The vortex was proof. In the game "Epoch of Time," when characters of the same level clashed with their skills, if they were not in a world suitable for their level, an energy vortex would form.
Both sides' skills would be absorbed, resulting in a draw. This was a design by Epoch of Time to consider the significant impact high-level players could have on lower-level worlds.
The fact that Chen Tian could witness such a scene was truly astonishing.
The God of Fire and the God of Water locked eyes. Their flames and water currents not only failed to diminish but continued to grow.
A fiery pillar pierced the heavens, painting the sky with a fiery twilight.
A vast azure ocean, dotted with shimmering lights, mirrored the celestial expanse, revealing a sapphire starry sky.
"Fire Incinerates the Divine!"
"Water Roars a Thousand Transformations!"
They spoke in unison. Instantly, the azure starry sky morphed into a colossal azure palm that lunged towards the God of Fire.
Behind the God of Fire, the fiery pillar grew larger. Simultaneously, it erupted outwards, like a colossal hammer striking the center of the palm.
Chen Tian stood by, observing the clash of their skills. This time, he managed to comprehend a skill, though he wasn't disappointed; grasping two skills was already quite good.
The immense azure palm collided with the crimson and golden flame hammer.
Terrifying waves of energy surged from their attacks, forcing Chen Tian to retreat continuously.
When the energy waves subsided, cracks appeared across the sky, which then slowly mended.
Chen Tian observed their exchange. Were they still evenly matched? This time, they had nearly breached the protective shield of this world.
Every world possessed a shield that maintained its stability. Protected by these shields, players could fight freely without fear of destroying the world.
The attack just now had actually caused the shield to crack.
The shield protected the world and also served as a means to restrict high-level players.
The first five layers were considered the lower realms, where players’ levels hadn't even progressed beyond beginner status.
In Epoch of Time, reaching level 100 was barely considered out of the beginner stage.
Above level 100, the ranks were: White Blaze, Blue Lilt, Purple Radiance, Emperor's Judgment, Divine Lord, and Realm Sovereign.
Each rank was further divided into one hundred minor levels, and only reaching level 100 truly marked one's departure from the beginner player category.
Moreover, the higher the level, the more advanced the equipment and information a player could access.
Level also served as a condition to restrict players; the higher the level, the larger the attribute panel.
Chen Tian watched the battle overhead, which remained a stalemate. He wondered when it would end.
Chen Tian was growing impatient.
His breakthrough quest had a specific target, and he could only wait.
Chen Tian’s objective was to defeat the God of Fire, Huo Yuntian. If he could defeat the God of Fire, his three quests would be complete.
Two of Chen Tian’s three quests required immense status and high-level characters. The current God of Fire was precisely Chen Tian’s target.
Chen Tian was waiting for the God of Fire's defeat.
"However, neither the God of Fire nor the God of Water can defeat the other. Should I lend a hand?"
Chen Tian pondered carefully. Among the skills he had comprehended, there was one that could turn the tide of battle, but it could only be used once. Chen Tian had only grasped three lineages of skills: Elven and Human.
Chen Tian watched the two figures above; they were about to attack again.
He observed intently. This was a prime opportunity to comprehend skills; it mustn't be missed.
Behind the God of Water, countless oceans transformed into currents flowing into the God of Water's body. His entire form was enveloped in water, and his body gradually took on the form of a water dragon.
A colossal body materialized in the air. Chen Tian instantly pulled up his attribute panel.
He clicked on a slot.
A formidable power erupted from Chen Tian's body, instantly boosting his attributes to a level comparable to the God of Fire and the God of Water.
"Human-Dragon Form!"
Chen Tian unleashed his ability. His hands slowly transformed into dragon claws, and his entire body was encased in scaled armor. Nine-colored scales formed wings on his back, which slowly unfurled.
Chen Tian’s eyes turned nine-colored, and a colorful dragon horn adorned his head.
