Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

241-260

Chapter 241 - envious wealth

All the players present at the auction venue were awestruck by Shi Feng's bid of 20 Gold Coins.

Players who could attend the Blackwing Auction all had extraordinary backgrounds. Even so, none of them could afford such a price.

Although plenty of the players present were provided funding by their own Guilds, that only amounted to 10 Gold or so. Even the wealthiest Guild present had brought only a little more than 20 Gold. Hence, nobody present would be willing to go all-out just for a pair of Level 15 daggers, even if they were weapons of supreme quality. Although these daggers could instantly turn an expert Assassin into an apex Assassin, they would not be of much help to the Guild in the long run.

Even if the players present could afford to buy these daggers, they would not spend 20 Gold to do so.

After the auctioneer slammed his hammer for the third time, everyone in the audience started laughing maniacally.

"What a stupid guy! He actually spent 20 Gold for those two daggers! I wonder who he is trying to impress, for him to willingly part with so much money?"

"Hahaha! At least I have one less competitor now!"

"Twenty Gold! What a rich tycoon!"

While ignoring everyone's mockery, Shi Feng paid 20 Gold to the Auction House and received the two daggers. He then shifted his focus to the next item up for bid.

[Purgatory's Shadow] (One-handed Sword, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 20 (Can be upgraded twice)

Attack +273

Strength+30, Agility +25, Endurance +22

Attack Speed +2

20% chance to cause 300% damage.

10% chance to reduce damage dealt by target by 20%. Effect not stackable.

Additional Skill-

Purgatory Power: When activated, increases Attack Speed by 100% and damage dealt by 30% for 15 seconds.

Cooldown: 2 minutes

In God's Domain, weapons and equipment could be categorized into two types: those that could be upgraded, and those that could not be upgraded.

A majority of the weapons and equipment available belonged to the latter category, and only a scant few items could be upgraded. Normally, only items of Epic rank or above could grow along with a player's level, and very rarely would any item below Epic rank possess such a capability.

"It can be upgraded twice? As expected of one of the treasures of the Blackwing Auction House. If this item could be upgraded to Level 30, it can still be of use even when players reach Level 45." Shi Feng was very satisfied with this weapon. He could equip the Purgatory's Shadow once he reached Level 20, and he would not need to waste time looking for a new weapon.

Not only was the Purgatory's Shadow suited to Swordsmen, it was also suitable for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. If an MT equipped this sword, not only would their maximum HP greatly increase, their damage output would similarly increase by a huge margin; they could aggro monsters much more firmly. However, the most important feature of this sword was its ability to reduce a target's damage-dealing by 20%. This weapon was practically made to counter Boss monsters. If used inside a Team Dungeon, its effect would be decisive.

Compared to the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers from before, the Dark-Gold ranked Purgatory's Shadow would be of much greater help to a Guild.

However, the minimum price for the Purgatory's Shadow was likewise greater.

Many Guilds were overwhelmed by the sword's starting bid of 15 Gold. With the funds they possessed, they could only sit on the sidelines in this auction.

"This sword belongs to me! Everyone else, don't even think of trying to compete against me for it!"

"Who the fuck are you? We, World Dominators, have taken a liking to this sword! Whoever dares to bid will be looking for trouble with us!"

"Do you guys think you are the only first-rate Guild present in this auction? Our Guild is the Bloodthirsty War God! Anyone who dares to bid will be dead meat!"

......

Although the price of the Purgatory's Shadow was high, the competition for it was still intense. It made one truly wonder just what price it would achieve in this auction. Hence, the many first-rate Guilds present started sending warnings to the other Guilds in the hopes of buying the Purgatory's Shadow at a cheap price.

"Idiots." Shi Feng helplessly shook his head at their actions.

Did these people think that the ones buying items here were limited only to players? Although the minimum bid for the Purgatory's Shadow was 15 Gold, according to Shi Feng's understanding, one needed to bid at least 25 Gold in order to secure the item. Otherwise, it would be bought out by NPCs. Did these first-rate Guilds think that, by voicing threats, they could take advantage of loopholes in the system?

Soon after, the bidding for the Purgatory's Shadow started, and the price for the sword soared continuously.

In a blink of an eye, the price of the sword had already reached 20 Gold.

The ones currently bidding for the sword consisted of only first-rate Guilds. Second-rate and third-rate Guilds did not have the funds to take part in this auction at all. They could only look on in silence, unwillingness filling their hearts.

Meanwhile, Joking Scholar similarly felt helpless as he sat in the front row of the auction. If he had not been swindled by Lone Tyrant, he could have bought those two daggers already and also this Purgatory's Shadow, while the other Guilds could only watch as he did so.

After the bidding continued for several minutes, the price for the Purgatory's Shadow finally stopped increasing.

At 24 Gold 30 Silvers, this price was very low where Level 20 Dark-Gold Weapons were concerned. Not to mention, this was also a Dark-Gold Weapon that could be upgraded.

"Hahaha! This Purgatory's Shadow belongs to me now!" Seeing that nobody else was outbidding him, the Berserker from World Dominators cheered.

The members of other Guilds could only look at this Berserker with unwillingness in their eyes. In an auction, players competed with one another in terms of wealth, not influence.

However, immediately after the auctioneer slammed his hammer for the second time, someone broke the silence and made a bid. Moreover, it wasn't just limited to a single person.

"Twenty-five Gold."

"Twenty-six Gold.

"This sword looks finely made. I can add it to my collection. I'll bid 30 Gold Coins."

At this moment, a nobleman of Blackwing City placed an astonishing bid, stupefying all the Guilds present.

"Why are the NPCs joining the bid as well?"

This question baffled many of those present in this auction. If NPCs were going to bid against them too, how were they supposed to compete? That man was an NPC! A noble of Blackwing City at that! How were players supposed to outbid him?

"Damn! This Auction House is clearly trying to toy around with us! They're only letting us players compete for the non-precious items!"

"If I had known this would happen, I would've bought those two Fine-Gold ranked daggers from before!"

"That person was truly lucky. He managed to so easily obtain those two daggers."

Many of the players present started regretting their previous inaction. They never thought that the Auction House would play such a card.

"Thirty-one Gold."

At this moment, a familiar, indifferent voice resounded in the auction hall. Every player in the venue immediately turned their gazes toward the origin of this indifferent voice. However, their eyes were immediately filled with both shock and disbelief when they discovered the owner of the voice.

The person who called out this bid was none other than Shi Feng, the person who previously bought the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers for 20 Gold. Now, he had once again placed a bid of 31 Gold.

"How much money does this fellow have?" Everyone started making speculations that Shi Feng might have robbed an NPC noble. Otherwise, how could he have so much money?

After Shi Feng shouted his bid of 31 Gold, the great noble immediately countered with a bid of 32 Gold.

However, Shi Feng did not fall behind as he followed up with 33 Gold.

As both parties took turns placing bids, the price of the Purgatory's Shadow gradually increased. Every player witnessing this scene had their mouths gaping wide in shock.

Finally, Shi Feng secured the Purgatory's Shadow at a price of 39 Gold.

Following which, several rounds of auction passed without much commotion. Compared to Shi Feng's 39 Gold purchase, the other auctioned items were sold at much lower prices.

Although another treasure appeared during the auction, it was a Dark-Gold ranked leather armor that failed to pique Shi Feng's interest. In the end, the equipment was bought by an NPC for 32 Gold.

When the auction reached its peak, the bid for the third treasure finally started.

This third treasure could also be considered the grand finale of this auction. Just the starting bid of this item was already set at 30 Gold, causing every Guild present to give up on bidding for it. After all, they already knew that, in order to secure this item, they would have to bid at least 50 Gold or above. Unless several first-rate Guilds pooled their funds together, it would be an impossible feat. However, the notion of forming such an alliance was simply unimaginable for the many first-rate Guilds present.

Lending money to other Guilds at this point in time would be no different from lending money to an enemy. Even if they did join together and purchased the item, there would only be one copy of the item. How were they supposed to split it? Hence, it was impossible for any of the Guilds present to form an alliance.

Chapter 242 - arclight shield 

Originally, the Guilds attending the Blackwing Auction had already given up on bidding for the final item. They merely stayed to take a look at how high the price of the final item would reach.

The minimum price for the item was 30 Gold. None of the Guilds present were that flush with fluid funds.

However, the moment their sights landed on the final item, they instantly had a change of heart.

The reason being, the item displayed on stage was simply too important to a Guild. The final item was neither weapon nor equipment. Instead, it was a Forging Design. If the Forging Design was for a normal weapon or equipment, nobody would have paid any attention to it.

However, the Forging Design being auctioned was for the Arclight Shield, a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked shield. If they could produce this item, it would definitely provide a huge improvement for the MTs in their Guilds. This shield was especially useful during this crucial period of the game.

With more and more First Clears of 10-man and 20-man Dungeons taken, the various large Guilds had already started challenging 50-man Team Dungeons. However, there was one problem that vexed them without end: their MTs could not even tank the first Boss of the Dungeon.

If their MTs couldn't even survive the attacks of the Boss, how were they supposed to raid it?

However, if a handful of MTs equipped this Arclight Shield, raiding the Dungeon would become a much easier endeavor.

"This won't do! Our Guild needs to get this item! I have to contact the Guild Leader immediately!"

"This shield is simply too good! I must have it!"

The representatives of the first-rate Guilds present had, at the first moment, contacted their respective Guild Leaders and reported this matter to them. The answer these representatives received was also one of confirmation. They were told to obtain the Forging Design at all costs. These representatives were also told to contact the other second-rate and third-rate Guilds present at the auction venue, to seek their cooperation. In return, the first-rate Guilds would produce the appropriate amount of Arclight Shields for them based on the amount of money they contributed.

Originally, the second-rate and third-rate Guilds present had long since given up on bidding for the Arclight Shield Forging Design. After all, they could not even afford the minimum price of the item. Now that they were given new hope, they would naturally be more than willing to lend their help.

One... Two... Three... More and more second-rate and third-rate Guilds started allying themselves with first-rate Guilds. They pooled together all the funds they had, and very quickly, plenty of first-rate Guilds had managed to collect a total sum of around 50 Gold. They then proceeded to place bids one after another.

The price of the Arclight Shield Forging Design consistently rose.

Starting from the minimum bid of 30 Gold, its price quickly increased to 51 Gold.

The Guilds strived very hard to outbid each other. As soon as they received the funds of another Guild, they would immediately call out the highest bid they could afford. They were deeply afraid that, if they gave the other Guilds too much time, the other Guilds would be able to obtain even more funds.

Just as these Guilds were competing against one another with a fiery passion...

"Sixty Gold." Shi Feng immediately raised the bid by nine Gold.

Shi Feng did not wish to waste too much time on this auction. In any case, it was a must for him to obtain this Arclight Shield Forging Design.

"Why do you have so much money?"

"Just who is this brat?"

Previously, they had already been shocked by Shi Feng's wealth. Now, however, they started feeling frightened.

After spending 59 Gold to purchase three weapons, Shi Feng was still able to place a bid of 60 Gold. If they had not been aware of the fact that players were not allowed to place a bid without having the corresponding amount of money, they would definitely have thought that Shi Feng was just joking around.

Faced with the pressure of 60 Gold, two first-rate Guilds immediately joined hands to place a new bid. Meanwhile, the Guild to take the lead in this alliance was World Dominators. The representative for this Guild yelled out his bid of 61 Gold right away.

"Seventy Gold." Shi Feng no longer wished to play around in these muddied waters. Otherwise, he would have to pointlessly waste a lot of money.

"Seventy-one Gold!"

"Eighty Gold."

"Eighty-one Gold!"

"Ninety Gold."

...

Before even a minute had passed, the price of the Arclight Shield Forging Design had already reached a staggering 106 Gold. If such an amount was converted into Credits, that would be more than 1 million Credits. If one took into account the inflation that would occur due to the volume purchase of Coins, then the value of 106 Gold Coins might even reach 2 million Credits.

Two million Credits just for a Forging Design. If a normal player were to learn about this, they would definitely consider Shi Feng insane, a spendthrift that had nowhere to spend his money.

However, Shi Feng felt that the Arclight Shield Forging Design was worth such an amount of money. After all, the value of this Forging Design would only grow higher once it entered his hands.

"Damn! To actually run out of money at this crucial time!"

"We definitely can't fall short at this final moment! Who else has money?!"

Overlord War Bear, the Berserker from World Dominators, started panicking. His Guild Leader had already given him the command to obtain the Forging Design at all costs. However, even after joining hands with another first-rate Guild and more than a dozen second-rate and third-rate Guilds, they still could not outbid a single Shi Feng. War Bear was truly at a loss on what to do now.

He had even secretly contacted Shi Feng before. As long as Shi Feng was willing to let World Dominators have the Forging Design, he was willing to compensate Shi Feng with a million Credits. Yet, the price of the Forging Design still continued to increase higher and higher. He was already nearing the brink of insanity right now.

"I can lend you a hand. I have 18 Gold with me here. This should be enough to suppress that Black Flame." Joking Scholar walked over to War Bear at this moment.

"What conditions do you have? I advise you to give up if they are too outrageous. I won't hand over this Forging Design no matter what."

"Of course I know this. My conditions are simple; after World Dominators obtains the Forging Design, just give me the Arclight Shield that I deserve. In addition, I also wish for you guys to take care of that Black Flame. He is affiliated with the Star-Moon Kingdom, and I know World Dominators has quite a number of members there. Dealing with Black Flame should be no problem for you all." Aside from his hatred for Lone Tyrant, Joking Scholar's remaining hatred was targeted at Black Flame. Unfortunately, Joking Scholar did not know that both persons were actually one.

"Fine, I'll agree to your conditions. In truth, without needing your mention, World Dominators would similarly take care of him." Overlord War Bear revealed a faint smile.

The two of them quickly reached an agreement. Joking Scholar then traded all his Gold Coins over to Overlord War Bear.

Just as the auctioneer was about to slam the hammer for the second time, Overlord War Bear hurriedly shouted, "108 Gold!"

Shi Feng sent a glance at Joking Scholar and Overlord War Bear, a sneer on his face. He couldn't help but shake his head as he indifferently said, "115 Gold."

"One hundred twenty-one Gold! I don't believe that I can't surpass you even after I bid everything I have!" Although Overlord War Bear did not know Shi Feng's bottom line, the increment on his latest bid was much lower than usual; Shi Feng was definitely reaching his limit. Hence, War Bear immediately added six Gold to the bid. Shi Feng definitely could not take out so much money. "Brat, you're a hundred years too early if you think you can compete against me!"

"This is your bottom line?" Shi Feng calmly smiled. "One hundred thirty-five Gold!"

He increased the bid by 14 Gold in a single go. World Dominators would not be able to fill up this gap even if they included another second-rate Guild into their little alliance. As for recruiting a first-rate Guild, that was an extremely difficult matter to achieve.

"One hundred thirty-five Gold! How could this be possible! I must be dreaming! How could he possibly have so much money?! Isn't he just an independent player?!" Joking Scholar was immediately dumbfounded when he heard Shi Feng's bid.

As for Overlord War Bear standing beside Joking Scholar, he was fervently contacting other Guilds to form an alliance. However, although he received a favorable reply from another first-rate Guild, the condition set by that Guild was for them to receive the Forging Design instead of World Dominators. Naturally, Overlord War Bear refused this condition. Yet the few additional third-rate Guilds he managed to recruit barely had any money on them. Even after summing up all the additional Coins he received, Overlord War Bear did not have the right to shout out a bid at all.

"One hundred thirty-five Gold going once!"

"One hundred thirty-five Gold going twice!"

......

Even when the auctioneer's hammer landed for the second time, not a single Guild present was able to place a new bid. They watched blankly as the auction proceeded toward its end, powerless to do anything about it.

"One hundred thirty-five Gold going thrice!"

"Let us congratulate Mister Black Flame for obtaining this Arclight Shield Forging Design!"

Following which, a beautiful hostess brought the Forging Design to Shi Feng. After Shi Feng paid the 135 Gold to the Auction House, the hostess similarly handed the Forging Design over to Shi Feng.

After officially receiving the Arclight Shield Forging Design, Shi Feng wondered just what sort of Attributes the shield itself possessed. With such a thought in mind, Shi Feng tapped on the item and took a look at its description. Immediately, his lips curled up slightly in a smile.

Chapter 243 - bountiful harvest

Overlord War Bear and Joking Scholar felt great resentment for Shi Feng when they saw his smile; they thought Shi Feng was mocking them and looking at them in contempt.

In reality, Shi Feng's smile was purely due to his joy.

However, compared to when Overlord War Bear and Joking Scholar first met Shi Feng, they dared not underestimate him any longer. On the contrary, their eyes were filled with vigilance now.

Shi Feng showed everyone that he was more than capable of spending such a large amount of Coins. If someone were to say that Shi Feng did not possess any major power supporting him from behind, not even a ghost would believe them. The only question that remained was, what sort of power backed Shi Feng?

Since War Bear failed to complete the task given to him by his Guild Leader, his expression looked extremely bad right now. However, he was simply helpless in this matter.

One hundred thirty-five Gold. Even if every member of World Dominators pooled their Coins together, they still wouldn't be able to collect such an amount. It was only natural that he lost the bid.

Compared to Overlord War Bear, Joking Scholar was in a much more tragic situation.

First, he had ruined the matter of the business transaction. Now, he didn't even manage to buy a single item in the Blackwing Auction. What kind of explanation was he supposed to give his Guild Leader, Glorious Echo?

However, Shi Feng was very grateful for Joking Scholar. It was only thanks to Joking Scholar's greed that he managed to obtain so many forging materials.

As for the reason why he had smiled, it was simply because of the materials needed to produce the Arclight Shield. The main ingredients for producing it were Mithril Ore and Gold Ore. Though difficult, Shi Feng could still find ways to obtain the Mithril Ore. For Gold Ore, however, it was simply too rare in the Star-Moon Kingdom, not to mention White River City. However, Twilight Echo had given him quite an amount of them, enough for him to make plenty of Arclight Shields. As for the other material needed, it was the Magic Crystals that were dropped by the Bosses of Team Dungeons with a 100% drop rate. This item was not particularly precious. However, due to the amount dropped each time being low, it would be difficult for Shi Feng to mass-produce the Arclight Shield.

Furthermore, the Attributes of the Arclight Shield had far surpassed Shi Feng's original estimation, and he could already envision the popularity of the shield itself.

[Arclight Shield] (Shield, Fine-Gold Rank)

Level 15

Equipment Requirement: Strength 90

Defense +460

Block Rate: 37%

Strength +15, Endurance +25

Evasion +8

Additional Passive Skill 1-

Sound of Life: Every attack received will grant user a stack of Power of Life, increasing maximum HP by 3% and received healing by 1% for 1 minute. Maximum of 10 stacks.

Additional Passive Skill 2-

Refraction: Triggers once every 30 seconds. Becomes immune to one attack.

Leaving aside the shield's high Defense and Block Rate, just the passive skills Sound of Life and Refraction would greatly increase an MT's durability. Not to mention, the Basic Attributes of the Shield itself were also very good. The Arclight Shield was definitely an excellent piece of equipment.

If a 50-man team could have all their MTs equipped with the Arclight Shield, they might have a very high chance of successfully raiding the Normal Mode of a 50-man Team Dungeon right now.

"It should be about time for me to return." Shi Feng was very satisfied with his trip to Blackwing City this time. He had reaped a bountiful harvest.

First was the 50 million Credit agreement. Next was his successful recruitment of Aqua Rose. Now, he had even obtained the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. Most importantly, Aqua Rose was also going to bring her 100-plus elite players over. Their addition had instantly increased his Guild's overall strength by a large margin. The next problem he had to deal with was how he would integrate these new members into his Guild.

"Over a hundred people, huh? Aqua Rose has truly given me a huge help this time. Now, I won't have to worry about lacking members to raid the Demon's Castle." Shi Feng felt that it would not be enough just to have a Workshop. He needed to make some additional preparations and initiate his follow-up plans.

After Shi Feng departed from the Blackwing Auction House, he immediately mailed 300 Gold to Aqua Rose. He then returned to White River City, intending to await Aqua Rose and her allies' arrival at the Starstreak Trading Firm.

However, the process of mailing money to other players usually took between 30 minutes to an hour.

Hence, Shi Feng decided to first head to the Adventurer's Association.

Currently, none of the Guilds in White River City had their own Guild Residence yet. Members of various Guilds had to visit the Adventurer's Association in order to receive Guild Quests, which they complete to increase Guild Reputation and strengthen the Guild. Hence, the Adventurer's Association had become the second most-popular location in White River City.

Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Adventurer's Association, his communicator rang.

"It can't be this quick, right?" At first, Shi Feng thought Aqua Rose was contacting him. However, when he saw that the caller ID displayed actually belonged to Gentle Snow, he couldn't help but be shocked. "Don't tell me it's about the Mana Armor Kits again?"

