Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four: The Lich's Staff

“Ding, Lich Tris used Dark Sacrifice, sacrificing 40 leader-level ghouls, restoring 400,000 health, temporarily boosting strength to spirit level.”

Hearing the alert, Frost Coldmoon gasped softly and turned to Ye Chen, unable to hide her surprise. “You knew this would happen all along?”

“Of course. How could I not prepare when facing creatures of this caliber?” Ye Chen nodded calmly, showing no emotion. If a player were to fight this lich alone, Dark Sacrifice would be a truly frustrating skill—capable of wiping out a team that was otherwise destined for victory. But for a level 60 Blazing Sword Spirit, Dark Sacrifice was merely a brief delay before the lich’s inevitable death.

Sure enough, although the lich temporarily regained spirit-level attributes, it was still no match for the Blazing Sword Spirit. The battle remained one-sided. Although the Blazing Sword Spirit could no longer unleash its Ninefold Demon Sword Slash, its ordinary attacks sufficed to easily subdue Lich Tris.

A few minutes later, the Blazing Sword Spirit drained the last ounce of life from Lich Tris, who let out a final roar of defiance before collapsing onto the grand hall floor.

A beam of white light descended from the heavens—Frost Coldmoon, now level 40, had just leveled up. Ye Chen’s experience also surged significantly but not enough to level up yet. It seemed Frost Coldmoon had been grinding experience close to full even before entering the Crimson Blood Witch Hall—truly a leveling fanatic.

“Heh, great! Level 41! Now I can finally surpass that woman, Ink Dye,” Frost Coldmoon said with a faint, proud smile.

“Ink Dye? Does Cloud Swallow City have players higher than you?” Ye Chen was somewhat surprised, as he knew little about cities beyond Blazing Mountain City.

“There’s a female elemental mage. We’ve always been tied for first, but she’s had more experience, so she’s ranked just above me,” Frost Coldmoon said, a hint of reluctance in her voice.

“So all the male players in Cloud Swallow City must be miserable—first and second places taken by women, both outclassing them,” Ye Chen chuckled, walking toward where the lich had fallen.

Frost Coldmoon hurriedly followed and said, “You guessed right. Not just first and second—our top five rankings in Cloud Swallow City are all female players. Among the top ten, there’s only one male player. Want to know what other cities call us? ‘The Daughters’ Kingdom.’”

“Is that because women occupy the entire top ten?” Ye Chen gestured for the Blazing Sword Spirit to step aside and casually asked.

“Of course not. It’s called that because female players make up about 70% of Cloud Swallow City’s population. How’s that? Tempted? There are plenty of beauties,” Frost Coldmoon said, watching Ye Chen casually direct the Blazing Sword Spirit with a tinge of envy. Her attention then shifted to the items dropped by Lich Tris—especially a dagger emitting a faint golden glow. Her eyes couldn’t look away. “Quick, open the equipment and take a look.”

Ye Chen’s heart was pounding too—but not because of the golden-glowing dagger. It was the purple-glowing staff beside it that made his pulse race. The color clearly marked it as a dark-gold grade item.

[Lich Staff] (Dark Gold)
Attack: 712–1080
Intelligence: +35
Constitution: +30
Level: 39
Bonus: Increases dark magic damage by 20%
Weapon Effect: Necromancer’s Enslavement—has a chance to directly enslave undead creatures below semi-spirit level. The higher the undead’s rank, the lower the chance of success.

“Wow. Ye Chen, you’re really hitting the jackpot this time. You were already a super heavy hitter, but with this staff, I don’t know who can withstand your insane magic. You must have put all points into intelligence, right? Will your attack power exceed a thousand?” Frost Coldmoon covered her mouth in awe, eyes wide at the staff’s stats.

“My attack power lower limit is already over a thousand,” Ye Chen calculated instantly. Equipping the Lich Staff would raise his minimum attack to 1,100, with a maximum attack close to 1,500. With such power, few in the entire Five Districts could rival him—perhaps not even one. Could he be the strongest in the Five Districts?

Hearing this, Frost Coldmoon sighed inwardly, looking at Ye Chen like a monster, and confidently declared, “In the Five Districts, your attack power ranks in the top five!”

“Top five? Not first?” Ye Chen was genuinely surprised; he had thought his power would dominate the Five Districts.

“First? You’re underestimating the hidden masters. I know of four players stronger or roughly equal to you. Three have dark-gold weapons like yours, and one wields a truly spirit-grade weapon, a genuine spirit-level weapon. His overall attack power exceeds 2,000,” Frost Coldmoon recited from memory.

Ye Chen’s expression shifted slightly. The Five Districts were said to have millions of players, so it was indeed a realm full of hidden talents. But an attack power over 2,000—was that really possible?

