The Corrosion of Power, the Mutation of Human Hearts

This prop indeed caught his attention.

The Starlight Merchant Guild was equally excited when they acquired this item—after all, if they could kill certain special non-player characters, they might receive unexpected rewards, such as city lords.

Their merchant guild was well aware that each city lord possessed his own private treasury.

The thought of the treasures that might be hidden in those vaults made them incredibly eager to possess them, but unfortunately, they were not yet capable of doing so.

Regardless of the guards around the city lord, even if they successfully killed him, they would still face the hostility of the entire city, and they dared not take such a great risk.

Even the Dragonborn are afraid of the Riverwood Divine Chicken; they wouldn't dare provoke it.

But a player with Chongxing's skill level probably has his own plans.

When they produced this prop, they were already prepared for the transaction.

With Chongxing's discerning eye, he should be able to see its value.

"As the integration between Earth and the God's Domain deepens, we have explored the mysteries of the God's Domain from various levels, discovering not only new races and Secret Realm, but also many special items that have never been revealed in the game."

"While it's impossible to determine whether the Slaughter Order is truly unique, it is indeed the only one discovered on Earth to date, and you should understand its rarity."

"What do you want to exchange? You don't want Gold Coin, do you?"

"Gold Coin are certainly valuable, but some treasures cannot be measured solely by Gold Coin. Our guild is not currently short of funds."

Hearing this, Zhang Mingzhen realized that the other party had gone to great lengths to invite him here, and it was definitely not just for a simple transaction.

"Tracking Mark, Blessing Spirit Pearl, Slaughter Order —I want them all. Name your price."

The Mysterious Man answered almost without hesitation, "Yes."

We only ask one thing of you.

What is it?

Does he have anything the other person needs?

"It is your combat strength, Your Excellency!" the Mysterious Man said confidently.

Zhang Mingzhen frowned, almost making a move.

Although the guild's territory is Safe Zone where conflict is prohibited, the other side possesses many special items, and there's no guarantee they don't have means to operate within the Safe Zone, such as that Slaughter Order.

"You don't need to be nervous."

"The combat power we need is just a little bit of your time; let us make a copy," the Mysterious Man explained at the opportune moment.

"Copy my combat power? How would that be done?" He recalled the projection mechanism in the Training Tower; could it be a similar method?

"Look at this." The Mysterious Man showed him an item.

"[Replicated Shadow (Special)]: A one-time use item that allows the user to replicate 80% of their own attributes and skills, creating Shadow Clone that lasts for thirty minutes."

(Talents and Summoned Beast cannot be copied)

Looking at the seemingly ordinary stone-like prop, Zhang Mingzhen snorted, "It seems you were prepared all along."

"No wonder you insisted I come in person. Is this the only prop?"

The Mysterious Man looked helpless. "You're joking."

"These kinds of items aren't easy to obtain at this stage; we only got this one by chance."

That's a bit of a pity.

He would have preferred to trade one more item if they had more.

"Okay, leave it to me."

He was confident he could easily handle even his own projection.

In Gao Linzhi's view, Zhang Mingzhen had clearly become too arrogant; this was the corrosive effect of power.

The fact that the projection is copied means that the other party can find out all his secrets.

Not to mention, one can also take the opportunity to create all sorts of jigsaw puzzles.

In this situation, they still dare to carelessly copy it for others.

If he hadn't given the other person such a huge advantage, Zhang Mingzhen would have been dead several times over.

This is like Emperor Xuanzong of Tang of Tang; he was too powerful and held power for too long, which led to his decline.

He was brilliant and capable in the first half of his life, but in the last few years he only cared about personal enjoyment and didn't use his brain for anything important.

Based on Gao Linzhi's experience, it is impossible to expect oneself to supervise or remind oneself.

Always remember this: never trust a person's self-discipline.

Thinking about this, Gao Linzhi felt that he should also create a program to monitor and remind himself, and he had to be strict with it.

"Alright, please accept this." The Mysterious Man immediately traded the Replicated Shadow along with three other items to him.

"You trust me that much? If I take the things and leave now, you probably can't do anything about it." Zhang Mingzhen smiled. "Even if you unite all forces, they might not be able to do anything to me."

This is not an empty boast.

With his current strength, he would be fearless even if pursued by all the forces in the District 3.

