Chapter 2636 – Beginning of Chaos

Shi Feng aside, the sudden appearance of the crystal stele surprised everyone else present and piqued their curiosity. They never thought that the trial monsters, which had not dropped a single item until now, would actually drop a stele.

“What an amazing stele! It’s causing the ambient Mana density to skyrocket just by hovering there! Even the surrounding space has become heavier!” Crimson Star exclaimed when she registered the changes the crystal stele brought to its environs. “If a Tier 2 player were here, they wouldn’t even be able to approach it.”

In regard to this situation, though, Violet Sword’s members could not help a little disappointment.

Even a fool could tell that the crystal stele was extraordinary. However, according to the agreement between Zero Wing and Violet Sword, aside from the Trial Boss’s loot, every other discovery made and loot found in the trial would belong to Zero Wing. Hence, they could only look at the stele.

“What is this stele? Not only can it not be appraised, but you can’t even touch it. It’s as if this stele doesn’t exist in this space,” Aqua Rose said with a gloomy expression on her face as she stood before the stele. “Could it be a holographic projection?”

This crystal stele was incredibly precious. Even if they couldn’t appraise it and discover its uses, they could still set it up inside a room to increase the room’s Mana density. This room could then be used as a training facility for players.

However, if this treasure was merely a hologram, then it can’t even serve as a decoration.

“This isn’t a hologram. It’s just that we can’t touch it,” Shi Feng said, smiling.

“Guild Leader, you’re still in the mood for jokes? If we can’t touch it, then we can only look at this stele and nothing more,” Aqua Rose said anxiously when she saw Shi Feng’s nonchalant attitude toward this situation.

In God’s Domain, the prerequisite for players to store an item in their bag space was for them to come into physical contact with the target item. If they couldn’t touch the stele, how were they supposed to take it away?

“Looking at it is indeed our only option,” Shi Feng said, nodding while smiling. “This stele isn’t an item that can be taken away. The only thing we can take away is the information recorded on it.”

The existence of Ancient Legacy Steles was still foreign to the current players of God’s Domain because these steles appeared only in ancient ruins or secret lands.

In the past, the discovery of an Ancient Legacy Stele would always trigger a storm of bloodshed.

This was because Ancient Legacy Steles recorded the lost technology of ancient civilization. Any Guild that managed to get their hands on this technology could undergo a qualitative transformation.

In Shi Feng’s previous life, a total of five Ancient Legacy Steles had appeared in God’s Domain. During the ten years God’s Domain had been in operation, only five Ancient Legacy Steles had appeared. One could easily imagine the value of those steles.

This was also the reason why Shi Feng was so excited to see the Ancient Legacy Stele appear in the Hero Trial.

“Take away the information recorded?” Aqua Rose was confused by Shi Feng’s words. No matter how she looked at the stele, she simply couldn’t imagine how he was going to take away the information on it.

Currently, they couldn’t touch the stele at all. And even after using the Master-ranked Appraisal, she still couldn’t extract any information from the stele. Just how were they supposed to take the recorded information?

“You can’t extract the information recorded on the stele using normal methods. Not only is the information recorded massive, but it is also extremely complex. If you wish to extract the recorded information, you have to record the magic arrays carved on the stele,” Shi Feng explained.

“Record the magic arrays on it?” Aqua Rose gaped in shock as she looked at the worn stele.

There were roughly 40 magic arrays engraved on the crystal stele, and even the simplest one was an Advanced Magic Array. Recording them all was simply a joke.

They could spend only five days inside the trial space. Meanwhile, it took around half a day to learn one Advanced Magic Array, what more magic arrays above the Advanced rank.

“Relax. This task might be difficult for others, but it isn’t particularly difficult for me. All I need is some time,” Shi Feng said confidently. “During this period, you’ll lead the team and continue taking care of the trial monsters.”

Learning the magic arrays recorded on the Ancient Legacy Stele would indeed be arduous for an Advanced Magician. However, he had long been an Intermediate Master Magician. Two or three days would be more than enough for him to learn and record these magic arrays.

“I understand.”

Aqua Rose nodded before taking charge of the team to continue clearing out the trial monsters in their way. As for Shi Feng, he sat quietly before the Ancient Legacy Stele, confusing Violet Sword’s members. However, they did not put too much thought into the matter. After all, the stele belonged to Zero Wing. How Zero Wing dealt with it was up to the Guild’s discretion.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng started analyzing the layers of magic arrays engraved on the stele.

Learning a magic array was considerably easier than decoding one. The troublesome part was having to memorize a lot of things. However, Shi Feng’s brain capacity now surpassed that of ordinary people. Learning and recording the magic arrays was a piece of cake for him.

In less than an hour, Shi Feng had already memorized one Advanced Magic Array and started on the second one.

In the meantime, Aqua Rose and the others kept clearing out trial monsters and advancing down the tunnel. However, the deeper into the tunnel they went, the more densely packed the trial monsters became. Eventually, the number of monsters the team faced each time had grown so high that even Zero Wing’s members started feeling taxed. As a result, the team’s speed of advance slowed.

Fortunately, fighting inside this trial ground was akin to taking part in an intense training session. Everyone’s combat standard increased as they fought the trial monsters.

Moreover, the EXP everyone obtained was incredibly generous. In just two short days, everyone had gained a little more than a level. Aqua Rose and the other members of Zero Wing had already reached Level 119, whereas Violet Sword’s and Azure’s members were now at Level 114. Crimson Star and Wildfighter were just 30% away from Level 115. The leveling speed here astonished Crimson Star and the others.

As everyone’s motivation was increasing, a series of system announcements suddenly entered their ears.

...

God’s Domain System Announcement: Some players have triggered the new expansion pack “Demon God’s Chaos.”

God’s Domain System Announcement: The new expansion pack “Demon God’s Chaos” will activate in one natural day. At that time, all non-NPC towns and cities will no longer receive the protection of NPC kingdoms and empires.

...

Everyone inside the trial space gasped when they heard the system announcement.

On the surface, this new expansion pack might not seem like it would affect players in any way, but everyone present understood that it would usher in a new era in God’s Domain.

Currently, aside from Level 100-plus maps, all Guild Towns and Cities established in maps below Level 100 came under the aegis of NPC kingdoms and empires. If these Guild Towns and Cities suddenly lost this protection, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After all, most Guild Towns and Guild Cities relied on the NPCs they employed from the various NPC kingdoms and empires to maintain security. Without this layer of security, players could take action inside Guild Towns and Cities much more freely. The chaos that would befall the various Guild Towns and Cities at that time would go without saying. Aside from maintaining security, defending against siege attacks would also become much more difficult.

In other words, the activation of the Demon God’s Chaos expansion pack would thoroughly change the structure of God’s Domain. Without the threat of NPCs, many powers would most likely make a move against their rivals.

...

Outside the ancient secret land, chaos had already ensued.

“Good! Wonderful! Let’s see how those local powers are going to continue protecting their resource spots without those troublesome NPC guards!”

“I don’t know who activated this expansion pack, but those people have really given us dark powers a shot in the arm. Now that those NPCs are gone, no one can stop us now!”

The powers that were secretly developing themselves in the various kingdoms and empires started growing excited and restless. As for the superpowers, they promptly held meetings to draft countermeasures for the expansion pack’s activation.

...

Meanwhile, as the entire God’s Domain was in chaos, Shi Feng slowly stood up from in front of the Ancient Legacy Stele inside the ancient secret land.

“Finally, success!”

Shi Feng smiled when he saw the stele before him gradually fading out of existence. He then started drawing the magic arrays he memorized, which released a frightening aura that shook even the surrounding space.