Chen Tian stomped his foot and instantly appeared on the battlefield. Looking at the water dragon formed by the God of Water, he said indifferently, "I'll help you!"
"Dragon race? Young one, what race are you truly?"
The God of Water, seeing Chen Tian in his dragon form, inquired with curiosity. He had never heard of a human possessing abilities from multiple races.
Initially, Chen Tian was human, but suddenly he transformed into an elf, and not just any elf, but one from legend.
Now, he had assumed the appearance of a dragon, and although it was a human-dragon form, a dragon's aura could clearly be felt.
The God of Fire, looking at Chen Tian and the God of Water, his expression turned grim. He had been fighting the God of Water to a standstill, and now, with the aid of a dragon, the situation had become more complicated.
The God of Fire was also shocked. What was the origin of this young man? Why did he possess a dragon's aura? The dragon race, in their prime, was a force even he had to revere.
Now, they appeared on a human. Did the dragons consider this a disgrace?
Did they not take pride in their noble bloodline? Why did it manifest in a human?
Chen Tian looked at the God of Fire, unleashing his draconic might.
Dragons were the rulers of all beasts. Moreover, Chen Tian possessed the Ancestral Dragon bloodline physique. Even in his human-dragon form, his might was not something ordinary humans could withstand.
Instantly, his aura overwhelmed the God of Fire, plunging him into a state of panic. If the God of Fire’s true body were present, he might have been able to resist, but this phantom only possessed 1% of his true strength.
He was utterly incapable of resisting.
In fact, Chen Tian was able to assume his human-dragon form largely thanks to the God of Water transforming into a water dragon.
The moment the God of Water became a water dragon, Chen Tian's dragon race class panel instantly lit up.
Chen Tian naturally wouldn't let go of the power of this class. After all, if he could intervene, why should he wait any longer?
In his human-dragon form, Chen Tian's attributes were roughly comparable to the God of Fire and the God of Water. The God of Fire was struggling with all his might to resist the dragon's aura.
However, the sense of fear made him unable to resist. The water dragon charged directly at the God of Fire.
"Haha! God of Fire, it seems I have won this time."
"Don't get cocky. This is merely a phantom. And you, boy, I will remember this. When you reach my world, I will personally tear you to shreds as revenge for this humiliation."
The God of Fire said furiously. He admitted defeat this time, but as the God of Fire, being outmaneuvered by a mere ant was a profound humiliation.
"You won't have another chance."
Chen Tian slowly opened his mouth, and countless nine-colored lights converged within.
Instantly, Chen Tian opened his mouth, and a nine-colored laser shot out, aimed directly at the God of Fire.
The nine-colored beam was vast, representing elements, the composition of the world, the majesty of a king, and the essence of rules.
It streaked across the sky like a comet.
It instantly reached the God of Fire.
Upon impact, the God of Fire's armor was completely stripped away, and his health dropped by 30%.
This was due to Chen Tian's level limitation; the skill’s damage was too low. Otherwise, if Chen Tian's level were higher when using his human-dragon form, he could have instantly killed the God of Fire.
Currently, Chen Tian's human-dragon form boosted all his attributes, but due to the level restriction, the increase was only from level thirty.
If Chen Tian's level reached forty or fifty, his attributes in human-dragon form would rival those of a level seventy boss.
"Roar!"
The water dragon, formed by the God of Water, charged through the God of Fire's body. Huo Yuntian's body was instantly pierced with a large hole.
The God of Fire's phantom slowly dissipated, and Huo Yuntian's figure plummeted towards the ground.
Chen Tian watched Huo Yuntian's body fall. The health bar above his head showed 0.1% remaining. Chen Tian landed, instantly deactivating his human-dragon form.
Transforming into his elven form, Chen Tian, along with the God of Water, approached Huo Yuntian.
The God of Water slowly closed his eyes. Instantly, a faint phantom behind him receded into his body. Shui Li opened his eyes again and said calmly, "Young one, leave this one to you. Killing him should result in an upgrade."
