Whoosh—!

A tear opened in the void, and a man dressed in coarse linen robes stepped out.

His long hair fell loosely over his shoulders. Barefoot, he stepped upon the void as if walking across the floor of his own backyard.

"You have passed your trial," the linen-robed powerhouse said. "But Yexis, you are still only second place. There is still a gap between you and first."

"I understand, Instructor."

Yexis respectfully lowered his head.

"I will strive to catch up to him."

The linen-robed powerhouse nodded.

"That chair at the top of the gold medal ranking has been occupied by that person for a hundred years."

"In truth, you could choose to break through to divine-grade and enter the Heaven Ranking. The resources on the Heaven Ranking are far richer than what you have now."

"Instructor, I still want to wait a little longer."

Light flashed in Yexis’ eyes.

"I want to be like those seniors in history—using demi-sage rank strength to cross ranks and slay a low-grade divine-grade being."

Throughout Luna_Fox’s history, there had been plenty of monsters who killed divine-grade beings while still at demi-sage rank.

There had even been madmen at supreme-grade who dared to make a move against divine-grade beings!

Yexis wanted to polish his Divine Domain to complete perfection. Only when he reached that step would he be willing to take the next one.

Once he broke through, he would become a high-grade divine-grade powerhouse!

"It is always good to have a goal."

The linen-robed powerhouse raised an eyebrow, a hint of admiration in his tone.

"But if you want to reach that level, you need a guardian to help you condense an invincible momentum among those of the same realm. Your points are still not enough. As it happens, I have a mission here. Once you complete it, you should have enough to invite an Oracle-grade powerhouse to serve as your guardian."

"Instructor, thank you for your guidance."

Yexis straightened his back.

"May I ask what the mission is?"

"This mission is a little strange."

The linen-robed powerhouse frowned slightly.

"The target is a legendary-grade human, but the information provided by the employer says that this person is almost invincible below divine-grade."

Hmm?!

Almost invincible below divine-grade?

"There is actually such a powerhouse?"

Yexis was startled. Immediately afterward, a thick fighting spirit surged up inside him.

"Could it be... my target is the contemporary top-ranked prodigy?"

A strange smile appeared on the linen-robed powerhouse’s face.

"You actually guessed correctly."

"Faustus, a human powerhouse from Aetheria. He once reached the summit of Cloudcrest Peak and is the Starchosen of this generation. Your mission is to kill him."

"No problem!"

Yexis’ eyes lit up.

He had not accepted an assassination mission targeting a legendary-grade being in a very, very long time.

But since the opponent was the contemporary Starchosen, he was tempted!

"I will complete this mission perfectly!"

The linen-robed powerhouse nodded.

"At present, you are the only suitable candidate for this mission. Gil is currently condensing his invincible momentum. He has already challenged the demi-sage rank peers of an entire star river and is preparing to come here to challenge us next."

"On Luna_Fox’s side, only that fellow ranked first among the gold medals is presentable, so he is currently preparing for the battle and cannot accept this mission."

"Gil..."

Yexis softly muttered the name. A surging fighting spirit appeared on his face.

Gil had already challenged an entire star river, and he still intended to travel across the entire star region.

Under the protection of a guardian, he would challenge demi-sage peers from countless star rivers and use that to condense his invincible momentum.

Once that momentum was complete, when he broke through to divine-grade, he would directly become a peak divine-grade powerhouse!

He wanted to step on the faces of every prodigy of his generation across the entire star region, using their defeats to pave his own path to the heavens.

"What a pity. I am not yet qualified to become his opponent."

Yexis sighed inwardly.

Luna_Fox would only send out its strongest to answer the challenge, and the strongest was naturally that fellow ranked first among the gold medals.

"Do not be discouraged."

The linen-robed powerhouse’s figure gradually faded, and his voice became ethereal.

"Many people are unknown below divine-grade, only to shock the world once they break through."

"If you can complete this mission, I will personally become your guardian."

"Thank you, Instructor. Rest assured, I will definitely complete the mission."

Yexis’ voice was filled with confidence.

...

Aetheria, Steel Plateau.

Thousands of players had gathered before a radiant, flowing gate.

By crossing this gate, one could enter a trial ground matched to one’s own strength. This was the Phantom Emporium.

As they waited, low conversations sounded among the crowd.

"It wasn’t this crowded here before. What happened today?"

A young warrior frowned as he looked around.

"You still haven’t heard? Guild Leader Faustus released an emergency world announcement—the game and reality are about to merge into one. From now on, there will no longer be a distinction between ’game’ and ’reality.’"

