Chapter 1 The Beginning

The moment the countdown ended.

Shi Feng leaned forward, legs bent, like a cheetah. He exerted force suddenly and shot out of the starting line.

*Whoosh*.

Shi Feng had already run 3 yards when the sound of the gun rang out, hitting the starting line.

Then came another burst of gunfire, a full six bullets firing, sealing off Shi Feng's path. His body was covered in green trajectory predictions; without nimble reactions, he would be riddled with holes.

Seeing the bullets flying, Shi Feng sidestepped, dodging nearly a yard to the right, avoiding the second volley, and continued forward.

Although the three goblins kept trying to aim and fire, constantly pulling the triggers, the bullet casings dropped to the ground with clangs. But Shi Feng, as agile as a cheetah, seemed to dominate the bullets, always dodging a step ahead. When the next round of bullets came, he was already a few steps further.

"No way, he's already advanced 10 yards so quickly." The male priest watched Shi Feng pass the ten-yard line in less than 5 seconds, twice as fast as Big Brother Ci Xin, and was instantly astonished.

Ci Xin, standing beside him, remained silent, watching Shi Feng's progress.

He had thought Shi Feng was a newbie, not even knowing who Ci Xin was, just coming to the challenge arena for fun. But his earlier performance had been so swift and precise, like a veteran who had honed his skills in the challenge arena for many years. Every action was simple and efficient, something no ordinary newbie could do. Even after many challenges, he, himself, didn’t think he could dodge any better.

But Ci Xin had the pride of a master and refused to believe that Shi Feng could be stronger than him. He explained, "Maybe this newbie is an athlete or has practiced martial arts, that's why he's so agile. But once he passes 15 yards, the goblins' attack pattern will change. He definitely won't be able to hold on."

"Big Brother is right. Someone the Assassin Alliance doesn't even know can't be a master. He'll definitely get a shock after 15 yards and end up a beehive."

"Yeah, once he passes 15 yards, the number of bullets fired will increase to 12. They won't focus on shooting the player anymore, the trajectory coverage will be very wide, dodging left and right definitely won't work."

The other members of the Assassin Alliance agreed, having watched this challenge seven or eight times.

Ci Xin had passed the 15-yard mark on his first challenge, but in subsequent challenges, he had only reached the 20-yard mark, which was enough to show how difficult it was after 15 yards.

"He's passed 15 yards," said a member of the Assassin Alliance.

Immediately, Ci Xin and the others focused their attention on Shi Feng, wanting to see what he would do.

On the challenge field, after Shi Feng stepped over the 15-yard line, the three goblins became extremely angry and began firing wildly, no longer focusing on aiming.

Suddenly, the trajectory lines in front of Shi Feng covered a large area. Only three bullets were likely to hit Shi Feng, but if he was hit by even one, the game would be over.

"Finally starting to cheat, huh?" Shi Feng smiled faintly, drew his Beginner's Sword, and charged towards the bullets.

In his previous life, as the leader of Shadow, Shi Feng had been busy with work and leveling up and had no time to play the challenge matches, but he had watched quite a few and was very clear about the challenge. He knew that the goblins would change their attack pattern after 15 yards.

The 15-yard distance in the Black Market Challenge could be said to be a yardstick for judging a player's operational skills. Only by passing the 15-yard distance of the bronze award could one be considered to have entered the door of physical operational skills. But most players would take two or three months to reach this entry-level, a small number would pass it in a month, and only a very few masters could pass it immediately. Ci Xin was one of those very few masters.

Seeing three bullets about to hit Shi Feng's head, chest, and arm.

"This kid really can't do it. There are too many bullets and they're too scattered. He's forgotten to dodge and is just rushing up like an idiot." Ci Xin thought Shi Feng's performance of rushing straight at the bullets was simply too stupid. Did he think the challenge would continue even if he was hit by one or two bullets?

At this moment, Shi Feng tilted his head and swung his Beginner's Sword, flashing a ray of white light.

*Bang!*

The Beginner's Sword swung perfectly, easily hitting the bullet coming from his chest, creating a small spark.

The three dangerous bullets were easily defused by Shi Feng, and he advanced another distance.

However, the three goblins did not intend to stop. The guns in their hands were like changed gun types, turning into machine guns. The tongues of fire kept spewing, and the interval between each round of shooting was very short. In an instant, Shi Feng had to face five more bullets, and the surrounding area was sealed off, making it impossible to dodge.

*Clang clang clang!*

While quickly swinging the Beginner's Sword to block the inevitable bullets, Shi Feng moved the parts of his body that were about to be hit, allowing the bullets to graze past. He could even hear the sound of the bullets piercing the air beside his ears.

Another short three seconds passed, and Shi Feng passed the 20-yard distance, only 10 yards away from the finish line.

"Damn, is this kid even human? He can actually use a sword to block the bullets." The male priest's eyes widened, shocked beyond belief. The shock Shi Feng brought him was indescribable.

Although he knew the trajectory lines of the bullets, blocking them accurately wasn't something that could be done just by talking about it. It required extremely precise judgment and skill. The margin of error was ridiculously small.

