Chapter Eighty-One: AGODIL Club, The Zichuan Incident (Second Update)

“In that case, it seems the only suitable candidates are Tan Cong and Luo Feng.” Luo Wei crossed his arms over his chest, glanced at Tan Cong and Luo Feng, then spoke. Lao Hu nodded in agreement, looked at the two of them, and after pondering for a moment, suggested, “It’s more fitting for the healer. In most player-versus-player encounters or high-level dungeon events, when facing monsters with advanced AI, the healer often becomes the primary target. With a divine-tier piece of equipment like this, their survivability is greatly enhanced.”

“Yes, exactly. The proper way to use such a unique effect isn’t to recklessly absorb damage, but rather to serve as a defensive measure when there’s no way to dodge an attack. If you simply try to tank every hit, even if most of the damage is mitigated, over time you’ll inevitably suffer severe consequences,” Nightfeather agreed with Lao Hu’s reasoning.

“In that case, I’ll graciously accept it. I’ll have this divine-tier item reforged into an aura weapon that suits me,” Luo Feng said, accepting the equipment without hesitation, and no one objected.

“Divine-tier gear is exceptionally light, so it consumes less stamina in battle, and the likelihood of negative status effects is also reduced. For anyone, it’s top-tier equipment; as for emperor-tier, that’s on another level entirely,” Lao Hu remarked.

Hearing this, Nightfeather couldn’t help but ask, “Lao Hu, have you ever seen emperor-tier equipment? I mean experienced it firsthand, seen it up close?”

“I have. On a server I used to play, there was a sword specialist who wore a full set of seven emperor-tier items. Not only did he benefit from their attribute bonuses, but each piece was perfectly customized with special effects that suited him exactly. He was, in a word, invincible.” As Lao Hu spoke, a glint of longing shone in his eyes—tinged with envy, but also a trace of imperceptible coldness.

“A player with a complete set of emperor-tier gear is either a professional or a king among casuals.”

“He wasn’t a professional, yet he dominated the server for a very long time. Later, I heard he was invited to become an administrator by a club—currently one of the most famous in ‘Divine Calamity’: the AGODIL Club.”

At this, Huang Hong interjected, “The Invitation of Death.”

“Oh? It seems you’ve taken an interest in this club,” Lao Hu replied, looking at Huang Hong with curiosity.

“Agodofdeath’sinvitationletter—they have outstanding teams in other gaming circles too. I once received an invitation from them, but for personal reasons, I left the club after three months and came to Qingda to study,” Huang Hong said, his brows furrowed. He then looked at Lao Hu. “The ‘Divine Calamity’ administrator you mentioned must be Swordspirit.”

“So you’re from AGODIL. That makes sense, since information about him is protected by the club. The only reason I know is because I knew him personally,” Lao Hu answered.

The others were stunned, casting odd glances at Lao Hu.

“Heh, it’s all in the past, nothing worth mentioning. We haven’t been in touch for years; we were just childhood friends,” he added.

Just then, the voice of the Sinner Swordsman suddenly echoed—hoarse, laden with a tone of remorse.

“It was me… my mistake… that led to… all this.”

His words brimmed with regret, and in those dim, hollow eyes, a faint glimmer seemed to flicker to life. The group could clearly see two lines of tears sliding from the gradually brightening eyes.

“This is my fault… I… lost to… the desires… within my heart!”

The black mist around the Sinner Swordsman dissipated, revealing his bare upper body, densely covered in ancient patterns that gleamed with radiant light.

“Please… all of you… save…”

At that moment, a notification window appeared before Nightfeather and the others, with bold, dragon-like characters hovering in their vision:

“Road of the Sinner—Redemption”

Seeing this dungeon activation message, along with the quest prompt, the six couldn’t help but recall the “Ancient World,” but compared to that, this was only the start of a dungeon—not the opening of an entire map.

There was no doubt: they had automatically accepted the quest. The Sinner Swordsman, sprawled on the ground, had broken free from the black mist’s control; though his body had perished, his soul remained. At the spot where he’d fallen, a vortex appeared, revealing a projection of a gloomy, sinister land beyond.

The distribution of equipment went to Luo Feng without dispute, and the group prepared to enter the next dungeon area.

“Looking at the situation, I’m a bit moved. Not a single dispute over a divine-tier item. On the old servers, whenever an emperor or divine-tier piece dropped, it shook the whole server,” Lao Hu remarked.

Nightfeather heard the trace of helplessness in his tone and replied, “That hasn’t happened since the so-called Zichuan Incident, right?”

“You even know about the old days of ‘Divine Calamity’? That was years ago.”

“I’ve read about it. Back then, when professional teams didn’t fight with emperor or divine-tier gear, equipment snatching did happen, but it was rare. After Zichuan emerged, everything changed, and no one expected the impact to reshape the entire ‘Divine Calamity’ landscape—worldwide.”

“Zichuan? That’s a player?” Qu Zheng asked in confusion.

“Yes, a player—one of ‘Divine Calamity’s’ legendary figures, a peerless gunmaster. His most famous feat was wielding his gun as Zichuan, invincible against all comers. In one desperate match, he stood alone against six opponents,” Lao Hu explained.

Huang Hong looked at him in disbelief. “The gun class is that strong? He fought six at once in a match?”

“Zichuan was the one who brought divine and emperor-tier gear to full prominence. In tournaments, only he could unleash the full power of those items. Their special effects were usually considered useless or even detrimental by ordinary players, but Zichuan mastered the synergy between his skills and the negative effects, turning them to his advantage. With the set bonuses, he managed to withstand nearly seventy percent of the combined damage from six players in that match. Ever since, in many competitions, Zichuan became the unstoppable demon king, giving rise to the saying: ‘With Zichuan’s gun, none can stand against him.’”