Chapter 87-1: The Three Great Demonic Sects (1) |
It had been 39 days since the game launched.
Qi Sheng had compiled data on the players’ current average levels, mainstream Star Vein combinations, and daily Sacrificial Power production.
While aggregating forum popularity data during this period, he stumbled upon something that made him both amused and exasperated.
As the game had developed to its current stage, various new builds had constantly emerged.
However, these builds were all based on different combinations of Inherited Souls, utilizing combinations embedded in Star Veins to unleash composite Inherited Soul traits in their primary forms.
Yet, there were three builds that developed completely outside of the game’s intended design.
Players on the forum jokingly referred to them as the Three Great Demonic Sects.
The first among them was the Doomsday Technology Guild, also known on the forum as the Arms Dealers Guild.
Players who joined this guild generally did not follow the hunting growth path, instead focusing entirely on weapon development, upgrades, and making money.
Because their approach completely deviated from mainstream gameplay, the Arms Dealers Guild was dubbed a ‘demonic sect faction.’
The second was the newly-formed guild ‘Gene Ascension.’
This guild had been founded half a month ago by the player Yu Ze, whom Qi Sheng had recruited with an additional slot. Its members were all researchers from the Gene Modification Division.
A single post about Gene Seeds had pushed this group into the spotlight.
As technology rapidly advanced, the current version of Gene Seeds inflicted less bodily harm, while the strengthening process now yielded significantly increased body tempering experience.
However, the severe pain experienced during strengthening still had not been effectively resolved.
Because of this, players who consumed Gene Seeds to boost body tempering experience were known on the forum as ‘Gene Muscle Beasts,’ representing a rare breed of players who prioritized gains over their own lives.
Just like the Arms Dealers Guild, the members of Gene Ascension did not follow the typical hunting-centered growth path, instead choosing a research and development route.
Combined with the forum players’ recent wave of Gene Seed memes, Gene Ascension came to be mockingly nicknamed the ‘Breaking Bad Alliance’ on the forum.
Thus, it became the second non-mainstream demonic sect following the Arms Dealers Guild.
The last of the three was the recently established guild ‘Fishing Alone on a Snowy River.’
Despite its seemingly refined name, the eccentric behavior of its members was impossible to hide.
Players who joined this guild chose the fishing growth build, but their fishing methods greatly differed from those of typical fishing players.
The forum recorded many bizarre, brainchild fishing styles invented by this guild’s members.
For example: the Thunder Tyrant Fishing build.
This build emerged after the containment of the Thunderburst Inherited Soul.
In guide videos posted by members of this guild, everything appeared normal at first.
The player would sit leisurely by a lake, fishing with a metal rod.
When the bobber sank, a wicked grin would flash across their face. Accompanied by the shout of “Thunder Infusion,” the player would activate the Thunderburst Inherited Soul trait, instantly conducting a high-voltage electric current through the rod into the underwater creature biting the bait. After the sustained current, the aquatic creature would float to the surface without even needing to be reeled in.
Another example: the Bait Exorcism build.
This build predated the Thunder Tyrant Fishing style.
The player who invented this build once saw their demonstration video shoot up the forum’s trending charts in a short period of time.
This build emphasized surprise, with the core of fishing no longer being to reel in the fish.
The creator combined Psionic Bombs with bait to craft a self-detonating bait hook, directly exorcising the fish’s life upon biting.
This became the core gameplay of the Fishing Alone on a Snowy River guild.
There were many other similarly bizarre playstyles. It was precisely these wild, imaginative fishing builds that made this group famous on the forum.
They were mockingly referred to by forum players as the ‘Demonic Fishermen.’
These three unconventional, unorthodox builds came to be known by forum players as the Three Great Demonic Sects.
Compared to members of other guilds, the Three Great Demonic Sects shared one unique trait.
While most guild players consumed resources to convert into their own power, these three guilds not only consumed resources but also continuously produced goods beneficial to other players.
The Arms Dealers Guild produced custom weapons, the Breaking Bad Alliance manufactured gene serums and Gene Seeds, while the Demonic Fishermen sold aquatic food and spiritual ingredients.
The Three Great Demonic Sects had already carved out self-sustaining resource cycles.
They listed goods on the Trading House to gain Sacrificial Power, used that Sacrificial Power to purchase materials to research even better products, then sold them at higher prices.
But while other players viewed these demonic sects as wayward and unserious, this was exactly the outcome Qi Sheng hoped to see.
Only a flourishing variety of builds could form the kind of player legion he envisioned.
Just as Qi Sheng was preparing to review detailed player counts for each build, Guide’s feedback surfaced in his mind.
He promptly switched perspectives.
—
Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range, Bone-Burial Wasteland.
This was an ancient land seemingly forgotten by time, vast and desolate. The shrill cries of ugly wild vultures rang out one after another, echoing across the wasteland. Whenever the wind blew, yellow sand would swirl and sweep across the barren land. There was little greenery in sight, the entire area consisting only of bones and loess.
As the perspective swept across the desolate earth and quickly advanced eastward, a massive sinkhole suddenly appeared in Qi Sheng’s view.
Like a deep scar carved into the earth’s surface, the sinkhole spanned 16 kilometers in diameter. Viewed from above, it was roughly circular, its edges towering like natural barriers formed after the crust had been torn apart by tremendous force. The crater walls were steep and jagged, with exposed layers of rock that were distinctly stratified. Under the illumination of the Evil Moon, the rocks displayed a mottled hue, creating a complex mosaic of colors.
At the bottom of the enormous pit lay a relatively flat small basin, where a tumor-like Corrosion Core pulsed slowly.
This Corrosion Core was different from the ones players had encountered before. Its surface was inscribed with intricate spiritual patterns, already fused with Black Tide power. All absorbed energy was fed directly to fuel the Black Tide’s growth.
Comments 2