Chapter 3272 - Chapter 346 - Chapter of Time

Chapter 346 – Chapter of Time

Ancient River’s Heart, first-floor hall:

Why did they disappear?

Leroja was surprised when the nine doppelgangers before her suddenly disappeared. Then, when she saw the system notification she had just received, she was taken aback even further.

Did someone clear the trial already?

Leroja grew unsettled as she looked at the system notification.

“Black Flame?”

!!

However, after giving the matter some thought, Leroja didn’t find it all too surprising that Black Flame was the first to clear the Ancient River’s Trial.

The difficulty of having to go up against the doppelgangers of the nine other participants while simultaneously trying to break the barrier blocking off the pathway to the second floor was absurdly high. Even now, she had only managed to exhaust one-third of the barrier’s energy. Moreover, this was after she had used multiple Grandmaster Regeneration Potions to trade damage for damage.

If not for the Grandmaster Regeneration Potions letting her instantly heal herself back to full HP, she would have long since gotten killed.

However, it was a different story for Black Flame. Black Flame’s Basic Attributes were so overwhelming that none of the other nine participants could hope to match him. Even with her Divine Twilight Set, Leroja was not a match for him. Not to mention, Black Flame was also capable of using that nigh-unstoppable Holy Annihilation of his.

…

Contrasting Leroja’s reaction to the trial’s abrupt end, Cross laughed when he saw the system notification.

“Leroja must be losing her mind right about now.” Cross chuckled as he looked at the system notification before him. At the same time, though, a wry smile appeared on his face.

Shortly after the trial began, Cross quickly understood that out of the nine other participants, Black Flame would be the most troublesome opponent to deal with, even more troublesome than Leroja, who could attack from range. However, he still couldn’t help but feel a little vexed to see Black Flame securing first place. After all, his original plan to compete with Leroja for first place had become a complete joke now.

…

While Leroja and Cross were quietly looking at the system notification, an uproar had erupted in the plaza where the top 100 participants had gathered.

“First?”

“Black Flame actually came in first?”

“Black Flame is the Rookie Competition’s champion!? What’s going on?!”

Everyone in the plaza was dumbfounded when they saw Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and the Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross coming in second and third place, respectively, while Black Flame occupied first place.

Black Flame should have been nothing more than a nobody whose best achievement was coming in seventh of a miniature world’s God List. Nobody thought he would become the biggest dark horse in this Rookie Competition.

After this competition, Black Flame’s name would most likely become known throughout the Ancient River Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms. The various hegemonic powers might even come to fear and respect him.

Brother Black Flame came in first?

Midsummer was similarly rendered speechless as she looked at the ranking list above the plaza.

Shi Feng could have already been considered a powerhouse in the Ancient River Kingdom after his previous achievement of winning against Saint Three and becoming the Ancient River Kingdom’s First Paragon. Those achievements were also enough to make the kingdom’s six ruling hegemonic powers fear him.

Now, Shi Feng had taken things a step further by beating Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac and becoming the Rookie Competition’s champion.

Although Shi Feng didn’t defeat those two in a direct confrontation, this victory was more than enough to put him among the top of all Tier 4 experts in the Myriad Forest Empire and the dozen or so surrounding kingdoms. Even the city legions of second-tier cities would most likely try to recruit him. After all, Leroja and Cross had never lost to anyone they challenged or competed against.

Now that Shi Feng had won against those two people, no Tier 4 player would dare to stand in his way in the Ancient River Kingdom. Even if he moved to develop in the Myriad Forest Empire, he wouldn’t encounter any problems.

…

While Midsummer was getting excited over the fact that their party of three could head to the Myriad Forest Empire to develop in the future, Shi Feng, who sat lying on the floor of the Ancient River’s Heart’s second floor in exhaustion, suddenly revealed an excited expression.

After conquering the Ancient River’s Trial, the divine drawings on the walls and stone pillars around him suddenly exuded a bright glow. Then, thirty seconds later, a semi-translucent piece of paper appeared in the center of the hall.

The instant this piece of paper appeared, Shi Feng could feel a Divine Might enveloping him. Moreover, this wasn’t just any ordinary Divine Might since his senses told him it was stronger than even the Divine Might of Tier 6 Gods.

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Although this Divine Might only appeared briefly before disappearing, Shi Feng understood that the piece of paper was definitely something extraordinary. Moreover, the Seven Luminaries Codex in his bag had also grown incredibly restless, as if it could jump out of his bag space at any moment.

The Seven Luminaries Codex’s fragment!

