Outside the Myriad Tree Woodland, Shi Feng was still trying to process what had just happened when the system notification chimed, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch.
Two hundred thousand Magic Crystals!
A Sublegendary-tier quest!
Not only was the quest difficulty different from what he remembered, but the Magic Crystals demanded were enough to drive anyone to their knees.
Currently, whether guilds or individual players, Magic Crystal expenditure was only growing. It looked like there were more channels to obtain them, but in reality, the amount that could actually be stockpiled had decreased.
This was especially true for Zero Wing right now — Magic Crystals were already tight. Silverwing Town had opened up teleportation services, which boosted income considerably, but Magic Crystal consumption had skyrocketed as well. They were barely holding things together with the Silverwing Town Arena.
On top of that, to maintain the internal world stability of the Ring of Gospel, he had to burn through twenty thousand Magic Crystals every seven days. Otherwise, a minor divine artifact like the Ring of Gospel would disintegrate, and worse, his own physical constitution would permanently drop by 30%.
Right now, Zero Wing only had a little over twenty thousand Magic Crystals in surplus.
If the mainstream player base in the Divine Realm had reached Level 100, two hundred thousand Magic Crystals would be something even an ordinary first-rate guild could pay without much trouble. But at this stage, only a handful of superpowers could cough up that kind of sum — first-rate guilds simply couldn't.
"Seven days?" Shi Feng murmured, sinking into thought.
Seven days wasn't a long time, but it wasn't short either.
If he sold Hell Chariots to the three super-first-rate guilds — Undying War Heart, Feng Qianyu, and Huanyu — earning two hundred thousand Magic Crystals within seven days shouldn't be too difficult.
The problem was that doing so would rob Zero Wing of its exclusive advantage. There was no guarantee that the Hell Chariots sold off wouldn't end up in the hands of hostile forces.
And any other method of raising two hundred thousand Magic Crystals in seven days was extremely difficult.
"It looks like I have to take Karna Island now." After weighing his options, Shi Feng concluded that any alternative means of acquiring Magic Crystals were unreliable. To avoid this kind of trouble going forward and secure Zero Wing's future development, there was only one real choice — the Source Iron Vein on Karna Island.
They had also stumbled upon a Source Fire Vein in the Valley of the Flame Demon, but the environment there was far too hostile. Shui Se Qiangwei and Youyu Weixiao still hadn't finished their preparations. More importantly, even if they could go mine it, the number of players who could survive there was extremely limited — surviving in that scorching environment required an incredibly high Fire Resistance, and gear that granted enough Fire Resistance for ordinary players to endure was far too rare.
Compared to that, the Source Iron Vein on Karna Island was far more manageable. All you needed was some Shadow Resistance. A single Shadow Resistance Potion would be enough to survive there, and the low-mana environment wouldn't hamper mining in the slightest.
With that decided, Shi Feng pulled the Abyssal Pendant from his inventory and activated its fixed-point teleportation, planning to first rent out the inns and restaurants in Sea Forest before heading to Karna Island.
At the same time, in the Evil God Temple within Ancient Rock City, several dozen Great Lord–ranked evil beasts were locked inside a cave reeking of blood, killing each other in a savage free-for-all. Every beast that was slain was devoured by the others, granting them enhanced power.
In just a few short minutes, the number of Great Lord–ranked evil beasts had been cut in half. When one beast finished consuming another, its body suddenly began to twist and swell, the evil energy it emitted growing denser with each passing second. After a few moments, it had fully transformed into an evil beast two or three sizes larger than before.
"The Blood Energy Crystals from the Soul of Darkness really are something. They've boosted the success rate of evolving into a High Great Lord by nearly 15%." The Beast Emperor glanced at the evolved beast, then looked down at the blood-emanating crystal stones in his hand, the corners of his lips curving upward.
The results of their collaboration with the Soul of Darkness had completely exceeded his expectations.
He'd originally assumed the Soul of Darkness could only help Dust Fate acquire certain essential materials and recruit players. He hadn't expected them to also deliver Blood Energy Crystals brimming with life force. Not only were these crystals more effective than having the evil beasts hunt players, they even provided considerable assistance with beast evolution.
Over this period, his evil beast army had recovered a significant amount of its fighting power.
Although these Blood Energy Crystals could only aid the transition to High Great Lord, having more High Great Lord–ranked beasts made it far easier to produce Legendary-tier evil beasts.
Once he had accumulated enough Legendary-level forces, he wouldn't even need the Soul of Darkness or the Blackwater Guild's help — he could obliterate Silverwing Town on his own.
Just as the Beast Emperor was admiring his newly evolved High Great Lord, a figure strode into the cave — a tall, broad-shouldered Berserker carrying a massive axe on his back. It was Lie Feng Zhuihun.
"Boss, we just got word from the Star Moon Kingdom. Something weird happened — a gate to another world appeared in the Witch's Hill. Because of that, a massive number of players are flooding toward Zero Wing City. Even guilds from neighboring kingdoms and empires have started mobilizing." Lie Feng Zhuihun's expression was somewhat dark. "This has brought a huge amount of wealth to Zero Wing. We've also heard that over twenty well-known adventuring teams are thinking of joining Zero Wing because of it. Should we have the Soul of Darkness take out a few of these teams? Send a message about what happens when you dare pledge allegiance to Zero Wing?"
"Notable adventuring teams joining, is it?" The Beast Emperor skimmed through the detailed report Lie Feng Zhuihun had sent over and smiled coolly. "No need to involve the Soul of Darkness. Didn't Dust Fate run another Dracolich experiment recently? Take that subject and go to Zero Wing City to test it on those adventuring teams — consider it a warning. Let them understand who the real power is!"
"Understood! I guarantee they'll never dare set foot in Zero Wing City again!" Lie Feng Zhuihun said, visibly excited.
He had already witnessed Dust Fate's Dracolich experiments. Even in their incomplete state, the combat power was terrifying beyond imagination — he couldn't fathom how powerful a perfected Dracolich would be.
Once they succeeded, the Evil God Temple could expand its operational territory even further, and do so openly and without fear.
"Good. Be quick about it, and don't let the Kingdom's patrol squads catch you," the Beast Emperor nodded.
"Don't worry, Boss. Before those patrol squads even show up, they'll all be dead!" Lie Feng Zhuihun licked his lips, already eager to get started.
After Lie Feng Zhuihun departed, the Beast Emperor proceeded to release the next batch of Great Lord–ranked evil beasts into the arena, letting them fight to the death.
Meanwhile, in the Star Moon Kingdom's Zero Wing City, Shi Feng had used the Abyss Pendant's fixed-point teleportation to travel to Sea Forest, where he rented fifteen additional restaurants and inns for a total of fifty thousand gold. Afterward, he used a Guild Return Scroll to teleport back to Zero Wing's headquarters.
After leaving the main hall, Shi Feng headed straight for the Candlelight Trading Company to begin preparations for the Karna Island expedition. But the moment he stepped onto the main street, the scene before him stopped him in his tracks.
The street, which was normally not particularly crowded, was now packed wall-to-wall with people. Members of every major guild were among the throng — a quick scan revealed more than a dozen Tier 2 Class experts. The bustling spectacle rivaled even the imperial capital of an empire.
Just as Shi Feng was about to reach the Candlelight Trading Company, a system notification suddenly rang in his ears.
System: Congratulations — the player population in Zero Wing City has reached eight million. Would you like to enable Freedom Mode for Zero Wing City and allow the War God's Temple to establish a presence?