"Don't you need to level up?"
"I don't. Although defeating him myself would grant me a level, I believe you need it more. Besides, I was just passing by and found Huo Yuntian quite annoying, so I decided to mess with him. I never expected it to turn out like this."
Shui Li waved his hand nonchalantly.
Chen Tian was speechless, utterly exasperated. Were these NPCs' settings too outlandish? Did their personification feel almost too divine?
Chen Tian naturally wouldn't refuse Shui Li's offer. Firstly, he needed to personally defeat the target to fulfill his breakthrough quest conditions. Secondly, this was a boss, a Divine Lord rank at that! The rewards for defeating him would be substantial experience.
Thirdly, Chen Tian needed to rapidly increase his level and strength to upgrade his weapons and equipment. Such bosses often dropped excellent gear.
Chen Tian approached Huo Yuntian's body and conjured ice and fire elements in his palms, transforming them into bladed energies of flame and frost.
Two consecutive slashes were unleashed, and Huo Yuntian's body instantly dissolved into starlight that drifted upwards.
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for defeating the Divine Lord rank boss, obtaining 90 million experience."
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the fire element divine fire: Azure Flame Ice Heart Azure Flame."
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the fire element physique."
"Ding! The fire element physique has been absorbed by the Elemental Divine Body. Fire element mastery increased by 50%."
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the item: Divine Lord Summoning Token (one)."
"Ding! Congratulations, host, for obtaining the ability: Flame Transfiguration."
Listening to the electronic voice in his mind, Chen Tian's eyes gleamed as he looked at the two treasure chests that appeared on the ground.
Shui Li nodded approvingly at Chen Tian. Then, a blue light flickered at the center of his brow, as if something urgent had arisen. He spoke immediately, "Young one, I am in Hanchuan City, Winter Kingdom. Visit me when you have time; I have something to discuss."
"Wait, let's add each other as friends!"
Chen Tian looked at Shui Li. He had a quest to complete, and this person was trying to recruit him. He should definitely agree. Since that was the case, why not add him as a friend for future contact?
In the game "Epoch of Time," players could request to become game friends with NPCs, though their displays were different.
Information entered by players was processed by the game system and transmitted as images to the NPC's mind. NPCs communicated with players through their minds, and these mental exchanges were converted into text messages.
Chen Tian casually opened his friend list. It was empty. He had no friends.
Chen Tian preferred to be alone. Even if a team-up required adding friends, he would delete them afterward.
He then searched for Shui Li's name on the friend list, and Shui Li's appearance and information instantly appeared. He clicked to apply.
Simultaneously, two options, "Agree" and "Reject," appeared in Shui Li's mind.
Shui Li did not hesitate and clicked "Agree." Those at their level understood the concept of mental connection.
It was just unexpected to form a mental connection with a human.
Chen Tian looked at Shui Li's agreement and said with satisfaction, "In the future, I will contact you through mental connection if needed. You can call me if you need anything, and I will help if I can."
Then, as if truly having an urgent matter, Shui Li departed.
Chen Tian, meanwhile, opened the two treasure chests. One was an Adventurer's Chest, and the other was a Reward Chest.
Chen Tian naturally opened the Adventurer's Chest first. The chest had golden borders and patterns, gleaming with a golden light, indicating it was a gold-quality chest.
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the gold-quality weapon: Fire Source Blade."
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining a Weapon Quality Upgrade Card (one)."
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the gold-quality armor: Azure Flame Divine Armor."
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the Divine Lord identity of the Fire Element Elf race. Your player identity has been changed."
Chen Tian listened to the electronic voice in his mind. "Excellent, another set of armor! My Night Shura skill consumes too much durability. With three sets of armor, excluding the one I'm wearing, I have none left. Fortunately, this one can self-repair its durability, otherwise, this one might be gone too."
