Chapter 3271 - Chapter 345 - First?

Chapter 345 - First?

A streak of light descended on the plaza where the top 100 participants were gathered. When the light faded and revealed a savage figure, the other players promptly turned to look at this figure, looks of surprise appearing on everyone's faces.

The new arrival in the plaza was none other than Saint Three, a person known by all in the Ancient River Kingdom. He was also one of the favorites to get into the Rookie Competition's top three.

Yet, even an expert of Saint Three's caliber had lasted no more than four minutes in the Ancient River's Heart…

I lost?

I couldn't even beat a doppelganger of Black Flame?

Saint Three's heart remained unsettled even after he got teleported out of the Ancient River's Heart, his mind constantly recalling the doppelganger he had fought in the temple.

In Saint Three's opinion, the player known as Black Flame was nothing more than a stepping stone for him to attract the Paimon Conglomerate's attention. Yet, now, not only did he lose to Black Flame's doppelganger, but he had even lost while having a piece of Legendary Equipment in his possession. If the outside world were to learn about this, he would absolutely become a joke…

"Isn't the Rookie Competition's difficulty this time a little too much? Even Saint Three got disqualified so quickly."

"It's not surprising. After all, he has to go up against Empress Blood Arrow's and the Undefeated Battle Maniac's doppelgangers. It's already amazing that he managed to last so long. Most paragons wouldn't even last more than three minutes against those two people."

"Sure enough! It seems first place will either go to Empress Blood Arrow or the Undefeated Battle Maniac this time!"

…

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Everyone in the plaza started a hushed discussion when they saw Saint Three getting disqualified. Everyone was of the opinion that the Rookie Competition's champion this time would either be Empress Blood Arrow or the Undefeated Battle Maniac.

According to the Ancient River's Heart's rules, every finalist was required to go up against the doppelgangers of all other finalists. This meant that Leroja and Cross wouldn't have to go up against themselves, and they'd only have to go up against one expert of their caliber instead of two like everyone else. So, the difficulty of Leroja's and Cross's trial would be significantly lower than everyone else's.

Meanwhile, when Midsummer, who got disqualified long ago, revealed an ecstatic look as she looked at the ranking list above the plaza.

This is great! With this, nobody can question Brother Black Flame's position as the kingdom's First Paragon any longer!

Saint Three was considered one of the Ancient River Kingdom's top three paragons. Before Shi Feng and Saint Three fought, nobody could tell who among them was stronger.

Previously, even though Shi Feng was declared the Ancient River Kingdom's First Paragon, many players and powers in the kingdom refused to acknowledge him. However, now that Saint Three had gotten disqualified before Shi Feng, those players and powers would have no choice but to acknowledge him as the kingdom's First Paragon.

It wouldn't matter even if Shi Feng ended up losing to Leroja and Cross. Neither of them belonged to the Ancient River Kingdom, so they couldn't be considered the kingdom's First Paragon.

Now, so long as the Twin Saints Alliance or the kingdom's Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts didn't go crazy, nobody would dare to offend Shi Feng. This also meant that their party of three would no longer face any significant problems surviving and developing in the Ancient River Kingdom.

…

While the players in the plaza were arguing over who would become the Rookie Competition's champion, a man arrived on the Ancient River's Heart's second floor.

Sure enough, I'm the first to get here.

When Shi Feng saw the ranking list displayed in the second-floor hall, he didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.

Although the competition had yet to end, the Ancient River Trial had created a ranking list based on the order in which finalists entered the second floor. So, those who arrived on the second floor could know how many people had entered the second floor.

Meanwhile, according to the list, he was the first person to have entered the second floor.

Honestly, Shi Feng wasn't surprised by this outcome. On the contrary, he felt it was only a matter of course.

After he got teleported to the Ancient River's Heart, the Eternal Ashes he wielded did not disappear. So, it went without saying that his doppelgangers would also wield the Eternal Ashes.

Although the Eternal Ashes only had the Basic Attributes and passive attack effect of a Legendary Weapon, it was still a Legendary Weapon. The Basic Attributes it provided were more than enough to let him surpass the other finalists.

Leroja and Cross quickly figured this out when they fought against Shi Feng's doppelganger.

