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Chapter 540 - Grand Gathering

While Shi Feng hunted and harvested members of Overwhelming Smile...

White River City had become the focal point of Star-Moon Kingdom. Many
upper managers from first-rate and second-rate Guilds had arrived in
White River City.

“What’s going on? Why are so many Guilds in White River City? I’ve never
seen many of them before.”

“I heard that they’ve come to partner with the Candlelight Trading Firm.
There are even Guilds from the surrounding kingdoms, including the Black
Dragon Empire who have shown up, let alone Star-Moon Kingdom’s Guilds.”

“Weren’t others saying how empire players were much stronger than
kingdom players? That doesn’t seem to be the case to me. In the end,
haven’t they still come over to our White River City for some
advantage?”

“They’ve only come here because of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Look at
the other kingdoms. Which one of them possesses a Shop that sells
Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Right now, nobody has any Level 25
Dark-Gold Equipment for sale at all. Meanwhile, the Intermediate Mana
Armor Kits are even more powerful than Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment, and
the Candlelight Trading Firm can produce it in large quantities. Having
it and not can make a huge difference to Dungeon-raiding progress and
PvP fights. Naturally, these Guilds realize how important such an item
is.”

The players filling White River City’s streets and alleyways discussed
the large number of Guilds gathering in White River City, and a sense of
pride bloomed in their hearts. No one would have thought that a
Lifestyle Guild could possess so much influence.

“Damn! Why have so many people come here?!” At this moment, Feng
Xuanyang watched the growing number of Guild representatives enter the
Candlelight Trading Firm, wrathful flames burning in his eyes.

To collect the required 1,500 Gold, he had gone through a lot of trouble
to sell the Light Stones; he also had to add in a large sum of his own
Credits. Meanwhile, it was obvious that the reason many Guilds had come
here today was none other than to purchase the Intermediate Mana Armor
Kits.

The Candlelight Trading Firm did not offer a large supply of
Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. It had been a huge challenge for him to
buy 300 kits for himself. Now that more competitors had appeared, his
chances of fulfilling that quota had shrunk further.

Among the Guilds that had arrived, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion from the
Black Dragon Empire was the most powerful. It was the first-rate Guild
that was the closest to becoming a Super Guild. Unfortunately, the
Pavilion was younger than those true Super Guilds, having been
established later. Otherwise, it would have joined the Super Guilds’
ranks by now.

Meanwhile, the force and financial prowess backing the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion was no less than that of an organization like Underworld.
Currently, the Pavilion was the Black Dragon Empire’s number one Guild.
Other first-rate Guilds stood no chance against it.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had sent one of its two Pavilion Masters,
the Dragon Pavilion Master, as its representative. In the Guild, the
Dragon Pavilion Master’s status was only below that of the Great
Pavilion Master.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s management style was different from other
Guilds. Normally, a Guild’s management personnel consisted of the Guild
Leader, Vice Leaders, Elders, and so on. On the other hand, the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could be split into two Pavilions: the Dragon
Pavilion and the Phoenix Pavilion. Each Pavilion was the equivalent of a
single Guild, and both Pavilions developed themselves independent of
each other. Meanwhile, a Pavilion Master governed each Pavilion. One
could say that the Pavilion Masters were the equivalents of the Guild
Leader of a Guild. Moreover, the influence each Pavilion wielded equaled
that of a top-tier first-rate Guild. With both Pavilions merged, one
could just imagine how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was.

The Great Pavilion Master managed the coordination between the two
Pavilions. This Great Pavilion Master was extremely mysterious and
secretive. Even until now, there had yet to be anyone who knew the Great
Pavilion Master’s identity. However, the fact that this person was
capable of managing two first-rate Guilds at the same time showed how
capable they were.

“Young Master Feng, we should be celebrating!” the slightly chubby man
beside Feng Xuanyang said, smiling.

“Celebratory Alcohol, what are you trying to say?” Feng Xuanyang
frowned, saying, “With so many competitors here right now, how will I
possibly be able to buy 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits?”

“Young Master Feng, hasn’t our initial goal been to defeat the
Candlelight Trading Firm and establish our own trade empire in White
River City?” Celebratory Alcohol slowly explained, “If only little fish
and shrimp visit the firm, it would indeed be a good thing for the
Candlelight Trading Firm. However, those who have arrived are all tigers
and leopards; this is not good news for the Trading Firm.

“Think about it; the people that have shown up are either here to
purchase the Candlelight Trading Firm or seek a partnership. However,
who doesn’t want to monopolize the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits for
themselves? It is especially true for the people from the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion. In order to become a true Super Guild, the Pavilion has
ignored all costs and recruited a large number of experts. They even
managed to recruit five of last year’s top ten newcomers to the virtual
gaming world, not to mention experts who have already been famous for
many years.

“Currently, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit is the perfect item for the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to advance itself. Naturally, the Guild will not
let go of this chance to obtain the kit for itself. The other Guilds
should feel the same.

“However, Young Master Feng, you have personally seen the personality of
the Candlelight Trading Firm’s manager. Even Miss Youlan was helpless
against her. One can just imagine what kind of response these newly
arrived Guilds will receive. At that time, things will definitely end on
a sour note, and the Candlelight Trading Firm will make enemies of the
various Guilds. At that time, not only will we have the opportunity to
complete the task given by the higher-ups, but we can also take the
opportunity to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm.”

When Celebratory Alcohol finished speaking, realization dawned upon Feng
Xuanyang.

“You’re right! We’ll have a good show to watch this time!” Feng Xuanyang
began laughing madly.

On the surface, although this seemed like a grand gathering, in reality,
it was a festival of murder.

If the Candlelight Trading Firm offended the Guilds that had arrived,
these Guilds would hold nothing back to suppress the Candlelight Trading
Firm. If Underworld added fuel to the fire, who would dare to supply the
Candlelight Trading Firm? Who would dare sell their materials to the
Candlelight Trading Firm? Any Guild or Workshop that did would lose any
hope of succeeding in God’s Domain. Even if the Candlelight Trading Firm
were only a Lifestyle Guild and could not be dealt with like a Combat
Guild, it could not survive without materials, forging designs, recipes,
and other such items. Sooner or later, the items that were highly sought
after now would become obsolete. At that time, the Candlelight Trading
Firm would be finished.

---

“Big Sis Melancholic, there are so many Guilds in the first floor’s hall
today that I nearly lost count. There are over a hundred Guilds who
registered to meet with us to discuss business. Among them, there are
over a dozen first-rate Guilds. It also seems that they have come with
bad intentions. What should we do?” one of Melancholic Smile’s female
assistants asked nervously.

No ordinary player would ever have dreamed such a scene.

Star-Moon Kingdom only had several first-rate Guilds. Now, not only had
every one of these first-rate Guilds arrived, but there were even
first-rate and second-rate Guilds from other kingdoms and empires as
well.

“I understand. Have the NPCs welcome them for now. I’ll try to think of
a solution in the meantime.”

Melancholic Smile also struggled with the situation. She had never
expected that the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits would have such a huge
influence. They had attracted a pack of hungry wolves and beasts to
their doorstep.

If she had known something like this would happen, she never would have
suggested that Shi Feng sell the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Even if
they wanted to sell them, they should have only done so after the
Candlelight Trading Firm had secured its position in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Now, however, they were surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Although Melancholic Smile really wished to solve this problem by
herself, she could not come up with any ideas. This situation was
different than the previous one she had handled with the Guilds. If she
approached this forcefully, she would offend the major powers of several
kingdoms and an empire. To put it simply, she would be seeking her own
death.

Helpless, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to contact Shi Feng. She
was truly out of options, and she could only hope that Shi Feng had
something up his sleeve...

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Chapter 541 - Terrifying Great Demon King

The Barren Ridge was a wasteland located in the Maple City Region. The
land was parched and cracked; not even a blade of grass could grow here.
Yellow sand choked the wind as it was lifted into the air all year long.
Yet, at this moment, many players could be seen grinding and leveling in
this desolate area.

The Barren Ridge was a Level 25 to Level 32 leveling map. Although it
was a wasteland, various kinds of Stone Beasts lived there. Stone Beasts
were Elemental Creatures made of excellent stone materials. There was a
20% chance to obtain Advanced Stones when killing these monsters, and
they even had a small chance of dropping rare ores.

Nowadays, the forging industry was very popular, and many Lifestyle
players who disliked combat would learn forging. Hence, all sorts of
forging materials were in high demand right now. Even if the Barren
Ridge did not contain treasure chests or advanced quests, many players
still preferred to grind for Stones and ores here while leveling up.

The various large Guilds had monopolized the high-resource maps
surrounding every city, leaving no room or access to ordinary players.
If an ordinary player were discovered trespassing into a Guild-run zone,
the Guild members would either chase them away or kill them on the spot.

Knowing this, ordinary players naturally avoided these high-resource
maps. Instead, they could only explore ordinary maps such as the Barren
Ridge.

However, after Shi Feng’s last visit to the Dragon Ridge, Overwhelming
Smile’s members avoided the zone at all costs. Instead, they had come to
the Barren Ridge to grind and level up. This resulted in ordinary
players flooding the Dragon Ridge, and Maple City’s ordinary players
came to admire the name Black Flame.

One man was capable of forcing an entire Guild to concede. Black Flame’s
strength was inconceivable!

Laughing Heaven, Overwhelming Smile’s Guild Leader, wanted nothing more
than to hack Shi Feng into thousands of tiny pieces.

Unfortunately, even Laughing Heaven’s hands were tied.

Based on War Wolf’s report, Shi Feng’s Base Attributes were simply too
high. He was far beyond experts like them. If they wanted a fighting
chance against him, they needed to upgrade their equipment and Base
Attributes first. Before that happened, however, they could only try
their best to keep hidden.

Of course, there were other methods they could use such as hunting Shi
Feng in large teams. However, a team of several hundred players would
not be enough. A single large-scale destruction spell would be more than
enough to annihilate most of the team. At the very least, they needed to
mobilize armies of over a thousand players. Unfortunately, Shi Feng’s
whereabouts were unknown. It was practically impossible to trap him with
thousands of players. So, they had no choice but to endure until they
possessed a strategic-level expert capable of rivaling Black Flame.

“Damn, just how long do we have to grind here?” a Level 24 Summoner from
Overwhelming Smile grumbled. “Since when have Overwhelming Smile members
ever suffered such a loss before? We are actually forced to this
godforsaken place. Isn’t he just one expert? I don’t believe that we
can’t take him out if several hundred of us gang up on him.”

“Shh! Be quiet! What if your big mouth really summons that person?” the
Level 25 Elementalist serving as the team’s leader warned the Summoner
softly, frowning as he carefully observed his surroundings. “You were
lucky that you weren’t out that night. If you experienced that volcanic
power, you would know that even a team of hundreds of players would be
no different than ants. Moreover, not even the Shield Warriors and
Guardian Knights with high HP and Defense survived a single hit from
that expert.”

Many among the team nodded their agreement to the Elementalist’s words.
Although it was currently daytime, they could still recall the madness
of that night as if it had happened yesterday.

“Team Leader, aren’t you overexaggerating? Although our current
equipment isn’t top-tier, even someone fully geared with Level 25
Dark-Gold Equipment should not be able to kill our team’s Guardian
Knights and Shield Warriors in one hit, right?” the Summoner replied,
refusing to believe his team leader’s claim.

Moments after this Summoner finished speaking, a black figure suddenly
descended from the sky.

“Don’t believe it?

“Why don’t you experience it yourself, then?”

The person who had flown down from the sky was none other than Shi Feng
himself. The Barren Ridge was ridiculously large, and Overwhelming
Smile’s members had scattered across the map. For efficiency’s sake, Shi
Feng had no choice but to activate Wind Rider to hunt these people. When
Shi Feng noticed this 100-man team from Overwhelming Smile, he had
immediately flown towards them.

The instant Shi Feng descended, he switched the Aura of Wind to the Aura
of Fire and launched a Firestorm from above, covering a radius of 30
yards.

Flames filled the sky, burning everything in its vicinity to ash and
dust. Even the Level 27 Stone Beasts, which possessed high Magic
Resistance and 5,000 HP, died with the first wave of damage, not to
mention players whose HPs were below 5,000 and had zero Magic
Resistance.

In the blink of an eye, less than 30 players remained of Overwhelming
Smile’s 100-man team.

They’re too spread out. After landing, Shi Feng frowned slightly when he
noticed that many had escaped his Firestorm.

However, the massive AOE had dumbfounded Overwhelming Smile’s members.

“Crap! It’s the Great Demon King! Split up and run! Contact the Guild
Leader and notify everyone else immediately!” the Elementalist team
leader responded quickly as he shouted in the team chat.

“Team Leader, what should we be afraid of? He’s just one person. Watch
me take care of him!” Although the Summoner was also stunned by Shi
Feng’s Firestorm, he quickly began chanting an incantation and summoned
a Flame Beast, ordering it to attack the newcomer.

The Flame Beast was a Fire-type Elemental Creature possessing extremely
high flame damage. Moreover, it also had a very powerful Skill.

Self-detonate!

When activated, the Flame Beast would self-destruct and cause 300%
damage to all enemies within a radius of 10 yards. It was a considerably
powerful AOE Skill. However, upon activating Self-detonate, the Flame
Beast could not be summoned again for another four hours. So,
Self-detonate was not a Skill that could be used to grind monsters.

“Die!”

The Summoner controlled the Flame Beast to dash towards Shi Feng.

However, when the Flame Beast was only ten yards away from Shi Feng, a
streak of black light penetrated the Elemental’s body. The Flame Beast
began to dissipate instantly.

“Impossible!” Terror gripped the Summon upon losing control over his
Flame Beast.

The Flame Beast was the strongest Summoned Creature he could currently
call forth, and it had an HP of 10,000. Yet, before it could even get
close to Shi Feng, it was already killed. Even the Summoner had not seen
how his Flame Beast had died...

To end the battle quickly, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade and
Purgatory’s Power, increasing his attack range and damage. To Shi Feng,
the Flame Beast’s 10,000 HP and attack range of ten yards was nothing.

By the time the Summoner had reacted, he had discovered that he could
not move his body. Someone stood right in front of him, and although
this person hid his appearance behind a black cloak, his imposing aura
and horrifically cold killing intent shattered any thoughts of
resistance the Summoner had.

The Summoner was truly and thoroughly terrified.

Is this even a human...?

He finally understood why his team leader had sounded so unsettled. Just
mentioning the name “Black Flame” was a huge taboo.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng’s figure disappeared.

Am I hallucinating? Before the Summoner could say anything, his vision
began to gray. Suddenly, his body fell to the ground. When did he even
attack me?

In a short moment, Overwhelming Smile’s 100-man team had been
annihilated.

I’ve wasted too much time. They should have already contacted their
Guildmates by now. It will probably be more difficult to find other
members now. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the loot scattered across
the ground. He still had a long way to go to collect 5,000 Life Force
points.

Just as Shi Feng finished gathering the drops and was about to search
for the next batch of Life Force points, he received a call from
Melancholic Smile.

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Chapter 542 - Manager

White River City, inside the Candlelight Trading Firm’s first-floor
reception hall...

Currently, the upper managers from various Guilds occupied the large
reception hall. Among the Guilds present, the weakest were second-rate
Guilds, while the strongest Guild was close to becoming a Super Guild.
Some of these Guilds were allies, while others were enemies. Hence, the
reception hall’s atmosphere was extraordinarily intense.

Even the NPC beauty receiving these people felt uncomfortable.

“I didn’t think Guild Leader Snow would show up as well. It is indeed a
rare sight,” Galaxy Past said, laughing as he glanced at Gentle Snow
sitting a short distance away. “I heard that you have a mountain of work
to do back at Ouroboros and that Cao Chenghua is trying to split up the
Guild. Cao Chenghua has many of his supporters stationed in Star-Moon
City. Guild Leader Snow, is it really a good idea for you to be here
right now?”

“There is no reason for Guild Leader Galaxy to worry. Ouroboros is
getting by quite well right now. Otherwise, why would I come here?”
Gentle Snow did not reveal a trace of weakness as she replied. “On the
contrary, aren’t you, Guild Leader Galaxy, having a bad time right now?
I’ve heard that Star Alliance’s branch in the Lion Kingdom has suffered
a major loss, losing over 10,000 people in a single Guild War. In the
end, you even allowed others to profit.”

First-rate Guilds would usually develop themselves in several major
regions. Naturally, the Star Alliance was no exception.

The Lion Kingdom was west of the Star-Moon Kingdom. Though the kingdom
only occupied half as much area as the Star-Moon Kingdom, the kingdom’s
player population was still significant. Two first-rate Guilds and
multiple second-rate Guilds constantly fought over the Lion Kingdom. The
Star Alliance was one of the two first-rate Guilds. However, in order to
fight over a treasure, many of the Guilds in the Lion Kingdom had gone
all-out. In the end, the Star Alliance had suffered heavy losses. To
make matters worse, the other first-rate Guild had snatched the
treasure.

Despite Gentle Snow striking a sore spot, Galaxy Past did not grow
angry. Instead, he laughed and said, “As expected of Guild Leader Snow;
you really are well-informed. You truly do possess some of your
brother’s aura from when he controlled Ouroboros. Unfortunately, the
Ouroboros of today is not the Ouroboros of the past.”

Purple Eye, the beautiful female Elementalist sitting beside Galaxy
Past, on the other hand, radiated an intense killing intent as she
glared at Gentle Snow.

“You want to make a move?” Gentle Snow laughed. Suddenly, a frightening
aura surged forth. Smiling at Purple Eye, she said, “I heard that the
Star Alliance possesses five great experts, and they are Galaxy Past,
Red Feather, Flourishing Willow, Flying Jade, and Purple Eye. Among
them, Flying Jade is the most mysterious, and Purple Eye is the
strongest. I really want to know if this rumor is true.”

“Let’s put it to the test, then!” Purple Eye provoked, showing no
intention of backing off.

For a time, it felt as if the temperature in the reception hall had
fallen by a few degrees.

Ouroboros and the Star Alliance were known enemies. Both Guilds had
competed against each other for over a dozen years, and at this point,
their rivalry would not stop until one of them was wiped out of
existence. Hence, the stand-off between the two Guilds did not seem out
of place to anyone watching.

The many Guild representatives promptly moved to the side, hoping to
watch the fight between the two beauties.

Meanwhile, sitting at the forefront of the reception hall, a robust man
resembling Zhang Fei[1] suddenly turned to the handsome and dashing
youth seated beside him, respectfully saying, “Pavilion Master, this
subordinate will go and remind them of where they are lest they ruin
Pavilion Master’s good mood.”

Saying so, this robust man strode towards Gentle Snow and Purple Eye.
Suddenly, however, a single hand halted his advance.

“Forget it. Doing nothing but waiting here is quite boring. Watching
them fight will be a nice change of pace,” the dashing youth said,
smiling faintly.

“Understood.”

The robust man returned to his seat.

Everyone present had seen the handsome youth’s actions. And though that
high and mighty attitude of his displeased the other Guild
representatives, nobody felt that the youth’s attitude was
inappropriate.

This handsome youth was one of the two Pavilion Masters of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The Pavilion had possessed the strength of a
Super Guild for a long time now. It lacked a stage to display its might.
Meanwhile, in the eyes of Super Guilds, first-rate Guilds were nothing
but children. It was only natural that the handsome youth thought little
of the others.

Just as Gentle Snow and Purple Eye were about to face-off, a loud shout
suddenly echoed through the hall.

“Everyone, stay your hands!”

A clear, crisp voice swept through the crowd. When everyone turned to
look at the owner of this voice, they discovered another great beauty.
Unlike Gentle Snow and Purple Eye, this beauty did not possess a
frightening aura. However, although she seemed somewhat ordinary, every
Guild representative took her seriously.

This beauty was the Candlelight Trading Firm’s manager, Melancholic
Smile.

“This is the Candlelight Trading Firm, not the arena! All forms of
fighting are prohibited here. If someone wishes to challenge the rules
of the Candlelight Trading Firm, then I will have no choice but to send
you on your way!” Melancholic Smile scolded.

Nobody doubted Melancholic Smile’s power. Inside a private Shop, the
manager was invincible. The manager of the Shop could teleport someone
out with a single thought and bar that person from entering the building
ever again.

Sure enough, she is indeed formidable! It is no wonder why she can
ignore even Underworld! Galaxy Past could not help but focus on
Melancholic Smile.

