99: The Secret of the Ancient Stone Platform (Part 1)

"Damn it, I finally finished the First Advancement quest!"

In a corner of Border Wild City, a seemingly unremarkable Level 10 mage muttered with a face full of exhaustion.

That's right, he was Bai Tian's best friend, Liao Fan, whose ID was "Turbid Wine Among Flowers".

To complete this Master-level First Advancement quest, he had gritted his teeth and persisted for over four hours, not even stopping for dinner.

As soon as he left Novice Island, Liao Fan impatiently opened his personal mailbox.

Immediately after, a series of system notification sounds rang out—

—"(Ding-dong!)"

"(You have received one [hidden class change card].)"

"(You have received 10,000 gold coins.)"

"(You have received one purple [scarlet sparrow flame staff].)"

"You have received..."

These notifications made Liao Fan feel like he had been hit by a pie falling from the sky; he was completely dazed.

He stood stunned for a good while before his hands began to tremble slightly, his voice carrying a hint of disbelief: "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

To confirm he wasn't dreaming, he slapped himself hard. Only when the sharp pain radiated from his face did he believe it was all real.

"Holy crap!"

Liao Fan couldn't help but exclaim, "That guy Bai Tian, he really..."

"I'd be willing to work like a horse for him for the rest of my life!"

—

Meanwhile, on the other side, Bai Tian had already met up with Flowers in Full Bloom and God Sky.

God Sky showed great respect by personally traveling to Border Wild City through a teleportation array.

If he hadn't adjusted his appearance in the game, he was definitely a young and promising man with handsome features.

His face was sharp and chiseled, with clear features and bright eyes. Standing at 1.89 meters tall, he was the literal definition of 'tall, rich, and handsome'.

Upon seeing Bai Tian and Flowers in Full Bloom approaching, God Sky walked forward with a smile and extended his hand to both of them.

"Brocade, Brilliant, hello."

He politely shook hands with Bai Tian. Although Flowers in Full Bloom only nodded without shaking hands, God Sky didn't show any signs of displeasure.

He got straight to the point: "You two, thank you for your trust."

"Earlier, I used the precious [Main Summoning Talisman] without hesitation to summon you here just so you could mark that unique Ancient Stone Platform."

"There is an incredibly shocking secret hidden there."

God Sky's words were full of mystery as he continued, "There is a trigger quest on that Ancient Stone Platform. Once the quest is activated and conditions are met, a special NPC called the Ghost Angel Messenger will appear, but he only stays for five minutes."

"And this Ghost Angel Messenger controls a Time-Space Shop, which contains as many as ten thousand mount treasure boxes."

Hearing about the ten thousand mount treasure boxes, even the steady Bai Tian and the cold and elegant Flowers in Full Bloom couldn't help but show looks of shock.

At the current stage of the game, mounts were undoubtedly an extremely precious and scarce resource. They not only improved a player's mobility but were also a symbol of status and position.

As he spoke, God Sky's tone became solemn. His brows furrowed, and his voice deepened: "Before coming to see you, I had someone compile the statistics for tonight's Nether Heaven Great Realm event."

"The results are worrying. Players from our Great Xia Region have been severely targeted. At least one million Great Xia players were hunted down and killed by the [Justice Alliance] tonight, losing an average of three levels each."

"And among the top one hundred players in the Great Xia Region rankings, half were suppressed by the combined forces of Masumi Taichi and Thor."

"Players killed by them lose six levels and suffer heavy equipment losses. Even my Vice Guild Leader couldn't escape; he dropped to Level 13 when he was only one level away from completing his Second Transfer."

"The main culprit is that bastard from the Petroleum District named Thor, who possesses a skill that increases death penalties."

When mentioning Thor, God Sky's face was cold.

The "Justice Alliance" formed by the various international servers had only been established for a day, yet it had already caused such massive losses to the Great Xia Region. This undoubtedly dropped a bombshell into the hearts of all Great Xia players.

In the global map, everyone shared in the glory or shame together. The Great Xia Region's plight made both Bai Tian and Flowers in Full Bloom feel heavy-hearted.

What was even harder for them to let go of was that not long ago, the eight of them had joined forces but failed to take down Emil; instead, she had counter-killed Twinkling Starry Sky.

Flowers in Full Bloom was exceptionally clever and had already guessed God Sky's intention: "You want to form an Elite Cavalry Unit for the Great Xia Region to counter the [Justice Alliance] players in the Nether Heaven Great Realm?"

God Sky gave her an appreciative look and nodded.

"But unfortunately, when I luckily encountered the Ghost Angel Messenger NPC today, I didn't have enough money on me."

"A mount treasure box costs 3,000 gold coins. I only had 18,000 gold coins at the time."

Bai Tian raised an eyebrow: "That's enough to buy six. You didn't buy even one?"

God Sky nodded: "To tell you the truth, besides the mount treasure boxes, the Ghost Angel Messenger's Time-Space Shop also has this kind of treasure for sale in limited quantities."

"I spent all my gold coins to buy this."

As God Sky spoke, he showed a screenshot to Bai Tian and Flowers in Full Bloom.

—[city building token]!

(After the owner consumes 2,000 Reputation, 10 Luck, and 200,000 Gold Coins, they will obtain a dedicated Initial Territory for building a city.)

Upon seeing the city building token, the eyes of both Bai Tian and Flowers in Full Bloom narrowed slightly, and they exchanged a knowing look.

The value of this city building token was simply immeasurable!

No wonder God Sky didn't want a single mount treasure box; he had actually spent 18,000 gold coins to buy this [city building token].

"Brocade, Brilliant, let's settle the business terms before the pleasantries."

God Sky suddenly became serious, which took Bai Tian and Flowers in Full Bloom somewhat by surprise.

"I will record everything I say next as a video agreement, so please don't take offense."

God Sky continued: "I had you two mark the stone platform because I hope that when you enter tomorrow night and trigger the Ghost Angel Messenger, you will buy the remaining two [city building tokens] and as many mount treasure boxes as possible."

One city building token is 18,000 gold coins, so two would be 36,000 gold coins!

And at 3,000 gold coins per mount treasure box, buying ten thousand would require an astronomical sum of 30 million gold coins!

This figure made even Bai Tian shake his head inwardly; he currently had about 780,000 gold coins left in his bag.

"I know the gold is a major issue, but don't worry, I'll find a way to handle it."

God Sky said confidently, "I've already sent people to buy up gold coins on a large scale. I'm not sure how much we can collect before the Nether Heaven Great Realm opens tomorrow night."

"But no matter how much it is, I will hand it all over to you two then."

"Once you enter, secure those two city building tokens, and use all the remaining gold to buy mount treasure boxes."

God Sky cupped his hands slightly toward Bai Tian and Flowers in Full Bloom, solemnly requesting: "I promise to give each of you 5 million as a reward afterward."

"It's not just for me; it's also to help the overall game situation for the Great Xia Region. What do you say?"