Meanwhile, the reason Shi Feng could break through the first floor so quickly was that he had done so using brute force.

Under normal circumstances, if Shi Feng were to try and compete against Leroja and Cross simultaneously, the fight would get dragged out, and he'd eventually lose after running out of Stamina and Concentration. Fortunately, he had the Eternal Ashes. Combined with Holy Annihilation, he had easily sent the doppelgangers of Leroja, Cross, and the others flying and destroyed the barrier.

As for the other finalists, though, their situation was the exact opposite of his. It'd be an absolute nightmare for them to fight against his doppelganger while trying to break the barrier.

Meanwhile, after arriving on the second floor, Shi Feng got to experience the deep hostility the Ancient River Trial had toward players once again.

The number of doppelgangers players had to face on the second floor was double that of the first floor. Not only that, but players were also required to break a threefold barrier while doing so.

Thank goodness my doppelganger isn't among them. Otherwise, there'd be no way to win.

After taking a look at the 18 doppelgangers that had materialized before him, Shi Feng couldn't help but sigh in relief.

With the Eternal Ashes in his hand, he could unleash power at the Tier 6 Basic standard if he executed Holy Annihilation. If he had to go up against his own doppelganger, the trial's difficulty would instantly jump from easy to hell. However, so long as his doppelganger wasn't among the doppelgangers he had to face, even if he had to face twice as many doppelgangers, the increase in difficulty was manageable.

Even so, Shi Feng dared not get careless when going up against the 18 doppelgangers.

Godslayer!

Shi Feng activated Godslayer without hesitation, instantly increasing his Mana and Concentration standards by a large margin. Then, he raised the Eternal Ashes and swung it at the doppelgangers.

Third Sword, Holy Annihilation!

Leroja was a Ranger proficient at ranged attacks, while Cross was a Berserker proficient at melee attacks. The two synergized with each other perfectly. If Shi Feng focused on only one of them, the other would use the opportunity to land deadly attacks on him. Now that the number of doppelgangers had doubled, one mistake was more than enough for the doppelgangers to kill him.

So, if Shi Feng wished to achieve victory, the only way he could do so would be to end the fight as quickly as possible.

Before the 18 doppelgangers got into formation, he needed to swiftly break the barrier. Otherwise, without any healers on his side, he'd be worn down and killed if he chose to clash with the doppelgangers as he did on the first floor.

However, as soon as Shi Feng launched his attack against the barrier, the 18 doppelgangers had also gone into action.

Firstly, the two Undefeated Battle Maniacs joined hands to use a Tier 4 Combination Skill to deflect Shi Feng's Holy Annihilation. Although the two Berserkers were sent flying, their actions prevented the barrier from receiving any damage.

Immediately afterward, the two Empress Blood Arrows launched two accurate barrages of arrows at Shi Feng. The two Rangers had launched so many arrows that they had saturated the space in the hall.

If Shi Feng did not defend against the arrows, he would get hit with 100% certainty. Yet, if he defended against these arrows, it would mean that he couldn't do any damage to the barrier.

Subsequently, after making a minor adjustment to his movements, Shi Feng executed another Holy Annihilation against the barrier.

The first Holy Annihilation had already sent the two Undefeated Battle Maniacs flying. So, the two Berserkers could no longer stop this second Holy Annihilation. As for the arrows in the air, since defending against them would only lead to his failure, Shi Feng chose to receive them with his body. Of course, he also made sure to receive the least number of attacks possible.

Boom!

At the same time as cracks formed on the barrier, two arrows struck Shi Feng, reducing his HP by 20%.

However, the loss of HP did not stop Shi Feng's actions. Relying on his buffed Concentration, Shi Feng promptly executed a chain of Holy Annihilations.

One time… Two times… Three times…

When the fifth volley of arrows was about to hit Shi Feng and claim the last of his HP, the fifth Holy Annihilation landed on the threefold barrier and shattered it. Immediately afterward, the sound of a system notification entered his ears.

…

System: Congratulations! You have become the first player to clear the Ancient River Trial!

…

At the same time, the ranking list above the plaza where the top 100 players were gathered received an update. This time, all three of the top three positions were updated simultaneously. However, when everyone saw the champion's name, they couldn't help but be stunned.