Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God (Web Novel)
chapter-3788

Chapter 862 – 281st on the Divine Glory List?

Flame Dragon God’s Nest, Forest of the Dead:

When the 20 young men and women emerged from the spatial passage, they carefully observed their surroundings while scrutinizing Shi Feng, who stood beside the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand’s corpse. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also studied them with interest.

“Greetings, friend. I am Jun Tiankuo, and these are my friends,” a young man carrying a draconic shield said, breaking the silence. “We were nearby and noticed the commotion here. We thought a Team Dungeon had appeared, so we hurried here to check. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

Jun Tiankuo? Shi Feng couldn’t help but scrutinize the young Shield Warrior when he heard the other party’s name, curiosity filling his heart. Even so, he maintained a calm expression as he said, “Greetings. I am Black Flame. As you can see, there are no Team Dungeons here.”

Shi Feng had heard the name Jun Tiankuo in his previous life. It was the name of someone who would eventually become one of the human race’s Ten Great Tanks.

Jun Tiankuo started his journey in God’s Domain as an independent player operating in the Twelve Sanctuaries. In the real world, he was a combat fanatic known for seeking out extreme challenges with like-minded individuals. He had even fought wild beasts that roamed the wilderness of the Greater World’s interstellar continents.

Although Jun Tiankuo operated as an independent player in God’s Domain, he was backed by a rather powerful family in the Greater World. His family operated a corporation specializing in intercontinental shipping. While the corporation’s roots in God’s Domain might be shallow, it was affiliated with a pseudo-apex power.

Unfortunately, Jun Tiankuo’s life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. One day, he accidentally provoked Demon’s Gate in the Eternal Realm. Though he already ranked as one of the Greater God’s Domain’s Ten Great Shield Warriors at the time, he was nothing in front of Demon’s Gate. Thus, his family was abandoned by their patron, and the family corporation fell apart.

Later on, Jun Tiankuo went to the Eternal Continent’s royal capital to establish Dragon Cry, a Guild that had over 500 Level 235-plus, Tier 6 players and could compete with conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers at its peak. Jun Tiankuo himself also became one of the human race’s Ten Great Tanks. However, before he could make a true comeback, Demon’s Gate sent four of its Nine Great Experts after him. Thereafter, his journey in God’s Domain ended, and Dragon Cry disbanded.

Although Jun Tiankuo lost his final battle, it still shocked everyone in the Greater God’s Domain. After all, Demon’s Gate’s Nine Great Experts were all Level 240-plus experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Yet, Demon’s Gate deemed it necessary to send four of them after him. Two of them were even sixth-floor experts.

Additionally, the battle revealed that Jun Tiankuo had reached the sixth-floor standard. Had two or three more players of similar caliber fought alongside him, he would have survived the encounter with Demon’s Gate’s experts, and Dragon Cry would have become a pseudo-apex power. Unfortunately, Dragon Cry’s foundations were too shallow, and Jun Tiankuo was the only person in the entire Guild who could trade blows with Demon’s Gate’s Nine Great Experts.

Presently, though Jun Tiankuo had yet to become enemies with Demon’s Gate, his level was already extraordinary. He even had two Divine Artifacts equipped, with the rest of his equipment comprising Fragmented Divine Artifacts. He was much stronger than Shi Feng had ever been in his previous life.

“Tiankuo, looks like it’s just him,” a female Cleric who was Level 236 said to Jun Tiankuo through the team chat after she scanned the area with her Tier 6 Divine Eye of Detection. “That corpse likely belongs to the Regional Boss. Should we ask him what happened here?”

The other members of the team nodded in agreement.

They had entered the Forest of the Dead ahead of the various powers’ teams to get a head start in conquering Team Dungeons and Regional Bosses. Now that the Regional Boss was dead, they would have skipped exploring the starting map for nothing if they didn’t at least ask what had happened to it. They also weren’t worried about offending Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng had nine Level 220 War Goddesses and one Level 212 Sacred Dragon protecting him, they weren’t much of a threat to their team.

“No need.” Jun Tiankuo shook his head. Then, he looked at Shi Feng and said, “Brother Black Flame, since nothing else is happening here, we’ll be moving on. If fate allows it, I will treat you to a drink at the Flame Vein Bar.”

After saying so, Jun Tiankuo sent Shi Feng a friend request and prepared to leave with his team.

“I’ll hold you to it,” Shi Feng said after accepting the friend request. “If you get into trouble in the Eternal Realm, you can find me in Shadowring Town.”

Shi Feng had a good feeling about Jun Tiankuo. He felt that Jun Tiankuo was an expert worth befriending. After all, besides being big enough of a threat to warrant Demon’s Gate to send four of its Nine Great Experts after him, Jun Tiankuo also reached the sixth-floor expert through his own efforts. On top of that, Jun Tiankuo was a Shield Warrior. Tanks of his caliber were crucial when raiding Taboo Team Dungeons and Taboo Bosses.

After saying so, Shi Feng recalled the War Goddesses and the Frostflame Sacred Dragon and chose to teleport to the Flame Dragon God’s Treasury. As soon as he did so, he transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the secret land’s core area.

Since players had started to appear in the Forest of the Dead, the map was no longer suitable for him to grind in. Thus, he could only head to the less populated Flame Dragon God’s Treasury to search for better opportunities.

…

Back at the Forest of the Dead, Jun Tiankuo and his teammates silently looked at each other for a moment after Shi Feng’s departure.

“Tiankuo, do you know him? What is his background?” the female Cleric asked Jun Tiankuo in confusion. “He’s only a Level 212 Swordsman. He doesn’t even have a single Divine Artifact on him. How can he behave so brazenly before us?”

The other team members were also visibly confused. They couldn’t understand why Jun Tiankuo would behave so respectfully toward a Level 212 Swordsman.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Level 230-plus players like themselves could kill a Level 212 Swordsman in one move. They would already be benevolent if they simply settled on asking a few questions. Most other players in their shoes would have killed Shi Feng outright. After all, Shi Feng was the only player in the area. While it was unlikely a low-level player like him could solo a Regional Boss in the Flame Dragon God’s Nest, it was better to be safe than sorry.

“You guys might not know him since your focus is only on the Twelve Sanctuaries, but he is the 281st expert on the Divine Glory List. He has also made a name for himself in the Eternal Realm and established a powerful Guild there,” Jun Tiankuo said, looking in the direction Shi Feng had taken with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

“He’s only 281st on the Divine Glory List? Tiankuo, are you serious?” Jun Tiankuo’s teammates couldn’t help but laugh when they heard his words. “Any random chosen one from the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary can enter the Divine Glory List’s top 100! Heck, every one of us here is stronger than him!”

Facing his teammates’ laughter, Jun Tiankuo did not feel embarrassed. Instead, he turned to the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand and said, “Then, what if I tell you that he one-shotted the Divine Wing Dynasty’s Abyss Water not long ago? Also, he was the only one in this area when we arrived. Besides him, who else could have killed this Level 236 Regional Boss?”

…