Chapter Eight: The Battle for the Yellow Title

After an hour of downtime, the novice server for Divine Desolation was finally restored. Upon logging in, Nightfeather and his companions headed straight for the northern outskirts of Hero Town.

The surrounding woods swayed gently in the breeze, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the foliage, casting radiant golden shafts diagonally from the sky. Birds sang from every direction as the four strolled leisurely through the forest.

“So what exactly are we looking for in this quest?”

“Hey, Third, did you read the walkthrough?”

“I did, but the target for this quest is unusual. He wanders all over the place, never sticking to one spot.”

As they chatted, a subtle change flickered in Nightfeather’s eyes, reminiscent of a leopard spotting its long-sought prey from the undergrowth.

“Look ahead. There’s our target.”

Following Nightfeather’s gaze, the others spotted an elderly man in white robes a hundred meters off to the right. His robe fluttered ethereally, giving him the air of a sage. The Divine Desolation development team had truly outdone themselves—the character model was exquisitely detailed. With a virtual headset, it might be indistinguishable from a real martial arts world, utterly immersive.

The hidden master thief, or “SS,” wasn’t as formidable as they’d feared, but tracking him down had cost them considerable time. Under Nightfeather’s command, having thoroughly studied the walkthrough, they had little trouble containing this reclusive master.

Because of his high attack power, the four adopted a kiting strategy to steadily wear down his health. The master thief gathered golden, dazzling energy in his palm and unleashed it in a devastating strike at the space before him.

“Careful! Dodge, now!”

Nightfeather’s warning snapped the others to attention, and they quickly evaded the brilliant golden palm blast.

In the new era of Divine Desolation, players could avoid monster attacks through skillful maneuvering—provided the attack wasn’t targeted directly at them. Designated attacks were unavoidable.

Nightfeather’s character played a zither, sending two waves of light in the form of blades shooting toward their target. When these attacks landed, they slowed the enemy’s movement.

Luo Feng’s character summoned a gentle green glow from beneath Nightfeather’s feet, as if drawing on the vitality of nearby plants—a testament to nature’s power.

Nightfeather’s eyes reflected the scene’s dazzling spectacle. Their foe’s immense health pool made the battle drag on, consuming a staggering amount of time.

By now, several players of appropriate level had arrived to watch the showdown between Nightfeather’s party and the hidden master thief. The world chat lit up with excitement.

World Channel, August 22nd: “At the northern outskirts of Hero Town, four experts are fighting the hidden master thief. Their skills are unreal—so smooth!”

World Channel, July 7th: “I just hit the required level—I’m coming to check it out myself!”

Soon, dozens of spectators had gathered—some merely curious, others hoping to learn from the fight.

Current Chat, End of War: “Liangye’s moves are godlike. By dodging non-targeted skills, he’s letting Xin’ai and Yixiu attack unhindered, and giving Anye time to rest and cooldown.”

Current Chat, Heartless Rascal: “And with the attribute boost from the Abyssal Nightmare mount, their early damage is insane. Their gear bonuses are no joke either.”

Because the four had purchased the Abyssal Nightmare mount, their damage output during the fight was unmatched. From the very beginning, Nightfeather’s group had pulled ahead of the rest.

“Let’s finish it together with one last coordinated strike.”

Nightfeather eyed the master thief’s health bar—only a sliver remained. If they attacked together, they could end it in an instant.

The four unleashed a barrage of attacks, and a cascade of spectacular damage numbers erupted above the master thief’s head.

With a final anguished cry, a new message appeared in the party channel:

Current Channel, Hidden Master Thief: “I never imagined I’d fall to novices like you. To think I’d be defeated by the prodigies favored by the Hero Tower’s leader.”

As his cry faded, the old man collapsed to the ground with a thud. Each of the four received a quest item in their inventory: an Imperial Token.

Amidst the crowd’s gaze, the four mounted their Abyssal Nightmares and rode away in triumph.

