In the garrison plaza, the moment Shi Feng spoke, the Nine Dragon Emperor's expression darkened slightly. He couldn't help shooting Shi Feng an angry glare.
Making such a grand spectacle—even putting the entirety of Muten City on high alert—how could that possibly avoid disturbing their negotiations?
Moreover, he had painstakingly whipped up excitement among every guild member present, filling them with eagerness and anticipation for a partnership with Illusion Myth. Now, thanks to Shi Feng's appearance, they were all stunned into silence, and to make matters worse, they had completely forgotten about the cooperation with Illusion Myth.
"No, Guild Master Black Flame, you haven't disturbed us at all. In fact, your timing is perfect." Feng Qianyu's lips curved into a rare smile at Shi Feng's words. She then turned toward Hanguang Shiying beside her, took a deep breath, and said with absolute conviction, "Vice Master Hanguang, much as I would like to cooperate with Illusion Myth, I'm afraid I cannot sell Torchfire Trading House's shares."
With Feng Qianyu's resolute refusal, the entire garrison plaza fell silent. The members of Dragon Phoenix Pavilion all looked toward Feng Qianyu, their expressions impossibly complex—yet remarkably, not a single person raised a fuss.
If Feng Qianyu had refused to partner with Illusion Myth before, they would have been utterly baffled, questioning her ability to lead the Pavilion as its Master.
But now, with Zero Wing Guild's three airships floating right before their eyes, they had no grounds to question her judgment.
These were airships, after all. And judging from Zero Wing's current standing, they would surely acquire even more in the future. For an organization that held complete air superiority, no superpower would dare provoke them now. On sea routes in particular, the fleets of every major superpower were utterly insignificant by comparison.
With a safe maritime supply line secured, Dragon Phoenix Pavilion's oceanic resources would be well protected going forward.
The Pavilion could even leverage Zero Wing's maritime deterrence to expand into more regions at sea, further growing Dragon Phoenix Pavilion's naval power. After all, the sea area one airship could control and the area three airships could command were worlds apart.
If they sold their Torchfire Trading House shares, Dragon Phoenix Pavilion would likely lose the ability to tap into Zero Wing's deterrent force. After all, the relationship between allies with shares and allies without shares was entirely different. Especially if Zero Wing refused to grant shares to anyone else—then they wouldn't even be allies anymore. They might even become enemies.
"Qianyu, you need to think this through carefully. You know exactly how things stand for us in the Apocalypse Empire right now. Dimensional forces have already appeared there, eyeing us hungrily. And you know better than anyone why we took the risk to relocate Muten City here." The Nine Dragon Emperor looked at the silent members of Dragon Phoenix Pavilion and raised his voice. "If we can cooperate with Illusion Myth and obtain the War Demon Patterns, our Pavilion can quickly establish a foothold in the level-100 neutral territory. With the resources and equipment from those maps, our standing in the Apocalypse Empire will be completely secured. Are you really going to throw away this chance?"
Before seeing Zero Wing's three airships, he had merely wanted to erode Feng Qianyu's support within Dragon Phoenix Pavilion. But now he was dead set on driving a wedge between her and Zero Wing.
After all, Zero Wing and Feng Qianyu were absolute allies—a stronger Zero Wing meant a stronger Feng Qianyu. Illusion Myth, on the other hand, was a different story. A partnership with them might elevate Feng Qianyu to an unassailable height within the guild temporarily, but Illusion Myth's deal was with Dragon Phoenix Pavilion as a whole, not with Feng Qianyu personally. That gave him plenty of room to maneuver.
With Zero Wing, he wouldn't have a single opening.
Fortunately, this time Illusion Myth had offered something every member of Dragon Phoenix Pavilion desperately needed. The guild elders present couldn't possibly resist the temptation.
Though Dragon Phoenix Pavilion was a top-tier guild, among all the superpowers it ranked only in the middle tier. A mid-tier superpower simultaneously holding territory in both the Black Dragon Empire and the Apocalypse Empire—occupying considerable resources and land in both—that hadn't been a problem before.
But with dimensional forces now invading, including several newly risen superpowers, Dragon Phoenix Pavilion found itself in a very difficult position.
To that end, the Pavilion had gone all in, relocating Muten City in hopes of seizing control of the level-100 neutral territory. But the other superpowers were no slouches either, and they had poured plenty of resources and manpower into the contest as well.
Now, with items like the War Demon Patterns, Dragon Phoenix Pavilion's ability to pioneer the level-100 neutral maps would improve dramatically. This was precisely what the guild elders craved most.