7: Chapter 7, The Crimson Altar, The Lord Slays the Gods

Lin Chen stepped onto the teleportation array. The moment the blue light exploded, he landed on the edge of the Blood Altar.

Beneath his feet was viscous black blood that sizzled as he stepped on it.

"System Notification: Entering instance [Blood Altar]. Difficulty: Legendary. Time Limit: 60 minutes. Failure Penalty: Level -1 for all players on the server."

Hundreds of players instantly spawned around him, all elites from the major guilds.

"Holy crap! A Legendary instance? The developers want us all to go back to the Beginner Village!" a warrior carrying a giant axe cursed.

"Lord Lin Chen! You're finally here! My guild leader said as long as we follow you, we're okay even if we die!" A female healer raised her staff, her eyes sparkling.

Lin Chen glanced at the center of the altar.

Standing there was a blood-red statue thirty meters tall, holding a bone blade, with two green fires burning in its eye sockets.

"Is that the BOSS? [Mahl, God of Blood Sacrifice]?" someone shouted, pointing at the statue.

Lin Chen nodded. "Prepare for battle. Ranged units pressure the health, melee units tank the damage, healers don't stop."

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has triggered the hidden instance quest [God-Slaying]. Quest Reward: Legendary weapon [god-slaying blade], unique to the entire server."

The players instantly went wild.

"Unique to the server! A Legendary weapon! Carry me, Big Shot!"

"Whether I get to touch Legendary equipment in this lifetime depends on today!"

"Stop shouting! The BOSS is moving!"

Mahl's bone blade rose, green fire erupted from its eye sockets, and a terrifying pressure surged forward.

"First wave of attack, Area of Effect skill! Scatter!" Lin Chen roared.

He exerted force through his feet, instantly rushing to the front of the statue and raising his blade for a [Broken Army] strike.

"-1!"

A white damage number floated up.

The players fell into a collective silence, and three seconds later, the place erupted.

"This BOSS's defense is too ridiculous! Even the Big Shot only dealt 1 point of damage with one strike?"

"I've already picked my respawn point; this run is purely for participation!"

Lin Chen's gaze turned cold.

He had expected this; a Legendary BOSS couldn't possibly be that easy to fight.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has activated the talent [Defense Break], ignoring 99% of the target's defense for 10 seconds."

"Hah!"

Lin Chen leaped up, his long blade drawing a bright arc in the air as it slammed heavily into Mahl's bone blade.

Clang!

The loud noise was deafening, and Mahl's body shook violently.

"-100,000!"

The red critical hit number exploded like fireworks.

The players instantly went wild.

"Holy shit! A hundred thousand damage! Big Shot, are you using a cheat?"

"This is the strength a Lord should have! Lord Big Shot is the GOAT!"

Mahl roared, sweeping its bone blade as a blood-colored blade aura slashed toward Lin Chen.

"Lin Chen, watch out!" the healer girl shouted urgently, raising her hand to cast a [Holy Light Shield].

Bang!

The shield instantly shattered, and Lin Chen was knocked back three steps by the blade aura, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

"-50,000!"

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen's health is at 50%, triggering the passive [Blood Rage], increasing attack power by 50%."

"Heal! Someone heal Lord Lin Chen!" The warriors roared and charged forward, using their bodies to block Mahl's follow-up attacks.

"I'm healing! I'm healing! This BOSS's attack frequency is too high!" The healer's hand speed reached its limit, her staff flashing continuously.

Lin Chen wiped the blood from his mouth and pointed his long blade directly at Mahl. "Everyone, focus on its right arm!"

"Understood!"

"Archers ready! Volley!"

"Mage group, [Fireball Spell], [Ice Spike], throw everything at the right arm!"

Densely packed skills fell like raindrops onto Mahl's right arm.

"-1! -1! -1!..."

Most players' attacks could still only deal 1 point of damage.

But Lin Chen was different.

His [Defense Break] talent was still active, and every strike dealt tens of thousands of damage.

"Mahl! Die!"

Lin Chen's figure flickered, circling behind Mahl like a ghost and piercing his long blade directly into its back.

"-200,000!"

Another critical hit.