The upper managers of the other Guilds were similarly surprised.

They had not expected Melancholic Smile to be so fearless.

Every player here was an overlord in their own right; their status and
identities were extraordinary. It was especially true for the first-rate
Guilds present. Yet, Melancholic Smile had not left any room for
argument. Her mighty attitude was exactly as the information they
received stated, so much so that she appeared even more overwhelming
than before.

At Melancholic Smile’s appearance, Gentle Snow and Purple Eye glanced at
each other before turning away.

Everyone had come here today to do business. Nothing good would come
from provoking the Candlelight Trading Firm.

Peace returned to the reception hall, and everyone began to observe
Melancholic Smile. Although she did not emit any sort of aura, there
were not many people who had the courage to reproach two first-rate
Guilds.

After all, the Candlelight Trading Firm was but a single Lifestyle
Guild. Without any combat power of its own, it would have no choice but
to purchase its materials from Combat Guilds. One could say that the
Trading Firm’s survival relied on Combat Guilds. Moreover, as the game
progressed, the Trading Firm would require more precious materials. At
that time, the Firm’s reliance on Combat Guilds would grow stronger.
Hence, it was not a good idea for the Firm to offend powerful Combat
Guilds.

At this moment, the Dragon Pavilion Master seated at the forefront of
the hall opened his mouth and said, “Miss Melancholic, since you have
arrived, shouldn’t it be about time to begin our discussion?”

Everyone nodded their agreement to the Dragon Pavilion Master’s words.

They had waited for quite some time now, and they had only waited for so
long out of respect for the Candlelight Trading Firm’s prestige. Now
that its manager had arrived, it was only natural that they began
discussing business.

“Certainly. However, a manager like myself does not have the power to
make the decisions you are all looking for.” Melancholic Smile shook her
head.

“What are you trying to say?” various representatives asked, curious.
“Are you saying that you’re not going to do business with us?”

What a joke! They had come from so far and had spent a significant sum
on teleportation fees. Now that they were told that there was nothing to
discuss. Was the Candlelight Trading Firm just toying with them?

Suddenly, the temperature in the reception hall dropped sharply.

Not a single person present was someone that should be easily offended.
Not only were they powerful experts, but the influence they commanded
was also frightening. Standing by the side, Melancholic Smile’s
assistant felt her legs grow weak, her complexion paling. To an ordinary
player like herself, this pressure was immense.

Fortunately for the female assistant, everyone focused not on her, but
on Melancholic Smile instead. However, even Melancholic Smile did not
feel too well right now. This was her first time experiencing such an
immense pressure, so much so that even her hand trembled slightly.

She found it astonishing. This was merely a virtual reality game, yet,
she could still feel such intensity. She nearly lost her breath.

“I am only the manager of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Only my boss can
make decisions regarding the business you wish to discuss. If you are
really interested in working with us, then you’ll be able to meet my
boss if you wait for a little while longer.” After Melancholic Smile
finished speaking, she turned and left the reception hall.

For a time, silence overtook the reception hall.

Although they had long since guessed that Melancholic Smile was not the
Candlelight Trading Firm’s proprietor, hearing her statement had
surprised them.

Since Melancholic Smile had been able to establish such a powerful
trading firm, the force backing her would naturally be extraordinary.
Moreover, nobody present had yet to uncover the tiniest bit of
information about this hidden backer. One could just imagine this
mysterious backer’s power.

TL Notes:

[1]Zhang Fei (张飞): a military general serving under the warlord Liu
Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of
China.

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Chapter 543 - The Boss Behind the Scenes

Just as everyone inside the reception hall pondered the identity of the
Candlelight Trading Firm’s true boss, Shi Feng finally arrived in White
River City.

Overwhelming Smile’s reaction this time was really fast. I just ambushed
one group, and it immediately became difficult to find any players. Shi
Feng had originally intended to collect more Life Force points after
Melancholic Smile had contacted him. However, he never expected
Overwhelming Smile to have such decisive precautions. In the end, he had
to give up on his endeavor.

It was indeed possible for a single top-tier expert to delay the
development of an entire Guild. However, it was not possible for a
person to single-handedly annihilate a large Guild, particularly a
cautious Guild. Otherwise, many Guilds would have long since fallen into
ruin.

After returning to White River City, Shi Feng noticed that both the
number and quality of players had increased significantly.

“I wonder what has happened to Zero Wing’s recruitment?” Shi Feng then
called up the Guild System.

Shi Feng had busied himself with the Candlelight Trading Firm; he had
paid no attention to Zero Wing. He had left the Guild’s management to
Aqua Rose and Blackie. If the two of them had not encountered any major
issues, they normally would not contact him. So, Shi Feng was not all
that worried that anything had happened to the Guild while he had been
away.

Currently, Zero Wing was White River City’s publicly acknowledged number
one Guild. It stood at the very forefront in every aspect.

Although Zero Wing continued to wage war on Overwhelming Smile, and
plenty of battles still occurred between both Guilds every day, with the
Candlelight Trading Firm’s financial support, this kind of expenditure
was practically negligible. On the contrary, the ongoing war had
stimulated Guild members’ motivation, allowing them to improve their
combat techniques continuously. They had even made a huge profit through
killing their enemies, killing two birds with one stone.

Upon opening the Guild’s System Panel, Shi Feng suddenly noticed that
the Guild’s population had greatly increased.

Previously, the member count had balanced around 40,000. Now, however,
there were already more than 50,000 players in Zero Wing. Moreover, this
number continued to rise.

Throughout this time, Zero Wing had never changed its recruitment
standards. On the contrary, the minimum requirements had been raised
further in order to increase the quality of the new players. However,
instead of seeing a decline in the number of players joining the Guild,
the opposite had happened.

Fifty thousand people? Shi Feng pondered the situation.

During the initial stages of God’s Domain, a Guild with 50,000 members
could definitely be considered a large Guild. Normally, such Guilds
would split its members and develop themselves in multiple cities. Even
for a major city like White River City, having 50,000 members at a time
was about the limit. As for why there was a limit?

It was because there was a limit to the number of high-resource areas
available. Once the player population reached a certain level, the
high-resource areas would reach full capacity. Any increase in the
player population would result in the decrease in their development
speed. Hence, large Guilds would usually assign their members to various
cities, allowing their members to develop quickly.

Zero Wing already had 50,000 members. Moreover, the players Zero Wing
recruited all had strong techniques. Even if they had not reached the
standards of an elite player, they were not too far. Overall, Zero Wing
was stronger than second-rate Guilds and only slightly inferior to
first-rate Guilds. Not even first-rate Guilds could match Zero Wing’s
top combatants. Naturally, Zero Wing required more resources to
strengthen itself.

It seems that I have to begin development in other cities earlier than
expected.

Shi Feng had never expected for Zero Wing to develop so quickly.

His initial plan to expand Zero Wing to other cities would not have
begun for another month. He had also expected for Zero Wing’s member
count to reach 50,000 only two or three weeks after that. Now, however,
he had to initiate his plan ahead of time.

For now, however, I need to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm’s
problem. Shi Feng then contacted Aqua Rose.

“Guild Leader, do you need something? I’m quite busy at the moment,”
Aqua Rose asked pleasantly, smiling.

She had been extremely busy while Shi Feng had been away. Fire Dance and
the others had focused on their special training, so all important
matters regarding the Guild had been left to her to handle. However,
thanks to Shi Feng’s massive daily shipments of top-tier equipment,
particularly Level 30 Fine Gold and Dark Gold Equipment, and the flood
of enthusiastic players who wanted to join Zero Wing, she was quite
happy with her work.

Currently, Aqua Rose dared to pat her chest and guarantee that no elite
members of other Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom were better equipped than
Zero Wing’s members. As for Zero Wing’s core members, the equipment they
wore consisted of a mix of Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment,
with Dark-Gold Equipment being the majority.

If other Guilds discovered this, their eyes would pop out of their
sockets.

“Someone’s here to make trouble. What do you think we should do?” Shi
Feng laughed.

“Who’s the blind fool? They actually dare to cause trouble in White
River City?” Aqua Rose was initially surprised. However, very quickly,
she laughed and said, “Where are they? This lady will annihilate them
this instant!”

Although Aqua Rose was very busy, her Level had not lagged behind the
other core members whatsoever. It was the same for her equipment.
Currently, she was Level 27 and fully equipped with Dark-Gold Equipment.
The staff she wielded was also a staff exclusive to Elementalists that
Shi Feng had obtained from the Twilight Treasure Chests. Although the
staff’s Attributes were inferior to Blackie’s Epic ranked staff, her
weapon’s Attributes were very well-suited for Elementalists. In PvP
battles, it was in no way inferior to an Epic ranked staff.

“The Candlelight Trading Firm.”

When Shi Feng uttered those four words, a realization instantly struck
Aqua Rose.

“Guild Leader, are we really going to do this?” Aqua Rose could not help
but ask.

Currently, all players in White River City knew of the gathering of the
many upper managers of first-rate and second-rate Guilds at the
Candlelight Trading Firm. Presently, however, no one had discovered just
who stood behind the Candlelight Trading Firm. Only a few core members
of Zero Wing knew. After all, it wasn’t just Guilds that were capable of
setting up a Shop; individuals could do so as well. Many of the Shops
set up in minor cities were mostly set up by Workshops that focused on
Lifestyle classes. Not to mention, Shi Feng had also set up the
Candlelight Trading Firm under the name of the Horizon Alliance, making
it nearly impossible to trace back to Zero Wing.

“Everybody will learn the truth sooner or later. This is just a little
sooner than we had planned.” Shi Feng had never bothered hiding the fact
that he had established the Horizon Alliance. It was far more convenient
to manage a Shop through a Lifestyle Guild. After all, Combat Guilds and
Lifestyle Guilds had completely different specializations, and the
specialization of Lifestyle Guilds made them more suitable to develop
Shops.

In the past, after discovering this matter, many large Guilds had
promptly established a Lifestyle Guild to manage their Shops. Shi Feng
had only established a Lifestyle Guild ahead of time.

“Guild Leader, leave it to me.” Aqua Rose also grew excited.

---

Inside the Candlelight Trading Firm’s reception hall...

Due to Melancholic Smile’s statement, everyone inside the hall had begun
to make their guesses of who might be the Candlelight Trading Firm’s
owner.

However, even if the boss behind the scenes was impressive, what could
he possibly do against so many large Guilds?

As everyone occupied themselves with their discussions, time slowly
ticked by.

“This Candlelight Trading Firm sure knows how to treat its guests.
They’ve already made us wait for such a long time. Do they really think
we are easily bullied?” a representative of a second-rate Guild
complained.

Everyone was greatly displeased with the situation. Who were they?

They were the overlords of God’s Domain.

Moreover, they had brought both money and sincerity with them.

Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm actually dared make emperors like them
wait so long. Whoever was behind the Firm must truly be tired of living.

Meanwhile, seated in a corner of the hall, Feng Xuanyang watched the
souring situation with a smile.

The Candlelight Trading Firm might have been able to get away with
angering the various small Guilds of White River City, but if it angered
all of these large Guilds, who would dare supply the Firm?

Without materials, the Candlelight Trading Firm would not produce a
single product.

However, Feng Xuanyang’s smile had not lasted long as the doors to the
reception hall suddenly slammed open. In the next moment, a large group
of players, roughly one hundred, marched into the hall.

These players all radiated imposing auras. Not a single one looked
ordinary, and they were all Level 26 or above. Judging from the dazzling
glow effect on their equipment, the most inferior equipment they had was
Fine-Gold ranked, with the majority of their equipment consisting of
Dark-Gold rank.

On their chests, every player wore a six-winged silver emblem. This was
none other than Zero Wing’s Guild Emblem.

“Sorry I made you all wait for me.” Shi Feng suddenly crossed the
reception hall’s threshold, smiling. Sweeping a glance over everyone
present, he laughed and said, “I’m the owner of the Candlelight Trading
Firm, Black Flame.”

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 544 - Devour Everything

Zero Wing’s arrival had silenced the reception hall. At this moment,
practically every Guild representative in the hall focused on Shi Feng.

“Why does it have to be him?”

“So that’s the case. It is no wonder the Candlelight Trading Firm set up
its headquarters in White River City.”

Everyone suddenly came to a realization.

However, at the same time, the upper managers of the various large
Guilds reevaluated their impression of Zero Wing.

The majority of the people present had not understood Zero Wing’s true
strength. They had only read some reports about the Guild.

Before arriving in White River City, each Guild had investigated the
various Guilds residing in White River City.

The reports had contained a lot of information about Zero Wing.
Moreover, after the Guilds’ intelligence agents’ detailed investigation
of the number one Guild in White River City, they had quite the high
evaluation of Zero Wing.

Practically every agent had evaluated Zero Wing as a Guild that was
above a second-rate Guild, but below a first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, Zero
Wing’s Guild Leader, Black Flame, was even Star-Moon Kingdom’s number
one expert. Up till today, Black Flame had yet to suffer a single
defeat. Even Overwhelming Smile, the Guild secretly supported by
Underworld, could only hold the position of number two in White River
City.

When everyone had received these reports, they had simply laughed it off
and placed no particular importance on Zero Wing.

Now, however, the upper managers of the various large Guilds even
considered firing those intelligence agents of theirs.

Just what had they investigated?

“How can Zero Wing be so powerful?” Galaxy Past’s expression became grim
when he saw the members of Zero Wing.

“Guild Leader, the woman standing beside Black Flame, isn’t she Aqua
Rose?” An indescribable bitterness welled up in Purple Eye’s heart when
she saw Aqua Rose.

They were old acquaintances. In the past, Aqua Rose had once invited her
to join Twilight Echo. However, she had rejected the offer.

She had been greatly shocked to find out that Aqua Rose had left
Twilight Echo.

Twilight Echo was an even stronger Guild than the Star Alliance.
However, Aqua Rose had left it without hesitation. Moreover, she had
even joined a newly-established and unknown Guild after the fact.

When Purple Eye had received this news, she even thought she had heard
wrong.

She had also felt it was somewhat unfortunate. A capable gamer such as
Aqua Rose had taken such a foolish route.

Now, however, it would seem that Aqua Rose’s decision had not been the
wrong one at all.

A Guild with a single expert was not particularly frightening. However,
it was a different story if said Guild possessed a large group of
experts. Moreover, looking at the nearly one hundred people who had
entered the hall, each one of them wore equipment that could rival the
best equipment the Star Alliance had to offer, so much so that the
best-geared members of the Star Alliance were even inferior to some of
Zero Wing’s core members. Furthermore, the Star Alliance could only
scrape together, at most, enough equipment to gear a team of 20 players.
It was absolutely impossible for them to equip a 100-man team.

One could just imagine how powerful Zero Wing’s background was.

Moreover, Aqua Rose’s current equipment actually consisted of only
Dark-Gold Equipment. As for the dark-red staff in her hand, Purple Eye
could not even begin to imagine its rank. However, judging from the
amount of pressure it emitted, it was most likely above Dark-Gold rank.

Now that Zero Wing had displayed its strength, even Gentle Snow, who was
very familiar with Zero Wing, was surprised, not to mention the Star
Alliance, which was also a Star-Moon Kingdom Guild.

Regarding this revelation, Gentle Snow could only reveal a bitter smile.
She did not know whether she should rejoice or lament right now.

Previously, when Shi Feng had offered to annex Ouroboros, she had
thought that he was being wildly arrogant. However, looking at this
dazzling and imposing 100-man team, there might not be a second Guild in
all of Star-Moon Kingdom capable of building up such a team.

With the two first-rate Guilds of Star-Moon Kingdom reacting in such a
way, there was no need to mention the Guilds that had come from a
foreign country.

“Pavilion Master, this Zero Wing seems quite amazing! It has actually
obtained so much Dark-Gold Equipment. Every one of these players also
seem extraordinary, with a few even radiating dangerous auras!” a
blue-haired girl with bright eyes and slender eyebrows sitting beside
the Dragon Pavilion Master exclaimed, giggling. Contrary to her words,
her actions made it seem as if she did not take Zero Wing seriously at
all.

“As expected of the number one Guild of White River City. It really does
possess an impressive number of experts. The equipment it possesses is
even more surprising. Only, it is a pity that such good equipment is
actually being wasted on these people,” the handsome youth stated, his
gaze revealing a hint of greed.

He could not help but admit that the equipment worn by Zero Wing’s
members was indeed amazing. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion did not
have so much top-tier equipment, much less first-rate Guilds.

If he could snatch all of it away...

At that time, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would definitely become a bona
fide Super Guild. It might even become even more powerful than a few
current Super Guilds.

“Pavilion Master, should I secretly rob them all?” the robust man named
Blood Dragon asked softly.

“Let’s discuss it first.” The handsome youth waved his hand. Faintly
smiling, he said, “Whether it is the Candlelight Trading Firm’s
Intermediate Mana Armor Kits or Zero Wing’s equipment, it seems that my
trip to White River City has not been wasted. If I deal with this matter
properly, the Great Pavilion Master will definitely be pleased.”

“Pavilion Master is truly wise. At that time, I want to see just how the
Phoenix Pavilion plans to contend with our Dragon Pavilion,” Blood
Dragon laughed.

Even after silence had gripped the reception hall for some time, Shi
Feng had not hurried to dive straight into business. Instead, he waved
his hand and signaled Melancholic Smile.

At this moment, Melancholic Smile opened her mouth and said, “Ladies and
gentlemen, if you are here to purchase Intermediate Mana Armor Kits,
please follow me. As our stock is limited, the Candlelight Trading Firm
intends to hold a small-scale auction exclusively for you.”

Saying so, Melancholic Smile led the way out of the reception hall.

In response, however, the Guild representatives only turned to look at
each other, showing no signs of leaving their seats.

Who among them was not here to purchase the Candlelight Trading Firm,
hoping to earn a massive profit through the transaction? How could they
possibly come all the way here just to purchase a few measly
Intermediate Mana Armor Kits?

Particularly, the Dragon Pavilion Master from the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion looked utterly uninterested in the Intermediate Mana Armor
Kits.

With the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion taking the lead, everyone would
naturally follow.

However, among these people, one person stood up from their seat and
followed Melancholic Smile.

“Has Gentle Snow gone insane?” Galaxy Past watched Gentle Snow’s
departing figure.

There were so many Guilds putting pressure on Zero Wing right now. Even
if Zero Wing were strong, it would have no choice but to tread carefully
when faced with so many large Guilds. Offending so many large Guilds at
once would be tantamount to suicide. Anyone who had a brain would
definitely choose to stay. After all, they could take advantage of the
situation to rake in even more profit for themselves, and that was not
something a few measly Intermediate Mana Armor Kits could hope to
compare with.

Yet, Gentle Snow had actually chosen to leave...

“Don’t tell me that no one else here is interested in the Intermediate
Mana Armor Kits?” Shi Feng asked as he glanced at the seated guests.

At this moment, Feng Xuanyang stood. Righteously, he said, “Guild Leader
Black Flame, many of us here have journeyed from far away. We have
already shown the Candlelight Trading Firm sufficient respect. If you
turn us away empty-handed, our reputations will suffer.”

“That’s right, Guild Leader Black Flame! Let’s prosper together!
Wouldn’t it be better if we invest into and develop the Candlelight
Trading Firm together? That way, everybody can profit!” Many among the
crowd began advising Shi Feng as they laughed merrily.

Among those present, aside from the upper managers of a few first-rate
Guilds, everyone promptly voiced their agreement.

“Are all of you of the same opinion?” Shi Feng calmly asked.

“You could say that,” the Dragon Pavilion Master, Nine Dragons Emperor,
suddenly said. “However, aside from my interest in the Intermediate Mana
Armor Kits, I am also very interested in the equipment you all wear. Why
don’t you state a price? I’ll buy all of it.”

Although Nine Dragons Emperor wore a lukewarm smile, his tone indicated
that he would not take no for an answer.

Suddenly, the entire venue fell silent. Many of the Guild
representatives sucked in a breath of cold air.

Initially, they had thought that the conditions they had proposed were
sufficient. They had never expected that this Dragon Pavilion Master
would be even greedier than they were. He actually wanted to devour both
the Candlelight Trading Firm and Zero Wing.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 545 - Super Guild

Although Nine Dragons Emperor’s words were quite arrogant, all of the
various Guild representatives present knew that this handsome youth
before them had certainly earned his arrogance.

