MMO: Pierce Heaven Til’ It Breaks

[The first player to enter Soul Gate will be rewarded with 10,000,000 Gold Coins!]

[The first player to be embraced by the King of Souls will be rewarded with 10,000,0000 Gold Coins!]

[The first party to take down the King of Souls will be rewarded with Epic-level soul mounts!]

[The first party to take down the King of Souls in Hell-level difficulty will be rewarded with Epic-level flying soul mounts!]

…

The alluring rewards were constantly broadcasted across the World Channel. As a result, the number of players who took notice increased, and they made a beeline towards Soul Gate.

Li Yi and Brother Windcloud Nine’s group were the first to reach Soul Gate. After conversing with the NPC Ophelia, they were transported to another map.

System Notification: [Your party has been automatically disbanded. You have now entered Land of Choice…]

They had been brought to an altar that was enshrouded in darkness, which was not part of Soul Gate’s interior. Rather, it was the entrance into Soul Gate in which those who intended to enter Soul Gate had to pass it.

“Heroes! It’s time to get to work! Kill every enemy that stands in your path as only the strongest of heroes have the right to enter Soul Gate!”

Pope Shirui, who was clad in black robes and was standing at the entrance into Soul Gate, repetitively raised his arms as he delivered his loud speech.

Within Land of Choice, players were unable to form parties. Even if they belonged to the same nation, the restriction would still be applied.

“Brother Nine, bring your men to guard the right flank. I’ll handle the left. Do try to put some distance between us, so that we could avoid accidentally harming one another. Also, if you see anyone from the Southern Continent, just make sure to dispose of them.”

“We’re still killing them? Also, what’s up with this dungeon? Why can’t I form a party with you anymore?” Brother Windcloud Nine’s mind was filled with questions.

“Land of Choice doesn’t allow the formation of parties. However, we’ll be able to do so once we make it into the gates.”

Just as Li Yi was about to elaborate further, Pope Shirui started a high-pitched chant.

A pitch-black crystal ball plunged from the sky and lodged itself at the left side of Soul Gate.

“Brave heroes, please extend your hands to touch this crystal. When your inner soul has resonated with the crystal, you shall enter Soul Gate!”

“May the Holy Light be with you!”

Pope Shirui had yet to complete his sentence when Great Lord Moigne appeared. He summoned a white crystal ball and plopped it at the right side of Soul Gate.

“Did you see that? Anyone who wishes to enter Soul Gate would need to touch one of those balls. Their color doesn’t matter, and once you’ve touched them for long enough, you’ll be able to enter Soul Gate.

While Li Yi explained to Brother Windcloud Nine, he ran towards the black crystal ball on the left and touched it with his hand.

Li Yi called out to Jiaojiao and the others. “Come here, guys! Hurry up!”

“Ohh, so we need to touch the balls in order to enter huh?” Sister Windcloud Nine mused with child-like innocence. Her voice was crisp, and it had a long traveling range, making her words audible to everyone present at the scene.

“Does Sister Nine know how to touch balls?”

“Yeah, has Sister Nine touched balls before? I have a pair on me…”

“Hurry up! Hurry up and grab the balls, Sister Nine.”

A bunch of players was teasing her.

Oblivious to their remarks, Sister Windcloud Nine ran towards the white crystal ball and placed her hands on top of it.

“Err, so how long do I need to touch it in order to enter the gates?”

“I can’t really say for sure. You’ll need to see whether the ball reacts to you or not. I theorize that you might need to grope the ball as you make contact.”

“How should I grope it?” Sister Windcloud Nine blinked as she asked innocently.

“Err…Err…” A “kindhearted” player that went by the name ‘Virtuous Windcloud’ walked forward to demonstrate the action to Sister Windcloud Nine.

“You need to first loosen your grip, and then tighten it. Don’t use too much force though, as excessive force would cause it to get hurt. Oh yeah, one more thing, make sure to give it a kiss as if you’re taking pleasure in those actions…”

Sister Windcloud Nine followed the instructions that she had been provided and groped the ball with a serious expression. After giving it a kiss, she shook her head with a defeated look.

