Pillar of Yita

Now that they still have these elders present, they can hold the situation, but no one can say how the newcomers will fare. The disastrous defeat in the Murky Domain seems to have foreshadowed something; not everyone is used to muddling through, especially those top-tier leaders in these Grand Guilds.

KUN paused for a moment before saying, ”In the past two years, there have been too many negative news in the domestic league, which indirectly led to the expansion of club work. It is said that the military side is also similar, thus there is a lot of complaints towards the Super Competitive League.”

But Chenxi shook his head, ”Let’s not talk about this, we can’t control it anyway,” he looked at Odin and then asked, ”So you intend to make this kid into a double insurance like Loofah?”

”Double insurance is not exactly accurate,” Odin replied, ”The main resources are still being invested in that little girl Loofah. The domestic idea now is to hope that she can hold up the mainstay in the future.”

”As for this kid,” he paused, then answered, ”It’s just lending a hand in passing. You all experienced the Fenris incident, and he deserves such a reward no matter what.”

”If it weren’t for this,” KUN nodded, ”I wouldn’t have come.”

He raised his head and glanced in that direction.

And on the platform, the combat finally came to an end—being an Alchemist too, he couldn’t help but remember another matter. At the end of the Long Summer War, that incident caused quite a stir but ultimately was hushed up due to the BBK Alliance’s cover-up.

Regarding the whereabouts of those Morning Dawn Star folks, the military seemed to intervene for a while but eventually withdrew without explanation. Initially, Stargate Port cooperated with the major Guilds, but later even withdrew all the relevant data.

Of course, these Grand Guilds wouldn’t be so honest.

Silver Forest Crown still kept some related data internally, privately searching for that boy back then and other potentially surviving members of Morning Dawn Star—the BBK Alliance’s statement might not be genuine, but considering the Hailin Crown, who would remain indifferent?

Unfortunately, except for the military, no one else had more concrete information. Before heading to Fenris, there were some rumored news within the Guild, but they were still verifying below, after all, such rumors are a dime a dozen in Eteliria.

Until finally, he shook his head and tossed these thoughts out of his mind.

As the face of Silver Forest Crown, his time was actually not abundant, staying in Nevade for seven days, almost squeezing out all his personal time.

Also wondering if Fang Hong knew it was for his sake that this sly fox of Silver Forest Crown actually condescended to be here—or merely to give face to his performance on Fenris Isle, whether he would feel a sense of honor.

But at this moment, the latter evidently had no leisure to ponder such matters.

Because he was lying on the ground, his eyes blacked out, feeling as though he couldn’t perceive anything. He was also unsure if the Grand Commander Madam had a vendetta against him, treating him as nothing more than a human sandbag to beat up.

If it weren’t for his cleverness in the end, finding a slight flaw, he really wondered if he might have been beaten to death.

But in his half-open, half-closed vision, he only saw that little Madam walking towards him, planting the Great Shield beside and extending a small hand to him, ”Are you alright, sorry, I’m used to striking with full force.”

”Actually, I understand Odin’s intent, but I believe combat should be fought with full effort.”

”But at least you’ve passed.”

”You’re quite good.”

Fang Hong then forced a smile uglier than crying.

And this is just the beginning of his torment.

In the next few days, he then understood what it meant to be in excruciating agony—

Various bigshots took turns, ostensibly teaching him to deal with potential challenges in the Hall of Thousand Doors.

But in reality, it was just queuing up to educate him—in a way that made Fang Hong feel like an experimental subject or a novel toy—the most painful thing was knowing he had no chance but still having to brace himself and step up.

Fang Hong tried everything he could, but the result was still beaten with a head full of lumps.

Moreover, the bigshots would elegantly claim: I actually restrained my power and didn’t use Skills beyond the Level limit. The subtext being, you can’t beat me, it’s naturally your problem, either too weak or too stupid.

But the truth is, these bigshots haven’t used Skills exceeding the Level limit, but their Equipment, related Combat Experience, Vision, Attributes, and passive gains weren’t discounted at all. In such circumstances, Fang Hong felt stealing a little advantage occasionally was rather formidable.

Of course, this was merely his imagination.

He actually knew clearly in his heart: what they call getting an advantage was simply the bigshots deliberately letting him.

Otherwise, if the opponents fully exerted themselves, even if he were ten times stronger, he might not be a match for these people.

On one hand, through such combats, his real-world combat Skills naturally advanced rapidly—after all, everyone facing him here was essentially the top of this profession. Perhaps not yet an international first-rate, but definitely domestic apex.

These individuals, whether in understanding their own profession or the relative differences of other professions with their own, essentially far surpass the average person.

Receiving insights from these people obviously led to significant improvements for Fang Hong.

Although he only retained one or two tenths of what he learned in a few days, it was more than enough to benefit him greatly. The most crucial was the elevation of vision, since his original Knowledge predominantly came from the community above, containing significant limitations.

And verifying this naturally produces a chemical reaction.

On the other hand, the improvement of Level.

Various experience consumables were devoured as if free, then invested in various combat Techniques. Under the boost of the Dark Ritual, it finally allowed him to take a crucial step on the path of the Combat Artisan.

This was also the most challenging step for Combat Artisans—managing the Flexible Construct might have already deterred many, but the true reason Combat Artisans are difficult to master lies in needing to grasp the essence of various professions.

How difficult is that?

Ordinary individuals often waste substantial experience at this juncture, learning unnecessary Skills.

But with the help of various profession experts, for Fang Hong, it was precise targeting, making it hard to learn unnecessary Skills. Every point of experience spent was essentially right on target, and his Level naturally advanced to Level 17 after a week.

Advancing a Level in one week.

To most Invokers, this is virtually a fantasy story.

...