93: Chapter 93 The Real "Starter Village" and the Game of the Royal Palace

Atop the mound of white bones, the City God Seal in Qin Ji's hand was devouring the surrounding Death Qi as frantically as a gluttonous beast.

The moment that last wisp of gray mist was sucked into the seal, the firmament of the entire Burial Ground suddenly cracked open. It was not a physical shattering, but rather a Law of a higher dimension forcibly rewriting the code of this area.

"Boom—!!"

A golden pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth slammed down without warning in the direction of the distant Newbie Village. Immediately after, the voice of Li Youde—familiar yet carrying a trace of unfamiliar majesty—crossed space and exploded directly in Qin Ji's mind.

"Yes, to you adventurers, we are indeed the guides of the 'Newbie Village'."

Qin Ji tilted his head slightly, his purple-gold pupils reflecting the radiance soaring into the sky in the distance. Village Chief Li's voice no longer resembled that money-grubbing old man; instead, it carried a heavy sense of having experienced the vicissitudes of life.

"But this is also our final duty. Now that the spirit body of the Goddess of Ice and Snow has been extinguished, it is time to shed this disguise."

As this voice faded, the System interface, previously visible only to Qin Ji, suddenly popped up a blood-red server-wide announcement. Every character looked as if it had been cast from molten gold, carrying a stinging sensation that seared the retinas.

【Server-wide Announcement: The Covenant of the Gods has been lifted! The true "Newbie Village" is reviving, and the folded space is about to return!】

【Server-wide Announcement: All existing Newbie Village NPCs will return to their original planes, and a new round of "God's Selection" is about to begin!】

At this moment, hundreds of millions of players within the Divine Domain stopped what they were doing simultaneously.

The World Channel exploded instantly.

"What's the situation? The NPC I just accepted a quest from just had an Ascension right on the spot?"

"Holy crap, the true 'Newbie Village'? Does that mean the ones we stayed in before were all fake?"

"This spectacle... could it be that players joining the game later will have a Divine-Grade start?"

Qin Ji watched as the originally ordinary village in the distance was disintegrating and reconstructing at a speed visible to the naked eye, transforming into a magnificent divine city suspended in the clouds. Countless streams of light soared from the ruins; those were the seemingly ordinary NPCs like Li Youde and Blacksmith Wang.

"So that's how it is."

A playful arc curled at the corner of Qin Ji's mouth. "No wonder the things that old man Li casually took out were all Legendary-grade; it turns out it was a group of max-level big shots doing charity work in the countryside."

Just then, a System notification directed only at him sounded abruptly.

"Ding! Because you indirectly facilitated the revival of the 'true Newbie Village', you have obtained the unique title: 【Home of Newbie Village Friendship】."

【Title: Home of Newbie Village Friendship (Unique)】

【Effect: Regardless of where you are (including special dungeons/hostile territories), you can force a selection of the "Newbie Village" as your resurrection point and exempt 50% of the death penalty for that instance.】

Qin Ji glanced at the attributes and raised his eyebrows slightly.

At first glance, this title seemed to have no combat bonuses and was even a bit useless. After all, for him now, it was hard to even die. But as an old veteran well-versed in online gaming tropes, he instantly sensed the heinous tactical value behind this title.

Guarding corpses, preventing fountain camping.

By the mid-to-Late Stage of the game, guild wars and territory hegemony would be the mainstream. Once a territory was breached, hostile guilds would often camp the resurrection point to kill players; killing people back to level zero was a common occurrence.

But with this title, it was as if he possessed an eternally safe "absolute rear". Can't win? Just die and return to the Newbie Village; that place was an absolute safe zone.

"It's not bad to keep it as a fallback."

Qin Ji casually closed the panel. Since Old Man Li and the others had already withdrawn, the rules of this Burial Ground were also collapsing.

He took a teleportation rune stone from his backpack, which was the credential for traveling to the royal palace of the Star Kingdom.

"It's time to collect the final payment."

...

Star Kingdom, Royal Palace Grand Hall.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the Grand Hall was so heavy it could almost be wrung out like water.

King Abra sat upright on the Golden Lion Throne, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest. Below him, the Grand Marshal, the Prime Minister, and that beautiful and alluring Queen Fiodingyu were lined up on both sides.

Everyone's gaze was fixed intently on the slowly rotating teleportation light gate in the center of the Grand Hall.

"Impossible..."

The Court High Priest, dressed in white robes, stared fixedly at the light gate, fine cold sweat seeping from his forehead. "A place like Fan Hall is a forbidden zone where even gods must stop; how could he, an adventurer, possibly come out alive?"

Queen Fiodingyu was even paler; her hands, hidden under her wide sleeves, were tightly twisted together, her knuckles turning white from excessive force.

If that person really came out alive... then the secret of her previous attempt to borrow a knife to kill, and even her transaction with that dark force...

Just then, the light gate vibrated violently.

A foot wearing a black combat boot stepped out, followed immediately by that iconic black trench coat and that face with a faint smile hanging on it.

"What? Everyone seems not to welcome me?"

Qin Ji spread his hands, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the Grand Hall, finally resting on that swaying Queen, his eyes carrying a trace of mockery.

"You... how did you come out?!"

The High Priest sounded like he had seen a ghost, his voice changing pitch.

"Cleared the level, so naturally I came out."

Qin Ji spouted nonsense casually while walking into the center of the Grand Hall as if no one else was there. "Did you expect me to spend the New Year inside?"