“Why isn’t it reacting?”

“Give it a few more kisses. Make sure to lick it as well. Brother Nine, are you getting a ‘reaction’?” Virtuous Windcloud turned around and directed his question at Brother Windcloud Nine.

“Get lost!” Brother Windcloud Nine landed a firm kick onto his butt.

“Hahaha…”

“What are you guys laughing at? There really isn’t a reaction…”

Dozens of players were bawling with laughter, and yet, Sister Windcloud Nine was still fondling the ball as if nothing was amiss.

Both crystal balls were not large, and due to their positioning, they only allowed four players to touch them at the same time.

“It’s glowing, it’s glowing, it’s glowing!!”

Accompanied by the players’ shrieks, the black and white crystal balls had finally reacted after the endless rubbing from the players. There was now a faint glow that enveloped its surface.

Someone laughed out loud. “Haha, keep this up and we’ll be able to enter the dungeon in no time!”

“Brave heroes! Due to the limits to our strength, each crystal ball can only transport 200 players each time. Additionally, they can only operate normally for 24 hours. Should you wish to be teleported again, then you would need to wait until 15 days later, when our mana would be replenished…” Moigne and Shirui spoke at the same time.

As Moigne and Shirui constantly repeated their statements, the players gradually came to realize that entering Soul Gate was no easy task.

There was a limit to the number of participants, and no parties could be formed there. Taking Li Yi and Brother Windcloud Nine as an example, though they would not purposely harm one another, the lack of alliance-based attacking modes might cause them to accidentally harm their allies should they remain in close proximity.

Furthermore, there was only one way to enter Soul Gate. One would need to place their hand on one of the crystal balls, and only when the ball emits a sound would they be transported into the gate…

Jiaojiao scratched her head as she rubbed the ball. “Lil Yi’zi, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Me too, and I’m probably feeling even worse…”

Li Yi stared helplessly at the group of Red Named players who had just teleported into Land of Choice.

Moigne and Shirui continued to shout out their lines, allowing the players who had just arrived to grasp the situation. War, was only at a moment’s notice before breaking out.

A Fire Wall flashed into existence, drowning the white crystal ball in it.

Psst…Pssst… Psst…

Despite being surrounded by flames, the players who had their hands on the ball refused to let go. They were still holding strong…

“Healers! Heal them quick! Vagabonds! Extinguish the flames! Priests! Prepare to dispel any debuffs!”

Windcloud Overlord thundered. Just as he was about to engage the Southern Continent players, several Wizards bashed his skull with spells. His HP was instantly depleted, and he was instantly killed.

Woosh—

A clump of Soul Energy visible to the naked eye was sucked into Soul Gate.

When one dies in Land of Choice, their only option was to resurrect at the temple. Aside from that, there was no other option.

Windcloud Overlord lay on the ground for quite some time before he was finally forced to resurrect at the temple. With that, his corpse that was lying on the ground disappeared.

Windcloud Overlord’s death was just the beginning, as the players who arrived later on were even crazier than the ones who had arrived prior. Initially, the battles that broke out were not anything special. They fought in an orderly fashion and the players from the Invincible Continent and the Western Continent did not attack one another. However, as the number of players increased, the non-aggression pact was completely and utterly disregarded.

After all, how could one avoid misfiring when there were tens of thousands of players gathered at the same place? Moreover, should one be attacked, they were bound to retaliate. As such, the alliance between nations was put far behind the back of their minds, and they fired every spell, every skill, and everything they had to the opposing camps…

Not long after, Land of Choice had descended into chaos.

Li Yi, Jiaojiao, Brother Windcloud Nine, and Sister Windcloud Nine who were the first to touch the ‘Teleportation Spheres’ had been forced to give up prematurely. Even after ten minutes of constant contact, the Teleportation Spheres had only glowed faintly. By the looks of things, anything less than an hour of contact would never bring out the spheres’ full radiance.