Previously, Shi Feng had used quite a number of Basic Mana Armor Kits to trade for a few Advanced Whetstone Recipes with Gentle Snow. He had then let Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile learn the recipes. During this period of time, both girls had already been promoted to Intermediate Forging Apprentices, and were currently in the midst of striving to become Advanced Forging Apprentices.

Shi Feng couldn't help but admit that both of them were indeed future Master Forgers. Both of them improved very quickly. In addition, the more they forged, the higher their success rate. Currently, they already had a 20% success rate at producing the Advanced Whetstones. When compared to the forgers of other Guilds, the two girls were ahead by leaps and bounds. In a few more days, the two of them could very well be promoted to Advanced Forging Apprentices, becoming a true help to him.

"Miss Snow, did you find some new Advanced Whetstone Recipes?" Shi Feng asked.

"Master Black Flame, how could you hide such an important matter from me? I feel hurt." Gentle Snow faintly smiled.

"Hide? Miss Snow, you must be joking. I am a very superficial person that can easily be seen through. How could I possibly hide anything from you?" Shi Feng joked.

"Alright, stop acting. You placed yourself in the limelight at the Blackwing Auction House just now, and the news of this matter has long since spread throughout the various first-rate Guilds. Each and every one of them wishes to seek cooperation with you and purchase those Arclight Shields from you." Gentle Snow smiled as she continued, "Aren't we old friends? Shouldn't you sell them to me for a cheap price?"

"Your information gathering is truly efficient, Miss Snow." Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he said, "I can sell a few Arclight Shields to you. However, you must pay for them using Coins, or exchange for them using the Magic Crystals you obtained from Team Dungeons."

"Magic Crystals? Although the Bosses drop them every time, the amount they drop is minimal, yet these Magic Crystals possess a very wide range of uses. Let's just use Gold Coins. I wonder how much you are charging for them, Master Black Flame?"

"Alright, then. Since it is for you, Miss Snow, I won't rip you off. As the Arclight Shield is a Fine-Gold ranked shield, I imagine that you know how precious the materials needed to produce it are. Moreover, the success rate of producing it is also very low. I'll sell you each Arclight Shield for 25 Gold, no negotiations." Shi Feng had already expected Gentle Snow to decline exchanging the shields for Magic Crystals. However, it was much better for him if she used Gold Coins to buy them.

"Twenty-five Gold?! Even if I took the fluid funds of every Ouroboros branch in the Star-Moon Kingdom, I still won't have that much money! Can't we trade using Credits? How about 500,000 for each shield?" Gentle Snow was astonished by the Arclight Shield's price. However, she similarly knew of the difficulty of crafting a Fine-Gold ranked shield. If it were up to their forgers to make the shield, the cost might not even stop at just 25 Gold. Yet, it was clearly impossible for them to fork out 25 Gold to purchase an Arclight Shield, unless of course, they decided to stop the Guild's development. Still, halting development at this stage of the game would put the Guild into a decline, so they absolutely could not stop their development.

Currently, all the major Guilds were attempting to obtain the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon, while the Arclight Shield was a must-have item for them to get a lead over the other Guilds.

Faced with two difficult choices, Gentle Snow could only bitterly smile as she was caught in indecision.

"Alright, then. I'll exchange using Magic Crystals," Gentle Snow helplessly said. Ouroboros, a grand and mighty first-rate Guild, was actually poorer than a single independent player. Black Flame was truly a monster.

"That's fine as well. The exchange ratio would be 1-to-100. I'll notify you after I manage to produce them."

Shi Feng smiled as he disconnected the call. He then proceeded to enter the Adventurer's Association.

Chapter 244 - establishing the guild

At this moment, there was a crowd of players surrounding the Quest Board in the lobby of the Adventurer's Association.

Although the EXP awarded by these quests were negligible, the Guild Reputation they gave was very high. Moreover, each player was limited to only three Guild Quests a day.

A Guild could be promoted after it accumulated a set amount of Reputation, and the members of the Guild would receive much better Guild benefits such as bonus EXP when doing Quests.

"Excuse me, sir, what can I do for you today?" the blue-haired lady standing behind the reception counter asked Shi Feng, a smile on her face.

"I wish to establish a Guild," Shi Feng said.

"Understood. Please fill up this application form." The receptionist passed Shi Feng a Guild application form.

It was very easy for players to establish a Guild in God's Domain. Players only needed to decide on a name for their Guild and designate a Guild Emblem. They were then required to purchase a Guild Certificate for 10 Copper Coins and have at least seven independent players place their signatures on it. When all these things were completed, the Guild would then be officially established.

Newly founded Guilds would all start out as 1-Star Guilds, and the only benefit available for the members of a 1-Star Guild were the availability of the Guild Quests.

"Guild name, is it?" Shi Feng hesitated as he looked at the blank space meant for the Guild's name, wondering what he should write in exactly. After giving it some thought, he decided to stick with using the Zero Wing Workshop's name. In any case, along with the Guild's development and growing fame, his identity would sooner or later be leaked. "Let's name it Zero Wing, then."

Shi Feng then designed the Guild Emblem in the form of six silver wings.

After purchasing the Guild Certificate, Shi Feng sent Fire Dance and the others a Guild Signature invitation.

\---

Meanwhile, at the Black Wind Canyon, a Level 20 to Level 25 map, Fire Dance and the others were currently grinding on Level 22 Demonic Bats. They had come to this place under the suggestion of Shi Feng.

The reason Shi Feng had recommended it was because the Demonic Bats here belonged to the type of monsters that had high Attack but low HP. Most importantly, the monsters here were concentrated in number. Normally, the Demonic Bats would appear in groups of seven or eight, and any solo independent player would easily find themselves losing their lives here. However, to a party that had amazing AOE damage, this place was a holy land for leveling up.

In the case of Fire Dance's party, Fire Dance herself was responsible for luring the monsters, as she had the highest Movement Speed out of everyone in the party. She would lure over a hundred monsters every time, and afterward, the Guardian Knight, Cola, would activate Protection Blessing and cast Devotion, a group aggro skill, to gather the monsters into one location. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud would be responsible for healing Cola, while Blackie would get rid of all the monsters in a single blow.

Throughout this process, everyone's cooperation and grasp of timing was perfect.

If other players were to witness this scene, they would definitely be shocked into a daze.

Presently, the average level of players was only at Level 12 or so, while professional players would be around Level 13. Even the number one player on White River City's Ranking List, Lone Tyrant, was only at Level 15 right now.

Yet, Fire Dance and the others had long since passed Level 15. Even the lowest leveled player in the party, the Oracle, Gluttonous Mouse, was Level 18. Meanwhile, Blackie, who was the highest leveled player in the party, was currently at 45% of Level 19. Although there was only a gap of one level between the two players, the difference in EXP could allow a player to directly rise from Level 0 all the way up to Level 15.

"Huh? What is this message?"

While taking a break, Fire Dance and the others simultaneously received a Guild Signature invitation. As long as they agreed to the invitation, they would immediately become official members of the Guild after the Guild was established.

Originally, Fire Dance and the others had intended to immediately reject the invitation. However, their hands unanimously paused when they saw the name of the Guild.

"Zero Wing? Isn't that the name of our Workshop?" Blackie asked, curious.

"This is an invitation sent by Big Brother Ye Feng! Big Brother Ye Feng is finally going to establish the Guild!" Violet Cloud said excitedly when she noticed that one of the names inscribed on the Guild Certificate was Ye Feng. She then said with joy, "Great! We will have our own Guild in the future!"

"Isn't it still too early to establish the Guild? We only have so few members right now. Brother Feng had also said before that we are lacking in members, and that we need to wait for some time before establishing the Guild. Did something happen?"

"Don't bother about this for now. We should put our signatures first." Fire Dance was similarly surprised by Shi Feng's sudden decision. However, since Shi Feng had decided to do so, he must have had his own considerations. Moreover, it wouldn't be a bad idea to establish the Guild ahead of time.

Immediately, everyone in the party clicked "Agree."

They then received a system notification.

System: Congratulations on becoming a member of Zero Wing!

System: This is your first time joining a Guild. Activating Guild System.

\---

On the other side, Shi Feng had already left the Adventurer's Association, returning to the Starstreak Trading Firm.

At this moment, the Starstreak Trading Firm was packed with players. The trading firm was currently the most lively location in White River City, second to none.

"Hey, bro, I see that you're here to buy those Basic Mana Armor Kits, right? With so many people lining up here, you would need to wait at least a week before you can even get one for yourself. However, I have here a way to help you save your time, letting you jump the queue to buy the Mana Armor Kits in advance." A thinly built Swordsman walked around the entrance of the Starstreak Trading Firm, chatting up the players lined up outside the building.

"Really?" A player clearly grew interested.

"Of course. A Basic Mana Armor Kit costs 20 Silver Coins, while you only need to pay 2 Silver Coins to skip the long wait to buy it," the thin Swordsman said with a smile.

"Alright, bring me there. It's just an extra 2 Silver Coins. Our party won't miss this little amount of money."

Following which, the thin Swordsman led the player up to the second floor, skipping the long queue on the first floor.

"Really, any sort of business goes, huh?" Shi Feng couldn't help but exclaim after seeing this sight.

The Basic Mana Armor Kits were in high demand. However, the Starstreak Trading Firm only sold 50 pieces of the item each day, so only a very small number of players could obtain them.

However, this couldn't be helped. Shi Feng couldn't just focus all his attention on producing the Basic Mana Armor Kits. He still had many things he needed to do.

The Basic Mana Armor Kit was simply an item for him to accumulate reputation. It was not meant to be a true money-maker for him.

Afterward, Shi Feng arrived at the fourth floor of the trading firm and entered a Forging Room. He then started forging the Arclight Shield.

During this crucial period, many Guilds were thinking of how they could obtain the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon. Naturally, the equipment of their MTs became the top priority in their considerations, especially the shields their MTs used. Meanwhile, an excellent shield like the Fine-Gold ranked Arclight Shield would, without a doubt, attract the attention of these Guilds.

As long as Shi Feng placed the Arclight Shields up for sale, many Guilds would definitely pay a huge sum in order obtain it.

Hence, the sooner he produced the Arclight Shields, the higher the price he could sell them for.

However, the success rate for forging a Fine-Gold ranked item was extremely low.

A normal Advanced Forging Apprentice only had a 2% success rate, meaning that, out of 100 tries, they would only successfully produce two Arclight Shields. In reality, however, they might not even be able to produce one out of 100 tries.

However, Shi Feng had both the Book of Forging and Blacksteel's Insignia. He also had the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and various other tools that increased his forging success rate.

Even so, his final success rate at forging a Fine-Gold ranked item only sat at around 20%. In addition, Shi Feng was not familiar with the forging process of the Arclight Shield, so his success rate should be much lower than 20%.

If he was promoted to a Basic Forger, his base success rate would increase to 5%. However, that still wouldn't make much of a difference. Only by becoming an Advanced Forger would there be a significant improvement. With the 10% base success rate of an Advanced Forger, in addition to the various supporting tools Shi Feng had, his success rate for forging a Fine-Gold ranked item could reach up to 30%.

However, Shi Feng needed to invest a lot of time in order to become an Advanced Forger, and time was something he sorely lacked right now. He had no choice but to give it a try now. In any case, he had plenty of materials to experiment with. He could simply try again if he failed.

Chapter 245 - gold

Before Shi Feng started forging the Arclight Shield, he decided to first forge a few Basic Mana Armor Kits to serve as a warm-up.

After God's Domain evolved, the process of forging grew more complicated, greatly increasing the difficulty of producing an item. Unlike the Advanced Whetstones and Basic Mana Armor Kits, which were still considerably simple to make, items such as weapons and equipment had a much more complex forging procedure.

"It should be about time I give the shield a try." After Shi Feng produced tens of Basic Mana Armor Kits, he finally retrieved the Silver Ore and Gold Ore needed to forge the Arclight Shield. He had also received the Magic Crystals from Gentle Snow in advance.

Gentle Snow had wanted to obtain the Arclight Shields as soon as possible, so Shi Feng required her to send him the Magic Crystals in advance.

Shi Feng had received a total of 200 Magic Crystals from Gentle Snow. Such an amount was sufficient for 20 attempts to produce the Arclight Shield.

Shi Feng only had a 20% success rate for forging the Arclight Shield. It was the lowest success rate he had ever had since he started forging equipment. However, if any other forger were in his shoes right now, they might not be able to produce even one Arclight Shield out of several hundred sets of materials.

Those conceited Guilds thought that they could easily produce the Arclight Shield after obtaining its Forging Design. However, if Shi Feng had not won the bid for the Forging Design, by the time those Guilds managed to produce a single Arclight Shield, the 50-man Team Dungeons would have long since been conquered.

In order to gain experience, when Shi Feng started his first attempt at forging the Arclight Shield, he went through the process slowly and steadily, carrying out each step to the best of his abilities.

Before he knew it, Shi Feng had spent over 20 minutes producing the first Arclight Shield.

Compared to a normal shield, the Arclight Shield had a crescent-shaped design. The entire shield was colored in silver, and many runic patterns were carved on the shield's body. Although the shield looked mighty and powerful at first glance, it was still unknown whether it was a failed or successful product.

Shi Feng then chose to generate the shield's data.

After ten seconds of waiting, the identification process for the shield was completed.

"As expected, it's a failure," Shi Feng sighed when he took a look at the shield's data. Although it was indeed an Arclight Shield, its quality was a rank lower than the original; it was only Secret-Silver rank.

[Arclight Shield] (Shield, Secret-Silver Rank)

Level 15

Equipment Requirement: Strength 90

Defense +330

Block Rate: 31%

Strength +10, Endurance +20

Evasion +3

Additional Passive Skill 1-

Sound of Life: Every attack received will grant user with a stack of Power of Life, increasing maximum HP by 2% and received healing by 1% for 1 minute. Maximum of 10 stacks.

Additional Passive Skill 2-

Refraction: Triggers once every 50 seconds. Becomes immune to one attack.

"From a general point of view, though, it is not a bad result, all the same. At the very least, it is still a Secret-Silver ranked shield. I should be able to sell it for a good price even then." Shi Feng was relatively satisfied with this failed product. After all, a Secret-Silver ranked shield remained a rare item at this stage of the game.

According to Shi Feng's knowledge, a majority of the core MTs of second-rate and third-rate Guilds were still using Mysterious-Iron ranked shields. If he sold this failure, he could still earn around 6 to 7 Gold Coins from it.

Although he had failed this time, it was not a complete failure. At the very least, it did not turn out as a scrap item. This partial failure indicated that he must have made a mistake somewhere during the forging process.

"There shouldn't be any problems with the forging of the main body itself. I must've messed up when I was carving the runes on the shield, preventing it from reaching Fine-Gold rank," Shi Feng concluded after carefully reviewing his actions. According to past experiences, if a problem had truly occurred during the formation of the shield, then the Arclight Shield wouldn't just fall by a single rank. It wouldn't even be unusual for the shield to end up being Bronze rank or lower.

Afterward, Shi Feng did not rush to start his second attempt. Instead, he carefully studied the runes he had carved on the Arclight Shield.

The inscription of the runes were mainly done using the Magic Crystals. However, the process of completing these runes was not easy, as Shi Feng did not truly understand their meaning. He could only make blind imitations of the drawings.

Although he did not understand the meaning behind the runes, if he practiced drawing them over and over, it should still yield some positive effect.

Hence, Shi Feng started practicing drawing the runes.

Once... Twice... Ten times...

Every drawing took around four to five minutes to complete. However, as the number of times he practiced increased, he grew more proficient at drawing the runes. The runes he drew now also started resembling the original.

This cost-free way of practicing was much more economical than learning through actual production. Shi Feng naturally wouldn't mind more practice.

"This should be enough." Shi Feng looked at the latest rune he drew, feeling extremely satisfied with it. This imitation of his looked practically the same as the rune shown on the Forging Design.

Hence, Shi Feng started his second attempt at producing the Arclight Shield.

This time, the entire forging process of the shield flowed very smoothly. Shi Feng had only spent around 10 minutes to complete the second Arclight Shield. However, his attempt this time ended in complete failure.

Shi Feng's 20% success rate did not stand on his side this time around.

Following which, Shi Feng consecutively produced ten Arclight Shields. Moreover, with each successive shield he made, the time he spent producing them also decreased. His hands also moved with much more proficiency. Out of the ten Arclight Shields he made, only two barely achieved the passing standard, two ended up as defective products, while the remaining ones were complete failures. As for the two defective shields, one was Mysterious-Iron rank, while the other was Secret-Silver rank.

In general, the results were quite good.

However, Shi Feng was still unsatisfied with the quality of the Arclight Shields.

"Now that I am proficient at making the Arclight Shields, the next step would be increasing its quality. If I can let Cola use a Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Shield, our chances at clearing the Demon's Castle would become much higher." Shi Feng decided to take out the Runic Gold, the reward he obtained for his promotion to Advanced Forging Apprentice.

Not only could the Runic Gold increase his success rate by 10%, there was also a small chance for it to increase an item's rank by one, up to a maximum of Dark-Gold rank.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng only had five of these things, meaning that he only had five chances to produce a Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Shield.

The Runic Gold was a piece of ore that gave off a metallic glow and contained runic energy within it.

After refining the Runic Gold, Shi Feng poured the molten Runic Gold into the Silver-Gold alloy. Immediately, a change occurred in the alloy. The originally bright red alloy turned dark red in color. Moreover, it also started greedily absorbing the energy of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame.

As the amount of energy it absorbed increased, the alloy started emitting many golden runes, slowly forming an array of runes.

Knowing that the fusion was completed, Shi Feng immediately retrieved the scorching hot alloy from the furnace, placed it on the anvil, and started hammering on it. Slowly, the piece of alloy started taking on the shape of an Arclight Shield, and on the shield's surface, there was even a layer of naturally occurring golden runes. The shield looked incredibly holy.

After hammering for several minutes, Shi Feng finally formed the Arclight Shield. Immediately, he retrieved a black liquid and started drawing the runes on the shield. The black liquid was the liquified product of the Magic Crystals.

Shi Feng concentrated his full attention on each and every stroke, afraid of making even the slightest mistake.

When he completed the final stroke, the naturally occurring golden runes on the shield actually melded together with the runes Shi Feng had drawn. Together, they formed completely new golden runes possessing no resemblance to the black runes found on the previous Arclight Shields Shi Feng made.

"Please be a success!" Shi Feng timidly selected to identify the shield.

Although the Arclight Shield looked absolutely perfect appearance-wise, whether it was a success or a failure still depended on the final data.

One second... Two seconds...

This time, even after 20 seconds had passed, the system was still unable to determine the shield's exact data. This situation caused Shi Feng to grow slightly nervous.

The longer identification time indicated that even the system itself was hesitant. "In the end, is it a success or a failure?" Shi Feng had carried out the entire forging procedure perfectly. At the end of the day, however, his success rate was only 30%. Oftentimes, when the identification process took longer than usual, there was a higher chance that the result was a failure.

Finally, after 30 seconds passed, the system returned the identification results.

System: Arclight Guard has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 2 points. Obtained 80,000 EXP.

Chapter 246 - neither nor strong

"Success on the first attempt? It seems my luck really is good." Shi Feng revealed a faint smile when he heard the system notification sound.

Along with the Arclight Shield's promotion to Dark-Gold rank, a change occurred to its name as well.

Shi Feng then started inspecting the silver-colored, crescent-shaped shield that was placed on the iron-weave felt. He was extremely curious to find out just what sort of Attributes the Arclight Guard possessed.

[Arclight Guard] (Shield, Dark-Gold Rank)

Level 15

Equipment Requirement: Strength 110

Defense +550

Block Rate: 39%

Strength +21, Endurance +30

Evasion +10

Additional Passive Skill 1-

Sound of Life: Every attack received will grant user with a stack of Power of Life, increasing maximum HP by 3% and received healing by 2% for 1 minute. Maximum of 10 stacks.

Additional Passive Skill 2-

Refraction: Triggers once every 25 seconds. Becomes immune to one attack.

Additional Skill-

Time Arc: When activated, allows the user to save current state, and return to saved state 9 seconds later.

Cooldown: 10 minutes

"Isn't this Time Arc skill overpowered?! No wonder there wasn't much of an improvement on the other Attributes. Just this skill alone made the Arclight Guard deserving of being a Dark-Gold ranked shield," Shi Feng exclaimed.

Saving current state, which was to say, after nine seconds, even if the user of the Arclight Guard died, they would still recover to their saved state. The Cooldown of skills used after Time Arc was invoked would recover as well. Compared to a skill that provided invincibility, Time Arc was a much more amazing skill. The only downside to this skill was its long Cooldown. However, when taking into consideration the heaven-defying effect of this skill, a 10-minute Cooldown was considerably short. If the Cooldown of this skill was any shorter, then the Arclight Guard would no longer be just a Dark-Gold ranked shield, but an Epic ranked shield instead.

Although Shi Feng had already made one Arclight Guard, he was still not satisfied; he wished to make even more Arclight Guards.

