Chapter 1 Fire Spirit Advancement

The fire spirit, having devoured the Strange Fire, experienced a surge in its fiery aura. Its original crimson flames began to exhibit a faint, incandescent white glow, causing the surrounding air to shimmer.

"A Tier 3 Primordial Species?" Shi Feng muttered, a hint of excitement in his voice as he examined the fire spirit's stats.

He had been unsure whether the twenty-odd Tier 1 Strange Fires would suffice to elevate the fire spirit to a Tier 3 Primordial Species. After all, in his previous life, various powers had acquired fire spirits and fed them copious amounts of Tier 1 Strange Fires, some even using Tier 2 Strange Fires, to painstakingly cultivate a Tier 3 Primordial fire spirit.

Previously, he would have been content with a Tier 3 fire spirit. He thought that reaching Primordial status would require Tier 2 Strange Fires, but the absorption effect turned out to be much better than expected.

Possessing the attributes of a Tier 3 Primordial Species, coupled with high intelligence and the capabilities of an advanced fire spirit, would make it stronger in combat than even a High Lord of the same tier. However, in a real fight, a High Lord's greater health pool would likely lead to the fire spirit's eventual demise.

Still, Shi Feng was more than satisfied with this level of combat power.

While he could summon Kite and Anna during quests, both of whom were as strong as, or even stronger than, High Lords of the same tier, resurrecting direct subordinates was a cumbersome process. They needed a long time to recover after death, so he couldn't risk them easily.

The fire spirit was different. He wouldn't feel the loss if it died. He would just have to spend some magic crystals to summon it again. Summoning a Tier 3 Primordial fire spirit only cost three hundred magic crystals each time, and the cooldown was much shorter than the Book of Darkness, requiring only half an hour. The only downside was that it couldn't summon multiple demons like the Book of Darkness.

After dealing with the fire spirit, Shi Feng prepared some magic crystals and immediately headed to the Candlelight Trading Firm, then made his way to Star-Moon City, the quest's trigger location.

While super-large neutral cities were not numerous in God's Domain, each area consisting of several empires and over a dozen kingdoms had one. These cities served as trade hubs between these empires and kingdoms and the neutral races, similar to Silverwing Town in the Fairy Empire, although Silverwing Town was only a large neutral city, not a super-large one.

To unlock a super-large neutral city, players needed to complete a special quest, much like Sea Forest, a super-large neutral city located within a secret realm and not affiliated with any single race.

The super-large neutral city Shi Feng wanted to unlock was Thunder Axe City, belonging to the Giant race, and it was also the closest super-large neutral city to Star-Moon Kingdom.

Giants looked similar to humans in appearance but were much larger, typically over four meters tall. Unlike ordinary humans, they possessed incredibly strong physiques, surpassing even the Orc race. They were naturally gifted in combat, possessing immense strength and the ability to resonate with the earth, making them a formidable race of warriors.

Aside from the Titans, the Giant race was undoubtedly the strongest in terms of defense among the neutral races.

Giant Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights were highly sought after by various powers among the players. Some even had their members convert to the Giant race. After all, neutral races could join human guilds, although their access to human cities was limited. But such minor inconveniences were a small price to pay for the importance of a good MT (Main Tank).

The Giant race's strengths were apparent, and so were their weaknesses. They were exceptionally poor at magic, and their mobility was inferior to that of humans. They struggled against monsters and players who excelled in speed.

Due to these significant drawbacks, not many players were willing to convert to the Giant race, making them far less popular than the Half-Elves and Half-Orcs among the neutral races.

As a super-large neutral city, each had its own unique characteristics. Thunder Axe City, situated in the neutral map of the Ice Volcano Mountain Range, possessed the most mineral resources in God's Domain. The Giant race was also skilled in the art of forging, a forging technique passed down from the Titan race, surpassing even the Dwarves in skill.

This was one of the reasons why Shi Feng wanted to unlock Thunder Axe City.

Although Zero Wing Guild currently had many advantages, it was still at a disadvantage in the Orc Empire, and this disadvantage was steadily increasing. After all, the foundation and number of experts were far too different. Simply put, Zero Wing had enough defense, but lacked offense.

First, it lacked a large amount of resources.

Second, it lacked expert players.

Although Zero Wing currently had more guild resources and experts than first-rate guilds, it was nothing compared to the super powers, as Zero Wing's territory was far smaller.

Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City.

Shi Feng arrived at the Adventurer's Association headquarters in Star-Moon City. The development of Star-Moon City was far behind White River City. Most of the players here at the Adventurer's Association were level 55 or 56 elites, and very few experts reached level 58 or higher.

Without a word, Shi Feng went straight to the front desk on the second floor.

"Respected Soul Slayer, what help do you need from us today?" the beautiful NPC receptionist asked with a smile.

"I want to accept an exploration quest," Shi Feng said directly.

"Certainly." The beautiful NPC receptionist then brought up a large number of exploration quests and handed them directly to Shi Feng for review. "Respected Soul Slayer, these are all the exploration quests you can currently accept."

Shi Feng nodded and began to slowly examine them.

The Adventurer's Association had many quests, with subjugation and exploration quests being the most difficult. Players who reached level 70 and achieved a three-star status in the Adventurer's Association could accept the Thunder Axe City exploration quest.

Although it was a three-star quest, its difficulty was higher than that of ordinary Epic quests.

In his previous life, players did not enter Thunder Axe City until he reached level 75. By then, the top expert players were already above level 77 and equipped with level 75 top-tier weapons and equipment, so the difficulty of the quest was considerable.

"I'll take this quest." Shi Feng pointed to Giant Secret Land on the list.

"Very well, I will register it for you. Please pay a deposit of one thousand gold in advance. If you abandon this quest, the deposit will not be refunded," the beautiful NPC receptionist said slowly.

The beautiful NPC's words made the Tier 2 experts taking quests nearby gasp in astonishment.

"Damn! What kind of quest is this? The deposit alone is one thousand gold?"

"No way, the highest deposit for my two-star quest was only three gold."

...

The Tier 2 experts present couldn't help but look in astonishment at Shi Feng, who was wearing a black cloak. They were even more shocked by the quest Shi Feng had accepted.

The deposit for a typical Association quest was only 3% to 5% of the quest reward. This was a penalty to prevent players from accepting quests casually and overestimating their abilities. The quest Shi Feng had accepted required a deposit of one thousand gold, meaning the reward for completing the quest would be at least twenty thousand gold...

After Shi Feng accepted the quest, a system notification suddenly rang in his ears.