Apart from a fragment of a Godly Relic that had existed since the birth of God’s Domain, Shi Feng could think of no other item that could exude such an extraordinary Divine Might and get such a reaction from the Seven Luminaries Codex.

So, this is the fragment’s power?

When Shi Feng got within ten yards of the piece of paper, he felt like he had just entered an invisible barrier. The closer he got to the paper, the stronger the suppression acting on his Concentration became and the heavier his body felt.

By the time Shi Feng got within one yard of the paper, his thoughts had become incredibly sluggish, and his body felt like it was filled with lead.

At this moment, he couldn’t even beat a Great Lord of the same level, let alone a Mythic monster.

…

System: Do you wish to collect the Chapter of Time?

System: Once you collect the Chapter of Time, you will be cursed by the God of Time. The curse will reduce your experience gain by 90% and triple the gravity you experience. The Chapter of Time will also have a 100% drop rate on death.

…

The God of Time’s curse?

Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the system notification.

Isn’t this penalty a little too brutal?

The God of Time was one of God’s Domain’s Twelve Great Gods. While not an Ancient God, the God of Time was an existence superior to Ancient Gods. So, being cursed by such a God was no laughing matter.

Moreover, this curse was permanent. Shi Feng couldn’t get rid of it even if he got promoted to Tier 6. He could never get rid of this curse unless he had the strength to go against the God of Time. It would follow him forever, even if he deleted his account and started a new one.

However, after hesitating for a moment, Shi Feng still chose to collect the Chapter of Time.

The Seven Luminaries Codex was a Godly Relic that had existed since the birth of God’s Domain. Meanwhile, the Chapter of Time was one of the Codex’s power sources. It even governed over the element of time, one of the Three Supreme Elements. If he missed this opportunity to acquire the Chapter of Time, who knew when he’d be able to find the next chapter?

It should be known that he had limited time to repair the Seven Luminaries Codex. Even if he wasn’t cursed by the God of Time, he’d still lose everything if he failed to complete his quest.

Since he would be doomed either way, he might as well take the Chapter of Time and give the Seven Luminaries Codex more Eternal Energy. That way, he’d have more time to search for the other chapters.

As for the reduction in experience gain, so long as his tier was sufficiently high, acquiring experience points wouldn’t be a problem. The only problem was the increase in the gravity he experienced. A three-times increase in gravity would not only reduce his mobility and reaction speed but also increase his Stamina consumption significantly.

Meanwhile, after Shi Feng chose to collect the Chapter of Time, a debuff named “God of Time’s Curse” appeared in his status bar. At the same time, his body grew heavier, and his mobility fell by roughly 30 to 40 percent.

The effect of the gravity increase really is significant. Shi Feng revealed a wry smile when he sensed the changes in his body.

However, before Shi Feng could inspect the Chapter of Time he had just acquired, the entire Ancient River Secret Land suddenly started to tremble.

…

Regional System Announcement: The Ancient River Secret Land’s power source has been exhausted. The secret land will collapse in five minutes. All players are recommended to leave the secret land as soon as possible.

…

As soon as the system announcement appeared, the players in the Ancient River Secret Land immediately went into an uproar.

The Ancient River Secret Land was an existence older than the Ancient River Kingdom. It was also an important resource for cultivating the kingdom’s newcomers. Yet, now, the secret land was suddenly collapsing. There was absolutely something strange with this situation. This situation also most definitely had something to do with the abrupt change in the finals’ rules.

However, nobody chose to delve deeper into the matter for now. Instead, they promptly took out the Secret Land Teleportation Scrolls they received when they entered the secret land and teleported out of the secret land, none daring to spend even a moment longer here.

“Retreat! Everyone retreat!”

Players from isolated God’s Domains might be unfamiliar with the collapse of secret lands, but this wasn’t anything new for players in the Greater God’s Domain.

The collapse of a secret land was similar to the collapse of a God’s Domain. Once a secret land collapsed, it would transform into an empty void. If players in the secret land did not withdraw in time, even their souls would get erased, and they’d have no choice but to start a new account.

Shortly after the remaining players in the Ancient River Secret Land withdrew, the secret land’s collapse caused the entire Ancient River Kingdom to tremble. Cracks had even appeared all over the kingdom’s sky, making it seem like Armageddon had arrived for the kingdom.

At the same time, independent players and powers all over the Ancient River Kingdom began frantically looking into the cause of the Ancient River Secret Land’s collapse.

In God’s Domain, major events often come with huge opportunities. A monumental event such as the Ancient River Secret Land’s collapse would most certainly come with an unimaginable opportunity.

Meanwhile, the ten players who had entered the Ancient River’s Heart naturally became the key suspects behind the secret land’s collapse.