"The Starway Conglomerate has its eye on Zero Wing Guild!?"
"No way! Before this, the Starway Conglomerate didn't even want to collaborate with a peak first-rate guild. Why would they suddenly set their sights on Zero Wing?"
"If that's really the case, we'll need to watch out for Zero Wing from now on."
The high-ranking members of various guilds and the conglomerate representatives in the lobby watched as Lu Xingluo, Shi Feng, and the others walked into the private reception room, whispering among themselves in hushed voices.
In a corner of the lobby, Jiulong Huang watched the scene unfold in silence, his brow furrowed tightly.
He had approached the Starway Conglomerate for a partnership before, only to be flatly rejected — he hadn't even been able to catch a glimpse of their representative, Lu Xingluo.
The Starway Conglomerate was one of the early conglomerates to enter the Divine Realm, unlike many others that had only joined later. They already possessed a formidable foundation and deep resources within the Divine Realm, commanding enough respect that even the major super-factions had to tread carefully around them.
If Zero Wing Guild truly formed a partnership with the Starway Conglomerate, dealing with them in the future would become far more difficult for him.
"Uncle Yuan, what do you make of this? The Starway Conglomerate actually willing to seek out Zero Wing Guild for collaboration?" Ziqiong, dressed in a white gown, glanced at Shi Feng and the others as they disappeared inside, and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"I have no idea. As far as I know, the Starway Conglomerate has never taken the initiative to partner with any guild. Could there be some secret within Zero Wing that we don't know about?" Yuan Tiexin shook his head, equally puzzled.
Truth be told, the Starway Conglomerate was a conglomerate that their Tianji Pavilion had also been trying to win over. Not only did the Starway Conglomerate possess vast resources, but they also controlled large quantities of energy — especially the exceedingly rare high-grade energy. With enough high-grade energy, the Tianji Pavilion could cultivate far more experts.
It was precisely because of this that many peak first-rate and super guilds had been eager to win the Starway Conglomerate's favor.
Inside the spacious private reception room, both sides sat across from one another on luxurious leather sofas. Even Shi Feng found it somewhat surprising that the legendary Starway Conglomerate had sought out their Zero Wing Guild. As for Liang Jing standing off to the side, she looked like she was on the verge of fainting.
After a brief silence, Lu Xingluo's gaze turned directly toward the woman sitting beside Shuise Qiangwei, a teasing smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Miss Mu Lingsha, your Undying War Soul really is persistent. Did you really think that sneaking into this Tianji Pavilion internal auction would let you get your hands on that item and hide the fact that your guild is on the verge of collapse?"
Lu Xingluo's words silenced the entire room, and even Shi Feng and Bai Qingxue turned to look at Shuise Qiangwei's cousin — the woman who had barely spoken until now.
"She's from Undying War Soul?" Bai Qingxue blinked, her mind flooded with shock.
Undying War Soul was an established peak first-rate guild. At its height, it had been more powerful than quite a few super guilds. Though its reputation had faded over the past two or three years, it was still considerably stronger than the current Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion.
It was hard to imagine that such a peak first-rate guild would need to attach itself to their Zero Wing just to attend this internal auction.
What Bai Qingxue didn't know was that Undying War Soul had failed to receive an invitation from the Tianji Pavilion this time because of the Starway Conglomerate. That was why Mu Lingsha had sought out Shuise Qiangwei.
First, they shared a distant family connection.
Second, Shuise Qiangwei had received her training at Undying War Soul in her youth, where Mu Lingsha had looked after her on many occasions, and the two had become very close friends.
Third, Twilight Echo, as a first-rate guild, had received an invitation from the Tianji Pavilion.
Because of this, Mu Lingsha had wanted to use Twilight Echo's slot to gain entry to the Tianji Pavilion's internal auction. But Twilight Echo had declined, which left Shuise Qiangwei in quite the predicament. When Shi Feng had then produced invitations with more than enough slots to spare, the opportunity had presented itself perfectly to bring Mu Lingsha along.
Now, hearing Lu Xingluo's pointed question, Mu Lingsha sat in prolonged silence.
Just as she was about to respond, Lu Xingluo's gaze shifted again — this time to Shi Feng and Bai Qingxue, both of whom wore expressions of confusion.