Looking at the light screen, there were still nearly two hundred weapons away from gold quality. To catch up to Jin Shanshan's level, above gold quality, weapons would need to exceed two thousand. Bai Ye felt the road ahead was long and arduous.
Steel Slime...
Bai Ye couldn't be bothered to look at it anymore. After red quality, the Steel Slime's improvement was too slow. After all, gold quality was the upper limit for Steel Slime, and crossing the final threshold was naturally the most difficult.
If his efforts over the past month weren't in vain, the Steel Slime should not be far from gold quality. But there were no "if"s in the world, Bai Ye could only continue to slowly accumulate items.
However, there were benefits from his trip to Fanghu, and these benefits were quite impressive.
Pangu Banner (Magic Treasure) (Gold): Named after the ancient god Pangu, this primordial supreme treasure is said to have been refined using the essence stones born during Pangu's creation of heaven and earth as raw materials.
Effects: Creation Mystic Light (draws spiritual energy from heaven and earth to form mystic light for attack; the higher the spirit attribute, the more spiritual energy is drawn, and the greater the power of the mystic light).
Primordial Chaos Barrier (breaks through void, draws upon the primordial chaos power of nothingness as a barrier, shaping a small piece of space into a small world for defense; the user cannot move while using it).
Heaven and Earth Share Grief (can use gravity to oppress enemies, restrict their actions, weaken target's physical attributes by 30% and apply gravity, or reduce user's own gravity, increasing physical attributes by 30%; both effects last for 15 minutes).
Bai Ye could only say two words: Awesome!
As a gold-quality magic treasure, Bai Ye believed the most valuable aspect of the Pangu Banner was its all-around capability.
Offense, defense, buffs, debuffs – it had everything. What more could one ask for?
This item was indeed one of the ten great magic treasures on the Investiture of the Gods, definitely top-tier among gold-quality magic treasures. Taiyi Zhenren was truly generous.
Bai Ye even felt this item could lean towards the super-quality direction.
The 30% buff and debuff for allies and enemies was truly monstrous, especially since it didn't specify that additional physical attributes were unaffected, meaning even physical attributes boosted by abilities, equipment, or items would be affected by the Pangu Banner.
It didn't reach super-quality purely because China's mythological civilization spanned five thousand years, with too many incredible items.
It wasn't that the Pangu Banner wasn't strong enough, but that there were simply too many powerful beings.
Regardless, Bai Ye hadn't really done anything, and obtaining a gold-quality magic treasure for free was a huge profit for him.
Although Taiyi Zhenren's requirement was for Bai Ye to do nothing.
After storing the Pangu Banner, Bai Ye continued his journey with Chenglong.
On their way forward, they didn't encounter any more trouble. Bai Ye's daily routine consisted of drawing gacha, fishing, and pondering the true nature of the World Battlefield.
Currently known suspicious figure: Li Jiayi.
Currently known suspicions: two points.
Why did Li Jiayi save him?
Why did Li Jiayi want to take him away from Fanghu?
The first question couldn't be answered for now. For the second, Bai Ye could guess one or two things. Li Jiayi definitely had something he didn't want Bai Ye to know, and Bai Ye would inevitably find out if he continued to stay on the island. Therefore, Li Jiayi wanted to pull Bai Ye away.
What could it be?
Was it Taiyi Zhenren?
So, Li Jiayi didn't want him to investigate the truth of Fanghu, and consequently, didn't want him to investigate the truth of the World Battlefield?
If that were the case, the hint given by Taiyi Zhenren would be very important.
"What do the gods want to do? And who wants the gods to do something?"
Bai Ye looked at the waves, lost in thought.
The Chosen Ones, the gods, and who stood on the opposite side of the gods?
Bai Ye felt that the World Battlefield was a chessboard, and someone wanted to use this chessboard to play chess against the gods!
As his thoughts drifted, a radiant light appeared, pulling Bai Ye's thoughts back to reality.
Bai Ye looked up and saw that they had reached the regional boundary, and Chenglong passed through it...
"You have entered the Great Navigation Area. Please choose your faction: Pirates / Navy."
Bai Ye was a bit confused. Did entering a region immediately require faction selection?
Bai Ye thought for a moment and took out his Den Den Mushi to contact Gao Ming for information.
"Faction selection?" Gao Ming said, "That area is indeed like that. Once you enter, you have to choose a faction, or more accurately, you have to choose an identity for yourself."
Bai Ye asked, "Is there a difference?"
Gao Ming replied, "Of course there's a difference. Opposing factions, you see. If you choose Navy, you'll be attacked by pirates, but the Navy won't attack you."
Bai Ye looked enlightened and said, "If I choose Pirates, it's the opposite, and I'll be attacked by the Navy?"
Gao Ming said, "No, pirates will also attack you."
"Ah?" Bai Ye was astonished, "Why?"
Gao Ming explained, "They're pirates, what rules do they have? They attack if they want to. They won't refrain from attacking just because you're also a pirate. Whether they attack or not mainly depends on their mood."
Bai Ye was speechless, "This is a rip-off. Wouldn't most people choose the Navy then?"
Gao Ming said, "Most Chosen Ones do choose the Navy, but it's all relative. Joining the Navy at least avoids being attacked by them, but there are more rules. If you do anything bad, you'll be kicked out of the Navy faction."
Bai Ye asked, "Like what?"
"Killing," Gao Ming said. "It's normal for Chosen Ones to fight each other, but if you're all in the Navy faction, that's not allowed. If you do that, you'll be kicked out of the Navy faction and even put on a bounty."
"In comparison, the Pirate faction is much freer. That faction is equivalent to having no faction at all. Pirates can do whatever they want without looking at anyone else's face."
"In a way, if you're unwilling to follow rules, it's better to join the Pirate faction, otherwise, you'll be kicked out of the Navy sooner or later."
"Besides that, when large forbidden zones like this are about to open, the factions will naturally be opposed. Your choice will naturally affect whether you have to fight against the Navy or against Whitebeard at that time."
Bai Ye asked, "What did you guys choose?"
Gao Ming replied, "Pirates."
Bai Ye asked, "Why?"
Gao Ming explained, "Because most alliances chose Pirates, we naturally have to choose Pirates. After all, not considering the Summit War for now, don't we have to stand against the Canglong Association?"
Bai Ye looked enlightened, "So, the Canglong Association is on the Navy's side?"
Gao Ming said, "Not necessarily. The Canglong Association is a big and influential organization, so they have their hands in both. They've planted people in both the Pirate and Navy factions. However, Liu Shiyue is on the Navy's side. If you choose to be a pirate, you can safely make a move against him."
Bai Ye nodded, "Okay, I understand."
"Wait, wait," Gao Ming said, "Aren't you going to meet up with us?"
Bai Ye replied, "No, I'll see you at the Summit War."