C.3471 - 545 – Sudden Changes to the Golden Spire

Chapter 545 – Sudden Changes to the Golden Spire

Golden Spire, Upper Level:

In a vast temple surrounded by clouds, a burst of colorful radiance suddenly appeared in the middle of the structure. Then, the lights disappeared to reveal four figures.

“We arrived, just like that?”

A pleasant voice sounded, causing the hundred or so players resting in the temple to turn their heads toward the source. The owner of the voice was a female Cleric with a gentle and elegant appearance, and at first glance, she looked very much like an angel.

“Newcomers?”

“Has another pseudo-apex power arrived at the Golden Spire?”

“These people have such bad luck to appear at this time. Now, the upper-level key they went to great lengths to obtain has gone to waste.”

When the resting players saw the female Cleric’s group appearing in the temple, some expressed surprise, some expressed ridicule, and some expressed pity.

“What’s wrong with these people? Why are they looking at us like that?” Seven Melody wondered in confusion. After scanning the temple, she could tell everyone was talking about their group.

“This is strange. This should be nearly everyone, if not everyone, who has reached the upper level,” Aqua Rose commented. “Logically, the first batch of players to have entered the spire should have arrived on the upper floor quite some time already. Even though we’ve taken only eleven hours to clear the lower level, it doesn’t make for us to meet them here. These people also look exhausted, so they’ve clearly been through a lot of battles.”

Keys to the Golden Spire’s upper level were incredibly rare. At most, only a couple dozen should have been found thus far. And since each key could only allow two players to enter the spire’s upper level, the maximum number of players that could enter the upper level should only be a little over a hundred. In other words, the players resting in the temple should be most, if not all, of the players currently on the upper level.

It should be known that their group of four had entered the Golden Spire two days later than the various Guilds’ first batch of players did. Logically, the players in the first batch should have long arrived and made significant progress on the upper level. So, it was incredibly strange for them to meet so many players at the upper level’s starting point.

Amidst Seven Melody and Aqua Rose’s confusion, an exclamation suddenly sounded from a corner of the temple.

“Little Seven? How did you get up here so quickly?”

The speaker was a female Assassin dressed in black leather. She had a shapely figure, and she gave off a wild feeling. Although the Assassin was masked, it was still possible to tell that she had a beautiful face based on her facial features.

“Big Sis Glow?” Seven Melody exclaimed when she saw the female Assassin. Then, she curiously asked, “Why are you still on the first trial? Shouldn’t you have entered the upper level long ago?”

Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul were the Scarlet Merchant Alliance’s chosen ones of this generation. The two were about evenly matched in strength, and they were labeled as the Scarlet Merchant Alliance’s most talented chosen ones in the past century. Even before reaching the age of 25, the two had already mastered a Gold Combat Technique.

Now, in their thirties, they had already mastered two Gold Combat Techniques of different categories and received the Guild’s full support. Both of them were equipped with Legendary Equipment Sets and top-tier Legendary Weapons, and at the same level and tier, they could fight against even the chosen ones nurtured by apex powers.

“We are here by accident,” the female Assassin named Solitary Glow said, waving her hand. Then, she moved her sharp gaze over to Shi Feng and Aurebeth, curiously asking, “Who are these two? Why did you arrive here with them?”

“They’re the reinforcements I found, Big Sis Glow,” Seven Melody proudly said. “This man here is Guild Leader Black Flame, while this beautiful lady here is Azure Fang’s Saintess. It is thanks to them that Aqua and I were able to arrive on the upper level so quickly.”

It only took them eleven hours to complete the lower level. They were several times faster than the various pseudo-apex powers’ paragons. Although some of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance’s paragons waiting at the end of the lower level had initially thought of competing for the two slots she had for the upper level, they could only despair after learning of her and Aqua’s clear speed.

In fact, if not for the two of them being too slow at breaking the trials’ magic barriers, Shi Feng and Aurebeth could have completed the lower level in six hours.

“Guild Leader Black Flame?” When Solitary Glow heard Shi Feng’s name, she suddenly thought of something as she looked at Shi Feng, feeling somewhat surprised, and asked, “Are you the one who killed Demon Axe and angered the Star Dynasty?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Shi Feng nodded.

