Chapter 1413: Shi Feng's Trump Card

"A trump card?" Bai Qingxue looked at Shi Feng in confusion.

The five participants for the Stormwind Tournament had already been finalized. Switching someone out at this point was out of the question. As for the weapons and equipment on those five, she had already put forward everything she could. The worst gear any of them wore was level-45 Dark Gold equipment. Zhao Yueru, for instance, was clad in a Tier 1 Elementalist set complete with an Epic growth weapon and an Epic-grade staff—easily top-tier among all the tournament's contestants.

Further improving their equipment would be extremely difficult.

As for skill and technique, that wasn't something that could be sharpened in a short time either.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's head to the guild's private box first." Shi Feng glanced around. At the moment, people from every major guild were covertly watching them, clearly paying much closer attention to Zero Wing this tournament.

Bai Qingxue nodded.

Shi Feng was far too conspicuous right now. He hadn't suppressed his aura at all. Although you couldn't tell the exact grade of his weapons and equipment, the oppressive pressure radiating from him and the dense magic power gathering around him made it obvious to any expert just how powerful he was.

After Shi Feng and the others entered the arena, the undercover observers from the various guilds all reported back to their superiors.

Inside a luxurious VIP box in the arena, more than a dozen people sat at ease. The lowest-level among them was level 45, and the highest reached level 46. Their resplendent Dark Gold equipment was clearly complete sets—the kind of level-45 Dark Gold sets that even a first-rate guild would struggle to assemble. Yet here, there were five or six full sets on display…

At the forefront sat a man and a woman—Jiulong Huang and Feng Qianyu.

Though both represented the Dragon Phoenix Hall, they sat on opposite sides, each leading the rookies they had personally groomed. The division between them was stark. Their respective newcomers even glared at one another, behaving as though they belonged to entirely different guilds.

The Stormwind Tournament was a golden opportunity for the major guilds to raise their profile, but for a superpower it was merely entertainment. Their reputation preceded them without any need for promotion—something no first-rate guild could hope to match.

So every time the Stormwind Tournament came around, the superpowers treated it as a chance to cultivate their internal newcomers. They would enter those rising stars for two reasons: first, to give them real combat experience, and second, to show the outside world just how formidable their prospects were—an indirect display of their own strength.

"Interesting. So Zero Wing's Black Flame has shown up too?" Jiulong Huang glanced at the intelligence report he had just received, the corner of his mouth curling upward. "And he actually accepted Red City's wager so readily. It seems he has a lot of confidence in his guild members."

"Pavilion Master, should we have our side provide a few more Epic-grade items to Red City?" Long Wu whispered from beside him.

"No need. The weapons, equipment, and reinforcements we already gave Red City are more than enough to beat Zero Wing in the tournament." Jiulong Huang shook his head and let out a cold laugh. "But tell the others—when they run into anyone from Zero Wing, they're to beat them down hard. No holding back. Let the players of the Black Dragon Empire know exactly what kind of guild Zero Wing really is."

He harbored deep hatred toward Zero Wing. If Feng Qianyu's collaboration with Zero Wing hadn't already become common knowledge within the Dragon Phoenix Hall—tying his hands from mobilizing the Hall's overt forces—he would have annihilated Zero Wing's branch long ago. He wouldn't have let it survive until now.

But as long as Red City won this wager and seized Misty Fog Town, Zero Wing's branch would have no hope of a comfortable future going forward.

Misty Fog Town not only possessed a small Mythril ore vein, but its location sat within the resource-rich Sky Mist Valley—the most important leveling zone for levels 50 through 70 in the Lakeheart City region. Whoever controlled Misty Fog Town would hold absolute dominion over Sky Mist Valley. Moreover, several second-rate guilds that had banded together in the area could easily rally through a guild town.

When that day came, any Zero Wing member who dared set foot in Sky Mist Valley would not make it out alive. And without Sky Mist Valley as a critical resource map, Zero Wing's development would inevitably slow. Given enough time, they would be thoroughly surpassed by Red City and driven out of Lakeheart City.

The senior leadership of the Dragon Phoenix Hall already knew about this matter and wouldn't say a word against it. After all, he wasn't the one getting his hands dirty.

"Understood." Long Wu nodded and immediately set things in motion.

…

In a private box prepared by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion for the major guilds.