"This is impossible!!"

The High Priest shrieked, "The curse there..."

"Lord Priest."

Qin Ji interrupted him. His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable coldness. "How I did it is not important. What is important is that I completed the challenge and... brought back some interesting news."

Upon hearing the word "news", Queen Fiodingyu's body shuddered violently, and her originally exquisite makeup now appeared somewhat ferocious. She subconsciously took half a step back, her high heels making a harsh sound on the marble floor.

This sound instantly attracted everyone's attention.

"Your Highness Queen, you seem very cold?"

Qin Ji turned his head, looking at her with a half-smile. "Or is it that you are afraid of something?"

Fiodingyu barely managed to squeeze out a smile that was uglier than crying: "This Palace... is just feeling... excited for the hero's safe return."

General Leona, standing to the side, took a deep look at Qin Ji. Although she didn't know the inside story, as the kingdom's sharpest sword, she keenly sensed the tense undercurrent in the air. The Aura on this man was even more dangerous than before he went in.

"Enough."

King Abra finally spoke, breaking this eerie stalemate. This elderly monarch slowly stood up, looking at Qin Ji with a complex gaze.

"Qin Ji, you have indeed given Me a big surprise."

Abra walked down the steps and stood still three steps in front of Qin Ji, the pressure belonging to a king faintly released.

"Speak, what reward do you want."

Here it comes.

Qin Ji sneered in his heart, but his face remained calm.

"I want a god-tier talent awakening stone."

Once these words were spoken, the entire Grand Hall instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Even the usually steady Grand Marshal couldn't help but gasp. A god-tier talent awakening stone? That was a treasure of national-level existence; the entire Star Kingdom's inventory probably didn't exceed three!

Qin Ji certainly knew the outrageous degree of this request.

But he was even clearer on the principle of making an exorbitant demand and negotiating from there.

His current talent, 【Greedy Grasp】, was stuck at the Bottleneck of upgrading from three stars to four stars. Although he had previously swindled a Saint-Grade Awakening stone from the Village Chief, according to his calculations, just relying on a Saint-Grade one probably wouldn't be enough to push this overpowered talent to perfection.

What if a God-Grade Awakening stone could awaken a second Heaven-Defying affix?

King Abra's face sank.

"Young man, greed is the original sin."

The old king narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a trace of warning. "I do indeed have a God-Grade Awakening stone. But your mission this time was only to eliminate your own sins; using this to trade for a national treasure is a bit too presumptuous."

"Is it excessive?"

Qin Ji met the King's gaze without yielding, his purple-gold pupils showing not a hint of awe for royal power. "Your Majesty, you should know better than me what exactly is being suppressed in Fan Hall. If that thing gets out, let alone one stone, even the entire Star Kingdom..."

He did not finish his sentence, but the threat was evident.

Abra's pupils contracted slightly.

This was a game of chess.

He was betting that Qin Ji wouldn't dare to truly tear things apart, while Qin Ji was betting that he wouldn't dare to joke with the safety of the kingdom.

For a long time.

Abra suddenly laughed, his laughter carrying a bit of helplessness and a bit of appreciation.

"There is no God-Grade one. That is the final trump card left for the royal Bloodline."

The King changed the subject. "However, if you are willing to take a step back, there is still a Peak Saint-Grade Awakening stone in the treasury that I could give you."

Qin Ji frowned slightly.

Peak Saint-Grade?

Although it couldn't compare to God-Grade, it was still a pleasant surprise. And looking at this old guy's attitude, God-Grade was indeed the bottom line; pushing any further would likely trigger a "Royal Kill Order". Although he was strong now, he hadn't reached the point where he could single-handedly take on a national machine.

"Since Your Majesty has said so."

Qin Ji shrugged, the aggressive Aura instantly receding. "Then Saint-Grade it is. After all, I'm not a greedy person."

The surrounding ministers' mouths twitched wildly.

Not a greedy person?

Who was that "give it to me or I'll flip the table" act you just put on for?

Abra waved his hand, and an attendant immediately walked up carrying a sandalwood box carved with runes.

The box opened, and a stone emitting brilliant starlight lay quietly on the velvet; its surging energy fluctuations even caused the surrounding air to produce visible distortions.

【tear of the stars (Saint-Grade · Peak)】

【Effect: 100% probability of Awakening a second talent, or significantly strengthening an existing talent.】

Qin Ji reached out and took it. The moment his fingertips touched the stone, a warm current instantly surged into his limbs and bones.

Good stuff.

Even purer than the one the Village Chief gave.

"I'll accept this."

Qin Ji backhanded the box into his backpack, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced Queen again, a meaningful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness Queen, since my mission is complete, I won't disturb your family reunion."

After saying this, he didn't wait for the King's response at all and turned directly to walk out of the Grand Hall.

"Wait!"

Leona suddenly stepped forward, seemingly wanting to say something.

Qin Ji didn't stop, just waved his hand with his back to everyone.

"Don't see me off, we will see each other again very soon."

The setting sun was like blood, dyeing the royal palace's huge floor-to-ceiling windows a dark red. Qin Ji's figure appeared exceptionally tall and straight in the elongated shadows. He casually tossed the 【tear of the stars】 he had just obtained into the air and caught it steadily. Those purple-gold pupils flashed with the light of a predator in the twilight, as if he were a vicious beast that had just walked out of a cage, coldly watching this royal city about to be swallowed by the night with the gaze of someone surveying a hunting ground.