“Can you tell me where I can find Magister Lefis?” Nie Yan asked.

“I’m not sure where he is right now, but if you wait 30 minutes, you’ll likely get to meet him. He comes here around this time every day to hand out quests,” Tomb Keeper Karise said.

Nie Yan wasn’t interested in the quest Magister Lefis handed out. At his level of achievement, he could ignore these kinds of quests.

Nie Yan stood to the side and patiently waited for Magister Lefis to arrive.

There was a constant influx of players. The square gradually got busier, yet there was a wide open space all around Nie Yan. No one dared to come near him, instead gazing at him from far away. Rumours quickly spread on why he was waiting here.

Nie Yan looked around. The area around the entrance was starting to feel cramped with 600+ players already here, and still more arriving by the minute. It appeared many people were entering the tomb today.

About 30 minutes later, an NPC in ashen robes arrived in the square.

“Look, Magister Lefis is here.”

“Let’s see if we can trigger his quest. We only have 10 minutes before he leaves!”

Magister Lefis’ appearance created a disturbance in the square.

“Are you stupid? What do you think Nirvana Flame is waiting here for? He’s definitely here to look for Magister Lefis.”

Seeing Nie Yan walk over to Magister Lefis, no other players dared to move. They occasionally snuck glances in his direction. Was he here to receive Magister Lefis’ quest too? Magister Lefis often issued herb gathering quests. Even though his temperament was eccentric, he offered generous rewards. So, players from all around came to help him gather herbs.

However, why would Nirvana Flame be interested in such a basic quest?

“Hello, Magister Lefis,” Nie Yan greeted.

Magister Lefis glanced over at Nie Yan with a cold expression. He gave a slight grunt in response.

“You see, I’m wondering if you’re in possession of Abak’s Vorpal Striders. I’ve been looking everywhere for this item. If you’re willing to part ways with it, I’ll buy it off you for a high price,” Nie Yan said.

“I do have Abak’s Vorpal Striders in my possession. But I won’t hand it over to you, or anyone else,” Lefis replied, his eyes flickering with hostility.

“How about we make a trade. I’ll offer you a piece of equipment of equal quality to Abak’s Vorpal Striders. You can’t wear them anyway. I believe it’s in our best interest to make this exchange,” Nie Yan said. Lefis' cold attitude rubbed him the wrong way, but he suppressed his anger.

“I told you, I’m not selling. Scram, or I’ll send you out of here myself,” Magister Lefis said. Not bothering to give Nie Yan a second glance, he walked past him.

Sure enough, Tomb Keeper Karise hadn’t exaggerated about Lefis at all. This man really had an eccentric temperament, refusing to mince words in the slightest. It appeared he would have to use force like Tomb Keeper Karise suggested. He inspected Lefis with Transcendent Insight. He was Level 160 with 500,000 health.

Magister Lefis didn’t have much health. However, as an NPC Magister, his battle prowess would definitely be frightening.

“Abak’s Vorpal Striders are very important to me. What if I must obtain this item, no matter what?” Nie Yan said to Magister Lefis’ back.

Magister Lefis halted his step. Not bothering to turn his head back, he coldly spat out, “Over my dead body.”

Nie Yan pulled out Zennarde’s Sword and pointed the blade at Magister Lefis. “A battle it is then.”

“Your words, not mine, you foolish idiot. You’ll pay for your stupidity today!” Magister Lefis said, as an icy killing aura erupted out.

An ice magic specialist!

Nie Yan’s heart trembled. Ice magic was known for its extremely powerful crowd control ability. No matter what, he couldn’t let himself get hit, or he’d be dead for sure.

The surrounding players had formed a large circle around Nie Yan and Magister Lefis. Even though they really wanted to know what these two were talking about, they didn’t dare to disturb them. Suddenly seeing Nie Yan pointing Zennarde’s Sword at Magister Lefis and Magister Lefis erupting with an icy killing intent, they were all dumbstruck. Could Nie Yan be challenging Magister Lefis? Was he crazy? There was an enormous difference between player Magisters and NPC Magisters. Many of the NPCs who became Magisters had spent a lifetime of comprehending the essence of magic. They far surpassed player Magisters.

Nie Yan had actually challenged an NPC Magister. This was unbelievable!

