The entire auction hall was buzzing over the magic crystal vein. Even though many excellent finale items were still up for bid, the major factions were more concerned about future developments.
Now that the Star Navigation Conglomerate had secured the magic crystal vein, and given its financial resources and strength, it would likely enter a period of rapid growth—particularly in the magic crystal market, which would become a massive advantage for the conglomerate.
"So the Star Navigation Conglomerate got the magic crystal vein. Looks like the Dark Night Empire belongs to Star Navigation from now on."
"Crimson Emperor and War Soul Unfallen really are pitiable. Those two guilds went to war with each other, which gave Star Navigation the opening to swoop in. They absorbed two former top-tier guilds, merged them into a single new guild, recruited a ton of class experts and well-known veteran players, then rose rapidly. Now they can already rival either one of those two guilds on their own. And now that they have the magic crystal vein, creating experts through the God-Demon Arena will be that much easier."
"Yeah! I reckon it won't be long before Crimson Emperor and War Soul Unfallen get driven out of the Dark Night Empire."
"War Soul Unfallen really got the short end of the stick this time. They were just a hair away from getting the magic crystal vein. Who knows where Star Navigation scraped together all that money."
The crowd buzzed with whispered speculation about the Star Navigation Conglomerate and War Soul Unfallen.
Although this was just a simple auction, it had invisibly determined the future trajectory of the Dark Night Empire, prompting the various first-tier guilds that had been watching from the sidelines to begin making plans for what lay ahead.
Meanwhile, in Shi Feng's private box, Bai Qingxue and Shui Se Qiang Wei gained a fresh appreciation for the financial might of the great conglomerates.
Compared to what the Zero Wing Guild earned, their income was not even worth mentioning.
If they wanted to become a superpower within the Divine Realm, they still had a long road ahead—especially when it came to finances, where the gap was simply incomprehensible.
"So this is the power of the Star Navigation Conglomerate?" Mu Lingsha watched as Lu Xingluo claimed the magic crystal vein, a bitter smile touching the corner of her lips. She had lost in the end. But the bidding war hadn't been entirely without merit—at least it had forced Star Navigation to spend a massive amount of capital, leaving them short on funds for the short term with no choice but to focus on steady growth. Her gaze then shifted to Shi Feng, and she said softly, "Thank you for the Zero Wing Guild's help. I'll honor the contract and have War Soul Unfallen assist you once."
"That's great. Actually, what we need from War Soul Unfallen is quite simple—we want to borrow sixty second-tier class experts for a team dungeon run. Given War Soul Unfallen's strength, that should be well within reach." Shi Feng nodded and directly stated his request.
Currently, the mainstream experts in the Divine Realm had reached around level fifty-three or fifty-four. A great many experts were undertaking promotion quests to advance to second-tier class. Among the various first-tier guilds, the smaller ones had a dozen or so who had already advanced, while the bigger ones had as many as twenty. As for the top-tier guilds, that went without saying—they certainly exceeded sixty.
"To help clear a team dungeon?" Mu Lingsha was mildly surprised. She had originally expected Zero Wing might ask them to intimidate the Beast Emperor of the Orc Empire, but it turned out Shi Feng only wanted to borrow some second-tier experts to clear a dungeon. "Sure, no problem. When do we move, and where do we assemble?"
It wasn't just Mu Lingsha who was surprised—Shui Se Qiang Wei and Bai Qingxue were also taken aback. They had finally gotten War Soul Unfallen to owe them a major favor, yet all Shi Feng was asking for was some experts to clear a dungeon? That felt like such a waste.
A team dungeon—maybe Zero Wing couldn't handle one just yet, but given a little time, they could soon cultivate plenty more second-tier experts of their own. There was really no need to bring in second-tier experts from another guild.
"We'd like to start tomorrow. The assembly point will be White River City in the Star Moon Kingdom. As for the specific time, I'll have Shui Se notify you once we enter the Divine Realm. How does that sound?" Shi Feng asked.
"Tomorrow? Looks like you're in a hurry too. But that's fine—the sooner we pay off this favor, the easier it'll be for War Soul Unfallen." Mu Lingsha smiled faintly. "All right, I'll head back and make the arrangements. I'll bring the team there on time tomorrow."
"Sister Lingsha, you're leaving so soon? The finale item auction just started—there's definitely plenty of good stuff coming up. Wouldn't it be a pity to miss it?" Shui Se Qiang Wei asked in surprise as Mu Lingsha rose to her feet.
"My goal in coming here was the magic crystal vein. Now that Star Navigation has gotten it, there's no reason for me to stay. I might as well head back early and start making preparations." Mu Lingsha paused, then added, "But I should warn you—that Lu Xingluo is the type who never lets a grudge go. You went against his wishes this time. Even though he can't send an army after you, he'll very likely send a large number of experts to target your Zero Wing Guild in secret. You'd best be on your guard."
"Thanks for the warning." Shi Feng expressed his gratitude.