Zero Wing City, Zero Wing’s Residence:

After Shi Feng came online, the first thing he did was assign tasks to Liang Jing and Youlan, particularly the distribution of the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment he had produced.

He had made more than 200 of these sets, and he tasked Youlan with secretly gathering a batch of Tier 3 experts who could equip them. Once these experts were geared with the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment, Zero Wing would gain an additional trump card.

Although the modified Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment wasn’t as powerful as the original version, there was only a 15% decrease in the Basic Attributes it provided. A Tier 3 player equipped with the modified set could still go up against Mythic monsters of the same level.

In addition, Shi Feng passed the Treasure of Fire to Melancholic Smile and had her procure as many Mysterious Flames as possible. They could offer the Seeds of Flame converted as an award for the Candlelight Trading Firm’s forgers and alchemists. By doing so, they could not only increase Candlelight’s productivity but also attract more Lifestyle players to join the firm. After all, a Lifestyle player’s promotion was largely influenced by their production success rates.

When Melancholic Smile received the Treasure of Fire from Shi Feng, she was shocked. Then, uncontrollable excitement welled up inside her.

She had always had a passion for Mysterious Flames. However, incredibly powerful Mysterious Flames weren’t easy to find. And even when the Guild did find some, she didn’t have the ability to make it her own. Thus, the Mysterious Flame she currently used was only a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame. No Lifestyle player had managed to absorb either of the two Tier 3 Mysterious Flames sitting in the Guild Warehouse even now.

However, the Purification Crown resolved the hurdle preventing Lifestyle players from absorbing stronger Mysterious Flames and could even produce Mysterious Flames using various types of flames.

Melancholic Smile could already envision the swarms of Lifestyle players fighting to join the Candlelight Trading Firm. At that time, be it the construction of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships or another Mobile Fortress, Candlelight wouldn’t have to worry about lacking talents and manpower.

At the same time, with Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose’s return, Zero Wing no longer lacked apex combatants to protect it. Hence, Shi Feng tasked Fire Dance with secretly gathering information on the Seven Treasures and collecting them directly, if possible. The Seven Treasures were not only crucial for his quest, but their various supportive functions were simply heaven-defying, providing incredible help to both individuals and Guilds.

Previously, when players in God’s Domain were still low-leveled and weak, the likelihood of them encountering the Seven Treasures was low. However, now that more and more Tier 4 players had begun appearing, the chances of players stumbling over the Seven Treasures were much greater. Not to mention, the present Zero Wing was already far stronger than before.

After its recent rapid development, Zero Wing now had more than 50,000 Tier 3 players under its command—a number that rivaled what the various superpowers had.

In addition, the number of partners Zero Wing had continued to increase. Recently, Frost Heaven had thoroughly solidified its alliance with Zero Wing, drastically increasing Zero Wing’s influence on the eastern continent. At this point, Zero Wing could expand its territory already.

Hence, his hunt for the Seven Treasures was no longer an impossible task. Moreover, he had to get his hands on the Seven Treasures to elevate Zero Wing’s strength further.

This was because only by gathering all of the Seven Treasures could he fully utilize their power. In fact, the Seven Treasures could even suppress the Endless Abyss.

If Zero Wing could acquire this power, thoroughly making an enemy out of the Five Great Super Guilds wouldn’t be a problem. It also wouldn’t have to fear the invasion of other God’s Domains.

After Shi Feng finished assigning tasks, he promptly teleported to the Starlight Fortress to take on the Divine Dragon’s trial so that he could solidify Zero Wing’s position on the western continent. At that time, even if the World Seal broke and the War of Worlds began, Zero Wing would have the ability to defend itself against the attacks of the foreign God’s Domain’s powers.

…

Western continent, Starlight Fortress:

The summoning array at the top of the Summoning Tower lit up, and Shi Feng appeared in the Summoning Hall a moment later.

Standing atop the Summoning Tower, Shi Feng had a full view of the Starlight Fortress’s situation.

At present, the Starlight Fortress was no longer the same as before. Not only had the number of players visiting the fortress increased massively, but even the weakest among them was at Tier 3. There were even quite a number of Tier 4 experts roaming the streets.

After briefly scanning the fortress, Shi Feng discovered at least ten Tier 4 players, nearly outnumbering what Zero Wing City had.

If not for the Divine Dragon’s presence, even if the Starlight Fortress had Divine Tribe and Netherworld Empire’s assistance, it would still be very difficult to keep all these players in check, not to mention the large number of visiting NPCs and NPC forces greedily eyeing the fortress.

Yet, due to the Silver Divine Dragon, these players and NPCs had no choice but to lie low.

After checking the fortress’s situation, Shi Feng went to the Summoning Tower’s Summoning Altar, which was also the Silver Divine Dragon’s resting place.

When Shi Feng arrived in the spacious Summoning Altar, what greeted him was the sight of a miniature version of the Silver Divine Dragon Auerbeck. The Divine Dragon, which was only around a dozen meters in length, was sleeping quietly in the middle of the room.

