Chapter 278 - Metamorphosis

"Fourth on the God List?! How is this possible?!"

The anger and dissatisfaction on Lu Wen's face vanished when she saw the updated God-ranked Expert List, and replacing those emotions was shock and confusion.

Shi Feng had merely defeated four titled experts. While such a feat was indeed amazing, it still shouldn't be anywhere near enough to put him on par with those five people.

This was because every one of those five monsters had single-handedly defeated six or more titled experts simultaneously ever since they arrived in the Miniature Ancient World. Every one of them possessed unimaginable strength, and just one of them could serve as the foundation for an ordinary hegemonic power to fight to become an upper-ranking hegemonic power.

However, when she stood before Shi Feng previously, she didn't get the feeling that he was a powerhouse at all. She also didn't think that he was concealing his aura from her.

While it was true that most experts in God's Domain could hide their aura, maintaining this action was exhausting. It was akin to a person blinking. A person might be able to keep themself from blinking, but it'd be impossible to do so across a long period since it would be extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, even a Beyond Domain Realm expert would have difficulty behaving naturally while maintaining such a state. It was especially true when dealing with experts of her caliber. With her vastly strengthened senses, she would notice even the slightest hint of unnaturalness.

The time she spent with Shi Feng was by no means short. If Shi Feng really was suppressing his aura, he definitely couldn't have fooled her.

"An army of a thousand is easy to raise, but a capable general is hard to find. An expert of such caliber is indispensable for all powers." Xia Qingying did not try to resolve Lu Wen's confusion. Instead, she looked at the God List with an excited expression as she said, "Even the Green God Corporation is no exception."

"Vice President Xia, are you saying that we should" Unable to help herself, Lu Wen asked, "Agree to Black Flame's condition?"

As a talent nurtured by the Green God Corporation, Lu Wen naturally understood the importance of experts of Shi Feng's caliber.

In the eyes of the various hegemonic powers and the Green God Corporation, titled experts might be important, but they were by no means indispensable. However, it was a different story for experts capable of going against common sense.

But the Flower of Seven Sins was no pushover, either. It was especially true for the organization's mysterious Great Commander. The Great Commander might not be any weaker than Shi Feng when it came to individual prowess.

"Visit Zero Wing tomorrow and tell Black Flame that we can negotiate on that matter," Xia Qingying said without hesitation.

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"What if Black Flame still refuses?" Lu Wen asked worriedly.

Smiling, Xia Qingying looked Lu Wen in the eye and said, "Then, do whatever it takes to get him to agree."

Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing's temporary Residence

"Guild Leader, things have gotten crazy in Zero Wing and Asura ever since the latest God-ranked Expert List came out," Su Qianliu said as she entered Shi Feng's office, a bitter smile on her face. "I was worried about the Guild not having enough fresh talent a few days ago, but now I'm afraid the S-rank Nutrient Fluids we have on hand are nowhere near enough to meet the demand of all the geniuses we just recruited"

The current Zero Wing was in the spotlight of the Miniature Ancient World, so it was the best opportunity for the Guild to develop. Unfortunately, Zero Wing lacked resources, so it couldn't nurture a large number of its own geniuses even if it wanted. Currently, Zero Wing's resources were already stretched thin just after recruiting a little over ten thousand geniuses.

Shi Feng wasn't surprised by this situation. Instead, he smiled and asked, "How are the main force members' training and Bloodline allocation coming along?"

Any power that wished to grow stronger in God's Domain didn't require only in-game resources. It would also need real-world potions such as S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Otherwise, the development of the brain would be dragged down due to insufficient nutrition.

The various superpowers in God's Domain each had their own stable sources to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids. As for first-, second-, and third-rate Guilds, they didn't have a stable source. This was also why there was such a huge gap between superpowers and non-superpowers.

Currently, Zero Wing was in the same predicament as the various non-superpowers. Apart from the S-rank Nutrient Fluids it earned through nurturing the geniuses of other powers, it didn't have any other sources to acquire S-rank Nutrient Fluids from.

In reality, Su Qianliu had already done very well by keeping Zero Wing's requirements met by relying solely on an unstable source of several hundred bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid.

"After roughly two weeks of effort, the main force members have already grasped the Silver Combat Techniques that are compatible with them. We have also finished allocating the Advanced Lineage Crystals already. We have paid a significant cost to do so, and it's hard to even find Advanced Lineage Crystals sold on the market now," Su Qianliu said, feeling a little proud of herself. "Currently, our main force is only inferior to the various hegemonic powers' main force. Even Witch's Sin's main force members are envious of ours."

"You've worked hard."

When Shi Feng heard Su Qianliu's report, he could already imagine the envious expressions the various powers would have once they saw Zero Wing's main force. After all, even the various hegemonic powers would have difficulty coming up with a main force of such caliber in the current Miniature Ancient World.

Shi Feng also understood that Su Qianliu must have gone through a lot of trouble to accomplish these matters.

