The silence in the high-grade guest room had barely settled after Yuan Tiexin finished speaking when the door burst open with a thunderous bang. A group of people strode inside, and at their head was a half-elf man whose entire body faintly flickered with emerald starfire.
The moment this half-elf appeared, the fire-elemental energy throughout the room seemed to heed some silent call, wholly submitting to his presence. The temperature began climbing steadily, as though wherever he stood became his own personal domain of fire.
"Chi Lian, what are you doing here?" Yuan Tiexin couldn't help but exclaim in surprise at the sight of the half-elf.
Not many people within the entire Tianji Pavilion knew the name Chi Lian, and those who did were all veterans from the older generation. Although the man called Chi Lian appeared to be only in his thirties or forties, he had long since passed fifty, and years ago had already stepped back from the Tianji Pavilion's public-facing operations to work behind the scenes.
Before his retirement, Chi Lian had been an absolute monster within the Tianji Pavilion — someone capable of going toe-to-toe with that monster of a legion commander from the Phantasmal Mythos's ace corps. Now that he was no longer burdened with guild affairs and devoted himself entirely to personal improvement, even Yuan Tiexin, who was on fairly close terms with Chi Lian, couldn't begin to guess how powerful the man had become.
But Chi Lian's greatest contribution to the Tianji Pavilion wasn't his personal strength.
The Blazing Flame Legion!
This was a corps of elite fighters personally cultivated by Chi Lian, and one of the Tianji Pavilion's ace legions. Though its numbers were modest — only two hundred — every single member had been handpicked by Chi Lian from the newcomers recruited by the Pavilion, each one a prodigy in their own right.
Zi Qiong had once caught Chi Lian's eye as well, but unfortunately Zi Qiong was devoted to the sword, and there was only so much Chi Lian could teach. That was why Zi Qiong had never joined the Blazing Flame Legion.
Chi Lian and his people were the ones responsible for the guild's pioneering expeditions into new territories, laboring secretly on the front lines. They barely involved themselves in any of the guild's regular affairs — their entire purpose was to break new ground. So the fact that they had appeared here now truly caught Yuan Tiexin off guard.
"The Vice Guild Master's orders," Chi Lian replied in a low voice, casting a brief glance at Yuan Tiexin. "The gates of the Dark World have already opened, and its major factions are now advancing toward the Cold Spring Great Forest. So the Vice Guild Master specifically sent me here to have a proper discussion with the various superpowers lurking in Stone Forest City."
"Vice Guild Master Bi Xia sent you to handle this?" Yuan Tiexin's realization brought a wave of relief. "That's good news. As long as you're here, I doubt those superpowers will push too hard. When the time comes, Zero Wing being able to withstand the combined pressure of all the major superpowers won't be such an impossible feat."
He had been worried that Vice Guild Master Bi Xia had given up on Stone Forest City. Sending Chi Lian and his people here now was unquestionably a powerful safeguard for the city.
After all, the Blazing Flame Legion before him was in no way inferior to the Underworld Empire's Hell Legion — and in open-field battles, the Blazing Flame Legion was arguably even stronger, because it was a fighting force composed entirely of other races.
Beyond the magic-proficient half-elves, there were also the melee-specialist half-beastmen. They simply couldn't be compared to human players.
Of course, in order to help these individuals advance to Tier 3 as quickly as possible, the Tianji Pavilion had paid an enormous price. But in retrospect, that investment had been well worth it. At the same tier level, the advantages that half-elves and half-beastmen possessed over human players were not just a marginal edge.
"Don't celebrate too early," Chi Lian said flatly. "This time, Stone Forest City's promotion has driven every major superpower into a frenzy. Even with us here, I can't guarantee that ownership of Stone Forest City will remain with Zero Wing. However, if Zero Wing is willing to share a portion of Stone Forest City's profits, holding onto it shouldn't be too difficult. Now, enough talk. Dark World players are about to pour into the Cold Spring Great Forest, and we need to have our countermeasures in place. If we don't, before any of the major superpowers can even make their move, the Dark World's players alone could bring Stone Forest City to its knees. I'm not familiar with that Black Flame, so I'll leave the contact to you from here on."
"No problem. I'll reach out to Zero Wing right away." Yuan Tiexin nodded and immediately contacted Zero Wing.
Indeed, the various superpowers weren't the most pressing concern right now. The depth of power hidden within the Dark World had completely exceeded the Tianji Pavilion's expectations.
An army of over five million elite players was one thing, but the current count of Tier 3 experts alone exceeded thirty thousand. They had confirmed sightings of over fifty flying mounts, and that number was only going to keep climbing at a mad pace with time.
Most importantly, these weren't ordinary players — they were a breed who treated killing as a fundamental part of daily life. Their ferocity was nothing like the dark-aligned players of the Divine Realm.
If they flooded into the Cold Spring Great Forest, the consequences were too terrifying to contemplate.
Yet barely a moment after Yuan Tiexin contacted Zero Wing, he froze in place.
"Old Yuan, is something wrong over at Zero Wing?" Chi Lian asked, curious at Yuan Tiexin's sudden stillness.
"Just a short while ago, Black Flame led a team to the Dark World's teleportation passage," Yuan Tiexin said, his expression darkening. "He's planning to go talk to the Dark World's players."
"Talk to the Dark World's players?" Chi Lian was stunned for a moment, then turned to Yuan Tiexin and asked, "Are you sure that Black Flame is thinking straight?"
What a joke!