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. There’s absolutely no player in the Five Districts with an attack power over 2,000. The others are about the same as you. The spirit weapon story is just a rumor. Currently, aside from your unactivated Demon Sword, there’s no real spirit weapon in the Five Districts. The person she mentioned is probably Se Ye, a dark elf archer. He has a very powerful burst skill that temporarily raises his attack to nearly 2,000, but his base attack is only around 1,500, similar to yours,” 2058 explained in Ye Chen’s ear, adding, “Once your Demon Sword is unsealed, that’ll be the first true spirit weapon in the Five Districts.”

The first spirit weapon. Ye Chen swallowed nervously, then calmed himself and bent down to pick up the dagger Frost Coldmoon had been eyeing all along.

[Soul Slayer Dagger] (Golden Grade)
Attack: 435–617
Agility: +23
Strength: +18
Level: 36
Bonus: Increases physical critical rate by 15%
Weapon Effect: Soul Slayer—has a chance to ignore the opponent’s defense to inflict direct damage.

The golden glow streaming from the dagger radiated a sharp, cutting aura. Frost Coldmoon stared at the perfectly crafted dagger, momentarily speechless. Ye Chen’s breathing quickened slightly. Soul Slayer—a near-legendary thief attribute—ignored armor defense, making even heavily armored foes suffer. Although the effect’s chance was low, a single successful hit could be deadly.

“Ye Chen... you’re not going to back out now, are you? You have to sell me that dagger. If you don’t, I’ll go on the forum and say you took advantage of me, abandoned me after seduction, and I’ll even find your family in real life to make you take responsibility,” Frost Coldmoon said, her eyes misted with tears, her voice trembling as if whispering.

Ye Chen had to admit he was tempted—not by Frost Coldmoon, the cold beauty, but by the Soul Slayer Dagger itself. The golden dagger’s weapon effect was overwhelmingly powerful, causing him to hesitate whether to sell it. But after hearing Frost Coldmoon’s words, he quickly dismissed the idea of keeping it. Since he couldn’t use it himself, and selling it in Cloud Swallow City posed no threat to him, there was no need to anger this woman. Judging by her expression, if he refused, she might go crazy—crazy women are scary, but a powerful and crazy woman is even scarier. What if she contacted a guild and claimed he wronged her...

Shaking off the terrifying thought, Ye Chen calmly said, “I’ll sell it to you, but the price must be right. Otherwise, I won’t sell it no matter what.”

Upon hearing Ye Chen’s agreement, Frost Coldmoon brightened immediately. “Money’s not an issue. Do you want gold coins or real-world currency? Either is fine.”

“If you’re not in a rush for cash, it’s better to choose gold coins. Trust me, in the continent of other races, you’ll need lots of gold, lots and lots,” 2058 suddenly whispered in Ye Chen’s ear.

Though further treatment for his amnesia would still cost a lot, it wasn’t urgent. The device couldn’t be used frequently, as the brain couldn’t handle too much stimulation. The next treatment wouldn’t be for months, and by then Ye Chen would easily earn the money. Since 2058 said gold coins would be more useful in the other-race continent, Ye Chen decided to accept only gold coin transactions.

“Ten thousand gold coins. That’s all the gold I have on me. Though it’s slightly less than the dagger’s value, it’s close enough. I can add some other items as compensation. How about that?” Frost Coldmoon said shyly. A golden-grade dagger with such attributes would easily fetch over ten thousand gold at auction.

Ten thousand gold coins! Ye Chen was stunned. Even though he was no stranger to money, hearing that price left him breathless. Ten thousand gold coins, at the current rate, was worth over a hundred thousand in value—and with the gold coin market recovering, it might even appreciate.

Calming himself, Ye Chen reasoned that the Soul Slayer Dagger was indeed worth that much. After all, the Magic Ape Heavy Armor once sold for a sky-high price of six thousand gold—back then, six thousand gold was close to today’s ten thousand.

“Alright, ten thousand gold is reasonable. Let me see what else you can add. If they’re useful to me, we can make the deal,” Ye Chen said, ready to accept if Frost Coldmoon added worthwhile items.

Without hesitation, Frost Coldmoon opened her trade window and placed a pile of items inside. “Here are some. You can pick whatever you like.”

Ye Chen glanced over and was surprised to see not only several bronze-grade pieces but also a silver-grade item. “You carry so many good items and aren’t afraid of being killed and looted?”

“Heh, there may be many I can’t kill in the Five Districts, but few can loot me. Besides, dying to monsters doesn’t drop equipped gear. What’s there to worry about? And these few items are worth at most a thousand gold—I don’t care about that much,” Frost Coldmoon said casually, clearly confident in her own strength. As for the last part, Ye Chen chose to ignore it. A thousand gold? You have no idea how many people would fight tooth and nail for that much.

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