"You flatter us. We have complete faith in the reputation of the number one person in the God's Domain."

"To be honest, our whole family are your followers, and my youngest son has known you for a long time. Of course we trust you!"

Despite the other person's confident tone, Zhang Mingzhen could still detect a barely perceptible tremor in the end of his voice—clearly, he was trying to project an air of composure but almost revealed his fear.

"You should be glad, I never break my promises."

The implication is that he would not betray his promise.

Upon hearing this, the Mysterious Man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Those words just now really made his heart Chongxing. His son had clearly said that Chongxing was a man of few words and didn't like jokes, so why did it seem like he was deliberately teasing him?

"You can still move freely while using the Replicated Shadow; simply carry this item with you at all times."

"We can give you a tour of the guild, and we'd be happy to show you to any places you'd like to visit."

"What makes your guild different from other guilds? The city layout of the Zone 30 should be the same as the District 3, and there doesn't seem to be anything particularly noteworthy about it."

The Mysterious Man, upon hearing this, revealed a proud expression. "You are unaware of this."

"Once a guild reaches level four, it can build its own unique facilities based on its characteristics."

"Furthermore, although our Zone 30 is not as famous for its combat power as the District 3, most of our players are skilled in business management, making this region a dedicated trading hub."

Zhang Mingzhen surprised.

The entire region is primarily based on commerce, so how can its combat strength be maintained?

No wonder such a "small" guild could reach level four. It seems that the overall guild strength in the Zone 30 is not outstanding, and they are mostly resource gathering and commercial operation organizations.

News of Zhang Mingzhen's arrival in the Zone 30 spread quickly, and many people were eager to see the legendary figure in person.

After all, aside from the battlefield, most people have never seen him in person.

Everyone's saying the other guy cheated, but how much cheating did he have to be able to crush a player who's spent billions on in-game purchases?

This is also because the game does not support directly spending money to exchange for resources; spending money can only be done through the player community to trade resources.

"I heard that the guy who's Cheater has come to the Zone 30? Could it be that our district has some treasure he needs?"

"It's said to be a transaction with the Starlight Merchant Guild."

"The Starlight Merchant Guild truly lives up to its reputation as the number one chamber of commerce in the God's Domain; even this person has come personally to negotiate."

"Rumor has it that the player who 'Cheater frequently interacts with the Starlight Merchant Guild and will be staying in the 30th server for some time!"

"The news of that expert transferring to District 30 has spread like wildfire. I have inside information provided by a friend!"

"My goodness... Congratulations to District 30 for the opportunity! It's also a pity that the District 3 have lost Da Qiang!"

Zhang Mingzhen never expected that an ordinary transaction would cause such a huge stir on the forum.

At some point, he began to receive celebrity-like treatment.

Rumors, which seemed to have leaked from somewhere, began to circulate among him, with people seeking confirmation that the rumors of the district transfer were true.

The Legion Guild quickly sent him a private message, inquiring whether there were any factors in the third region that would hinder his development.

Only then did he realize the purpose of the Starlight Merchant Guild's invitation to go out and about—they wanted to use his name to build momentum for their own guild.

"Looks like you'll have to pay an extra price. I can't just go through the motions for nothing..."

He spoke calmly to "Lan Changfeng," who was leading the way.

"Of course, we have already prepared a gift of thanks, which we will now present to you."

I'm so sorry I couldn't let you know in advance.

"Lan Changfeng" is indeed more sensible than "Utterly Empty" and immediately sent a package.

Zhang Ming glanced at it briefly; it was full of rare potions and high-level everyday items, all of which were scarce resources on the market.

"This is a one-time exception." Giving him a long, piercing look, Zhang Mingzhen coldly turned and walked forward.

At that moment, his mood suddenly turned violent, and he had an urge to completely destroy the city.

But he managed to control it.

Because he is not invincible after all; for example, those max-level high-level NPCs are like that.

Gao Linzhi noticed this.

Clearly, with the expansion of individual power, it is impossible to expect them not to damage the environment.

Just like the Jiajing in 1566, who, through his own cunning, manipulated his ministers and the entire nation, causing the court to fall into financial ruin.

This is still because the other party's power relies on the imperial system. If he relied solely on himself, wouldn't his destructive power be a thousand times greater?

Humans are emotional beings.

People like him, with an unwavering pursuit and the ability to exercise extreme self-control, are few and far between.

