Thanks to the guide on how to quickly level up to 10, Shi Feng had already attracted considerable attention.
Now, with his shocking bid of one hundred million credit points, he'd been thrust into the spotlight once again. The White River City Guide that had appeared on the market naturally caught the eye of every guild and player in White River City.
All of this was completely beyond what Shi Feng had anticipated.
He quietly tapped open the semi-transparent display screen. The sales records logged on the official forum brought a knowing smile to his face.
Simplified White River City Guide — 25,364 sales.
Luxury White River City Guide — 367 sales.
In just a single day, that kind of sales volume was something even bestsellers couldn't match.
The cheapest version — the simplified guide — cost no less than three hundred credit points. That was far more expensive than ordinary books, and yet purchases had still exceeded twenty-five thousand. Not to mention the luxury edition, priced at twenty thousand credit points, had sold 367 copies. It was a testament to just how enormous the business opportunities in Divine Realm were.
The credit points earned in a single day had already surpassed ten million. It was practically faster than robbing a bank.
Of course, the main credit for this went to his own notoriety. He was simply too famous — even infamously so — which was why the sales figures were so terrifying. And as time went on, sales in White River City would only climb higher. Even if earnings eventually tapered off, the daily income would still be extraordinary — numbers an ordinary person wouldn't dare to dream of.
Originally, Shi Feng had estimated that earning a few million would be more than enough, and that estimate had already factored in every guild in the White River City region. But it was clear from the forum chat logs that buyers weren't limited to local players. Plenty of players and guilds from other cities had purchased the guide as well. That was the real reason for such massive sales volume.
Though Shi Feng could more or less guess what the players and guilds from other cities were after.
The differences between cities weren't that great — different quests, different leveling spots, different sizes, varying numbers of NPCs. But the core rules of a city and how to develop a guild within one were essentially the same. Buying the White River City Guide effectively gave you an understanding of the basic rules for any city, letting you quickly adapt to the local gameplay. Naturally, people would buy it just to get a general idea.
Now, with over ten million extra credit points out of nowhere, Shi Feng felt a surge of confidence about the future. Maybe at the school social mixer in a few days, he could overshadow the Shadow guild and become the center of attention. But before that could happen, there was still a lot of prep work to do. After all, his resources were still far behind Shadow's.
"Sturdy Stone prices will keep climbing. Once the first wave of players reaches White River City, they should hit their peak. That'll be the perfect time to dump everything and cash in." Shi Feng closed the official forum. Right now, if he wanted to build up his studio's foundation, he needed not just credit points but also a large amount of gold coins. But he couldn't just sit on that gold forever — making money from money was the true path in virtual gaming.
The trouble was, Shi Feng simply didn't have enough capital yet to pull that off. That was exactly why he needed to keep earning more gold.
Being at odds with so many minor guilds had put real pressure on Shi Feng. Those guilds weren't much of a threat to a solo player like him, but in the future he planned to establish his own guild. At that point, it would be absolutely devastating.
As the saying goes, those who go barefoot aren't afraid of those with shoes. Starting your own guild was like putting shoes on. With a guild, you had a home — but also a much more obvious target for enemies to focus on. That was why, in his previous life, so many small guilds had been targeted and forced to disband by the major guilds, while the fixed teams formed by free players managed to survive just fine, let alone individual players.
But in Divine Realm, an individual's power was limited no matter what — even a large team wasn't enough. If you wanted to build a virtual empire, you needed the strength of a proper organization. Forming a guild was the only real choice.
To reduce the pressure on himself, Shi Feng needed to increase the pressure on those minor guilds instead. That way, they'd be too busy to come after him. True, it would be quite a while before they could realistically target him, but it was better to prepare early.
Without delay, Shi Feng contacted Ci Xin.
"Brother Yefeng, I really have to thank you for last time," Ci Xin said eagerly. "Because of your guide, our guild's elite team was far more prepared than anyone else's. Once we enter White River City, I'm confident the Assassin Alliance will stand out in the competition for dominance there. But you haven't been around for a while, Brother Yefeng, and somehow you've become even more famous — honestly, I'm jealous. If I were as well-known as you, the guild council might just promote me straight to elder."
"I'd honestly rather be a bit more ordinary," Shi Feng said with a wry shake of his head.
The tallest tree catches the most wind. He'd mentally prepared himself for this, but hadn't expected things to escalate so intensely.
"Brother Yefeng, did you contact me because you need something done?" Ci Xin asked. Shi Feng wouldn't reach out without reason, so there was definitely something up.
"Of course, and it's something good for you," Shi Feng replied with a smile.
"Something good?" Ci Xin's expression perked up with excitement. Thanks to Shi Feng's help on previous occasions, he'd received considerable praise from the guild leader, boosting his standing within the Assassin Alliance significantly. The White River City Guide matter had further earned him the high regard of the guild's veterans, who had already listed him as one of the candidate elders. Such rapid advancement was rare within the Alliance — a clear sign of how much the leader and the elders valued him.
"Do you need Sturdy Stones?" Shi Feng asked.
"Desperately. Right now, I've got a whole bunch of people tearing their hair out over this. Even sending a ton of people to farm them barely puts a dent in the supply. Wait — Brother Yefeng, do you need some yourself?" Ci Xin let out a sigh at the mention of Sturdy Stones, then continued, "If you want some, I could scrape together three or four sets from what I've got. More than that, and I really don't have any."
Ci Xin was telling the truth. Those three or four sets of Sturdy Stones were actually earmarked for the guild's blacksmiths to craft Whetstones.
"Brother Ci Xin, you're overthinking this. I'm not looking to buy — I'm looking to sell," Shi Feng said with a grin.
"Sell?" Ci Xin was stunned. Sturdy Stones were a rare commodity right now. Even getting your hands on a few as an ordinary player was difficult, let alone selling them. Most people hoarded them for personal use — after all, Whetstones were essential for fast leveling. "How many do you have? Two sets? Three? I'll take them all, and I'll pay above market price. Nine silver per set — how does that sound?"
In Ci Xin's mind, a solo player managing to acquire two or three sets was already insanely impressive. His own group of several hundred had only managed three or four.
"No — fifty sets. And I'm only accepting gold coins, mind you." Shi Feng held up five fingers and said casually.