Just as Shi Feng was contemplating how to take down the seemingly delicate Scorching Serpent Woman, the entire White River City region had already descended into chaos.
Not because of anything else — it was the level and honor leaderboard for the White River City region.
The first-place player's level had reached 13.
"What the hell? I finally ground my way to level 10 and entered White River City, and there's already a level-13 player? What kind of food is this guy eating?"
"Tell me about it. That Wei Wo Du Kuang was ranked somewhere in the tens before, and suddenly he's first place — he even dethroned the Goddess. That's just badass."
"Wei Wo Du Kuang is listed under the Dark Star Guild. Isn't that a third-rate guild? How are they this strong? They actually surpassed the Goddess of Ice and Snow on the leaderboard."
The official forums had already exploded. Shi Feng, who had been the hot topic before, was now old news.
Inside the level-10, ten-man team dungeon — Black Crow Cave.
A Black Feathered Crow standing six meters tall lay collapsed on the ground, motionless, having dropped a pile of items. Among them were several pieces of level-10 Iron Rank equipment, one or two Mythril Rank items, and a large quantity of rare materials.
Standing beside the fallen Black Feathered Crow was a woman with skin fairer than snow, features as though a fairy had descended to the mortal world, and a figure so exquisite it redefined perfection. Yet her eyes were razor-sharp, radiating an endless chill that struck fear into all who met her gaze.
This seemingly otherworldly woman was none other than Bai Qingxue.
System: The Snake of the Body guild has cleared Hard-mode Black Crow Cave. Guild reputation +300.
"Qingxue, someone just hit level 13 — way ahead of us. Why don't we stop running dungeons and just go grind levels instead?" Zhao Yueru, who possessed an equally devilish figure, pouted at the leaderboard in displeasure.
Ever since they had ventured into level-12 monster zones while still at level 9, they had discovered that their combat ability was constantly improving. At first, killing those monsters had been incredibly difficult — they had nearly wiped on multiple occasions. But after experiencing that razor-thin margin between life and death over and over, combined with long hours of study and reflection, something had clicked.
By the time they came to their senses, they realized their combat skills had improved dramatically. Grinding mobs three levels above them no longer felt like an impossible dream. Shi Feng had done it before, and now they could too — and just like him, they could do it without breaking a sweat.
After arriving in White River City, they had immediately started working on daily reputation quests and soon found an excellent spot for grinding mobs several levels above their own. They had been farming for a while, but their equipment was starting to fall behind, so they had entered dungeons to gear up and prepare for the first clear of the level-10 large-scale team dungeon. Otherwise, they never would have been overtaken by a player from a third-rate guild.
"Ignore him. Right now, compared to levels, the first clear of the large dungeon is what matters most. Besides, once you pass level 15, even clearing the level-10 Hell Difficulty dungeon won't count anymore. Never mind it — our gear is almost ready. Let's start with the first clears of the smaller level-10 dungeons." Bai Qingxue glanced at the top name on the leaderboard — Wei Wo Du Kuang — and a faint, serene smile appeared on her pure and flawless face.
Bai Qingxue's decision had every member of the team grinning with excitement.
They could finally show what they were made of.
In their previous virtual games, they had all been skilled players. Over the past period, they had been constantly pushing themselves against high-level monsters. During breaks, they studied videos from top-tier raid leaders — especially Shi Feng's combat footage. The clips were short but packed with brilliance, and the more they studied, the more amazed they became. Before they knew it, their own combat skills had skyrocketed.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say they had adapted to the Divine Realm's hyper-realistic combat style and learned to harness this body's true power.
Hard-mode team dungeons could no longer satisfy their hunger for growth. Having grown accustomed to the Transcendent state, only Hell Difficulty could truly get their blood pumping.
Just like that Hell Difficulty run at the Dark Moon Cemetery — when every cell in their bodies trembled with exhilaration. At the time, they had thought it was fear. It wasn't. It was pure, unbridled thrill.
Meanwhile, the other major guilds were equally stunned by the sudden appearance of Wei Wo Du Kuang — and equally dismissive.
But the ordinary players were genuinely impressed. Dark Star, a top-tier third-rate guild, had instantly cemented its position in White River City. Even second-rate guilds like the Assassin Alliance were left in the dust. None of the Assassin Alliance members appeared in the top ten on the leaderboard. Three of them sat within the top thirty: the Assassin Alliance's guild master at 18th, Ci Xin at 26th, and the alliance's top Elementalist at 29th.
But for the general player base, such rankings were essentially meaningless. The gap in fame generated by first place was simply too vast.
Scorching Fire Grotto.
Shi Feng had already lured the level-25 high-tier leader, the Scorching Serpent Woman, into a corner far removed from any lava.
The reason this particular leader was so formidable was due in no small part to the lava. Keeping her away from it instantly slashed the difficulty in half. Even so, she remained a high-tier leader boss — not something ordinary players could afford to provoke.
"Kneel before me — this is your punishment by fire!" The Scorching Serpent Woman's delicate white hand flicked, and a whip made of blazing flames materialized in her grip. With a savage crack, she lashed it toward Shi Feng's head. The fire whip streaked toward him like a bolt of crimson light.
Queen's Whip!
This was the Scorching Serpent Woman's go-to melee skill. A single strike could kill any level-matched tank without Blessing of the Scorching Sun. Moreover, it was an area-of-effect attack with a maximum range of 25 yards, making it impossible to overwhelm her with sheer numbers. One crack of the whip left nothing standing — not even tanks could block it, let alone the squishy classes.
Facing the incoming fire whip, Shi Feng dove into a rolling dodge and easily evaded the main lash. However, he was still engulfed by the wall of flames that followed and took over seventy points of damage.
Still, the move allowed him to create some distance. He spun mid-air and hurled a Starflame Ember.
A streak of red light shot forward and struck precisely on the Scorching Serpent Woman's raised left arm, triggering the rare Blazing Inferno effect. It dealt 754 points of direct damage along with 400 points of damage per second for 10 seconds, while simultaneously interrupting the Scorching Serpent Woman's next attack cycle.
"Damn you, human! I'll capture you and make you my pet!" The Scorching Serpent Woman's exotic, stunning face twisted with a flash of fury. She whipped her tail hard against the ground, her speed surging forward in an instant as she closed the distance between them.
"This should be about right." Glancing at the surrounding terrain, Shi Feng suddenly halted his retreat, turned to face the Scorching Serpent Woman, and hurled an Elemental Icicle Grenade.
There was no longer any searing lava here. In every direction, rocks as hard as Black Iron stretched out — drastically limiting the Scorching Serpent Woman's most devastating skill: Queen's Wrath.
That skill commanded all nearby lava to obey her will, transforming it into a towering wave that swept away everything in its path. Even with Shi Feng's 123 points of fire resistance, he couldn't survive that attack. It was, without question, the Scorching Serpent Woman's party-wiping ultimate.
Beyond that, Shi Feng also had to stay vigilant against the Scorching Serpent Woman's arrow shots — they dealt a hybrid of physical and fire damage, and Blessing of the Scorching Sun offered no mitigation against the physical component. Two arrows at most would end his life. He would need to tread carefully.