The moment the countdown ended.
Shi Feng leaned forward, bent his legs, and burst off the starting line like a cheetah.
Whoosh!
Shi Feng had already run three yards before the gunshot rang out, the bullet striking the starting line.
Another volley followed. Six bullets shot out, sealing off Shi Feng's path forward. Green trajectory indicators covered his body from head to toe. If his reactions weren't sharp enough, he'd be riddled with holes.
As the bullets flew toward him, Shi Feng sidestepped to the right, dodging the second volley by nearly a yard, then charged forward again.
The three goblins kept taking aim and firing, their bullet casings clattering to the ground. But Shi Feng moved with the grace of a cheetah, as if he could command the bullets. He always dodged just before they hit, then advanced a few steps before the next volley came.
"No way. He's already made it ten yards." The male Priest stared as Shi Feng crossed the ten-yard line in less than five seconds. He was nearly twice as fast as Cixin, his big brother, and the sight left him stunned.
Cixin said nothing, silently watching Shi Feng advance.
He'd thought Shi Feng was just some clueless newbie who didn't even know who he was, Cixin, and had come to the challenge arena for a bit of fun. But Shi Feng's performance had been so quick and precise that he seemed like a veteran who'd spent years honing his skills in the challenge arena. Every movement was simple and efficient, something no ordinary newcomer could manage. Even after many challenges, Cixin didn't think he could dodge any better.
Still, Cixin had the pride of a skilled player and refused to believe Shi Feng was better than him. "Maybe this newbie's an athlete or has trained in martial arts, so he's unusually agile. But once he passes fifteen yards, the goblins will change their attack pattern. He won't be able to keep up then."
"Big Brother's right. Anyone who hasn't even heard of the Assassin Alliance can't be a master. Once he reaches fifteen yards, he'll be in for a shock. He'll end up looking like a beehive."
"Yeah. After fifteen yards, they fire twelve bullets at once. They stop focusing on the player, and the trajectories cover a much wider area. Dodging left and right won't work."
The other members of the Assassin Alliance agreed. They'd seen this kind of challenge seven or eight times already.
Cixin had made it past fifteen yards on his first attempt, but in his later tries, he'd only reached twenty yards. That showed just how difficult it was after the fifteen-yard mark.
"He's passed fifteen yards," one Assassin Alliance member said.
Cixin and the others immediately fixed their eyes on Shi Feng, curious to see how he'd handle it.
On the challenge field, the moment Shi Feng crossed the fifteen-yard line, the three goblins grew furious and began firing wildly instead of taking careful aim.
In an instant, trajectory lines covered a vast area before Shi Feng. Only three bullets could hit him, but even one would end the game.
"So they're finally playing dirty?" Shi Feng smiled calmly, drew his Novice Sword, and charged straight at the bullets.
In his previous life, Shi Feng had been the leader of Shadow Studio, always busy with work and leveling. He'd never had time to take on challenges, though he'd watched plenty of them and knew the challenge arena well. He knew the goblins would change their attack pattern after fifteen yards.
The fifteen-yard mark in the Black Market Challenge was a benchmark for judging a player's control skills. Only those who passed the fifteen-yard mark for the bronze award could be considered beginners at physical control. Yet most players took two or three months to reach that level. A few managed it in a month, and only a tiny handful of experts passed on their first attempt. Cixin was one of those few.
Three bullets were about to strike Shi Feng in the head, chest, and arm.
"That kid really can't handle it. There are too many bullets, and they're spread out. He's forgotten to dodge and is charging right at them like an idiot." Seeing Shi Feng race straight toward the bullets, Cixin thought it was absurd. Did he think the challenge would continue even if he took one or two hits?
Shi Feng tilted his head and swung his Novice Sword, sending a streak of white light across the air.
Bang!
His Novice Sword struck the bullet aimed at his chest at just the right moment, sending off a tiny spark.
Just like that, Shi Feng easily deflected the three dangerous bullets and advanced another short distance.
But the three goblins had no intention of stopping. Their muskets seemed to transform into machine guns, spitting fire without pause. There was barely any gap between volleys. In an instant, Shi Feng faced another five bullets, while the bullets sealing off every direction left him nowhere to dodge.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Shi Feng rapidly swung his Novice Sword to block the bullets he couldn't avoid, while shifting his body to keep them from hitting vulnerable spots. Some even grazed past him. He could hear bullets tearing through the air right beside his ears.
Just three seconds later, Shi Feng had crossed the twenty-yard mark. He was only ten yards from the finish line.
"Holy crap, Big Brother, is that guy even human? He's actually using his sword to block bullets!" The male Priest's eyes widened in disbelief. Shi Feng's performance left him completely shaken.
Even if you knew where a bullet was going, blocking it at exactly the right moment wasn't something you could do just by talking about it. It took incredibly precise judgment and reflexes. The margin for error was almost nonexistent.
Cixin was speechless. Using a weapon to block bullets was like walking a tightrope high above the ground; one slip and you'd plunge into the abyss. But Shi Feng seemed to relish it, blocking one bullet after another while the rest seemed to come alive and curve around him.
