.】

Hearing the Guide's answer, Qi Sheng nodded.

This also explained why the entire scene was so incredibly abstract.

Within Shu Yan Clan warriors in battle would suddenly become stronger because the "author" behind them was performing localized description. When the described content switched, the combat style of that group of Within Shu Yan warriors would become stiff again, while a group of originally stiff Within Shu Yan warriors would become full of vitality after being described.

It also explained why Within Shu Yan warriors in battle would display dodges that violated world rules.

In reality, it was simply that the "author" wrote a sentence: "XX dodged the fatal blow."

After consuming Ink Power, this description would become an inevitable, concrete result within the scene.

And the analysis information given earlier when analyzing Red Cloud Overturning Heaven was not wrong, because that was simply the "author's" introduction of this character.

【What I am more curious about is why the power behind the Holder stopped driving these two rule forces, causing the scene to fall completely into a state of stagnation.】

Hearing the Guide's words, Qi Sheng fell silent for a while before offering a hypothesis:

"Is there a possibility that the author took leave and stopped updating?"

Guide: ……

【Boss, that makes sense.】

Qi Sheng ignored the Guide, and an idea floated up in his mind.

Since the scene is controlled by the hidden Holder in the form of a novel, if the hidden Holder controlling everything does not wish to write this scene and chooses to abandon it, will the entire scene fall into a state of permanent stagnation?

If a new book is started, will a new system scene be generated within the "Book" framework scene?

Tsk, that's interesting.

(End of Chapter)