The city hall of Frostwind City.
After Shi Feng walked into the hall, he could see quite a few Hecate guild players at the front desk accepting city quests. They clearly hadn't given up on Frostwind City and were preparing for the next contest over it—they had even taken on two of the top five difficulty contribution quests.
There were many contribution quests in Frostwind City, but even the simplest among them was no cakewalk for ordinary expert players. As for the quests ranked in the top ten for difficulty, each one was comparable to an Epic-level quest. Completing them would net around 50 City Contribution Points, and those ranked in the top five all awarded over 100 points.
Taking these quests required a hefty deposit. The top five quests generally demanded five hundred gold coins plus five thousand Magic Crystals, and if you failed to complete them, the deposit was forfeited.
Hecate had taken on two top-five quests in one go. The gold coins were one thing, but ten thousand Magic Crystals was no small sum even for a first-rate guild—especially in the Ice Crystal World, an otherworld where Magic Crystal output was scarce.
Shi Feng didn't dwell on it. He followed the NPC Senior Steward straight to the office of Frostwind City's Administrator, ready to take over a portion of the city's authority.
In the quiet, book-lined office, a young man of noble bearing dressed in aristocratic attire was writing documents at his desk. The moment he saw Shi Feng enter, he set down his work.
This young man was Felot, the Administrator of Frostwind City—a level 180, Tier 4 Sky Knight. Reaching Tier 4 at such a young age was exceedingly rare in the Divine Realm, a testament to exceptional talent and potential.
"You've arrived, adventurer," Administrator Felot said, looking at Shi Feng.
"Greetings! Honorable Administrator, I have come on behalf of the Asura Adventuring Party. I wish to become the Acting City Lord and manage Frostwind City, making a contribution to its welfare," Shi Feng said respectfully.
"I've heard about you. Your Asura Adventuring Party is quite impressive—you breached the Frozen Ruins, which had been sealed for years, and opened a route to other cities. With that kind of strength, I believe Frostwind City would be in good hands under your management." Administrator Felot studied Shi Feng carefully, nodded slightly, then produced a silver token from his desk. An eagle was engraved upon its surface. "This is the Acting City Lord's Token. With it, you hold a portion of Frostwind City's authority. However, I should note that if someone more capable appears in the future, I will reclaim this token. I hope you make good use of it and bring greater prosperity to Frostwind City!"
With that, Administrator Felot handed the Acting City Lord's Token to Shi Feng.
Shi Feng accepted the token, his heart swelling with delight.
He had finally become the controller of Frostwind City. With this Acting City Lord's Token, he was essentially half a city lord, wielding high-level authority over the entire city. He could turn Frostwind City into an impregnable fortress and make it the Asura Adventuring Party's base of operations.
Once you became Acting City Lord, you gained direct control over several vacant plots along the main street of Frostwind City's central district. These plots were a privilege exclusive to the Acting City Lord, and could be used to construct high-tier buildings—advanced smithies, high-end restaurants, premium shops, advanced magic stores, and the like.
Premium shops were especially valuable, as they could host large-scale auctions. Not only could players put items up for bid, but NPCs would also bring out goods to sell—though only once per week.
But the true power of the Acting City Lord lay in the ability to construct Teleportation Arrays. You could build a teleportation plaza on the central boulevard,传送 players to Frostwind City's frontier fortresses. These fortresses were located far from the city, in high-resource maps with level requirements of 60 and above.
These locations were the real treasure troves of the otherworld—many harbored unique resources found nowhere else. They were the centers of contention for every major guild on the Divine Realm continent, and fortresses had been built to defend them. Many large-scale guild battles erupted on these maps.
If players traveled from Frostwind City to these frontier fortresses overland, they would pass through level 90 or even level 100+ zones—extremely dangerous and time-consuming. Passing through a teleportation gate was by far the best option.
And this teleportation gate fell under the Acting City Lord's management. How much to charge and how to collect fees were all decided by the Acting City Lord—though there were upper and lower limits, so you couldn't charge whatever you pleased. The Acting City Lord received a twenty percent cut of all revenue, which was the single greatest benefit of holding the position.
With this in mind, Shi Feng headed to the VIP meeting room on the second floor and began negotiating with the NPC Senior Steward about constructing a Teleportation Array.
The sooner the Teleportation Array was built, the better it would be for the Asura Adventuring Party.
"Acting City Lord, here are the teleportation gate specifications you requested—from small gates to large gates." The NPC Senior Steward produced a construction manifest listing the teleportation gates and handed it to Shi Feng.
"The cost of building a teleportation gate is staggering! No wonder the guilds that conquered NPC cities in the otherworld last time never got around to building them," Shi Feng muttered to himself, eyes widening at the expenses and materials listed.
A small teleportation gate alone required ten thousand gold coins and eighty thousand Magic Crystals. It could connect to three fortresses, transporting up to fifty people per trip.
A medium gate cost twenty thousand gold coins and two hundred thousand Magic Crystals, connecting to six fortresses with a hundred people per trip—and the teleportation mana cost was the same as a small gate carrying fifty people, meaning greater profits.
A large gate demanded forty thousand gold coins and three hundred thousand Magic Crystals, connecting to ten fortresses and transporting up to two hundred people per trip.
Of course, constructing these gates greatly benefited Frostwind City's development, and the builder received a generous amount of Contribution Points in return. It wasn't as though building a gate only benefited those who came after.
Beyond the gates themselves, constructing other high-tier buildings also yielded varying amounts of Contribution Points. Because of this, anyone who became Acting City Lord was very difficult for others to surpass.
"Acting City Lord, since you are the first Acting City Lord selected from among adventurers, we can offer you two specially priced teleportation gates. Here are the details." The NPC Senior Steward produced two more manifests and handed them to Shi Feng. "Once you've made your choice, let me know anytime."
The two manifests described two teleportation gates—both small gates, but with an extra function compared to the standard small gate.
One could connect to four fortresses instead of three, priced at ten thousand gold coins and one hundred thousand Magic Crystals.
The other still connected to only three fortresses, but could teleport directly into the main hall of the Frozen Ruins inside the Great Ice Rift Valley—also priced at ten thousand gold coins and one hundred thousand Magic Crystals.
"Robbery! One extra teleportation point and they charge an additional twenty thousand Magic Crystals." Shi Feng studied the manifest, thinking the NPCs were shamelessly overpriced. But then he considered—this was a perk for the first-ever Acting City Lord. The next one wouldn't get the same deal. "I'll go with the gate that teleports to the Frozen Ruins."
An extra fortress connection was nice, but weighing the benefits, teleporting directly to the Frozen Ruins was better in the short term. For a long time to come, many players would need to travel back and forth between the two regions—and this was especially true for his Asura Adventuring Party.
With that, Shi Feng produced the Magic Crystals he had earned from selling Frost Resistance Gems during his time in the Frozen Ruins.
Over that period, he had sold another sixteen thousand Frost Resistance Gems, netting one hundred and ten thousand Magic Crystals. Though he didn't have enough to build a medium teleportation gate, constructing a small one was no problem at all.