Deciding so, he used up the remaining four pieces of Runic Gold when forging the Arclight Shields. However, the results were horrible. Out of his four attempts, two were complete failures; they did not even achieve Bronze rank. As for the remaining two Arclight Shields, one achieved Secret-Silver rank, while the other achieved Fine-Gold rank.

However, such a success rate was already very good. He had used a total of five Runic Gold to forge the Arclight Shields. Among them, one had achieved Dark-Gold rank, one had achieved Fine-Gold rank, and one had achieved Secret-Silver rank. Out of the three shields, Shi Feng would naturally save the Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Guard for Cola's use. With the Arclight Guard, they would have no problems raiding the Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon, the Demon's Castle.

Just as Shi Feng thought of carrying on with forging Arclight Shields, someone knocked on the door of the Forging Room.

"Come in."

When the door to the Forging Room opened, a golden-haired beauty walked in. This person was none other than Shi Feng's assistant, Anna.

"Your Excellency, an adventurer named Aqua Rose wishes to meet you. She says she has an appointment with you, and she is currently waiting in the meeting room on the third floor," Anna said respectfully.

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," Shi Feng nodded his head.

Shi Feng had similarly guessed that Aqua Rose should arrive right about now. After all, teleportation occurred instantaneously. Aqua Rose only needed to gather her subordinates, explain to them the situation, and make some future plans.

\---

Inside the meeting room on the third floor, Aqua Rose and her hundred-plus subordinates were seated around the room, having a small discussion about matters relating to Shi Feng.

These players all had relatively high Levels. The lowest out of all of them was Level 13, while the others were Level 14. Even if placed inside a first-rate Guild, all these players would be considered elite members.

These players were all Aqua Rose's most trusted aides.

Before they had arrived here, they hadn't dared to imagine that there would actually be someone willing to spend 300 Gold Coins to bring them to this place. If the organization this person belonged to wasn't extremely rich, then this person was just insane!

However, after they discovered that Shi Feng actually had a connection with such a large trading firm, their thoughts immediately changed. Not only did Shi Feng manage to achieve something that no other Guild had achieved, his fame in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom could already be described as the sun in midday.

It was especially true for the recently popular Basic Mana Armor Kit. This was an item that plenty of Guilds could only dream of having.

If they could be a part of the power Shi Feng belonged to, then couldn't every one of them obtain their very own Basic Mana Armor Kit? This was definitely a treatment that no other first-rate Guild could provide.

"Big Sis Aqua, just who is that Black Flame? Is he in the upper management of a Super Guild?" a female Swordsman curiously asked.

Aqua Rose shook her head, a bitter smile on her face as she replied, "I don't know, either. He has always been very mysterious. However, I believe that we will be able to find out his true identity today."

In truth, Aqua Rose was also interested in finding out the truth. However, now that they were going to join the power Black Flame belonged to, Black Flame would have no need to hide the truth from them. They could finally take a look at the giant hidden behind Shi Feng.

"Sorry to keep all of you waiting."

The moment Shi Feng walked into the meeting room, everyone inside immediately fell silent. Everyone present stood up as they looked at Shi Feng, deep veneration in their eyes. They were like interviewees standing up to welcome their interviewer; some were nervous, while some were excited.

After leaving Twilight Echo, they were like homeless little birds. Although they wished to soar higher into the sky, they did not possess a home they could return to. Feelings of helplessness and disappointment constantly filled their minds as they wondered what sort of future awaited them.

However, the situation was different now. They would be joining an even greater family now. At this moment, these ex-members of Twilight Echo rejoiced over the fact that they had chosen to leave Twilight Echo together with Aqua Rose, praising themselves for making a wise decision.

After all, a bright future had already opened its doors to them!

"I am the one who should be sorry for making Master Black Flame wait for us for so long," Aqua Rose apologized.

"Since we will be companions in the future, stop referring me as Master this or Master that. Just call me Black Flame." Shi Feng could sense the cautiousness behind Aqua Rose and everyone else's actions. However, this was to be expected. "I have only asked you all to come here so that I can invite everyone into the Guild first. Later on, Miss Aqua can freely decide how you all wish to develop yourselves. I won't set any restrictions for you. Right, here is a copy of the White River City Guidebook. After you are done reading it, you should be able to familiarize yourself with White River City, Miss Aqua."

Saying so, Shi Feng sent a copy of the luxury version White River City Guidebook to Aqua Rose. Simultaneously, he had sent everyone present a Guild invitation.

"Zero Wing?"

"What is this Guild?"

"Why is it only a 1-Star Guild? Wasn't it supposed to be some sort of hidden power?"

Everyone entered a daze for a long time after they received Shi Feng's Guild invitation. Ignoring the fact that they had never even heard of such a Guild, just having status of a 1-Star Guild showed how weak Zero Wing was. The reason being, even third-rate Guilds at this stage of the game were 3-Star Guilds, not to mention first-rate Guilds.

After taking a look at the member count of the Guild, everyone was further dumbfounded.

Before they had joined, this Guild only had nine members? What kind of Guild was this?

Zero Wing was the weakest Guild they had seen so far, second to none.

Even Aqua Rose herself was shocked by this revelation. The current situation was completely different from what she had imagined it to be. She had thought Shi Feng would be bringing her to meet the many great characters of this Guild, allowing her to get a grasp on the frightening background of the Guild. Yet, the truth that Shi Feng revealed had far exceeded her expectations.

The reason being, the influence of this Guild could literally be determined in a single glance.

"You all must be very disappointed to find out that my Guild is actually so weak, right?" Shi Feng looked at everyone's crestfallen expressions. Suddenly, he said in a cold voice, "Let me give it to you straight. This, this is Zero Wing. It is neither weak, nor strong. It is merely a home that you can stay in. As for how others are going to view us, it will depend on your own performances."

Chapter 247 - seizing the ranking list

Although they felt that what Shi Feng said was logical, their disappointment still did not decrease by the slightest.

Out of everyone present, only Aqua Rose's fighting spirit truly ignited.

She was the only one who truly understood the meaning of Shi Feng's words.

Strength that depended on one's self rather than others.

The best example for this was Shi Feng who stood right before them. His Guild was clearly very weak. Yet, he managed to achieve many things that not even many first-rate Guilds and even Super Guilds could. As a result, he made everyone believe that there was a mysterious power secretly supporting him from behind.

However, what was the reality of the matter?

By depending on only himself, Shi Feng had created a miracle.

He had even overwhelmed everyone back at the Blackwing Auction, causing a sensation.

Since Shi Feng was capable of such feats, why couldn't she do so as well? At this moment, Aqua Rose truly found it laughable when she recalled how she had intended to utilize the mysterious power behind Shi Feng to prove herself to her parents and everyone back at Twilight Echo.

"Black Flame is right. How powerful a Guild is, is not important. How powerful we are, ourselves, is the crucial point. Since we have joined Zero Wing, let us be the ones to change how others view Zero Wing," Aqua Rose explained loudly, in complete agreement with Shi Feng's opinion.

Everyone fell silent at Aqua Rose's words, but a fiery fighting spirit could be seen growing in their eyes.

That was right! They had originally intended to start from the very beginning. Now that they had a wealthy tycoon like Shi Feng supporting them, what more should they be afraid of?

A Guild's development mainly relied on financial resources. The remaining factors would be the presence of experts to lead the Guild in raiding Team Dungeons and completing Epic Quests that were impossible to complete.

They would definitely turn Zero Wing into the number one Guild in White River City.

At this moment, Shi Feng sent Fire Dance and the others a message:

"You can start now."

Immediately, Shi Feng received a reply:

"Understood."

After seeing this message, Shi Feng's gaze shifted towards everyone present in the meeting room. He then announced loudly, "I know that some of you still have some worries, so I'll give you all a little surprise. I'll let you all get a better understanding of just what Zero Wing is."

"A better understanding of Zero Wing? Does this Guild still have any secrets?"

Everyone grew confused at Shi Feng's words. Everything about this Guild was clear in one glance, so what secrets could there possibly be? The only thing that could possibly be a secret was the Guild's frightening financial resources. With such a large fortune, they should have no problems getting their hands on the various welfare benefits that players would receive upon joining a Guild. Moreover, Black Flame was the publicly acknowledged Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom. In the future, Guild members would have no lack of weapons and equipment to use. However, this shouldn't count as a secret, right?

"Everyone can take a look at White River City's Ranking List now," Shi Feng said softly.

"Ranking List?"

Everyone promptly called out the Ranking List to take a look.

"Is there something wrong with the Ranking List? I remember that when I came to White River City, the top player on the Ranking List was Lone Tyrant. At that time, he was only at Level 15. How did he suddenly become Level 19? Did the system make a mistake?"

"No, that's not right! Look at the player ID! It's not Lone Tyrant!"

"It might not be a mistake by the system. Look, the top eight players have all been switched out. Even the player at eighth place is Level 18 now. Lone Tyrant is still Level 15, and he's placed ninth now. How is this possible?"

"Level 18! Isn't this level too much of an exaggeration? Even at the Storm Empire, the highest leveled player is only at Level 16. How could White River City possess eight players who have managed to surpass the top player at Storm Empire?"

"Wait! These players all belong to the same Guild, and the Guild's name is called... Zero Wing!"

Everyone was dumbfounded when they discovered the changes in the Ranking List. They trembled, not daring to believe their own eyes. These eight players were actually their Guild members.

However, everyone's hearts were filled with questions.

If Zero Wing had eight such powerful experts, why did the Guild remain unknown to the public even until now? This was simply unimaginable.

"This is the strength of Zero Wing?" At this moment, Aqua Rose started renewing her evaluation of Shi Feng and this Guild.

Although Zero Wing was small, it was a gathering of experts.

Wealth, manpower, and finally, fame. As things were, Zero Wing possessed the foundation necessary to become a large Guild.

As long as they managed the Guild benefits they offered properly, Zero Wing could easily become a large Guild within a short period of time. It was no wonder Shi Feng looked so confident.

Meanwhile, as Aqua Rose and her subordinates were reeling over their new discovery, the entire White River City had already been thrown into an uproar.

Lone Tyrant, who had been monopolizing the first position on White River City's Ranking List all this time, had actually been kicked off by someone else. Moreover, he wasn't just kicked off by a single person, but by eight. The sudden appearance of these eight players made Lone Tyrant's previous glory look like a joke. It was as if these eight players had merely been giving in to Lone Tyrant before, just like how an adult would indulge a little child. Now, however, they were no longer letting Lone Tyrant have his way.

Otherwise, how would they explain this situation where eight players had instantly taken away the top eight spots on the Ranking List? There was only one possible explanation: they had constantly been hiding their levels.

"These people are inhuman!"

"Crap! The first place is Level 19, and even the eighth place is Level 18! I've only managed to hit Level 13 after working so hard. Are they trying to make me despair?"

"God, carry me, please!"

"What kind of backing does this Zero Wing have? Aren't they a little too amazing? Is some major power planning to set up a stronghold in White River City?"

Many players within the White River City region were stirred up by this incident. The top eight positions on the Ranking List were actually taken over by a single Guild; one could just imagine how powerful this Guild was. Even Ouroboros, the number one Guild in White River City, was not as powerful.

Many independent players had started making inquiries into just what kind of Guild Zero Wing was.

There were even some independent players who had directly asked how they could join Zero Wing on the public forums.

After all, with such leveling monsters in the Guild, wouldn't they too be able to level up like a rocket if they joined?

Suddenly, Zero Wing had become the hottest topic for every player in White River City, and many had expressed their willingness to join such a Guild.

Although independent players went into raptures over Zero Wing, the various large Guilds, on the other hand, were having a headache over it. They held nothing back at investigating this new Guild that suddenly popped up and also the top eight players on the Ranking List.

However, the information they received made Zero Wing look even more mysterious, as they failed to find out even who the Guild Leader of Zero Wing was.

The only thing they knew was that Fire Dance had once occupied the first place on the White River City Ranking List. In addition, the other seven players had also once been among the top ten of the Ranking List. Meanwhile, all eight of these players shared a common point.

All eight of these players had vanished from the public eye for quite some time now.

Previously, everyone had assumed that they had gone silent because they were overtaken on the list.

However, the reality of the matter was that these players had intentionally hidden themselves simply to avoid discovery until now.

\---

"Can someone tell me what is going on here?" Lone Tyrant looked at the Ranking List, bellowing, "Just where did these bastards pop out from?"

At this moment, nothing was more humiliating for Lone Tyrant than his position on the Ranking List. His past glory was already worthless now. Instead, he had become the laughingstock of everyone in White River City.

"Guild Leader, I've already investigated these players. It seems that all of them are associated with Ye Feng. Moreover, I've also looked up Zero Wing at the Adventurer's Association. The Guild was registered only recently, and it is possible that it is a Guild formed by Ye Feng himself," a Ranger said.

"Good. Very good. At first, I thought that he had hidden himself out of self-awareness after I placed a bounty on him. However, it seems he is taking me lightly! Since he has come out to slap me in the face, and has even started a Guild in White River City, I will make him regret his decision! Immediately find out all the members belonging to Ye Feng's Guild! I want his Guild destroyed!" Lone Tyrant bellowed as he announced a command to the entire Guild. He had to destroy this Guild and flatten Shi Feng at all costs. Not only was he doing this for himself, it was also the command of that mighty personage.

Chapter 248 - extraordinary starts out from ordinary 

Lone Tyrant wasn't the only person who was enraged by the matter of the Ranking List. The other Guilds in White River City were similarly furious.

The Ranking List was a place for Guilds like them to increase their reputation. Although such a method of advertising was not as effective as obtaining the First Clear of a Dungeon, if they could occupy the Ranking List for extended periods of time, it would still bring about significant effects.

Now, however, Zero Wing occupied eight of the top ten positions, and many Guilds were disgruntled over Zero Wing's monopoly of the Ranking List. These Guilds couldn't help but wish they could invite Zero Wing's Guild Leader and give him a piece of their mind to relieve their dissatisfaction.

\---

At the Level 18 map Pyroxene Mountain, a 20-man elite team was currently clearing out the Level 18 Six-armed Stone Monkeys here.

The Six-armed Stone Monkeys were monsters with large bodies. Although they were two meters in height, their movements were extremely agile. Their Physical Defense was very high, and their only weakness was their low Magical Resistance. Hence, using large-scale magic attacks against these monsters would be very effective. Moreover, the Six-armed Stone Monkeys lived in groups on this mountain, and players could very easily lure a group and promptly kill them.

"Snow, the Ranking List has been occupied by Zero Wing. Moreover, their levels are all very high. It would be very difficult for us to catch up to them. It really makes you wonder how they managed to level up so quickly." Zhao Yueru currently sat on a rock, resting as she replenished her Mana. After receiving a report from her subordinate and promptly taking a look at the Ranking List, she was immediately shocked by what she discovered.

As a player who had originally ranked within the top ten of the Ranking List, Zhao Yueru knew very clearly just how large a gap there was between Level 15 and level 18. At the very least, she would need to spend another week grinding before she could even reach Level 18.

This was equivalent to saying that these eight players would remain on the Ranking List for another week at the very minimum. However, this was assuming they did absolutely nothing during the entire week. If they were to continue grinding and leveling up at their current pace, who knew when there would be a change to the top eight positions?

"As expected, they are very strong. That Ye Feng has quite the ambition as well, even though he usually maintains a low profile. It seems that he has finally decided to take action now." Gentle Snow did not feel any shock when she looked at the IDs of the top eight players.

"Snow, have you known all along?" Zhao Yueru asked, confused. She had a very clear understanding of Shi Feng's capabilities. Shi Feng's strength, leadership ability, and observation ability were above average; however, these traits alone were not enough for him to establish a Guild. Establishing a Guild was not as easy as playing a game of house since forming a Guild signified one's intentions to compete for dominance with the other Guilds.

For a small Guild like Shi Feng's, maintaining a low profile would be more beneficial. If they did so, most of the large Guilds would not have paid much attention to them. However, now that they'd done the exact opposite, they were practically telling the other Guilds to come at them.

"Mm, after they decided to hide their levels, I figured that their levels were not that simple. Ye Feng did not wish others to know, so he kept them hidden. Only, I never imagined that their actual levels would be so high." Gentle Snow was greatly interested in these talents. She inwardly lamented the fact that these experts could only stay holed up in such a small Guild. If they joined Ouroboros, they would definitely shine with even greater brilliance.

If they stayed in such a small Guild, they would very quickly fall.

After all, a Guild needed financial resources to develop itself. Gentle Snow firmly believed that Shi Feng did not possess a frightening amount of financial resources, especially Gold Coins. There was also the lack of manpower. It would be impossible to develop a Guild in God's Domain just by relying on several players. In addition, they would also have to suffer the oppression of other large Guilds. Hence, Gentle Snow determined that Zero Wing would not last long at all.

However, at the end of the day, Shi Feng was still her friend. Hence, Gentle Snow sent a message to Shi Feng, congratulating him on establishing Zero Wing. As to how he should develop his Guild, as an outsider, it would not be good for her to make any suggestions.

\---

On the third floor of the Starstreak Trading Firm, the situation was not as grim as Gentle Snow believed it to be.

If Gentle Snow could see this scene right now, she would definitely be shocked. After all, not only did Shi Feng possess enough funding, he had also managed to recruit a group of players who had recently left a first-rate Guild, Twilight Echo. He had also managed to recruit Aqua Rose, who was once an honorary elder of Twilight Echo.

As someone who had once managed a first-rate Guild with over 10,000 subordinates, Aqua Rose possessed a wealth of experience. Hence, when placed in a situation where she had a large amount of financial resources but only a small Guild of slightly more than a hundred players to manage, she could carry out her tasks with little to no effort.

"Guild Leader, I have received your intentions. I will increase our member count up to 5,000 to the best of my abilities. As for the matter relating to the Guild perks system, for the moment, I will implement Twilight Echo's Guild perks system as a temporary replacement. However, I hope that you can draft it as soon as possible. Otherwise, once some time passes, it would not be as easy to make changes to it." Aqua Rose now had a good grasp of Zero Wing's situation, and she felt very optimistic about Zero Wing's future prospects.

Wealth, manpower, and fame. With all three things together, it would be very easy for them to recruit a large batch of new members.

"Then, I'll have to trouble Miss Aqua with this matter." Plans could never keep up with change. Based on his original estimates, it would still have been a long time before he established his own Guild. However, with the sudden addition of Aqua Rose, Shi Feng could not afford to wait any longer. Even if his preparations were currently lacking, he still needed to establish the Guild. Moreover, he had intended all along to deal with these Guild matters as soon as possible; it was just that he still had other things he needed to handle. Now that there was a professional standing right before him, why wouldn't he make use of her?

"Guild Leader Black Flame, I am already the Vice-Leader of Zero Wing. Please just call me Aqua from now on. If Guild Leader doesn't have any other orders, then I will start making the necessary arrangements now," Aqua Rose said in a professional tone. Maybe because she had received a new position, Aqua Rose had very quickly entered a superwoman mode.

Shi Feng could only take a step back in this matter. He then returned to producing the Arclight Shields and Basic Mana Armor Kits.

Later on, the members of the Guild continuously increased. The reason being, Shi Feng had set the exchange of Basic Mana Armor Kits as one of the perks available to Guild members. This item held a fatal attraction to independent players, and if new members wished to obtain them, they needed to exchange for them using Guild Contribution Points.

Meanwhile, there were many methods for them to obtain Guild Contribution Points:

1) Dungeon diving.

2) Exchanging Bronze ranked equipment or above.

3) Making a contribution to the Guild - the upper management of the Guild would reward players who made a contribution with Contribution Points.

4) Carrying out Guild Quests - Contribution Points would be awarded by the system in this case.

5) Personal Guild Reputation received reaching a certain amount.

Hence, with so many methods available, Guild members would have no need to worry about not being able to earn sufficient Guild Contribution Points.

However, to prevent abuse by opportunistic players, further restrictions were added to increase the difficulty for Guild members to obtain the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Above all, one had to contribute a set amount of Reputation Points to the Guild before being allowed to exchange for the Armor Kits. Secondly, one needed a large number of Guild Contribution Points to exchange for the Armor Kits. Meanwhile, the total value of these Guild Contribution Points was no lesser than 20 Silver Coins.

With these two safeguards present, there would be no opportunity for Guild members to abuse the Guild perks system implemented.

Meanwhile, during the time Shi Feng was producing the Arclight Shields and Basic Mana Armor Kits, Aqua Rose had also arranged for her subordinates to recruit players at the Trade Area and Adventurer's Association.

After half a day of recruitment, Zero Wing's member count increased explosively. From the original hundred or so members, there were now over 3,000 players in the Guild. Moreover, the tide of players wanting to join the Guild showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"Big Sis Aqua, the number of players wanting to join the Guild hasn't decreased at all. If this situation continues, we can easily recruit double the target of 5,000 members. Should we increase the number of players we recruit?"

"Follow the original plan; we won't be able to handle so many players right now. If we did so, it would instead force the Guild into a period of stagnation, hindering our development. Increase the entry requirements for the Guild; raise the minimum level requirement from Level 11 to Level 12."