The fact that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was hailed as a
super-first-rate Guild, which was the closest existence to a Super
Guild, was not without reason. Great strength had built that reputation.

In today’s era, virtual reality had long since integrated into
everyone’s life. Practically everyone would come into contact with
virtual reality games in some form. Meanwhile, there were countless
virtual gaming Guilds.

Any Guild that the public officially recognized became a third-rate
Guild. Even though third-rate Guilds were nowhere near the top of the
gaming industry, they still stood out among the countless Guilds in the
virtual gaming world. Not only did a third-rate Guild possess a certain
degree of financial support, but it also possessed a large number of
members. Normally, third-rate Guilds had also earned some form of
achievement in some virtual reality games.

Standing above third-rate Guilds were second-rate Guilds. Not only did
second-rate Guilds possess abundant capital, but they also possessed
quite a number of experts. These experts were normally those who held
some fame in the virtual gaming world. As for a second-rate Guild’s
member count, there was no need to even mention that. Normally, a
second-rate Guild would develop itself in multiple cities
simultaneously.

As for first-rate Guilds, they were normally Guilds that had been
crowned as overlords in at least a dozen large-scale virtual reality
games. Such Guilds generally had over a decade of history, having
overcome countless, painstaking trials. First-rate Guilds had perfected
expert training programs and a large network of contacts. Most
importantly, these Guilds had recruited a large number of experts over
the years.

Practically all up and coming experts of the virtual gaming world would
be split between these first-rate Guilds. With more experts joining the
Guild every passing year, there would always be a large number of
experts present to support, to battle for, and to bring endless glory to
the Guild.

They were existences far above second-rate Guilds.

As for Super Guilds?

They were the titans of the virtual gaming world. There were even many
virtual reality games that these Super Guilds had produced personally.
They also had their own research teams that were set up to study and
improve a person’s gaming skills. Super Guilds had no shortage of
ordinary experts. Aside from recruiting some experts who possessed
extraordinary talents, they would usually nurture their own army of
experts.

As for the various major competitions held in the virtual gaming world,
these Super Guilds organized practically all of them. Meanwhile, the
majority of the top-tier experts that had emerged from these
competitions every year were usually experts that these Super Guilds had
nurtured.

Take Purple Eye and Aqua Rose for example. Both had been nurtured by the
same Super Guild. After undergoing the sharpening of various major
competitions and emerging victorious, both had become rookies of the
year. They had then separated from the Super Guild they had belonged to
to develop themselves separately.

In fact, this wasn’t just limited to the two of them. Many well-known
experts in the virtual gaming world had originated from Super Guilds.

This was the amazing part about Super Guilds.

With this aspect alone, Super Guilds were already leaps and bounds above
first-rate Guilds.

Take the financial prowess backing Super Guilds for example. All Super
Guilds already stood at the peak of the virtual gaming industry. In a
society where virtual reality was so well-developed, the economic value
of the virtual industry constantly rose. Whether it regarded financial
prowess or influence, Super Guilds were not one bit inferior to
international corporations. There were some Super Guilds that were even
stronger.

Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was not a Super Guild, in reality,
it was not far from becoming one. Only, the Pavilion was somewhat young.
However, that was only true when compared to actual Super Guilds. When
compared to other first-rate Guilds, the Pavilion’s history was a lot
longer than many first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world.

“This should be fun,” Galaxy Past said as he looked at Shi Feng standing
near the door, a meaningful grin appearing on his face.

“Guild Leader, you still have the heart to make jokes? If the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really buys out the Candlelight Trading Firm,
wouldn’t we have come here for nothing?” Purple Eye asked as she frowned
at Galaxy Past. She had come from a Super Guild, so she knew full well
just how powerful a Super Guild’s background could be.

Although Black Flame was very strong, his strength only mattered in
Star-Moon Kingdom. If he were in a Super Guild, he would be considered
average.

As for the other experts of Zero Wing, a Super Guild had armies of such
individuals.

Not to mention, Super Guilds also possessed plenty of old monsters.
Those players were no longer considered human. Only, these old monsters
would not normally appear in the public eye, so not many people knew of
them.

A single flick from a Super Guild could easily annihilate Zero Wing.

If it came down to a fight, Zero Wing wouldn’t even be powerful enough
to resist.

In reality, even an amazing first-rate Guild would stand no chance
against a Super Guild, much less Zero Wing. At most, it could only
provide a momentary struggle. This was also one of the reasons why there
was only a small number of Super Guilds, despite there being a large
number of first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world.

The only reason why Super Guilds did not go out of their way to compete
with first-rate Guilds, only contending with opponents of the same
level, was because they did not like bullying the weak. It was the same
concept as for how an adult would not participate in a fight between
children. Doing so would only harm to their reputation.

“It seems that Gentle Snow’s decision was correct. If I had known
something like this would happen, I would have gone along to purchase
some Intermediate Mana Armor Kits,” Galaxy Past sighed ruefully.

Once the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion purchased the Candlelight Trading Firm,
it definitely would not sell the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Rather,
it would use those kits to strengthen itself and challenge those Super
Guilds.

If he wanted to buy the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, now was his only
chance to do so.

Meanwhile, sitting in the corner of the reception hall, Feng Xuanyang
was thoroughly dumbfounded. The situation left him utterly speechless.

The higher-ups of Underworld had instructed him to purchase 300
Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion bought the
Candlelight Trading Firm, how was he supposed to buy the kits?

---

Melancholic Smile entered the reception hall on the second floor with
Gentle Snow behind her.

The location Melancholic Smile had led Gentle Snow to was still inside
the reception hall. Only, it was situated on the building’s second
floor. It could be considered a VIP room of sorts. And while the
occupants of the first floor could not see the occupants on the second
floor, the reverse did not hold true. Not only could one see everything
that went on inside the reception hall on the first floor, but one could
also hear the first floor’s ongoings clearly.

“Why have you brought me here?” Gentle Snow asked, surprised.

“Miss Snow, please wait a moment,” Melancholic Smile said. “Guild Leader
knows that you want a large number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits.
However, the supply for the kits is truly too scarce. As the demand for
it is very high, he plans to hold an auction for the kits. Meanwhile,
the auction will be held right here. As soon as he sends away the Guild
representatives below, the auction will begin.”

“Send them away?” Gentle Snow could not help but glance at the Nine
Dragons Emperor.

She had seen the Nine Dragons Emperor many times before, so she knew
this man’s temper. He was the very definition of the word “hypocrite.”
If both sides were on equal footing, then there wouldn’t be a problem
with discussing business. However, if the other side’s strength were
inferior to his, only a painful slaughter awaited them.

Nine Dragons Emperor was also willing to do whatever it took to achieve
his goals, and that included unscrupulous means. Hence, very few people
were willing to deal with him. However, it was also this personality
that had allowed him to reach the position of Pavilion Master.

In a super-first-rate Guild, it was not easy for one to reach the
position of Pavilion Master. Knowing a few tricks was far from enough.
One also needed strength and ability. Otherwise, one would not be able
to secure their position even if they did manage to obtain it. The fact
that Nine Dragons Emperor had held his position firmly for so many years
spoke volumes about his strength.

“Hopefully, he wouldn’t do anything stupid,” Gentle Snow said somewhat
worriedly as she glanced at Shi Feng.

---

Inside the reception hall on the first floor, silence filled the venue.
Everyone had focused on Shi Feng, waiting for his reply despite having
already guessed what the outcome would be.

“You want to buy the Candlelight Trading Firm and Zero Wing?” Shi Feng
laughed. Smiling at the Nine Dragons Emperor calmly, he said, “Sure, but
I want 60% of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s shares.”

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 546 - Even Dragons Have to Bow

Immediately after Shi Feng finished speaking, silence overtook the
venue. Every Guild representative in the hall was stupefied.

Black Flame has gone insane!

They all stared at Shi Feng with dropped jaws.

Who was the Nine Dragons Emperor?

He was the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. He stood at
the very top of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. With a single word, he
could easily bring an end to the existence of any second-rate Guild in
the virtual gaming world.

Moreover, the Nine Dragons Emperor was famed for being vicious and
merciless.

There was once a Vice Leader of an ordinary first-rate Guild who had
competed against the Nine Dragons Emperor in an auction for an item.
Enraged, Nine Dragons had sent a notice to the first-rate Guild and
demanded that the Vice Leader in question grovel and apologize to him,
as well as return the item in question. Otherwise, he would take action
against this first-rate Guild.

How could an ordinary first-rate Guild possibly hope to contend with the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion? Furthermore, the first-rate Guild in question
had many competitors. Nine Dragons had only needed to give the word, and
many other first-rate Guilds would have joined hands to take out the
offending Guild. Having no other option, the first-rate Guild sent for
the Vice Leader in question to apologize and offer the item. In the end,
however, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion still annihilated the first-rate
Guild, forcing the Guild to migrate to a different virtual reality game.

Currently, although Shi Feng had not outright stated that he refused to
sell, the price he demanded was the same as slapping the Nine Dragons
Emperor in the face.

Although Nine Dragons was one of the two Pavilion Masters of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, he only possessed less than 10%. The majority
of the Pavilion’s shares remained in the Great Pavilion Master’s hands.

Shi Feng’s demand of 60% of the Pavilion’s shares was no different than
demanding ownership of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and a position above
even his, the Nine Dragons Emperor’s.

“This Black Flame is exactly as the rumors made him out to be! He is
simply fearless!” Galaxy Past could not help but voice his admiration.

Throughout God’s Domain, other than those Super Guilds and a few Guilds
with extremely powerful corporations backing them, there were no Guilds
that dared provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even the upper echelons
of Super Guilds would consider their options carefully before
humiliating this Pavilion Master.

Although a virtual reality game was only a game, where there were
people, there was bound to be conflict.

The Nine Dragons Emperor was the face of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.
Even if Shi Feng refused to give in to Nine Dragons’ coercion, he should
have handled the situation with a more delicate hand. Yet, Shi Feng had
thrown all pretenses out the window and made a mockery of the Nine
Dragons Emperor. Even if it were just for his reputation’s sake, the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would now go all-out to destroy him.

Hence, Galaxy Past truly admired Shi Feng’s courage.

“He should have shown some restraint and refrained from such an
impulsive comeback. If he could have endured the humiliation he has
suffered today in order to retaliate another day, he would have gained
more of my respect. However, with him acting like a boorish fellow, Zero
Wing is truly finished this time,” Purple Eye said as she glanced at Shi
Feng. She then turned to look at Aqua Rose, silently lamenting as she
said, “It seems that Aqua Rose has still made the wrong decision. In the
end, a small Guild will only ever be a small Guild. Though it might
triumph temporarily, it could not make it last.”

---

Meanwhile, in the second-floor reception room...

“Your Guild Leader has gone insane! That’s the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion!
Moreover, that’s the Nine Dragons Emperor he is provoking! Just what is
going through your Guild Leader’s head? Even if Nine Dragons doesn’t
take offense, if word spreads, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will
definitely try to annihilate Zero Wing with everything it has to restore
its reputation!” Gentle Snow exclaimed as she stared at Melancholic
Smile.

Based on what she understood of Shi Feng, the man was not ignorant. On
the contrary, he was quite shrewd with great foresight.

Yet, now, he had actually offended the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. She had
no idea why Shi Feng had done such a thing.

“This... Even I don’t know what he is trying to do.” Melancholic Smile
shook her head. She then said, “However, after hearing the Guild
Leader’s words, I can’t help but feel proud. Why are they allowed to
bully us, while we are not allowed to resist?”

Gentle Snow failed to think of a response.

Although he was not in the wrong, there was a price to pay for those
words.

Similarly, the precondition for resisting was to have sufficient
strength. Although Zero Wing was relatively powerful, it was still far
from a titanic existence like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Challenging
the Pavilion at t his point was simply suicide.

---

Meanwhile, back in the first-floor reception hall, even the Nine Dragons
Emperor himself was stunned. He had never expected Shi Feng to be so
foolish.

Even the heavens would laugh at such folly.

However, Nine Dragons could not find it in himself to laugh. Instead,
his expression shifted slightly as a cold, killing intent flashed in his
eyes. However, this killing intent quickly disappeared. In the next
moment, a bright, dazzling smile appeared on the Nine Dragons Emperor’s
face.

“Since Guild Leader Black Flame has no intentions of selling, I won’t
overstay my welcome. Goodbye.” The Nine Dragons Emperor smiled. He then
left the reception hall with his subordinates.

Everyone else in the reception hall turned to look at each other.

What had just happened?

That’s it?

Wasn’t he supposed to warn Zero Wing and teach them a lesson?

“Purple, let’s leave as well, then.” At this moment, Galaxy Past smiled
faintly as he prepared to leave the building.

“Guild Leader, are we not going to negotiate with Zero Wing? Are we just
leaving?” Purple Eye asked curiously.

It had taken quite some effort to embark on this trip. After all, Galaxy
Past was the Guild Leader of the Star Alliance. If he left White River
City without obtaining even the tiniest harvest, he would become a
laughingstock.

“It will be meaningless. If even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has been
treated in such a way, do you think Black Flame will agree to sell the
Candlelight Trading Firm to us?” Galaxy Past shook his head. He then
explained, “Also, a war is going to begin in White River City, so don’t
you think we should return quickly?”

“War?” Purple Eye suddenly came to a realization.

Although Nine Dragons Emperor had left the building peacefully and had
not made any vicious remarks, in reality, killing intent filled his
heart. It would have been foolish of him to reveal his thoughts inside
the Candlelight Trading Firm.

Inside this Shop, Black Flame’s words were law. Anyone who dared spout
profanities inside the building would only be sentenced to death. Only a
brain-dead fool would risk that just to sate his pride.

Most likely, the Nine Dragons Emperor would notify his subordinates,
instructing them to annihilate Zero Wing the moment he returned to the
Black Dragon Empire. He would not give Black Flame the chance to react.

“Hahaha! Black Flame, so even you will have such a day!” Feng Xuanyang
grinned like a drunk fool.

At this point, there was no doubt that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would
obliterate Zero Wing. However, based on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s
prestige, it would abhor remaining in a small location like White River
City. Once Zero Wing was annihilated, Overwhelming Smile would
automatically become the number one Guild of White River City without
even needing him to expend any effort.

Afterward, the various Guild representatives promptly left the
Candlelight Trading Firm. Not a single Guild chose to stay behind.

At this moment, Aqua Rose turned to Shi Feng, wearing a grim expression
as she said, “Guild Leader, now that you have provoked the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the Pavilion will not let us off the hook. The
Pavilion’s background is also not something first-rate Guilds like the
Star Alliance and Ouroboros could hope to compare with. They have
countless experts in their midst. They also have plenty of great experts
who are famous in the virtual gaming world.

“If they dispatch a large number of experts to ambush our Guildmates,
the resulting death count will far surpass that of our war with
Overwhelming Smile.”

Even Underworld was already capable of dispatching over 200
battle-experienced experts, not to mention the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.
The Pavilion most likely had plenty of top-tier experts as well. It was
simply not an existence that Zero Wing could contend with.

“Within the region of White River City, even a dragon has to bow before
Zero Wing. You should prepare. There will be fun to be had soon,” Shi
Feng laughed. He then left the first-floor reception hall and headed to
the VIP room on the second floor.

Naturally, Shi Feng had his own reasons for slapping the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion’s face.

The first reason: it had felt awesome!

He was an expert who had set foot into the Flowing Water Realm. He was
even geared with a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment and Fragmented
Legendary and Epic ranked rings. He even wielded a Magic Weapon. So, how
could he possibly concede to a Pavilion Master of a super-first-rate
Guild?

In the past, even a real Super Guild had to cower in fear when facing
the Midnight Tea Party, a 20-man independent team. Currently, he was in
possession of weapons and equipment that were far superior to anyone
else’s. He also had several large-scale destruction spells. Not to
mention, White River City was his home ground.

Why wouldn’t he challenge a super-first-rate Guild?

As for the second reason, it was to forge the Guild.

If one wanted to improve on their skills, they only needed to do one
thing.

Fight!

Experts were not nurtured through Dungeon raids, but through live
battles against other players.

Overwhelming Smile was no longer a challenge, so they had to choose a
stronger opponent to pit themselves against. In any case, Zero Wing did
not lack money. They could afford to fight the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 547 - Shocking God’s Domain

Aqua Rose revealed a bitter smile as she watched Shi Feng’s departing
figure.

However, when she considered the situation from a different perspective,
Shi Feng’s decision was not necessarily a bad thing.

In the past, other than Super Guilds, there really weren’t any Guilds
that had dared provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

Now that Zero Wing had made a fuss, even if they were defeated, it would
be a glorious defeat. Moreover, suffering defeat in God’s Domain did not
equal annihilation.

God’s Domain was not as simple as other virtual reality games.
Thoroughly annihilating a Guild was easier said than done. It was
similar to Zero Wing’s efforts to chase Overwhelming Smile out of White
River City. Despite having massacred Overwhelming Smile’s members, not
only did the Guild still reside in White River City, but it was also
getting by quite well. Only, the Guild was forced to maintain a low
profile, and its development had slowed significantly.

Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had a lot of experts, and its
financial prowess was enormous, it would not be able to extinguish Zero
Wing in White River City easily.

Not to mention, Zero Wing also had the Candlelight Trading Firm
supplying it with Coins.

“Alright, let’s head back and prepare. White River City won’t be so
peaceful from now on.” Saying so, Aqua Rose left the Candlelight Trading
Firm with Zero Wing’s core members.

---

Meanwhile, inside the VIP room on the second floor, Shi Feng had already
begun to discuss business with Gentle Snow.

“Guild Leader Black Flame, this move of yours is truly
incomprehensible,” Gentle Snow said, confusion plastered on her
snow-white face. She could not help but ask, “Guild Leader Black Flame,
you should know that there are a total of seven first-rate Guilds
competing over the Black Dragon Empire. Although two of them are not
based in the empire, they have invested a significant sum into the
branch’s development. Yet, despite there being so many first-rate Guilds
in the empire, only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has a Branch Guild set
up in the imperial capital. None of the other first-rate Guilds have set
up their Branch Guilds there yet. Do you know why?”

“The imperial capital isn’t a nice place to live.” Shi Feng laughed.

Gentle Snow rolled her eyes. He was clearly pretending to be stupid.
Helpless, she explained, “That is because the Branch Leader there is
Blood Dragon, one of Nine Dragons Emperor’s most formidable generals.
Blood Dragon is a violent man, and he loves battles more than anything.
He also has a group of experts under him called the Blood Legion. If any
Guilds refuse to submit to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and dare to
reside in the imperial capital, then this Blood Legion will come
forward.

“The Blood Legion will secretly target these Guilds, going as far as to
ambush the upper echelons even while still within the city limits.

“None of these first-rate Guilds wish to drop all pretense of cordiality
with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and allow others to take advantage of
the situation. Hence, they had no better option but to withdraw from the
imperial capital and develop in other cities.

“If the Pavilion sends the Blood Legion to White River City, it won’t be
a good thing for Zero Wing.”

Shi Feng simply revealed a faint smile in response to Gentle Snow’s
words.

Naturally, he knew all of this information. Moreover, his understanding
of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was even more thorough than Gentle
Snow’s.

The Blood Legion’s fame was not one bit exaggerated. The Blood Legion
was also known as the Assassination Legion, comprised of a group of
Assassins that the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion had carefully nurtured.
Anyone who opposed the Heavenly Dragon Legion would oftentimes find
themselves killed back to Level 0 the following day. The result would
not change even if one hid inside a city.

It was not an easy feat to kill players inside a city. It was especially
so for a major city. Even if one managed to kill a player, the city
guards would still kill them and deliver a severe punishment. In mild
cases, this punishment would be a jail sentence of several days. In
severe cases, it was highly possible that the guards would first execute
the player multiple times, then jail them for a dozen days or so, and
finally, chase them out of and bar entry to the city. If this player
dared show their face in the city, the guards would execute them on the
spot.

Unless that player did not mind losing a few Levels and being locked up
for a few weeks, or they no longer wished to reside in the city any
longer, they normally would not take action inside an NPC city.

During the initial stages of God’s Domain, the various large Guilds
already wished they could split in two to hasten their development. One
could just imagine how much of a loss it would be for a Guild to have
its experts locked up for days or weeks.

Every Guild treated its experts like treasures. Losing an expert for a
single day could cause immense damage to a Guild, not to mention a jail
sentence of a few days.

However, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion paid these consequences no mind.
They had plenty of experts to go around. This was the Pavilion’s
strength.

“Forget it. I’ve already told you about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.
Since you made me wait so long, may I know how many Intermediate Mana
Armor Kits Guild Leader Black Flame intends to sell to me?” Shi Feng’s
unperturbed attitude left Gentle Snow utterly speechless. At this
moment, however, her own situation did not look too well, either, so she
could not be of any help even if she wanted to.

“Miss Snow, how many do you want?” Shi Feng simply laughed off Gentle
Snow’s worries, not bothering to offer her any explanation. However, he
knew that Gentle Snow sincerely wanted to help him. He also understood
that she was currently powerless to help him.

Hearing Shi Feng’s question, Gentle Snow pondered for a moment before
asking softly, “Do you have enough to gear a 50-man team?”

Everybody knew how precious the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits were. Even
partnered Guilds were only allowed to purchase 21 kits at a time. That
amount was only sufficient to gear nine players at most. Beyond that, it
was extremely difficult to obtain any more kits, as all those who had
managed to purchase them refused to part with them.

It was impossible for any Guild, other than Zero Wing, to obtain a
sufficient number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to gear a 50-man team
fully.

“Okay, but the Candlelight Trading Firm requires a large amount of rare
materials. In the future, I will require Ouroboros to sell the majority
of the materials it obtains to the Candlelight Trading Firm,” Shi Feng
said.

Currently, Zero Wing was still capable of meeting the Candlelight
Trading Firm’s demand. However, as the Firm developed, the materials it
required would increase. At that time, Zero Wing alone would not be
enough to satisfy the demand of the Candlelight Trading Firm. However,
if a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros supplied the Firm, there would no
longer be any problems.

“Once I return, I’ll instruct my subordinates to send you the
materials.” Gentle Snow nodded in agreement. In any case, she was tight
on money right now. If she could convert some of the Guild’s materials
into Coins, it would help her greatly.

---

After Shi Feng and Gentle Snow concluded their trade, the matter of Zero
Wing’s Guild Leader, Black Flame, provoking the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion
had already spread throughout God’s Domain.

As a super-first-rate Guild, any minor matter relating to the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would receive the attention of the various large
Guilds in the virtual gaming world, not to mention a major incident such
as a Guild openly insulting them.

For a time, everyone began to pay attention to the Star-Moon Kingdom, to
Zero Wing, and to Black Flame.

“Crap, Black Flame must’ve gone insane! He actually dared to slap the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the face! Does he not want to play God’s
Domain anymore?”

“What do you know? Black Flame is super amazing! He is a titled expert
on the God’s Domain Ranking List! He has his own pride, naturally, so
how could he possibly hand over the Candlelight Trading Firm he had
built by himself?”

“I wonder what the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? If Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion does not flatten a Guild
like Zero Wing, will it still qualify to be called a super-first-rate
Guild?”

News and talk of the conflict between the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and
Zero Wing filled God’s Domain’s forums. As for Super Guilds, they, too,
had fun watching from the sidelines.

---

Currently, while all of God’s Domain was in an uproar, the atmosphere
inside one of White River City’s high-class restaurants was extremely
awkward.

“Pavilion Master, leave this matter to this subordinate. I will give
Black Flame more than what he bargained for,” the robust Blood Dragon
requested respectfully.

“I never expected to encounter such a blind fool in this far-off city.
Now, every player in God’s Domain knows of this incident. The Great
Pavilion Master has even sent me a message personally, telling me to
deal with this matter as visibly as possible and show those Super Guilds
that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no longer just a super-first-rate
Guild. Rather, it is a Super Guild that stands on equal footing,” Nine
Dragons Emperor said, a bone-chilling glint flashing in his eyes.
Curling up his lips, he said, “Since the Great Pavilion Master has
issued the command, we cannot take this matter lightly. Notify the War
Dragon Legion and have them meet us here immediately. I want to destroy
Zero Wing’s Guild Residence personally!”

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 548 - War Dragon Legion

“The War Dragon Legion?” Blood Dragon could not help but suck in a
breath of cold air when he heard this name.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was divided into two Pavilions: the Heavenly
Dragon Pavilion and the Phoenix Pavilion. Both Pavilions had their own
strongest legions.

The Heavenly Dragon Pavilion’s strongest force was the War Dragon
Legion.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion nurtured its own experts internally. Among
these experts, only the best of the best were allowed into the War
Dragon Legion.

One could say that the War Dragon Legion was the strongest legion
specially established to contend with Super Guilds.

Blood Dragon had also come from the War Dragon Legion.

Who wouldn’t be shocked by the Nine Dragons Emperor summoning the War
Dragon Legion?

“Pavilion Master, aren’t we just dealing with a small Guild? Is there
really a need for such a commotion?” Chaos Dancer, the beautiful woman
seated beside Nine Dragons Emperor, advised, “In fact, we can rely on
the Blood Legion to get rid of Zero Wing. If we expose the strength of
the War Dragon Legion right now, won’t we waste a trump card that we
could use against those Super Guilds in the future?”

“It doesn’t matter. Since joining God’s Domain, the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion has yet to achieve anything significant. Now that everyone is
watching the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it is a good opportunity for an
excellent performance,” Nine Dragons Emperor said, smiling playfully.
“Moreover, Zero Wing’s reputation is not insignificant. If we can finish
off Zero Wing swiftly, it will serve as a shock to some of those
weaklings and let everyone know that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no
longer a super-first-rate Guild, but a true Super Guild.”

“Understood. This subordinate will notify the War Dragon Legion
immediately.” Chaos Dance then began contacting the War Dragon Legion.

---

Time passed little by little.

While the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion prepared to deal with Zero Wing, other
Guilds did not idle and do nothing. Every one of them gathered their
members in White River City.

For a time, experts swarmed White River City.

Despite it obviously being daytime, the number of players filling the
streets surpassed even night-time. Among all these players, aside from
those that large Guilds had sent, there were plenty of ordinary players
who had hurried over from other cities.

Players throughout God’s Domain knew about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s
intentions to take out Zero Wing.

Although this was clearly a one-sided battle, many players still wanted
to witness the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s strength. Hence, many ordinary
players had hurried to White River City to watch the show.

However, it was also this reason that boosted the Candlelight Trading
Firm’s business. Among the items sold by the Firm, Light Stones were the
most popular. The Candlelight Trading Firm’s income had practically
recovered to its peak, earning nearly a thousand Gold in one hour.

As a result, Melancholic Smile and the others at the Candlelight Trading
Firm focused fully on their work.

“Old Five, I heard that Black Flame defeated you and Old Six even after
you two cooperated. This incident has not impressed the higher-ups, and
they’ve started to look down on our Seven Ghosts. When the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion deals with Zero Wing, we need to deal with this
matter properly,” a thin, middle-aged man with bronze skin said
seriously.

“Brother Three, rest assured; I will not damage our reputation,” Fifth
Ghost said, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Previously, even though he had worked with Sixth Ghost, Black Flame
still defeated them. Moreover, they had even lost all of their equipment
they upon dying and had been barred from entering the game for two whole
days. By now, they had both become laughingstocks in Underworld.

This time, in order to restore the Seven Ghosts’ reputation, they needed
to avenge themselves properly and complete the tasks the higher-ups had
given them.

“All is well as long as you know it. Our task is very simple this time:
assist Young Master Feng in obtaining 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits.
It will be even better if we can obtain even more equipment and kits.
However, since the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is spearheading this matter,
it is best if we keep a low-profile. So, first, let’s focus on getting
the 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits,” the thin man, Third Ghost, said.
“This time, to ensure we complete our task, I have even called Old Four
and Old Seven to help us. With the five of us, we should be able to take
down Black Flame easily. The only thing we have to worry about is the
Pavilion itself. It is best if we form a proper plan.”

“On this point, Brother Third Ghost, please rest assured. Based on my
investigations, the Blood Dragon’s subordinates, the Blood Legion, will
not be involved this time; the Nine Dragons Emperor has called in the
War Dragon Legion instead. Every member of the War Dragon Legion is
proud and arrogant, and they usually look down on everyone else. They
should not pay any attention to us should we move against Zero Wing,”
Feng Xuanyang explained, smiling faintly. “As insurance, I have even had
a large group of elites come over from Maple City. With such a powerful
force, Black Flame will have no hope of survival.”

“Having the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion deal with Zero Wing is already
overkill. Adding us into the mix, Black Flame will die with a 100%
certainty. Even if he is even more powerful than we suspect, he will
have to consider his options carefully. At that time, he will willingly
hand over the 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits,” Fifth Ghost laughed
coldly. “If he refuses, then I’ll give him a taste of what it feels like
to wish for death.”

All of White River City’s various large Guilds, including Overwhelming
Smile, considered and prepared to strike against Zero Wing while it was
down, taking the opportunity to benefit from the Guild’s downfall.

---

Meanwhile, in a high-class bar a short distance from Zero Wing’s Guild
Residence, many upper managers of Guilds had gathered.

The entire three-story building was packed full of players. Among them,
first-rate Guilds fully occupied all of the private rooms on the third
floor. From these rooms, one could clearly see every movement around
Zero Wing’s Guild Residence.

“Guild Leader, don’t you think that Zero Wing is acting strangely? Even
now, they are still so carefree. They have not taken any precautionary
measures at all. Is this Black Flame pretending to be a fool, or is he
actually one?” Purple Eye frowned as she watched Zero Wing’s Guild
Residence through the window.

“There’s nothing surprising about this. Black Flame simply does not
understand the Nine Dragons Emperor’s character. Look at the people
inside the bar for example. Aren’t most of them members of first-rate
Guilds? Meanwhile, a newly-established Guild like Zero Wing and a
newcomer to the virtual gaming world like Black Flame don’t know Nine
Dragons’ style of conduct. Thus, he continues with his carefree manner,”
Galaxy Past said, laughing. Downing a mouthful of Flame Beer, he
continued, “The Nine Dragons Emperor is someone who conducts himself
with a lofty tone and does not play his cards according to common sense.
This time, he has even secretly mobilized the War Dragon Legion to deal
with Zero Wing, making a fuss over a minor incident. Naturally, the only
reason why he would mobilize such a powerful legion is to destroy Zero
Wing’s Guild Residence.

“A Guild Residence is different from a private Shop. While inside the
Shop, the manager is invincible. However, it is a different story for a
Guild Residence. It is slightly troublesome to deal with the Residence’s
hired guards, and there are also the city guards who patrol the streets.
With current players’ Levels and equipment, it is still impossible to
resist the patrolling guards. Hence, no sane Guild would attempt to
attack another Guild’s Residence.

“However, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no trivial existence. One
cannot measure by the strength of an ordinary Guild. Moreover, the Nine
Dragons Emperor is no fool. I keep getting the feeling that he has some
sort of trick up his sleeve. Otherwise, he would not have sent the War
Dragon Legion, a trump card that he had prepared for facing Super
Guilds!

“What we need to do now is wait for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to make
its move. Once they take action and Zero Wing falls, we can begin our
operation as well.”

Purple Eye nodded silently.

This time, the Star Alliance had sent quite a number of elites and
experts. They were not afraid that Zero Wing would not fall today.
Instead, it was only a matter of how much profit they could gain.

However, the various large Guilds, including the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion, was ignorant of one point.

Shi Feng was a reincarnator. Moreover, he had also been the Guild Leader
of a second-rate Guild in the past. In order to survive in God’s
Domain’s harsh conditions, he had endured relentless pain and suffering.

As far as understanding massive existences like the Nine Dragons
Emperor...

The Nine Dragons Emperor, most likely, did not have a better
understanding than Shi Feng.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 549 - Leave None Alive

Inside the meeting room in Zero Wing’s Guild Residence...

Zero Wing’s core members filled the large meeting room; everyone could
feel the tension in the air.

War was imminent.

Although Zero Wing had succeeded in suppressing Overwhelming Smile in
White River City, their current enemy, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was
a lot stronger than Overwhelming Smile. The two Guilds were on entirely
different levels.

Every player present fully understood how severe of a situation they
were in. They also knew that it was highly unlikely that they would
overcome this hurdle.

Seated on the Guild Leader’s throne, Shi Feng suddenly asked, “You must
think that I am a fool, right?”

However, the only answer he received was silence.

Not a single person answered his question. Everyone only stared at their
Guild Leader, who was shrouded in mystery, quietly.

“I know the answer even without you saying a word,” Shi Feng laughed.
Casual and relaxed, he said, “Everyone must think that I have gone
insane, that I overestimate myself by challenging a super-first-rate
Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

“Until now, aside from Super Guilds, not a single Guild dares to make an
enemy of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Do you know why?

“The reason is very simple: they are simply too strong. They are strong
enough that other Guilds despair at the thought of them as an enemy!

“I believe that you should know all that, at this time, many Guilds have
already begun to prepare to take advantage of our misfortune. Every one
of them is closely eyeing us like prey. There is not a single Guild out
there that thinks we might come out of this on top. They all believe
that we will lose without a doubt and that our names will soon be wiped
from God’s Domain.

“Do you know why?

“I’ll tell you why! Since the very beginning, whether it is the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion or the various other first-rate Guilds, none of
these people have seen us as equals. Since the very beginning, they have
thought of us as weak. So, they have come to bully us, to drink our
blood and eat our flesh, to destroy us!

“However, I will warn them now. They will be disappointed.

“Since there has never been a Guild courageous enough to challenge the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavillion, then, today, we will be the first to make
history! We will show everyone that Zero Wing is not a Guild they can
afford to provoke! If they wish to plunder our corpses, they’ll have to
seek permission from the swords in our hands first!

“The battle is to the strong! Today, let us teach the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion a lesson!”

The moment Shi Feng finished his speech, everyone suddenly felt their
blood boil.

None of them had ever thought that such a day would come.

Throughout the virtual gaming world, other than Super Guilds, there had
never been a Guild daring enough to provoke and challenge the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, Zero Wing dared.

Moreover, Zero Wing’s Guild Leader himself led this challenge.

“Isn’t it just a super-first-rate Guild? I’ve long since grown tired of
looking at their faces. Today, I’ll use them to release some stress!”
Cola laughed excitedly.

“Hahaha! Guild Leader, I’ve been waiting for you to say that! I’m bored
of battling Overwhelming Smile constantly. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion
has arrived at just the right time. It just so happens that I can use
them to test my recent improvement!” Blackie licked his lips, revealing
an eager grin.

“Guild Leader, tell us how we should deal with the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion! I want to be the first one to have a go at them!” Flying
Shadow said excitedly.

“This is seriously insane.” Aqua Rose shook her head helplessly. In the
next moment, however, she smiled and said, “But I like it!”

For a time, every Zero Wing member the meeting room talked and laughed
with each other, the heavy atmosphere from before vanishing.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was indeed strong. However, they were not a
bunch of weak and powerless noobs, either. Since the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion dared to oppress them using force, they would show the Pavilion
that it had chosen a wrong opponent. They would let the Pavilion know
that the opponent it was about to face was not a weak, little cub, but
rather, it was a ferocious beast with sharp fangs and claws.

“If I am not mistaken, it is highly possible that the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion will strike once the sun sets. Fire Dance, how are the
preparations going on your side?” Shi Feng asked as he turned to the
sharp and mesmerizing Fire Dance.

Based on Shi Feng’s understanding of Nine Dragons Emperor, there was an
80% chance that he intended to destroy Zero Wing’s Guild Residence.

If a Guild Residence were destroyed, it could not be repaired within ten
days’ time. Moreover, if a Guild Residence were destroyed, all members
of the corresponding Guild within the city would receive a penalty.

Not only would all members lose a Level, but their EXP gain would also
be halved for the following ten days. The Guild’s Popularity would drop
by 50,000 points as well. Moreover, after the destroyed Guild Residence
was reconstructed, the quality of the Guild Quests the Guild would
receive would be significantly affected.

The best time to destroy a Guild Residence was at night.

Players’ greatest foe when trying to destroy an enemy Guild Residence
was not other players, but the patrolling NPC city guards. These city
guards were no trivial matter; they were all Level 150 NPCs. To players,
they were nightmares. These NPCs only needed one hit to finish off the
current players of God’s Domain.

However, the number of patrolling city guards would change depending on
the time of day.

During the day, these NPCs always patrolled in groups of twenty. By the
time night arrived, however, that number would decrease to ten. If a
Guild attacked an enemy Guild Residence at night, it could notably
lessen its losses. That way, the Guild would have more combat power to
spare for destroying the enemy Guild Residence.

Meanwhile, since Shi Feng dared to provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion,
he had naturally prepared.

If one wished to destroy a Guild Residence, aside from the city guards,
there were also the hired guards inside the Guild Residence to contend
with. Although the hired guards were not as powerful as the Level 150
city guards, they were still genuine Level 50 NPCs.

Meanwhile, depending on the employed NPC’s strength, the asking price of
said NPC would vary. Tier 0 guards cost 5 Silver per day, whereas Tier 1
guards cost 30 Silver per day. When hiring these guards, one had to
prepay ten days of their services.

Shi Feng was a Viscount, and all this time, he had been hiring a mix of
50 Tier 1 and Tier 0 guards to defend Zero Wing’s Guild Residence.
However, seeing as the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion led this assault, he had
not hesitated to replace all of his guards with Tier 1 NPCs. In any
case, what he had was money.

In addition, since early on, Shi Feng had told everyone in the Guild to
focus on raising their Reputation. Hence, at this moment in time, there
were also many people within the Guild who had high Reputation.

For example, Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Blackie, and several other core
members of Zero Wing did not lack Reputation Points Although they had
yet to become Viscounts like Shi Feng, they were Barons, and every one
of them was capable of hiring ten Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs.

In total, they had over 200 Tier 1 NPCs employed right now. This was a
very powerful force.

“It’s done. They all are hiding and lying in wait.” Fire Dance nodded, a
playful smile appearing on her face.

---

Time slowly ticked by.

While everyone waited for the start of the battle, night arrived in
God’s Domain.

Currently, players clogged the streets neighboring Zero Wing’s Guild
Residence.

“Pavilion Master, all 1,000 men from the War Dragon Legion are in
position,” a valiant and extraordinary-looking youth reported to Nine
Dragons Emperor.

The War Dragon Legion was the strongest force in the Heavenly Dragon
Pavilion’s arsenal. As of today, it had never been used to deal with any
Guild less than a Super Guild. The legion consisted of 1,000 players,
and every one of these players wore Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. A few
even had Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. These legionnaires’ Levels also
ranged from Level 27 to Level 28. These players were definitely at the
peak of God’s Domain in terms of levels. Every member also radiated a
sharp and penetrating aura.

Although the War Dragon Legion consisted of 1,000 members, they felt
like an army of tens of thousands that was capable of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, among these players, the man reporting to Nine Dragons
Emperor was even more extraordinary. He was the War Dragon Legion’s
Commander, Martial Dragon. He was a Level 28 Berserker, and the majority
of his equipment consisted of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. The
greatsword he wielded was also of indiscernible quality. However,
judging by the blade’s capability of even tearing apart air, one could
tell that it was an exceptional item with a single glance.

Aside from the War Dragon Legion’s 1,000 players, the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion had also dispatched close to 10,000 elite players. These elite
players were all Level 25 and above. It was a truly shocking sight. Only
a first-rate Guild would be capable of dispatching so many elite
players. Were it not for the transportation fees, this number would have
most likely been several times higher.

Many players involuntarily trembled when they saw the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion’s war formation from afar.

This was the power of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Regarding both
financial prowess and manpower, ordinary first-rate Guilds simply could
not compare to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

“Hahaha! Zero Wing is truly finished this time!” Sitting in a
third-floor private room of a high-class bar, Feng Xuanyang felt
indescribable joy well up in his heart when he saw the Pavilion’s army.

“It’s as expected of Martial Dragon, the Commander of the War Dragon
Legion. I can feel that terrifying aura of his even from such a
distance.” Fear filled Fifth Ghost’s heart when he looked at the valiant
Martial Dragon.

“Martial Dragon is a true mutant. He is not human at all. Even our Boss
has said so. Otherwise, he would not be capable of becoming the War
Dragon Legion’s Commander. If we encounter him, it is best that we avoid
provoking him,” Third Ghost reminded his brothers in arms.

