The moment Lin Xie spoke, the entire area fell silent once more. Every jaw dropped. No one could believe what they were hearing.
They had all heard of Sword King Black Flame. After all, their Vice Guild Leader had previously tried to acquire Zero Wing's Stone Forest City in order to help the guild's top experts advance quickly. As core members, they had all looked into the matter to some degree.
But they had never imagined he would be this strong!
One move — a single move — and he had instantly killed their Vice Commander, Mo Xie. Such strength was simply beyond belief.
Lin Xie himself was struggling to accept it, but he had carefully studied Shi Feng's records and battle footage. That final Thunder Slash was undeniably one of Shi Feng's signature skills — countless experts had fallen to that very move.
He had also received word that Zero Wing was among the rescue forces. He hadn't paid it much mind at the time.
But now, with both the Thunder Slash and a connection to the Celestial Blade — the only person that could be was Zero Wing's Black Flame.
"That's right, Elder Lin Xie. We meet again." Shi Feng sheathed the Holy Sword Thunder Slayer and looked toward Lin Xie with a smile, making no effort to conceal his identity.
As Shi Feng confirmed it, everyone present drew a sharp breath.
"Black Flame from Zero Wing is really that powerful?"
As far as their understanding of Zero Wing went, the guild was nothing more than an upstart — one that had gotten lucky and obtained Stone Forest City, allowing its top experts to begin their Tier 3 class advancements early. The guild leader, Shi Feng, was ranked among the top thirty on the Expert Leaderboard. His strength was certainly noteworthy. After all, he had been the first player to advance to a Tier 3 Class at the time, making him the undisputed number one. No major superpower had wanted to provoke him back then.
Tier 3 Classes had simply been too powerful an advantage, and with Shi Feng's considerable strength, fighting across tiers had been virtually impossible.
But now every major superpower had a number of Tier 3 experts of their own. Shi Feng's Tier 3 advantage was gone. And an expert ranked only in the top thirty? They hardly cared.
After all, these superpowers all had agreements with the Celestial Secret Pavilion. The experts they displayed publicly were only a small fraction of their true strength. No one wanted to expose their hand for everyone to gawk at — otherwise, the Celestial Secret Pavilion would have been attacked by all sides long ago and ceased to exist.
But now Mo Xie — a fighter whose combat power could rank somewhere in the top twenty on Dragon Heart Island — had been instantly killed with a single strike. That completely shattered every assumption they had about Shi Feng.
If he could instantly kill Mo Xie, then on Dragon Heart Island he absolutely had top-ten combat power.
With strength like that, they had no choice but to take him seriously.
Dragon Heart Island was home to a staggering number of superpowers — even several super-guilds operated there. The lowest-ranked among them were first-rate guilds. It was the gathering place of the world's very best, a land where true experts were as common as clouds, far beyond what any ordinary empire could compare to. An expert whose combat power ranked in the top ten was someone you absolutely did not provoke.
That said, the Demon Emperor's Hall was not about to fear Shi Feng. After all, their Commander, Lin Xie, was also a top-ten fighter on Dragon Heart Island. In a real fight, the outcome was far from certain.
And they had an overwhelming advantage in the number of Tier 3 Classes.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, my two subordinates acted rashly earlier. Would you be willing to release them, and we each go our separate ways?" Lin Xie pointed toward Feng Lu and Bai Hong, speaking in a low voice.
His words brought a deep sigh of relief to Fan Muran, who was watching from a distance. If Lin Xie actually led his people into a fight, then even though Shi Feng and Ke Le's strength exceeded her expectations, the outcome would likely be disastrous. The Demon Emperor's Hall still had a full fifteen Tier 3 experts — five times their number.
And team fights were nothing like duels. Lin Xie's side had two Tier 3 healers, while they had none. They could only rely on potions and whatever minor healing skills they possessed. In a team battle, the disadvantage would be severe.
"A fair one-on-one duel — let's not call it rash. Of course, leaving isn't out of the question. Just die once and you can go." Shi Feng said with a smile.
As his words landed, the atmosphere around them plummeted to freezing.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you're unwilling to give this old man even that much face?" Lin Xie narrowed his eyes, a faint killing intent seeping into his voice.
Shi Feng's displayed strength had indeed exceeded his expectations and earned him the right to be treated as an equal. But "equal" was all it was.
"Come if you want, leave if you want — Elder Lin Xie, you think too highly of yourself." Shi Feng regarded Lin Xie's growing coldness with complete indifference. "I'll say it again. If you make a move, I won't just stand by."
"Good. Very good. It seems Guild Leader Black Flame is determined to fight!" Lin Xie's expression darkened instantly. Dense magical power surged throughout his body as though a demon god had descended. He surpassed Mo Xie — that Magic Blade Dancer — by more than a mere notch.
"Commander, there's no point in wasting words with him. If we don't teach him a proper lesson right now, he'll really think that being in the top ten on Dragon Heart Island means he can challenge our Demon Emperor's Hall!" A tall, strikingly beautiful woman who was also a Magic Blade Dancer glared at Shi Feng and spoke coldly.