Chapter Nine: The Illusory Realm of Violet Emptiness, A Forceful Response

In the blink of an eye, the four members of Nightfeather had already eliminated two opponents. The remaining ranged attackers were retreating, but Nightfeather’s true target was the healer. The attack power of Nightfeather’s group surpassed the expectations of their six adversaries, who attributed it to superior equipment and mounts, neglecting Nightfeather’s precise calculations. Within mere minutes, the advantage and disadvantage became clear: Nightfeather constantly bought time for Luo Feng to cool down his skills, while Huang Hong and Luo Wei maintained their health in battle, never burdening Luo Feng.

Soon, Nightfeather’s party claimed an unassailable position. The opposing healer couldn’t restore health in time, leaving only the healer alive while the other five lay defeated on the ground.

In the global channel, 24 Cool Night said, “You must be a fixed team, but you’re missing a true leader—hence why the four of us defeated you. Don’t be discouraged.”

Without waiting for a reply, Nightfeather turned and left, fiery hoofprints still smoldering on the ground.

Qingcheng University, Student Dormitory, Building 701

“Damn, Cool Night is so arrogant.”

“Just four of them beat all six of us.”

“They targeted the ranged attackers, dealing instant damage and killing two in a flash.”

A loud bang sounded as someone slammed the table, silencing the other five. All eyes turned to a young man wearing a vest and shorts, his crew-cut face dark with anger, a cold gleam in his eyes as he growled, “Cool Night!”

At that moment, Nightfeather shivered, sneezing several times in succession. “Is someone thinking about me? Perhaps a beautiful lady?”

“I want to discuss what we should do next.”

“I suspect our names will soon be renowned in Xuantian, at this rate,” Tan Cong said, tapping his fingers on the table.

Nightfeather nodded, “Those six clearly fit the profile of pay-to-win warriors—judging by their gear, they’ve spent plenty. If not for our advantage with the new-player exclusive set, our superiority wouldn’t have been so obvious.”

Indeed, not long after, the global channel was flooded by the six-member team. Apparently, they’d formed a guild before the server even opened, and their people easily dominated the channel.

World 20 Fairy-flavored Sweetie: “Cool Night, dare to show yourself and challenge us in the non-safe zone of Knight Town? Four level 24s—do you have the nerve to start a yellow battle? Dare to face us as a group?”

World 20 Rogue-flavored Old Youth: “Mocking us? If you dare show yourself, I guarantee you’ll know what it feels like to be beaten into quitting.”

World 20 Know Your Cold and Warm: “You’re hilarious. Dozens targeting a few—is that not shameless? If you fought one-on-one, who among you could win?”

Suddenly, a message like this brought the global channel to a halt. The reason was obvious: someone appeared, openly taking Cool Night’s side.

This scene left Nightfeather’s group a bit surprised. Luo Feng clasped his hands behind his head, grinning, “Well now, when did you recruit external support? Is your team bigger than just six?”

Nightfeather shook his head in confusion, frowning slightly, “I have no idea who it is, but they clearly dislike those guys as much as we do.”

Then a message popped up in Nightfeather’s friend list: Know Your Cold and Warm requested to add you as a friend.

“Third Brother, not bad! He wants to add you—accept and see what he wants,” Huang Hong urged, eager to learn more about Know Your Cold and Warm.

The others gathered behind Nightfeather, all smiling and urging him to accept, especially Luo Feng, who stirred the pot, “Go ahead and add him. If we want to stand our ground, we need connections.”

Nightfeather accepted, adding Know Your Cold and Warm as a friend.

A chat window appeared on the screen.

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Smiling Rose, Cool Night the master.”

Cool Night: “Who are you?”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Begging, are you planning to form a guild at level 30?”

Cool Night: “No such plan.”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “I sincerely hope your fixed team would join my faction. I can offer you the guild leader or deputy leader position. Just say the word—even if you want to be a hands-off leader, I will not object. You can recommend a member of your team to be a deputy leader as well.”

