The Almighty Ring

“How are they?” Granny Jinghua asked worriedly.

“They are fine. They are now at Advanced stage of Level 4. Fortunately, I do not detect any negative symptoms,” said Jiang Fei after hesitating for a brief moment about the news that 0542 had reported.

A minor change in personality… How could he explain what was wrong when he could not even put a finger on it himself? How does one explain something abstract and cannot be quantified? That was the aspect of the human psyche. Physically, she’s fine but mentally… As long as no one mentioned or talked about it, the subject would not realize that there was a difference in themselves. On the other hand, if they keep talking about, the subject would eventually critically evaluate themselves to the point where the placebo effect could kick in.

“So… it’s done then. The potion tests have ended,” an elder asked. He did not want the girls and Zhu Tianfei to be harmed but he did not want the potion trials to end that fast. If Jiang Fei deemed that the potion trials had ended, there would not be a new batch of potions for the other sects!

“Yes. The test is done and the potion has been perfected,” said Jiang Fei. He had no intention to let 0542 to continue making alterations to the potion.

Even though there were changes in Yang Qing and Yang Po, it was minute enough that it would not gravely affect them. Sadly, their willpower was not strong enough even when 0542 had already reduced the potion’s mental assault degree to the lowest. It cannot be lowered anymore as mental and physical “torture” was critical to built one’s willpower in order to subdue the power that the potion could grant.

There were two reasons as to why Jiang Fei wanted to make the potion. The first was Shang Guanqi. He wanted the girl to further increase her powers. The poor lassie started killing other humans at the early age of six. Even though she was more than half of Zhu Tianfei’s age, the girl had suffered through a fate worse than hell. Hence, a small torture would not affect her at all.

The second reason was to use the potion as a currency to trade martial skills from the alliance. If the potion proved to be incredibly effective, albeit having side effects that were so minor that no one could detect it, everyone would be willing to give their treasured skills for it.

When Jiang Fei declared that the potion trials were over, most of the second-rated sect leaders sighed. Those were the sects that were worse off then second-rated sects. Without strong martial skills, they could not hope to trade the potions.

Granny Jinghua was the only one that was cheering delightfully. Jiang Fei’s potion worked and her two disciples had gained immense power. There was a great contrast between Yang Po, Yang Qing, and Granny Jinghua. Yang Qing knew that she was supposed to be happy since she was still alive and well, not to mention, stronger, she was disappointed because the potion did not inflict any damage to her, rendering her plans to have Jiang Fei open up to her and her sisters, moot. Yang Po, on the other hand, was not overjoyed nor discouraged. She knew that there was only one positive outcome from taking the potion. If the potion failed, the girls would be damaged and Jiang Fei would have to take care of them. If the potion succeeded, the girls would be stronger!

“Now that the potion had been confirmed as perfect, I want all of you to discuss amongst yourself. Remember, I only want the best martial arts. I will offer up two or even three bottles for skills that I deemed extraordinary while normal skills will earn only one bottle. Please decide when the trade will be and contact me when you are ready,” said Jiang Fei before leaving the martial artists to stare at each other.

“Isn’t he a little too greedy?” said a random disciple when Jiang Fei left Hidden Dragon Village.

Many had accepted the fact that it was fair to use martial skills to trade for the potions. However, they could not accept wholeheartedly that Jiang Fei would judge the skills himself. The boy would never know the power of a martial art just by simply reading the skill book. He could mistakenly grade a powerful skill as only ordinary!

“No use in complaining about it. He is the only man that could make the potion. We have the need and he has the supply. Would you give up the chance to have a bottle of the potion?” said another disciple.

Everyone heard the petty quarrel but did nothing to stop them. There were some truths in their words. Everyone left the village with one intention in mind. They could not just decide on which skills to trade for the potion and needed to consult the other elders in their respective sects.

Jiang Fei left the village without a single thought about the others. His mission was completed. The potion was now safe for consumption. Trading potions for martial skills was not considered as a huge deal for him. In fact, one could say that it was just a side job. Even without those martial skills, 0542 could just compute a new martial skill for Jiang Fei. It was just a matter of time.

Once Jiang Fei reached home, he had 0542 make a new bottle and let Shang Guanqi drink it. In just one night, the girl successfully became a fighter at the Pinnacle stage of Level 4. There was no side effect nor visible trauma. She did not even writhe, merely wriggle around, silently. Jiang Fei could not help but feel pity for the girl. It was obvious that the girl had been through worse treatment to mold her willpower as strong as steel. It was a training that Shang Guanqi had never wanted to have, nor would she be grateful for the rest of her life.

“A miracle,” said Shang Guanqi. Even though she was tired, she was still happy and was still able to smile. In just a few hours, she was able to reach the Pinnacle stage of Level 4! Shang Guanqi could not help but feel curious about the great master that was supporting Jiang Fei.

“Rest. Let Ying train alone tomorrow. I doubt that you could move a muscle until a few days later,” said Jiang Fei, helping Shang Guanqi up to her feet. The stronger she was, the safer his parents would be.

Jiang Fei had to do it. He understood his situation well. To find the parts of Braveheart, he would have to be around the world. While he was away, his parents’ well being would be in Shang Guanqi’s hands. That was the main reason why he wanted Shang Guanqi to be at her best.

Now that she had reached the limit of her potential, a portion of the burden that was on Jiang Fei shoulder was slightly lifted. With a happy mind and a positive attitude, Jiang Fei logged into the game.

When Jiang Fei logged out the previous night, he was still on the outskirts of the Celestials territory. Supposedly, he was almost at the heart of the enemy’s camp. However, because of the fight he had with four Overlord tier NPC boss, no Light Faction NPC dared to hunt him down.

The Divine Light God was enraged when he heard the news. Unfortunately, even if he wanted to do something about it, he had no choice but to hold back. The Divine Light God and the Moon God was being under tight observation by the Nephilim King and Queen. If the Divine Light God himself decided to hunt him, the Nephilim King and Queen would surely move out and intervene. Hence, he had to think of an alternative to deal with Verdure Glider!

As such, he had placed a bounty of Jiang Fei’s head. Such actions were unfortunate for Jiang Fei but were accepted by the Shadow Faction.

“No one’s around. I should start building the teleportation circle!” said Jiang Fei. He then had Akatziris to help him to start unpacking the materials.

Jiang Fei was at the base of a small canyon. The trenches were deep and were well covered behind three large mountains and only one exit. Even though the place could be attacked by Overlord tier bosses that could teleport to anywhere they wanted, they would need an army to destroy the teleportation circle and could not do so by teleporting. In the end, they would need to enter the canyon through that small entrance.

All in all, the canyon was well hidden and the Teleportation Circle could not be easily detected. All the conditions to fit a guerilla attack by the Demon army.

Just when Jiang Fei was starting to build the Teleportation Circle, the wind felt cold. Silence came and it became even eerier when even the ambient noise was muted. All he could hear was his own heartbeat. And that was when it happened. The sound of something laughing. It was not the usual sound of laughter that one would hear. It was the laughter of a woman. The first time it went unnoticed but when Jiang Fei stopped for a moment, he could hear it again. This time, even creepier. As if the person who was laughing was just next to him.

“Hu hu hu hu…”