Meanwhile, standing on the street, Nine Dragons Emperor swept a glance
over the army before him. In the next moment, he waved his hand and
pointed at Zero Wing’s Guild Residence. Very calmly, he said, “Go! Leave
none alive!”

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 550 - Exceeding Expectations

Under Nine Dragons Emperor’s command, the members of the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion charged towards Zero Wing’s Guild Residence.

The Pavilion’s army’s attack was organized. A majority of the Pavilion’s
elite players were positioned in the front of the army, whereas the War
Dragon Legion occupied the middle, and the remaining elite players took
up the rear.

These players were further separated into groups. However, unlike Guild
wars that usually involved thousands of players, the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion had grouped its members into parties of six. Each party
consisted of MTs, healers, and ranged and melee damage dealers: the
standard compositions of a Dungeon party.

Although this militaristic configuration was not suited for a large
battlefield, it was perfect for battles in narrow terrains such as a
city. The army could react to all sorts of problems in a timely manner.

“It has finally begun. Purple, did you order those Assassins under you
to record this battle?” Galaxy Past, who sat comfortably in a
third-floor private room of the high-class bar, asked. Smiling, he
stated, “This is a good opportunity to collect data on the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, particularly the experts from the War Dragon
Legion. Every member of the legion is worth noting. It might come in
handy in the future.”

This high-class bar offered an excellent vantage point. He could see
practically everything that occurred around Zero Wing’s Residence.
However, Galaxy Past was still not satisfied with this. He had
positioned Assassins under his command in several other buildings in
order to record the battle from the closest distance possible.

Just how strong was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion?

Particularly, how was the Pavilion’s strength after joining God’s
Domain?

Other than a few upper managers of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, nobody
knew the answer to these questions.

Now that the Pavilion launched an assault on Zero Wing’s Residence, it
was clear to see that their strength was nothing to scoff at. Otherwise,
every large Guild would have already attacked Guild Residences that they
found to be an eyesore instead of letting those Guilds with little
strength live this long.

Just the patrolling guards were enough trouble. The hired guards were no
trivial matter either; they all were Level 50 NPCs. To current players,
these Level 50 NPCs were still too powerful to handle.

However, the truly troublesome issue was the players of the Guild
itself.

Zero Wing had definitely taken some precautionary measures. It was
normal for around twenty to thirty thousand players to defend the Guild
Residence at all times.

Even if the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had deployed the War Dragon Legion,
Zero Wing’s Guild Residence would not be so easily destroyed.

The Pavilion would have to reveal some of its true capabilities, and
this was precisely what Galaxy Past, and all of the other large Guilds
watching, wanted to witness.

As God’s Domain was still in its early stages, there had yet to be any
major conflicts between the various first-rate Guilds, Super Guilds, and
the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, that would not necessarily remain
the case in the future. It was better to prepare ahead of time.

Hence, the Star Alliance wasn’t the only Guild to send a large group of
Assassins to record the battle. Many other Guilds had also dispatched
their Assassins, all of them hoping to uncover even the smallest detail
about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s background.

---

Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing’s Residence, the Guild’s members had long
since prepared for the upcoming war. Every one of them stood, waiting,
inside the Guild Residence.

“Guild Leader, they’ve arrived. Initial estimates put their number
somewhere over 10,000, with the weakest among them being elite players.
Their equipment is also a match for our elite members’,” Aqua Rose
reported.

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing Aqua Rose’s report.

Although Zero Wing had 50,000 members, they only had around 14,500
elites. Yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had casually mustered a force
of 10,000 elite players. This was simply too frightening...

“Sure enough, the Pavilion is both rich and powerful,” Shi Feng laughed.
This situation did not surprise him. After all, the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. Even though White River City was
not the Pavilion’s home ground, it would still be child’s play for it to
obliterate a second-rate Guild. “Move out, then. Coordinate your attacks
with the NPCs. Core members, your main goal is to fend off the
Pavilion’s War Dragon Legion. As for the enemy elites, they are just
cannon fodder. Don’t worry about them.”

“Yes, sir!”

Everyone from Zero Wing unsheathed their weapons as a single unit,
preparing to meet the oncoming threat.

This time, Shi Feng did not bother to send for many members to defend
the Guild Residence. The defending players consisted only of Zero Wing’s
elite and core members with a total just over 14,000 players. It was not
because Shi Feng did not want more people defending the Residence. Only,
having more people was not necessarily a good thing.

A normal member of the Guild would only find their death by joining this
battle. Moreover, the battlefield was very cramped. There was simply no
way to display the advantage of numbers here. On the contrary, having
too many members in the battle would only obstruct the elite members.

As the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s army was about to charge through the
Residence’s entrance, the ranged classes of Zero Wing got ready to
launch their spells and arrows.

If an outsider barged into the Residence without explicit permission,
Guild members were allowed to kill said outsider without needing to fear
any repercussions. The city guards would not take action against the
Guild members. On the contrary, if an outsider attacked people inside
the Residence, the city guards would rush towards the Residence to
apprehend them.

As elemental mana began to gather above Zero Wing’s Residence and
patrolling city guards began to charge over...

Nine Dragons Emperor suddenly shouted, “Activate the scrolls!”

Suddenly, several MTs at the forefront of the army revealed black magic
scrolls that they had kept hidden for quite some time now. The MTs
immediately unfurled the scrolls and activated them.

In the next moment, the elemental mana filing the space above Zero
Wing’s Residence started going berserk.

“Curse Scroll?” Shi Feng was genuinely surprised when he saw the magic
scrolls in his enemies’ hands.

Magic scrolls fit into various categories. However, the rarest had to be
ones that carried Curses. This was a type of forbidden spell. All Curses
possessed an astonishing might, and it was not easy to turn it into a
magic scroll. Hence, it was extremely difficult to obtain even one Curse
Scroll.

Yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had actually managed to reveal four
such scrolls. It was simply inconceivable.

At this moment, however, even Nine Dragons Emperor’s face twitched
slightly.

Four Curse Scrolls... He had only managed to obtain these four scrolls
after gathering the entirety of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion’s power.
Now that he was using all of them in one go, and on a small, nameless
Guild no less, even he felt the sting of the loss.

“Four Curse Scrolls. Consider this your burial, Zero Wing,” Nine Dragons
Emperor smiled faintly at the dark clouds gathering in the sky.

Suddenly, black rain began to fall. As if these black raindrops had
lives of their own, they attached themselves to all players caught
within the spell’s vicinity.

“Dark God’s Descent!” Shi Feng paled instantly.

Although he wanted to defend against this spell, Dark God’s Descent was
unblockable. Even if he had magic immunity, it wouldn’t change a thing.
Dark God’s Descent was a Silencing Curse. With four of these Curse
Scrolls being used simultaneously, the forbidden spell’s effective
radius and duration increased significantly. It was definitely an
efficient weapon for team battles.

At this moment, a Dark God status imperceptibly appeared in everyone’s
status window, the duration lasting for one full hour.

In other words, within the next hour, any players within the Curse’s
effective radius were unable to use any of their spells. They could not
even use the tools they had inside their bags. To put it simply, players
could only participate in melee combat.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had obviously prepared these Curses as a
countermeasure for large-scale destruction spells and NPCs.

“Blood Dragon, lead some elites to pin down the patrolling guards and
let Martial Dragon handle the rest,” Nine Dragons Emperor ordered. He
then turned to look at Chaos Dancer, saying, “Let’s go; we’ll watch the
show from upstairs.”

After receiving the command, Blood Dragon led the elite players, who
were positioned at the rear line and remained unaffected by the Dark
God, and charged towards the ten Level 150 patrolling guards.

At the same time, Martial Dragon shouted, “Kill! Annihilate Zero Wing!
Leave not a single player alive!”

The War Dragon Legion suddenly charged into Zero Wing’s Residence. As
for the other elite players, they were tasked to delay the Residence’s
NPC guards.

When Silenced, an expert’s strength stepped into the spotlight.

When the War Dragon Legion’s 1,000 members charged into Zero Wing’s
10,000-plus elite members, they were like wolves among a flock of sheep.
Immediately, the members of the War Dragon Legion started a slaughter.

At this point, Zero Wing possessed more than 400 Tier 1 players. It had
more Tier 1 players than every Guild in White River City combined.

Naturally, all those capable of becoming Tier 1 classes at this stage of
the game employed powerful techniques. Even if they were not yet
experts, they were not far from that hurdle. Zero Wing’s members were
also famed for having amazing equipment. Even if their techniques were
lacking, they could make up the gap with their equipment.

In front of absolute strength, all manner of tricks were useless.

Even so, Zero Wing possessed far fewer experts than the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion. Not to mention, the members of the War Dragon Legion were
experts who had undergone careful screening.

“Do you think we’re that easily bullied? All guards, to the lines!” Shi
Feng commanded.

Suddenly, an additional two hundred Tier 1 NPCs emerged from the Guild
Hall. Moreover, these Tier 1 NPCs were all melee classes.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 551 - Fleeting Scene

The originally imposing Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members were immediately
shocked by the appearance of the two hundred Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs.

Nine Dragons Emperor, who watched the battle from afar, also wore a grim
expression.

“Didn’t the reports say that they only had around 50-plus NPCs?” Nine
Dragons Emperor turned to the intelligence agent beside him. Snapping,
he yelled, “Just what have you all been doing?! You failed to report on
two hundred Tier 1 NPCs! Tell me! What is going on here?!”

A single Level 50 Tier 1 NPC was very difficult to deal with. Each one
required a team of elite members to pin down. Now that there was an
additional two hundred, this would greatly affect his plans.

Suddenly, cold sweat appeared on the forehead of the reconnaissance
unit’s leader. He was so frightened he could not utter a single word.
Originally, he had tried to think of an excuse to save himself. However,
he knew full well what kind of personality the Nine Dragons Emperor had.
The more he tried to justify himself, the graver the consequences would
be.

“Forget it. You won’t have to do your job anymore. Someone will replace
you in the future.”

Nine Dragons Emperor waved his hand, having his subordinates escort the
recon leader out of the building and dismissing him from the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

“Chaos, instruct the Blood Legion to send help. With the Blood Legion’s
strength, they should be able to hold back two hundred NPCs.” At this
moment, Nine Dragons couldn’t care less about how Zero Wing had managed
to obtain all of these NPCs. He had no choice but to involve the
originally inactive Blood Legion in the battle.

“Understood. This subordinate will lead them over now,” Chaos Dancer
nodded and smiled.

A short moment later, the thousand-strong Blood Legion, which had been
on standby, charged into Zero Wing’s Guild Residence.

---

Meanwhile, the various large Guilds watching the battle from afar were
also shocked by the sudden change.

“Sure enough, Zero Wing is quite capable. With so many Tier 1 NPCs, even
the Blood Legion will not be able to hold them off for long. After all,
each Level 50 Tier 1 NPC is the equivalent of a Level 50 Special Elite!”
Galaxy Past sighed.

If any other first-rate Guild stood in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s
place right now, they would have no chance against Zero Wing.

Particularly, that large-scale Silencing spell the Pavilion had used
before the battle began significantly restricted the NPCs’ combat power
and had even sealed Zero Wing’s large-scale destruction spells. Zero
Wing had lost all their advantages with just this single move.

---

Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing’s Residence, a melee battle had broken out.
The scene in the Residence looked just like a battlefield from ancient
times.

Currently, the magical classes, who boasted the highest power, could
only fight using their staffs...

The magical classes in God’s Domain were different from other virtual
reality games. They were not completely incapable of participating in
melee combat, but they were not specialized in it. They possessed very
few skills that could be used in a melee battle. In addition, their
classes mainly focused on Intelligence and Vitality, making them even
more inferior in melee combat.

At this moment, however, nobody could care less. Even the healers of
either side fought each other, not to mention the other magical classes.

Compared to the one-on-one fights between the magical classes, the
battles between the physical classes were intense.

Currently, none of them could use any skills or tools and had to rely
solely on their combat techniques.

It was especially true for the War Dragon Legion. A majority of the War
Dragon Legion members consisted of physical classes, and every one was
an expert among experts. Normally, they were capable of soloing a
Special Elite of the same level, and some were even capable of putting
up a good fight against a Chieftain of the same level.

Elite players could become elites in the first place not solely because
of their Levels being above average; it was more due to the fact that
they could solo an Elite monster of the same level. Hence, they were
called elite players. Meanwhile, in the eyes of God’s Domain’s ordinary
players, experts were individuals capable of soloing a Special Elite of
the same level.

As for top-tier experts, in the eyes of ordinary players, they were
individuals who could contend with a Chieftain of the same level.
Chieftains were normally Bosses in Party Dungeons.

Every member of the War Dragon Legion, at the barest minimum, was
capable of confronting a Chieftain of the same level by themselves. Some
were even capable of killing a Chieftain of the same level.

Having these experts deal with four or five elite players simultaneously
was a trivial matter.

They might even be able to defeat four or five elite players without
losing a single HP. It was just like how a Chieftain could easily defeat
four or five Elite monsters.

In the blink of an eye, the 1,000 members of the War Dragon Legion had
already killed close to 3,000 Zero Wing members without suffering even a
single fatality.

If not for many of the War Dragon Legion’s members and the Blood Legion
holding back the Tier 1 NPC guards, Zero Wing’s death count would have
been much higher by now.

However, compared to the War Dragon Legion’s captain, Martial Dragon,
these ordinary members of the War Dragon Legion were nothing.

Martial Dragon was like a silver storm. Everywhere he passed, a rain of
blood would follow. When half a dozen elite members of Zero Wing dashed
up to Martial Dragon, they were instantly struck by Martial Dragon’s
bone-chilling and immeasurably heavy aura, their complexions turning
pale and movements becoming extraordinarily sluggish. Immediately after,
multiple red streaks of light weaved across their bodies, sending them
flying into the air. In the next moment, blood poured out like a
fountain from multiple wounds. When these elites returned to the ground,
a piece of equipment dropped beside them. Their bodies were no longer
capable of movement.

“The War Dragon Legion is truly frightening. There are many among them
who are even stronger than I am. That Martial Dragon is especially
impressive! If I fought him, I’m not confident that I could even block a
handful of moves before he defeated me. It is no wonder why people are
saying that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s strength is the closest to a
Super Guild. This Martial Dragon can indeed put up a fight against those
old fellows,” Galaxy Past stated incredulously.

Super Guilds had not become such because of their massive financial
prowess or their large army of experts. The true reason was those
inhuman experts that stood at the very top of the virtual gaming world.

Martial Dragon had precisely the potential to become such an expert.

“I heard that Martial Dragon is a talent that only appears once every
ten years in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. It seems that this was not an
exaggeration.” Purple Eye watched Martial Dragon’s figure that resembled
a god of war, awe and anticipation, as well as some hints of jealousy,
filling her eyes.

To experts like herself, it was an instinct to revere the strong. At the
same time, she also wished to challenge those powerhouses who stood at
the summit.

Martial Dragon was someone who had already obtained the right to
challenge such individuals, so how could she not be jealous?

Purple Eye even considered exchanging a few moves with Martial Dragon
right this instant. Even though she knew she was no match for the man,
the exchange would still benefit her immensely.

If an expert wished to improve themselves quickly, they could not just
rely on self-research and experimenting. They needed to fight various
other experts, using the experience to learn and improve their own
shortcomings. Only then could they improve quickly.

While Purple Eye focused on Martial Dragon’s every move, hoping to learn
something through his actions, she suddenly noticed Martial Dragon’s
gaze shift to another location, his eyes revealing both traces of shock
and excitement.

Turning to look where Martial Dragon had shifted his attention to,
Purple Eye similarly found herself shocked.

“Who is that person?” Purple Eye’s small mouth widened as if she had
just seen a ghost.

She had just watched three War Dragon Legion members die instantly!.

That’s right. All three of them were killed in the blink of an eye.
Moreover, they were the experts of the War Dragon Legion, not some noobs
that could be found on the streets.

Against multiple of such experts, not even Purple Eye was confident that
she could emerge victorious. Yet, that person had succeeded. Moreover,
she had done so with ease.

After a moment of shock, Purple Eye was finally able to get a clear view
of that player.

Possessing an alluring appearance, she wore form-fitting black leather
armor that fully displayed the graceful and mesmerizing curves of her
body. She also wielded two blood-red short swords that emitted dazzling
flames. At this moment, it was as if she stood at the center of Zero
Wing’s Residence.

“That is Fire Dance?” Purple Eye dared not even believe her own eyes
right now.

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 552 - Enviable Zero Wing

Purple Eye repeatedly rubbed her eyes and did a double take at the
alluring figure.

In the end, she was 100% sure she had not seen wrong.

“Why is this so different from what was reported?”

Purple Eye had read many reports on Zero Wing. The Star Alliance had
gathered on every noteworthy expert in Zero Wing. There were also videos
of every one of these noteworthy experts.

Fire Dance was one of the few most noteworthy experts in Zero Wing.

Hence, Purple Eye had a very good understanding of Fire Dance’s
strength.

However, the data on Fire Dance had only noted her as a top-tier expert
and that she was only barely able to contend with a Chieftain of the
same level. Hence, Purple Eye had not placed any importance on Fire
Dance at all. Only Aqua Rose could be considered a worthy foe for her;
Fire Dance had not even ranked on her list.

Now, however...

Fire Dance had easily defeated three top-tier experts. How could this
strength not shock Purple Eye?

It was especially true for that blade-like aura surrounding Fire Dance.
Even while watching from such a distance, she could feel a sense of
great danger with that aura. It felt as if Fire Dance could appear right
before her at any time and launch an attack.

With such a dazzling and dangerous aura, it was difficult for Fire Dance
not to attract attention. Not to mention, there were many experts
present on the battlefield, and every one of them possessed the
sensitivity of a mouse. These experts detected the source of the danger
instantly.

Four of the War Dragon Legion members closest to Fire Dance charged
towards Fire Dance simultaneously. As if they had planned this, they
coordinated their actions perfectly, launching an attack from all sides.

Facing the encirclement of the four legionnaires, Fire Dance’s figure
swayed slightly. In the next moment, only an afterimage remained in her
place, denying the legionnaires their chance to strike. Immediately, she
dashed towards the closest Level 27 Assassin, the two flame-red short
swords in her hands transforming into multiple blades of light that
struck like vipers.

As a member of the War Dragon Legion, the Assassin was no ordinary
player. When faced with this sudden attack, instead of retreating, he
advanced. The Assassin quickly saw through the trajectory of Fire
Dance’s short swords; brandishing his own daggers, he deflected her
attacks, one after another After deflecting the swords of light, the
Assassin kicked at Fire Dance.

“You’re still too green!” the Assassin sneered.

Attacks were not limited to the player’s weapons. A player could use
their body to attack as well.

However, most players had adopted the mindset that one could only launch
melee attacks with their weapons, nothing else. Hence, they would
normally focus their attention on an enemy’s weapons and hands. This
unexpected kick right now would cost Fire Dance her life.

At this moment, however, a Berserker, who was a short distance away from
the Assassin, shouted, “Little Six, behind you!”

Thanks to the warning, the Assassin called Little Six suddenly noticed
that he had only kicked an afterimage.

“Behind?” Little Six suddenly felt his back grow cold. His many years of
combat experience and acute senses alerted him that someone was behind
him. Immediately, he tried to bend his body forward in an attempt to
dodge the incoming attack.

However, Fire Dance did not use her short swords to attack at all.
Instead, the instant she circled to the Assassin’s back, her slender leg
kicked the Assassin’s thigh. Caught unprepared, the strike sent the
Assassin spinning into the air. Immediately after, Fire Dance swiped her
blade across the Assassin’s throat. Overall, her actions were simple and
direct with no wasted movement whatsoever. At this moment, she looked
just like a veteran killer.

By the time the three other War Dragon Legion members caught up to Fire
Dance, this Assassin had become a disembodied soul under Fire Dance’s
swords.

Although the entire process seemed slow, in reality, everything had
happened in the blink of an eye. In the time it took Fire Dance to steal
the Assassin’s life, the legionnaires had only crossed a distance of ten
yards.

When the three legionnaires arrived before the female player, they slid
to a halt, their eyes locked onto Fire Dance’s seductive body. At this
moment, they no longer dared to approach this charming, yet deadly
Assassin casually.

---

“Purple, why haven’t I heard anything about this Fire Dance? She can
actually slaughter three War Dragon Legion members so easily. Even now,
facing four legionnaires simultaneously, she dealt with one of them
swiftly. Could she be a new talent that some Super Guild has recently
nurtured?” Galaxy Past asked, unable to help his shock.

