After teleporting, Xie Feng returned to the small town called 'The Expanding Spire'. Since he did not want to waste any time or progress in his mission, whenever he passed through the surroundings of a town or city, he made sure to buy many scrolls to return to the site. That way, he could return to Eminentis City without worrying about having to go the same way over and over again.
After calling the Ferghana Horse from inside his mount space, Xie Feng mounted the red-haired horse and began to ride further south. While on his way, Xie Feng opened the level ranking list for the first time in many days.
[Level Ranking List -
1) Player Name: Shiva / Level: 16 / Class: Emperor of the Wind / Title: Creator of Myths / Guild: None.
2) Player Name: Yao Mei / Level: 15 / Class: Fire Spirit / Title: None / Guild: None.
3) Player Name: Kali / Level 15 / Class: Seer / Title: Destiny's Daughter / Guild: None.
4) Player Name: Nangong Lei / Level: 14 / Class: Lightning Spirit / Title: None / Guild: None.
5) Player Name: Yang Tian / Level: 13 / Class: Earth Spirit / Title: None / Guild: None
6) Player Name: Yao Zenyu / Level: 13 / Class: Warrior / Title: None / Guild: None.
7) Player Name: Mu Wuying / Level 13 / Class: Spirit of Love / Title: None / Guild: None.
8) Player Name: Feng Yao / Level 13 / Class: Holy Angel / Title: None / Guild: None.
9) Player Name: Definitive Arrow / Level 12 / Class: Archer / Title: None / Guild: None
10) Player Name: One-man army / Level: 12 / Class: Summoner / Title: None / Guild: None.]
Since it had been a few days since Xie Feng had last seen the level ranking, he was a bit surprised to see the changes. Except for the first time that the system announced the opening of the ranking, he had not paid any more attention to it.
Not only did the positions of many people change, but the level of everyone increased quite rapidly. Kali defeated Despair mode in the Beginner's Village so Xie Feng was not surprised to see her with such a high level on the list. Although he and she had both completed the same trial, the amount of experience Xie Feng gained was half that while he had reached level thirteen, she had reached level fifteen.
Instead of Kali's level, what surprised Xie Feng the most was to see that another person with a title finally appeared. He was never too arrogant to think that he would be the only one to get a title, but he didn't expect a second titled player to show up so soon.
Xie Feng's eyes were fixed on Kali's class and title but he soon shook his head. Although he could get some clues it was impossible for him to draw too precise conclusions so easily.
Soon, Xie Feng's attention was captured by the second place on the list. The first time Xie Feng saw Yao Mei's level, she was level eleven like Nangong Chen; but now, Yao Mei was level fifteen! Such leveling speed was undoubtedly terrifying!
The only idea that Xie Feng had is that this Empress of Fire was fighting monsters of a much higher level than herself without sharing the experience with anyone. Otherwise, no matter how high the monsters are; sharing experience with many people, it was impossible for her leveling speed to be that high.
Seeing the name 'Feng Yao' on the list, Xie Feng smiled slightly. Xie Yao could certainly become the person with the highest level if she had better attacking skills, but her class had none. Therefore, except for the basic 'Magic Bullet' skill that the system gives to INT-centered players, she had no more attacking skills.
"I should try to get a skill scroll that matches with Yaoyao when I kill another boss," Xie Feng told himself.
***
Xie Feng rode the Ferghana horse all the way without stopping to rest even once. He crossed the territory of various types of monsters with a varied level; Demon Lobster level 25, Earthworm level 30, Komodo Dragon level 40, etc. No matter what kind of monster it was, Xie Feng didn't dare to stop because what he would get in return for killing them wouldn't be worth the effort.
When it was 7:20 p.m, in other words, six hours after Xie Feng resumed his travel again, a huge shrine appeared in sight. The shrine was indeed immense, the pillars seemed to support the heavens, and statues of all types of powerful scary-looking creatures over 20 meters in height surrounded the place. The walls of the place were purely white. On the other hand, the statues were silver in color. It looked like a place destined for the gods to rest.