“How brave of you.” Seeing the calm look on Shi Feng, Solitary Glow couldn’t help but give him a friendly reminder, saying, “Do you know that Sleeping Spark, one of the Star Dynasty’s chosen ones, has already declared that he will kill you every time he sees you? He has also announced a reward of five Eternal Gold for anyone who reports your location in the Golden Spire.”

“Five Eternal Gold?” Aqua Rose was astonished by the revelation. “That much?”

One Eternal Gold was about as much as the average fourth-floor expert owned in the current Eternal Realm, so paying five Eternal Gold for just a player’s location was a huge extravagance. Now that even the various cities in the real world were buying up Eternal Coins, a fortune of five Eternal Gold would be enough for her to live extravagantly in a second-tier city for an entire year.

“How generous of them,” Seven Melody commented in agreement. Even she didn’t have five Eternal Gold on her right now. “I heard that the Secret Treasures sold by the Crystal City of Secrets’ Trading Firm only cost about a dozen Eternal Gold. With the reward they’re offering, I can already buy a Common Secret Treasure after reporting Guild Leader Black Flame’s location three times.”

Upon hearing Seven Melody’s words, Shi Feng couldn’t help but look at the Cleric in surprise. He didn’t think the Secret Crystal Trading Firm’s fame had spread so much.

“You two shouldn’t have come here,” Solitary Glow said as she returned her gaze to Seven Melody and Aqua Rose. “Not long ago, Sleeping Spark climbed to a height of 10,000 meters and caused a sudden change to the entire upper level. Aside from him, everyone else was teleported back to the starting point.

“In addition, the trials’ Magic Puppets have also undergone a qualitative transformation. Now, even the first trial’s Magic Puppets have Domains, and every move they make is at the standard of an Advanced Bronze Combat Technique. Combined with the assistance of their small battle array, all three of the first trial’s Magic Puppets have combat standards at the fourth-floor standard. Even if Dragon Soul and I keep you two safe from other players, the best you two can accomplish is clear the first trial.”

“They’ve stepped into the Realms of Truth?” Seven Melody was greatly surprised.

Even when she climbed to 30,000 meters on the lower level, the combat standards of the Magic Puppets she faced only had access to a Domain. They had no mastery over the Realms of Truth. If the upper level’s Magic Puppets were as strong as Solitary Glow described, combined with the Golden Spire’s volatile mana environment, even fifth-floor experts would find their progression coming to a halt.

After all, if the Magic Puppets could exhibit the power of Bronze Combat Techniques with their every move, after factoring in the assistance of a small battle array, they would be able to unleash power at the Tier 6 standard. This would remove any advantages players had over the Magic Puppets.

“As for you two, I’m afraid you have come here for nothing,” Solitary Glow said as she turned to Shi Feng and Aurebeth. “While I am grateful for you for bringing Little Seven and her friend here, you are currently being targeted by the Star Dynasty. All of the various pseudo-apex powers’ members here have their eyes set on you two. Even if Dragon Soul and I try to help you, I don’t think they will give up.”

When Seven Melody saw that Solitary Glow was hinting at Shi Feng and Aurebeth to leave, she quickly interjected and said in a serious tone, “Guild Leader Black Flame and his friend are very strong, Big Sis Glow. If you join forces with them, you can definitely climb to greater heights.”

“Very strong?”

Solitary Glow couldn’t help but chuckle at Seven Melody’s claim. How strong could someone ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List possibly be? Even someone of her caliber would quickly fall when attacked by over a hundred paragons and chosen ones from the various pseudo-apex powers.

However, seeing the determination in Seven Melody’s eyes, Solitary Glow ultimately sighed and said, “Alright, then. Since they have helped you, it would be shameful of us to just stand by and watch. But let me make things clear. Our ability to resist is limited. If we can’t hold on, your friends will have to rely on themselves.”

“Thank you, Big Sis Glow,” Seven Melody said with a smile.

“Okay, get ready. We’ll start climbing the spire in one minute,” Solitary Glow said before leaving to discuss the situation with Dragon Soul, who was resting some distance away.