As the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, he was very well-informed
regarding the virtual gaming world. Even so, from the information he had
received, there was no news about a character named Fire Dance. However,
his knowledge of Super Guilds’ activities was limited. As Purple Eye was
someone who had come from a Super Guild, she should have a better
understanding of Super Guilds.

Moreover, judging from how Fire Dance had defeated the members of the
War Dragon Legion so efficiently, she definitely wasn’t someone new to
gaming. Normally, only experts nurtured by Super Guilds possessed such
outstanding skills.

“Guild Leader, although I, too, think that she might be a new talent
from some Super Guild, from what I have seen of her techniques, I can
say with certainty that no Super Guild has nurtured her. Her every move
looks more like she is fighting a real battle. Her attacks do not
resemble combat techniques used in a virtual reality game,” Purple Eye
said, a bitter smile on her face.

“That makes sense.” Galaxy Past nodded, a hint of jealousy surfacing in
his heart.

Why was he jealous?

It was because Fire Dance wasn’t the only person performing
exceptionally on this battlefield. There was also the Guardian Knight
Cola, the Assassin Flying Shadow, and many other members of Zero Wing.
The combat power each of them displayed was extraordinary. Only, Fire
Dance shone brightest of them all.

Zero Wing could not even be considered a second-rate Guild, yet it
possessed so many experts. Hence, how could he not grow jealous?

---

“So what if Zero Wing has a lot of experts? So what if you can pick a
fight with first-rate Guilds? Now that you’ve offended the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, today will be your last!” Watching the battle
from afar, while Feng Xuanyang was envious, he also celebrated Zero
Wing’s misfortune.

---

Inside Zero Wing’s Residence, although Fire Dance and the other core
members of Zero Wing were wantonly slaughtering the members of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, at the end of the day, its enemy was still the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. As the strongest legion in the Heavenly Dragon
Pavilion, the War Dragon Legion would not be taken down by just a few
experts. Immediately, a large number of experts began to circle Zero
Wing’s few top-tier experts.

However, Fire Dance’s situation was slightly unique from the others.
Only one person came forth to deal with her. This person’s appearance
immediately attracted many people’s attention. He was none other than
the War Dragon Legion’s Commander, Martial Dragon, the man that stood at
the apex of the War Dragon Legion.

“You’re very skilled. Join the War Dragon Legion. I guarantee that you
will immediately become one of its party leaders. After some training,
you can even become the Vice-Commander,” Martial Dragon proposed as his
gaze took in Fire Dance’s figure.

The members of the War Dragon Legion were stunned.

They had never thought that Martial Dragon’s evaluation of Fire Dance
would be so high as to offer her the position of Vice-Commander.

The highest position in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion belonged to the
Pavilion Master, and following that was the Commander of the War Dragon
Legion. As for the Vice-Commander, that person would definitely be the
third most influential person within the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. There
were countless experts within the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion hoping to
climb the ladder to become the Vice-Commander. And now, that position
was already at Fire Dance’s fingertips.

“You sure are insincere. I am the Commander of Zero Wing’s core team.
Why should I head over to your side to become a measly little
Vice-Commander?” Fire Dance revealed a playful smile. She was not
interested in the position of Vice-Commander in the slightest.

“It seems you still do not know what significance the position of
Vice-Commander holds, nor do you know the significance of the position
of Commander. Then, I’ll show you just what the Commander of the War
Dragon Legion is!”

Martial Dragon was not at all angered by Fire Dance’s refusal.
Unsheathing his blood-red greatsword, step after step, he slowly walked
towards Fire Dance. With every step that Martial Dragon took, the aura
surrounding his body grew stronger.

The instant Martial Dragon reached ten yards away from Fire Dance, the
latter almost retreated several steps instinctually, increasing the
distance between them. At this moment, Fire Dance’s expression had
become extraordinarily grim, as if she were greeting a great enemy.

“Oh? Sure enough, I wasn’t mistaken. You are able to see it,” Martial
Dragon laughed, becoming more satisfied with Fire Dance.

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-   Next Chapter

Chapter 553 - The Difference of Top-tier Equipment

“How about it? This should be sufficient to convince you to join the War
Dragon Legion, right?” Martial Dragon asked once again.

This time, instead of replying, Fire Dance quietly stared Martial
Dragon.

Just what kind of monster is this person? Why did I feel that death was
right before me when he was still ten yards away? After undergoing
special training for a time, Fire Dance’s strength had undergone a
qualitative improvement. Lei Bao’s training had especially helped her
improve her control over her own body. Her senses had become far more
sensitive as well.

Meanwhile, as Fire Dance stared Martial Dragon, she felt as if she stood
before a towering mountain.

Particularly, when Martial Dragon was only ten yards away from her, it
felt like that towering mountain had instantly appeared above her and
physically pressed down on her. At that very instant, she felt as if her
life was no longer under her control.

This feeling was different from the pressure she normally felt when
facing a powerful enemy. It felt as if everything within a 10-yard
radius of Martial Dragon was completely under the Berserker’s control.

Fire Dance could not believe it.

She could not figure out just how Martial Dragon had achieved such a
feat.

Martial Dragon was clearly a Berserker. Aside from a few specific
Skills, a Berserker’s normal attack range was limited to five or six
yards. Moreover, the Dark God’s Descent had silenced everyone, and none
of them could use any Skills. Yet, Martial Dragon had an attack range of
ten yards and could even inflict a feeling of impending doom.

Even Fire Dance began to wonder if she was hallucinating due to her
fatigue from her recent training. However, ever since she had started
playing God’s Domain, her senses had not led her astray, so how could
she possibly be mistaken now?

Hence, Fire Dance immediately retreated from Martial Dragon.

However, dragging on this fight was not a solution. After giving it some
thought, Fire Dance gritted her teeth as she prepared to test herself
against Martial Dragon.

In the next moment, Fire Dance transformed into a black shadow as she
dashed towards Martial Dragon.

In terms of Attributes, Fire Dance was confident that she was superior
to Martial Dragon for no reason other than the Tier 1 Set Equipment for
Assassins, the Dark Melody Set Equipment, that Shi Feng had given her.
After equipping this set, not only had her Attributes received a massive
boost, but she was also able to display her combat power more
efficiently.

In front of absolute strength, all manner of trickery was useless.

Regarding techniques, Fire Dance and the others had already improved
significantly due to Lei Bao and Shi Feng’s training. They could be
considered super-first-rate experts. In actual combat, they were
definitely superior to the ordinary members of the War Dragon Legion.
They might not be able to solo a Chieftain of the same level, but they
could hold their ground against one for a relatively long time. After
factoring in the Tier 1 Set Equipment and their top-tier Dark-Gold
Weapons, they could easily solo a Chieftain of the same level. They
could even challenge a Lord.

After all, a Tier 1 Set Equipment was only inferior to an Epic Set
Equipment. The Attribute increase it provided was no small matter.
Furthermore, every one of them had equipped three Intermediate Mana
Armor Kits. In terms of Attributes, they completely overwhelmed the War
Dragon Legion’s ordinary members.

Even against the Commander of the War Dragon Legion, Martial Dragon,
this was the case.

The instant Fire Dance reached the 10-yard range, she turned her feet
slightly, and suddenly, she split into two identical figures. It was
practically impossible to tell which woman was real. The two figures
then proceeded to attack Martial Dragon separately. Any ordinary player
would be caught off guard and fail to react if their enemy suddenly
doubled. Even an expert would hesitate. In addition, Fire Dance was very
skilled. There were almost no excess movements in her attack. With
lightning speed, the two Truefire Blades in Fire Dance’s hands flew
towards Martial Dragon’s vital point and blindspot.

The various large Guilds watching the fight from afar were momentarily
stupefied.

Fire Dance’s speed and ferocity were unstoppable. Their eyes could not
even keep up with her.

Even an expert would be finished!

However, the instant before the Truefire Blades struck Martial Dragon, a
red streak flashed, deflecting both of Fire Dance’s attacks. At the same
time, the resulting impact forced Fire Dance into a retreat.

Is he even a Berserker? How can he draw his sword so fast? Fire Dance
was forced to retreat three steps before she stabilized her body. At
this moment, however, both of her hands were numb.

Berserkers were famed for their Strength, so Fire Dance did not find it
surprising that Martial Dragon’s counterattack had repulsed her.
However, she was an Assassin, a class that was famed for its speed. She
had clearly struck first, yet Martial Dragon still managed to block her
attacks.

“This Fire Dance is not bad at all. Unfortunately, the gap between her
and Martial Dragon is immense. It is so wide that even she hasn’t
realized its extent.” Watching the fight from afar, Nine Dragons Emperor
revealed a faint smile.

“Pavilion Master, how could you possibly compare that little girl to
Martial Dragon? It is impressive that this little girl possesses such
skill at such a young age. If she joins the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, her
future will be limitless. In a few years, she might even become a second
Martial Dragon.” The old man serving Nine Dragons Emperor similarly
smiled.

Martial Dragon was one of the strongest combatants that the Heavenly
Dragon Pavilion had to offer. He was also a rare talent that only
appeared once a decade.

The virtual gaming world changed by the day, and every year, the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would recruit a large number of players with
potential. Meanwhile, the fact that Martial Dragon was known as a genius
that only appeared once every ten years in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion
showed just how much talent he possessed. How could a little girl, who
had never been nurtured by a Super Guild, possibly compete with such an
individual?

Before, although it seemed as though Martial Dragon’s block had been
extremely fast, in reality, that was not the case. It was only because
Fire Dance had failed to notice Martial Dragon taking half a step
backward. And it was precisely this distance that had given Martial
Dragon’s greatsword sufficient time to catch up to Fire Dance’s short
swords.

The subtlety this half-step contained was the difference between Fire
Dance and Martial Dragon.

Before Fire Dance could recall how Martial Dragon had managed to
counterattack...

Martial Dragon suddenly moved.

The instant he moved, Fire Dance focused all of her attention on the
Berserker’s body.

Martial Dragon’s movements were very fast and polished. However, this
speed was slower than Fire Dance’s reactions. In an instant, Fire Dance
predicted the Berserker’s attack route and prepared to counterattack.

Since my Strength is not a match for him, I’ll use speed to face him.
Through the previous exchange, Fire Dance had discovered her advantages
and disadvantages against this opponent. Assassins possessed extremely
high Agility. Hence, regarding Movement Speed, they were leaps and
bounds above Berserkers. With that in mind, Fire Dance planned to fight
a moving battle with Martial Dragon.

Fire Dance instantly dodged the attack from Martial Dragon’s greatsword.
She then side-stepped and sent an strike at the Berserker’s neck.

Evade. Counterattack.

It was a simple attack pattern. However, Fire Dance had completed both
steps almost simultaneously.

Just as Fire Dance considered following up her counterattack with
another attack, her complexion suddenly paled as she felt that something
was off. When her counterattack landed, she had not felt her blade slice
flesh.

Unfortunately, it was too late to react.

Martial Dragon, who stood proudly before Fire Dance, had raised his
blood-red greatsword and swung it down. A red blade of light flashed
towards Fire Dance. The immense wind pressure generated by Martial
Dragon’s greatsword rolled up a cloud of dust along with a splatter of
fresh blood.

In the next moment, Fire Dance flew back, her HP rapidly falling.

Fortunately, Fire Dance had a Tier 1 Set Equipment and three
Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. In total, she had over 6,000 HP, even with
her high Defense. Although Martial Dragon possessed frightening
Strength, he could not kill Fire Dance with one hit; he could only
reduce her HP by half.

Such powerful equipment! Martial Dragon was somewhat surprised when he
saw Fire Dance still standing. However, he quickly discerned the reason
why he was unable to kill the Assassin with a single hit.

Equipment capable of allowing an Assassin to survive one of his strikes
definitely possessed powerful Attributes. At this moment, even Martial
Dragon envied Fire Dance.

Even Nine Dragons Emperor, who watched the battle from afar, glared at
Fire Dance enviously.

“It really is a wonder how you people from Zero Wing managed to obtain
such exaggerated equipment. However, although your equipment is
excellent, it will only prolong your suffering!”

Saying so, Martial Dragon advanced once more, swinging his greatsword
towards Fire Dance, who had only barely recovered from her fall.

Just as the red blade of light was about to strike the Assassin...

“Who?” Martial Dragon’s hands suddenly froze as his gaze quickly swept
through his surroundings.

“An expert who has awakened a Domain is actually bullying a young woman
who has yet to even enter the Refinement Realm. Aren’t you ashamed?”

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Chapter 554 - Overwhelming Attributes

Although this new voice was not loud, Martial Dragon’s sharp gaze
immediately locked onto its origin.

In the direction Martial Dragon was looking at, a plain-looking man in
armor slowly emerged the warring crowd.

Despite so many players focusing on killing each other, nobody had
bothered to attack this man. It was as if none of these people had
noticed him. Everyone was still focused on dealing with their own
opponents.

Only when this man’s black sword pierced through the backs of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s elites, did these elites notice the man’s
existence. By then, however, it was too late.

Since the war had begun, nobody had noticed that this ordinary-looking
man had killed many War Dragon legionnaires and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion
elites. He was practically a god of silent death.

“One-hit Asura!” Surprise and excitement filled Martial Dragon’s eyes as
they landed on Shi Feng. “Sure enough, your reputation is well deserved.
You really do possess some ability.”

A technique that could allow one to move unnoticed was no trivial
matter.

The concept might sound very simple, but when it came to its
realization, not many could achieve it. This required a combination of
special breathing techniques and footwork. Not to mention, Shi Feng even
wielded this technique with such ease.

Despite having met many experts in the past, Martial Dragon had never
encountered one capable of such a technique.

One could say that such a technique was extremely convenient in a group
battle.

Since this technique could allow a player to avoid attention, then it
could naturally be used in reverse as well, forcing others to focus on
oneself.

Martial Dragon had originally intended to finish off Fire Dance with his
last attack. However, due to that sudden surge of killing intent from
Shi Feng, Martial Dragon felt as if someone had suddenly appeared behind
him. Martial Dragon had no choice but to halt his attack in order to
respond to the new enemy, allowing Fire Dance to escape with her life as
a result.

“Fire Dance, go deal with someone else. Leave him to me.” Shi Feng sent
Fire Dance a private message.

“Guild Leader, be careful.” Fire Dance nodded. Although Fire Dance was
reluctant, she turned and moved to deal with other enemies.

Martial Dragon glanced at Fire Dance’s departing figure, not bothering
to chase after the Assassin. Instead, he focused his attention on the
slowly approaching Shi Feng.

---

“What’s going on with Martial Dragon?! Fire Dance was within his grasp;
why didn’t he finish her off before moving on to deal with Black
Flame?!” Feng Xuanyang, who watched the fight from afar, shouted with
frustration and confusion.

His hatred for Zero Wing ran deep, and he wanted nothing more than to
kill Zero Wing’s upper managers hundreds of times. If not for Zero Wing,
he would not have encountered so many problems. He would have long since
become the hidden overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Eastern Region rather
than ending up in his current dire state. He even had to obey the Seven
Ghosts.

“Young Master Feng, Martial Dragon is not at fault here. It isn’t
because Martial Dragon didn’t wish to finish her off, but because he
couldn’t,” Third Ghost said, laughing bitterly. He then explained, “Fire
Dance is much faster than Martial Dragon. If she focuses on running
away, even Martial Dragon cannot catch her. Not to mention, Black Flame
has currently locked onto Martial Dragon. If he attempts to chase after
Fire Dance, he will reveal a gap in his defense, giving Black Flame an
opportunity to attack. Black Flame’s combat power is astounding. He is
far above Fire Dance. Moreover, that technique that makes others ignore
his presence is also the perfect technique for assassinations.

“If Martial Dragon focused on Fire Dance, it is very likely that he
would feel the bite of Black Flame’s sword. How could Martial Dragon
possibly dare to focus on Fire Dance?”

“Then, are you saying that there is a possibility that Black Flame will
defeat Martial Dragon?” Resentment boiled up in Feng Xuanyang as he
listened to Third Ghost’s words.

In the beginning, Black Flame had been a nobody, insignificant, while he
was a member of Underworld.

Black Flame had spoiled his good fortune many times, yet, the more he
fought Black Flame, the more he discovered how helpless he was against
the man. At this point, he could do practically nothing against Black
Flame.

Chuckling, Third Ghost confidently said, “Martial Dragon is very
powerful. I only said that Black Flame had a chance against Martial
Dragon while he was distracted. However, if Martial Dragon focuses on
his opponent, Black Flame has almost no chance of emerging victorious.”

“What do you mean?” Feng Xuanyang asked curiously.

“This is something I heard from Boss First Ghost, but it seems that
Martial Dragon has already awakened his Domain. In a direct
confrontation, it is simply impossible to defeat Martial Dragon. Even if
we, the Seven Ghosts, worked together, it is unlikely that we could
defeat Martial Dragon in a head-on clash.”

When Third Ghost uttered the word “Domain,” reverence appeared on his
face.

Domain... Within a certain range, the wielder of the Domain could
achieve absolute control. One could even count the number of raindrops
that fell in their Domain.

Only by training one’s five senses to their extreme limits could one
reach such a realm of control. Domains were practically a myth.

Normally, only the geniuses among geniuses had the possibility of
grasping such a technique.

One could say that Domains were the dreams that countless experts
sought.

---

While Third Ghost explained the situation, Martial Dragon and Shi Feng
gradually approached each other.

Thirty yards... Twenty yards... Fifteen yards...

One after another, the upper managers of the various large Guilds
witnessing this war shifted their gaze towards these two players.

One was Star-Moon Kingdom’s number one expert, Black Flame, while the
other was the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion’s top fighter, Martial Dragon.
Both were peerless experts that could deter an army by themselves, so
how could they possibly miss out on a battle between the two?

“Guild Leader, who do you think will win?” Purple Eye asked.

Although she was a top-tier expert herself, she had no idea what the
outcome of this battle would be as she had never witnessed either of the
two fight with their full power.

“I suspect Martial Dragon will win. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is a
super-first-rate Guild. Moreover, you should have seen the strength
Martial Dragon displayed a moment ago. That’s a Domain!” Envy and
admiration filled Galaxy Past’s gaze as he looked at Martial Dragon.
“Rumor has it that Martial Dragon qualifies to compete with those old
monsters, and it would seem that those rumors are true. I wonder when I
will be able to set foot on that stage as well.”

Purple Eye nodded in agreement.

In reality, she really hoped that Black Flame would emerge victorious.
After all, there had yet to be a single first-rate Guild daring enough
to provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, yet, Black Flame had done just
that. One could not help but admire the man.

Now, he even faced off against a combat genius like Martial Dragon.

Unfortunately, Black Flame had yet to reach that stage. Moreover, the
difference in the number of experts between Zero Wing and the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was simply too huge. There was no room for Zero
Wing to resist.

---

When there was only a distance of ten yards, Shi Feng suddenly stopped.

“Why aren’t you advancing?” Martial Dragon stood proudly, his gaze fixed
on Shi Feng. With a disdainful look, he asked, “Or do you intend to run
away?”

Shi Feng remained silent, paying no heed to Martial Dragon’s
provocation.

“Since you aren’t going to come to me, I’ll go to you!” Martial Dragon
brandished his greatsword and dashed towards Shi Feng like a fierce
tiger, his body carrying an overwhelming momentum that pressed down on
Shi Feng.

Yet, Shi Feng remained motionless as he welcomed Martial Dragon’s
attack.

Martial Dragon took no time at all to cross the distance of ten yards.

Arriving before Shi Feng, Martial Dragon swung his blood-red greatsword,
the weapon transforming into a streak of red light as it slashed towards
its target. Martial Dragon’s attack was both simple and crude.

At this time, Shi Feng, who had made no effort whatsoever to dodge the
oncoming attack, finally moved, the Abyssal Blade in his hand
transforming into a streak of light as it met Martial Dragon’s
greatsword.

Boom!

When the two swords clashed, a crisp low-pitched sound echoed throughout
the Zero Wing Residence.

The pure exchange of blows between the two powerhouses caused even the
pavement to crack and shatter beneath their feet.

Martial Dragon was abruptly forced to retreat by five steps, the
numbness in his arms spreading to his scalp. Martial Dragon then shifted
his gaze to Shi Feng, and what he saw left him stupefied.

