Not only Zhumeng Yanxue, but also other clubs that had been monitoring Lin Tianhao, also lowered their attention towards him. After all, the early game in Twilight of the Gods was crucial, and with Lin Tianhao stuck at level ten for so long, it was inevitable that they began to question his value. However, Futu Shield Mountain was an exception. He had been keeping an eye on Lin Tianhao the entire time, even sending a few messages of concern, though unfortunately, none had been replied to.
Online, a blogger had posted a thread stating that Lin Tianhao had become just another ordinary player. "Blood Emperor, as everyone might remember, gained immense popularity with successive server-wide announcements and invitations from major clubs with annual salaries in the hundreds of millions. But now, a day has passed, and while other players are making rapid progress, Blood Emperor remains stagnant at level ten. In my estimation, he was just a fleeting genius. Once in the main city, with bosses having skills like Dominant Body and Rage, his infinite aerial combo technique would no longer be viable. As for those who say Blood Emperor is offline, dealing with something, I think that's nonsense. Who would give up a hundred million in annual salary to do something offline?"
After this blogger's analysis was posted, many people agreed with his viewpoint. In reality, professional players found numerous flaws in the blogger's argument. However, most casual players, lacking a deep understanding of the game, felt that the blogger was correct. But professional players were not about to get involved with someone they didn't know well.
While others stayed out of it, Futu Shield Mountain couldn't bear to see this when he came across the post. He immediately started a new thread to counterattack. "Firstly, to the blogger known as [Game Dongge], please think before you speak.Blood Emperor, with his aerial combo technique, even if he can't defeat bosses, can't he at least take down regular monsters? Moreover, have you seen the live broadcast recordings from [Hu Ge Jiangcheng Fen Ge]? What kind of damage does Blood Emperor deal? Would someone with that kind of damage be stuck at level ten?"
As soon as Futu Shield Mountain got involved, it caused quite a stir. After all, he was the young master of the Futu Guild and had made a name for himself in the main city with his Elite Treant Set. Many players were aware of him. His post had only been up for fifteen minutes when Game Dongge had already posted a new thread in response.
"I didn't expect that a professional player would be a Blood Emperor fan. I don't deny that Blood Emperor's aerial combo technique is extremely impressive, but so what? His damage numbers in the Novice Village were already absurdly high, relying on free attribute points or equipment, it's almost impossible to have such outrageous damage. Therefore, I speculate that Blood Emperor most likely has a damage-boosting special item. This isn't unheard of in the early game. But special items often have time limits. I think Blood Emperor's special item has run out of time, his damage has returned to normal, and that's why he has become just another ordinary player."
The debate between Game Dongge and Futu Shield Mountain began, both having a considerable fan base. Their back-and-forth caused quite an uproar online and even made it into the top ten trending topics.
At this very moment, the key figure in this entire incident, Lin Tianhao, was happily grinding through the Twisted Jungle. He cleared it once, twice, three times... It was necessary to mention one of the benefits of the Novice Village: infinite backpack slots! Otherwise, Lin Tianhao's backpack would have been full long ago. Lin Tianhao didn't even bother to count how many times he had cleared the hell-level difficulty of the Twisted Jungle. He just kept grinding away. Finally...
"Ding, your Punishment Hand has been upgraded to three stars."
Punishment Hand (Super God Level): 3 Stars
Effect 1: Each normal attack deals 3% of your health as true damage.
Effect 2: Each normal attack permanently increases your health by 3 points.
Proficiency: 0/10000000.
A satisfied smile appeared on Lin Tianhao's face. His Punishment Hand had finally been upgraded. At the same time, his health had broken through 220,000! Now, according to the effect of Punishment Hand, one normal attack could deal 6,600 true damage. Moreover, each normal attack could permanently increase his health by three points.
After the upgrade of Punishment Hand, Lin Tianhao did not stop. He cleared the dungeon again and obtained a large number of rewards. He checked his equipment and found that he already had over 1,100 pieces, which met the requirements of Blacksmith Wang's quest.
Back in the Novice Village, Lin Tianhao found Blacksmith Wang.
"Blacksmith Wang, I've brought what you asked for," Lin Tianhao said.
Wang was slightly surprised, apparently not expecting Lin Tianhao to come so quickly. Lin Tianhao took out the equipment and the Iceflame Ore. Seeing these items, Wang also took out the Bloodthirsty Necklace. They exchanged the items.
A satisfied smile appeared on Lin Tianhao's face. With this Bloodthirsty Necklace and the immune-to-control ability of the Purification Amulet, Lin Tianhao's pressure was greatly reduced. Immune to control, with life-steal, plus his current attributes and skills, he felt that even if he faced the village head, he would have a fighting chance.
"Blood Emperor, now that you have what you want, shouldn't you leave?" Wang asked.
Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. "To be honest, I've made several enemies in the main city. If I go there, I'll probably be killed and won't be able to leave the main city."
Hearing this, Wang's face darkened. The old drunkard scolded, "Blood Emperor, don't be too greedy. The affairs of the Novice Village are not for you to meddle in."
Lin Tianhao grinned, "I value benefits. As long as the rewards are sufficient, I could even take down the village head."
Wang stared at Lin Tianhao. He was impressed with Lin Tianhao's abilities. Unfortunately, Lin Tianhao had been acting inconsistently lately, making it hard for Wang to trust him fully. Moreover, Wang felt that Lin Tianhao was the wildcard. To ensure everything went smoothly, he wanted Lin Tianhao to leave the Novice Village. But if Lin Tianhao was willing to sincerely help him, the benefits he could gain would be enormous.
"Alright," Wang nodded. "Blood Emperor, if you truly want to help me, then go destroy the resurrection altar now."
Lin Tianhao's expression changed. Destroying the resurrection altar now would cut off his retreat. In other words, without the resurrection altar in the Novice Village, if he was killed, he would be forcibly resurrected in the main city. The risk was too great. Even though Lin Tianhao's Revival skill had been upgraded to three stars, his Invincible Golden Body skill was not yet cooled down. He couldn't afford to take that chance.
"Blacksmith Wang, we can't destroy the resurrection altar now. It's like cutting off my own way out. How about we destroy it after the village head is dead?" Lin Tianhao suggested.
Wang sneered coldly, clearly more skeptical of Lin Tianhao now. "Blood Emperor, your behaviour makes it hard for me to trust you."
"Why don't you go to the cliff and fight the village head? With the resurrection altar, you can come back to life even if you die. As for leveling up, I believe it would be easy for you," Wang proposed.
Lin Tianhao's eyes narrowed. Wang was forcing him to take sides.
"Ding, Blacksmith Wang has issued a quest to you."
"Quest requirement: Go to the cliff and fight the village head."
"Quest punishment: Unknown."
"Quest reward: Unknown."
If he accepted this quest and attacked the village head, it would mean a complete falling out with him. From Wang's perspective, Lin Tianhao would have no choice but to stand with him. Wang wore a mocking expression. In his view, there was no way Lin Tianhao would accept this quest.
However, Lin Tianhao's next response left him stunned.
"Alright, I accept this quest."