The figure of light was more solid than any Zhou Heng had seen before. Aside from its indistinct facial features, its other details were relatively clear.
It was a man with loose hair falling past his knees. He wore a loose robe of an unfamiliar style and held a flute, with one hand before him and the other behind his back.
"Has it been ten thousand years? Your batch of players isn't up to much~"
The figure looked at Zhou Heng and smiled languidly, pressing the flute made of radiance against his shoulder to stop him from rising.
"Just stay seated. There's no need for such formalities with me. I don't have much time, so I'll only give you three pointers."
"First, you only have one final thousand years left. If you fail to reach the preset goal eleven thousand years after the servers opened, you'll be abandoned and exiled. Then you'll really suffer."
"Second, take good care of my flute, and find as many of the statues I left behind as you can."
"Third, when undertaking achievement ascensions, choose the highest difficulty whenever possible."
With that, the figure withdrew his flute and vanished completely from the world of Blue Star.
Watching the figure disappear, Zhou Heng's gaze flickered, and he could not suppress the shock within him.
In his eighteen years living in this world, he had never heard of NPCs from the online game Boundless Endless being able to log into Blue Star. Was this an anomaly, or had NPCs been able to log into Blue Star all along, with the information simply erased?
And could players really only bring their lifespans back to Blue Star?
Zhou Heng had never considered this before, but now he was skeptical.
Through the window, Zhou Heng gazed at the sky islands in the distance, each representing Longevity, and could not help feeling chilled to the bone.
Many things about Blue Star were definitely not as simple as his surface understanding suggested.
Zhou Heng patted his head, forcibly suppressed his shock, and visualized the online game Boundless Endless to log in.
Accompanied by the login notification, Zhou Heng returned to Frost City's treasury.
At that moment, the flute music faded, and the thirty-meter-tall statue shattered with it. When the Elegant Ancient Flute returned to Zhou Heng's hand, notifications appeared.
[You listened to the melodious flute music of Ancient Heroes ???] [Magic +5,000] [Mana Value +100,000]
In an instant, Zhou Heng's magic soared from 500 to 5,500, while his mana reached a level matching his health, a full 110,560/110,560.
He had magic and mana of this caliber, yet not a single magic skill. Had it not actually happened to him, Zhou Heng probably would not have believed it if someone else had told him.
"It looks like my most pressing task is to learn a magic skill."
Zhou Heng looked at the Elegant Ancient Flute. After this latest performance, the flute had undergone another change.
Elegant Ancient Flute Quality: inferior Noble and Elegant Fighting Spirit: play any flute melody. No one can attack you during the performance. Once the performance ends, both sides enter a noble and elegant duel. (Ignores revival mechanics. The winner lives; the loser dies.) Inferior Flute Music: during a noble and elegant duel, both combatants' levels and attributes are affected by the quality of the Elegant Ancient Flute. (Current level: 1) (Equippable items: 1) (You can equip one more piece of equipment than your opponent.) = Noble and Merciful Gentleness: play a gentle flute melody to restrict the levels of all enemies who hear it to a level 10 levels lower. (Mottling does not affect this attribute.) Mottling: the inferior Elegant Ancient Flute cannot sustain its effects for long. Cooldown: 3 months
Mottling's duration had decreased by three months, but it was still lengthy. Relying on this set of skills to defeat enemies, given the cooldown, was far less effective than Noble and Merciful Gentleness.
Levels 1-11: randomly gain 1 attribute point per level. Total: 10 points.
Levels 11-21: randomly gain 5 attribute points per level. Total: 50 points.
Levels 21-31: randomly gain 10 attribute points per level. Total: 100 points.
Levels 31-41: randomly gain 100 attribute points per level. Total: 1,000 points.
Levels 41-51: randomly gain 500 attribute points per level. Total: 5,000 points.
Levels 51-61: randomly gain 1,000 attribute points per level. Total: 10,000 points.
Levels 61-71: randomly gain 10,000 attribute points per level. Total: 100,000 points.
According to this leveling progression, Zhou Heng's current health and Mana Value were already comparable to those of a level 61 player.
Although his attack lagged somewhat behind, with the Sakast Imperial Sword (Holy Sword), he could still fight ordinary players between levels 31 and 51. After all, not everyone could put their randomly assigned attribute points into attack.
If he added Blood Pump from his Extreme Long-Range Shooter class talent, he could convert his attack to a staggering level.
Zhou Heng calculated his attack after using Blood Pump. It reached a terrifying 21,123.5, and that did not even include the Sakast Imperial Sword (Holy Sword)'s base attack.
"This attack is certainly decent, but instantly killing an average level 70 player is still impossible."
"And that's only an ordinary player. Against stronger famous players or experts from the Longevity Family, these attributes still aren't worth showing."
After making some comparisons, Zhou Heng's joy instantly dissipated.
Rumor had it that once players from the Longevity Family properly developed, their base attributes were two to ten times those of ordinary players.
His attributes were certainly absurd compared with those of an ordinary level 20 player, but the enemies he would face were equally without peer in the world. Looked at that way, he was still too weak!
At the same time that Zhou Heng finished listening to the flute melody, elsewhere, Su Lanlan finished taking control of Frost City.
Holding the City Lord Document, she stood atop the city lord's mansion beside the Frost Codex and checked her attribute panel.
True name: Su Lanlan Level: 10 Attack: 9-18 Magic: 0-0 Health: 270/270 Mana: 110/110 Armor: 1 Attack speed: 1.0/s Movement speed: 1.2 m/s Water damage reduction: 0 Fire damage reduction: 0 Wind damage reduction: 0 Lightning damage reduction: 0 Ice damage reduction: 0 Wood damage reduction: 0 Light damage reduction: 0 Dark damage reduction: 0 Experience: 0/100,000 Frost Lord (SSS) (This talent takes effect upon becoming the city lord of the Frost main city.) Lord's Majesty: for every Human Race unit within the main city under your control, your attack and magic +1 (temporary), health and Mana Value +10 (temporary). Endless Ice: while within the Frost main city, health regeneration +20%/s, mana regeneration +20%/s. Frost Throne: once seated upon the Frost Throne, you can no longer step down. Your vision expands with the main city's size, your voice carries throughout the main city, and your movement ranges across the main city. Armor × (10,000 × main city level). Winter Is Coming: summon frost and snow covering the area under your control, dealing ice-element damage equal to main city level × your level × 100 every second to all units not belonging to Frost City.
"Mother, I'll soon be able to fulfill your dying wish."
"No matter what, I'll make those beasts from the Su Family who devour people without leaving even their bones pay, even if the price is... death!"
Su Lanlan was different from Zhou Heng. She was merely a new player who had just reached adulthood. Had she not inherited her mother's talent, she would not have been standing here.
Everything seemed like the guidance of fate, letting her take the Frost main city at this point in time, and giving her a chance for revenge at this very moment.
With the Vast Star Nation attacking, the Su Family would certainly send high-level players, and among them would surely be the man who had killed her mother: Su Changhuan, a direct descendant of the Su Family, dashing and handsome, yet fond of toying with women at will.
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