Under Aqua Rose's management, the newly recruited Guild members started taking on Guild Quests. Aqua Rose's direct subordinates had also split up and formed new parties to raid Party Dungeons, upgrading the equipment of the new members. Everything was flowing smoothly at Zero Wing, and it did not look like a newly established Guild at all.

Before he knew it, nighttime arrived at God's Domain. After making a large number of Basic Mana Armor Kits and three Fine-Gold ranked Arclight Shields, Shi Feng immediately logged out of the game.

The reason being, the Jin Hai Fellowship Party that Shi Feng had been looking forward to was being held today. He needed to make some preparations before he attended the party.

Chapter 249 - gathering of elites

The first rays of the morning sun pierced through the window, shining on Shi Feng, who was currently working out in the living room.

Currently, Shi Feng no longer carried out the intense muscle exercises of the past few days. He quietly stood still for a long time, before slowly lowering his body, entering into a horse stance[1]. Closing his eyes, Shi Feng relaxed his body. Suddenly, his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply. He then exhaled, a trail of white mist coming out of his mouth.

Like a water pistol, the white mist that shot out from his mouth managed to actually reach a distance of over two meters before gradually dissipating.

If any normal person were to witness this scene, they would definitely be shocked by it. The season right now was summer. Yet, Shi Feng had recreated a scene that could usually be found only during winter time.

After repeating this process for an hour, Shi Feng stopped his rhythmic breathing.

"The effect of this Eight-sectioned Brocade exercise is quite good. I've only trained in it for an hour, and I can already feel my body becoming lighter. The exercise has also significantly cleared my mind." Shi Feng clenched and released his fists. His entire body felt comfortably warm, and his five senses felt keener than usual.

This Eight-sectioned Brocade exercise was something he had accidentally stumbled upon in the past, after becoming the Guild Leader of Shadow, when he visited an antique shop.

Originally, he had planned to test the effectiveness of the exercise. However, after the company hired a martial arts master as an instructor at the Workshop, Shi Feng gave up on that notion.

During those days, people were already going crazy over God's Domain. In order to improve their actual combat skills, they would practice martial arts like madmen. Naturally, Shi Feng was no exception. At that time, however, he was no longer young, and his body was similarly no longer in its prime. The things he could do were limited, and the most he could do was practice some Taichi and Eight Trigram Palms, training his techniques as much as he could.

However, his current self was different. Not only had he started consuming Nutrient Fluids at a much earlier period than in the past, after undergoing several workout sessions, his current body's physique far surpassed the one of his past.

There was a saying in martial arts: "Internally, spirit and breathing are practiced; externally, muscles, bones, and skin are practiced." Meanwhile, Shi Feng related this saying to the Eight-sectioned Brocade.

Only, he had not thought the exercise would yield such good results.

Although the exercise did not increase his body's strength, it refreshed his psyche and allowed him to remain calm at all times. Such an effect was an unexpected harvest for Shi Feng.

After Shi Feng had his breakfast, he received a call from Zhao Ruoxi. She said that she was going to give him a ride to the Fellowship Party.

When Shi Feng arrived downstairs of his apartment, he immediately discovered Zhao Ruoxi standing in front of a blue sports car. She wore a pure white dress today, while her hair was tied up into a double ponytail. Her pure and beautiful appearance attracted the attention of every man that walked past her, sending them into a daze as drool leaked out of their mouths.

"Let's go." Zhao Ruoxi smiled sweetly when she noticed Shi Feng walking over.

"Is this your car?" Shi Feng looked at the blue sports car before him, feeling somewhat surprised. Suspicion of Zhao Ruoxi's identity started growing within him.

This blue sports car was a limited edition Maglev Ferrari Z75, and it had a selling price of six million Credits. One would not be able to find one even in the entire Jin Hai City, yet Zhao Ruoxi actually owned one herself.

"Of course. What? Surprised? It's just that, normally, I don't like driving it to school. However, we are going to a formal occasion today, so I need to make an impression." Zhao Ruoxi nodded her head slightly in reply. "Hurry up and get on. The venue of the Fellowship Party is quite a distance away."

Although Shi Feng was mildly astonished by this new revelation, he didn't attempt to delve further into the matter. After all, everyone had their own secrets. Hence, he slid into the passenger seat. Soon after, Zhao Ruoxi stepped on the accelerator, and with a whoosh, the Ferrari Z75 sped along the road of the neighborhood.

Envy filled the eyes of the many pedestrians walking on the street as they watched the Ferrari Z75 speed down the road. They inwardly wished that they too could drive such a sports car one day.

The trip, which should have taken over an hour by car, was reduced to just slightly over 30 minutes by Zhao Ruoxi.

"Hmm? Are you carsick?" Zhao Ruoxi asked curiously, looking at Shi Feng's pale complexion after she alighted from the car.

Shi Feng was a fighting expert within the school, and he was a person capable of knocking down a powerhouse like Zhou Yuhu in a single move. Yet, he had actually gotten carsick. If others heard about this, probably nobody would believe it.

"It's nothing. My body just feels slightly uncomfortable. It might be due to the breakfast I had this morning." Shi Feng casually made an excuse. In truth, however, Shi Feng really wanted to say, "You call that driving? That's practically attempted murder!" However, since Zhao Ruoxi had brought him here out of goodwill, he naturally would not say such words.

"Then, have you taken some medicine?" Zhao Ruoxi asked in worry, blinking her eyes.

"..." Shi Feng turned speechless.

The Jin Hai Fellowship Party was being held at a five-star hotel. Although the event was organized by Jin Hai University, the participants were not limited to the students and staff of the university. Other universities and elites of society would also be participating in this event, and it would not be an exaggeration to call this Fellowship Party a gathering of elites.

The Jin Hai Fellowship Party was an annual event held in Jin Hai City. Even though plenty of people wished to participate in this event, not everyone received the chance to actually do so. Moreover, the Fellowship Party held today was unlike any other before it. Aside from having invited personages that participated in Jin Hai City's fighting competition, the event organizers had also invited many experts from gaming workshops this time around.

As to why they would decide to invite such gaming experts, it was mainly due to the growing popularity of God's Domain. People could already see the limitless potential of God's Domain. Hence, many wished to form a good relationship in advance with these gaming experts. The decision of the event organizers was undeniably the correct one to make, because several years from now, every single gaming expert that participated in this Fellowship Party would grow to become a famous celebrity in Jin Hai City.

Just as Zhao Ruoxi and Shi Feng were about to enter the hotel, Shi Feng was unexpectedly blocked by the security guard at the door.

"I'm sorry, sir, but your name is not on the list of invited guests. You cannot enter this place," the tall and robust security guard leader said in a cold voice, looking at Shi Feng with a sharp gaze.

This security guard leader was a former member of the Special Forces, and he had experienced multiple battlefields before. The murderous intent he radiated could scare most of the people he met, and others usually did not dare to look directly at him.

If a normal person was the focus of the stare of this security guard leader, their hearts would immediately palpitate with fear as they redirected their gaze somewhere else. Yet, even after receiving this security guard's glare, Shi Feng's expression still remained as placid as before, his lack of reaction confusing this security guard greatly.

"That's not possible. I registered Shi Feng myself. Can you check again?" Zhao Ruoxi's brows wrinkled. She had personally gone to the Student Council at the university, and had directly handed two person's worth of participation fees to the Student Council President. How was it possible that she was registered, while Shi Feng was not?

The security guard captain scanned Shi Feng once more. In the end, the results he got still showed him as "Unknown" and that he was not allowed entry. To make sure that nothing was wrong with the machine, he tried it on other people as well, and the results showed that nothing was wrong with the machine.

"That's not right. I registered both of us together. I'll contact He Youcai. Something must've gone wrong somewhere. I'll get him to fix it immediately," Zhao Ruoxi said.

"Sorry, but I have to do things according to the rules. Anyone not registered is not allowed to enter. Impromptu registrations are not acceptable, either. These are the rules," the security guard captain said coldly.

"Who is the person responsible here?" Zhao Ruoxi asked angrily.

Shi Feng was someone she had personally invited. Now that Shi Feng was barred entry, how could she not get angry?

"Miss, please stop making things difficult for me. This is how the rules have always been. I can't change it just because of one person." The security guard captain could not help but soften his tone when he discerned that Zhao Ruoxi's identity was not simple.

At this moment, several people walked out from the hotel. One of them was none other than the person Zhao Ruoxi was looking for, the President of the Student Council, He Youcai. Walking beside him were people Shi Feng were familiar with: Ling Feilong, Zhou Yuhu, and Qin Shuyu.

Meanwhile, it was Shi Feng's first time to meet the Student Council President, He Youcai. The person in question had a stout body and round face, and his voice when he spoke was extremely gentle. It was very hard to imagine such a person being able to actually become the Student Council President.

"Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, what urgent matters do you have? Why are you looking for me so frantically?" He Youcai asked.

Zhao Ruoxi then gave a short summary of what had happened.

"I am truly sorry about this, fellow student Zhao Ruoxi. I never would have imagined that such a mistake would occur in the registrations. I sincerely apologize, but since things have already gotten to this point, I am helpless as well; these are the rules that the school set long ago. Regarding your loss, I'll compensate you with double the amount you paid." He Youcai sent a glance at Shi Feng, a smile on his face as he spoke.

Standing to one side, both Ling Feilong and Zhou Yuhu looked at Shi Feng with mocking smiles on their faces. Even an idiot could tell that this matter had something to do with them.

Chapter 250 - serious inquires only

"Helpless about it?" Zhao Ruoxi's eyes widened in rage. "He Youcai, this is your mistake! You need to think of a way to fix this!"

At this moment, Ling Feilong stood out and interrupted, saying in a gentle tone, "Ruoxi, you know that this is only a small mistake. Something must've gone wrong with the system, so you can't just put the blame on He Youcai."

"Then what should Shi Feng do? Since you already know something went wrong, does that mean Shi Feng is allowed to go in now?" Zhao Ruoxi completely ignored Ling Feilong, directly asking He Youcai, "In any case, you can prove that Shi Feng has indeed registered for this event. Shi Feng also has no problem proving that he is a student of our school. Don't tell me that this is still not enough?"

"Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, I can indeed verify that Shi Feng has registered for this event. However, whether he can enter or not is not up to a Student Council President like me to decide. You have to ask this big brother security guard here." He Youcai shifted his gaze towards the security guard leader, instantly pushing all responsibility on the security guard. He Youcai then revealed a bitter smile, making the situation seem as if it had nothing to do with him.

The security guard's mouth clearly twitched when he listened to He Youcai's words.

He Youcai obviously did not help Shi Feng register for this event to begin with, yet He Youcai was pushing everything on him now? If He Youcai insisted that Shi Feng be allowed into the hotel, what could a mere security guard captain like him do?

He Youcai had already made his intentions very clear.

Absolutely not allowed—that was He Youcai's answer.

However, looking at Zhao Ruoxi, she too did not seem like someone he could provoke. Otherwise, why would He Youcai even bother making so many superficial excuses?

Caught in a dilemma, this security guard captain did not know which would be the wiser choice to make.

Currently, Zhao Ruoxi's wrathful gaze had already shifted to the security guard captain. She asked in a grim tone, "What do you say?"

"Me?" Even though he had experienced many battlefields before, the security guard captain could not help but hesitate at this moment. In the end, however, he still said strictly, "I have my responsibilities. Miss, please don't make things difficult for me."

"You!"

"Class Monitor, it's fine. This matter can't be helped. If I can't enter, so be it."

Shi Feng held back the raging Zhao Ruoxi. He then beamed a smile towards He Youcai and the others who were really good at spoiling his good fortune.

"It is great that fellow student Shi Feng can understand my troubles. This was truly an accident. I guarantee that there will not be a similar situation like this the next time," He Youcai sneered.

"Right. A situation like this won't happen the next time," Zhou Yuhu laughed loudly.

Ling Feilong sent a contemptuous smile at Shi Feng, before saying in a gentle tone to Zhao Ruoxi, "Ruoxi, let's go. Uncle Jianhua has been anxiously waiting for you for a while now."

"Why is Uncle Jianhua here?" Zhao Ruoxi was clearly surprised when she heard this name. However, when she thought about how Shi Feng's problem still remained unsolved, a sudden inspiration flashed across her mind. "That's right! Uncle Jianhua is one of the sponsors for the Fellowship Party! He should be able to get you in!"

"Shi Feng, wait here. I'll ask Uncle Jianhua to come immediately. That way, you'll definitely be able to enter."

Shi Feng nodded his head in reply. He then watched as Zhao Ruoxi frantically walked into the hotel. In the next instant, however, Shi Feng noticed Ling Feilong sending a cold smile his way.

Shi Feng felt a bad premonition at this sight.

Seeing that Zhao Ruoxi had left, He Youcai revealed a mocking smile as he said, "Fellow student Shi Feng, please return from whence you came; this Fellowship Party is not fit for someone like you." He then told the security guard leader, "Remember, he is not allowed to set even a foot in this building. Otherwise, you can just pack up and leave."

"Understood."

Finished speaking, He Youcai and the others walked back into the hotel, their laughter filling the air as they left. The security guard then fixed his gaze at Shi Feng. As long as Shi Feng dared come near this building, he would personally chase him out.

However, Shi Feng did not react in anger. On the contrary, he was feeling extraordinarily calm right now.

_If you don't want me to go in, then so be it. In any case,_ _I don't have to actually be in the party to do what I came to do_ _._ Shi Feng turned around and left, the corner of his lips raised slightly.

The Jin Hai Fellowship Party held at this time was the perfect chance for him to recruit new members for his Guild. If he were to miss it, who knew how long he would have to wait before another such chance arrived?

The reason why a small Guild like Shadow could survive in God's Domain was mainly due to the group of people they had recruited at this event. This group of people had helped Shadow endure its hardest times. Otherwise, with the little manpower Shadow possessed, there was no way they could avoid annexation by a large Guild.

Although Zero Wing already had a powerhouse like Aqua Rose and also a group of elite players in its midst, a Guild could never have an excess of powerhouses and elite players.

Since he was not allowed to recruit inside the event venue, it should be fine if he did it outside, right?

Hence, Shi Feng visited a nearby printing shop. Soon after, he set up a large sign a short distance away from the venue of the Fellowship Party.

"Zero Wing Guild recruiting new members! Serious inquiries only!"

Although the color of the words on the sign was monochrome and looked somewhat shabby, it still clearly conveyed the meaning Shi Feng wanted. As to whether or not others would recognize the sign for what it was...

Shi Feng was not worried about that one little bit. After all, Zero Wing's fame was not limited to just White River City, but the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. On the official forums of the Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing's popularity had long since gone off the charts.

Not to mention having eight players occupying the top positions on the Ranking List, the levels of these players had even exceeded everyone's imaginations.

The lowest leveled player among them was Level 18. This was a level that elicited awe in others. Even when ranked throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, these eight players would still be the top eight players. Not to mention a first-rate Guild, even an apex first-rate Guild could not achieve such a feat.

How could people not yearn to join such a Guild?

Hence, many independent players wished they could join Zero Wing. There were even thousands of threads posted on the forums by independent players, all of them expressing their intentions to join Zero Wing. However, Zero Wing only recruited members at White River City, so not everyone could actually join the Guild.

Shortly after the sign was raised, it had already started attracting attention.

"Little Hao, look at that sign! It's actually Zero Wing recruiting members!"

"Zero Wing Guild? How is that possible? That Guild is very mysterious. I heard that the strength of the eight great experts of that Guild is several times more amazing than even the experts of first-rate Guilds. How could they be recruiting members at this place? If it really is Zero Wing recruiting, I will definitely be the first one to apply."

The passersby who noticed this sign immediately started a discussion among themselves. After all, Zero Wing was simply too famous right now. They could only be described with words such as "mysterious" and "strong."

\---

Meanwhile, in one of the lounges on the tenth floor of the hotel was an old man dressed in luxurious clothing. Although the man was already in his fifties, he had a keenness that belied his age, his sharp gaze capable of seeing through people's hearts. This person was none other than Zhao Jianhua.

"Second Uncle, why have you come here today?" Zhao Ruoxi smiled sweetly at this old man after entering the room.

Zhao Jianhua was the younger brother of Zhao Ruoxi's father. He was also one of the board members of the Zhao Group. However, Zhao Jianhua did not have any children of his own, so he had always loved Zhao Ruoxi dearly as if she were his own daughter, treating her like the most delicate flower in the world.

"Of course I am here to take a look at you. You're always staying at school recently, not bothering to even pay a visit back home," Zhao Jianhua replied with a doting smile.

"Second Uncle, you're one of the sponsors for this get-together, right? I have a friend who wishes to join this event as well. Could you let him in?" Zhao Ruoxi said sweetly, grabbing and shaking Zhao Jianhua's arm.

"Are you referring to that Shi Feng?" Zhao Jianhua's brows wrinkled, his expression sinking immediately.

"How did you know, Second Uncle?" Zhao Ruoxi asked curiously.

"I was the one who arranged for him to be barred from entering. He is merely a mediocre person that came from an ordinary family. You shouldn't associate with such a person. You are the Zhao Group's successor, an elite standing at the very top of the pyramid of society. Others will gossip about you if they learn that you are associating with this kind of person.

"I am very clear about people like this Shi Feng. People like him will do whatever it takes to get ahead, and there is no limit to the amount of flattery he'll spout. He does not like you at all; he simply covets the assets of the Zhao Group. I definitely won't allow him to continue tricking you. As for Shi Feng's side of things, I will speak with him personally."

Chapter 251 - great trees are good for shade

Zhao Ruoxi was silent for a long time after receiving Zhao Jianhua's lecture.

Zhao Ruoxi never would have thought that her second uncle, who had always pampered her to the extreme, would say such words to her. Moreover, he had described Shi Feng as such an ugly person. There was clearly a serious misunderstanding here; someone had definitely worked on him.

"Second Uncle, whom did you hear this from?" Zhao Ruoxi did not immediately refute Zhao Jianhua. Instead, she wanted to find out just what was going on right now.

"It isn't important who told me about it. Ruoxi, in the future, you are not allowed to associate with people like Shi Feng anymore. This is also elder brother's wish." Zhao Ruoxi had already been corrupted by Shi Feng, and nothing he said would actually change her mind. Hence, he needed to take decisive measures to end their relationship once and for all. Afterwards, he would approach Shi Feng and have him completely distance himself from Zhao Ruoxi.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruoxi found herself stuck between laughter and tears. She knew that her second uncle was saying these things for her own good. However, she and Shi Feng clearly weren't in the kind of relationship her second uncle thought they were in; they were merely classmates. Yet, judging from her second uncle's words, it sounded as if she and Shi Feng's relationship had already reached the point where they were inseparable lovers joined together at the hip. Zhao Ruoxi couldn't help but laugh as she said, "Second Uncle, since when did you start providing cover for someone? Let me guess... this person must be Ling Feilong, right?"

"That's right. It is indeed Ling Feilong." Since Zhao Ruoxi had already guessed correctly, Zhao Jianhua did not contradict her. Instead, he straightforwardly argued, "Shi Feng is only a nobody. On the other hand, I feel that this child, Feilong, is not bad. Not only does he look good, he is also ambitious and possesses great skills in fighting. Nowadays, the popularity of God's Domain has already reached never-before-seen heights, and I hear that Feilong brat is even in the upper echelon of the Shadow Guild. He also has a very good insight towards the future. Yet, instead of choosing a youth with good potential like him, you chose to go with an incompetent person. I am sure elder brother would stand together with me on this matter as well."

"Second Uncle, you're really misunderstanding things here! There isn't anything between me and Shi Feng!" Zhao Ruoxi was utterly at a loss for words. Rather, she felt furious about Ling Feilong's actions. However, she was inwardly rejoicing as well right now. Thanks to Shi Feng's appearance, she could finally see Ling Feilong's true colors clearly.

"Misunderstand? Your second uncle possesses discerning eyes, and I very much understand your situation. In any case, I will absolutely not allow that brat to enter this event. I am still capable of that, at least." Zhao Jianhua did not believe Zhao Ruoxi's words. He knew how very sly Zhao Ruoxi had been since her childhood. In any case, he refused to be fooled in this matter.

Zhao Jianhua was not some shrewd businessman, nor was he part of the Zhao Group's management. Instead, he was a fighter that loved martial arts. Only afterwards did he start handling the security department of the Zhao Group. The real boss of the Zhao Group was Zhao Ruoxi's father, Zhao Jianxuan.

Hence, Zhao Jianhua had always liked future professional fighters like Ling Feilong. After all, only a strong man could properly protect his own woman. Yet, what was Shi Feng? Zhao Jianhua had had Shi Feng investigated, and he discovered that Shi Feng was only a weakling who was constantly bullied by others. A person like Shi Feng was simply too unreliable. Hence, Zhao Jianhua was adamant at ending Zhao Ruoxi's relationship with Shi Feng this time.

While Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Ruoxi were having their discussion, Ling Feilong, who was outside the door, eavesdropping on their conversation, secretly felt delighted.

