Chapter 146: The Guild Turmoil

The Flame Sword Spirit fell silently to the ground, and at the moment it collapsed, its body transformed into a cluster of dark light. That light then condensed into a beam of light, which in the blink of an eye merged into Ye Chen’s body.

“Ding, the Heart of the Sword Spirit has been integrated into the Demon Sword. Demon Sword unsealing successful.”

At the same time, the once dim Demon Sword icon in Ye Chen’s skill bar suddenly lit up.

[Blue Caster’s Sword] (Spirit)
Physical Attack: 1125–1768
Level: 40
Class: Magic
Bonus: Physical attack damage increased by 30%, physical critical rate increased by 15%
Weapon Special Effect: Unstoppable, ignores 20% of the target’s defense

“How about that? The attributes of a spirit-level demon sword aren’t bad at all. It’s a pity you can’t yet become a Sword Demon. Without the Sword Demon’s innate skills, you can’t fully unleash the Demon Sword’s power. But it’s still another means to fight with. At critical moments, pulling out the Demon Sword will definitely surprise your opponent. Someone like Windless Blood—a fragile rogue—could almost be killed in one strike if caught off guard,” 2058 said with a hint of pride.

Ye Chen suppressed the urge to immediately summon the Demon Sword for a look and asked, “With the agility and strength of a magic class, I’m already struggling a bit with melee combat. After switching to the hidden class, can I reset my attribute points? Or will all the intelligence points I’ve put in be wasted after the change?”

He had been puzzled by this for a while. Usually, whether switching to a branch class or a hidden class, it’s an evolution based on the original profession; the class direction doesn’t change. But becoming a Sword Demon was a complete reversal—from magic to melee—and he had no idea how the attribute points would be handled.

“Of course not. In Divine Arrival, there’s no such thing as resetting points. But the Sword Demon’s innate skill is similar to a reset. It’s called the Reversal of Heaven and Earth, which can convert your magic attribute points into melee attributes. That way, melee combat won’t be a problem at all,” 2058 explained.

Ye Chen’s heart trembled at this revelation. The ability to convert attributes was truly overpowered, no wonder a magic class could handle melee combat. So that was the key.

As Ye Chen stood there in a daze, Cold Moon Frost glanced at him briefly before turning her gaze to the spot where the Flame Sword Spirit had died. She gasped with delight, “Something dropped.”

Following Cold Moon Frost’s gaze, Ye Chen’s heart leapt—the 3% chance had really paid off. Hastily, he picked up the item.

[Demon Sword Nine-Strike Combo—Draw Sword Slash]: Draw sword and sweep sideways, dealing 170% damage to surrounding targets. Skill power increases with skill level. Class restriction: Sword Demon

“Heavens, 170% damage at the basic level alone? If this is leveled up, won’t it be godlike?” Cold Moon Frost exclaimed upon seeing the skill book’s stats. Then, noticing the class restriction, she froze in place. After a moment, she murmured, “So the Sword Demon class really exists.” After saying this, the look she gave Ye Chen became strange. With her insight, she naturally guessed that Ye Chen must have found the clue to Sword Demon advancement.

A hidden class, and one that had never appeared before. She found herself increasingly unable to figure out the man before her. It was laughable that she had initially regarded him as a total rookie.

“You’re really lucky. The Demon Sword Nine-Strike is one of the top melee skills in all of Divine Arrival. Although this is just the first strike, it’s a great start. At least after you become a Sword Demon, you won’t have to worry about lacking powerful skills,” 2058 whispered into Ye Chen’s ear.

Ye Chen was overjoyed. The fierce momentum of the Flame Sword Spirit’s Nine-Strike Combo still echoed in his mind. To learn such a transcendent skill, how could he not be happy—even if it was only the first move?

“Ding, Red Blood Witch Palace monsters have been cleared. Teleportation will commence shortly. All players will be transported back to their respective cities. Countdown begins...”

As the prompt sounded, Ye Chen and Cold Moon Frost’s party automatically disbanded, and the white light of teleportation began to glow beneath their feet.

“This cooperation went surprisingly well. I hope by next time we meet, you will have become the legendary Sword Demon,” Cold Moon Frost said seriously, casting a deep glance at Ye Chen.

“Thanks for your kind words. I hope next time you can firmly surpass Ran Mo and become the true number one expert in Swallow Cloud City,” Ye Chen replied with a smile, pleased by the ten thousand gold income and happy to trade compliments.

The teleportation glow grew brighter, and as the countdown neared its end, Cold Moon Frost suddenly shouted, “I’m sorry, but I have to say—you really are a weirdo.”

Before Ye Chen could raise his middle finger in response, the light flared, and he was whisked out of the Red Blood Witch Palace. His last sight was Cold Moon Frost’s radiant smile.