"If we don’t hurry up and improve our strength, what are you planning to use to block the non-human races once disaster descends?"

The mage beside him lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.

"Yeah. I didn’t expect those experts to actually be right this time. Reality and the game really are going to merge! Once the fusion happens and order is reshaped, the only thing that can help us stand firm will be the Strength in our hands."

Another archer slowly nodded.

"No wonder those lifestyle players who usually only care about mining and making medicine have been grinding monsters like mad these past few days. Even market supplies have gone up by thirty percent."

"This matter involves too much. One careless move could cause chaos throughout the world. In my opinion, we should wait for Guild Leader Faustus’ arrangements. Don’t overthink it. Just honestly sharpen your sword. That’s the right thing to do."

"No matter how things change, strength is supreme! That phrase will never be wrong anywhere."

As they were speaking, light flashed within the gate, and several figures walked out.

Satisfied smiles hung on their faces. Clearly, they had gained quite a lot.

"It’s our turn."

"Let’s go. Let the monsters behind the gate witness our power."

A party walked up to the gate.

Team leader Hals paid the entrance fee, and the system prompt immediately rang out.

"Based on the current average level of the player party, legendary-grade monsters will now be generated."

The party’s figures immediately disappeared into the curtain of light.

...

Aerial Realm.

Faustus had not poured the Sacred Spring of Life onto the World Tree.

The Aerial Realm was already a complete small world. If it rose by one more level, it would become a medium life world. That meant divine-grade powerhouses would be able to descend.

To the current him, that was not good news.

At this moment, a group of players was surrounding a magical beast and attacking it fiercely!

"-194,976!"

"Void Rend!"

A warrior roared and slammed forward, knocking the magical beast off balance before immediately sending it flying with one spear strike.

"-194,984!"

"Frost Prison!"

The mage in the rear seized the timing perfectly. Ice elements instantly froze the magical beast in midair.

Another earth-type spell had already condensed in his palm.

"-294,942!"

"Piercing Arrow!"

The archer loosened two fingers, and an arrow shot out with a sharp whistle, nailing the magical beast that was about to fall back into the air again.

"-386,491!"

"Bloodblade Assault!"

Blood light flashed around the assassin. His dagger stabbed into the magical beast’s body like a venomous snake.

He did not retreat. One slash followed another as he frantically poured out damage.

"-261,919!"

"-237,619!"

"-264,818!"

Whoosh—!

Seeing that the magical beast was about to smash into the ground, the assassin rolled away and darted far off, quietly waiting for the next opportunity.

The mage’s earth-type spell was ready at exactly the right moment.

"-349,464!"

"Earthsplit Fist!"

From the soft ground, a giant fist formed from earth elements suddenly shot up, blasting the magical beast into the air once more.

The assassin instantly turned back, and his dagger stabbed in again.

The magical beast dropped once more—

But this time, the assassin did not move away.

The warrior’s launch skill had already finished cooling down!

"Voidrend Slash!"

Boom—!

Roar, roar, roar!!

The magical beast was sent flying yet again.

After this chain of attacks, the magical beast could only hang helplessly in midair like prey being toyed with.

Before long, its massive body crashed to the ground, exploding into a field of dazzling loot.

"Beautifully done."

Hans looked at the rewards scattered across the ground and smiled as he patted his teammate on the shoulder.

"Our teamwork is getting smoother and smoother. Legendary-grade magical beasts are no longer enough to look at—I suggest we challenge supreme-grade ones next."

The mage grinned.

"Seconded."

The archer nodded.

"We’re all legendary-grade now, and our damage output is fairly decent. Trying a supreme-grade one should be fine."

"Wait a little longer."

Hans shook his head.

"Teamwork is one thing, but we still have too few powerful skills."

"Let’s build up our foundation a bit more. Each of us can go to the guild and exchange for a few decent skill books before challenging one. It won’t be too late then."

The teammates fell silent for a moment, then nodded one after another.

"That works too," the mage said. "I’ve got my eye on a legendary-grade skill book. It suits me perfectly, but I’m still a little short on points."

"I’ve got something I want too."

The assassin smiled.

"There are just too many good things in the guild. Guild Leader Faustus is truly amazing. He can even sell supreme-grade equipment like cabbages."

"Of course. Guild Leader Faustus is forever a god, hahahaha."

Hans laughed.

"A legendary figure like that—I’m following him to the end."

"Hahaha, count me in!"

The mage gave a sly smile.

"I’m the guild leader’s most devout follower, after all."

"Count me in too."

"And me!"

...