"What's going on?"
"Why is Elder Wu treating Black Flame so courteously?"
In the silent hall, every person present stared at Elder Wu in utter disbelief, completely unable to understand what had just happened.
Elder Wu was a veteran elder of the Thirteen Kingdoms — a man whose word was law within the alliance. Even the guild masters of the Thirteen Kingdoms had to defer to him on many matters, and he was one of the several major powerhouses on Dragon Heart Island.
How could he possibly be so cordial to the guild master of Zero Wing?
"What on earth is going on? Did the Thirteen Kingdoms really give up on the Tree of Life?" Oath Blood War Soul stared at Elder Wu with a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
The value of the Tree of Life was something no superpower could ignore. It was an item capable of producing resurrection NPCs — and on top of that, one could obtain Life Fruits that enhanced the potential of NPC guards.
That kind of asset would be a significant boost for any superpower.
He had already made it explicitly clear that he was willing to help, asking for nothing in return, yet Elder Wu had still passed up this golden opportunity. It was utterly incomprehensible.
At this point, it wasn't just Oath Blood War Soul and his group who were dumbfounded — even the members of Heaven's Blade were staring at Shi Feng in astonishment.
"Just who exactly is this Guild Master Black Flame?" Tiger Cage gazed at the warm, amiable Elder Wu, his eyes wide.
Elder Wu's name carried tremendous weight on Dragon Heart Island. He was famous precisely for his iron-fisted approach — he had never shown face to the guild masters of other superpowers. He had even clashed with two superpowers in a battle over treasure out on the open sea, shaking all of Dragon Heart Island.
And that treasure had only been an Epic-grade item. Compared to the main branch of the Tree of Life, the two weren't even in the same league.
That was exactly why he had been so certain Elder Wu would make a move. And even if he had, none of the major powers on Dragon Heart Island could have objected — after all, the Thirteen Kingdoms had never agreed to any rule forbidding the seizure of the Tree of Life's main branch after the victor was decided.
Yet now, not only was Elder Wu not making any hostile move, he had actually come forward to offer congratulations. Tiger Cage almost suspected that the man standing before him wasn't Zero Wing's guild master at all, but rather the leader of some other superpower.
Meanwhile, Fan Mu Ran, who was standing off to the side, was equally stunned. She hadn't expected things to unfold this way.
While everyone was still reeling from the surprise, Shi Feng himself was mildly taken aback. He hadn't expected Elder Wu to be so agreeable.
"Elder Wu flatters me. I'll certainly pay a visit when I have the time. Here in the Divine Realm, Zero Wing has plenty of areas where we'd love to cooperate with the Thirteen Kingdoms." After a brief moment of surprise, Shi Feng responded with a smile.
Elder Wu showing goodwill and wanting to cooperate on the Tree of Life was about the best possible outcome for Zero Wing. The Thirteen Kingdoms were a dominant superpower on the eastern continent. If Zero Wing could establish a comprehensive partnership with them, the benefits for the guild's future development would be enormous.
Moreover, getting the main branch of the Tree of Life to take root and survive was no easy feat. It required a vast quantity of rare resources to accomplish.
Take Heaven's Blade, for example. Even though they had obtained the main branch, their resources were nowhere near sufficient to make it survive. All they could do was watch it sit there uselessly.
"Then it's settled. That girl Yiyun will be thrilled when she hears." Seeing Shi Feng's willingness to cooperate, Elder Wu's smile grew even warmer.
"Of course. Zero Wing has always wanted to work with the Thirteen Kingdoms." Shi Feng nodded with firm conviction.
His desire to cooperate with the Thirteen Kingdoms was no joke, nor was it just idle talk.
The Thirteen Kingdoms' headquarters sat in a corner of the eastern continent — a region of plains and mountain ranges, renowned for its abundant mineral output. Among those resources were rare ores that served as primary materials for crafting weapons and equipment above Level 100.
Because of this, the Thirteen Kingdoms had outstripped many other superpowers when it came to Level 100+ equipment in Shi Feng's previous life.