276: Man-made villain

Li Changfeng felt that the average players were truly interesting; they always liked to overanalyze and discuss things that didn't matter.

They'd talk about the social system of the Xuanhuan World one moment and the core gameplay of the Xuanhuan World the next.

Yet, he, who truly monopolized resources and even secretly intervened to dismantle Human Race defense lines, wasn't cursed by many.

Some even thanked him, feeling that although he spent a lot of resources to buy Yao Race mounts for his own selfish gain, their presence as Golden Core Experts did maintain the Human Race's defense lines, preventing the Immortal Dynasty from collapsing.

Every time Li Changfeng saw these comments, he truly wanted to laugh out loud.

"The Xuanhuan World indeed has a unique social system and a unique ecological chain."

"The Dark Forest theory that This Time Bu Ge first posted in his video, and the subsequent 'Cultivation is the Only Truth' theory derived from it."

"These are all correct."

"But there's one more thing these idiots haven't realized—"

"The financial power of the real world is heavily interfering with the Xuanhuan World!"

Li Changfeng was a wealthy player, the kind who spent a lot of money in various online games.

Therefore, he was very clear about the impact of real-world financial power on games.

Suppose the designers set the resource output for all players at 1 unit per hour, and to Breakthrough to the next major Realm, 100 units of resources were needed.

Then a player who played eight hours a day would need 12 and a half days to complete the Breakthrough.

In this situation, a wealthy player suddenly comes along, exchanges money for time, collects resources from other players, and thus can directly Breakthrough to the next major Realm right after the server opens.

The terrifying part comes next.

In other games, this would indeed have a significant impact on game balance, and many players would even condemn RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.

But there would always be a limit, not affecting the balance too much.

However, in the Xuanhuan World, it was truly Heaven-Defying.

Assuming players in the first major Realm acquire resources at 1/hour, then after Breaking Through to the next major Realm, a player's resource acquisition speed would directly skyrocket to 1000/hour, and another Realm later, it would be 10^10/hour.

The further one progressed, the greater and more exaggerated the disparity would become.

Therefore, the leading advantage in the Xuanhuan World was incredibly vast.

The reason Midnight Gao Sou was sought after by countless people and received countless sponsorships after Breaking Through to Golden Core was also due to this.

Unfortunately, Midnight Gao Sou himself was not up to par, easily getting killed and restarting.

But wealthy players like Li Changfeng not only completed the Golden Core Breakthrough but also successfully passed the unstable period of the Realm, truly beginning to exert the power of a Golden Core Expert.

If not for a state-stabilizing seal blocking them, they could completely monopolize all resources in the novice area, forcing countless players to pay tribute to them.

This was very terrifying for late-starting players.

Therefore, with the start of Season Two, a vast number of foreign players poured in, and new maps were opened.

To leverage the Xuanhuan World's important role in containing social conflicts, the Chinese officials specifically greeted Li Changfeng and others.

On one hand, they allowed them to continue acting as villains, making Heaven-Defying statements and doing Heaven-Defying things every day.

On the other hand, they quietly let them ease some of the oppression on the lower strata, allowing players to see hope for advancement.

And Li Changfeng and his group were seen as villains to be overthrown, used to vent emotions.

The theme of Season Two was indeed the Human-Demon War.

But "Human" did not refer to the Human Race.

"Demon" also did not refer to the Yao Race.

"I should clearly be the villain, but now not many people question me... Looks like I need to step up the intensity for them..."

...North Mountain Region.

Midnight Gao Sou restarted once again, this time choosing a Human Race identity.

He was now struggling within the Immortal Dynasty, and after the Yao Race's large-scale southward invasion, he rushed all the way to North Mountain.

The number of the Yao Race was ultimately too small, and the map of the Xuanhuan World was too vast; it was impossible to completely block the paths into the mountains.

Midnight Gao Sou had developed some PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder); he no longer dared to easily trust others, so he became a solo player.

He was cautious and diligent, constantly collecting leftover supplies from battlefields and continuously searching for places rich in Spiritual Qi to seclude himself and consume his Lifespan.

By the time he reached the North Mountain Region, his Realm had already reached the Peak of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment.

Midnight Gao Sou's shattered confidence was rebuilt.

The corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

He wandered around North Mountain for several days and finally found a cave with traces of a Senior expert.

The cave contained countless mechanisms, and even Demonic Beasts lay prostrate within, making it fraught with danger.

Midnight Gao Sou spent a full day and night alone to overcome all the difficulties.

Finally, he found his spoils of war—

A rank 6 magic item.

It looked like a palm-leaf fan, very hard, and could stir up whirlwinds when used.

In the past, a mere rank 6 magic item would not have entered Midnight Gao Sou's Dharma Eye.

But now, he felt it was extremely precious.

He held the fan, happily leaving the cave, preparing to search for the next resource.

North Mountain was vast and had been barely explored, containing countless Secret Realms and a massive amount of resources to be acquired.

Just as Midnight Gao Sou walked a few steps north.

Suddenly, a fiery cloud appeared in the sky.

The next moment, a fiery wolf demon descended from the sky, landing in front of Midnight Gao Sou.

Midnight Gao Sou looked up in surprise, realizing it was the very famous Fire Wolf from the internet.

And on the Fire Wolf's back, a saddle was clearly fitted, with a handsome man holding the reins.

"Hey."

The man spoke with a smile: "How would a junior like you know how to use such a supreme treasure? Just hand it over to me, old man."

Midnight Gao Sou finally saw the other person's face; it was Li Changfeng, who had achieved Golden Core.

He looked at the fan in his hand, somewhat bewildered.

"Li Changfeng, what I have in my hand is just an ordinary rank 6 magic item."

"You are a Golden Core Expert, and a rich second-generation at that. Do you really need to snatch something like this?"

Using a rank 6 magic item during a Golden Core battle wasn't just laughable.

It was a self-inflicted reduction in combat power.

Midnight Gao Sou was easily suppressed by the Duan Kong Cave Golden Core Expert in the past, also because he didn't have a suitable Magic Treasure.

"So what?"

Li Changfeng sneered: "Young friend, hand over the Magical Artifact in your hand, or die."

Midnight Gao Sou immediately felt aggrieved: "Li Changfeng, we shouldn't have any conflict, right?"

Li Changfeng laughed heartily: "Of course there's no conflict. I'm not targeting you; I just want the supreme treasure in your hand."

Supreme treasure my ass!

No matter how much Midnight Gao Sou grumbled, in the end, for the sake of his account that he had painstakingly leveled up, he could only grudgingly hand the fan to Li Changfeng.

But just as Li Changfeng took the fan, a burst of Blazing Fire suddenly erupted. It was the Fire Wolf, which instantly engulfed Midnight Gao Sou.

"Murder and plunder, understand?"

Li Changfeng's voice echoed over Midnight Gao Sou's corpse.