Mahl cried out in pain and swung its bone blade around, instantly smashing three nearby warriors into meat paste.

"System Notification: Player [Crazy Axe War God] has died. Respawn countdown: 10 seconds."

"System Notification: Player [Shield Wall] has died. Respawn countdown: 10 seconds."

"System Notification: Player [Charging Pig] has died. Respawn countdown: 10 seconds."

"This BOSS is too ruthless! I was gone as soon as I charged in!" Crazy Axe War God wailed in the channel.

"I'm tired of running from the respawn point; this BOSS's aggro is like it has eyes!" Shield Wall complained.

Lin Chen frowned slightly.

If they kept fighting like this, player casualties would be too high, and they wouldn't last 60 minutes.

His gaze swept across the altar and found four blood-red altar pillars in the corners, covered in eerie runes.

"Those pillars! They're the energy sources!" Lin Chen shouted. "Split into half and go destroy the pillars!"

"Understood!"

"Team Two, follow me! Destroy the top-left pillar!"

"Team Three, top-right!"

"Team Four, bottom-left!"

"Team Five, bottom-right!"

The players immediately split up and rushed in four directions.

Mahl sensed the threat and roared, wanting to stop them, but was held back firmly by Lin Chen.

"Want to leave? You'll have to get past me first!"

Lin Chen swung his long blade repeatedly, using [Broken Army], [Sweep], and [Thrust]—a combo that hit Mahl and kept its aggro locked on him.

"-80,000!"

"-75,000!"

"-90,000!"

Damage numbers continued to float up.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has leveled up! Current level: 50!"

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has gained 5 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point."

Lin Chen directly added all 5 Attribute Points to Strength and put the Skill Point into [Defense Break], increasing the talent's duration to 20 seconds.

"Sweet! Finally level 50!" Lin Chen was delighted.

At that moment, cheers came from the players destroying the pillars.

"Done! The top-left pillar is shattered!"

"System Notification: Mahl's defense has been reduced by 10%!"

"I'm done here too! The top-right pillar is finished!"

"System Notification: Mahl's attack power has been reduced by 10%!"

"Bottom-left is destroyed! Mahl's health regeneration speed has been reduced by 50%!"

"The last one in the bottom-right! Charge!"

As the last altar pillar shattered, Mahl let out a shrill scream, its body trembling violently.

"System Notification: Mahl has entered a weakened state for 30 seconds. Damage taken increased by 200%!"

The players instantly went wild.

"It's weakened! Brothers, charge!"

"If we can't kill it this time, I'll eat my keyboard on a livestream!"

Lin Chen seized the opportunity, his figure flashing as he appeared above Mahl's head, his long blade held high, gathering all his strength.

"[God-Slaying Slash]!"

This was a new skill he had unlocked at level 50, and its power was immense.

The long blade slashed down, and a golden blade aura like a giant dragon cleaved toward Mahl.

"-1,000,000!"

The million-level damage number filled the screen.

Mahl's body was instantly split in two.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has killed [Mahl, God of Blood Sacrifice]. Instance cleared!"

"System Notification: All players on the server gain Level +1. Rewards: 10,000 Gold, 1,000,000 Experience Points!"

Mahl's corpse vanished, and a pile of glittering equipment appeared on the ground, among which a blood-colored long blade was particularly dazzling.

"Equipment dropped! Equipment dropped!"

The players rushed forward like crazy, wanting to snatch the equipment.

"Nobody move!" Lin Chen roared.

A terrifying pressure surged forward, and the players instantly froze in their tracks, not daring to move.

Lin Chen stepped forward and picked up the blood-colored long blade.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has obtained the Legendary weapon [god-slaying blade], unique to the entire server!"

[god-slaying blade]

Level: 50

Quality: Legendary

Attack Power: +5,000

Effect 1: God-Slaying. Damage dealt to god-level targets increased by 1,000%.

Effect 2: Life Steal. Restores 10% of health when attacking.

Effect 3: Unique. Only one in the entire server. Cannot be dropped, cannot be traded.

Lin Chen held the god-slaying blade; the long blade vibrated slightly, letting out a sound like a dragon's cry.

He looked up at the players and said calmly, "Instance rewards will be distributed by contribution. The teams that just destroyed the pillars will each receive an additional Epic equipment reward."