At this time, Auerbeck had already reached Level 164. The aura it released now was on a whole other level. It was also much stronger than the Dragon Shi Feng had slain in the ancient God’s Domain.

In fact, Shi Feng found it quite difficult to stand in the aura Auerbeck exuded. If an ordinary Tier 4 player were in his place, they wouldn’t even be able to approach the Divine Dragon.

Looking at the fully recovered Silver Divine Dragon, Shi Feng gained further understanding of Divine Dragons. He had to admit that Divine Dragons truly weren’t existences humans could offend. Despite Auerbeck being only at the Tier 4 Mythic rank, it was still strong enough to defeat ordinary Tier 5 existences. As for Tier 4 existences, they were nothing but ants in front of a Tier 4 Divine Dragon!

“Little human, you’ve come.” Auerbeck woke up upon sensing Shi Feng’s arrival. Looking at Shi Feng with its golden eyes, it said in satisfaction, “It seems you have made your preparations to challenge the trial.”

“Yes, Esteemed Divine Dragon,” Shi Feng agreed, nodding.

Both his Mana Body and Concentration standards had already reached a bottleneck, and it was unlikely he could make a breakthrough within a short time. If he wished to elevate his strength further, the only way to do so would be by obtaining a Legendary Weapon or Equipment. However, this evidently wasn’t a feasible plan, as every Legendary Weapon and Equipment required a lot of time and manpower to acquire.

“Good! Since you’re confident in taking on the trial, I will let you challenge it as per our previous agreement. However, let me make this clear. You only have three opportunities. If you fail to pass the trial in three tries, the contract between us will be dissolved,” Auerbeck said as it rose from the ground. “As for the trial you will be undertaking, it is the trial that has been passed down through generations among the Dragon race. Originally, this trial was created for Dragons. However, since you wish to become my companion, you will have to complete the Tier 4 Infant Dragon’s trial at the very minimum!”

A trial for Tier 4 Infant Dragons? Shi Feng was astonished by Auerbeck’s words.

Although he had long since known that the Divine Dragon’s trial wouldn’t be simple, it would seem that he had still underestimated it.

A Tier 4 Infant Dragon could fight even Tier 5 existences. Yet, he was supposed to face a trial created for Tier 4 Infant Dragons.

“I will teleport you to the Dragon Temple. Remember: you will not be able to use external tools there. You must rely on your own strength to conquer the trial. If you die within the trial, you will be teleported back here automatically.”

After saying so, Auerbeck began chanting an incantation in Dragon tongue, generating divine runes around Shi Feng one after another. Five seconds later, Shi Feng was cocooned in countless golden divine runes. He then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the Summoning Altar, leaving Auerbeck by itself in the spacious room once more.

After briefly getting dazzled by runes, Shi Feng gradually recovered his sight and found that he stood before a majestic temple.

The temple was tens of thousands of meters tall, and it looked like a huge mountain. Even a Dragon would appear tiny in front of this temple, let alone a human.

As soon as Shi Feng walked up to the thousand-meter-tall door before him, an ancient and deep voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

“A human?

“No, you’re not a human. How interesting. Auerbeck actually sent you here to take the trial?”

Along with this voice, the phantom of a gigantic Dragon gradually faded into view before Shi Feng. This Dragon was well over a thousand meters tall, and when it appeared, Shi Feng immediately felt stifled. For a moment, he wondered if he was standing before a Tier 6 God.

“It seems that little fellow has a really favorable opinion of you to actually let you take the trial,” the Dragon said as it looked at Shi Feng. Smiling, it continued, “Very well. I will abide by the old contract since Auerbeck has sent you here. You should prepare yourself. You might not be able to pass this trial, but if you do your best, you will still receive great benefits, so make sure to cherish this opportunity!”

After the Dragon finished speaking, Shi Feng found that the view in front of him had changed completely. Now, what was before him wasn’t a massive temple but a broken bridge covered in gray mist. Meanwhile, he was currently standing on this broken bridge, and he could vaguely make out land in the distance.

The instant the gray mist enveloped him, Shi Feng was stupefied.

Eternal Energy!

No!

To be precise, it’s Eternal Energy condensed into a mist form!

The moment the gray mist enveloped Shi Feng, his mind felt refreshed like never before. Numerous ideas constantly emerged from the depths of his brain, and he could also view the operating principles of the Mana surrounding him with unprecedented clarity.

Before Shi Feng could recover from his shock, the Dragon’s deep voice echoed in his mind once more.

“Repair the broken bridge using Mana. So long as you repair one-third of the bridge, you will pass the trial. Your time limit is three days. However, for every 300 meters you progress, the time limit will get extended by an additional day. If you fail to repair one-third of the bridge when your time runs out, you will have failed the trial.”

When the Dragon finished speaking, Shi Feng heard rocks breaking off somewhere nearby. Turning toward the sound’s source, he found that the bridge’s broken end was continuously crumbling. At this rate of collapse, let alone three days, the remaining portion of the broken bridge would disappear completely in just a few hours. And once the bridge disappeared, he would plunge into the endless darkness below.