Most powerful people do whatever they want.

It must be suppressed.

Lan Changfeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and sent a message to his father:

"Things went more smoothly than expected; he wasn't angry and even accepted the gift."

Han Sheng was relieved to hear about the Mysterious Man in the guild.

To be honest, he still couldn't figure out Chongxing's temperament; he had only heard that the man was a rule-abiding citizen.

But after actually getting to know him, he found that the young man showed little restraint or awe, which actually concealed a risk. He also wondered how the Legion Guild would judge him.

The military's vigilance eased slightly after confirming that Chongxing had no plans to relocate.

They were initially very nervous when they heard that he might go to District 30.

If it were any of the other major regions under the jurisdiction of Dragon Han, it wouldn't be like this.

However, the situation in the Zone 30 is special—the region trades with multiple countries through multiple channels, and its cooperation is intertwined, so its overall interests have long since transcended the scope of a single country.

They do not want a force with disruptive power like Chongxing to enter District 30, since the Legion Guild has limited control there.

"Ahead lies the commercial street, where all the shops are independently operated by players and serve all areas of the God's Domain."

"The variety of goods in our Thirtieth District is considered quite abundant and complete in the entire God's Domain."

"Lan Changfeng" led the Chongxing through the bustling streets of Fragrant Cloud City, not only to highlight the guild's relationship with this expert and enhance its reputation, but also to genuinely demonstrate the unique advantages of the 30th District to him.

If this can attract guilds to Chongxing transferring to this region, it would undoubtedly be a pleasant surprise—and all guilds in the Zone 30 would surely be happy to see it happen.

Their 30th district never lacks Gold Coin and items, but due to a lack of top-tier combat power, their overall strength is often inferior to that of other districts, inevitably putting them at a disadvantage.

Players in this region often rely on equipment superiority, and among players of the same skill level, there are few exceptionally outstanding individuals. This is one of the reasons why Region 30 is not well-known in the God's Domain.

Zhang Ming had to admit the players' ingenuity.

Compared to the shop-centric business model of the District 3, the 30th region is almost entirely player-driven, with the vast majority of shops controlled by players.

Many shops employ people to handle daily sales, and the quality of the items they sell is generally higher than in other areas, which is clearly the result of improvements.

"Look, this is a high-grade Great Restoration Pill that we've synthesized based on the original Great Restoration Pill. Its effects are Great Restoration Pill better than the optimized version."

"Advanced Mutated Great Restoration Pill: Restores 60% of Mana, 15-second cooldown."

It is Superior Great Restoration Pill he is currently using.

"Optimized Superior Great Restoration Pill: Restores 50% of Mana, 20-second cooldown."

The mutated pill not only increases mana recovery by 10%, but also shortens its cooldown time.

It can be said that as long as there is sufficient funding, players in the God's Domain will hardly have to worry about a lack of mana.

"We have also mutated and improved other medicines, and their effects are all stronger than the original versions."

"Of course, prices will increase accordingly, but that's not the key point—the important thing is to improve our strength, wouldn't you agree?"

As he said this, Lan Changfeng finally revealed the shrewdness that was consistent with his businessman nature.

In five hours, Lan Changfeng led Chongxing through every city in the Zone 30, not even missing the hunting grounds exclusive to that route.

They even established logistical facilities in the wilderness!

Hunters can replenish their potions and supplies at any time nearby, and can also respawn in the vicinity.

Chongxing marveled at the conveniences of District 30, though he didn't show it outwardly, he had to admit his admiration.

I admire the efforts of all the factions in this region; it is thanks to their pioneering work that players here can improve their strength so smoothly.

After once again politely declining Lan Changfeng's undisguised offer of recruitment, the effect of the Shadow Replica Stone finally ended.

The original dull gray stone was replicated, and its appearance underwent Mutation Tier: the dull gray turned into a deep black, and strands of gold thread wandered across its surface, adding to its mysterious aura.

"That's it? Can I try it?"

Chongxing was also curious about whether the replicated avatar was the same as the one in the Training Tower.

The Mysterious Man holding the Shadow Replica Stone smiled wryly, "You're joking. It's only thirty minutes in total. How could we bear to use it for a demonstration? We naturally have to use it wisely."

"Is it reusable until the time limit expires, or is it disposable? You should know that."