"However, with a set of armor, my life is guaranteed, especially since the passive effect of this skill can block a fatal blow!"
"The price was a bit high, though. Chen Tian instantly used the Weapon Quality Upgrade Card to enhance the quality of the Shapeshifting Orb."
The Shapeshifting Orb's quality instantly rose to gold. This meant gold-quality weapons could now be recorded and copied.
Chen Tian immediately copied his gold-quality equipment. After the recording was complete, only the Shapeshifting Orb remained in Chen Tian's weapon arsenal.
As for weapons of other qualities, Chen Tian had no interest in recording them; they could be sold.
After all, the higher the weapon's quality, the greater its power and bonuses.
Chen Tian then looked at the silver-white treasure chest beside him. This was a reward chest, and the item quality obtained from it depended on the player's luck.
Chen Tian slowly opened the chest, and instantly a beam of light entered his chest.
On his chest, an emblem-like imprint appeared, and the electronic voice sounded in his mind.
"Ding! Congratulations, player, for obtaining the Elf race exclusive equipment: Elf Emblem."
Chen Tian was stunned by the electronic voice in his mind. "Race-exclusive equipment? Damn, am I this lucky?"
In the game "Epoch of Time," races had different equipment, but exclusive equipment was undoubtedly the most powerful.
This was because exclusive equipment could alter a race's abilities and nature, making them stronger.
Chen Tian then swiped his left hand, and a screen appeared before him.
He instantly looked at the information for the Elf Emblem.
Elf Emblem: Elf race exclusive equipment. When equipped by an Elf, attributes can be used without consumption. (Only bindable to Elves.)
Chen Tian looked at the emblem's attributes, then opened his panel. The "Elements" section displayed "0."
This meant Chen Tian had no elements. But then Chen Tian extended a finger, and fire elements appeared. Chen Tian was overjoyed.
By wearing the Elf Emblem, his use of elemental abilities would consume no elemental points. This meant Chen Tian could cast skills and attack as much as he wanted.
However, this effect was only active in his elven form. Once Chen Tian transformed into a human, the Elf Emblem's effect would disappear.
"Ding! The anniversary event is about to begin. Players who have registered should remain in place and await teleportation. During the anniversary event, time will be frozen and will not conflict with the normal world's time."
"Three"
"Two"
"One"
"Teleportation commencing!"
Chen Tian heard the countdown in the world and instantly disappeared.
When Chen Tian reappeared, he was in a small city.
"Players, Epoch of Time's third-anniversary event has begun. You are currently in the level 30 safe zone. Please leave the safe zone to participate in point battles."
"Defeated players will not drop any items or lose levels, but your score will be maintained at three points. Killing players of the same level grants three points, while killing players of a higher level grants thirty points."
"Additionally, defeated players can revive three times for free, with quick resurrection. Once one of these three revival opportunities is used, your score value will increase by ten points. Of course, after using all three revival opportunities, another resurrection will require an eight-hour cooldown."
"The temporal flow within the anniversary event world is ten times that of the outside game world, so players need not worry about their outside game world's time progression. The time for participating players has currently been paused."
"Please actively participate in the event! The top-ranked players will receive grand prizes, with different rewards for different ranks. Thus, the third-anniversary celebration begins!"
Instantly, fireworks exploded in the anniversary event world, magnificently.
Countless players began to leave the city. No fighting was allowed within the safe zone, and the anniversary event world awaited player exploration. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Within this world, there were bosses, maps, treasure chests, and new weapons and equipment for players to discover.
Chen Tian was no exception. As soon as he stepped out of the safe zone city, he was greeted by a vast forest.
The forest was lush and verdant, appearing as real as reality itself.
Chen Tian swiped his left hand and opened the map. This forest was called Greenery Blood Forest.
It was a level 37 map, but specific details were not displayed, only the map's name.
Chen Tian looked around. Players were randomly teleported upon leaving the safe zone, a measure to prevent players from being ambushed and killed immediately.
