Dragon Heart Island, Dragon Heart City.
The streets were lined with towering buildings and teeming with traffic. At Dragon Heart City's port especially, transport ships could be seen docking one after another while cartload after cartload of goods were brought into the city—a scene of extraordinary prosperity.
Among the goods being shipped in were not only NPC merchandise, but well over half were items brought by players.
And the vast majority of these goods were rare items unique to neutral races—things like Thunderwood, Ancient Magic Stones, and Arcane Refined Steel, items that couldn't be stored in backpack space.
Every single one of these was something the major guilds and powers were desperate to get their hands on.
Thunderwood was the primary material for crafting high-speed boats and even Bronze-rank speedboats. It possessed high magic resistance, and the boats crafted from it were highly resistant to magical attacks.
Ancient Magic Stones were the ideal material for crafting production tools. Because of the magic power contained within and their exceptional hardness, they were the best choice for crafting workbenches, which could significantly boost crafting success rates.
Arcane Refined Steel was material used to enhance ship cannons—it could imbue shells with magic power, dramatically increasing both destructive force and rate of fire, making it an indispensable rare material for any seafaring vessel.
These items were all extremely difficult to obtain in human kingdoms and empires. But because Dragon Heart City served as a neutral trading hub, many neutral races brought their specialty goods here to sell, earning Ancient Gold Coins in exchange for various resources. Moreover, with the emergence of the ancient civilization on the Earth Core Mountain Range, more and more neutral-race players had begun converging on the city, making Dragon Heart City more prosperous with each passing day—so much so that even the imperial capitals fell slightly short by comparison.
Just as the port of Dragon Heart City was as bustling as ever—merchants transporting goods, adventure parties heading out to level up—a dark shadow suddenly appeared in the distant sky.
The shadow drew closer and closer to the port, and in just seven or eight short seconds, a giant eagle with a wingspan of over twenty meters materialized before everyone's eyes.
Faint arcs of blue-green lightning crackled across the giant eagle's body, and its terrifying aura threw the horse-drawn carriages on the port streets into complete chaos. Players at only levels sixty or seventy felt a crushing wave of pressure, their breathing growing labored.
In an instant, the entire port erupted into an uproar.
"Holy crap! Is that… a flying mount?"
"Flying mounts are that powerful?"
"That Thunder Eagle looks like it belongs to Zero Wing's Guild Master Black Flame, right?"
"No way! Black Flame actually dares set foot on Dragon Heart Island? Does he have a death wish?"
…
As the giant eagle flapped its wings and landed before Dragon Heart City's gates, everyone quickly recognized its identity. Seeing the man clad in black armor on the eagle's back, they could not help but start buzzing with chatter.
Black Flame's name was now known to every last person in the Sea of Death—there was not a soul who hadn't heard of it. After all, who wouldn't care about a Legendary Item Fragment?
Previously, when Star Ring had put out the word that Black Flame had stolen the Legendary Item Fragment dropped by the Storm King Serpent, most people had been half-skeptical. But the news that trickled out of the Bone Burial Ruins confirmed that Black Flame truly possessed the Legendary Item Fragment, setting countless players' hearts ablaze.
The Legendary Item Fragment in Black Flame's possession was the only one currently known to exist—calling it a Divine Artifact would not be an exaggeration. If someone could get their hands on it, their future potential would be limitless. After all, the War Blood Adventure Party had even released battle footage.
With just a few simple moves, he had instant-killed the War Blood vice-leader Cao Mu Yi Qiu, who had been using a Divine Crystallization Crystal. One could only imagine how much a Legendary Item Fragment could elevate a player's strength.
For that reason, every expert and every power in the Sea of Death had begun frantically investigating Shi Feng, hunting for his whereabouts, planning to strike in secret and seize the Legendary Item Fragment. Now, Shi Feng running to Dragon Heart Island was no different from a sheep walking right into a tiger's den.
Dragon Heart City's safety level naturally exceeded even the imperial capitals—it was comparable to Black Wing City itself. Any player who tried to start a fight within it was begging for death. But while players couldn't make a direct move, they could track Shi Feng. Tracking-type magic spells were plentiful, and doing so without drawing NPC attention was child's play.
After that, as long as Shi Feng dared leave the safe zones of the Divine Realm, what awaited him would be endless pursuit and siege.
The moment Shi Feng dismounted from the Thunder Eagle, members of the major powers stationed at the port relayed the news to their superiors.
"What? Black Flame has shown up in Dragon Heart City?"
"Keep your eyes on him! I'm sending tracking experts over right now—he is not getting away! That Legendary Item Fragment is mine!"
Upon receiving the report, the major powers dispatched all of their tracking specialists to Dragon Heart City without a second's hesitation. Some even abandoned their original plans entirely and rushed to the city immediately.
"Guild Master Black Flame, are you quite sure this is alright?" Qing Huang looked at Shi Feng with a hint of worry.