"Finally done with the class advancement."
Looking at the message from Ke Le, Shi Feng felt a surge of joy.
In the current Divine Realm, anyone who advanced to a Tier 3 Class would instantly rise to the pinnacle of combat power. Such strength was something Tier 2 players simply couldn't contend with — not even those who had mastered Domain could match them.
Previously, Shi Feng had been carrying Zero Wing on his own shoulders, which inevitably left them short-handed.
Now that Ke Le and the others had successfully advanced to Tier 3, their Tier 3 Class powers would be enough to hold down entire regions on their own. He wouldn't need to keep dashing around anymore, and would finally have time to attend to his own affairs.
After all, he still had far too many unfinished quests on his plate. But with Zero Wing in constant turmoil and lacking any powerhouse capable of holding a region, he simply hadn't been able to free himself up to tackle them. Now that Ke Le and the rest were back, he could finally set his mind at ease.
"Guild Leader, a group from the Demon Emperor Palace just showed up and asked to speak with you," Liang Jing suddenly contacted him, her tone a little tense.
"The Demon Emperor Palace?" Shi Feng was taken aback. "What do they want with me?"
In his previous life, the Demon Emperor Palace had been exceedingly famous. Not only had they seized control of the Demon Purgatory World early on, but among the myriad newly risen superpowers in the Divine Realm, they were one of the few that could later go toe-to-toe with the five great super guilds.
However, the Demon Purgatory World was located in the Ten Saints Empire — one of the Divine Realm's four great empires — an enormous distance from the Star Moon Kingdom. The teleportation fee alone through the teleportation arrays cost nine gold coins per person, which gave some indication of just how far away the Ten Saints Empire was from the Star Moon Kingdom.
"Should I let them in?" Liang Jing asked.
"Have them wait in the reception room for now. I'll be right there." Shi Feng thought for a moment and decided he might as well meet with them.
The Demon Emperor Palace was no ordinary superpower. They hadn't made a name for themselves yet, true, but not a single superpower dared to underestimate them. Not for any other reason than the fact that two world-class financial groups stood behind the Demon Emperor Palace, and they held a monopoly over the entire Demon Purgatory World.
The Demon Purgatory World itself was far larger than an entire kingdom — second only to an empire in area. Players who survived in that kind of environment were generally far more powerful than those in the Divine Realm's empires. On top of that, no opposing forces existed within the Demon Purgatory World to challenge the Demon Emperor Palace, allowing their development to proceed with remarkable ease.
It was worth noting that major powers across the Divine Realm's mainland — even super guilds — faced all manner of interference. But the Demon Emperor Palace had enjoyed virtually uninterrupted growth since the Divine Realm's inception. The depth of their resources and overall strength could easily be imagined.
Most importantly, if a player wished to travel to the Western Continent, the easiest and simplest route was through the Ten Saints Empire. The Ten Saints Empire held the dimensional passage to the Western Continent — the largest, most stable, and least restricted known passage in the Divine Realm.
Yet ever since that passage had opened, it had been controlled by several of the great superpowers within the Ten Saints Empire — and the Demon Emperor Palace was among them.
Because of this, in his previous life many superpowers had sought cooperation with the Demon Emperor Palace, making their influence and reach comparable to that of the five great super guilds.
Shi Feng quickly organized the Crimson Twilight gear he had crafted, then headed directly for Zero Wing's reception room.
At that moment, in the reception room atop Zero Wing's headquarters, three Demon Warriors clad in sleek black armor were waiting quietly in the main hall. All three were uniformly Level 100, and their savage, raging auras were reminiscent of actual demon gods descending upon the mortal world. Even the Tier 2 experts greeting them at the door were trembling.
"This Zero Wing is actually rather interesting — daring to stand up to Star Ring. But the people here are terribly weak. Their core members would barely qualify as Elites back where we come from," remarked one of them, a cold-faced young man with white hair, as he glanced at a few departing Zero Wing core members and shook his head.
"They are somewhat lacking in strength, but this is merely a Kingdom. Having this level of power is already quite respectable," said the burly middle-aged man beside him — a towering figure standing roughly two meters thirty — in a flat tone. "Besides, their Guild Leader Black Flame has already reached Tier 3. It's not without reason that our Vice Palace Master took notice of Zero Wing."