Opening his eyes again, he found himself in the city of Lushan, right in front of the Adventurers’ Guild.

Although it was already past one in the morning, the guild was still bustling with activity. Players came and went to learn skills and switch classes. With a population of 100,000 in Lushan City, it was indeed a thriving gaming metropolis.

Cloaked, Ye Chen entered the hall unnoticed. Scanning the room, he saw long lines before several class instructors. Frowning, he was about to join the queue when his eyes shifted and spotted Karina, the Shadow Priest instructor who had assigned him his task, chatting with several male instructors in the NPC rest area.

Ye Chen hesitated slightly. Usually, NPCs in the rest area weren’t on duty, but this was a special task. He wondered if he could approach her directly.

He whispered to 2058 for advice and immediately received a firm response: “This is a special task, not a regular class change or skill learning. It’s a one-on-one mission. Even the Shadow Priest instructor on duty cannot accept the task completion from you. Go directly to the rest area.”

With 2058’s confirmation, Ye Chen didn’t question further and headed toward the NPC rest area, where no players were present.

Players who noticed Ye Chen moving toward the rest area smirked with superiority, and a few braggarts openly scorned him.

“Ha. Did you see that noob? The cloaked noob who doesn’t even know NPCs don’t work in the rest area.”

“Probably a rookie. When I first came, I didn’t know either and got kicked out by the NPCs. So embarrassing. But that cloak’s not bad—anti-detection. No one can see his profile.”

“Good show coming. I saw a video on the forum yesterday. That guy barged into the rest area and got wrecked by those NPC instructors. This tragedy’s about to repeat. Haha.”

“Come on, start recording the video, let’s upload that noob getting beaten by NPCs to the forum.”

The mocking voices were loud enough for Ye Chen to hear every word, but he merely smiled coldly. These players judged others by themselves, assuming what they couldn’t do, others couldn’t either. They had no idea there were always exceptions, that there were those beyond all limits.

As Ye Chen approached the rest area, the group of players with eager expressions seemed ready for a spectacle. But just then, Karina, the Shadow Priest instructor surrounded by male instructors, suddenly exclaimed, pushed them aside, and hurried over, calling out loudly as she walked, “Heavens, I can’t believe it! I sense the aura of the Lich Tris on you. You actually returned alive from the Red Blood Witch Palace! Come to me quickly. Tell me, have you killed Lich Tris?”

The beautiful NPC’s proactive greeting stunned the crowd of players waiting for a show. Those with sharp ears and quick minds immediately caught the mention of “Lich” — a demigod-level creature. This cloaked man was clearly not some rookie but rather a formidable expert.

But no player could possibly challenge a demigod-level lich now, right?

Before the players could voice their doubts, the male NPC instructors Karina had brushed off spoke up.

“Stop joking, Karina. You really think this low-level Shadow Priest killed Lich Tris? That guild plan was a joke from the start. I bet this kid just barely escaped the Red Blood Witch Palace with his skin intact,” the Berserker instructor jeered, chest hair bristling.

“I agree. No idea what the guild higher-ups were thinking. If anyone’s going to kill Tris, it should be the veterans, not some low-level adventurers,” sneered the pretty-faced Knight instructor, clearly displeased that Karina had ignored him for Ye Chen.

The other instructors also expressed doubts, considering Ye Chen a deserter from the Red Blood Witch Palace.

The players listening in whispered and debated.

“Hmph, so-called expert? Foolishness. Liches aren’t something players can challenge. He probably got killed and dropped levels.”

“Serves him right. Haha. Let’s check the leaderboard—if anyone dropped ranks, it’s definitely him.”

“Whoa, Windless Blood dropped off the leaderboard. Could it be that guy...?”

“No, didn’t the NPC say the cloaked person is a Shadow Priest?”

“Hmm, then who knows? Nobody else dropped levels, so maybe he’s not that skilled. But Windless Blood dropping off is big news. Anyone know what happened?”

“No clue, but it wasn’t monsters. Probably someone killed him. Wonder who the powerhouse was.”

“Forget that, let’s just open all our recordings. This guy failed his mission but dared to storm the rest area. Those NPCs must have wrecked him. We’ll record and post it on the forum with a title like ‘Cloaked Expert Brutally Beaten by NPC Titans’—it’ll go viral.”

Damn, these guys were not only schadenfreude-filled but utterly shameless. Ye Chen rolled his eyes, planning to ignore the chatter and submit his task, when 2058 suddenly spoke up: “Don’t rush to submit your task. Those NPCs provoking you are the hidden reward for the Lich mission. Follow my instructions before handing in the quest.”

Hidden reward? Ye Chen’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected such a stroke of luck. Thankfully, 2058 reminded him in time—or he would have deeply regretted it.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it with recommendations and monthly votes on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)