After Aileadi finished speaking, she fell silent, her eyes slightly narrowed, her greatsword planted before her as she quietly awaited Shi Feng's response. She showed no intention of speaking further, like a mechanical doll devoid of any emotion.
"The Gate of Gold can directly provide inheritance guidance?" Shi Feng looked at Aileadi, who stood like a statue, and felt an indescribable wave of astonishment wash over him.
According to what he knew from his previous life, the creators within the Inheritance Gates were lofty beings who would only appear when a challenger entered the space to explain the rules. After that, players could forget about ever seeing them again.
He hadn't expected that Aileadi would not only appear on the first floor of the Holy Mountain, but would actually give him two choices.
One of those choices was to receive inheritance guidance. If the top experts from his previous life ever found out about this, they would be green with envy — some might even be driven to kill him for it.
In the Divine Realm, once players reached the Tier 3 Class, there was no more guidance to be had. Everything had to be figured out on their own, especially the unlocking of the Mana Body.
Even with an Inheritance Gate, the Gate only provided some opponents for players to observe and learn from. Everything still depended on the player themselves.
To receive direct inheritance guidance — that was the dream of every top-tier player.
Though Tier 3 experts in the Divine Realm could unlock the Mana Body simply by investing enough time, how far one could unlock it depended entirely on the player.
Because unlocking the Mana Body wasn't considered complete once you hit 100%.
One hundred percent unlocking was merely the basic requirement for activating the Tier 3 Mana Body. The further one unlocked beyond that, the stronger the effects the Mana Body would grant.
But surpassing 100% was extraordinarily difficult. If the path one took in the early stages was wrong, it was nearly impossible to exceed 100% — one could only complete the most basic Mana Body unlock.
With direct guidance from an ancient inheritance, many of the top experts from his previous life could have taken that next step, possibly even breaking into the ranks of peak Tier 5 experts. After all, the stronger the unlocked Mana Body, the easier subsequent advancements would be. This was why some experts who only had Silver-grade Mana Bodies could forcefully break through to Tier 5, while some with Gold-grade Mana Bodies remained stuck at Tier 4.
Now that Aileadi was offering such terms, he almost thought he was dreaming.
"Lord Aileadi, I choose to challenge you!" After a moment of stunned silence, Shi Feng selected the first option without the slightest hesitation.
Challenging Aileadi was undoubtedly an extremely reckless decision, but if he let this opportunity slip, he would regret it to his dying breath.
He couldn't currently claim control over the Star Bastion Lord's Mansion, but he would have another chance to come back for it. However, if he gave up on challenging Aileadi, there would almost certainly be no next chance to receive inheritance guidance.
His was an Epic-grade Mana Body. Its unlock difficulty was already far above those Gold-grade Mana Bodies. Reaching even 100% would be tremendously difficult — and as of now, he had only glimpsed a single narrow path. Whether that path could even lead to 100% remained uncertain, let alone anything beyond it.
"Good. You've made a wise judgment," Aileadi said, her eyes opening as a trace of appreciation appeared in her gaze toward Shi Feng. "If you had chosen to decline the challenge, then no matter how many times you came here in the future, you would never again have the chance to challenge me — let alone receive my inheritance guidance. But don't entertain thoughts of withstanding even three of my strikes. Even if I suppress my strength to the Tier 3 level, with your still-unlocked Epic-grade Mana Body, the probability of you passing is less than ten percent."
As she spoke, Aileadi drew the azure runic greatsword from the ground and raised it high above her head with both hands.
In an instant, a terrifying surge of mana flooded outward from Aileadi as its epicenter, blanketing everything within a hundred-yard radius. The runic greatsword in her hands became the eye of a mana storm, its horrifying power seeming capable of tearing space itself apart.
Shi Feng could feel every bit of this clearly. None of it came from any magical skill — it was simply the force of a single swing.
"Take this! First sword — Light and Shadow!"
With that declaration, Aileadi swung her blade straight down toward Shi Feng, a full forty yards away.
A colossal phantom sword composed entirely of mana hurtled downward, shattering space inch by inch wherever it passed, as though cleaving a gash through the heavens and earth themselves.
"So this is the true use of the Mana Body?" Shi Feng stared at the sight, momentarily dazed.
He had encountered numerous Tier 5 NPCs before, but he had never once seen a Tier 5 NPC wield the Mana Body to such a degree.