Although he could not directly defeat Shi Feng, he could still play Shi Feng to death using a roundabout approach. In addition, he had also informed Zhao Jianxuan about this matter in advance. With both Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Jianxuan vehemently opposing their relationship, even if Shi Feng had seduced and captivated Zhao Ruoxi's heart completely, the two of them could never be together. Hence, as long as he could develop himself in Shadow, becoming one of the core members of the Guild, Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Jianxuan would definitely support his pursuit of Zhao Ruoxi.

After obtaining the wealth of the Zhao Group, he could easily take control of the entire Shadow Guild. At that time, what would Shi Feng amount to? What would Zhang Luowei amount to? What would Lan Hailong amount to?

"Youcai, you've done well this time. I'll put in a few good words for you when I meet up with Brother Zhang next time. After you graduate, just come to Shadow," Ling Feilong said with satisfaction, patting He Youcai, who stood beside him in a deferential manner.

"This is but a trivial matter. In the future, I will be relying on Brother Long for support," He Youcai said with a smile.

Although He Youcai, as the Student Council President, was indeed an amazing character in Jin Hai University, after he graduated from the school, however, he would only amount to nothing. Nobody in society would give a damn about him. Aware of this reality, He Youcai had no choice but to agree to Ling Feilong's request to remove Shi Feng's registration for the Fellowship Party. Furthermore, Zhou Jianhua himself had even instructed him not to allow Shi Feng entry into the event. Since he could satisfy both parties with just an action, killing two birds with one stone, why wouldn't he do so?

Only, neither He Youcai nor Ling Feilong knew that, at this moment, the hotel's surroundings had become extremely lively. Originally, the Jin Hai Fellowship Party was a well-known event throughout Jin Hai City. Hence, many reporters and media outlets would show up to cover it. There was also no lack of onlookers hanging around the event venue.

However, the outside of the event venue was much livelier compared to previous years. Instead of just a small crowd, there was a sea of people here. Young and old, tall and short, all kinds of people could be seen lining up on the streets. Some of the uninformed passersby even thought an international celebrity had showed up at this place. It made them wonder just what these people were lining up for.

"Little brother, what's happening in front? Why are there so many people lining up here?"

"Huh? You don't know? The Zero Wing Guild is recruiting members."

"Zero Wing Guild? What's that?"

"Of course it is Star-Moon Kingdom's most amazing and mysterious Guild!"

"What's Star-Moon Kingdom?"

"Crap! Have you even played God's Domain before? You don't even know that? Which hole did you crawl out from?"

"..."

The passersby mostly consisted of office workers, and they usually worked from 9am to 5pm. Their lives were mostly taken up by their work, so how would they find the time to play a game? Naturally, they would not know anything about God's Domain. However, when these office workers looked at the hundreds of people lining up, many of them started feeling confused about the game called God's Domain. They wondered just what sort of game God's Domain was, to actually have such a strong influence on so many people.

It was simply a Guild from a game recruiting members. Yet, there were actually several hundred people applying to join. Moreover, the numbers were still increasing without end. In a short moment, the number of people applying might even break through to the thousands. However, the most unfathomable thing was that even the reporters from television stations were running over to carry out a live broadcast on this situation.

Just what sort of situation was this?

"Isn't it just membership recruitment for a Guild in a game? You can't even earn a cent from playing a game, so what's the point of wasting so much time lining up? What foolish people," one of the passersby who was a white-collared elite mockingly laughed.

The instant this white-collar elite said those words, many of the people lining up immediately turned contemptuous gazes at him, as if they were looking at an idiot.

"What an idiot. He doesn't even know what membership recruitment by a Guild in God's Domain means. No doubt he'll be in the rat race all his life."

"What are you minding him for? How would he know that when a Guild is recruiting members in reality, they are also recruiting professional players for the Guild's gaming workshop. A white-collar elite like him would be earning four to five thousand Credits a month. He would naturally look down on us part-timers who can only make two to three thousand Credits a month."

"What are you saying? That's the salary for an outer member of a Guild. If we become official members, then we'll have a minimum salary of 5,000 a month. Meanwhile, elite members could get at least 10,000. Zero Wing is also recruiting quite a lot of members this time. They're recruiting 300 outer members, 100 official members, and 20 elite members. With so many available spots, we might even get a chance to join Zero Wing."

"I guess you're right. I also hear that core members get a base salary of 50,000 Credits. I wonder just how much the eight great experts of Zero Wing are earning each month."

"I hear that their salaries are over 10 million. Previously, there had been a financial corporation that offered them an astronomical amount of 8 million, yet, none of the eight experts had even reacted to it. Zero Wing's wealth is simply unimaginable."

The players lining up started a discussion among themselves. However, the white-collar elite was no longer as calm as he was before. After all, he had only managed to obtain a monthly salary of 5,000 Credits after attending countless interviews and working for his current company for three years. Yet, he was barely comparable to an official member of a gaming guild. Moreover, these gamers were only working part-time during the night. Suddenly, this office-worker had the urge to join the queue as well.

While Shi Feng was interviewing player after player on the street, his actions had also attracted the attention of the guests participating in the Fellowship Party. It was especially true for the large-scale Workshops in Jin Hai City. Some of the professional fighters that planned to start their career in God's Domain also grew interested by this sight.

"Hahaha! Zero Wing has actually showed up at this place! Attending this Fellowship Party this time wasn't a waste of my time at all!"

"Zero Wing Guild? Let's hurry up and meet up with that person! This is a great chance for our Workshop! Who knows how many people and financial corporations are trying but failing to meet someone in the upper echelons of the Guild. We are truly fortunate to be able to meet one at this event."

Chapter 252 - I am a coward

On the highest floor, the 36th floor, of the Golden Bridge Hotel, the Jin Hai Fellowship Party had officially started.

Most of the participants present at this event were well-known figures from various sectors of Jin Hai City. On the contrary, only a minority consisted of students who were about to graduate from Jin Hai University.

The Jin Hai Fellowship Party held this year was the grandest one yet, and the number of people invited this year was also the highest compared to past occasions. As a result, the soon-to-be graduates of Jin Hai University were provided with more career prospects. This was especially true for players of God's Domain. Many people from all walks of life had an optimistic view on God's Domain's future, because aside from allowing its players to experience battles and adventures, God's Domain also allowed players to enjoy various lifestyles and forms of entertainment. The array of activities one could experience in God's Domain was much more abundant than in the real world, and this aspect of the game allowed many corporations in the real world to integrate and develop themselves in the game.

Currently, there was an energetic old man in his sixties, who wore a white tunic, sitting at a corner of the event venue. Meanwhile, surrounding the old man were some of the most influential and powerful figures of Jin Hai City. Zhao Ruoxi's second uncle, Zhao Jianhua, was seated among these powerful personages as well.

"Are they not here yet?" the old man in the white tunic suddenly asked He Youcai who stood beside him.

"They've already arrived, but..." He Youcai's expression faltered as he hesitated on his words.

The elderly man before him was both the Headmaster and Chairman of Jin Hai University, Xu Wenqing, and he was a very influential man in Jin Hai City. The reason being, under Xu Wenqing's tutelage, many students had graduated from Jin Hai University with outstanding achievements, and such a contribution made Xu Wenqing a well-known and well-respected character in the various sectors of Jin Hai City. Xu Wenqing's influence was so great that he could easily send Jin Hai City into an uproar with his words alone.

"Speak," Xu Wenqing suddenly said in a cold voice.

"They're outside right now..." He Youcai answered feebly, the sudden pressure making the knees of an inexperienced youth like him go weak.

"Since they're already outside, why aren't they coming in?" Xu Wenqing questioned, "Don't tell me they want this decrepit old man to invite them in?"

"Who do they think they are? They actually want Elder Xu to invite them in? Do they think that, just because they're good at playing a game, they can disregard us?" Zhao Jianhua angrily said.

"You few, go take a look at the situation and call them up. Tell them that I said so." Xu Wenqing felt that something was amiss after light contemplation. Aside from the professional players from gaming workshops, quite a few well-known figures from fighting competitions were still absent from the event as well.

"Yes." Receiving the command, Xu Wenqing's bodyguards, who stood by his side, immediately took the elevator down the hotel. These bodyguards wore black suits and black sunglasses, and all of them had tall and robust bodies.

"I don't understand what is going through these people's minds. What's the point of staying downstairs instead of coming up? Has something happened downstairs?" Zhao Jianhua felt furious at the absentees, and his view of professional gamers lowered even further now. In his opinion, no matter how good a gamer was, they were, in the end, still gamers. Without corporations supporting and financing them, they would only remain as small fries in society.

"I, too, am curious. Just what sort of mentality do young people have nowadays? Maybe we old folks are no longer able to keep up with the changing times?" said a middle-aged man dressed in black martial artist clothing with a self-deprecating laugh. As if he was a great ocean, the man gave others a calm and gentle feeling, and one would not be able to find a hint of energetic spirit coming off this man.

However, nobody present in the room would dare look down on this middle-aged man. The reason being, this man was Jin Hai City's well-known martial arts master, Chen Wu. Several years ago, Chen Wu was the reigning champion of Jin Hai City's fighting competition. He was the uncontested number one back then. However, now that he was older, he no longer participated in any fighting competitions. Instead, he had started his own dojo in Jin Hai City, which was very well-received.

"Master Chen Wu must be joking. Young people nowadays just don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. It is only a virtual reality game. With Master Chen Wu's skills, if you entered that game called God's Domain, you can easily become one of the apex experts there," Zhao Jianhua said.

"The real world and the virtual world are different things entirely. Moreover, times have changed. The future belongs to the younger folk now." Chen Wu shook his head. As a martial arts practitioner, he was very sensitive towards matters that occurred around him. He could clearly feel the change of an era approaching quickly. It was especially true with the appearance of God's Domain. Ignoring the fact that corporations all over the world were already investing in God's Domain one after another, just the number of players the game had already surpassed one's imagination. Anybody could easily tell how huge a potential God's Domain had. Moreover, there had to be yet another secret being kept hidden about God's Domain.

Although Chen Wu did not know what exactly this secret was, he did know that it was a secret capable of attracting the countless corporations around the world to scramble madly over. The virtual reality game known as God's Domain was definitely not as simple as it appeared to be.

Meanwhile, although the various major corporations in Jin Hai City had similarly invested in God's Domain, they were simply like stray cats that smelled the scent of fish. They had no idea at all what sort of secrets God's Domain possessed.

After Chen Wu and Zhao Jianhua chatted for a bit, Xu Wenqing received a call from one of his bodyguards.

"Elder Xu, the people down here say that they have an important matter they need to do right now. They will need some time before they can go up."

"Important matter? What could be more important than the Fellowship Party this time? Don't they want the sponsorship and support from other corporations anymore?" Xu Wenqing's tone turned grim. Although he did not show it on his face, many who knew Xu Wenqing's temper immediately realized he was angry.

"It seems that they are trying to meet with one of Zero Wing Guild's upper management. However, there are too many people lining up right now, so it will be some time before they are done."

"Zero Wing Guild? Is it a Guild from God's Domain?" Xu Wenqing asked, curious.

Wasn't it just a gaming guild? Was there a need for so many famous gaming workshops to try to suck up to it?

Could this Zero Wing Guild be a very powerful existence within God's Domain?

Although Xu Wenqing did not play virtual reality games himself, he was still familiar with the well-known Guilds within the virtual reality world. Even so, Zero Wing was not among the famous Guilds he knew of.

"They say that Zero Wing is an extremely famous Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. In certain aspects, Zero Wing is even superior to first-rate Guilds. Many corporations are also wishing to meet the upper management of Zero Wing. However, due to Zero Wing being overly mysterious, nobody has ever found a chance to make contact, so none of them want to miss this chance right now."

"Putting it in such a way, this means that Zero Wing Guild isn't an existence that can be ignored." Xu Wenqing grew interested in this Zero Wing Guild, especially since such a Guild had appeared in a city like Jin Hai City. "To think that such an amazing Guild has appeared in our Jin Hai City without this old man knowing. Since it is so, invite this representative of Zero Wing Guild to come up and have a chat. This old man wishes to see just what kind of person this representative is."

Moreover, it would not be a good thing to have so many participants of the Fellowship Party staying downstairs instead of being present at the actual event. He might as well have the representative of Zero Wing come up. That way, the guests from other gaming workshops could also participate in the Fellowship Party.

Everyone was shocked when they heard Xu Wenqing actually inviting an unknown guild representative to the Fellowship Party.

\---

Meanwhile, outside the Golden Bridge Hotel, Xu Wenqing's bodyguards had already met up with Shi Feng. They then relayed their employer's intentions to Shi Feng, inviting him upstairs.

However, to these bodyguards' surprise, Shi Feng immediately rejected the invitation.

"Mister Shi Feng, Elder Xu is wholeheartedly inviting you to join him upstairs. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed," the leader of the bodyguards patiently persuaded Shi Feng.

"I understand. However, I am still not done with the recruitment here. Also, even if I do agree, you'll have to ask the people lining up here if they'll agree to let me go." Shi Feng smiled as he pointed at the long line in front of him consisting of over a thousand people. He then continued, "Moreover, even if I am willing to go with you, someone inside will also chase me out again. I am a coward. That person has threatened me and said that I am not allowed to set even a foot in the hotel. I still have many people I need to interview, so please stop making things difficult for me."

Xu Wenqing's bodyguards were immediately rendered speechless. Wasn't this just blatant disregard of them? However, they had no choice but to report this matter back to Xu Wenqing.

\---

"What? Someone is threatening him from entering?" Xu Wenqing couldn't help but laugh when he heard these words. He then said, "Then, tell him that, as long as this old man is here, I guarantee that nothing will happen to him in this Fellowship Party, and nobody will dare chase him out."

"However, he still says that he doesn't dare enter. He doesn't wish to be chased out for a second time," the bodyguard said helplessly.

"Chased out for a second time? Does that mean he was originally a guest of this Fellowship Party?"

"Yes."

Xu Wenqing was stunned. However, anger immediately shot to his head when he finally reacted. Someone had actually dared to chase out a guest that he invited! Wasn't this just giving him a slap across his old face?

"Who? Who dares chase away a guest I invited?" At this moment, Xu Wenqing's voice turned extremely chilling. Although he was not a martial artist himself, the pressure he emitted caused many of those present to become fearful.

The bodyguard trembled as he slowly said, "He Youcai."

Chapter 253 - five demon general

"Good! Very good!" Although Xu Wenqing was smiling, the tone he spoke with was as chilling as the winter cold.

At this moment, even an idiot could tell that Xu Wenqing was furious.

Due to the conversation being held over the phone, nobody but Xu Wenqing himself could hear what his bodyguard had said. However, based on the words Xu Wenqing had spoken, the people around him knew that someone had done something to badly anger Xu Wenqing.

Where a matter such as chasing away an invited guest was concerned, neither Chen Wu nor Zhao Jianhua had such courage to do so, as doing so was equivalent to giving Xu Wenqing a slap across his face. Everyone valued their prestige. Since this person had dared give Xu Wenqing a slap, then this person shouldn't expect Xu Wenqing to welcome it with a smile.

At this moment, Zhao Jianhua, Chen Wu, and everyone else started feeling pity for the person that angered Xu Wenqing.

This was practically bearding the lion in its den[1], a truly suicidal action.

However, they were also very curious about the person that dared to chase away an invited guest. They wanted to know just who this daring person was.

"He Youcai, come over here." Xu Wenqing looked at He Youcai, who was cluelessly standing at one side.

Confused, He Youcai thought Xu Wenqing had some orders for him to carry out, failing to notice that Xu Wenqing's chilling intent was directed at him.

"Go downstairs and invite that person up here. If he isn't willing to come up, then you don't have to come back, either," Xu Wenqing said coldly.

"Headmaster, this..." He Youcai was utterly confused about the meaning of Xu Wenqing's words.

"You'll naturally understand after you go downstairs." Xu Wenqing sent a glance at the bodyguard beside him. The bodyguard intuitively understood Xu Wenqing's intentions, and he immediately grabbed He Youcai and dragged him towards the elevator.

"Headmaster Xu, there must be a misunderstanding somewhere! I really didn't do something like that!" He Youcai shouted in a panic, the fat on his body jiggling.

Even if he was given a hundred lives, he would never dare kick out an invited guest. He was merely a student of Jin Hai University, and nobody among the invited guests was someone he could afford to offend.

If he had to name someone that he had really driven away, then the only person that came to mind would be... Shi Feng.

However, Shi Feng was simply a student that was not worth mentioning. He was not an invited guest at all. No matter how He Youcai looked at this situation, Shi Feng would not be related to it in any way.

"This brat sure has guts," Zhao Jianhua said in an ambiguous tone. It was unknown whether he was actually praising He Youcai, or disparaging him. However, everyone else was in full agreement with Zhao Jianhua's words.

The bystanders could clearly tell that this incident was caused by He Youcai.

This incident had truly given them a shock. He Youcai was merely a Student Council President an insignificant existence yet he had actually dared to recklessly abuse the little power he was given. If He Youcai did not deal with this matter perfectly, then his best option to save himself was to pack up and leave Jin Hai City. Otherwise, only a tragic end awaited him.

\---

Meanwhile, Zero Wing's recruitment location had already become the most eye-catching sight on this street. Before he knew it, Shi Feng had recruited many new people for his Guild. Some well-known Workshops in Jin Hai City were even included among them. The members of these Workshops were all relatively skilled. However, since they didn't have a top-tier expert leading them, they had a difficult time obtaining good equipment in God's Domain.

The reason being, a majority of the high-quality equipment could only be obtained from a Dungeon, while a minority came from Field Bosses. However, to a Guildless Workshop, Field Bosses were simply an unattainable dream.

This situation resulted in the Workshops having a hard time making money in God's Domain. Hence, many of these Workshops wished to join a Guild, a powerful Guild, in particular. If they had a top-tier expert guiding them, Dungeon diving would become a much easier endeavor. Moreover, compared to groping in the dark by themselves, they could improve themselves with much greater efficiency by learning techniques from the said expert.

Meanwhile, the Zero Wing Guild was undeniably the best option available in Jin Hai City for these Guildless Workshops.

Currently, none of the Guilds in Jin Hai City had officially become a rated Guild.

In the past, if Shadow had not spent a humongous sum of money to annex a large number of Workshops and recruited some new members with great potential, it would have had no way to quickly become a third-rate Guild. In such a situation, Shadow would have also fallen in the competition over White River City, as this was the brutality of God's Domain.

_The Five Demon Generals have yet to show up even now. Could they be uninterested in joining Zero Wing?_ Shi Feng had already interviewed several hundreds of people. However, not a single one of the Five Demon Generals were actually among those hundreds of people.

In the past, the Five Demon Generals were the most powerful experts in Shadow. If their growth had not been limited by Shadow, they might have been promoted to a Tier 4 class or above.

These five people also played an indispensable role in aiding Shadow in obtaining the ten City States.

One could even say that Shi Feng's main goal in attending this Fellowship Party was to recruit these five people.

"Don't tell me they're afraid of taking the interview?"  Shi Feng felt that there was a very high possibility of such a thing happening. After all, the current Five Demon Generals were obscure existences right now, nobodies in God's Domain. If they concluded that they would not be accepted into Zero Wing, they would naturally avoid taking the interview altogether, saving themselves the humiliation when they got rejected.

Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt troubled.

It was very possible for these five people to be inside the Fellowship Party right now. Yet, he had no way of entering the actual event venue. So, how should he go about recruiting those five?

Just as Shi Feng was feeling distressed over this matter, He Youcai came walking over.

"Why is it you?" He Youcai was immediately dumbfounded when he discovered the person he had been sent to invite actually turned out to be Shi Feng.

In He Youcai's opinion, Shi Feng was simply an ordinary student. His and Xu Wenqing's statuses were worlds apart from each other, and it was impossible for Xu Wenqing to actually send a personal invitation to Shi Feng. Yet, the impossible had actually happened now...

Meanwhile, Shi Feng couldn't help but shift his gaze to He Youcai. Suddenly, he asked with a smile, "President He, what brings you here? Don't tell me you wish to chase me away from this street as well?"

"This is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Fellow student Shi Feng, how could I possibly dare to chase you away? All of this is simply a misunderstanding! Previously, due to an error to the system, your information was not properly registered. However, everything is fine now. Fellow student Shi Feng, you can now participate in the Fellowship Party as well!" He Youcai said with a fawning smile.

"President He, I am a very cowardly person. Previously, you yourself, President He, had said that, as long as I dare set even a single foot in the hotel, you would immediately chase me out. I truly do not dare provoke a personage such as you. I also feel quite comfortable staying here. If you don't have any other matters, then, please return to your event. I am still very busy right now." Shi Feng smiled, shifting his attention away from He Youcai.

Hearing Shi Feng's words, He Youcai's face instantly paled. Even an idiot could make out the meaning behind Shi Feng's words.

"You chased me away without any hesitation before. Yet, now, you wish to invite me back? Do you think it's possible that I will agree?"