"Thank you, Lord Big Shot!"

"Lord Big Shot is the GOAT!"

"This run was worth it! Not only did we clear a Legendary instance, but we also got Epic equipment!"

Just then, the system notification sounded again.

"System Notification: Congratulations to player Lin Chen for being the first player in the Heavens to kill a god-level BOSS, unlocking the title [First God-Slayer of the Heavens]!"

"System Notification: Rewards for player Lin Chen: 1x Territory Upgrade Card, 1x God-level Talent Point, 10,000 Heavens Reputation!"

Lin Chen's eyes lit up.

A Territory Upgrade Card!

His territory, [Qingfeng City], could finally be upgraded!

"Alright, the instance is over. Everyone, teleport back," Lin Chen said.

"Lord Big Shot, are you going to upgrade your territory next? We'll all go help!"

"Yeah! We also want to see what the upgraded territory looks like!"

Lin Chen nodded. "Okay, meet in Qingfeng City in one hour to prepare for the territory upgrade!"

"Understood!"

The players activated their teleportation talismans one after another and left the Blood Altar.

Lin Chen looked at the god-slaying blade in his hand, then at the Territory Upgrade Card in his system inventory, a smile playing on his lips.

Gaining a foothold in the Heavens was only the first step.

He had even more ambitious goals.

Just as Lin Chen was preparing to teleport away, a cold voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Lin Chen, do you think killing Mahl means everything is fine?"

Lin Chen's gaze turned cold, and he spun around abruptly.

From the shadows of the altar, a figure wearing a black cloak slowly stepped out.

A silver mask covered his face, making it impossible to see his features.

"Who are you?" Lin Chen gripped the god-slaying blade, watching the other party warily.

"Who I am, you will find out soon enough," the man in black said calmly. "Remember, the waters of the Heavens are much deeper than you imagine."

As the words fell, the man in black turned into a cloud of black smoke and disappeared from the altar.

Lin Chen's brow furrowed.

Who was the man in black?

And what did his words mean?

An uneasy premonition rose in his heart.

But he didn't dwell on it. He activated his teleportation talisman and returned to Qingfeng City.

As soon as he returned to Qingfeng City, Lin Chen was stunned by the sight before him.

At the city gate, a dense crowd of players formed a long line that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Lord Big Shot is back!"

"Lord Big Shot, we're here to help you upgrade the territory!"

"Lord Big Shot, I brought a hundred craftsmen, ready to start work anytime!"

Lin Chen felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at the cheering players.

He raised the god-slaying blade in his hand and said loudly, "Everyone, I'll leave the upgrade of Qingfeng City to you! Once the upgrade is complete, all participating players will receive a generous reward!"

"Great!"

"Following Lord Big Shot means we get to eat meat!"

"We've got to see this through to the end!"

Lin Chen took out the Territory Upgrade Card and used it on the City Lord's Mansion of Qingfeng City.

"System Notification: Player Lin Chen has used a Territory Upgrade Card. Qingfeng City's upgrade has begun. Upgrade Time: 24 hours. Resources Required: 100,000 Wood, 100,000 Ore, 1,000,000 Gold."

"I'll provide the resources! I have plenty of wood and ore in my warehouse!"

"I'll contribute too! I'll donate a million gold!"

"I'll donate two million!"

Players donated resources one after another, and system notifications rang out continuously.

"System Notification: Player [Family of Loggers] has donated 10,000 Wood!"

"System Notification: Player [Mining Madman] has donated 10,000 Ore!"

"System Notification: Player [Pay-to-Win Big Shot] has donated 1,000,000 Gold!"

In just ten short minutes, all the resources needed to upgrade the territory were gathered.

"System Notification: Resources sufficient. Qingfeng City's upgrade project has officially started!"

Above the City Lord's Mansion, a golden pillar of light rose, enveloping the entire Qingfeng City.

Craftsmen began to get busy, and players also joined in, helping to transport materials and build structures.

Lin Chen stood on the roof of the City Lord's Mansion, watching the busy crowd and then looking at the god-slaying blade in his hand.

He knew that new challenges were about to arrive.

And he was already prepared.