Hand Over the Guild Founding Token, and I'll Spare Your Life

The names seemed to surface in Xiao Wen's mind almost naturally. Seeing the colossal stone statue before him, the shock on his face hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Sona stepped forward, her eyes calmly gazing at the three Phantom Gods in front of her. She took Xiao Wen's Duel Disk, placing it directly beneath the pyramid's apex, in front of the three Phantom Gods.

Crossing her arms and holding them against her chest, Sona's face took on a look of reverence.

"Ashusapola… Kila Sola…"

Unintelligible incantations echoed from her lips, the sounds of ancient chants.

As the chanting continued, the apex of the inverted pyramid hanging in the sky suddenly gathered a ball of light. A vertical beam of light descended from the heavens, enveloping the Duel Disk.

At the same time, the Millennium Puzzle before Xiao Wen erupted in light, merging with the pyramid's beam.

Bang!

In that instant, Xiao Wen felt as if he heard a crisp sound originating from the depths of his soul.

It was the sound of soul shackles shattering.

Outside, in the room, a golden eye phantom appeared on the forehead of Xiao Wen, who lay in the game pod. Crimson-gold light burst forth from his body, enveloping his entire form.

After a long while, the light dispersed. Xiao Wen looked at the Duel Disk floating in mid-air before him, a strange look in his eyes.

The Duel Disk was still the same Duel Disk.

But Xiao Wen could clearly feel that something different had happened within him.

It was the breaking of life's shackles, though he didn't know what exactly it was.

"Rookie Duelist, you should leave now. I hope that when you return next time, you will be stronger!"

Handing the Duel Disk back to Xiao Wen, Sona said softly.

Xiao Wen remained silent, still immersed in the impact of the pyramid's mysterious power, immersed in the impact of the three Phantom Gods.

Light flashed, and a ball of teleportation light enveloped Xiao Wen, returning him to a hidden corner of the Novice Village. He raised the Duel Disk in his hand and suddenly discovered that the places for placing cards on the Duel Disk had become distinctly different, two of them being front and back.

The former was for placing monsters, while the latter was the area for placing magic and trap cards.

"Have you found that person over there?"

"No, our people have searched the entire Novice Village."

"Team Three has scoured the monster zones below level five, and they still haven't found him."

"Could that kid have logged off?"

"Keep searching! No matter what, you must find him. Even if he has logged off, you must guard here. One person every ten steps, a post every hundred steps. You must find this person! No matter what, our Shadow Guild will obtain this first Guild Founding Token this time!"

Such conversations drifted to Xiao Wen's ears, and his expression suddenly turned peculiar.

These guys had gone completely mad in their pursuit of the Guild Founding Token in his possession.

But did that matter?

Not at all.

Xiao Wen opened his character panel and checked his attributes.

Player: Halfway Through the Mortal World

Level: 6

Gender: Male

Profession: Duelist (Profession can be hidden as Summoner)

Strength: 85

Spirit: 10

Physique: 10

Speed: 10

Intelligence: 10

Destiny Equipment: Millennium Puzzle (Sealed Divine Artifact)

Accessories: Ring of Mountain's Might, Phantom Spirit Jade Pendant

Summon Capacity: 1 (Randomly summon one monster from your deck. The monster's attributes are determined by its ATK, DEF, Level, and player level)

The additional attribute points were still the same, but Xiao Wen knew that his attack power, derived from attribute points, was more than just that.

This was because, in addition to the bonus attribute points, there were also attribute points that naturally increased with character level progression.

It was just that even Xiao Wen himself didn't know why his character attributes were presented as attribute points, while others were presented as ATK, DEF, HP, and so on.

Perhaps it was the difference in professions.

Muttering to himself, Xiao Wen emerged from the hidden corner and soon arrived at the village entrance.

When he reached the village entrance, he found that a notice board had appeared there at some point.

Temporary quests were posted on the notice board, but there were very few players gathered around it.

Upon approaching, Xiao Wen realized that these temporary missions were all related to the Nightmare Forest. They involved investigating intelligence within the forest or defeating monsters there, with reputation rewards for completion.

After a general scan, Xiao Wen's gaze fell upon a section of the notice board.

Temporary Mission — Preparations Before the Great Battle.

Description: To weaken the strength of the monsters in the Nightmare Forest, players are encouraged to enter the forest and snipe high-level monsters. Each monster killed in the Nightmare Forest will be rewarded with one reputation point.

"This mission seems quite good."

Xiao Wen's eyes landed on this mission. He reached out and touched the notice board, and a prompt sounded in his ear.

"Ding! Does player Halfway Through the Mortal World wish to accept the temporary mission — Preparations Before the Great Battle?"

"Accept."

After accepting the mission, just as Xiao Wen was about to leave the village to start his leveling plan, he suddenly noticed that he was surrounded by over a hundred people.

These players had decent equipment, and many of them had already assembled a full set of green-grade equipment.

Furthermore, judging by their nicknames alone, these people likely represented various families and factions.

"Brother, hello. I'm a procurement officer from the Flowing Cloud Guild, usually responsible for handling miscellaneous matters for the guild. I know you have a Guild Founding Token. I wonder if we could have a chat?"

"Holy crap! Trying to steal my business? You're asking for death! Kid, I don't care who you are. Hand over the Guild Founding Token you have, and you can live to see another day. Otherwise, the wrath of the Ten Great Guilds is something you can't possibly bear!"

"Ten Great Guilds? Stop flattering yourself. Our Flame Emperor wants this Guild Founding Token!"

"Is the Flame Emperor that powerful? Are the Four Emperors that impressive? We have them too!"

A group of people surrounded Xiao Wen. Before Xiao Wen could even voice his opinion, they had already started arguing amongst themselves, much to Xiao Wen's wry amusement.

It seemed they already viewed him as meat on the chopping block.

"Stop arguing. The Guild Founding Token is with me, and I won't give it to anyone. If you want it, come and kill me!"

In an instant, the noisy crowd fell silent. Pairs of eyes turned towards Xiao Wen, their faces showing surprise, anger, or dissatisfaction.

Not far away, a group of onlookers covered their faces, their expressions filled with shock.

"I... I'll be damned! This guy is too fierce! Everyone here basically represents the guild leaders of Kyushu's upper echelon, and now this kid has offended all of them with one sentence!"

"Fierce? I think he's just stupid! Just wait and see. If he angers these people, even if he can kill a Level 7 Lord BOSS, what of it? Can he really contend against a guild of several thousand people?"

"Holy crap... what did I just see? This... this kid actually left the village."

"Half... Halfway Through the Mortal World left the village?"

"Now this is going to be good."