Nightfeather’s group was momentarily stunned by the offer—it was unexpectedly generous. Though their level was ahead, whether they could maintain it later wasn’t certain, so they couldn’t quite grasp Know Your Cold and Warm’s intentions.

Cool Night: “Why invite us?”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “No reason, just want to invite you. I can’t stand ‘Three Years Younger’ and his crowd—they’re all pay-to-win players, while mine are mostly ordinary players. Six against four, and when they lose, they spam the global channel and rally people. I can’t stand it, so I want to help you.”

Cool Night: “Honestly, we’re not that interested. There are still six levels to go before thirty. You’re interested in us because we level quickly and have rare equipment—gear we exchanged from veteran forum users, just lucky to get it. Anyone paying attention would know. Other servers probably have people with this new-player set too, right?”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Awkward, that’s true, but I still hope you’ll join us. I have at least a hundred players gathered. In the new-player server, a hundred isn’t shocking, but it’s a solid foundation.”

“Third Brother, a hundred? If you can rally them, wouldn’t that be…”

Qu Zheng jumped up excitedly, his antics drawing exasperated looks from Nightfeather’s group.

Luo Feng pressed Qu Zheng’s head down, “God’s Demise is different from other games. You know the player numbers—a hundred isn’t the most or least in the new-player server. The level-one guild cap is five hundred.”

“At the moment, if we join, it might have good results,” Luo Wei said, arms crossed, thoughtful.

Nightfeather furrowed his brow, then replied in-game.

Cool Night: “How many fixed teams in your hundred?”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Excited—sixteen fixed teams, plus four solo players. Our guild’s voice channel already has a hundred online, and more are joining.”

Cool Night: “What do you plan to name the guild?”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Great Power.”

Cool Night: “Sounds awful.”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Awkward—Cool Night, what name do you suggest?”

After a brief pause, Nightfeather replied, and the others nodded in agreement. His choice had a hint of ancient style and a touch of fantasy.

Cool Night: “Purple Illusory Realm.”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Purple Illusory Realm—a splendid name! If you join us, we’ll name the guild as you wish.”

Clearly, Know Your Cold and Warm was eager for Nightfeather’s group to join.

Cool Night: “No problem, we’ll discuss once the server raises the level cap today. Let’s leave it for now.”

Know Your Cold and Warm: “Staring—the server cap is level 40, and the experience required is enormous. Are you sure you can manage?”

Cool Night: “We’ll see.”

After that, Nightfeather’s group took on their next quests, and Nightfeather stopped replying to Know Your Cold and Warm. The war of words in the global channel reached astonishing heights, far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Know Your Cold and Warm rallied many players to support Cool Night—at least a hundred joined in, barraging ‘Three Years Younger’ and his allies with dazzling screens of messages.

World 20 Know Your Cold and Warm: “You think you can smear a leveling expert with your paltry skills? Are you brainless?”

World 20 Understand Your Joy and Sorrow: “Laughable, ‘Three Years Younger’—is your intelligence really as your name suggests, only three years old?”

World 20 Cute Uncle Who Loves Naughty Girls: “You claim to be so great—why not have your six fight our six in a yellow battle? I’d love to see whether your skills match your shamelessness.”

World 20 Naughty Girl Who Loves Cute Uncle: “So you’ve got some cash—no need to show off. Cool Night doesn’t care for your antics.”

World 21 Three Years Younger: “Staring—you want to flood the global channel? A yellow battle is fine with me.”

The insults on the global channel burned hotter than ever, and Nightfeather glanced at it now and then, his brow furrowed. So many were helping him; he felt compelled to do something in return.

Suddenly, a single message silenced the entire channel.

“Tonight at nine, ‘Three Years Younger,’ no matter how many you bring—solo or team of six—I, Cool Night, accept your challenge!”