Chapter 383: Fire Blade Forged (4/10, Autumn Subscription)

Done!

On a day filled with nothing but bad news, Fang Yue finally encountered something joyful.

He excitedly swung the Fire Blade.

Whoosh!

In the darkness, the flame's glow was brilliant, scorching hot, leaving behind traces of lingering fire.

Whether it was because he had mastered the Fire Blade form of the Ningtai Ring, or because of prolonged exposure over these days.

At that moment, Fang Yue's Analysis Pupil displayed the Ningtai Ring's attributes.

"Name: Ningtai Ring 【Fire Blade】."

"Level: Mortal Grade Superior 【Fluctuating】."

"Restriction: None."

"Sharpness: 10 points 【Fluctuating】."

"Durability: None."

"Description: A special ring whose quality fluctuates; its strength depends on the user's internal force, capped at Human Grade."

"Note: Stop pressing! It's changing! It's changing!"

Ten points of sharpness?!

Fang Yue's eyes lit up.

This was far stronger than the broken Leng Yue Blade!

And judging by the description, the strength of the Ningtai Ring's Fire Blade form entirely depended on the wielder's own power level.

It was literally stronger when the wielder was stronger, weaker when the wielder was weaker.

The wielder's power determined the upper and lower limits of the Ningtai Ring's strength.

The only regret was that such a powerful item had a hard cap—maximum strength could only reach Human Grade.

Regardless, with the Fire Blade, Fang Yue now had a reliable weapon again.

He tried pouring in more internal force; the sharpness increased by 0.5 points.

When he reduced the internal force input, keeping only the basic Fire Blade form, the sharpness plummeted to 0.1 points, and its quality dropped to Mortal Grade Inferior.

Mortal Grade corresponded to the Acquired Realm, Good Grade to the Innate Realm; only Human Grade became a unified standard.

Thus, Fang Yue's peak internal force input likely fluctuated around ten-plus sharpness points at Mortal Grade Superior.

Fang Yue tried, as Lord Han had done, to break free from the Ningtai Ring's guidance and form other shapes.

But without exception, the moment he broke free from the Ningtai Ring's guidance, the structure collapsed instantly, unable to form any orderly shape.

This frustrated Fang Yue, but he soon cheered up again.

The Fire Blade was already mastered; the other forms would surely come with time—just take it slow.

While solidifying the Fire Blade form, Fang Yue practiced swinging it, learning its rhythm.

This pure Fire Blade felt and responded differently from the solid blades he usually used, like the Leng Yue Blade—he needed time to adapt.

Time passed second by second.

During this time, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu came again, saying she was so worried she was starting to lose her hair—just more complaining.

Fang Yue comforted her briefly and sent her away.

Originally, Fang Yue had to consider whether Gu Yue Cun needed a dense shelter, relocating all helpless villagers inside.

Or how to defend against the Lang Wu tribe if they arrived.

But now, none of these mattered as much as improving his strength; and with Lin Ling as Chief Captain, slacking off was no big deal.

When the horizon brightened and the sun rose, Fang Yue had largely grown accustomed to the Ningtai Ring's Fire Blade form.

After becoming accustomed to it, Fang Yue realized the Fire Blade was incredibly convenient—even perfectly suited to him!

For example, when clashing blades with others, while they used solid blades, his Fire Blade would pass right through their weapons and strike the enemy directly, forcing a trade of injuries.

Fang Yue had 【Night's Breath】; he could afford injuries at night, but others couldn't necessarily withstand his attacks.

Also, as Ni Dongmei had mentioned, launching fragments of the blade as ranged attacks worked extremely well.

But Fang Yue hadn't mastered it yet; his accuracy was poor.

Even so, he gave this technique—shattering the blade body and launching flame fragments—a bold name: Fire Feather!

He touched the ring, then rose, gazing at the horizon after a sleepless night.

The Lang Wu tribe's Black Cloud had advanced halfway.

From his current position, he could see the massive Black Cloud looming toward him.

Details of the Black Cloud were now visible.

"Lan Yuntian…"

Fang Yue's expression darkened.

For among the severed heads hanging from the Black Cloud, he saw Lan Yuntian—one of the Captains of Man Shui Cun, the vessel used by Lord Lan!

Thus, the Lang Wu tribe had indeed been to Man Shui Cun.

And this outcome confirmed Man Shui Cun had fallen to the Lang Wu tribe—even Lord Lan's vessel, a Captain, had been killed.

He wondered how Lord Lan was faring now—had he also been eliminated?

For a moment, Fang Yue thought of many things, his emotions complex.

The Lang Wu tribe's strength was greater than he'd expected; he might truly be finished this time.

He took a deep breath and continued observing the heads hanging from the Black Cloud—and then he saw An Shenyi's head, Lang Wu's head…

His fist clenched; Fang Yue gritted his teeth: "Ma Ling'er!"

Rage burned in his heart, drowning out all previous complex emotions.

Apart from Fang Yue, the villagers of Gu Yue Cun, and others, had also come out, seeing the Black Cloud drawing ever closer, and the human heads hanging from it.

"They… are really dead…" Hua Wuye's body trembled slightly, his eyes losing their luster, his face ashen for quite a while. Immediately after came endless fury, and the sound of grinding teeth.

"Lin Duoduo… I never imagined that when we met again, it would be like this!"

Lin Ling's eyes were red, her fists clenched tight.

And more people were in panic, terrified, fleeing toward the Guard Station.

In their subconscious, the Guard Station was the safest place in Gu Yue Cun.

Lord Han also showed himself, watching the Black Cloud from afar, lost in thought.

"Looks like Lan really did fail."

Apart from these normal reactions, there were also some people whose brains weren't quite normal.

"Holy shit! Monsters attacking the city! Awesome!"

"This game is way too intense — I've only been in the game a few days and already there's an event delivered right to my door!"

"Kill! I was just saying, how come this game is nothing but earning Yang Lifespan, earning Yang Lifespan, not a single monster in sight. Turns out the monsters are delivered right to your door!"

"Charge, charge, charge! I still haven't killed a single monster yet! Just stat boosts with zero motivation!"

The players' reactions and the villagers' presented two completely opposite extremes.

They couldn't wish for more anomalies to come, so they could grind stats and grind levels.

However, these young players probably still didn't know just how terrifying the anomalies within this Black Cloud truly were — it would absolutely give them a newbie-village monster-killing experience to remember for a lifetime.

As for these newcomers, Fang Yue had no intention of teaching them. Just bringing along Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu and Niu Niu was already wearing him out to death — where would he find the time to help other players get familiar with the game?

Not braiding them, letting them fend for themselves, was the best arrangement.

(End of chapter)