Xie Feng was so surprised that he could not help but stop and appreciate the beautiful view for some minutes. For him, this was another proof of how beautiful and incredible the virtual world was compared to the real world. What human being could create such constructions? What human being could imagine such designs? What human being could imitate an aura of power, respect, and oppression as Xie Feng felt when looking at the shrine? No one!
After a sigh, Xie Feng pulled out the map of his inventory once again and saw that very close to his position there was a large red circle marked. The color red indicated extreme danger and was supposed to be a place where neither players nor NPCs should go.
Xie Feng naturally had no intention of committing suicide, therefore, he did not hesitate when he put the map away and began to carefully surround the circle. He passed a few meters away from the door and looked at the architecture of the place with pleasure.
However, when he started to walk away from the place, something surprising happened. The Ring of the God of Destruction, which had been silent and without any reaction after the first day, started to shine slightly.
At first, Xie Feng did not notice, but as he moved farther from the Holy Shrine, the light from his right hand was so clear that it was impossible for him not to look at the beautiful ring that gave him both joy and headache, and for some reason, Xie Feng knew that another great headache was coming.
Xie Feng stopped the horse and stared at the ring for a few seconds before finally saying with a dead tone of voice:
"You want me to go in there, don't you?"
The Ring of the God of Destruction flashed.
"You know there's a giant, scary beast in there, don't you?"
The Ring of the God of Destruction flashed.
"You know I can't defeat that monster, right?"
The Ring of the God of Destruction flashed again.
" *Sigh*... Well, I guess I don't have much choice. If I want to know the method of breaking the seals that bind you it will be better for me to take some risks", Xie Feng stopped and suddenly smiled: "Besides, I will not let myself be killed easily... At least, I'll give the Light Saint Dragon a headache before he sends me to level 0"
If someone else heard him they would certainly take him for a lunatic and laugh about him. Give a headache to one of the five most powerful existences in all of the Adastreia Continent? A player who is not even level 20? It certainly didn't sound plausible.
Although Xie Feng knows it was absolutely and definitely impossible for him to defeat the Light Saint Dragon, with his Dissolve, Fast Movement, and Cloud Path skills, he at least believed he could survive for about... ten seconds.
"Well, it's better than nothing," Xie Feng smiled bitterly and saved the Ferghana Horse as he walked slowly and carefully to the two giant silver doors a few feet away.
Even before entering the Holy Shrine and just standing near the doorway, Xie Feng could feel a small amount of pressure on his shoulders. It was as if the gravity around him had increased many times over.
There was nothing to use as a trigger or a mechanism to open the gate, so Xie Feng put his right hand over the connection between the two gates. Fortunately for him, unlike what Xie Feng expected, nothing dangerous happened.
The gates of the Holy Sanctuary, which should have been closed for who knows how many years, opened silently and without a sound. But that did not prevent the muscles of Xie Feng's body from tightening strongly because he knew that a simple slip-up in this place meant absolute death. But Xie Feng was not scared; he even felt an unknown feeling growing more and more inside him for every step he took towards the majestic sanctuary.
"Sometimes our destiny lies on the path we were trying to avoid," Xie Feng muttered a quote he had heard long ago but only now understood its true meaning.
The first thing he did before moving on was to wait five minutes while eating to reduce his character's hunger. Although Xie Feng knew he couldn't do anything against the Light Saint Dragon, in case there were other types of monsters he needed to be in his best possible condition.
"All Right..."
Taking a deep breath and holding the grip of the sword in his left hand, Xie Feng stepped forward and through the two now open doors. What he did not notice was that, as he stepped through the gate, a fine barrier appeared blocking his path, but the Pearl of Light inside his inventory glowed briefly before fading again.
At the same time, a giant pair of golden eyes watched his back from the darkness as Xie Feng disappeared into the hallway.