Chapter 451: Demon King

Chen Xiaolian’s heart instantly sank.

It became more difficult for him to speak and he took a few steps back. “You are a… Player!”

There was something that Chen Xiaolian did not say: High-ranking Player!

It was simple enough of a deduction. At present, the system had yet to issue a prompt indicating the arrival of Players. In other words… … this Shen, a Player, was able to enter this instance dungeon before the time designated by the system. Thus, he was most likely similar to Miao Yan, a holder of an Exclusive Account, a High-ranking Player with exclusive privileges.

Shen smiled as he observed Chen Xiaolian. “That look in your eyes right now. It seems like you will be charging at me with the intent to kill at any moment.”

Chen Xiaolian gave a harrumph and replied, “I could say the same about you.”

“And that makes me curious. In this second phase, the system had clearly stated that killing between game participants is prohibited. Why is it that you seem capable to taking action?” Shen shook his head. “I have some special privileges, but what about you? You are an Awakened, no? Yet why does it seem like you too, possess some special privileges?”

Chen Xiaolian did not respond. He simply took a few more steps back as his frowning face kept staring at Shen.

A High-ranking Player with an Exclusive Account just like Miao Yan… … he was very clear on how powerful Miao Yan was.

In the Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum instance dungeon, she was able to fight evenly against Bai Qi for quite some time.

The powers of Bai Qi back in the Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum and the Bai Qi that was now his War Pet were of two completely different realms. The strength possessed by War Pet Bai Qi was far inferior compared to the one in Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum.

“We have been travelling together for so long now. If I had wanted to fight you, we would have started fighting long ago. So, you can stop giving me that ferocious stare now.” Shen smiled wryly, spreading open both hands again. “You see, the term Player is just an identity.”

Chen Xiaolian continued staring at Shen. He assessed him from top to bottom before curling the corners of his mouth, revealing a faint smile. He loosened his fist and kept back the Sword in the Stone. “All right, your words do sound logical.”

Seeing the high-minded manner displayed by Chen Xiaolian, Shen became stunned. He was unable to stop himself from smiling. “Eh? You are quite the interesting fellow. If some other Awakened was in your shoes, they would have either charged at me with the intent of fighting to the death or… turn around and run.”

Chen Xiaolian pursed his lips to the side and replied, “Another Player would not have allowed me to sit behind them while exposing their back as they were riding a motorcycle.”

“If so, let us get along peacefully for now!” Shen laughed.

Chen Xiaolian forced himself to smile. “If you are done joking around, I now have to go deal with this issue of mine.” Pausing, he cast a cautious look at Shen. “At present, my teammates might be in trouble. If you can tell me what you know, I will be grateful to you. But if you don’t have any intentions of helping, then we should go our separate ways. I will be moving on my own.”

“This is the reason why you decided not to fight with me, right?” Shen shook his head. “All right, since your teammates have already entered this branch quest, I don’t mind sharing some more information with you.”

After saying that, Shen indicated his surroundings and the slime on the ground. “These things are the remnants of a certain darkness attribute power, Corrosion.”

“Darkness attribute power? How did you know about that?”

“Player privilege,” said Shen mirthfully. “Naturally, you natives would not receive such privilege. We are the ones from the same world as the Development Team after all. Of course we will take care of our own first.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head. “I can accept that rationale. I don’t quite like the word ‘natives’, but… … please continue. And get to the key point.”

“This instance dungeon is the Holy City instance. Thus, the contents of this instance dungeon will have some connections with ancient legends.” Shen considered it before slowly speaking, “This branch quest is actually a hidden one. The description of the storyline I received is this: A power that was accidentally split out of the Dark Abyss schemes to awaken and has corrupted a place beside the holy city. A river of blood flows as darkness hides within the shadows of the holy city of light, awaiting the opportunity to rise.”

“Light? Darkness? Opportunity to rise? What is that supposed to be?”

“I am guessing that it might be a… … feather.”

“Feather?”

“Correct. However, this is no ordinary feather. It is… a feather that fell off the wings of a Demon King.”

…

“In the legends, God suppressed the demons and the Dark Abyss, home to the demons was under the constant suppression of God’s power. To be more accurate, the demon faction lost to the power of light and ended up suppressed by God. Some were even enslaved.

“Among them was a powerful demon, one known as Demon King.

“This Demon King lost to God and was punished heavily. God cut off its wings, sealing its power for eternity. However, as the battle was raging, the cunning Demon King secretly cast out a feather from his cut off wings into the human realm.

“This feather bears the mark of the Demon King. It is a seed possessing the power of darkness. This seed is awaiting the moment of awakening, when it will sprout once more, grow stronger and allow the power of darkness to rise once more.