“Come on. Since I’m the bad guy here, it’s only fair that I let you have the first move,” Nie Yan said. He wasn’t the least bit perturbed with the fact he was facing an NPC Magister.

“Is something wrong with his head? He’s letting Magister Lefis have the first move!?”

The onlookers were stunned. With their little strength, they couldn’t possibly understand the actions of someone on Nie Yan’s level.

Nie Yan allowed Magister Lefis the first move in order to preserve the honour of a Great Prophet. If he attacked first and word got out, the NPCs would label him a robber. But if Magister Lefis attacked first, it meant both sides had agreed to a duel.

If one wasn’t thinking carefully, these kinds of details were easy to overlook.

“You arrogant brat!” Magist Lefis waved his staff, firing out an ice arrow.

Only an ice arrow, Nie Yan thought. Just as he was about to raise Zennarde’s Sword to block, the ice arrow split into three, and the three then split into nine.

NPC Magisters had a profound understanding of magic and could freely manipulate it at will.

Nie Yan leaped to the side. The ice arrows barely missed him, their icy aura causing his body to tremble.

As his feet touched the ground, a ring of ice formed below Nie Yan and was about to activate.

Crap! Nie Yan quickly activated Gale Step. With a ding sound, the ice around his feet shattered and failed to trap him.

Magister Lefis snorted. With a wave of his staff, he called down an Ice Rain. The raindrops covered the ground in a layer of ice.

Nie Yan had to go all out. Magister Lefis was far stronger than any player Magister he had faced before. Tang Yao, Xie Yao, Undying Scoundrel, and the rest were like children compared to Magister Lefis! This was a Magister in the truest sense, capable of manipulating all sorts of magic at will, bringing out the full potential of every attack, and timing everything with the utmost precision.

As the surrounding temperature plummeted, the onlookers started to shiver and retreated several hundred meters back. Looking at the center of the turmoil, Nie Yan and Magister Lefis were already hidden within a white fog. Only the sounds of spells exploding let them know a fierce battle was going on. The square had become their battlefield.

Everyone was at a loss for words. None of them expected the battle to become this intense. What shocked them the most was that Nie Yan was actually able to go toe-to-toe with an NPC Magister!

A rainbow appeared over the battlefield as the sun shone down on the icy fog.

This place had already become its own separate world. The players didn’t feel the slightest warmth from the sunlight.

Within the white fog, Nie Yan was on the backfoot. Magister Lefis was simply too strong. The endless barrage of instantaneous spells left him dodging around frantically with no opportunity to retaliate.

Magister Lefis kept up with Nie Yan’s speed with the Blink spell. Every time he appeared, he would send a stream of magic flying towards Nie Yan with a wave of his staff.

Howling Froststorm!

An enormous ice sphere rotated in the air, then exploded into a wave of ice spikes.

Just as Nie Yan was about to be turned into swiss cheese, he activated Shadow Waltz and transformed into a blur. With a shattering sound, the ice spikes that struck him were blocked by his brief moment of invincibility.

Shadow Clone!

Nie Yan’s body suddenly split into two as an identical clone of him emerged. After which the two immediately dashed toward Magister Lefis, pincering him.

This development caught Magister Lefis off guard. He couldn’t tell real from fake. Waving his staff, he prepared to launch a spell to instantly kill one of them.

Lockdown!

Magister Lefis’ body froze as his spell was interrupted. Nie Yan pounced forward and stabbed down at his forehead. Meanwhile, the other Nie Yan appeared behind Magister Lefis and stabbed toward the back of his head.

A flawless pincer attack. Magister Lefis couldn’t possibly dodge it!

Magister Lefis could already feel the scorching heat from Zennarde’s Swords devilish flames. Just as he was about to be struck, he waved his staff.

Ice Barrier!

A thick layer of ice immediately formed around Magister Lefis, protecting him inside.

KLANG! KLANG! The attacks from both Nie Yan and the shadow clone were blocked.

At this moment, Magister Lefis dissolved the ice barrier and waved his staff.

Ice Nova!

A wave of frost immediately swept out from Magister Lefis.

Everything happened too quickly. Nie Yan and the shadow clone had no way to retreat in time. As the wave of frost came sweeping over, Nie Yan felt the air around him freeze over as his body turned somewhat rigid.