The streets of White River City were engulfed in chaos, with large numbers of players getting wiped out every moment.
However, for reasons no one could understand, White River City had not sent a single guard to stop the players' carnage. Instead, the guards had merely sealed off the large district around the teleportation hall. As long as the fighting stayed within this district, the guards wouldn't intervene—they simply stood by with their spears, watching silently.
The players, meanwhile, had gone completely berserk over the Mechanical Butcher's loot drops, paying no attention whatsoever to Shi Feng standing on the distant rooftop. Every last one of them was focused on the items scattered on the ground.
But the female knight Turtledove, standing nearby, used her Observation skill to glance up at Shi Feng and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Level 34?! How can he possibly be that high a level?"
Right now, the vast majority of players hadn't even reached level 20, yet Shi Feng was already at level 34…
Just seeing the number 34 was enough to crush any player's spirit.
In the Divine Realm, a level difference of five or more created enormous suppression, let alone a gap of ten or more.
But then Turtledove noticed that Shi Feng's level had suddenly dropped by one. That threw her for a loop—his character hadn't died, yet he'd lost a level.
What Turtledove had no way of knowing was that Shi Feng had just dumped a massive amount of experience points into the seven skills of the Seven Star Ring.
The experience required at level 34 was enormous, and it was enough to push all seven skills up to level 3.
**Ring of Earth**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 6 million EXP) — Defense increased by 40%, damage taken reduced by 25%. Grants the skill Absolute Defense, which negates 12 instances of damage. Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds.
**Ring of Water**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 6 million EXP) — Healing increased by 40%, mana cost reduced by 20%. Grants the skill Life Bloom, which immediately restores 15% of the target's HP per second for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds.
**Ring of Wind**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 6 million EXP) — Movement speed increased by 30%, attack speed increased by 30%, agility increased by 20%. Grants the skill Soar, allowing short-duration wind riding with movement speed boosted by 120% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
**Ring of Fire**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 6 million EXP) — Damage increased by 35%, target's defense reduced by 30%. Grants the skill Spirit Flame Storm, dealing 600% damage within a 15×15-yard area for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
**Ring of Time**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 10 million EXP) — All skill cooldowns reduced by 25%. Reduces movement speed and attack speed of enemies within a 100-yard radius by 25% and increases their skill cooldowns by 30%. Grants the skill Absolute Time, which prevents all enemies within a 60×60-yard area from using any skills or items for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes 30 seconds.
**Ring of Illusion**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 10 million EXP) — All attributes increased by 25%, all attributes of enemies within a 100-yard radius reduced by 30%. Grants the skill Phantom World, which grants immunity to all magic damage, converting 15% of magic damage received into healing that restores the player's HP for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
**Ring of Void**, current level 3 (upgradeable, requires 10 million EXP) — Grants immunity to all control and restriction effects. Grants the skill Spatial Shift, allowing instantaneous teleportation to any point within a 360,000-yard range. Cooldown: 8 minutes.
"As expected, the experience required keeps getting more ridiculous at higher levels, but the skill improvements are undeniably significant. I wonder how far they'll go if I pour everything in." Shi Feng began upgrading the Seven Star Ring once more without hesitation.
This time, he pushed all seven skills straight to level 5 in one go, and his own level dropped from 34 down to 26.
**Ring of Earth**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 12 million EXP) — Defense increased by 45%, damage taken reduced by 35%. Grants Absolute Defense, negating 16 instances of damage. Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds.
**Ring of Water**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 12 million EXP) — Healing increased by 60%, mana cost reduced by 30%. Grants Life Bloom, restoring 20% of the target's HP per second for 40 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds.
**Ring of Wind**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 12 million EXP) — Movement speed increased by 40%, attack speed increased by 40%, agility increased by 30%. Grants Soar, boosting movement speed by 150% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
**Ring of Fire**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 12 million EXP) — Damage increased by 40%, target's defense reduced by 40%. Grants Spirit Flame Storm, dealing 800% damage within a 25×25-yard area for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
**Ring of Time**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 20 million EXP) — All skill cooldowns reduced by 30%. Reduces movement speed and attack speed of enemies within a 150-yard radius by 30% and increases their skill cooldowns by 40%. Grants Absolute Time, preventing enemies within a 75×75-yard area from using any skills or items for 24 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes 30 seconds.
**Ring of Illusion**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 20 million EXP) — All attributes increased by 30%, all attributes of enemies within a 150-yard radius reduced by 30%. Grants Phantom World, granting magic damage immunity and converting 15% of magic damage into healing for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
**Ring of Void**, current level 5 (upgradeable, requires 20 million EXP) — Immunity to all control and restriction effects. Grants Spatial Shift, teleporting the user to any location within a 400,000-yard range. Cooldown: 6 minutes.
After reviewing the level 5 stats of the Seven Star Ring, even the perpetually calm Shi Feng couldn't help but get excited.
The Seven Star Ring was a legendary divine artifact, and even its epic-grade imitation wielded power beyond anything players could imagine.
At just level 5, Shi Feng seriously suspected that once the ring was pushed to its absolute maximum, it wouldn't fall short of a true legendary item.
However, the experience required for the next upgrade was terrifying. Reaching level 6 was simply impossible at his current level.
"Next up is the ultimate skill, Flame Burst." Shi Feng opened his skill panel and began upgrading Flame Burst.
He had already raised it to level 5 back in the Flame God Cavern. It dealt 420% damage across 6 hits with a 3-minute 30-second cooldown. The experience he had left should be enough to push it up a bit further.
He dumped it all in at once, raising Flame Burst by four levels straight to level 9, and his own level dropped from 26 down to 21.
**Flame Burst**, cast time 1 second — Concentrates all flame power into a single point, dealing 750% damage to the target across twelve hits. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Current level 9 (requires 60 million EXP to advance to Tier 1 skill). (To be continued...)