Chapter 88

– Advancing to Intermediate Rank
After inserting the obsidian key, there was no reaction from the steel gate. It was still as unmoving as ever.
At this moment, a message arrived from Gentle Snow. She told Shi Feng that the Mechanical Knights had suddenly stopped chasing her and were quickly returning.

Crap, it can’t be, right? The key really doesn’t work?
In a fit of rage, Shi Feng abruptly sent a punch towards the keyhole.
Since he could not use the simplest way to enter, then he could only use the more dangerous method to enter.
Di… Di… Di…
Suddenly, a dazzling golden light radiated out from the keyhole. Countless energy runes flashed on the pair of three-storied gates. After which, the gates slowly opened, letting out ear-piercing creaking sounds.
Seeing that the Mechanical Knights had already hurried over, while a gap fit for a person had opened between the pair of gates…
Without hesitation, Shi Feng pulled out the obsidian key, and the gates stopped moving instantly. Following which, Shi Feng squeezed himself through the gap between the gates.
System: You have discovered the Steel Fortress Barrutia.
The two-storied tall Mechanical Knights tried to rush in through the gates. However, the gap between the gates was just too narrow for them to pass through. In addition to the gate’s immense weight, the Mechanical Knights could only bombard attacks at the gate outside. Unfortunately, their actions were not one bit useful.

I’m inside.
After Shi Feng sent a message to Gentle Snow, he carefully headed forward along the gigantic steel pathway.
On the other side of the Ruined Lands…

Snow, how is he?
waiting by the side, Zhao Yueru asked when she saw Gentle Snow running in her direction.

No problems. He’s already inside.

However, this Quest is truly dangerous. I’ve roughly estimated the Mechanical Knight’s strength just now, and I’ve discovered that these Mechanical Knights are completely different than other Special Elites. They can swiftly block my attacks, in addition to instantly returning with a counter attack. If it wasn’t for my quick reaction, I might have died just now.


If we do not possess a skill that could continuously deal large amounts of damage, even if we could kite them around, we would still be helpless against these Mechanical Knights. Instead, we would just be piling up our own corpses.
Gentle Snow sat down and took out some refreshments, eating and drinking to recover. Currently, her mind filled with the battle scenes from before. It was truly a thrilling situation. Just by receiving the shockwave, which resulted from the Mechanical Knight’s pike striking the ground, she lost over 200 HP. If the weapon hit her directly, the consequences would be inconceivable.
After listening to Gentle Snow’s words, for reasons unknown, Zhao Yueru released a relieved breath.

Alright, stop dreaming. We’ll be grinding Birdmen in the canyon. The loot and experience here are quite good, so we should be able to quickly surpass those top-tier experts,
After recovering, Gentle Snow stood up and commanded.
Meanwhile, inside the Steel Fortress, Shi Feng was advancing carefully. Signs of rust and corrosion covered every inch inside the fortress. There were only flashing fragments of light inside, barely allowing Shi Feng to see the path clearly.
After walking for quite some distance, Shi Feng did not discover any danger. There was only the occasional sound of dripping water and the rumbling sounds of machines operating. Even though more than a millennium had passed, a majority of the machinery here still functioned normally. One could clearly see just how advanced the techniques the Dwarven civilization possessed were.
After passing through the large hallway, Shi Feng arrived at an area with a humongous smelting furnace. The surrounding steel walls around the furnace were linked together with steel stairs, and at the bottom of the furnace was an endlessly deep pool of water.
However, Shi Feng did not head along the stairs towards the next exit. Instead, he leaped and jumped towards the pool.
Halfway down, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation. His falling speed sharply reduced, his body slowly descending like a feather.
During his descent, Shi Feng suddenly noticed a passage on the walls. The passage could barely allow a person to enter. However, the information Shi Feng had collected in his previous life did not mention such a passage. Hence, Shi Feng slowly floated over, accurately landing in the hidden passageway.