He Youcai really wished to say "it's possible."

He Youcai was merely a Student Council President. Now that Xu Wenqing had already spoken, if He Youcai did not deal with this matter properly, his future would be over. Moreover, with Xu Wenqing's horrific reach, He Youcai did not even dare to think about having a future.

Noticing Xu Wenqing's bodyguard coldly looking at him, He Youcai's body shuddered with fear. Immediately, he did something that shocked even Shi Feng himself.

He Youcai immediately knelt before Shi Feng, hugging Shi Feng's thigh as he cried like a little girl, saying, "Fellow student Shi Feng... No! Brother Feng! I was the one in the wrong! I have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Taishan[2]! 

I am deserving of death! How could I have been so blind to actually listen to the words of that bastard, Ling Feilong! Brother Feng, I apologize to you! Please! If it can help cool your temper, please beat me up as much as you wish! As long as Brother Feng is willing to go upstairs with me!"

Shi Feng wasn't the only one shocked by He Youcai's actions. Even the bystanders were dumbfounded by this scene.

Did he really think he was invincible just because he was shameless?!

TL Notes:

[1] bearding the lion in its den:

[2] have eyes but failed to recognise Mount Taishan: to fail to recognise sb important or sb's great talent

Chapter 254 - The Young Will Surpass the Old 

"As expected, it was Ling Feilong plotting behind the scenes."

In truth, Shi Feng did not pay any attention to an insignificant character like He Youcai. He only wished to find out who was trying to make trouble for him. Since he was able to ascertain that it was indeed Ling Feilong playing tricks on him, he no longer had any use for He Youcai.

"Alright, save your crocodile tears. I'll go up with you. However, my requirement is for you to clearly repeat the words you just said to Headmaster Xu. Otherwise, pray for your own future," Shi Feng said calmly as he kicked He Youcai away.

"How could you do this to me?" Instantly, He Youcai recovered his previous smiling appearance, making it look as if none of the embarrassing scene from before had actually happened. However, there was a hint of hatred hidden beneath his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng.

He Youcai had already embarrassed Xu Wenqing. If he told Xu Wenqing of this matter, then he would be adding Ling Feilong to the list of people he had offended. Moreover, Ling Feilong was supported by Zhao Jianhua, who was an even more frightening existence. Even if Xu Wenqing were to forgive him, Ling Feilong and Zhao Jianhua would definitely not let him off.

A wolf in front, and a tiger behind even if he did not lose his life, his future would be ruined.

Shi Feng was simply too cruel for wanting him to do such a thing!

"Why can't I do such a thing? I am only asking you to tell the truth. Now, tell me, what is your decision?" Shi Feng smiled calmly, completely ignoring the poisonous glare He Youcai was sending him.

What comes around, goes around.

After some contemplation, He Youcai took a few deep breaths before coming to a decision. He then shifted his eyes towards Shi Feng, a malicious glint in his eyes as he said, "I can agree to your demands; however, you must allow me to join Zero Wing."

"It seems that you still aren't clear about your current situation. You wish to discuss conditions with me? Then let me tell you, you only have two options right now. You either speak or don't. In my personal opinion, it's best that you speak the truth. At the very least, you will earn the pardon of Headmaster Xu." Shi Feng then raised his brows, stating, "My patience is limited. I will give you three seconds to consider."

"Alright! I'll speak!" He Youcai quickly made his choice. Compared to Ling Feilong and Zhao Jianhua, he was even more afraid of Xu Wenqing. After all, Xu Wenqing's influence was simply too extensive.

Soon after, Shi Feng followed He Youcai and Xu Wenqing's bodyguard into the hotel and took the elevator up to the 36th floor.

Shi Feng's arrival at the event venue immediately attracted a majority of the participants' attention.

Due to Xu Wenqing's rage, many of the guests present had already found out about the incident concerning Shi Feng. They were very curious to see just what sort of person warranted a personal invitation from Xu Wenqing himself.

Under the bodyguard's lead, Shi Feng and He Youcai arrived before Xu Wenqing.

When an ordinary youth in black sportswear appeared before them, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes. They started attentively evaluating Shi Feng, intent on discerning the secrets hidden behind Shi Feng's ordinary appearance.

To their disappointment, however, be it Shi Feng's attire or aura, both were similarly plain and ordinary.

"Shi Feng? Why are you here?" Ling Feilong couldn't help but grow astonished. Originally, he had intended to use this Fellowship Party to form a deeper connection with Zhao Jianhua. However, he never imagined that Shi Feng could actually make it into the event. The current situation went far beyond his expectations.

"Everything has an exception to it, isn't that so?" Shi Feng replied with a smile.

"Shi Feng, it's great that you made it! Originally, I planned to go down and look for you, but it seems that won't be necessary now!" Zhao Ruoxi said excitedly when she saw the new arrival was Shi Feng. Were it not for Zhao Jianhua holding her back, preventing her from leaving, she would have long since left this boring Fellowship Party.

Sitting beside Zhao Ruoxi, Zhao Jianhua immediately turned grim when he heard Zhao Ruoxi's words. Previously, Zhao Ruoxi had pestered him endlessly for him to let Shi Feng come up, angering him greatly. Never would Zhao Jianhua have thought that, not only did this commoner not give up, he had actually entered the event venue now.

"Didn't I tell the ones below not to let him in? How did he manage to get in?" Zhao Jianhua's mind was filled with questions; he failed to realise that Shi Feng was none other than the Zero Wing representative that Xu Wenqing had invited.
"Young man, come over here and take a seat. This old man is called Xu Wenqing, the current Headmaster of Jin Hai University." Xu Wenqing slowly stood up and formally introduced himself.

"Shi Feng, a fourth year student of Jin Hai University," Shi Feng replied softly.

"You are a student of our school? Indeed, the young will surpass the old. So young, yet you've already entered the middle management of the Zero Wing Guild," Xu Wenqing said, slightly surprised. He did not believe Shi Feng had a very high position in the Zero Wing Guild. However, normally, only those in middle management or higher had the right to recruit members. Shi Feng had yet to graduate from university, yet he had already managed to become a middle manager of a mysterious Guild. In the eyes of commoners, this could be considered a great achievement. At the very least, Shi Feng was much more successful than most of the students present at the Fellowship Party today.

Xu Wenqing's amiable bearing and praise towards Shi Feng slightly surprised Chen Wu and Zhao Jianhua, who sat close to Xu Wenqing. They never thought Xu Wenqing would praise a younger generation like so, a plain and ordinary youth like Shi Feng, no less. For a second, they even thought that their ears were playing tricks on them.

Even when faced with Zhang Luowei, the person with the brightest future in Jin Hai University, Xu Wenqing had simply said the words "not bad"...

Although they were shocked by the fact that a person like Shi Feng was a middle manager of a Guild, an achievement like this did not warrant such praise from Xu Wenqing himself. After all, Xu Wenqing was a very influential character in Jin Hai City.

However, Xu Wenqing held an optimistic view on Shi Feng's future. Shi Feng's temperament, which was as calm as the great ocean, especially solidified this opinion of his. This was not something a youth like him should have, or to put it bluntly, it should be impossible for a youth like Shi Feng to possess such a temperament.

If not for the fact that Xu Wenqing had met with countless people, and had seen all sorts of people throughout his life, he too would not have discovered this particular trait of Shi Feng's.

Being capable of entering the middle management of such a powerful Guild clearly showcased Shi Feng's ability. Before long, Shi Feng would definitely enter the upper management of the Guild, hence why Xu Wenqing was being so courteous with Shi Feng.

"Headmaster must be joking." Shi Feng laughed.

After Xu Wenqing exchanged a few words with Shi Feng, Xu Wenqing shifted his gaze once more to He Youcai, who was currently trembling where he stood. Xu Wenqing demanded coldly, "Speak. What happened?"

Although Xu Wenqing's voice was soft, it was filled with oppressiveness. Frightened, He Youcai no longer dared hide anything from him.

"Ling Feilong was the one that told me to do everything! He said he did not wish to see Shi Feng entangled with fellow student Zhao Ruoxi! Hence, under his coercion, I did not register Shi Feng for the Fellowship Party." He Youcai immediately pointed towards Ling Feilong, denouncing him. At this moment, he no longer cared about the consequences of his words.

Immediately, everyone's attention shifted to Ling Feilong.

Ling Feilong instantly felt a huge pressure bearing down on him.

At this moment, Ling Feilong felt utterly powerless, his breathing faltering. He was at a complete loss for words right now; anything he said would easily offend others. He also never imagined that Shi Feng would have Zero Wing Guild as his backing.

"Since you have nothing to say for yourself, then please leave this place. The Jin Hai Fellowship Party does not welcome you," Xu Wenqing said abruptly in a deep tone, the rage contained within his words clear for all to hear. Looking at Ling Feilong's expression, it was obvious what He Youcai had said was the truth.

Following which, two robust bodyguards walked towards Ling Feilong, clearly intending to send Ling Feilong on his way.

"Elder Xu, please wait a moment," Zhao Jianhua suddenly spoke up.

Meanwhile, standing beside Zhao Jianhua were two of Shadow's major shareholders, Lan Hailong and Zhang Luowei.

Chapter 255 - There is only one protagonist

Zhao Jianhua's deep voice suddenly caused the splendorous and lively venue to go silent.

Everyone present knew that, once Xu Wenqing made a decision, nobody was allowed to interfere with it. However, Zhao Jianhua actually stepped in and tried to interrupt Xu Wenqing. Suddenly, the atmosphere within the event hall turned extraordinarily intense, like a minefield where a single misstep could trigger a massive explosion.

In reply to Zhao Jianhua's interruption, Xu Wenqing did not speak any words. Instead, he merely stretched out his hand, halting the two bodyguards from dragging Ling Feilong away. He then returned his focus to Zhao Jianhua, his eyes carrying a questioning look. He wanted to know just what sort of reason Zhao Jianhua had for going against his decision.

Zhao Jianhua was one of the main sponsors for the Jin Hai Fellowship Party. He was also one of the directors of the Zhao Group, a major corporation in Jin Hai City. Hence, Xu Wenqing could not simply ignore Zhao Jianhua's opinion.

"Elder Xu, I am the one who allowed Ling Feilong to prevent Shi Feng from entering this place. Moreover, I feel that I did not make any mistake in this decision. Please don't make things difficult for Feilong." Zhao Jianhua then added with a laugh, "As for the reason why I didn't allow Shi Feng to enter, it was simply because I did not want him to continue associating with Ruoxi. Please understand my decision, Elder Xu."

"Second Uncle, I've already said that our relationship isn't what you imagined it to be!" Zhao Ruoxi argued immediately, her crescent brows slightly wrinkled.

Listening to the niece and uncle pair bickering with each other, Xu Wenqing, with his many years of experience, instantly figured out the crux of the matter. Suddenly, he laughed and said, "It is indeed good to be young. Since it is a matter between young people, then I will not intervene."

Ling Feilong immediately let out a sigh of relief when he heard Xu Wenqing's words. If he were truly chased out of the Fellowship Party, then his reputation would be in tatters. Fortunately, he had Zhao Jianhua on his side. Ling Feilong gave Shi Feng a look that seemed to say "So what if you received praise from Elder Xu? Aren't I still completely fine right now?"

Shi Feng merely shrugged at Ling Feilong's provocation, paying him no mind at all. Right now, his sole goal for coming upstairs was to look for the Five Demon Generals. Ling Feilong could do whatever he wanted for all Shi Feng cared. However, if Ling Feilong dared to actively seek trouble with him again, then he couldn't be blamed for responding in kind.

At this moment, the elegant and handsome-looking Lan Hailong sent a glance at Zhang Luowei, who currently stood beside him.

"Fellow student Shi Feng, please wait a moment." Zhang Luowei stepped forward, hurrying to Shi Feng as he shouted, "I have been looking forward to meeting with Zero Wing for a long time now. I never would have thought I would get the chance to do so at this Fellowship Party. I hear that Zero Wing has plenty of experts, and each and every one of them has extraordinary skills. Fellow student Shi Feng, as a middle manager of Zero Wing, I believe that you must definitely be skilled. Hence, I wish to seek some pointers from you. We can also take it as an entertainment for this Fellowship Party. I wonder, what is fellow student Shi Feng's opinion on this matter?"

Hearing Zhang Luowei's suggestion, glints flashed through Xu Wenqing's, Zhao Jianhua's, Chen Wu's, and everyone else's eyes. They felt that it was a good suggestion. However, they still chose to remain silent as this was a matter for the younger generation; it wouldn't be good for old folks like them to intervene.

Among those who showed interest in Zhang Luowei's suggestion, Zhao Jianhua was the most eager for it to take place. Zhao Jianhua knew very well how amazing Zhang Luowei was. After all, even a martial arts master like Chen Wu looked favorably upon Zhang Luowei. Within a few years, Zhang Luowei would definitely become the fighting champion of Jin Hai City. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng embarrassed himself in front of Ruoxi right now, at the very minimum, he could make Zhao Ruoxi understand how ordinary Shi Feng actually was. Once she knew that they were people of two different worlds, she might even decide to give up on her relationship with Shi Feng.

"Is this going to be a martial arts competition?!"

"Excellent! To think that I'll get the chance to witness Jin Hai University's champion fighter exchanging moves with an expert from Zero Wing; the money I paid to join this Fellowship Party is totally worth it!"

Anticipation started filling the eyes of everyone present within the event venue.

"Hahaha! Fellow student Shi Feng, see how everyone is looking forward to an exchange between you and Luowei! It wouldn't be good to disappoint everyone, right? You can rest assured, though, since this is only an exchange of pointers, we won't go too far in this competition. We are only doing this to liven things up at this party," Lan Hailong chimed in with a laugh. He continued, "I am also a board member of Shadow, and in regard to a Guild as powerful as Zero Wing, I had always wanted to learn a thing or two from you all. I wish to take a look at the gap between us so that I can turn Shadow into a Guild that would not lose out to Zero Wing. I hope fellow student Shi Feng will not refuse this competition."

The shrewd Lan Hailong was very good with his words. He had made the simple competition between Zhang Luowei and Shi Feng sound as if it were a competition between Shadow and Zero Wing. Lan Hailong was clearly intending to use Zero Wing to raise Shadow's status.

Originally, the protagonist for the Fellowship Party should have been Shadow Guild. However, that role had been hijacked by Shi Feng midway, and now, Zero Wing had become the protagonist of the event. Moreover, Shi Feng had also managed to recruit plenty of new members with good potential. Lan Hailong and Zhang Luowei naturally couldn't stomach such a scene occurring right before their eyes. Hence, they thought of using Shi Feng as a stepping stone. That way, Shadow's fame at this event would instantly surpass Zero Wing.

Moreover, Lan Hailong's plans weren't limited to just this one point. He also intended to publicize Shi Feng's loss, allowing everyone, both inside and outside of God's Domain, to know that an expert from Zero Wing had lost badly to a player from Shadow. At that time, Shadow's reputation would not lose out to Zero Wing by one little bit.

As for Shi Feng himself, he would definitely be expelled from Zero Wing after turning the Guild into a laughing stock. This could be considered Lan Hailong's revenge on Shi Feng for stealing Shadow's limelight at this event.

Also, now that the event had become so lively, with so many people cheering and calling out Shi Feng's name, Shi Feng would not have an easy time declining the competition request.

"How could you say such a thing?" Zhao Ruoxi asked, dissatisfaction in her tone. "Shi Feng is a gaming expert, not some fighting expert. What point would there be for the two of them to have a match with each other?"

Immediately, many people among the audience came to a realization. Although Shi Feng was amazing inside a game, that did not mean he would be equally amazing at fighting in real life. Even if Zhang Luowei defeated him, that did not prove that Zhang Luowei was strong inside the game.

"Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, you must be joking. God's Domain is a virtual reality game, and every aspect of the game is extremely realistic; I believe that anyone who has experienced combat in God's Domain would know this. Although being good at fighting in real life does not necessarily make someone good at the game, the same cannot be said for the opposite. If one is good at the game, then it shows that they are equally skilled at fighting in real life. In fact, I know just how amazing fellow student Shi Feng is. After all, he was able to defeat Zhou Yuhu, the student who placed third in Jin Hai University's fighting competition. With such strength, it would be a pity for the two of them to not compete against each other." Lan Hailong smiled calmly. Contrary to his words, he had absolute confidence in Zhang Luowei obtaining victory. As for Shi Feng, although he was relatively powerful himself, he was definitely not a match for Zhang Luowei. The reason being, Zhang Luowei had already reached the standards of a professional. He was on an entirely different level when compared to Zhou Yuhu.

"What?! That Zhou Yuhu was actually defeated by Shi Feng? No wonder he managed to become a middle manager of Zero Wing. As expected, Zero Wing is powerful!"

Many of those present in the event hall was shocked by this revelation, their anticipation towards the competition between Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei growing even more intense.

"It seems that I really can't underestimate young people. To think that he would choose to keep himself hidden despite possessing such skills. It is truly rare for a youngster like him to have such a humble heart," Xu Wenqing commented, his evaluation of Shi Feng rising even higher now. "With such a temperament, his future achievements would definitely be extraordinary. Chief Zhao, don't you think your requirements are a little too high? You should just let the younger folk handle themselves; it wouldn't be right for us older generations to constantly stick a hand into their matters."

"It can't be true, right? He managed to defeat Zhou Yuhu with a small body like that?" Zhao Jianhua looked at Shi Feng suspiciously. He had a good grasp on the standards of the fighting competition held in Jin Hai University. It was also the reason why he admired Ling Feilong's achievement of obtaining ninth place in the competition.

"Alright, then. Since everyone is looking forward to it so much, how could I bear to refuse?" Shi Feng laughed.

Lan Hailong was still as good with words as he had been in the past.

Shi Feng had a very clear understanding of Lan Hailong. Lan Hailong was also the cause for his decade of hard work going to waste. Shi Feng remembered this point very clearly. Originally, Shi Feng had not intended to seek trouble with Lan Hailong in this life. After all, those matters had all occurred in his previous life. Hence, Shi Feng decided that, as long as Lan Hailong did not provoke him in this life, he couldn't care less what Lan Hailong did. Yet, Lan Hailong just had to come looking for trouble. Since it was so, Shi Feng would not remain courteous with Lan Hailong. It was also a good chance for him to rid himself of past grudges.

Chapter 256 - demon

"The brat actually agreed. It seems he still has some courage to him." Zhao Jianhua's opinion of Shi Feng changed slightly.

Zhang Luowei was reputed to be a genius at fighting, and his mastery of Luohan Quan was very high. Many professional fighters were not even his match. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was only a gamer. Although his achievement of defeating Zhou Yuhu was indeed praiseworthy, when compared to Zhang Luowei, they were still on entirely different levels.

Standing beside Zhao Jianhua, Zhao Ruoxi grew panicked.

"Why is this Shi Feng acting so foolishly?" Zhao Ruoxi was inwardly speechless at Shi Feng's decision. "Lan Hailong merely flattered him a little, yet he's already acting so cocky. Doesn't he know that Zhang Luowei is a real martial arts expert?"

Meanwhile, Ling Feilong stood at a distance, sneering at Shi Feng. He had personally witnessed Shi Feng's fight with Zhou Yuhu, so he knew Shi Feng was pretty skilled as well. However, he still had a long way to go before he was Zhang Luowei's match. Moreover, Zhou Yuhu had taken Shi Feng lightly the last time, resulting in him being caught off guard and losing to Shi Feng in one strike. If Zhou Yuhu had paid more attention to the fight, the final result definitely wouldn't have been so decisive.

Currently, Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei were no longer fighting as individuals. Instead, they were representing their respective Guilds in a competition. As long as Zhang Luowei defeated Shi Feng, in addition to Lan Hailong wantonly spreading the news about it, Shi Feng would definitely bring great shame to Zero Wing.

This was also the part Lan Hailong was brilliant at.

Death by overpraising!

First, he endlessly praised Shi Feng and spoke of how amazing he was in front of everyone else. Then he made Shi Feng sound as if he was representing his Guild in this competition, turning this normal exchange into a contest between two Guilds. Finally, once Zhang Luowei defeated this "amazingly powerful" Shi Feng, Lan Hailong would use this piece of information to showcase just how amazing Shadow was.

Even if Shi Feng was a middle manager of Zero Wing, he would definitely still receive a heavy punishment. After all, this matter concerned the reputation of the Guild.

Lan Hailong's means were indeed cruel and decisive.

As the audience started cheering and discussing the competition, the staff members of the event went ahead with preparing a fighting ring for the competition.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Of course it is Zhang Luowei! He is my idol! During the university's fighting competition, he obtained first place with great ease. None of the contestants could take three moves from him before being defeated. Although Shi Feng is also very strong, he doesn't have much of a presence; I can feel nothing from him at all, as if he doesn't even exist. Zhang Luowei, on the other hand, is like a cruel and ferocious beast. When I stood near him, I could feel a heavy pressure bearing down on me. When his eyes landed on me, I even felt a shiver go down my spine."