The moment Li Yi and the others retracted their hands, the Teleportation Sphere immediately dimmed…

‘Entering Soul Gate truly isn’t an easy task. It’s pretty tough…’

“I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way! All for the sake of that 10 million Gold Coins!”

The battle was in full swing, and within this chaotic war between the three nations, Scumbag Wang who was riding on his black donkey had appeared. However, he had lost his ‘Mountain-splitting Sword’ yet again and he was instead wielding a white giant sword as he shouted his battle cry.

“Victory to Huashan! Victory to Huashan!”

Eight hundred or so Huashan Sect players had arrived at the scene. However, they were left lying on the ground halfway through their rally despite standing upright moments prior.

Even Scumbag Wang was taken down. Their levels were not high, and since they had already broadcasted their battle cry, it was only natural for the others to target them.

“Scr*w you! Scr*w all of you!”

The female Thief that used a rocket mount had appeared. Her actions were unusually nimble, and when coupled with her Stealth skill, she was able to vanish from the battlefield. She hurled some landmines onto the ground from time to time, and before a minute had even passed, she had already racked up a kill count of over three hundred players.

“All hail Sister Cat! Victory to Sister Cat!” thundered the group of Huashan idiots.

Though The Cat that Sings was crude, her skills were the real deal. The way she employed her skills was the result of thorough practice, and she constantly picked on the players with low-levels or lackluster equipment. Every time she lashed out; death was bound to follow.

Li Yi and the rest of his squad retreated to the eastern corner of Land of Choice, and they set up a temporary camp there. With that, they now had a piece of land for themselves.

There were no longer any players who were standing beside the Teleportation Spheres. The corpses had piled up into large mounds and the Fire Walls that were raised beside them were still going strong. Poison Ivy Traps were also littered all around it, and plenty of continuous damage skills such as Bloody Earth Curse were hurled one after another at it. Simply put, anyone who approached it was asking for their demise.

Li Yi and Jiaojiao spammed the Alliance Channel non-stop, telling the members of their alliance to gather at the eastern corner of the map.

Ouyang Qian had arrived. She was riding a flame scorpion mount, and she had one hand raising her Magic Shield as she raced over. Behind her, there were at least a hundred players in pursuit.

Li Yi waited for the opportune moment. When the time came, his body took on a golden hue and he launched a powerful arrow.

“Overlord Arrow!”

Tch—

The golden Overlord Arrow landed squarely into a Wizard that was casting Blizzard Spell. The ‘Skill Interrupted’ text popped out, and with a ‘skrrt’, its damage spread in an area of 30 yards.

Around three hundred players had died from that arrow alone…

Not many of them had full health as they were all involved in some form of combat or another. When Overlord Arrow’s effect triggered, they had no way to dodge them, and some of them were even caught in it without even knowing.

“Thanks.”

Seizing the chance, Ouyang Qian dashed towards the camp and flashed Li Yi a smile.

Li Yi turned his head around to do a headcount. When he was done, he nodded his head and commanded, “We’ll slowly push forward. No matter the cost, we must get our hands on one of the Teleportation Spheres!”

“Overlord Arrow!”

Tch—

“Meteor Volcano!”

“Boom!”

“Shield of Earth!”

Unending Unmatched activated his Epic Skill and dashed hundreds of meters ahead.

Ooooowhoooo—

Hundreds of Ice Howls struck Unending Unmatched’s body, and even with his 90% damage reduction, he was unable to hold out much longer. His HP depleted rapidly, and it seemed that death was fast approaching.

“Holy Light Illumination!”

Fire Ice directed her Holy Light Illumination at Unending Unmatched, saving his life.

Jiaojiao yelled, “Come back! Don’t be too hasty.”

Ooooowhoooo—

Unending Unmatched had just turned back when hundreds of Ice Howls came barreling towards him again. Only this time, he could no longer withstand the attack. His HP shrunk to zero, and with a crash, he collapsed onto the ground.