Great power stems from a will that never wavers.
That was the only advice the legendary NPC Faust had ever given Shi Feng.
After gripping the Abyssal, whose appearance had dramatically changed, Shi Feng had already felt the terrifying power contained within the weapon. It was as if the sword were alive—even while holding it, he could feel a pulse thrumming through the hilt into his palm, like a dragon roaring inside the blade, straining to break free of its seal at any moment.
"Incredible stats!" Shi Feng murmured as he checked the Abyssal's attributes, unable to hide his astonishment.
Without a doubt, this was the most powerful weapon he had ever seen short of epic-grade equipment. Even the Blazing Meteor Star, forged by the legendary blacksmith master Celeula, paled in comparison.
The Abyssal's current stats could rightly be called pseudo-transcendent. With just a bit more improvement, it would likely reach epic grade in no time.
Abyssal — One-Handed Sword — Magic Artifact Attack Power +302 All Stats +30 Attack Speed +10 Monster Level Ignore +10 On hit: 40% chance to deal 2× damage, 15% chance to deal 3× damage, 20% chance to inflict Curse of Misfortune, reducing all stats by 40% for 30 seconds.
When held by a Swordsman, all skill levels +3; gain 2 additional free stat points per level.
Equipment Level: 20. Upgradeable (consume ten Mythril weapons and one Gold-grade weapon at level 25 to upgrade to level 25). Evolvable (unknown).
Innate Skill 1 — Phantom Kill: Instantly create a clone with 70% of the wielder's stats and all skills. Duration: 40 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Innate Skill 2 — Abyssal Bind: Restrict the target's movement and reduce their defense by 100% for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Innate Skill 3 — Nine-Headed Dragon Slash: Instantly conjure twelve phantom copies of the Abyssal for the wielder to use. Each phantom deals 40% of normal damage. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Innate Skill 4 — Dark Sky Frenzy: Deal 50% of the target's damage in a 12-yard cone in front of the wielder. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Innate Passive — Black Emperor: After dealing a critical hit on a target, accumulate one stack of Death Qi. Each stack can be consumed to increase all stats by 2% and attack speed and movement speed by 1% for 10 seconds, or reduce one skill's cooldown by 3 seconds. Maximum of 30 stacks. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 18 hours.
A legendary sword personally forged by the master craftsman Olyssus using the fangs of the Black Dragon King as material. It is one of the Divine Realm's thirty-six legendary swords, ranked thirty-first. However, the blade carries the Black Dragon King's curse: besides granting the wielder tremendous power, it periodically backlashes against the bearer. Thanks to modifications made by Jack, who incorporated Star Radiance Stone into the weapon, the backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder fails to suppress the backlash, they will suffer the Black Dragon King's curse—all stats permanently reduced by 50%, and the item becomes bound, untradeable, and indestructible.
"As expected of a Magic Artifact—it didn't disappoint. Even epic-grade weapons rarely come with an innate passive, and this one already has one despite not even being at epic tier yet."
After carefully reading through the description of the Black Emperor passive, Shi Feng finally felt a wave of relief. The sixth trial should pose no real trouble now.
Innate passives were rare during the early days of the Divine Realm and only became common once the game reached its mid-game phase.
Unlike ordinary skills—which were standardized class abilities with no uniqueness, requiring players to adapt to their use—passives were different. They enabled players to develop their own distinctive combat techniques, granting far greater freedom and further boosting their fighting power.