After turning in the quest, all four simultaneously leveled up to 24 and received a hidden quest. Because they’d slain the master thief within the time limit, they unlocked a secret dungeon marked on Hero Town’s map. Entry required completion of the hidden quest and reaching level 30.

“Let’s finish the main questline and rush to level 30 first.”

“Agreed.”

The four immediately set off for Hero Tower to turn in their quest.

Quest accepted at level 15.
Quest giver: Fang Anfu.
Quest objective: Retrieve Fang Anfu’s deed.
Quest turn-in: Fang Anfu.

Riding their Abyssal Nightmares, the four headed for a hillside outside Hero Town, where a golden exclamation mark awaited. Upon accepting the quest, they learned that Fang Anfu’s deed had been stolen by villains.

Their task: retrieve the deed from the villains and prove their chivalric spirit. The thieves were rumored to frequent a dilapidated mountain villa further east.

Arriving at the villa, they encountered numerous enemies clad in ragged clothes and wielding broadswords. These foes were no match for the party and were quickly dispatched.

Just then, six players appeared in the distance—all above level 20. Their party composition included three ranged, two melee, and one healer, all riding Abyssal Nightmares—clearly well-funded players. Their aggressive approach put Nightfeather’s group on alert.

Current Chat, Third Year Short: “Liangye.”

Current Chat, Liangye: “What is it?”

Current Chat, Third Year Short: “Where did you get your newbie gear?”

Current Chat, Liangye: “No comment.”

Current Chat, Autumn Every Third Year: “Heh, I suggest you answer honestly. You’re level 24, sure, but we’re six—three at 21, two at 20, and one at 22.”

Current Chat, Apart From This: “Liangye, you’re only leveling so fast because of that starter gear. In all of Xuantian, only your group and those two demons have it.”

Current Chat, Liangye: “Are you done?”

Nightfeather’s terse reply subtly shifted the atmosphere, as if the very environment within the game had changed.

Their names were now well-known on the server—especially as this was the first day of the new server’s opening. Nightfeather’s group had quickly become famous, and their exclusive items drew even more attention.

Current Chat, Xin’ai: “We’re not telling you where we got our starter gear. What are you going to do about it? Stare us down?”

Current Chat, Anye: “Six against four—shameless! I’ve never seen anyone so thick-skinned.”

Current Chat, No Need for Small Talk: “Think you’re tough? Then let’s settle it with a Yellow Name Duel.”

The Yellow Name Duel in Divine Desolation is a form of combat outside safe zones—duels or group fights, as both parties agree. When both sides are flagged yellow, killing another player doesn’t turn you into a wanted criminal or “red-named” player.

It’s a unique feature of Divine Desolation, bringing the martial arts world’s lawless spirit to life.

Victory depends entirely on skill—the winner takes all, the loser is nothing.

Current Chat, Liangye: “Fine—let’s settle this with a Yellow Name Duel!”

Nightfeather clicked the settings button in the upper right corner, bringing up a window. He and his companions immediately disabled their safety settings.

In the next instant, the four struck first, attacking four of the enemy party. Their names, once white, now turned yellow.

The opposing party, led by Third Year Short, also attacked, disabling their own safety settings. As soon as they struck Nightfeather’s group, their names turned yellow as well.

Nightfeather controlled his character with precision, dodging attacks from the three ranged opponents. Using his lockdown skills, he targeted the three ranged enemies in the distance.

“Radiance of Snow and Moon.”

Three streams of violet sound waves burst from his zither, slicing toward the distant trio.

“Huang Hong, Luo Wei—focus the three ranged. I can handle the rest.”

Without hesitation, the two responded, braving attacks from the two melees as they charged at the ranged enemies. Swallowing healing potions, blade and spear flashed with earthen energy.

The three waves of violet sound struck home just as their attacks landed, and the words “Critical Damage” floated above two enemy heads.

A thunderous crash.

Two screams rang out as Apart From This and Autumn Every Third Year buckled and fell to the ground.