“The branch quest in this instance dungeon is about this feather.”

After hearing that, Chen Xiaolian asked, “Could it be that this feather possesses the ability to resurrect the Demon King?”

“No, not resurrect.” Shen smiled and continued, “You made a mistake. The Demon King has been sealed. The thing that escaped is just a feather bearing his mark, a seed.

“The demon’s goal is not resurrection or survival, rather… … they want the power of darkness to descend upon this world, transforming it into the dark abyss of their wishes. The demons care not about their own life and death. To them, a world ruled by the power of darkness is the ultimate pursuit.

“In other words, this feather is a manifestation of the Demon King. Whatever happens to this feather, the Demon King itself will continue to be sealed. This will not change.

“However, if this feather grows strong enough, it can eventually transform into another existence similar to the Demon King. That is a possibility.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded to indicate his understanding of the issue.

“This feather fell off the body of the Demon King. Therefore, although it is very weak in its initial stage, its attributes and powers should generally be similar to that of the Demon King. In other words, its rate of growth is very high?” Chen Xiaolian asked as he looked at Shen. “You are probably here for the feather, right? You want to obtain this feather?”

Shen smiled openly. “I am always interested in collecting articles of diverse powers.”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Shen. “I keep getting the feeling that you are withholding something. For example… … I am curious. What is the relationship between this branch quest and the main storyline of the Jerusalem instance dungeon?”

Shen put on a poker face. “Naturally, I will not be telling you… … we are not actually teammates here. I told you all those things as goodwill and reward for letting me ride the motorcycle.”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Shen in frustration. “Is there any meaning in you saying that? A vehicle… … I don’t for one second believe that a High-rank Player like you would have no way to get a means of transport. Even if you don’t have a storage equipment, couldn’t you have dashed or flown over by yourself?”

Shen smiled. “Fine… … I will admit. The truth is… I came here for you, Mr Chen Xiaolian, esteemed Guild Leader of Meteor Rock Guild.”

Chen Xiaolian’s body gave a shudder.

He was clear on one thing. He had never revealed to Shen that he was from Meteor Rock Guild.

…

Qiao Qiao stood there with one hand holding her forehead. Her eyes were closed but her eyelids were trembling faintly.

A hint of pain appeared on her face, as she seemed to be wracking her brains on something.

“Sister?” Soo Soo called out of concern.

Qiao Qiao waved with one hand and shook her head. She forced her eyes open and spoke in a hoarse voice, “I am digesting its powers of darkness… … mm, there are also a lot of memories. It is too big… … I cannot afford to be distracted.”

…

Seeing the mysterious display by Shen, Chen Xiaolian was unable to help himself from feeling puzzled.

Why would a High-rank Player become interested in him? So much so that he would run over to meet up with him along the way.

In this circle, the name Meteor Rock Guild was not that well known.

Looking at the prideful expression on Shen’s face, Chen Xiaolian’s mind raced. An involuntary desire rose within him to put an end to that prideful expression on Shen’s face.

“Then, let me take a guess.” Chen Xiaolian deliberately smiled and continued in a hushed tone, “For you to take note of me, there can only be one explanation. The guild that I belong to, Meteor Rock Guild must have had some degree of involvement with you.”

He stroked his forehead. “Let me think. The Player guilds that I have encountered before… mm, the Wind Slasher Guild can no longer be considered since their entire guild is probably no more.”

Chen Xiaolian noticed Shen pursing his lips to the side. It would appear that he held a certain disdain toward Wind Slasher Guild.

“The only other Player guild that I had any involvement with…” Chen Xiaolian stared at Shen and continued, “Thorned Flower!”

He quickly continued, “In the Tokyo instance dungeon, I had fought against Thorned Flower Guild, even killing off your men. And then there was the London instance dungeon… … I encountered another fellow from Thorned Flower Guild who just happened to be in the opposing faction. Mm, I thought that I had dealt with the issue carefully. However, it would seem that you people have special ways of getting information.

“If so, Mr Shen… … you are a member of Thorned Flower Guild, right? Is the reason you came to find me for the sake of exacting vengeance?”

Shen smiled. It was a calm smile. “This is Jerusalem, so I will use this place’s mannerism to reply your question: The time allocated by God for everyone is fair. Each person will have however much time is allocated onto him or her. Those that died under you, although you are the one who killed them, it could be said that the time allocated for them by God had come to an end. So… … you know.”

“If not for revenge… … then what?” Chen Xiaolian stared with widened eyes.

“It is simple. Back in the Tokyo instance dungeon, you killed off a competent general of mine.”

“Tian Lie!” Chen Xiaolian’s pupils contracted.