There is actually a Treasure Chest here! Did none of those people notice it last time?
Shi Feng discovered that, in the deepest part of the passageway, there was a large pitch black steel chest. Many runes were carved onto the chest, and a glance was enough to tell it was not just a simple chest.
After observing it in detail, Shi Feng determined that the chest was a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. However, Shi Feng did not rush to open the Treasure Chest. Instead, he used Phantom Kill, allowing his doppelganger to go over and take a look.
Just as the doppelganger started activating the Treasure Chest, the surrounding steel walls shot out countless flying arrows. The doppelganger was killed in an instant, giving Shi Feng a scare. Fortunately, Shi Feng had made it a habit to be cautious and prudent when in God’s Domain. Otherwise, he would have really died.
Such types of traps were normally one-time uses. However, Shi Feng did not rush. In any case, the chest wouldn’t run away, so he might as well wait until Phantom Kill’s Cooldown finished, then use his doppelganger to open the Treasure Chest.
This time, the doppelganger had managed to open the Treasure Chest safely. With no more dangers present, Shi Feng walked over to the Chest and took out its contents.
Inside, there was a Mysterious-Iron ranked Blackstone Shield. It was absolutely a top-tier Level 10 Shield.
[Blackstone Shield] (Mysterious-Iron Rank)
Level 10
Equipment Requirement: Strength 25
Defense +69
Defend Rate 29%
Strength +7, Endurance +10
HP +200
After equipping, all damage received from the front will be reduced by 10%.
There was also a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book. When used, players would randomly receive 10 to 50 Free Mastery Points. This item was several times rarer than the Blackstone Shield. That was because Mastery Points could last a player forever, while the Blackstone Shield could not.

Hopefully my luck won’t be too bad,
Shi Feng slightly prayed before selecting to use the Mastery Book.
Following which, the System started displaying a pile of random numbers ranging from 10 to 50. As long as Shi Feng yelled ‘Stop,’ the final number to appear would be the number of Mastery Points he would obtain. It was something similar to Russian Roulette.
In Shi Feng’s previous life, many experts collected various kinds of Mastery Books to increase their Weapon Mastery. However, Mastery Books were just too rare, and even with money, one may not necessarily be able to buy it. Most players that obtained a Mastery Book would use it instead of selling it. After all, it was extremely hard to obtain a single Free Mastery Point.
Shi Feng had once seen a person who was fortunate enough to obtain a Fine-Gold Mastery Book. Many players looked at that person with immense envy, and some were even willing to spend a million Credits to buy the Mastery Book from that person. However, that person refused to sell and instead, used the Mastery Book for himself. The range of Free Mastery Points provided by the Fine-Gold Mastery Book was between 30 to 200. Originally, everyone thought this fellow had very good luck. However, that person only obtained 31 Free Mastery Points, in the end, becoming a laughing stock to everyone. The points he obtained was no better than a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book.
Looking at the numbers constantly spinning, Shi Feng’s heart madly thumped, not knowing what number would come out.

Stop!
Shi Feng shouted.
The wheel of numbers abruptly halted, and Shi Feng peered open his eyes and took a look.
32 points.
A relatively good number. Shi Feng had just effortlessly obtained 32 Free Mastery Points, which was the equivalent of the Free Mastery Points he would obtain by leveling up to Level 20.
Shi Feng opened his One-handed Sword Mastery Window.
Currently, his One-handed Sword Mastery was still at 20 points, placing him at the level of Basic Swordsman and increasing his Base Damage by 10%.
If including the 8 Free Mastery Points he obtained for leveling up to Level 5, and the 5 points he had remaining from before, he now had a total of 45 Free Mastery Points.
Shi Feng immediately added 30 Mastery Points to his One-handed Sword Mastery. Instantly, his One-handed Sword Mastery rose to the level of an Intermediate Swordsman, increasing his Base Damage by 15%. As for becoming an Advanced Swordsman, he was still 50 points away from doing so.
Although it was just a 5% increase in Base Damage, it should not be taken lightly. This Base Damage would be magnified many times after factoring in the bonuses from Skills. Often, the gap present between a top-tier expert and a normal expert was due to the difference in Base Damages. At this stage of the game, there might only be a fragment of experts who have reached Basic Mastery. Shi Feng had already reached Intermediate Mastery, leading them by a lot.
Just as Shi Feng was about to continue advancing deeper into the Steel Fortress, the fortress’ alarm rang out.