"I agree. Shi Feng might be an expert in God's Domain, but this is a real-life martial arts competition. It would be good if he could survive ten moves from Zhang Luowei. If this fight was held in God's Domain, however, it would definitely be an interesting duel."

\---

While everyone was feeling pessimistic about Shi Feng's chances of winning, Zhou Yuhu, who was resting at a corner of the event hall, walked up to Zhang Luowei's side.

"Brother Zhang, you have to be careful when you are going up against Shi Feng. I've fought with him before. Although he doesn't have remarkable strength, and his physique is no good as well, he is very experienced in combat. He has a very good grasp of when to take action, and his fists and feet are extremely nimble," Zhou Yuhu said.

"Little Hu, you're overthinking things. Even if Shi Feng has reached the level of a professional, I can likewise defeat him with ease. Don't worry, I'll return the shame he brought to you," Zhang Luowei laughed as he clapped Zhou Yuhu's shoulders. He was completely unaffected by Zhou Yuhu's words. When one reached his level of skill, one's determination would be as hard as steel.

Certainly, Zhang Luowei was not underestimating Shi Feng. He had simply reacted this way due to the arrogance of an expert. He would have confidence no matter what kind of enemy he faced.

"Brother Zhang..."

Zhou Yuhu knew that his advice had fallen on deaf ears. However, only those who had personally exchanged moves with Shi Feng would know how frightening he truly was.

If Zhang Luowei was described as a ferocious beast, then Shi Feng was like the great ocean. No matter how powerful a person was, they would be helpless in the face of Mother Nature.

In truth, Zhou Yuhu had wanted to dissuade Zhang Luowei from having a competition with Shi Feng. Only, after taking into consideration Zhang Luowei's prestige, he had instead chosen to warn him to be careful. However, his words had clearly been in vain.

\---

The staff members had very quickly enclosed an area for the martial arts competition. Although the fighting ring was somewhat smaller than one in an official setting, there was still a space of 100 square meters available. It was sufficient for two people to exchange punches and kicks with each other.

Meanwhile, Xu Wenqing, Zhao Jianhua, Chen Wu, and several other well-known figures in Jin Hai City sat in the section closest to the fighting ring. Everyone else could only stand several meters behind them to observe the fight.

In the ring, Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei stood five meters apart from each other. The former was an ordinary man who had no presence whatsoever, while the latter was like a muscular beast that looked as if he could swallow a man whole. The imposing aura Zhang Luowei emitted could cause others to tremble in fear.

A great battle between these two men could happen at any moment now.

Meanwhile, the audience around the ring started tensing up, their eyes locked on the two fighters' every movement.

Unlike a fight between ordinary people, which would take a long time to finish, an exchange between experts would end in an instant. Hence, they were deeply afraid of missing out even the slightest detail of the brilliant exchange between the two.

In contrast, Xu Wenqing and the other influential characters were currently talking cheerfully with one another.

"Master Chen Wu, as an ex-professional fighter and a martial arts master, which of the two do you think will win in this competition?" Xu Wenqing asked, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he caressed his beard.

"I can't say for sure. In a martial arts competition, strength and luck are both equally important. If I were to judge solely based on presence and physique, then Zhang Luowei is clearly a cut above Shi Feng. However, I have never personally witnessed how skilled Shi Feng is, so I can't make a clear judgement." Chen Wu shook his head, not providing a definite answer.

If it was anyone else, even if it was the first time for Chen Wu to meet them, he could still determine the person's strength based on the presence he felt. He would then further evaluate the person's physique and make a rough evaluation. In Shi Feng's case, however, Chen Wu could sense nothing from him. Shi Feng's presence was so weak that Chen Wu might overlook him.

If Shi Feng were just an ordinary person who had not defeated a combat expert like Zhou Yuhu, then Chen Wu would definitely conclude Shi Feng was a harmless white rabbit, an insignificant existence. Yet, defying all expectations, this little white rabbit had actually defeated a ferocious tiger like Zhou Yuhu. Hence, Chen Wu could not help but reevaluate his opinion of Shi Feng.

After all, if a little white rabbit could get rid of a ferocious tiger, who would believe that it was still a little white rabbit?

Even if Shi Feng was a little white rabbit, he was still a rabbit demon that was capable of killing a tiger.

If Shi Feng had truly cultivated into a demon, then his presence was merely a facade.

If one had cultivated into a demon, while the other was still an ordinary animal, the two would be on entirely different levels.

However, experts capable of cultivating themselves into a demon were extremely rare existences. The so-called "cultivating into a demon" did not refer to one becoming a demon physically, but spiritually; it also referred to wisdom. When an expert reached this realm, the martial arts they practiced would no longer be something inanimate; it would start to take on life. However, a youth like Shi Feng should not be capable of reaching such a realm yet.

Hence, Chen Wu could not determine Shi Feng's degree of mastery.

"Master Chen Wu, how can your keen eyes fail to make a judgement? Both Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei are just youngsters. Although both of them can greatly improve in the future, you should have some indication of who will win, right?" Zhao Jianhua refused to believe Chen Wu's words. After all, it was clear at first glance who was stronger, and who was weaker. Hence, Zhao Jianhua believed that Chen Wu was simply leaving some face for Shi Feng.

Unfortunately, Zhao Jianhua did not know that martial arts practitioners were usually forthright in their actions, even more so for a martial arts master like Chen Wu. He was always straightforward with his words, and he would never do something like twist his words around. He would only speak whatever was on his mind.

While the few of them were having their cheerful conversations...

The referee in the fighting ring sent a glance at both Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei, before abruptly swiping his hand down between the two fighters. Immediately, he shouted, "Begin!"

Chapter 257 - extraordinary 

The moment the referee gave the signal, Zhang Luowei took action and immediately charged at Shi Feng.

However, Zhang Luowei did not rush forth like a normal person would, as attacking in a straight line would be too plain and predictable. Instead, he zigzagged as he moved, his footwork constantly changing as he swiftly weaved his way towards Shi Feng.

If it were any ordinary person faced with Zhang Luowei's footwork, they definitely would not know how to react to it properly. They would be enthralled by Zhang Luowei's erratic footwork and allow him to close in on them.

Aside from placing emphasis on footwork, Luohan Quan practitioners also stressed fast, accurate, and fierce punches. If one failed to block a punch from a Luohan Quan practitioner and received a hit to the chest, the battle would end right there and then.

Meanwhile, as a person of this modern era, and also as a professional fighter, Zhang Luowei had an arm strength of over 100 kilograms. Receiving a punch from him would be no different from being smashed in the chest with a hammer. Humans were also not made out of metal. Even if they were, after receiving tens of smashes from a hammer, they would still turn into scrap metal, needless to say what would happen to a body made of flesh. With Zhang Luowei's physique, it would be no surprise if he broke most of Shi Feng's ribs with a single punch, sending him flying back one to two meters away even.

However, Shi Feng was no ordinary person. Instead of retreating, he chose to advance and face Zhang Luowei head-on. Shi Feng utilized the Swimming Dragon Steps as he strode forward, his feet moving as if the ground was completely frictionless. Shi Feng immediately slid towards Zhang Luowei, catching the latter off guard. Zhang Luowei never thought Shi Feng would actually know such nimble and irregular footwork. Right now, he could not find any way to land a good punch on Shi Feng.

Shi Feng had over a decade of campaigning in God's Domain. The combat experience he possessed far exceeded the imagination of an ordinary person. After all, there had been no dearth of martial arts masters and powerful Boss monsters to serve as his opponents in the past. On the other hand, Zhang Luowei did not even possess a thousandth of Shi Feng's combat experience. Although Shi Feng's current physique was no match for Zhang Luowei's, Shi Feng made up for it by using the agility and fast reaction speed he gained from his years of battle. When fighting Bosses in God's Domain, even the slightest mistake could cause players to lose their lives. Among the countless Boss battles Shi Feng experienced, there was many a time when he had to rely on his body's instinctive reactions instead of his eyes to make decisions.

Such instinctive reactions were done under an unconscious state. If one wished to train themselves to this level, they needed to experience plenty of battles, regularly treading the line between life and death. However, one would rarely encounter such conditions for training in real life, even as a professional fighter. After all, when faced with a life-or-death situation in the real world, there was a high chance of losing one's life, and once dead, there was no second chance available.

On the other hand, players could experience these life-or-death battles countless times without any risk of actual death. They could simply try again once they died in the game. This was also the reason why many professional fighters were obsessed with God's Domain in the past.

Only when one was placed in a life-or-death situation would one be able to display one's full potential. As long as they survived the battle, the insight they received from the battle could greatly increase their strength.

Why did so many experts in the real world train at precipices?

It was to experience the feeling of having their life hanging by a thread; they wanted to use the threat of death to stimulate their innate potential. However, taking such a course was extremely dangerous. Normally, only experts dared to do such a thing. If ordinary people tried it, ten out of ten, they would lose their lives.

Meanwhile, when a player died in battle in God's Domain, they could just revive with an intact body.

An expert in a hundred battles. After experiencing a hundred battles, even an ordinary person could become a combat expert. Meanwhile, in regard to the countless battles Shi Feng had experienced in the past, even an idiot could become a demon. Not to mention, Shi Feng had learned plenty of martial arts in the past. He had been a top-tier Sword King in the past as well, and he had only been a thread away from being promoted to a Tier 4 Sword Emperor.

The reason he could not become a Sword Emperor, however, was not because his techniques had been lacking. After all, Shi Feng's combat techniques had already achieved perfection at that time, and he could easily adopt many techniques to his battles, not limiting himself to just a single style of combat.

Although Zhang Luowei's footwork was nimble, Shi Feng was clearly a cut above him. Be it a punch, a chop, or a hammer strike, Zhang Luowei sent fist after fist at Shi Feng. Zhang Luowei's hammer strikes were especially deadly. If a bull received this strike, it would immediately fall to the ground and would not be able to recover within a short period of time. Unfortunately, every strike Zhang Luowei sent at Shi Feng would always rub past the edge of his clothes.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng was constantly drifting around Zhang Luowei's side, revolving around him like a true dragon. No matter how Zhang Luowei tried to move, he could not escape from Shi Feng's shadow.

After exchanging over a dozen moves, Zhang Luowei's heart grew panicked. Never had he imagined Shi Feng to be a martial arts expert as well. When Shi Feng executed the Swimming Dragon Steps, he was like a true dragon traversing the nine heavens, advancing and retreating with ease. However, Zhang Luowei also knew that Shi Feng did not dare take him head-on. Yet, if Zhang Luowei continued his successive attacks, he would sooner or later exhaust himself completely and definitely be defeated.

"Scram!"

Zhang Luowei decided to use his finishing move, Fierce Tiger Pouncing on its Prey[1], springing at Shi Feng like a hungry tiger. Shi Feng immediately moved his feet, effortlessly dodging Zhang Luowei's attack. Zhang Luowei took this chance to twist his body around, planting one of his feet forward as he swung his fists around, executing Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds at Shi Feng's side.

The moment Zhang Luowei's fists struck out, those close to the fighting ring could clearly hear the sound of wind whistling. If Shi Feng was struck by this move, he would be either dead or crippled.

Contrary to expectations, Shi Feng reacted calmly and unhurriedly. He simply smiled in reply to Zhang Luowei's vicious attack. Putting strength into his toes, Shi Feng immediately did a flip in mid-air. He then executed the move Swimming Dragon's Stable Strike, using his body's momentum to redirect Zhang Luowei's fists away, letting them strike nothing but air. Immediately afterwards, Shi Feng's fists opened up, and utilizing the centripetal force of his body's rotation, he struck the major artery on Zhang Luowei's neck with his palm.

Before Zhang Luowei could properly react, he suddenly felt a chill at his neck, his breathing becoming difficult. Due to his brain receiving a shortage of blood, Zhang Luowei's limbs started to stiffen. However, Zhang Luowei was no ordinary person. He instantly knew he had received an attack from Shi Feng, causing the response of his four limbs to lag. As a last resort, Zhang Luowei rammed his head at Shi Feng, who was currently full of openings as he hung in mid-air. Zhang Luowei was fully intent on ending the battle in mutual destruction. If Shi Feng wished to attack him in this situation, Shi Feng would have to receive the ramming attack from him.

"Good!" Shi Feng first felt surprise, then joy.

Contrary to expectations, Shi Feng did not choose to retreat and give Zhang Luowei a chance to catch his breath. Instead, Shi Feng executed the move Dragon's Palm, taking advantage of the situation to send another palm strike at Zhang Luowei's neck. With this strike, Shi Feng immediately redirected Zhang Luowei's all-out charge, completely neutralizing the latter's attack. In addition, Shi Feng's attack was further fueled by the force of his body's rotation. As a result, Zhang Luowei's body spun uncontrollably in mid-air after receiving the strike, just like a rotating arrow that was let loose. Right after that, Shi Feng planted his palm on Zhang Luowei's chest and abruptly struck down. Zhang Luowei's body landed heavily, a web of cracks appearing on the marble floor beneath him.

At this time, Zhang Luowei fell flat on his back, blood spewing out of his mouth. Shi Feng's attack had fractured many of his ribs, and at this moment, he did not possess even the strength to speak. Zhang Luowei's eyes were filled with disbelief as he lost consciousness soon after.

Although this series of complex actions sounded slow when described, in reality, everything had happened within an instant.

The audience was stunned into silence. Every one of them looked at the fighting ring with dumbfounded expressions.

The two in the ring were clearly locked in battle before.

Before anyone could react, Zhang Luowei's body was already falling to the floor, his body not even twitching as he landed.

"He actually defeated Zhang Luowei? My eyes aren't playing tricks on me, right?" Zhao Jianhua rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was hallucinating. However, the fact that Zhang Luowei lay on the floor, unmoving, proved that he was not imagining things.

A plain and ordinary person that did not possess the presence of an expert had actually defeated a combat genius. Who could believe such a thing?

"Second Uncle, how are Shi Feng's skills?" Zhao Ruoxi proudly asked Zhao Jianhua, who was sitting beside her, her tone making it sound as if Shi Feng's victory was her own victory.

"Strong, very strong. However, I still feel strange when I look at him. Even though I myself am a martial arts practitioner as well, I couldn't tell what kind of technique he used to defeat Zhang Luowei," Zhao Jianhua said, his heart filled with questions. He then asked, "Master Chen Wu, do you know what kind of technique he used?"

TL Notes:

[1] Fierce Tiger Pouncing on its Prey: one of the moves in Luohan Quan (or Arhat fist)

Chapter 258 - Increased backing

Zhao Jianhua's expectant gaze made it difficult for Chen Wu to respond.

Previously, he did not have a clear grasp on Shi Feng's actual strength. He had merely felt that it was possible for Shi Feng to have already reached that realm. However, now that he had actually witnessed Shi Feng in action, shock was the only word that could describe his current state.

Chen Wu had not dared to imagine that a young man in his early twenties could already attain such a high understanding of martial arts.

If Shi Feng's understanding of martial arts had merely achieved perfection, Chen Wu could still attribute it to him being a genius. Yet, when Shi Feng executed his moves, his actions were like nature itself, alive and full of spirit. Such actions were impossible with theoretical understanding alone. One needed to experience extensive combat, and also undergo countless life-or-death experiences in order to attain such a level.

Even Chen Wu himself had only recently reached such a level, and he was already 45 years old this year. Ever since he started practicing martial arts at the age of 16, he had participated in hundreds of battles, both large and small. He had even entered actual battlefields before. He could only achieve such a level today after undergoing the baptism of these fields of blood.

Chen Wu found it hard to believe that Shi Feng would possess so much hands-on experience. Even if he started participating in life-or-death battles in his mother's womb, it was impossible for him to achieve such a degree of perfection in only 20 years or so.

"As he isn't limiting himself to a single style of combat, I can't make a good judgment. In Jin Hai City, however, there probably isn't another youth like him who has cultivated his martial arts to such a level." Chen Wu sighed, a soft chuckle escaping his mouth.

"It can't be, right? Master Chen Wu, aren't you appraising him too highly?" Zhao Jianhua was shocked by Chen Wu's words.

"No, my evaluation is not high at all. Although Shi Feng's physique is on the weak side, in terms of actual combat strength, he would have no problem entering the top ten of the provincial fighting tournament." Chen Wu shook his head, refuting Zhao Jianhua's words.

Chen Wu's words instantly shocked Xu Wenqing and Zhao Jianhua.

Although the champion fighter of Jin Hai City could be considered a top-tier expert, on the provincial level, he would not amount to much. After all, there were tens of cities within a single province. Not to mention the top ten, even entering the top thirty in a provincial fighting tournament would be a difficult challenge.

Yet, a martial arts master like Chen Wu was confident that Shi Feng could make it to the top ten. The listeners could not help but raise their evaluation of Shi Feng.

In the past, Chen Wu had personally entered the top three in a provincial tournament, so he had a very good grasp on the standards of the fighters at that level. If Chen Wu said so, then Shi Feng did indeed possess the strength to enter the top ten of the province.

There were hundreds of millions of people within the province, and the number of fighters participating in the tournament was in the hundreds of thousands. If Shi Feng was capable of entering the top ten out of so many participants, then his value would far exceed even that of the champion fighter of Jin Hai City.

In regard to a combat genius like Zhang Luowei, Zhao Jianhua and the others only treated him as one of the younger generation. Although they looked favorably on him, it was not to the degree of placing actual importance on him. In Shi Feng's case, however, not only was it necessary for them to consider him someone of consequence, they also had to treat him as an equal when dealing with him.

"It seems that I have misjudged that little brat." He held such strength in his hands, yet he actually chose to keep it hidden. It is no wonder Ruoxi is placing such importance on him. At this moment, Zhao Jianhua no longer looked at Shi Feng with anger and contempt; on the contrary, admiration filled his eyes. He then shifted his gaze towards Ling Feilong who sat beside him, thinking in rage, This brat, on the other hand, actually dared to use me as a hatchet man[1]. It seems he needs to be taught a lesson.

Previously, Zhao Jianhua had a favorable opinion of Ling Feilong. He was also clear on the fact that Ling Feilong was trying to pursue Zhao Ruoxi. However, he did not block Ling Feilong's actions as the boy was indeed excellent; he had the qualifications necessary to pursue his beloved niece, Ruoxi. Now, however, Zhao Jianhua only felt loathing for Ling Feilong.

At this point, even if Zhao Jianhua was an idiot, he could still tell that Ling Feilong had been using him all along. Previously, Ling Feilong had many a time commented on Shi Feng's shortcomings, his family's poverty, and how Shi Feng was constantly stalking Ruoxi. Ling Feilong had also mentioned that Shi Feng was often bullied by others, that he was a mediocre person, and so on. Now, however, it would seem that the situation was completely different from what Ling Feilong had made it out to be.

In reality, Ling Feilong had no chance of being compared to Shi Feng, hence why Ling Feilong slandered Shi Feng, giving Zhao Jianhua a bad impression of Shi Feng.

Placing ninth in the university? That might be an impressive feat in Jin Hai University, but against the backdrop of Jin Hai City's fighting tournament? Ling Feilong would only amount to the standard of a fresh contestant. Meanwhile, there were hundreds of such new contestants participating in the city's fighting tournament every year. If placed in a provincial tournament, not even a hint of Ling Feilong's shadow would be found.

As it were, the gap between Ling Feilong and Shi Feng was like the gap between heaven and earth.

_It seems that my eyes are really growing bad. Indeed, just like Elder Xu had said, young people should be left to deal with their own matters._ Zhao Jianhua no longer planned to interfere in the matters between Shi Feng and Zhao Ruoxi, intending to let nature take its course. As for what the final result would look like, that would depend on Ruoxi herself.

Soon after the martial arts competition ended, Shi Feng had undeniably become the main protagonist of the Fellowship Party this time around. Many students from the university came over to greet Shi Feng, hoping to form a connection with him. By contrast, although Zhang Luowei clearly lay unconscious on the floor, not a single person bothered to check up on him—not even his associate Lan Hailong.

Although Shi Feng had long since known about Lan Hailong's personality, he still couldn't help but sigh when he saw this scene.

Such was the fickleness of human nature.

However, Shi Feng did not sympathize with Zhang Luowei, because Zhang Luowei was also such a person. In the past, Shadow had recruited plenty of new players with good potential. Just when they were about to enter a period of rapid development, a sudden dispute occurred between Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong. As a result of that dispute, the two had broken off all relations with each other, and Zhang Luowei had chosen to leave Shadow for good. To add insult to injury, Zhang Luowei had also drawn away a significant number of experts from the Guild when he left to join World Dominators. Shadow received massive damages due to his actions. If such a split had not occurred in the past, Shadow would not have lagged behind in its development and remained a third-rate Guild. Only after Shi Feng had taken over as Guild Leader did Shadow gradually start to develop into a top-tier second-rate Guild.

Yet, in this life, things were completely different. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to pay a huge price to compete for talent against Shadow. Now, however, it would seem that all his plans were unnecessary.

