Think about all the outstanding individuals Shadowkill eliminated in his previous life. Who would have thought that Shadowkill’s first target might be himself this time! This proves that he and Bullman Tribe have begun to stand out on this stage and are being taken seriously by other players. Even if Shadowkill’s assassination could pose a certain level of threat, it would only be a threat to him personally. Even if he were assassinated, Bullman Tribe would still remain unshaken!
“You can actually still smile about this?” Guo Huai said gloomily.
“You should feel happy instead. The fact that Keluanshengdi and Bright Holy Flame hired Shadowkill to deal with me precisely shows their fear. They are afraid Bullman Tribe will shake their positions. So why should we worry? It’s them who should be worried instead,” Nie Yan replied. As a guild leader, they must maintain a calm and composed attitude in the face of change.
“Alright, I admit you have a point,” Guo Huai said helplessly. How come Nie Yan always managed to see the positive side of everything?
Nie Yan smiled.
“Now that we’ve discussed the bad news, let me tell you some good news. Players online have ranked the combat strengths of several guilds, and Bullman Tribe has already surpassed Bright Holy Flame, Keluanshengdi, and Holy Roman Empire. They’ve even dubbed Bullman Tribe the ‘Hall of Masters,’ and many skilled players are beginning to flock to us. Our two branches, Mage Tribe and Warrior Tribe, have also developed well. Since the requirements for joining are relatively low, both guilds have already reached the maximum level of 20,000 members for a level-one guild. I’ve also opened three more branches: Paladin Tribe, Rogue Tribe, and Priest Tribe. I plan to have elite members from these guilds help upgrade them to level-two guilds,” Guo Huai explained. The expansion speed of the guilds had exceeded his expectations and was indeed astonishing.
“Good development. We can integrate some of the stronger members from these five branch guilds into Bullman Tribe,” Nie Yan said. Branch guilds were an inevitable trend of development. Weaker players couldn’t join Bullman Tribe directly, but their resources shouldn’t be wasted either.
“There are also several other guilds that have started negotiations with us, hoping to merge into our guild,” Guo Huai added.
“We need to be cautious with these guilds,” Nie Yan replied. Who knew if there were any ulterior motives among them?
“I understand. I’ll conduct a thorough review and won’t allow them in for now,” Guo Huai nodded. He was still very cautious in handling this matter.
Bullman Tribe was thriving. Although Bright Holy Flame and Keluanshengdi were also expanding, Bullman Tribe hadn’t fallen behind—in fact, it was expanding much faster. After these recent major battles, Bullman Tribe had gained great renown, and its members were filled with high spirits. Even the Holy Roman Empire benefited from this. Meanwhile, Bright Holy Flame and Keluanshengdi had just suffered heavy defeats, significantly weakening their influence. With this shift in power dynamics, Bullman Tribe was no longer afraid of Bright Holy Flame and Keluanshengdi.
Nie Yan could afford to take a relaxed attitude. Bullman Tribe’s rise was now unstoppable. Given a bit more time to close the gap with Bright Holy Flame and Keluanshengdi, it was only a matter of time before Bullman Tribe would crush them underfoot.
The players of Bullman Tribe had already begun to enjoy the glory brought by the guild’s rise. This sense of glory would unite Bullman Tribe’s players even more, making them determined and unstoppable!
“Anything else?” Nie Yan asked.
“Nothing else for now,” Guo Huai replied. He understood Nie Yan might be in the middle of an important task, so he didn’t want to disturb him further.
After ending the voice chat, Nie Yan continued searching for the Chapter of Goodness. For about an hour, he wandered through the woods, but still found nothing.
He had only heard that the Chapter of Goodness was discovered in Sonia’s Moonlight Grove, but he didn’t know the exact location. He could only wander around aimlessly like a headless fly.
In his previous life, countless players had come here to obtain the Chapter of Goodness, but many of them ended up dying and returning empty-handed. Eventually, a highly skilled mage with excellent control cleared out the monsters in Moonlight Grove and claimed the Chapter of Goodness. Nie Yan couldn’t even remember the name of that player anymore. That player didn’t hold onto the Chapter of Goodness for long after obtaining it.
Nie Yan dodged numerous Rock Moon Bears and entered a dense jungle. The thick foliage blocked out the sunlight, leaving only beams of white light piercing through the gaps between the trees, casting down like gentle rays.
These white beams were as pure and bright as moonlight, emitting a faint, cool glow.
His gaze locked onto something ahead.
In a clearing ahead, within a beam of pure white light, stood a circular stone platform. The platform was intricately carved, covered in various strange elven runes. Suspended above the circular platform was a crescent-shaped stone, quietly glowing with a soft white light.
“You have discovered the mysterious stone at the center of Moonlight Grove. According to an old mage from Carol’s slums, this is the Moonstone of the White Elves. It can alter the sun and moon, causing day and night to switch. It is this stone that granted the White Elves their long lives and can provide mages with an inexhaustible supply of magical power,” a system message appeared.
