In the elegantly appointed hall, the leaders of the various fleets in the Free Alliance each had their own plans, all brimming with confidence in claiming the Maritime Inheritance.
While the fleet leaders chatted among themselves, the elemental mage Lan Xin led Shi Feng into the hall.
Shi Feng's entrance was unremarkable — he looked just like any of the other players in black cloaks concealing their identities — but he still drew a measure of attention.
"That man came in with Lan Xin. He must be the expert Jun Wuchang invited."
"So Jun Wuchang did have some preparation after all."
"But just one helper?"
The fleet leaders watched Shi Feng walk toward Jun Wuchang and couldn't help whispering among themselves.
The fact that Jun Wuchang served as leader of the Free Alliance's Third Fleet was itself proof of his strength. Otherwise, he would never have held the third position — the other fleets would have long since pushed him out.
Still, the fact that Jun Wuchang had invited only a single helper was truly surprising.
"Looks like Jun Wuchang miscalculated this time."
Every fleet leader present had invited a considerable number of people. This was nothing like last time, when none of the fleet leaders had invited a single outsider. Now, even the smallest delegations numbered over a dozen, and some had thirty or forty people in tow.
"Brother Yefeng, you came alone?" Jun Wuchang asked in a hushed voice as Shi Feng approached, genuine surprise on his face.
He had invited Shi Feng, yes, but he'd never said Shi Feng could only bring one person. The more people who could operate the speedboat, the greater its power and the better its ability to withstand monster attacks. In the Divine Realm, the more players a vessel could carry, the more formidable it became.
He had even reserved thirty spots for Shi Feng's people. And yet Shi Feng had come alone…
"The others are all busy, so I didn't bring them along," Shi Feng explained.
The vast majority of Zero Wing's top experts were currently fighting their way through the Sub-Legendary Treasure Chest. Those who had emerged were leading the guild's elite teams to gear up — Zero Wing had been expanding rapidly and was desperately short on weapons and equipment of all kinds. As for Watercolor Rose and the others, they were still in the Secret Realm and wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.
Rather than dragging a batch of guild elites along, it would be far better to let Jun Wuchang and his people, who were more skilled in naval combat, enter the ruins instead.
"…" Jun Wuchang was rendered speechless. There was nothing he could really say about it.
He simply felt that Shi Feng was taking this inheritance contest far too lightly.
It was true that his own subordinates could fill in, but the coordination would inevitably suffer. After all, Shi Feng didn't know the detailed capabilities of Jun Wuchang's people.
…
While Jun Wuchang was actively engaging Shi Feng in conversation, not far away, Bai Ye was staring intently at him. A flash of surprise crossed her pale, jade-like face, but she quickly suppressed it.
"Is there something strange about that man?" the masked female player beside Bai Ye whispered.
"He's the one I'm looking for," Bai Ye said, a slight smile curving her lips as a spark of excitement appeared in her eyes.
The masked woman turned to look at Shi Feng in astonishment. "How is that possible? The Hunt Order the Demon God issued targets every dark player in the entire Divine Realm. How could the person carrying the Soul Orb show up so easily?"
"I didn't believe it at first either, but the Detection Crystal I purchased for three thousand Magic Crystals doesn't make mistakes. As long as the Soul Orb comes within thirty yards of me, the Detection Crystal automatically senses it. I've already confirmed it with a detection skill — the Soul Orb is definitely on that person, without a doubt," Bai Ye said with a soft laugh. "I can't believe I've only just taken on the mission and already ran into the one who has the Soul Orb. My luck is truly incredible."