Ci Xin was speechless. Using a weapon to block bullets was like walking a tightrope in the sky. One wrong step and you would fall into an abyss. But Shi Feng enjoyed it, blocking the flying bullets again and again, while the other bullets seemed to have a life of their own, flying past Shi Feng's body.

"Big Brother, that swordsman has already run to 25 yards. He's definitely going to pass the finish line this time." The male priest watched Shi Feng advance like he was dancing, sparks flashing in front of him from time to time, and his mind was completely messed up.

"I have eyes, I don't need you to remind me." Ci Xin was also deeply attracted by Shi Feng's movements, and said impatiently.

Just as Shi Feng passed the 25-yard mark.

"Die, challenger!" A goblin at the finish line laughed excitedly, took out a burst-fire gun from his clothes, and began strafing Shi Feng.

Immediately, the number of bullets per round became 24, and it was at the super-short distance of 5 yards, making it impossible for players to avoid.

"Damn, that's cheating!" Ci Xin couldn't help but roar.

Seeing this scene, the hearts of the other players were in their throats, cursing the goblins for being shameless.

Faced with such a dense rain of bullets, Shi Feng became serious for the first time. Although he had known for a long time that the attack pattern would change again at 25 yards, he still felt nervous facing so many bullets head-on.

Shi Feng bent his knees, and like a cheetah, leaped into the rain of bullets with the least density, greatly reducing the area of his body exposed to the bullets. Then he gripped the Beginner's Sword and swung it wildly, as if four rays of white light flashed out at the same time.

*Bang bang bang bang!*

After a burst of sparks, Shi Feng passed through the storm of bullets.

The moment he landed, he supported himself on the ground with his other hand, stood up with force, and dashed across the finish line like a flash of lightning.

The total time was 14 seconds, breaking the bronze award's preset record of 18 seconds.

"Well, this weak body is really a bit unaccustomed." Shi Feng, who had crossed the finish line, sighed slightly. If he had the physique of a level 100+ character, performing a four-hit sword combo would be easy and he wouldn't be as tired as he was now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's cheer and congratulate this swordsman on his successful challenge." The goblin administrator announced loudly.

System: Player is the first to pass the bronze award challenge and break the record, rewarding the player with 1 silver coin and the Swordsman skill, *Feng Lei Shan* (Wind Lightning Flash).

"No way, it actually rewards the super-rare skill *Feng Lei Shan*, a skill that even swordsmen above level 100 can't get." Shi Feng thought he was hallucinating, but when he saw the skill book in his backpack was indeed *Feng Lei Shan*, he was still shocked.

*Feng Lei Shan*, action type, requires a sword, quickly deals three sword light attacks to a distance of 10*2 yards in front, each attack deals 130% damage, and also comes with damage amplification, increasing the next damage by 20%, cooldown time 30 seconds.

Since he got the skill, he immediately clicked to learn it without saying a word.

The Swordsman class was originally based on single-target damage skills and did not have any powerful group damage skills. *Feng Lei Shan* can be said to be one of the few super-strong group damage skills of the Swordsman. Learning it in the early stage is definitely a head start for all Swordsmen.

After learning *Feng Lei Shan*, Shi Feng felt like he had the appearance of a Swordsman.

"You guys have fun, I'm leaving, don't forget my 50 coppers." Shi Feng looked at the stunned Ci Xin, said hello, and left the Black Market.

Ci Xin nodded indifferently.

"Big Brother Ci Xin, he's gone, and he took the reward, should we chase after him?" The male priest asked.

It wasn't until Shi Feng left that Ci Xin recovered from the shock. He glared at the male priest and scolded, "Are you an idiot? It's too late to curry favor with a master swordsman like that, being hostile is just courting death."

"No, I have to report this to the guild leader. Fortunately, I added him as a friend. Ye Feng, huh? I've never heard of such a master swordsman. Could he be a swordsmanship expert in disguise?" Ci Xin didn't think he could pass the challenge so brilliantly like Shi Feng, especially the round of attacks after 25 yards, it was like cheating. How could a player resist and dodge it, but Shi Feng did it.

In the trade area, Shi Feng found the apothecary master Kevin, spent 120 copper, and bought 20 Bursting Berries, which greatly reduced Shi Feng's property to only 30 copper.

But for rocket-like leveling, it was worth it.

With the Bursting Berries, Shi Feng left Red Leaf Town and ran west all the way.

Currently, all players are level 0, killing level 0 monsters outside Red Leaf Town. However, there are also some players with good skills teaming up to kill level 1 Young Wolves. Warriors are tanking in the front, ranged characters are outputting, healers are healing, and they are fighting in an orderly manner. Although the experience is divided among several people, the efficiency is very high and there are few people stealing monsters.

But Shi Feng didn't intend to steal monsters from others. He ran directly through the level 1 monster area, ran through the level 3 monster area, and kept running to the Red Leaf Forest, a level 5 monster area. No players would come here yet.

At this stage of God's Domain, no player dares to challenge level 5 monsters. The level suppression, the thick health, the disparity in attack power, level 5 monsters can easily crush level 1 players. Even a 6-person team can't beat a level 5 monster.

If players die, the death penalty is very heavy, not only losing the experience of one level, but also losing skill proficiency. No player dares to risk it easily, otherwise the experience and proficiency earned after a few hours of hard work will be wasted.