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Be it purchasing Silver Combat Techniques or Advanced Lineage Crystals, both matters required a lot of negotiations with many powers. Moreover, Su Qianliu had to be incredibly careful while conducting these negotiations. Otherwise, if other powers learned of Zero Wing's goal, it would become incredibly difficult for Zero Wing to produce such a main force.

"Can you tell me why you need such a main force now, Guild Leader?" Su Qianliu asked, unable to hold back her curiosity. She had practically burnt all of Abyssal Star City's earnings to develop Zero Wing's main force. No other power would dare to make such a reckless investment.

It should be known that this was an investment of tens of millions of Gold Coins. Such a sum of money was enough to fully arm an army of 10,000 in Epic Equipment. Yet, Zero Wing had invested such a large sum of money into a mere team of 100 players.

"To earn money!" Shi Feng said, chuckling. "We are going to earn the power necessary for Zero Wing and Asura to take over the entire Miniature Ancient World!"

"Is such a thing even possible?" Su Qianliu couldn't help but feel that Shi Feng was joking with her.

Currently, Zero Wing's main force wasn't even strong enough to win against the various hegemonic powers' main force. In such a situation, saying that they were going to earn enough money and power to take over the entire Miniature Ancient World was no different than talking about fantasy.

"It's a little late today. Have everyone gather up tomorrow morning," Shi Feng said, smiling. He did not bother giving any additional explanations.

If they only had Zero Wing's current main force to rely on, they naturally couldn't take over the Miniature Ancient World. However, he had the Seven Luminaries Codex. So long as he had a sufficiently strong team, he could easily earn a large amount of resources.

Now that the various powers barely had any Tier 4 players, their range of activity in the Top of Two Worlds was considerably limited. They couldn't venture to dangerous areas that were rich in resource nodes. They also couldn't reach the World Bosses located in these maps.

It should be known that World Bosses played a crucial role in the struggle between the various powers. This was because World Bosses were tied to something that was of utmost importance to the various powers.

Flying Mounts!

This was an item capable of overturning the status quo in the Top of Two Worlds. With Flying Mounts, a power could achieve rapid travel between the various cities. This meant that it would no longer have to restrict its base of operations to one particular city. It could also conduct trade with a much larger market.

"I'll inform the others, then."

Although Su Qianliu was curious as to what Shi Feng had planned, it was already late at night now. It would be dangerous to carry out an operation outside the city at night. Since Shi Feng didn't wish to explain his plan to her, she had no choice but to wait until tomorrow to learn about it.

Meanwhile, after Shi Feng had finished taking care of matters in God's Domain, he went offline to rest.

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He had remained online for the past several days because of his Tier 4 promotion. Even if the God's Domain Association's virtual gaming cabins allowed players to stay online for long periods, it was still necessary to exercise their real bodies from time to time.

When Shi Feng climbed out of his virtual gaming cabin, he immediately felt a refreshing feeling as his body bathed in the morning sun's rays. It was as if his body cells were breathing for the first time and brimming with life, and this feeling made him feel like he had grown a lot younger.

As expected of the Greater World's virtual gaming cabin. The improvements it provides to the body are simply amazing. Shi Feng couldn't help but sigh ruefully when he saw that one of the virtual gaming cabin's canisters of Life Potion was now empty. The God's Domain Association had thoroughly displayed its wealth by offering its members such generous service.

Shortly after Shi Feng got out of his cabin, the room's AI suddenly reminded him, "Contestant Shi Feng, there are 16 days left before the City Legion's selection ends. Your placing has fallen to 312th place. If you wish to become an official participant in the Star Lake Legion, you will have to strive to enter the top 100. Currently, you have two more free test attempts remaining.

"312th?"

Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the AI's reminder. "It's only been two weeks. Are these people improving so quickly?"

It was rare to see someone's position in a City Legion selection fall from 100th to beyond 300th in only two weeks. After all, two weeks' time wasn't usually enough for someone to achieve significant growth. It was especially true for people capable of entering the top 100 of a City Legion's selection.

"So be it. I can use this opportunity to test my current standards."

After saying so, Shi Feng walked out of his room and took the elevator to the first floor.

TL Notes:

Regarding the previously assumed differences between Bloodline and races(Lineage Crystals):

I have no idea what exactly are the differences between these two things anymore.

I previously thought Bloodlines were different from races due to the Bloodlines mentioned in the main story, e.g., Frost Bloodline (Chapter 1580), - Boulder Bloodline (Chapter 1580), - Hurricane Bloodline (Chapter 1580), - Scorching Flame Bloodline (Chapter 1580), - Dark Iron Basic Bloodline/ Dark Iron Bloodline (Chapter 1580), - Space-time Bloodline (Chapter 1951). These Bloodlines were even assigned ranks such as Basic, Advanced, etc.

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However, it would seem that the author intends to add a different category/meaning for Bloodlines? Now, it seems the term "Bloodline" is going to refer to race as well?

I'm not sure what the author intends for this term for now. We will only know more should the author decide to clarify things in a future chapter.