As the system notification faded, a system window popped up, presenting two options that shimmered with a faint blue glow before Shi Feng's eyes.
Even someone who had weathered years of storms like Shi Feng felt a stir of excitement upon seeing these two options.
For the current players of the Divine Realm, and even for the various superpowers, things like Top-tier Architecture Blueprints or Gold-grade Town Promotion Orders might sound impressive, but most people had no real concept of just how powerful they truly were. Shi Feng, however, was well aware.
These two items, appearing at this particular moment, were objects that could determine the rise or fall of a faction—including superpowers.
The Top-tier Architecture Blueprint might seem unassuming on the surface—just a building, after all. But for a guild town to advance to city-level status, a top-tier building was an absolute requirement.
What did a main city even mean?
A city like White River City, an NPC settlement, was already enormous, yet by guild town standards, it was merely at the advanced-town level—still a far cry from a guild main city. To put it plainly, in the entire Star Moon Kingdom, only Star Moon City had reached guild-main-city level.
A main city was the absolute foundation of a guild. Even ten years from now, when superpowers wanted to seize one, they would have to pay an enormous price. Otherwise, the first-rate guilds would have been wiped out long ago by the major superpowers—they wouldn't have survived at all.
It could be said that a guild without a main city could not be called a first-rate guild.
That was the value of a Top-tier Architecture Blueprint. On the market, a single blueprint was worth more than an ordinary Legendary-grade item fragment. Whenever one appeared at an Auction House, the major factions would not hesitate to trade their Legendary fragments for it—one blueprint could build an entire main city.
The Gold-grade Town Promotion Order, by comparison, seemed somewhat lesser—it could only advance an advanced town directly into a preliminary city.
However, for the current state of the Divine Realm, the value of a Gold-grade Town Promotion Order was no less than that of a Top-tier Architecture Blueprint. Players were not far from the level requirement for Tier 3 advancement, and without a guild city anchoring a neutral map at Level 100, the difficulty of completing a Tier 3 job change was simply too high. Meanwhile, advancing an advanced town into a preliminary city was an arduous process that required a great deal of time—it was not something that could happen overnight.
One had to consider that even when the mainstream player base reached Level 100, the number of superpowers with guild cities was still limited, let alone other guilds. The advantage of gaining an additional guild city was self-evident.
"I'll go with the Gold-grade Promotion Order." After a moment's deliberation, Shi Feng selected the Gold-grade Town Promotion Order.
A main city was indeed virtually invincible below Tier 5—practically impossible to dislodge. But for a guild town to advance all the way to main city status, the time required was no laughing matter. Given Zero Wing's current situation, if a main city didn't appear soon enough, Zero Wing might have already vanished from the Divine Realm entirely.
The Gold-grade Town Promotion Order, on the other hand, was the most practical choice—it could instantly give Zero Wing an additional safety net.
After obtaining the Gold-grade Town Promotion Order, Shi Feng wasted no time and headed straight for the Auction House in White River City. Now that he held an auction house license, the NPC Auction House could finally be put to its true use.
Just thinking about it made Shi Feng's heart race.
The Auction House in White River City connected with several surrounding cities and served a player population of over fifteen million. All items deposited at the NPC Auction House would appear in Stone Forest Town, which meant Stone Forest Town had effectively become a settlement with a population of nearly fifteen million players overnight. And the items sold at Stone Forest Town's Auction House would likewise appear in White River City's Auction House, dramatically boosting White River City's competitiveness.
The two would complement each other—neither the development speed nor the revenue could be matched by any superpower's guild town and NPC Auction House.
Not long after Shi Feng walked into the teeming crowds of White River City's Auction House, Shui Se Qiangwei suddenly contacted him. Her face on the video feed was visibly panicked.
"Something happened to the guild?" Shi Feng asked, startled.
Huo Wu and the others had just driven the Beast Tide Army away from the gates. Star Ring would need considerable time before it could mount an assault on Silverwing Town. As for taking action against Zero Wing within the Star Moon Kingdom, that was even less likely—the effects of a one-star honorary guild were obvious to even a fool. Unless Star Ring had gone completely mad, it would never dare to challenge Zero Wing on their home turf.
"No… it's not that. Something major happened in the Dark Night Empire!" Shui Se Qiangwei blurted out. "I just received the news. War Soul fell back was dealt a devastating blow by Star Ring while they were mounting an all-out assault on the Burial Fortress of the Undying Kingdom. Their losses were enormous—over half of the guild's elite forces were killed or injured. Now War Soul fell back is struggling just to maintain a foothold in the Undying Kingdom. Their next move may very well be to sweep through the major factions in the Dark Night Empire and crush anyone who dares to make a move in Night City. Even the several factions that had allied with the Hundred Flowers Palace have now announced a complete severance of all ties with them."
The Dark Night Empire had long been a battleground for three superpowers. Although Star Ring had seized Night City's Auction House and gained an enormous advantage, War Soul fell back and the Red Emperor could still contend with Star Ring in other parts of the empire. As a result, while the various factions feared Star Ring's strength in the Dark Night Empire, they still found plenty of room to operate behind the scenes.
But now, with War Soul fell back devastated and its combat power shattered, the guild could barely protect itself—let alone continue to hold Star Ring in check. And the Red Emperor's stance toward Star Ring had always been lukewarm, only superficially siding with War Soul fell back. There was no way it would step up as the primary force to oppose Star Ring.
It was safe to say that Star Ring would use this opportunity to further consolidate its position and power in the Dark Night Empire. When that happened, whether it was Zero Wing's shops in the empire or the Hundred Flowers Palace that cooperated with them, both would likely be finished.
Once Star Ring had fully consolidated its hold on the Dark Night Empire, it could redirect even more of its strength toward dealing with Zero Wing.