Cold Spring Great Forest, Stone Forest City.
After Shi Feng obtained the fragment of Solomon's Sword — the Calamity Blade — he immediately left the Miasma City secret realm and used a Town Portal Scroll to return directly to the Liberty Inn.
As soon as Shi Feng and his group appeared at the Liberty Inn, every player inside was immediately drawn to their presence.
Although Shi Feng and the others wore black cloaks that concealed their stats, a few among them hadn't bothered to hide themselves completely, which put the inn's players on edge.
The pressure radiating from these people surpassed that of many Level 110 Great Lords — some were even comparable to High Great Lords. And there was an entire group of such players…
"Holy crap! These people's aura is insane. I think they're even stronger than the teams from those mega-guilds. Who the hell are they?"
"So many experts showing up at once, and the NPCs around them are treating that leading Swordsman with such respect. Could it be the team that Zero Wing's president Black Flame took away for leveling?"
"That's actually possible. Those NPCs are pretty indifferent even to players with Gold memberships. The only person who could make them this respectful would be that guy."
…
The appearance of Shi Feng and his group set the entire inn buzzing with speculation. Many independent players cast envious glances their way.
Ever since Zero Wing gained control of the Dark World's teleportation portal, Stone Forest City had become a true holy ground for leveling. Countless players from kingdoms and empires across the land flooded in daily, and now just queuing up to enter the city was a major problem — to say nothing of securing a private room at the Liberty Inn.
Yet for Zero Wing members, all of this was easily within reach. They didn't need to wait in line to enter the city, nor did they need to pay a premium to become Silver Members for long-term rental privileges and priority access. The guild reserved a portion of the rooms for its own members to rest, available at a forty percent discount using guild points, while core members enjoyed a fifty percent discount.
Because of this, more and more players wanted to join Zero Wing. In order to maintain normal operations and member benefits, the guild had repeatedly raised its admission requirements, leaving many players regretting they hadn't joined sooner — and now finding it impossible to get in.
However, with Shi Feng's return to Stone Forest City, the major powers soon received word.
"So Zero Wing's people are finally back?" In a Liberty Inn guest room, Dawn Hegemony's leader — clad in a black cloak — read the report his subordinate had just sent over, a cold smile curling at his lips. "Looks like they managed to power up Dark Rhapsody and the Divine Assembly. Too bad it's all too late. Demon's Heart's people have already more or less figured out the third boss's weakness — killing it is just a matter of time. Once we control the Tower of the Ancient God, your good days will be over."
"Guild Master, the people Yan Guang mentioned have arrived at Cold Spring Great Forest. Shall we head over now?" A Level 109 Tier Three Elementalist traveling alongside them asked.
"Good. Let's go. I want to see just what impressive figure Yan Guang invited this time — someone he claims can help Dominate the World conquer the Dark World." Dawn Hegemony nodded.
With that, Dawn Hegemony led his subordinates out of Stone Forest City and headed toward the outer perimeter of the Cold Spring Great Forest.
Meanwhile, the various super-guilds that had been secretly leveling in Stone Forest City were privately amused by Shi Feng's return.
So what if they controlled the Dark World's teleportation portal? In the end, Dark World players would still flood into the Divine Realm in droves, and making enemies of the entire Dark World's player base was unquestionably Zero Wing's greatest blunder. Once the Dark World's players poured into the Divine Realm, every place Zero Wing held outside the Cold Spring Great Forest would know no peace.
As for the Cold Spring Great Forest itself, it was ultimately just a Level 100 map. Once players hit Level 110, they'd all move on to surrounding areas for further leveling and development. Zero Wing, however, would be stuck in the Cold Spring Great Forest — and when that time came, they'd have plenty to cry about.
Back at the Liberty Inn, Shi Feng immediately had the management NPCs arrange a premium guest room for everyone, telling them all to get some rest first. After all, the prolonged fighting in the secret realm had taken a considerable toll on the players.
"Guild Master Black Flame, Demon's Heart has already started working on the third boss. Shouldn't we be moving instead of resting here?" Qing Hong said to Shi Feng anxiously.
Although the secret realm had indeed been draining, within the Divine Realm, simply gaining a level would fully restore both HP and Mana while significantly recovering Stamina and Spirit. They had each gained two levels, so their condition was actually quite good — they could have started tackling the Tower of the Ancient God right away.
Yet Shi Feng wanted them to rest here first. It almost felt like he was worried Demon's Heart didn't have enough of a lead already.
"No. Your condition may be fine, but the alien energy's erosion of your bodies hasn't diminished much. The Tower of the Ancient God inflicts severe alien energy erosion on players as well. If you're halfway through the raid and the alien energy completely overtakes you, all your efforts will be for nothing. It's better to rest in your rooms first, digest the Heritage Secret Potions, and then begin the assault." Shi Feng shook his head.
"But the time we're losing…" Qing Hong couldn't help but worry.