After the Recluse left, several top experts of the Azure Commerce Association who were present stood frozen.
"Third-Tier Class?"
"How is that possible? Not a single person in our association has enough confidence to complete a class advancement yet—how could he already be a third-tier?"
The major superpowers of the Divine Realm were no strangers to third-tier classes. They had a deep understanding of just how powerful a third-tier class truly was—it was something a second-tier class simply could not stand against.
This was because a number of experts across the major superpowers had already reached Level 100, and all of them were researching the question of third-tier class advancement.
Yet third-tier advancement was incredibly difficult—not just for ordinary experts, but even more so for those at the very top. After all, they had all received excellent legacies, and they certainly weren't going to pin all their hopes on a third-tier class. Naturally, they wanted to complete the most demanding advancement quests they could manage, laying the groundwork for higher-tier advancements further down the road.
But even the standard third-tier advancement quest had difficulty far beyond their expectations. The quest required venturing into a Level 100 neutral zone, and Level 100 neutral zones were not places just anyone could go. Even a full party of Level 100 experts would be in serious danger there, let alone a single person wandering around on their own.
Being able to complete the third-tier advancement at this stage meant one's strength was already beyond imagination, let alone having already become a third-tier class holder.
"Man Hao really died for nothing this time."
"Exactly. Running into a wall like that—who wouldn't? Forget Man Hao, even if an elder of the association got killed, I doubt the association would do a thing against that Black Flame."
If everything the Recluse said was true, then Man Hao's earlier scheme to use Shi Feng to humiliate Miao Wuyin had been nothing short of suicide.
After all, the entire Azure Commerce Association didn't have a single third-tier class holder.
If a third-tier class holder wanted to do something to the association's open-world players—especially in a Level 100 neutral zone—the association absolutely wouldn't want that. Moreover, there was nothing they could do about Shi Feng, so they certainly wouldn't go after him just because Man Hao had provoked him and gotten killed in the process.
Everyone present stared at the Recluse, who showed not the slightest anger and was instead scolding the association's own top experts. Their jaws hung open, completely unable to understand what was going on.
"Just who is this Black Flame? He killed the Azure Commerce Association's Man Hao, yet instead of infuriating the Recluse, the Recluse turned around and chewed out his own people." Qing Lin watched the association's top experts being reprimanded, her eyes filled with deep confusion.
Although the Recluse had been using team chat and she couldn't hear what he'd said, she could clearly sense it from his attitude and presence—especially the killing intent that had suddenly erupted. Even she found it terrifying. And that killing intent wasn't directed at the departing Shi Feng; it was aimed squarely at those top experts.
It was plain to see that the Recluse was furious about Man Hao and the others' behavior, and his wariness of Shi Feng was laid bare for all to see.
The Recluse was ranked solidly in the top ten of the entire Fire Dragon Empire. For someone like that to feel genuine apprehension toward a player—it was simply unbelievable.
"It's over already?"
At this point, not just Qing Lin—even Fen Xiao, standing not far away, had watched the whole thing with a dumbfounded stare, completely at a loss for what had happened. But Yi Han and Nancheng Jiumeng, standing beside Fen Xiao, showed no surprise whatsoever.
Shi Feng being a third-tier class holder was a closely guarded secret. After they had learned of it, they'd immediately informed the guild's vice president, who had almost instantly issued a gag order. Although they hadn't mentioned it to anyone else during the time since, the Azure Commerce Association's intelligence network was famously sharp. The Recluse had most likely obtained some information and learned that Shi Feng was a third-tier class holder—otherwise he absolutely would not have let things go so easily.
Meanwhile, the moment Shi Feng and the others stepped into the Dark Hills, they felt a refreshing wave of comfort wash over their minds.