As Shi Feng and the others stepped into the City Lord's Mansion, their exhausted spirits suddenly felt as though they had been reborn.
"The mana density in here is incredible!" Watercolor Rose exclaimed in surprise as she felt the mana inside the City Lord's Mansion. "It's at least twice as dense as our Zero Wing City..."
Zero Wing City had the highest mana density among all guild towns.
That was precisely why, even though Zero Wing City was located within the Star Moon Kingdom—and the surrounding maps were far lower-level than mainstream players preferred—it remained immensely popular among players. Its daily floating population exceeded six million, making it the third-largest player hub after the Star Moon Kingdom's capital and White River City.
Yet this City Lord's Mansion, situated in the mana-sparse Valley of Stars, boasted mana density more than double that of Zero Wing City. The only place that could rival such density was the Titan Holy City.
"With this level of mana density, training Bronze-rank combat arts shouldn't be a problem at all," Yan Tianxing said, his eyes lighting up.
Training combat arts was nothing like magical skills—it placed enormous strain on a player's mental endurance. If the mana density wasn't high enough to sustain that mental drain, a player could only train a few times before needing a long rest, rendering the training almost pointless.
And Bronze-rank combat arts consumed several times more mental energy than ordinary ones. Before fully mastering one, the drain was even greater. That was why, up to this point, even the top experts of the major superpowers struggled to learn and improve Bronze-rank combat arts. Zero Wing was no exception.
"This place can do far more than just train Bronze-rank combat arts," Shi Feng said, watching their excited expressions. He pointed to several locked rooms not far away. "There are Mana Training Rooms inside. Players can train not only their combat arts but also their control over mana. The training efficiency is several times greater than outside—one of the best training facilities in the entire Divine Realm."
Star Bastion was a fortress that had survived since the ancient era. It was far more than it appeared on the surface.
The level of magical technology it possessed was something that made even the great kingdoms and empires of the present day gaze up in awe—otherwise, the major superpowers wouldn't have fought so desperately to claim it.
Unfortunately, Star Bastion was only a small fortress, and the City Lord's Mansion wasn't large either. It had five floors in total—three above ground, two below.
Every floor was reinforced by various magic arrays that boosted mana density and enhanced players' mental states, allowing those managing the fortress to accumulate double experience. That way, players assigned to guard duty wouldn't fall behind those who spent their time grinding monsters and completing quests.
As for the Mana Training Rooms, there were only thirty-two—enough for just a small fraction of the guild's members. A medium fortress's City Lord's Mansion would have sixty-four, and a large fortress could have as many as one hundred and fifty. In terms of cultivating experts, there was simply no comparison between a few small fortresses and a single large one.
Still, this was the limit of what Shi Feng could accomplish for now. The difficulty of conquering medium and large fortresses far exceeded that of small ones.
A typical large fortress housed upper-tier Legendary monsters, and sometimes even medium fortresses contained them. Combined with a dozen or so Legendary creatures, it was far beyond what a handful of players and a single Tier 4 Hero could handle. Otherwise, the great superpowers of the previous life wouldn't have waited until Tier 4 classes appeared before finally conquering those fortresses.
After Shi Feng's brief introduction, the group made their way to the second basement floor of the City Lord's Mansion.
The entire second basement level wasn't large—it contained only two rooms. One was the Core Chamber that controlled the fortress's magic arrays, and the other was sealed behind a tightly shut door made of magic crystals.
That room behind the magic crystal door was the most valuable part of the City Lord's Mansion.
The Legacy Chamber!
Aside from the Gate of Legacy, it was the only place that could accelerate a player's unlocking of the Mana Body—and it was the most important facility the major superpowers had used in the previous life to cultivate their guild experts.
In the Divine Realm, the Mana Body might seem like a mere supplement. Once a player reached Tier 3, they could unlock it eventually simply by investing time. But the difference between unlocking it early and unlocking it late was enormous.
Once the Mana Body was unlocked, a player's control over their own body and their combat capability changed dramatically, requiring the player to adapt to an entirely new way of moving and fighting.
Moreover, if a player wished to push their Mana Body further—to break through the 100% unlock barrier—they had to unlock the Mana Body first. Only then could they attempt the breakthrough, and whether they succeeded depended on whether the path they'd chosen was the right one.
If they discovered their approach was wrong, they could at least attempt a different path to unlock the Mana Body sooner rather than later.
That was why unlocking the Mana Body as early as possible was always the better choice.