Shi Feng stood steady in his original position like an immovable
mountain.

The difference in their Strengths was obvious.

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Chapter 555 - Winner and Loser

Black Flame pushed Martial Dragon back!

Silence!

Every Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion member within Zero Wing’s Residence was
dumbfounded!

Meanwhile, the players watching from afar were similarly rendered
speechless, their minds repeatedly playing that scene from before.

Although neither side had used any profound techniques and had only
exchanged a straightforward blow, it was precisely this simplicity that
allowed everyone to see the difference between the two very clearly.

Shi Feng’s Attributes were absolutely mind-blowing.

“Shit! Just what kind of equipment is Black Flame wearing?!” Feng
Xuanyang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at this scene.

Martial Dragon was a Level 28 Berserker. Moreover, the majority of his
equipment was Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. The weapon he wielded was
even one of indiscernible quality, but judging from its appearance, it
should certainly be above Dark-Gold rank. This equipment composition
could definitely be among the very best in God’s Domain. Even if Black
Flame were fully geared in Dark-Gold Equipment, he would not be that
much stronger than Martial Dragon.

Moreover, Black Flame was only a Swordsman, a very well-balanced class
in terms of Attributes. Normally, a Swordsman’s Strength would be
inferior to a Berserker’s, and his Agility would be inferior to an
Assassin’s. Yet, now, Black Flame had actually managed to force back an
apex Berserker like Martial Dragon with a single hit...

Just how outstanding was Black Flame’s equipment to pull off such a
feat?

At this moment, Nine Dragons Emperor, who was leisurely watching the
battle from afar, had an expression of immense joy on his face, his eyes
fully focused on Shi Feng—as if he had just seen a peerless beauty.

Although Nine Dragons Emperor was indeed surprised at seeing Martial
Dragon forced into a retreat, he was much more delighted at discovering
the peerless equipment that made such a feat possible.

“Uncle Chen, order the ones below to obtain Black Flame’s equipment!”
Nine Dragons Emperor instructed the old man beside him, his eyes shining
brightly.

“Understood!” The old man addressed as Uncle Chen immediately made a bow
and left his position.

A short moment later, the old man arrived with quick steps at the
balcony of the private room, then abruptly shouted, “War Dragon Legion,
listen up! Plunder every piece of equipment on Black Flame’s body and
leave nothing behind!”

Although the old man was quite aged, his voice was extraordinarily loud
when he shouted. Practically everyone in the neighborhood had heard him.

“Is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion stupid? Didn’t they see how Black Flame
repulsed Martial Dragon in a single hit? Who could possibly kill him and
plunder his equipment? Also, even if they plan on plundering someone’s
equipment, there shouldn’t be a need to announce it publicly like that,
right?” some ordinary players spectating from the sidelines ridiculed.

When the members of Zero Wing heard the old man’s words, they nearly
spat out blood in anger.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was completely looking down on them.

For a time, Zero Wing’s members fought with even greater ferocity.

Although the spectating ordinary players made fun of Nine Dragons
Emperor’s foolishness, none of the upper managers of other first-rate
Guilds were laughing.

They knew full well just how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was.

Despite the currently brief duration of the battle, the death toll was
already extremely frightening.

The battlefield, which initially had nearly 30,000 players, now had less
than 20,000 players remaining. The majority of the survivors also
belonged to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even the War Dragon Legion had
over 800 members still alive. Overall, the Pavilion’s losses were light.
In contrast, Zero Wing’s side...

Things were just terrible on this side. Many elite members had died, and
only two hundred or so Tier 1 players remained; Zero Wing had lost
nearly half of its main combat power. If not for the Tier 1 NPCs, Zero
Wing’s situation would be much uglier.

The gap between the two Guilds was evident at a single glance. They
simply could not be compared to each other.

Black Flame repulsing Martial Dragon?

What was there to celebrate?

“These people really think Black Flame has a chance of winning!” Third
Ghost sneered as he looked at the distant spectating ordinary players.

That was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion Zero Wing was going up against, a
super-first-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the
Pavilion had even sent out its War Dragon Legion this time around. Zero
Wing had no chance of victory at all.

Moreover, Martial Dragon was a peerless expert who had grasped a Domain.

Although Black Flame had the advantage in Attributes, the gap was not so
great that it was impassable.

Any expert would be able to discern this point very clearly.

Hence, Nine Dragons Emperor did not take Black Flame seriously at all
and was fully intent on obtaining the Swordsman’s equipment.

---

Inside Zero Wing’s Residence, Martial Dragon and Shi Feng had already
exchanged moves dozens of times.

Every time Shi Feng attacked, he forced Martial Dragon into a retreat,
chipping at Martial Dragon’s HP with each exchange. At this moment,
Martial Dragon’s HP was down to around 90%.

However, Shi Feng was not particularly happy about this situation,
neither was he angry about Nine Dragons Emperor’s plan to plunder all
his equipment. He only felt helpless.

Although Shi Feng succeeded in suppressing Martial Dragon with his
Attributes, the Berserker was, after all, an expert who had grasped a
Domain. Since Martial Dragon knew that he could not win using brute
force, he had gone with a softer approach to neutralize Shi Feng’s
attacks. Negating Shi Feng’s power was practically impossible for
ordinary experts. After all, Shi Feng was an expert who had already set
foot in the Flowing Water Realm.

If one wanted to negate Shi Feng’s power, they required inhuman levels
of precision and confidence. The fact that Martial Dragon could achieve
such a feat was all due to his Domain.

Of course, while Shi Feng was helpless against Martial Dragon right now,
the same could be said for the Berserker. After all, Shi Feng could see
through his attack trajectories; whenever Martial Dragon tried attacking
Shi Feng, the latter would always take the appropriate defensive
measures and force the exchange into a frontal clash between weapons.

In a frontal clash, the side with lower Strength would naturally receive
damage and lose HP. Hence, Martial Dragon could only buy time.

However, Martial Dragon was in no rush. Zero Wing was vulnerable. Fire
Dance alone could not turn the situation around.

This was not an arena. There was no need for players to fight
one-on-one. If three to five legionnaires were insufficient, they could
simply increase that number. Even if Fire Dance had powerful Attributes,
the War Dragon Legion could just treat her as a powerful Boss and slowly
grind her to death.

“You are the first person who has lasted this long against me.
Unfortunately, this match won’t go on for much longer,” Martial Dragon
said ruefully as he glanced at his surroundings.

The number of Zero Wing members still alive was rapidly decreasing.
After another ten minutes or so, this war would come to an end.

This outcome was all due to the difference in the number and quality of
experts. Even with so many NPCs filling the gap, they were still far
from enough.

“Indeed, this battle will not last much longer.” Shi Feng’s heart ached
over this situation as well. The losses Zero Wing had suffered in this
war was simply too massive. Yet, instead of revealing a dispirited
expression, Shi Feng smiled, saying, “However, the victor in this war
will still be us, Zero Wing!”

“Do you not see the situation your Guild is in right now?” Martial
Dragon could not help but laugh when he heard Shi Feng’s words.

However, shortly after Martial Dragon had spoken, the Berserker’s
expression suddenly turned grave.

“An ambush?”

Martial Dragon suddenly felt a killing intent that was even more intense
than when Shi Feng had revealed himself. Martial Dragon promptly tried
to put some distance between Shi Feng and himself. However, Shi Feng did
not allow Martial Dragon to do so, sticking closely to the Berserker at
all times.

In terms of speed, Martial Dragon was simply no match for Shi Feng.

Just as Martial Dragon faced Shi Feng’s barrage of attacks, the shadow
of a figure suddenly appeared behind Martial Dragon.

“Scram!”

Martial Dragon had already been on his guard against this figure.
Tightening his grip on his greatsword, he swung the weapon towards his
back with all his might, the weapon itself transforming into a streak of
red light. Under normal circumstances, this sudden attack definitely
would have caught the player, who had appeared behind Martial Dragon, by
surprise.

Dang!

However, this red blade of light was easily blocked.

“You are...” Martial Dragon finally managed to get a clear look at the
ambusher and was stunned.

This man had gray hair and a tall, robust body that was significantly
larger than an ordinary person’s. Also, this man was not a player but an
NPC.

Although this NPC was only Level 40—lower than those Level 50 Tier 1
guards—the pressure Martial Dragon felt from him was even stronger than
what he’d felt from a High Lord.

However, Martial Dragon had no time to ponder the identity of this NPC,
because the moment this NPC swung his sword, over a dozen wind blades
flew at Martial Dragon from all sides.

Only Shi Feng knew what this Skill was.

Tier 2 Sword Skill, Wind Roar!

This Skill could not be blocked and could only be dodged. But Martial
Dragon no longer had time to dodge right now.

In the blink of an eye, multiple wind blades devoured Martial Dragon,
his 6,000-plus HP instantly bottoming out with not a single point
remaining.

The ambusher was none other than Shi Feng’s Personal Guard, Kite.

Only, at this moment, Kite had already recovered his original strength.
No longer was he a Tier 1 Swordsman but a Tier 2 Sword Master, instead.

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Chapter 556 - Might of a Sword Master

“He actually died, just like that...”

“That’s Martial Dragon! How could someone possibly kill him with one
hit?! When did that frightening NPC appear?!”

For a time, the upper managers of the various Guilds spectating the
battle were stupefied.

“Commander!”

Martial Dragon’s abrupt death stopped the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion
members’ rising momentum cold.

As the Commander of the War Dragon Legion, Martial Dragon had never
died, not even once, ever since he entered God’s Domain. Not even Hell
Mode Team Dungeons could end his life.

The elites of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and the members of the War
Dragon Legion all admired Martial Dragon greatly, using him as their
role model.

One could say that Martial Dragon was the symbol of the War Dragon
Legion, as well as the legion’s backbone.

Now that their backbone suddenly disappeared, even the members of the
War Dragon Legion were dumbfounded.

They had never once thought that Martial Dragon would die. As if adding
insult to injury, he was a casualty in a war of annihilation against a
small Guild.

“That damnable Black Flame! He actually has another hidden trump card!”
A chilling light flashed across Nine Dragons Emperor’s eyes as he glared
at Shi Feng. “However, even if you have the help of a Level 40 Tier 2
NPC, you will all still perish today! Uncle Chen, head into the
battlefield with Blood Dragon! Do not let Black Flame get away at all
costs! The same goes for that Tier 2 NPC!”

Martial Dragon was renowned throughout the entire virtual gaming world.
He was practically synonymous with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and was
also the proof of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion’s strength.

Yet, now, Martial Dragon had actually been killed in a war with a minor
Guild like Zero Wing.

If news of this matter were to spread, the damage to the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion’s reputation would be severe.

At this moment, the only way to redeem the Pavilion’s reputation was to
thoroughly consign Zero Wing to history and have everyone know what the
consequences were for angering the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

Presently, Zero Wing had only a small number of members left alive. On
the other hand, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion suffered only minimal losses
among its main experts. Although a Tier 2 NPC was mighty, fortunately,
it was just a Level 40 NPC—roughly equivalent to a Level 40 Lord. With
the number of experts in the War Dragon Legion, they could easily defeat
a Level 40 Lord.

“Understood!” The old man addressed as Uncle Chen bowed and departed.

From an outsider’s point of view, this Uncle Chen was only a butler of
Nine Dragons Emperor. However, every upper manager in the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion knew that this old man with a head full of white hair was not
just Nine Dragons Emperor’s butler. He was the third person to command
the War Dragon Legion, Dust Dragon. However, this detail was something
in the annals of history.

Currently, most people had long since forgotten that this elderly man
named Uncle Chen was the almighty Dust Dragon of the past.

When the War Dragon Legion received the command, they immediately went
into a frenzy. They no longer bothered targeting the elites of Zero
Wing. Instead, hundreds of them encircled Shi Feng and Kite.

Every one of these hundreds of experts was Level 27 or above, and they
all wore top-tier equipment. Moreover, at this Level, most players had
at least some equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute. In other
words, members of the War Dragon Legion would not have to worry about
level suppression when fighting Kite, a Level 40 NPC.

Normally, the War Dragon Legion members could trounce a Level 40 Field
Lord with just a single 20-man team. Meanwhile, hundreds of them were
present right now. Blood Dragon, a Branch Leader of the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion, and Dust Dragon, a former Commander of the War Dragon Legion,
were even leading the legionnaires personally. Even if the enemy was a
Level 40 High Lord, they could still defeat it.

“Hahaha! Black Flame is doomed for sure this time! Rather than dealing a
blow to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s momentum, he has instead angered
the Pavilion even more!” Feng Xuanyang could not help but chortle when
he saw this scene.

“Not only is he surrounded by so many top-tier experts, but he also
can’t use any of his Skills. If we Seven Ghosts were in such a
situation, we would still face annihilation even if all of us worked
together,” Third Ghost commented.

Everyone had originally been fearful of Martial Dragon already. Now that
they saw this scene...

They finally realized just how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was.

“The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s true strength is simply too powerful. It
really isn’t something we first-rate Guilds can hope to contend with. It
seems that I’ll have to make some changes to our future development
plans.”

Galaxy Past felt helpless as he looked at the tightly packed members of
the War Dragon Legion.

Top-tier experts were individuals that large Guilds would only rarely
encounter. Yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion actually managed to dispatch
a thousand of them.

With such power, who could possibly oppose the Pavilion?

Galaxy Past had even visualized the Star Alliance being in Zero Wing’s
place right now.

In the end, he concluded that the Star Alliance would not fare any
better than Zero Wing. In other words, not to mention the Phoenix
Pavilion of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, just the Heavenly Dragon
Pavilion alone was enough to annihilate the Star Alliance.

The gap between a first-rate Guild and a super-first-rate Guild was
simply hopeless...

“Guild Leader, look! Black Flame has begun taking action!” Purple Eye,
who was standing beside Galaxy Past, recalled him to the battle at hand.

Zero Wing’s destruction was inevitable. The only thing worth watching
now was seeing how many experts of the War Dragon Legion Black Flame
would manage to kill.

As for escaping?

That was practically impossible. As the Guild Leader, if Black Flame
abandoned his own Guild Residence to escape, he would only turn himself
into a laughingstock. His only option now was to fight till the bitter
end.

Either he survived by forcing his enemies to retreat, or he perished
along with his Guild Residence. There was no third option.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng, along with Kite, dashed directly towards
the oncoming army of experts. They did not bother taking a roundabout
route to conduct guerrilla warfare.

“Has this Black Flame lost his mind?” Galaxy Past watched Shi Feng’s
movement patterns with utter bewilderment.

When the enemy had the advantage in numbers, one would normally apply
hit-and-run tactics to avoid letting their enemies completely surround
them. Applying such guerrilla tactics would yield tremendous results
especially when one’s combat power was significantly superior to the
enemies’.

However, Shi Feng had actually taken the initiative to charge into the
enemy’s encirclement. He was simply trying to get himself killed!

“Since you wish to die, let me grant you that wish!”

Blood Dragon revealed a sinister sneer. Back when the Curse Scrolls were
used, he had been outside the effective radius of Dark God’s Descent.
Hence, when Blood Dragon was only thirty yards away from Shi Feng, he
immediately activated Charge. He then raised his sword, activating Heavy
Chop as he swung the weapon at Shi Feng.

Meanwhile, Dust Dragon, who was a short distance away, had similarly
used Charge. He had timed his Skill perfectly so that he would arrive
just a moment later than Blood Dragon, preventing Shi Feng from blocking
both of their attacks.

In God’s Domain, although a person might seem old, their bodies in the
game remained strong. Hence, there was not much of a difference between
Dust Dragon’s current combat power and his combat power back when he was
still in his prime. On the contrary, his combat experience far surpassed
the ordinary person’s. He was like a living fossil of the virtual gaming
world. He had long since reached the realm of perfection in the control
and usage of techniques.

“Looking to die?” Shi Feng could not help but smile when he looked at
the two people swiftly approaching him.

Kite was no ordinary NPC. He was a Dark-Gold ranked Personal Guard, and
he could easily beat up a player of the same Level and Tier.

When Kite was still a Tier 1 Swordsman, he was already capable of
contending against a High Lord of the same Level.

Contending against higher Levels might be a different story, but with
his strength back to that of a Tier 2 Sword Master, he could even go
toe-to-toe with a Level 40 Great Lord now.

What did a Level 40 Great Lord hint at?

The Final Boss of a Level 20, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon was only a
Level 20 Great Lord. But there had yet to be a single person daring
enough to go challenge such a monster even until now.

Out in the fields, a Level 40 Great Lord would annihilate a 1,000-man
team of Level 40 players, not to mention a 100-man team.

Meanwhile, the War Dragon Legion consisted of only several hundred
players. Moreover, none of them was even close to reaching Level 40 yet.
They also did not possess any Level 40 top-tier equipment. Yet, they
still dared to come charging over...

Their recklessness left Shi Feng speechless.

If he truly had to describe them, he would say that they were
“remarkably courageous”!

The moment Blood Dragon and Dust Dragon came rushing over, Kite moved in
front of Shi Feng. The Sword Master then swung his sword down at the two
aggressors. Instantly, dozens of wind blades struck both Blood Dragon
and Dust Dragon from all sides. In the blink of an eye, both Berserkers
were lying on the ground, already dead.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 557 - Qualifications to Become an Overlord

“What kind of NPC is this?”

Nine Dragons Emperor shot up from his seat the instant he saw Blood
Dragon and Dust Dragon instant-killed, an expression of shock plastered
over his face.

Nobody had a better understanding than he did of Blood Dragon’s and Dust
Dragon’s strengths.

Although the two of them were not a match for Martial Dragon, no one was
likely to be a match for them when the two of them were working
together.

Even a Level 40 High Lord would not be able to kill both of them in a
single strike.

The only possibility was that this NPC was too powerful—so powerful that
players simply had no way of resisting him.

“Kite, kill them all! Leave none alive!” Shi Feng no longer held back.
He immediately commanded Kite to begin his slaughter.

In the past, Kite was titled the Windbreaker.

In the entire God’s Domain, very few Personal Guards possessed a title.
The title itself, though, was only a title; it did not provide any bonus
Attributes or contribute to the improvement of the Personal Guard’s
combat power.

However, having a title signified that an NPC was not an ordinary class
but a hidden class.

Some hidden classes were weak, while some were strong. Windbreaker
definitely ranked within the Peak Classes. In addition, as a Personal
Guard, Kite himself also possessed frightening Growth Potential. Hence,
Kite had become practically invincible when going up against an enemy of
the same Level and Tier in the past.

Back in the days, the Lifestyle player that owned Kite had relied on
this Personal Guard to become an existence that nobody in God’s Domain
could ignore. Even Super Guilds did not wish to offend this Lifestyle
player casually.

What about now?

Back then, even a Lifestyle player had managed to nurture Kite into a
Tier 5 Sword Saint capable of overwhelming any Tier 5 player or NPC.
Meanwhile, in this life, Shi Feng was the one nurturing Kite. Not only
could Shi Feng provide greater financial support, but Kite’s current
Growth Potential was also higher than what he had in the past. Now,
dealing with players of a lower Level and Tier was practically child’s
play to Kite.

After Kite received Shi Feng’s command, he transformed into a fierce
gale that swept across the members of the War Dragon Legion.

The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights of the War Dragon Legion
hurriedly dashed to the forefront, attempting to block Kite’s assault.

Unfortunately for them, Kite was just too fast. With a simple leap, he
arrived behind the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. He then used a
Tier 2 Skill, Wind Ferret, sending all players within thirty yards
flying up into the air. In the next moment, Kite began brandishing his
swords, shooting hundreds of wind blades outwards like a lotus flower
that pierced the bodies of the players suspended in midair.

Even though these players were Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights,
their HPs still fell by the thousands. In the blink of an eye, their
6,000 or 7,000 HPs bottomed out, though a fortunate few managed to
survive Kite’s barrage of attacks. However, as they were too high up in
the air, when they landed on the ground, the fall took away their last
strand of HP...

In just a moment, the War Dragon Legion had lost dozens of members.

Seeing this scene where players fell to the ground like dumplings, one
after another, everyone was utterly stupefied.

Nobody had imagined that a Tier 2 NPC could actually be this mighty.
Moreover, aside from him being strong, even Kite’s combat techniques
were more powerful than those of many experts.

The Windbreaker is indeed amazing. It is no wonder he was able to deal
with so many Tier 5 players as if they were little children in the past.
Only Tier 6 God-ranked players were able to suppress him. Shi Feng was
delighted with Kite’s performance.