Chen Tian had been teleported here. He looked at the forest before him and then stepped into it.
"A level 37 map. It should be enough for me to grind some experience."
"Hmm! Isn't this a human activity region? Why are there elf players here?"
As Chen Tian entered the forest, a man emerged from the grass behind him.
These were the man's words.
This was a human activity region, and only registered humans could enter. But the one called "De En Aili Ya" just now was an elf.
"But that's fine. Elves have an initial score of ten points. I'll take that score."
The man grinned maliciously and quietly followed Chen Tian.
Chen Tian walked along the path in the Greenery Azure Forest, and instantly, his "Insight" attribute alerted him to the presence of a player behind him.
Chen Tian turned around and shot out a fiery fireball.
"Damn it!"
Swish, swish! Two blade-like energies shot towards the fireball. The man appeared before Chen Tian.
"So, it's a Night Assassin. No wonder I couldn't detect you earlier."
Chen Tian looked at the opponent's information. Night Assassin, with innate stealth abilities. As long as they didn't enter an attack state, players couldn't see them or detect them.
However, there was a restriction: they couldn't attack. This ability was quite weak, but if used properly, it could be very powerful.
But Chen Tian had the "Insight" stat, which originated from the beast race. Therefore, this ability was useless to Chen Tian.
"Kid, how did you know I was here? And how did you, an elf player, end up in our human activity region?"
This player's name was Night Blizzard, and his level was 35.
Night Blizzard looked at Chen Tian. An explosion sounded as the fireball and blade energies collided, creating a blast wave.
Their eyes met. Night Blizzard couldn't comprehend how he had been spotted.
He knew that as long as his ability wasn't used to attack, he was virtually invisible, making it impossible to be seen. This was the advantage of his profession.
"Uh!"
Chen Tian glanced at his own appearance. "Oops! I forgot to change back to human form. What a mistake."
He had been in his elven form all along. Since he had registered for the human activity region, Chen Tian’s elven appearance was why he was here.
Chen Tian brought up his attribute panel and found that he couldn't switch races.
Event restrictions. Different races had different areas. Registering as human meant entering the human area.
But Chen Tian was currently in his elven profession.
He also saw his score value: a whopping ten points.
Humans started with only three points. Why were elves so high?
"It seems you're an Elemental Elf. The fire elemental ability you just used must be yours. Kid, you shouldn't have registered for the human activity region. Killing you grants ten points, and each revival adds twenty points, for a total of three revivals. If I kill you all three times, my score will soar!"
Night Blizzard's face was filled with pleasant fantasies. Chen Tian felt the player was truly deranged.
While he was at a disadvantage in terms of level, Chen Tian had the upper hand in all other aspects. This guy was too confident.
"Do you think you've got me cornered?"
Chen Tian sneered. If he hadn't acquired the Elf Emblem, an exclusive equipment, he might not have been a match. But now, Chen Tian was fearless.
In same-level combat, the "same level" during this anniversary event ranged from level 30 to 40.
Challenging beyond level 40 was considered an over-level challenge. Even against a level 35 player, Chen Tian was not afraid.
"Kid, you're asking for death! A mere level 30 player dares to resist me at level 35? Resign yourself to your fate!"
Instantly, a single saber appeared in Night Blizzard's hand. He stomped his foot and transformed into seven or eight figures, each appearing incredibly real.
Their auras were identical.
Skill: Thousand Transformations Clone.
This was a level 35 professional skill of the Night Assassin, used to create multiple clones for multi-pronged attacks.
Chen Tian looked at the seven or eight clones, finding it rather uninteresting. It was a trick he had played before.
He extended his palm, and a fireball began to grow, quickly reaching a size comparable to the sun.
Chen Tian casually threw it.
With a 250% boost from his Elemental Mastery, controlling such a massive fire element was effortless.
"No, impossible! How can your elemental mastery be so high!"