As the results of Bai Qingxue's battle spread, the entire Star Moon Kingdom was thrown into an uproar.
Countless male players were captivated by Bai Qingxue's valiant and dashing demeanor, and one after another they rushed to sign up for the Snake of the Body, hoping to get close to her.
"So she actually won?" Purple Pupils stared at the screen showing Bai Qingxue's victory, her heart unable to calm down for a long time.
A seasoned master who had achieved considerable depth in the Realm of Subtlety — and yet, despite having nearly equal strength, had lost to Bai Qingxue just like that. She simply couldn't wrap her head around it.
"It looks like the Black Water Consortium really embarrassed itself this time. If word gets out that they wanted to seize the Snake of the Body and drive Bai Qingxue out, it'll be hard for the Black Water Consortium to operate in Star Moon Kingdom. Even though Bai Qingxue is an enemy, I really have to thank her." Xinghe Wangxi was also shocked by the strength Bai Qingxue had displayed. "The next little while is going to be quite the show."
The Snake of the Body and the Xinghe Alliance were old rivals. Everyone had assumed that the Snake of the Body, weakened by Cao Chenghua's troubles, could be suppressed during this window. But then Zero Wing appeared as an allied force — not only did they fail to push the Snake of the Body down, the Snake of the Body actually surpassed the Xinghe Alliance.
Now the Snake of the Body had been acquired by the Black Water Consortium, and yet Bai Qingxue pulled off a stunt like this. It was entirely possible that a new Snake of the Body would emerge in short order.
Star Moon Kingdom had become quite lively these days. Besides the looming Black Water Consortium, the recently prominent Tianzang Guild was also vying from within, showing signs of competing for the position of top guild in Star Moon City. If the Xinghe Alliance hadn't already secured investment from Tianji Pavilion, it might have struggled to survive in Star Moon City.
"Boss Lie Feng, are we really doing it here?" A level-39 Ranger standing beside Lie Feng Duanhun glanced around nervously at the surroundings.
The defending NPCs inside the Demonic Arena were all at least level-200, Second-Class Professionals — not to mention Third-Class ones patrolling around. With so many NPC guards on hand, the moment they made a move, these NPCs could easily one-shot them.
It was true that someone had successfully assassinated a high-ranking member of the King's Return within the Demonic Arena before, prompting the King's Return to post an astronomical bounty. But that person's feat wasn't something just anyone could replicate. He was now celebrated across the player base as a legend, reverently known as the Ice Eye Killer.
Even many superpowers had secretly offered enormous sums to contact this Ice Eye Killer, hoping to hire him to eliminate high-ranking personnel from rival factions.
The superpowers of Divine Realm were by no means short of experts. In theory, they could handle things with their own people — and yet they still resorted to hiring the Ice Eye Killer.
Why?
Because even they couldn't pull it off themselves. That was why they were willing to pay such a steep price.
The people here were indeed skilled within the Black Water Consortium, but they couldn't compare to the Consortium's very top players. If they tried to kill someone inside the Demonic Arena, there was an over eighty percent chance that the surrounding guards would take them out before they even touched Bai Qingxue.
"This is definitely not the place to make a move. Once they leave the Demonic Arena, we can strike then without any rush." Lie Feng Duanhun observed the NPC guard patrol near Bai Qingxue and immediately dismissed the idea of acting now. "When the time comes, Stone and Broken Fang — you two coordinate with me. The rest of you hold off the NPCs. Given Bai Qingxue's current condition, the three of us working together can take her down in a couple of moves."
Everyone nodded and began running through the assassination plan in their minds.
Stone and Broken Fang were both level-39 Assassins — a class that specialized in ambush. If a successful sneak attack landed on a Berserker, there was a sixty to seventy percent chance the Berserker would be killed outright, instantly losing nearly half their health. If two Assassins coordinated, a same-level Berserker had virtually no chance of survival and could be one-shot on the spot.
To make matters worse, they now also had a Berserker serving as primary damage dealer and distraction. A Berserker caught in an ambush would face nothing short of instant death.
Moreover, Stone and Broken Fang were both ranked Assassin experts within the Black Water Consortium, each having achieved the Realm of Subtlety — though still a step behind Lie Feng Duanhun. In a straight one-on-one with Bai Qingxue under equal stats, either of them could win. Against a weakened Bai Qingxue, the three of them together wanting to instant-kill her was child's play.
"Guild Leader Bai really is impressive. I didn't expect her to have saved a trick for the very end. That Lie Feng Duanhun is a top-ranked expert who defeated the 354th player on the Storm Rankings. Guild Leader Bai's ranking is probably going to jump considerably after this." Shi Feng looked at Bai Qingxue walking toward him and gained some understanding of why so many experts had fallen to her in the past.
That final instant of combat — most onlookers probably hadn't caught the details, but he had seen it with perfect clarity.
In that last critical moment, Bai Qingxue's control over her body's power had reached a level of exquisite subtlety. That was the only reason she could precisely direct six immensely powerful streams of sword energy and hit Lie Feng Duanhun squarely. Otherwise, given Lie Feng Duanhun's reflexes, facing six sudden sword beams out of nowhere, he would have dodged at least most of them — and the final outcome would have been entirely different.
Without any mentor, having spent only a short time in Divine Realm, and shouldering the burden of managing the enormous Snake of the Body — even so, Bai Qingxue had still reached the Realm of Subtlety. Her talent was truly monstrous.
After all, to reach his current level, it had taken Shi Feng ten years of combat experience in Divine Realm, along with countless fortuitous encounters, epiphanies, and guidance.
Even Ziyan Liuyun, whom he had personally tutored, had only just stepped into the Realm of Subtlety, while Shui Se Qiangwei still hadn't gotten there. Though he believed that once Shui Se Qiangwei entered the simulated training system, she would likely break through soon as well.