"Big Brother, that Swordsman's reached twenty-five yards. He's definitely going to make it to the finish line!" The male Priest watched Shi Feng advance as if he were dancing, sparks flashing in front of him now and then. His mind was in complete disarray.
"I have eyes. You don't need to remind me." Cixin was just as captivated by Shi Feng's movements and snapped at him impatiently.
The instant Shi Feng passed the twenty-five-yard mark—
"Die, challenger!" The goblin at the finish line cackled excitedly. He pulled a repeating musket from inside his clothes and unleashed a barrage at Shi Feng.
The number of bullets in each volley immediately increased to twenty-four. At just five yards away, they left players no room to dodge.
"Damn it, that's cheating!" Cixin roared.
At the sight, the other players' hearts leapt into their throats as they cursed the goblins for their shamelessness.
Facing such a dense hail of bullets, Shi Feng finally grew serious. He'd known the attack pattern would change again at twenty-five yards, but facing so many bullets head-on still made him tense.
Shi Feng bent his knees and leapt like a cheetah, diving through the thinnest part of the barrage to reduce the area of his body exposed to the bullets. He tightened his grip on the Novice Sword and swung it wildly, flashing four streaks of white light at once.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After a burst of sparks, Shi Feng cut through the gale-force barrage.
The instant he landed, he braced one hand against the ground and pushed himself back to his feet, then shot across the finish line in a flash.
His total time was fourteen seconds, breaking the bronze award's preset record of eighteen seconds.
"Whew. I'm still not used to this weak body." Shi Feng sighed after crossing the finish line. With the physique he'd had at level 100 or higher, landing four consecutive sword strikes would've been easy. It wouldn't have left him nearly this exhausted.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it! Congratulations to this Swordsman for completing the challenge!" the goblin administrator announced loudly.
System: The player was the first to complete the bronze award challenge and broke the record. The player is rewarded with 1 silver coin and the Swordsman skill Wind Thunder Flash.
"No way. It actually rewards the ultra-rare skill Wind Thunder Flash, a skill even Swordsmen above level 100 can't get." Shi Feng thought he'd misheard, but when he saw that the skill book in his bag really was Wind Thunder Flash, he was still shocked.
Wind Thunder Flash, Action-Type, Requires a sword. Quickly delivers three sword-light attacks within a range of 10 × 2 yards in front of the user. Each attack deals 130% damage and inflicts Deep Wounds, increasing the damage of the next attack by 20%. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Now that he'd gotten the skill, Shi Feng learned it without a second thought.
The Swordsman class focused on single-target damage skills and didn't have many powerful area attacks. Wind Thunder Flash was one of the few powerful area-of-effect skills available to Swordsmen. Learning it this early put Shi Feng far ahead of every other Swordsman.
After learning Wind Thunder Flash, Shi Feng finally felt a little more like a Swordsman.
"Go ahead and play. I'm leaving. Don't forget my fifty copper." Shi Feng glanced at the open-mouthed Cixin, called out to him, and left the Black Market.
Cixin nodded woodenly.
"Big Brother Cixin, he's gone, and he took the reward with him. Should we go after him?" the male Priest asked.
Only after Shi Feng had left did Cixin recover from his shock. He glared at the male Priest and scolded him. "Are you an idiot? We should be currying favor with a Swordsman like that, not making an enemy of him. That'd be suicide."
"No, I have to report this to the guild leader. Good thing I added him as a friend. His name's Ye Feng, right? I've never heard of a Swordsman that skilled. Could he be some master swordsman in disguise?" Cixin knew he could never have completed the challenge as spectacularly as Shi Feng had. That barrage after the twenty-five-yard mark had been downright impossible. How could a player possibly block or dodge it all? And yet Shi Feng had done it.
In the Trade District, Shi Feng found Kevin, the Alchemy master. He spent 120 copper to buy twenty Burst Berries, which put a serious dent in his funds and left him with only thirty copper.
But for the sake of leveling at rocket speed, it was worth the cost.
With the Burst Berries, Shi Feng left Red Leaf Town and ran west.
All the players were currently level 0 and killing level 0 monsters outside Red Leaf Town. Some more skilled players had formed groups to hunt level 1 young wolves. Warriors took the front, ranged players dealt damage, and healers restored their health. They fought in good order, and though the experience was split among them, their efficiency was high and few others came to steal their kills.
Shi Feng had no intention of fighting over monsters with other players. He ran straight through the level 1 monster zone, then through the level 3 monster zone, and kept going until he reached the level 5 monster zone known as Red Leaf Forest. Not a single player had come this far yet.
At this stage in God's Domain, no player dared challenge a level 5 monster. The level gap, massive health pool, and overwhelming attack power meant that level 5 monsters could easily crush level 1 players. Even a six-person party couldn't beat a single level 5 monster.
Death carried a heavy penalty. Players lost a level's worth of experience and some skill proficiency. No one dared take such a risk lightly; otherwise, hours of hard-earned experience and proficiency would go to waste.