Apocalypse Empire, Blue Bay City.
As the teleportation magic circle in the teleportation hall flickered with light, Shi Feng arrived in the port city of Blue Bay City within the Apocalypse Empire. Though Blue Bay City was only a modest NPC settlement, the flow of players through it was remarkably bustling.
Just standing inside the teleportation hall, one could see a constant stream of players coming and going. Among them were no shortage of lavishly dressed merchants bearing two-star or even three-star Merchant Badges.
A Merchant Badge served as proof of a merchant player's credentials—the higher the star rating, the stronger the ability. A merchant player who reached three-star status was invariably an honored guest of major guilds, controlling considerable channel resources and earning the title of major merchant. Such individuals were rarely seen even in the empire's capital.
Yet now, quite a number of these major merchants had gathered in Blue Bay City. The local players were none the wiser; it was all thanks to Blue Bay City's status as a trade port, where sea-faring players brought in resources from various neutral factions across the ocean every day, offering ample profit for the merchant players.
"The development speed here is really impressive," Shi Feng murmured, glancing at the carriages and wagons traveling along the streets. "It probably won't be long before it upgrades to a large city with a Tier 4 NPC as administrator." He couldn't help but feel a measure of admiration for Heart of Dark Sin.
Back when Heart of Dark Sin had relocated Undying Light, Shi Feng had suggested they develop at sea—after all, none of the major first-rate guilds had been paying much attention to maritime affairs at the time.
And Heart of Dark Sin, relying solely on some of the resources Zero Wing had provided, had stubbornly built up from a mere port town in the Apocalypse Empire to now dominating the entirety of Blue Bay City. The city was on the verge of upgrading to a large NPC city, and their naval strength was nothing to scoff at compared to first-rate guilds. Their capability was even more impressive than Bai Qingxue's or Watercolor Rose's.
Once Blue Bay City upgraded to a large NPC city, the city area and its functions would further expand, the player population would increase significantly, and Undying Light would finally have the confidence to compete with the first-rate guilds of the Apocalypse Empire.
It was just as Shi Feng arrived in front of an upscale restaurant not far from the teleportation hall that a Level 96 man sporting no fewer than five pieces of Epic equipment—with the remainder being at worst Level 95 Dark Gold gear—stepped forward to greet him.
Following behind this Level 96 Elementalist were a Priest and a Berserker, both also at Level 96, each equipped with two or three Epic pieces.
The sight of these three stepping out to personally welcome Shi Feng sent a wave of shock through the surrounding players.
"Who is that guy? The guild leader and top two experts of Undying Light are all coming out to greet him personally?"
"Could he be some big shot?"
Everyone in Blue Bay City knew Undying Light's guild leader, Heart of Dark Sin. As for Undying Light's two top experts, that went without saying—after all, to seize Blue Bay City, Undying Light had defeated numerous major guilds in the area and even destroyed an entire fleet belonging to a first-rate guild. Their reputation across the Apocalypse Empire had exploded.
Moreover, Heart of Dark Sin was one of the top ten Elementalists in the entire Apocalypse Empire. Even the leaders of first-rate guilds had to show him due respect.
Yet here he was, stepping out to personally welcome a player who looked rather plainly equipped, with a level that couldn't even be displayed. How could this not astonish everyone?
Just as the crowd buzzed with speculation, Heart of Dark Sin had the Undying Light members clear the area. None of the players present dared to protest, and they dispersed without a word.
"I really didn't expect you to come in person, Brother Ye Feng." Heart of Dark Sin approached Shi Feng with a smile. "With you here, we'll have much more confidence heading to the Terminal Sea."
"Brother Dark Sin, you flatter me." Shi Feng skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "I'm curious—what exactly happened with the Free Alliance that they specifically invited all their partner factions over?"
"I only just received some of the news myself." Heart of Dark Sin's expression darkened at the mention of the Free Alliance. "Let's go inside and talk."
He then led Shi Feng into the reserved upscale restaurant.