When it came to techniques, there were indeed players that could surpass
Kite. Unfortunately, the precondition for this victory was that said
player was similar to Martial Dragon, a peerless expert who had achieved
100% control over his own body. However, even in the entire God’s
Domain, such experts were as rare as a phoenix’s feather.

Moreover, even if a player was superior to Kite in terms of combat
techniques, as an NPC, Kite could completely overwhelm any player when
it came to Attributes. In front of absolute strength, all manner of
trickery was useless. In the end, the amount of strength a player could
display through their techniques was limited.

It was just like how Shi Feng, despite his techniques being inferior to
Martial Dragon’s, was able to suppress the Berserker by relying on his
Attributes. Only, in Kite’s case, the NPC could trounce Martial Dragon,
because Kite’s Attributes were leaps and bounds above even Shi Feng’s.
Such great Strength was already beyond Martial Dragon’s ability to
withstand. Hence, Kite was able to kill Martial Dragon easily while Shi
Feng could not.

In just a moment, Zero Wing had made a complete comeback from their
previously disadvantaged situation.

To the War Dragon Legion, which had a member count of only 1,000, having
more than a hundred of its experts killed was a significant loss. Most
importantly, its casualties continued to increase.

Despite Nine Dragons Emperor’s attempts to pin down Kite by sending more
elite players and experts, all his efforts were in vain.

With Kite’s speed, Strength, and techniques, any player that had yet to
attain their Tier 2 class would not even have the qualifications to
delay him. Otherwise, the many first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in the
past would not have feared him so much.

---

Seeing how Kite was casually slaughtering the members of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the spectating upper managers of the various
large Guilds were dumbfounded.

“With such an NPC guarding their Guild Residence, no Guild is capable of
threatening Zero Wing!” Galaxy Past muttered as he looked at Kite. He
then shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng, who was leisurely observing the
battle from the sidelines, his eyes filled with both admiration and
envy.

Although the status of a first-rate Guild might seem preeminent, in
reality, there was a massive gap between a first-rate Guild and a Super
Guild. If the Star Alliance managed to anger a Super Guild in the
future, a repeat of today’s scene was highly likely.

However, if the Star Alliance had an NPC like Kite guarding its Guild
Residence, at that time, it would possess the qualifications to pick a
fight with a Super Guild.

Although they still could not afford to provoke a Super Guild, they
would no longer have to live in fear like they currently did.

As long as a Guild’s Residence remained, and as long as the Guild still
possessed a large sum of funds and Coins, then it would be a cockroach
that would not die.

In the virtual gaming world, it was not the powerful who were considered
strong. Instead, it was those who managed to survive and was not afraid
of any enemy that were deemed to be strong. After all, only by surviving
would there be hope.

It was just like how those Super Guilds had managed to survive until
now. In the past, there were far more powerful existences than these
Super Guilds. Yet, in the end, didn’t they end up failing as well?

Meanwhile, although Zero Wing was still weak right now, it already
possessed the qualifications to become an overlord in God’s Domain.

Hence, how could Galaxy Past not admire Shi Feng?

“Purple, once we return, immediately mobilize the entire Guild! Our Star
Alliance needs an NPC like that as well!” Galaxy Past’s eyes were filled
with desire as he looked at Kite.

“Mhm!” Purple Eye silently nodded in agreement. However, instead of
looking at Kite, she was currently focused on Aqua Rose. At this moment,
her eyes were filled with mixed feelings.

---

Time slowly passed by.

The battlefield grew more intense with each passing moment. Currently,
only a small number of players from Zero Wing remained alive. As for the
Guild’s most precious Tier 1 players, less than a hundred remained
alive. This time, however, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was not having a
good time, either.

Due to Kite’s appearance, coupled with Shi Feng silently helping out his
Guildmates, the War Dragon Legion’s numbers fell sharply. Currently,
less than 400 legionnaires remained alive...

“Retreat! All of you, retreat!” Nine Dragons Emperor sent a command to
the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, no longer able to stomach
this battle.

“Pavilion Master, Zero Wing is about to be destroyed. Are we really
going to retreat right now?” Rage had long since overwhelmed many of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s upper managers fighting in the battlefield.
The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s prestige and reputation were also at stake
here. How could they possibly be willing to retreat at a time like this?

“I said retreat! Are you unable to understand that?!” Nine Dragons
Emperor suddenly said in a low tone, his gloomy voice chilling even his
surroundings.

Nine Dragons Emperor wanted to continue fighting this war as well.

He even wished he could personally step onto the battlefield. However,
he was a Guild Leader. He needed to consider the bigger picture.

Although their side still seemed to possess the numerical advantage, in
reality, they were already at a disadvantage. If this situation
continued, instead of Zero Wing being destroyed, they would be the ones
facing complete annihilation.

In order to cut their losses, they had no choice but to retreat right
now.

“Understood!”

“Retreat!”

“All members, retreat!”

The members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could only sigh in dejection.
Under the command of the upper managers, they swiftly withdrew from Zero
Wing’s Guild Residence.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 558 - After the War

“Won!”

“We won!”

Everyone from Zero Wing was incomparably excited, and they all began
cheering loudly one after another.

Throughout this entire war, nobody had expected them to win. Even the
large Guilds watching from afar had long since made preparations to take
advantage of Zero Wing’s misfortune.

Originally, other than Super Guilds, nobody else dared to oppose the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, they had dared.

Moreover, they had even defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

They had achieved a feat that no Guild had ever imagined was possible.

“The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was actually defeated, just like that...”

The various large Guilds spectating this battle fell silent.

Other than shock, everyone felt amazement.

Despite the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s overwhelming power, in the end,
all those elite players and frightening top-tier experts suffered defeat
at the hands of a single NPC guard.

“After we return, we must focus on developing our Guild’s guards.”

Galaxy Past had an excited expression on his face as he watched the
retreating members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

The true strength of a Super Guild was something no ordinary Guild could
ever hope to comprehend. Only first-rate Guilds like them would know
some secrets about Super Guilds.

Although the opponent Zero Wing had defeated this time was not a Super
Guild, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s strength was already on a par with
those Super Guilds’. Since Zero Wing could repel the attack of the
Pavilion, it could naturally repel the attacks of Super Guilds as well.

Most likely, nobody in the entire God’s Domain had thought that...

The first Guild capable of going toe-to-toe with the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion would not be a first-rate Guild but a recently established
Guild like Zero Wing, instead.

However, this was still not the most exciting part.

The most exciting part was that Zero Wing had shown everyone present the
hope of contending against a Super Guild.

In virtual reality games, the result of a war between Guilds usually
depended on players. However, God’s Domain was different. Here, NPC
guards could also determine the outcome of a Guild War. In other words,
the advantage a Super Guild possessed was no longer an insurmountable
hurdle.

If a Guild’s players could not repel an attack, they could just fill the
gap using NPCs.

At this moment, Galaxy Past wasn’t the only one planning to focus on
nurturing his Guild’s NPC guards. The upper managers of the various
large Guilds had also grasped this point. They all had the notion of
developing their NPCs once they returned.

As long as their Guild Residences had an NPC like Kite protecting it,
then their Guild Residences would be impregnable. That way, they could
disregard those powerful Super Guilds. They could develop their Guilds
however they pleased.

---

Although the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion were swiftly
withdrawing, Shi Feng had no intention of letting them off the hook.
Instead, he immediately expanded on his victory, killing as many as
Pavilion members as he could.

Every player present was an elite or above. The quality of the equipment
they wore on their bodies went without saying.

Each additional death was equivalent to obtaining another piece of good
equipment.

During the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s withdrawal, Shi Feng and Kite
managed to kill several hundred more players, obtaining a bountiful
harvest—particularly of the Life Force points Shi Feng collected.

“Damn it!” Nine Dragons Emperor’s heart bled when he saw his Guild’s
elites and the experts of the War Dragon Legion dying one after another.
“Black Flame, just you wait! Sooner or later, I will definitely claim
this debt! You won’t be as lucky the next time we meet!”

After the war ended, Zero Wing’s members also began collecting their
spoils of war.

Both Guilds had suffered an immense death toll in this war. However,
during the intense battle, nobody had the time to pick up loot. Hence,
plenty of equipment littered the ground right now.

This sight stirred greed and jealousy in many of the spectating Guilds.
However, not a single Guild player dared to steal some equipment for
themselves. The same held true even for the Assassins who were in
Stealth.

A large number of NPCs still stood guard near these drops, and everyone
had already witnessed just how powerful these NPCs were. Naturally,
nobody wanted to donate their own equipment to Zero Wing.

---

At the same time, word of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s defeat spread at
the speed of light.

Practically all the discussions on the official forums mentioned this
incident.

“It can’t be, right? The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion actually lost?”

“You must be joking!”

“The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really lost. I have firsthand video
documentation here, and you can have it for just 50 Credits!”

A majority of the players in God’s Domain was incredulous of the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s defeat.

The Pavilion, which had remained unshakable all this time, had actually
been defeated. It was a rout. Even the Pavilion’s most powerful War
Dragon Legion had lost over half of its members. The damage the Pavilion
had suffered this time was simply incalculable.

---

Star-Moon City, inside Ouroboros’s Guild Residence:

“Snow, Zero Wing actually won against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, just
like you guessed it would.” Zhao Yueru’s unblemished face was full of
surprise when she received the latest news regarding the war between
Zero Wing and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

“There’s nothing surprising about this,” Gentle Snow said, a bright
smile appearing on her face. “Black Flame is no fool. Moreover, he has
never done anything he was not confident about. Since he dared to pick a
fight with the Pavilion, he naturally had basis for his confidence.
Only, I never imagined that the source of his confidence would be so
powerful.”

“We’re in luck this time. Since we’re allies with Zero Wing, those
Elders whom Cao Chenghua is planning to pull to his side will have to
carefully reconsider their actions,” Zhao Yueru laughed.

Moments after Zhao Yueru said these words, the doors to the meeting room
opened, and a few gorgeously dressed middle-aged men and women entered.

Seeing the arrival of these few people, Gentle Snow could not help but
smile bitterly as she shook her head.

“Fate truly knows how to toy with people.”

These men and women were none other than Ouroboros’s few highly skilled
and influential Elders. Normally, these Elders paid little heed to the
matters of the Guild, focusing only on grinding, leveling up, and
raiding Dungeons. Even Cao Chenghua dared not offend these Elders
casually.

Previously, Gentle Snow had tried inviting these Elders for a discussion
on some matters. However, they had simply ignored her overtures.

Now, without even requiring her invitation, these people had taken the
initiative to come looking for her.

This situation left Gentle Snow speechless. Back then, she had only
decided to become Zero Wing’s ally to repay her debt to Black Flame.
Now, however, it would seem that she was growing even more beholden to
him, instead.

“Guild Leader Snow, we truly apologize for before. The few of us have
been busy raiding Dungeons all this time, so we failed to meet up with
you. Now, however, we are already clear on the Guild’s situation. The
few of us here have unanimously decided to support you fully. If Cao
Chenghua dares to try to split up Ouroboros, he will have to go through
us first before he can do so,” the leading Shield Warrior declared,
chuckling.

Now that Zero Wing had defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, a
super-first-rate Guild, its fame and status in God’s Domain were
naturally far different from before.

Prior to Zero Wing’s appearance, the upper managers of various large
Guilds were secretly doing their best to forge connections with Super
Guilds to increase their authority inside their own Guilds.

Many large Guilds had even taken the initiative to curry favor with
Super Guilds to obtain the protection of these Super Guilds. That way,
if other Guilds wanted to make a move on them, these Guilds would have
to think twice before taking action against them. After all, nobody
wished to incur the anger of a Super Guild.

Meanwhile, now that Zero Wing had defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion,
the consequences were obvious.

In the future, Zero Wing might very well become another super-first-rate
Guild.

When a man became powerful, those near him could ride on his coattails
to success as well.

Since Gentle Snow was an ally of Zero Wing, that meant that Gentle Snow
had the support of what amounted to a super-first-rate Guild. As long as
one was not a fool, they would know which side they should choose.

---

White River City, Zero Wing’s Residence:

“Guild Leader, I’ve already tallied up the results of the war. Here are
the statistics,” Aqua Rose said, a smile on her face as she handed over
a list of data to Shi Feng.

“How could there be so many?! We’ve really made a fortune this time!”
The corners of Shi Feng’s lips twitched slightly when he looked at the
list.

-   Prev Chapter
-   Next Chapter

Chapter 559 - Growing Stronger

The number of equipment on the statistical list exceeded 20,000. Most of
the equipment originally belonged to the Zero Wing members who had
participated in the war, so those had to be returned. In addition, they
had to take into account the reward for killing enemy players as well as
death subsidies. However, even after deducting all the necessary
expenses, they still had over 5,000 pieces of equipment remaining.

Initially, Shi Feng thought Zero Wing would only gain a slight profit
from this war. After all, Zero Wing’s army of over 10,000 elites had
practically suffered complete annihilation; only a few hundred elites
remained alive at the end of the war. As for the Tier 1 core members,
only several dozens survived.

The compensation for the losses of over 10,000 elite members and
hundreds of core members was astronomical.

Having a surplus of more than 5,000 pieces of equipment surpassed Shi
Feng’s expectations entirely.

“We are fortunate that the Pavilion members’ equipment is of excellent
quality, unlike the previous battles we fought before when there were
barely enough spoils of war to go around, even though our losses were
not significant back then.” At this moment, Aqua Rose was overjoyed.

The Guilds they had fought in the past were much poorer compared to the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The enemy Guilds back then consisted mostly of
ordinary players, with only a small number of elite players; the
equipment they could drop was naturally of low quality. Bronze and
Mysterious-Iron Equipment was considered top-tier goods for those
Guilds. Now, however, the enemies they had killed were the elites and
experts of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Naturally, the items they
dropped were on an entirely different level in terms of quality.

The majority of the equipment worn by the Pavilion’s elite members was
Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment, with the weakest being Level 20
Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and the strongest being Level 20 Fine-Gold
Equipment. As for the members of the War Dragon Legion, all the
equipment they wore was Level 25, with the majority being Level 25
Fine-Gold Equipment, and the weakest being Level 25 Secret-Silver
Equipment. A few legionnaires even had Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment.
Naturally, the items they dropped were astounding.

Currently, Level 20 Bronze Equipment was being sold for around 20
Silver. Even Mysterious-Iron Equipment sold for around 40 Silver only.
However, the prices for Secret-Silver Equipment was a different story
altogether.

With the difference of just one rank, the price increased from around 40
Silver straight up to around 90 Silver. If it were Secret-Silver
Equipment meant for MTs, the price would go further, up to 1 Gold 20
Silver.

This disparity was mainly due to the sheer difficulty in obtaining
Secret-Silver Equipment.

In Level 20, six-man Party Dungeons, even at Hell Mode, there was only a
fixed chance for Secret-Silver Equipment to drop. Only ten-man Hell Mode
Team Dungeons would drop Secret-Silver Equipment with 100% certainty,
with a small chance of dropping Fine-Gold Equipment.

Most players in God’s Domain were just beginning to raid Level 20,
ten-man Team Dungeons, and the number of teams that could raid Hell Mode
was very low. With the tight supply of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment,
it was only natural for prices to be a lot higher.

As for Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment, its prices were even more inflated.
Each piece of such equipment sold for at least four Gold. Normally, only
20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons would drop Fine-Gold Equipment with 100%
certainty. Meanwhile, there was only a fixed chance for one to drop in
Hard Mode. Hence, Fine-Gold Equipment was much rarer, and its price much
higher.

If Level 20 equipment was already like this, there was no need to
mention Level 25 equipment.

For equipment, although an increase in one rank was equivalent to an
increase in five Levels, Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment was much more
expensive than Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment. At present, each piece sold
for five Gold or more.

Moreover, the supply of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment on the market
was extremely limited. People usually circulated such equipment within
their own inner circles, and players would have to rely on their
connections to purchase one.

As for Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, they were considered the best
equipment currently available in God’s Domain. Setting aside the fact
that nobody would sell such equipment in the first place, if there were
some available for sale, the price would be at least fifteen Gold.

Currently, among the 5,000-plus pieces of equipment in Shi Feng’s hands,
there were over 2,000 pieces of Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and
over 2,000 pieces of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment. As for the
remainder, over 600 pieces were Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment, over 400
were Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment, over 150 were Level 25 Fine-Gold
Equipment, and a total of twelve pieces were Level 25 Dark-Gold
Equipment.

If converted to Coins, all this equipment would be worth more than
10,000 Gold.

After fighting a single war, Zero Wing had made a pure profit of over
10,000 Gold. Any Guild would be celebrating after such a harvest. Not to
mention, even if a Guild had 10,000 Gold, it would not be able to obtain
so many pieces of equipment.

If a Guild wished to develop quickly, other than having experts leading
its members, it was also essential to have equipment in the Guild’s
Warehouse. The amount of equipment a Guild possessed determined the
number of members it could sustain. Now that Shi Feng had received such
a huge influx of equipment, he could definitely advance Zero Wing
further, absorbing even more members into the Guild.

“Guild Leader, should I place the equipment into the Guild’s Warehouse?”
Aqua Rose asked.

“Organize them and place the ones with good Attributes into the Guild’s
Warehouse. Hand over the remainder to Melancholic for sale,” Shi Feng
instructed after giving her question some thought.

A majority of the current players had already reached Level 20 or above.
Those who hadn’t reached Level 20 were either new to God’s Domain, or
just ordinary Lifestyle players.

Meanwhile, all the elite members in Zero Wing were Level 25 or above,
whereas ordinary members were either Level 23 or Level 24. Hence, their
demand for Level 20 equipment was not particularly high.

Level 20 equipment was currently considered mainstream equipment in
God’s Domain. Its popularity just happened to be at its peak. After more
time passed, Level 20 equipment would grow obsolete and lose its value.
Hence, now was the best time to sell their excess equipment and maximize
their profit.

Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm continued to expand every day.
However, the variety of goods the Firm sold was still insufficient.

There was a limit to the number of players the Firm could attract just
by relying on the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits and Light Stones. Only
when the Firm could sell good equipment in large quantities would it
truly be able to hold its ground in Star-Moon Kingdom.

In Shi Feng’s previous life, many trading firms would sell the Bronze,
Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold and even Dark-Gold Equipment
produced by its forgers. Only by following that example could the
Candlelight Trading Firm maintain its Shops’ competitiveness.

Soon after, Shi Feng logged out of the game to rest.

---

Time passed slowly.

On the day after the great battle...

The atmosphere surrounding White River City was no longer oppressive
like before, and many players on the streets had begun talking about
yesterday’s war.

“Damn! I can’t believe that, while I was at work during the day[1], the
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was actually defeated!”

“I know right? Zero Wing is OP now. If even a super-first-rate Guild is
helpless against it, it would be even more impossible for other Guilds.”

“It is a huge pity that you did not get to watch that battle. That
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really deserves its title as a super-first-rate
Guild. The number of experts they sent over yesterday could easily
overwhelm any first-rate Guild! However, Zero Wing still came out on
top! Nobody could have imagined that they actually had such a powerful
NPC guard; that one NPC killed hundreds of top-tier experts all by
himself! My eyes nearly fell out when I saw that scene back then!”

“Now that Zero Wing has defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it will
definitely become even more powerful in the future. I heard that Zero
Wing has begun mass recruitment again. I failed their test the last
time. I wonder if I can pass it this time?”

“Previously, I thought about trying to join a Super Guild. Now, however,
it seems that there won’t be a need to do so. I’ll go with you to apply
for the test.”

The independent players filling the streets and alleyways of White River
City talked fervently about Zero Wing, a fire of anticipation burning in
their eyes.

These players felt proud just thinking about residing in the same city
as Zero Wing, a Guild capable of contending against the Dragon-Phoenix
Pavilion. Compared to those flamboyant first-rate Guilds, Zero Wing was
far more powerful.

In reality, such a reaction wasn’t limited to just the players of White
River City. The independent players of many other cities, other kingdoms
even, began migrating to White River City one after another, every one
of them hoping to join Zero Wing.

In just half a day’s time, Zero Wing completely recovered to its
original strength. The number of elite players Zero Wing had right now
was even higher than before the war with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

TL Notes:

[1] Reminder: daytime in reality is nighttime in God’s Domain. The
Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion attacked during the night.

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