Zhang Luowei had suffered an overwhelming defeat, causing everyone's opinion of Shadow to fall significantly. By contrast, Zero Wing had become the sole target of the audience now, and Lan Hailong could do nothing but gnash his teeth at this development.

If Lan Hailong had known from the beginning that Shi Feng was so powerful, he definitely would not have agreed to Zhang Luowei having a match with Shi Feng. At the very least, he could still have recruited some experts or new players with good potential. Now, however, he had lost all drawing power in this event. He could only choose from the leftovers of Zero Wing.

"Fellow student Shi Feng, do you think I can join Zero Wing? Even an outer member of the Guild is fine!"

"Hello, I am Ye Wumian, the president of Jin Hai City's number one Workshop, Green Leaf. I wish to let my entire Workshop join Zero Wing. I wonder if Brother Shi Feng will be willing to accept us? We don't need many positions, only ten official member spots, and fifty outer member spots."

Just as Shi Feng restarted his Guild recruitment, the elite students of the university quickly surrounded him. There were also plenty of Workshop representatives and professional fighters trying to meet with him. Among all these requests to join his Guild, the most shocking one was the request from Green Leaf Workshop. In the past, Green Leaf Workshop had completely ignored Shadow's attempts at recruiting them, and they had instead established their own Guild. After doing so, they had managed to obtain the aid and sponsorship of several corporations, becoming a third-rate Guild in God's Domain.

At that time, however, the number of Guilds being established in Jin Hai City was growing by the day, which resulted in the dilution of available funding. If the Green Leaf Guild had not been lacking in funds at that time, without a doubt, they would have been a powerful rival for Shadow.

Besides that, Shi Feng had finally managed to locate the Five Demon Generals of Shadow.

By the time the Fellowship Party ended, the number of people he managed to recruit had exceeded the quota he previously set by more than a hundred. Just the number of potential experts he recruited had already exceeded fifty people, as well as nine future top-tier experts. Among those nine were the Five Demon Generals, while the remaining four were core members of Green Leaf Workshop.

After recruiting all these people, Zero Wing Workshop instantly became a huge existence in Jin Hai City's virtual gaming world. Compared to other third-rate Guilds, Zero Wing had a much more powerful backing now. As long as Shi Feng could turn these players into the backbone of Zero Wing, he would not falter even if he had to start a war with a second-rate Guild.

Following which, Shi Feng spent the remainder of his day signing contracts with these newly recruited members.

As for the management of Zero Wing Workshop, Blackie had long since dealt with it. Moreover, most of the people Shi Feng recruited were originally members of other Workshops, so they took no time at all to adjust themselves to a new environment. In addition, these people could also contribute significantly on the management side of things. However, Blackie was truly shocked when he found out about the amount of people Shi Feng managed to recruit.

The influx of over 400 people had instantly filled up Zero Wing's workplace. Suddenly, the entire Workshop was much livelier, no longer as empty and quiet as before. It was a fitting atmosphere for such a large Workshop.

Only when night arrived did Shi Feng finally arrive back home. He then cooked a casual meal for himself and downed a bottle of Nutrient Fluids, before starting a new day in God's Domain.

Also, this new day was fated to be extraordinary.

TL Notes:

[1] hatchet man: someone that does the dirty work of others.

Chapter 256 - surging situation 

The first thing Shi Feng did after entering God's Domain was to contact Gentle Snow and conduct the transaction for the Arclight Shields.

Currently, he had exhausted most of his supply of Magic Crystals to forge the Arclight Shields. Moreover, during this period of time, the various large Guilds had already started raiding the three Level 10 large-scale Team Dungeons.

Although the elite members of these Guilds had already reached Level 13 or Level 14, it was still impossible for them to raid even the Normal Mode of the three large-scale Team Dungeons.

Even though these were only Level 10 Dungeons, in reality, the Bosses inside were not limited to just Level 10. The highest leveled Boss inside the Normal Mode Dungeon reached Level 13. There was nothing special about the loot of the Normal Mode Dungeon; the best items players could get were a bunch of Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment, and also some number of materials needed by Lifestyle players.

However, the Hard Mode of the large-scale Team Dungeon was markedly different.

The main reason why they were titled the Three Great Dungeons was because of the fact that, along with the increase in difficulty, the levels of the monsters inside the Dungeon would also increase. For the Hard Mode of the Three Great Dungeons, the Bosses inside were all Level 15. Hence, it would not be an easy endeavor for players at this stage of the game to obtain the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons.

In addition, the loot obtainable from the Hard Mode of these Dungeons was significantly different, as a majority of the weapons and equipment dropped were of Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, they were Growth-type Weapons and Equipment; they were capable of growing from Level 10 to Level 15. However, they were bound to players upon equipping.

As for Hell Mode, the Bosses inside were all Level 18, and the weapons and equipment they dropped were mostly Dark-Gold rank. These items were also capable of growing from Level 10 to Level 18, and similarly were bound to players upon equipping. The Hell Mode of the Three Great Dungeons was also the most difficult among Dungeons below Level 20.

After Level 20, there would be new large-scale Dungeons available to players within the White River City region. There were a total of four such Dungeons, and among them, three were 50-man Dungeons, while the remaining one was a 100-man Dungeon. The difficulty of a 100-man Dungeon was on an entirely different level when compared to a 50-man Dungeon. The main reason being, as long as someone managed to obtain the First Clear of a 100-man Dungeon, the achievement would be announced to the entire God's Domain. The announcement wasn't just limited to a single country. In other words, this achievement would be seen by the two billion players that were playing God's Domain. In addition, the achievement would be recorded in the Epic List of God's Domain, allowing everyone in God's Domain look at it.

However, it was extremely difficult for players to obtain the first Clear of a 100-man Dungeon. Even Shi Feng himself did not have a strategy to raid it.

\---

Gentle Snow pushed open the doors of one of the parlors of the Starstreak Trading Firm and entered the room. Gentle Snow's equipment now was quite different from the last time Shi Feng had met with her. Most of the equipment she had on were of Secret-Silver rank. Among them, the silvery-white greatsword that she carried on her back was even of Fine-Gold rank. Currently, Gentle Snow had already reached Level 16. It was obvious that she had been grinding nonstop, night and day, to reach such a level.

"Let's hurry up and make the trade," Gentle Snow said impatiently, not bothering to even take a seat.

"It seems that you are in quite a hurry, Miss Snow. Did something happen?" Shi Feng asked curiously.

This was a transaction involving Fine-Gold ranked shields. It was definitely a matter of utmost importance. However, it seemed that Gentle Snow had an even more important matter to attend to.

"It's nothing much. I just heard that Dark Star has already reached the second-to-last Boss of the Land of Death, so I wish to be done with this trade quickly. In a moment, I'll need to head to the Land of Death as well." Gentle Snow did not try to hide the reason for her distress.

The number one Guild in White River City was actually a step behind Dark Star, a third-rate Guild, in terms of raiding one of the Three Great Dungeons. How could she not feel anxious?

"They sure are fast. Since when did Dark Star possess such powerful experts?" Shi Feng felt something fishy about Dark Star.

First, it had annexed over ten unrated Guilds. Now, a group of experts had appeared in its ranks. Its raiding progress of the Three Great Dungeons was even faster than Ouroboros's. It should be known that Ouroboros was the current number one Guild in White River City. Moreover, in order to better develop the Guild in White River City, Gentle Snow had transferred over many experts stationed at Star-Moon City. She had even requested for a party from the God-Slaying Army to be sent to White River City, and each and every member of the God-Slaying Army was a top-tier expert. Yet, even when these top-tier experts were led by great experts such as Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru, they still were not a match for Dark Star.

Each of the Three Great Dungeons had five Bosses. Meanwhile, Dark Star had already cleared up to the fourth Boss, while a powerful team like Ouroboros was only at the second Boss.

No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, Dark Star's progression was simply unbelievable.

The difference between second-rate Guilds and first-rate Guilds lay in the quality of their experts. In order to nurture these experts, first-rate Guilds had spent over a decade researching and gaining experience. Meanwhile, for a Guild like the Assassin's Alliance, although it was a second-rate Guild, in terms of nurturing experts, it was still at the stage of accumulating experience. Compared to a first-rate Guild, they were on entirely different levels.

However, what did Dark Star amount to?

Moreover, Shi Feng had made Dark Star an enemy of the first-rate Guild Twilight Echo. Yet, nothing had actually happened to Dark Star; Shi Feng had received no news of anything happening to it. On the other hand, Twilight Echo had done something so unbelievable that even Shi Feng himself was shocked. The Guild had actually paid the 50 million Credits willingly to Shi Feng.

Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt that the power supporting Dark Star from behind was far stronger than he had imagined. Twilight Echo must've discovered something about Dark Star for it to willingly pay up the 50 million Credits.

"Here are 200 Magic Crystals."

"Here are the four Arclight Shields, please verify them."

Gentle Snow was no longer in the mood to discuss Dark Star. She immediately called out her trade window. Shi Feng, likewise, tactfully stopped speaking of this topic. Seeing Gentle Snow in such a hurry, it seemed that Dark Star was putting quite a pressure on her. It was possible that Gentle Snow's worries were not just limited to the Dungeon; there should be some other matters troubling her. In any case, this had nothing to do with Shi Feng.

Of course, if Gentle Snow was willing to reveal her troubles to him, Shi Feng would naturally offer a helping hand, as a friend. However, Gentle Snow chose to keep quiet about them, so Shi Feng could only remain silent as well. Moreover, these four Arclight Shields should provide quite an upgrade to the MTs of Gentle Snow's team. They should have no problems surpassing Dark Star if they had these shields.

The moment Gentle Snow inspected the Attributes of the Arclight Shields, her eyes immediately glowed, a hint of joy surfacing on her face.

"Excellent! The Attributes on these Arclight Shields are simply too good! I will need two more of these items. I wonder when you will be able to finish them for me?" At this time, excitement was evident on Gentle Snow's face. With these four shields, they would definitely have no problem clearing the second Boss.

"The success rate for producing these shields is simply too low. I will need around half a day's time to complete two of them," Shi Feng replied after giving it some thought.

"Then, I'll visit again in half a day's time. You better not sell them to anyone else!" Gentle Snow nodded her head. She then left the parlor hastily.

\---

Shortly after Gentle Snow departed, Fire Dance arrived at the Starstreak Trading Firm.

"Guild Leader, we've already finished our Dungeon-raiding preparations. We can head to the Demon's Castle at any time." Fire Dance looked at Shi Feng with passionate eyes. She couldn't help but wish she could immediately show Shi Feng how amazing the team she managed was.

"It's a little too early for that right now. The Demon's Castle is a 20-man Team Dungeon. You should also know that Zero Wing Workshop has recently recruited a new batch of members. On average, the level of these players are quite low. There are even some who have just made their accounts and entered the game. I want you guys to power-level some of them, bring them up to Level 15 quickly, and form a main team to raid the Demon's Castle," Shi Feng said with a smile, passing Fire Dance a namelist.

Originally, Shi Feng had intended to have Aqua Rose send some of her subordinates over to aid them. However, most of her subordinates were currently managing the new recruits of the Guild. In addition, Aqua Rose's group was also in the midst of raiding 10-man and 20-man Dungeons to upgrade their equipment, preparing themselves to raid the Three Great Dungeons. They had neither the time nor energy to help him raid the Demon's Castle.

Hence, Shi Feng planned to form a main force for the Guild. He could not let the nine top-tier experts he just recently recruited go to waste, so he decided to let Fire Dance and the others carry them.

"I understand," Fire Dance answered with disappointment. However, when she thought about how Shi Feng was willing to let her lead even more players and, in addition, become the leader of the Guild's main team, she couldn't help but grow joyous. After all, this showed that Shi Feng acknowledged her abilities.

"Oh, right. I nearly forgot to give these things to you."

Just as Fire Dance was about to turn around and leave, Shi Feng tapped his head and suddenly called out to her.

Chapter 260 - top six

Fire Dance halted her steps and turned around to look at Shi Feng. She immediately noticed that Shi Feng had brought a few items, and each and every one of them had a golden glow surrounding them. They certainly did not look like ordinary items.

"This pair of daggers is for you. There's also this shield for Cola. Tell him to make sure he lives up to this shield." Shi Feng traded the three items to Fire Dance.

Of these, the pair of daggers were none other than the Fine-Gold ranked Ice Thorn and Raging Flames Dagger that Shi Feng won at the Blackwing Auction. As the team leader of the Guild's main force, Fire Dance's equipment naturally should not lose out to others. These two daggers were just right to give a boost to her current equipment.

In addition, there was also the Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Guard. If Cola equipped this shield, no other Guardian Knight in White River City could even hope to match him.

"This..." Fire Dance was instantly mesmerized by the Attributes of the two daggers.

Although the daggers she currently used were of relatively good quality, when compared to the Ice Thorn and Raging Flames Dagger, the difference was like silver and gold.

Fire Dance swapped out her old daggers for the new ones right away. The streaks of white and red hanging on the sides of Fire Dance's willowy waist looked extremely captivating.

"I've already instructed the nine players to head to the appointed location. You just need to fetch them and help them level up," Shi Feng said.

"I understand, Guild Leader." Fire Dance nodded her head, a smile on her face. She then took hold of her new daggers, brandishing them, the impatience in her eyes clearly showing her eagerness to test out her new weapons.

\---

After Fire Dance left the parlor, Shi Feng headed to his Forging Room on the fourth floor.

Now that he had received a new batch of Magic Crystals, he would naturally resume forging more Arclight Shields.

As time slowly passed, unknowingly, the competition at the Three Great Dungeons of White River City grew even more intense.

Dark Star, which was at the forefront in terms of progression, finally started raiding the final Boss of the Land of Death. Meanwhile, Ouroboros, which was placed second, started raiding the fourth Boss. The advance of these two Guilds greatly shocked the other Guilds in White River City.

"What did that woman, Gentle Snow, eat? How could their progression suddenly increase so rapidly?!" The Guardian Knight, Lone Tyrant, felt pressured after receiving the latest report from his subordinate.

"Don't worry. We spent almost five hours raiding the fourth Boss. At the very minimum, Gentle Snow would need two to three hours to finish it. We will definitely clear the Dungeon a step ahead of her," the burly-looking Ranger standing beside Lone Tyrant said.

"That's true. We've sent all our elites out this time, and our battle prowess is clearly stronger than Gentle Snow's team by a notch." Lone Tyrant also felt that he was being oversensitive to things. They would definitely be the first one to clear the Normal Mode of the Land of Death. Although there would be no announcement for being the first to clear a Normal Mode Team Dungeon, it would still make other Guilds know how fearsome Dark Star was, solidifying their position in White River City.

"Guild Leader, I've just received news that Gentle Snow has somehow managed to obtain four Arclight Shields. The addition of these four shields to their team has greatly reduced the burden placed on their healers, giving more time for the damage dealers to attack. Hence why they could conquer the Bosses so easily."

"Arclight Shield? Isn't that the Forging Design Black Flame got? How could he possibly manage to produce them in such a short amount of time?" Lone Tyrant had not even been able contain his drool when he had heard about Black Flame obtaining the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. If possible, he had planned to buy one of those Arclight Shields as well. However, contacting Black Flame was simply too difficult, making the Arclight Shield almost impossible to obtain.

\---

Meanwhile, the matter of Ouroboros obtaining the Arclight Shields had also quickly spread to the other Guilds. They couldn't help but grow envious at this piece of news.

The victory or defeat of a Boss battle was usually determined by the strength of the MT. Meanwhile, the prerequisite for a powerful MT was equipment. It was especially true for the shield the MT used.

Currently, only a few main MTs of the various large Guilds possessed Secret-Silver ranked shields. However, despite having such a shield, these MTs still had a very hard time tanking the Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons. If they could swap it out for a Fine-Gold ranked shield, it would undeniably reduce the pressure placed on them, instantly reducing the difficulty of the raid by a large margin.

Ouroboros was the best proof.

After all, during today's competition for the Land of Death, although a latecomer, Ouroboros had still managed to clear the Normal Mode Dungeon ahead of Dark Star. This achievement dumbfounded every Guild in White River City.

As for Dark Star's Lone Tyrant, he was currently burning with rage over this matter. He had secretly prepared so much, all in order to surpass Ouroboros. In the end, however, he was instead given a big slap to the face by Ouroboros.

Soon after, the various large Guilds in White River City started asking around, hoping to find out from the members of Ouroboros what method they used to obtain the Arclight Shields. Some Guilds had even directly created forum posts offering several hundred thousands of Credits to purchase an Arclight Shield.

Looking at this scene, many players felt that these Guilds had gone insane. They were actually willing to spend so much money just to buy a Fine-Gold ranked shield.

However, this bottom line was, very quickly, broken by a Guild.

One million Credits!

It was a number that inspired awe in ordinary people. Meanwhile, the goal of spending such a large sum of money was to purchase the Arclight Shield.

How could this piece of news not bring shock to others?

At the same time, the Guild offering such an insane price was none other than Dark Star.

The players who discovered this matter thought the people of Dark Star were idiots with too much money in their pockets. However, when Shi Feng saw Dark Star's offer, he couldn't help but inwardly praise them for their shrewdness. Aside from trying to purchase the Arclight Shield, they had also made the post with the intention of directing players' attention towards Dark Star. If they truly managed to purchase the shield for one million Credits, it would definitely become the subject of conversation for many players. This method they were using was much more effective than directly spending money to create advertisements.

"A million? Unfortunately, I'm not lacking in Credits right now."

Shi Feng did not intend to let Dark Star gain both fame and fortune by selling the Arclight Shield to them. However, this incident also revealed to Shi Feng the fact that the various large Guilds were starting to pay more importance to the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons.

If Shi Feng had sold the Arclight Shields at an earlier time, he definitely would not have obtained such a high price for them.

However, due to Ouroboros's efficiency, the various large Guilds thought that they could easily clear the Normal Mode of the Three Great Dungeons so long as they possessed the Arclight Shield. They could also have a better chance at obtaining the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons.

After working for half a day, Shi Feng managed to produce six Arclight Shields in total. He had also made a large number of Basic Mana Armor Kits. Out of the six shields he made, he stored three in the Guild Warehouse, allowing Guild members to exchange for it. However, it would not be easy to exchange for these shields. After all, if sold outside, one could get at least 25 Gold for it.

The sight of three Arclight Shields appearing in Zero Wing's Guild Warehouse brought the newly recruited members even greater hope, despite their not being able to obtain it for themselves.

At the same time, Shi Feng's actions nearly caused the other Guilds in White River City to vomit blood in anger.

After all, instead of letting the MTs of the Guild use these excellent shields, Shi Feng had chosen to put them on display. It was as if these Arclight Shields meant nothing to Zero Wing.

Just recently Zero Wing created a sensation throughout White River City. Now, its member count had already exceeded 5,000. It also had the eight great experts holding down the fort for them; Zero Wing's strength could no longer be categorized within the levels of only second-rate or third-rate Guilds.

Now that Zero Wing caused another sensation in White River City, many players could not help but reevaluate their opinion of Zero Wing.

When players tried to further investigate Zero Wing, they were immediately shocked by what they found.

Not only was Zero Wing home to the eight great experts, it also had Aqua Rose, a great expert who was no weaker than the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. In addition, there was also a rumor that the leveling expert, Shi Feng, was overseeing the Guild. With so many experts there, Zero Wing's strength within White River City did not lose out to the three first-rate Guilds in the slightest. Although it was weaker than the first-rate Guilds in terms of Dungeon-raiding, it had an extremely huge potential for growth.

Unwittingly, Zero Wing had become publicly acknowledged as one of the top six Guilds in White River City.

The top six Guilds were Ouroboros, Emperor's Light, World Dominators, Dark Star, Assassin's Alliance, and Zero Wing. Among these Guilds, Ouroboros, Emperor's Light, and World Dominators were all first-rate Guilds, and each of them possessed very powerful backgrounds. Even if only a portion of their actual strength was stationed in White River City, second-rate and third-rate Guilds were still far from being comparable to them.

Shortly after this incident, Shi Feng exchanged another two Arclight Shields with Gentle Snow. He then placed the remaining one for sale at the Starstreak Trading Firm.

Thirty Gold, no negotiations.

If converted to Credits, one could obtain 30 Gold Coins simply by spending around 600,000 Credits. However, it would still require some effort to fully gather 30 Gold Coins.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had reached Level 17 unawares just by forging items. Although his leveling speed was not as fast as that of Blackie and the others, who grinded on monsters on a higher level, nobody else in White River City could be a match for him.

"Guild Leader, they're now all Level 15 already. Moreover, we've also raided a few Hard Mode Team Dungeons, so their equipment are all of acceptable quality now. What should we do next?" Fire Dance spoke through the communicator.

"Nicely done! Gather up everyone from the main team. Let's meet up at the Demon's Castle half an hour from now." Shi Feng was a little surprised by Fire Dance's revelation. He never imagined that Fire Dance would bring him results so quickly. Originally, Shi Feng had estimated that she would take a full day's time to complete the task. In the end, she barely took half a day to complete his request. It was completely beyond his expectations.