Nie Yan read the message and felt a spark of realization. Could this be a quest?
Was it related to the Chapter of Goodness? He had searched this area for so long without finding any trace of the Chapter of Goodness. Perhaps this Moonstone was the key.
Nie Yan approached the Moonstone. A mysterious force seemed to pull him forward. Slowly extending his hand, he touched the Moonstone, and a warm energy surged through his entire body.
The moment Nie Yan touched the Moonstone, the surrounding scenery began to shift rapidly. Trees withered and vanished in an instant. The sky’s sun and moon quickly alternated, spinning faster and faster. The light and shadows changed as if he were traveling through time itself.
It felt as though thousands of years had passed. All that remained was an endless expanse of wilderness beneath a quiet, moonlit night.
When Nie Yan looked down, he found the stone platform in front of him had vanished. Before him stretched a dark, desolate wilderness, filled with jagged rocks and very low visibility. In the distance, flickering lights appeared and disappeared.
System: You have entered the Moonlight Sanctuary.
Nie Yan had no idea where this Moonlight Sanctuary was. He guessed it might be a special quest map. Looking around, he found that he couldn’t use teleport scrolls or random teleport scrolls here.
For Nie Yan, his escape route had now been cut off.
The distant lights might be a clue. Nie Yan advanced cautiously across the pitch-black wilderness, heading toward the source of the flickering lights.
The surroundings were eerily silent, without a single sound.
Worried about unknown dangers, Nie Yan slowed his pace, taking each step with utmost caution.
Suddenly, a strange sensation arose within him—as if something was watching him. He searched for the source of this unusual feeling.
His perception stretched to its maximum in the silent darkness. Nie Yan quickly turned his gaze toward the distant darkness—True Sight! Bloodshot eyes and bulging veins around the eyes, he pierced through the darkness and caught a glimpse of a black shadow vanishing.
He had found it!
Before it completely disappeared into the darkness, Nie Yan activated Super Insight.
The shadow dissolved into the darkness, leaving no trace. No matter how hard Nie Yan tried to sense its presence, he could no longer detect it.
Nie Yan glanced at the information provided by Super Insight.
Phantom of Truth (Nie Yan): Level 35, Health 963/963.
Nie Yan’s heart trembled. Who was this? His own illusion?
Nie Yan began to understand the Mind Core’s intention. This was a test using illusions! A phantom controlled by the Mind Core, stronger than Nie Yan himself. Nie Yan’s goal was to defeat it!
“Fighting myself, huh? Bring it on!” Nie Yan tightened his dagger and entered stealth mode.
His eyes scanned the darkness, searching for his opponent, slowly advancing.
Just then, Nie Yan suddenly felt a sense of danger from behind. His heart jolted—could this phantom see through his invisibility?
The phantom’s stats were significantly higher than Nie Yan’s. Its perception was naturally strong enough to detect Nie Yan’s position. Its ambush was extremely fierce.
The phantom’s dagger plunged toward Nie Yan’s head, a brutal ambush attack, the blade radiating coldness.
Nie Yan sensed the danger a moment earlier, suddenly turning to dodge the phantom’s attack. His dagger struck toward the phantom’s forehead but without using any stunning skill.
The phantom abruptly retreated a few steps and re-entered stealth mode, vanishing from Nie Yan’s sight.
Just as he had suspected, the phantom was testing him, searching for his weaknesses, trying to trick him into using up his skills!
Controlled by the Mind Core, this phantom’s combat intelligence was no less than any human’s!
After dodging the attack, Nie Yan was just about to re-enter stealth when a figure suddenly lunged from his side. The dagger aimed at Nie Yan’s back, moving at peak speed.
That speed was even slightly faster than Nie Yan’s.
Parry!
At the moment the phantom was about to strike, Nie Yan turned and blocked the attack with his left dagger. A sharp clang rang out as the two blades collided. His right dagger, like a swift snake, struck straight at the phantom’s forehead.
The phantom suddenly vanished, dodging Nie Yan’s attack.
Nie Yan’s strike missed. A chill ran through his heart. The way the phantom dodged his attack just now—it was clearly using Shadow Step!
When Nie Yan tried to locate the phantom again, it had already disappeared completely.
Nie Yan had heard in his past life about such scenarios occasionally appearing in quests. Players who encountered such quests described their experiences on forums. Nie Yan hadn’t read them carefully, but he vaguely recalled a statistic: the chance of winning such a quest was less than 1%. Those who succeeded always received astonishing rewards—some gained significant stat boosts, some obtained powerful skills, and some even received sub-legendary items.
He wondered what reward awaited him. A phantom controlled by an AI? Nie Yan revealed a confident smile.
After all, the AI was merely a program. Although it could process massive data streams, it could never truly understand human cunning.
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