As his opponent charged forward, Gu Ning cast another Ice Bind spell, slowing Jesse again.
Although Jesse's strength was impressive, it was mainly due to his talent and skill buffs. These only boosted his strength stat—his agility hadn't improved much, and his speed was still not enough to dodge Gu Ning's spells.
Once Jesse was frozen again, Gu Ning immediately followed up with a Water Bolt.
Thanks to his Ice Element Envoy class, Gu Ning could also use water-element spells. This dual-element capability was why his class was rated purple; if he were purely a Water Element Envoy, he would likely only have been rated blue.
The water bolt hit Jesse squarely—but struck his helmet, so it didn't deal a fatal blow.
Seeing Jesse about to break free, Gu Ning quickly cast Ice Bind again, keeping him controlled.
Feeling humiliated and frustrated, Jesse roared, "Gu Ning! If you've got what it takes, fight me head-on. How can you claim to be number one otherwise?"
Gu Ning didn't respond to the taunt; instead, he calmly fired another Water Bolt. What a joke—why would he fall for such an obvious provocation? There was no way he'd risk his life just to satisfy some pride or vanity.
Since he could finish the fight safely and efficiently, why stir up unnecessary trouble?
Seeing that Gu Ning completely ignored him, Jesse was at a loss. He swung his weapon, managing to deflect the incoming water bolt. But deep down, he knew this couldn't last—he was doomed to lose and had no way to turn the tables. All he could do was rage helplessly, feeling bitter to the core.
Gu Ning didn't care about Jesse's fury. He just kept up the rhythm of controlling and attacking.
Before long, Jesse was gravely injured and on the brink of collapse. Just then, Jesse let out a furious roar.
"Argh! You've pissed me off for the last time!" he shouted, glaring at Gu Ning. "If I die, you won't get off easy either!"
With that, he hurled his spiked club with all his might.
Gu Ning was startled—clearly, he'd truly driven Jesse over the edge. He hurriedly cast a protective shield.
The next moment, the club smashed into the shield, its force greatly reduced, but it still hit Gu Ning square in the chest, knocking him back three steps and making him cough up blood.
Gu Ning didn't even check his injuries; he immediately fired another Water Bolt at Jesse.
Jesse burst into wild laughter. He ignored the incoming spell—he had no strength left to resist. But the fact that he'd managed to wound Gu Ning at the end gave him some satisfaction.
This time, Jesse wasn't so lucky. The Water Bolt struck him in the head, cutting his laughter short as he fell dead to the ground.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Gu Ning left the battlefield and sat down to reflect on the fight.
First, he realized he mustn't underestimate players with low-tier talents. Even without high-level gifts, they could still have unique strengths—and one careless moment could spell disaster.
Second, he recognized that he hadn't been cautious enough. Against someone as reckless as Jesse, if not for his shield skill, he might have been the one to die today.
Gu Ning quietly warned himself: he needed to stay vigilant, especially as the stakes grew higher. Never let your guard down until you've confirmed your enemy is dead.
It was a hard lesson—but a valuable one.
After reviewing the fight, Gu Ning jumped back into the arena. This time, he fought much more carefully and claimed victory with clean, efficient tactics.
When he exited the arena, his mana had recovered enough for him to craft more ice blocks, which he put up for sale in the trade channel.
Next, Gu Ning began today's use of his Shape-shifting talent. He had to do it before midnight, or he'd lose today's three chances.
First, he took out a Leap Skill Stone.
Leap Skill Stone (Blue): Grants the Leap skill, increasing agility by 30% when used.
He hadn't tried using Shape-shifting on a skill stone before, and he was eager to see what purple-tier item he might get. If he was really lucky, maybe even a gold-tier!
Shape-shift!
A flash of light—and in front of him appeared:
Job Temple Blueprint (Purple): A must-have building for any powerful territory. Allows your citizens to change class and enables class holders to learn stored skills.
Build requirements: Ancient Wood ×1000, Refined Iron ×1000, Refined Gold ×500, Cloud Pattern Stone ×100, Gold Element Gem ×100, Wood Element Gem ×100, Water Element Gem ×100, Fire Element Gem ×100, Earth Element Gem ×100.
Gu Ning was stunned. This Job Temple sounded incredible—like an endless supply of skill stones and job cards! What a jackpot!
But building it wouldn't be easy. Looking at the material list, he hadn't seen a single one of those resources before, and had no idea when he'd be able to gather them.
He carefully stored the blueprint away. For now, it would just have to sit in his inventory—but it definitely added some serious potential to his future domain.
What should he use next? Gu Ning rubbed his chin in thought.
He then pulled out:
Mining Machine Blueprint (Blue): Lets you mine ore to support your territory's construction.
Build requirements: Iron Block ×200, Copper Block ×100, Rubber ×40, Electronic Components ×100
Not very useful at the moment—and Gu Ning figured mining tools like this weren't too rare. Once he established his domain, he'd probably find more.
Better to use Shape-shifting now and try for something better. After all, his earlier success made him confident purple-tier gear was far superior to blue.
Without further hesitation, he activated his talent.
Shape-shift!
A flash of light.
Before him appeared a silver-white cylindrical device about half his height, covered with multicolored patterns. The top had a hollowed-out mini cylinder with spiral grooves inside, and a red button beside it labeled "Activate".
Gu Ning examined it with curiosity. Who would've thought a blueprint would produce something so high-tech?
He used his Spirit Sight to read the item's info.
And when he saw it—Gu Ning laughed out loud.
"Haha! Just what I needed—perfect timing! The heavens are on my side!"