"Of course the Vice Palace Master wouldn't make a mistake. It's just that this Zero Wing has been remarkably lucky to catch her eye. Even Lu Xingluo, the Guild Leader of Star Ring, had to put in considerable effort to persuade the Vice Palace Master — otherwise, Star Ring's Purgatory Legion would never have been established," said a tall, strikingly beautiful woman, a look of reverence on her face as she mentioned the Vice Palace Master.
None of the three gave much thought to Zero Wing, nor to the currently ascendant Star Ring. The only entities worthy of the Demon Emperor Palace's attention were the super guilds.
Just as the three were chatting idly, Shi Feng walked in through the door. His arrival, however, did little to spark their interest. They simply watched him in silence.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, greetings. I am Qi Xie, Elder of the Demon Emperor Palace," the middle-aged man said, addressing Shi Feng with an air of calm indifference. "These two are vice commanders of our Third Ace Legion."
"Hello." Shi Feng took in the raging auras emanating from the three and understood that their strength was indeed formidable — particularly the middle-aged man before him, whose combat power likely fell just short of Mo Qiubai's current level. Had Mo Qiubai not received the Sea God's blessing, he would certainly be no match for this man. "May I ask what brings you here?"
"Our Vice Palace Master holds the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance in high regard and wishes to join. The share of the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance we're asking for isn't much — just 30%. In return, the Demon Emperor Palace can provide rare materials from the Demon Purgatory World, as well as certain bloodline legacies unique to the Purgatory World," Qi Xie said slowly. "In addition, we require one temporary outpost slot and a 30% stake in Stone Forest City. As for Star Ring's trouble, the Demon Emperor Palace can intervene on your behalf. Rest assured, Star Ring won't refuse us this face. With the Demon Emperor Palace fully established in Stone Forest City, I guarantee the other superpowers will stop eyeing it — allowing Zero Wing to develop in peace and take its place among the Divine Realm's superpowers."
"If the Demon Emperor Palace wishes to join the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance, we at Zero Wing would naturally welcome it. However, regarding the matter with Star Ring, there's no need for the Demon Emperor Palace to trouble itself — we can handle it on our own," Shi Feng replied with a smile.
He had no intention of yielding a single additional share of Stone Forest City, let alone handing over 30% as protection money.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you may be a Tier 3 Class player with formidable personal strength, but Star Ring is no weakling. The Purgatory Legion in particular, having acquired certain bloodline legacies from our Demon Purgatory World — if you run into just three or five of them, that's one thing. But if you face a full hundred-man squad, even a Tier 3 Class player could face mortal danger. You'd best think carefully," Qi Xie said with undisguised contempt, seeing that Shi Feng showed absolutely no willingness to cooperate on Stone Forest City.
In his eyes, Shi Feng had clearly deluded himself into thinking that his advancement to Tier 3 made him invincible, blind to the fact that there was always someone stronger. Against the battle formation of a hundred-man Purgatory Legion squad, even Tier 3 players would have to flee for their lives — to say nothing of Zero Wing's other experts. The Demon Emperor Palace was already showing considerable generosity by offering to help.
"I appreciate Elder Qi Xie's reminder. I believe we at Zero Wing can manage just fine," Shi Feng said. "If there's nothing else, I have matters to attend to and won't be able to keep you company any longer."
With that, Shi Feng left the reception room, leaving only Qi Xie and his two companions behind.
"Elder, it looks like cooperating with Zero Wing on Stone Forest City isn't going to happen. This Black Flame is far too arrogant," the cold-faced young man said. "But the Vice Palace Master specifically ordered us to secure Stone Forest City. What do we do now?"
"It's no matter. We can simply wait. This Black Flame clearly doesn't know how things really work. Once Star Ring gives them a proper beating, they'll understand what they need to do," Qi Xie glanced in the direction Shi Feng had departed, a cold smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "Though by then, our terms won't be the same."
True, the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance had absorbed quite a few powerful players from the Star Ring Adventurer Alliance, but many of the top adventuring teams and elite players were still on Star Ring's side. Coupled with the Purgatory Legion, Zero Wing's people would barely be able to step foot outside Stone Forest City, let alone develop further.
Shortly after Qi Xie and his two companions departed Zero Wing's headquarters, a group of more than twenty figures clad in black cloaks bearing the Zero Wing insignia walked through the doors of Zero Wing's compound.