After the battle with the Bronze Dragon King ended, Shi Feng had expected to be sent directly out of the Ancient God's Maze. However, when he opened his eyes, he found that he had not appeared in the outside world. Instead, he was standing inside a grand and opulent palace.
The palace was resplendent with gold and jade. A blood-red carpet ran up the center, leading all the way to a golden throne at the top. The ceiling overhead was a dazzling expanse of stars, so vivid that it felt as though one could survey the entire universe just by standing in the great hall — a truly breathtaking sight.
Standing on either side of the red carpet were rows of knights wielding long spears and clad in golden armor. Every single one of these gold-armored knights was at least Level 200, and none were below the fourth-class tier. The two knight captains at the head of the formation were fifth-class professionals. Moreover, these knights were not human — they were genuine angels.
Any one of these fourth-class angels possessed power comparable to a fifth-class human professional, and the leading knight captains could rival fifth-class dragons.
If all of these angels were to join forces, toppling an empire would be child's play.
Before Shi Feng could even figure out what was going on, a system notification suddenly chimed in his mind.
System: Congratulations, player. You have triggered the hidden event "Heart of the Brave." You have been summoned by the Grand Angel Vaotla.
"Grand Angel Vaotla?" The system notification took Shi Feng by surprise.
The angel race was not significantly inferior to the dragon race in terms of life tier. A Grand Angel was comparable to a Dragon King — an existence that could rival a sixth-class deity.
And each Grand Angel bore a mission of their own, one that could influence the entire Divine Realm.
In Shi Feng's previous life, the sixth-class War God Shuanghui had been nothing more than an obscure, ordinary expert before reaching that rank. But after a chance encounter with a Grand Angel, he unlocked an ancient world that sent shockwaves through the Divine Realm, reshaping the balance of power at the time. Several superpowers even fell as a result. The War God Shuanghui rose meteorically, ascending to sixth-class in one fell swoop.
Back then, that story had been held up as legend among the Divine Realm's players. Everyone dreamed of encountering a Grand Angel of their own. Unfortunately, in the entire recorded history of the Divine Realm's players, such an event had occurred only twice.
Shi Feng had never imagined he would meet a Grand Angel — an existence capable of influencing the entire Divine Realm — here.
Inside the great hall, before Shi Feng could even recover his composure, a handsome young man materialized before him. The man wore pure white holy vestments and possessed four pairs of pristine white wings.
The instant this angel appeared, Shi Feng had not sensed a thing. What surprised him even more was that he could feel absolutely nothing from this angel. The being stood right in front of him, yet gave the impression of not existing at all — a stark contrast to the suffocating pressure radiating from the Bronze Dragon King. Had the Dragon King not been sealed within the magic array, his sheer aura alone could have crushed Shi Feng flat.
"I watched your battle with the Bronze Dragon King in its entirety — a splendid performance! Even the Dragon King himself never expected that he would be wounded by a human." The young man smiled at Shi Feng and spoke in a gentle voice. "From your fight with the Bronze Dragon King, I could clearly feel your courage, your tenacity, and that unyielding spirit of never giving up. That is why I brought you here. I would like to ask a favor of you. Would you be willing?"
System: Will the player accept Grand Angel Vaotla's request?
"Honorable Lord Vaotla, it would be my privilege," Shi Feng said respectfully.
If it were a request from some other NPC, he might have considered declining. But refusing a Grand Angel would be the act of a fool. Tasks from a Grand Angel were nothing like ordinary quests — there was no severe penalty for failure. Instead, the rewards they bestowed were beyond imagination.
The War God Shuanghui, for instance, was said to have received a Grand Angel's blessing. That alone catapulted his strength to extraordinary heights and gave him a tremendous advantage in the ancient world he had unlocked, allowing him to accomplish one impossible feat after another.
"Wonderful. At present, the world barrier of the Divine Realm's continent has been struck by the barrier of the Undead World, creating numerous gaps. Undead beings from the Undead World have already slipped through these gaps and begun causing havoc on the continent. As angels, we wish to intervene, but we are bound by the decrees established by the gods and cannot freely meddle in the affairs of the Divine Realm's continent. That is why we need a representative to handle these matters." Grand Angel Vaotla spoke slowly and deliberately. "I want you to become my representative and drive these undead from the Divine Realm's continent."
System: Player has accepted the hidden quest "The Undead World." The player must eliminate the undead hiding within the Divine Realm's continent who are stirring up chaos. Rewards: Unknown.
"Of course, with your current strength, you likely cannot accomplish this on your own. That is why I have prepared two items for you. One is a Dragon Call Flute that I crafted with great care. The other is this stone. Both will help you deal with the undead who have infiltrated the Divine Realm."
As he spoke, Vaotla produced a gleaming golden horn and an unassuming black stone, handing them both to Shi Feng.
Dragon Call Flute (Replica), Legendary-grade item. A horn of legend said to be able to summon legions of dragons. By expending three thousand Advanced Mana Cores, it can summon five dragons to assist in battle. Duration: three hours. Cooldown: fifteen days. (The dragons summoned by this item can only fight NPCs. They cannot engage players or monsters.)
"Legendary-grade item?!" Shi Feng stared at the Dragon Call Flute, momentarily at a loss for words.
He had to admit — it truly was a Legendary-grade item. Being able to summon five dragons at once was staggering. If the Grand Angel hadn't given it to him specifically for surviving this quest, and if it could be freely used, it would be practically invincible.
The cost was steep, however. Advanced Mana Cores were drops obtained only from high-tier bosses. They were rare materials used in the crafting of many master-level potions and epic-grade equipment, and were also required for the construction of many towns. For a first-rate guild, having two thousand in reserve would already be considered decent. This item demanded three thousand in a single use — no ordinary guild could sustain that kind of expenditure.
After examining the Dragon Call Flute, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the black stone in his other hand.
Mysterious Stone Fragment, Consumable. Outwardly nothing more than an unremarkable shard of rock, yet it contains a sliver of powerful divine energy. Grants the player a chance to achieve Self-Awakening. Usable up to thirty-three times.
"Self-Awakening! This stone is that powerful?" Shi Feng hardly knew what to make of the black fragment in his hand.
Self-Awakening was something most current players wouldn't even comprehend, but he understood it perfectly. Self-Awakening could forcibly grant a player mastery over a Battle Technique.
Of course, this forcibly acquired mastery came with a serious drawback — the stamina consumption was far greater than that incurred by learning the technique normally. However, once the forced mastery was achieved, it would greatly assist the player in learning similar techniques going forward. That was because it allowed the player to personally experience how their body executed the Battle Technique — something that no amount of observation or secondary experience could match.
Just as Shi Feng was about to examine the stone more closely, Grand Angel Vaotla waved his hand. Shi Feng felt himself being transported out of the great hall, deposited back into the spatial corridor through which he had arrived, and sent flying steadily toward the Divine Realm's continent.