In the reception room, Torei and the others stared at Shi Feng, unable to utter a single word for a long while.
Ruthless!
Shi Feng was simply too ruthless!
To guarantee entry into the ancient secret realm, he was willing to use a Fruit of Life to elevate his personal guard to Gold-grade — such extravagant spending was something even they would never dare pull off.
Of course, it had to be said that Shi Feng's luck was absurdly good. His personal guard had actually become a Tier 4 powerhouse.
With just the strength of a Tier 4 powerhouse alone, breaking through a beginning city's defensive magic array was no problem at all. The guard could even storm into the city and cause havoc, allowing Shi Feng and his people to waltz right into the ancient secret realm. They wouldn't be able to stop it at all.
After all, Thought Creates Domain was devastatingly effective against both players and Tier 4 legendary monsters alike. In the short term, the two great guilds had absolutely no way of dealing with Shi Feng and his group with just their own trump cards. They could only rely on sheer numbers of Tier 4 legendary summoned beasts to whittle Versaide down through attrition — but that would take far too long, and Shi Feng would never be foolish enough to keep Versaide fighting indefinitely.
"Torei Coach, this Black Flame is absolutely out of his mind!" Wildfire Berserker turned to Torei and whispered in the team chat. "Just let him try. Even if they manage to get into the ancient secret realm, they can only enter a handful of times. I refuse to believe they can keep going for life. Besides, when the time comes, Illusory Myth will also have to shoulder part of the lost slots, which will reduce our losses considerably. Once our two great guilds have more and more experts advancing to Tier 4, that Black Flame's personal guard will become completely useless — and the ancient secret realm's two hundred slots will still be ours."
The ancient secret realm was an ancient city that existed independently from the Divine Realm. Even after clearing the trial bosses and becoming a citizen of that city, one still needed to spend extended periods inside the secret realm to enjoy its full effects and benefits. It wasn't the kind of place where you cleared it once and collected everything.
In truth, the real benefits of the ancient secret realm came after the initial clearance — once you became an official citizen.
Zero Wing could use their tricks to gain entry, but the amount of time a player could remain inside was strictly limited — limited by the duration of a special item.
One week!
Only seven natural days. If you didn't leave by the time it ran out, you would literally starve to death inside. And that special item had a cooldown of ten days — there was no way for a player to use it while still inside.
In other words, Shi Feng and his group would need to enter the ancient secret realm repeatedly and in large numbers. Otherwise, they could never truly reap its rewards. And right now, every major superpower was simultaneously unlocking their magic bodies while furiously preparing to advance to Tier 4 Classes. The window for Zero Wing to enter and exit the ancient secret realm was rapidly narrowing.
Beside him, Silent Red Star nodded in agreement.
One hundred slots was simply too much. Shi Feng was making an outrageous demand. There was no possibility of cooperation between their sides, because Zero Wing simply couldn't bring them any meaningful benefit.
However, in response to Wildfire Berserker's proposal, Torei gave no reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly and sank into deep thought.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, working together this time isn't entirely out of the question," Torei finally said, opening his eyes to look at Shi Feng.
"Coach Torei?!" Both Wildfire Berserker and Silent Red Star were stunned.
Such terms offered nothing to their Violet Sword. If they actually agreed, the guild elders and the Guild Leader himself would never approve such a laughable arrangement.
"What terms do you have in mind?" Shi Feng asked, unhurried, directing the question at Torei in a level tone.
His proposal had indeed been an outrageous demand, but for the sake of Zero Wing's members advancing to Tier 4, he had no choice. With their current resources, aside from a select few who had a real shot at Tier 4, the rest were genuinely struggling.
If Zero Wing couldn't field enough Tier 4 experts when the time came, holding on to their existing resources would become incredibly difficult. Every major superpower currently had their eyes on Zero Wing — the only reason they hadn't moved was because the Knight Corps and city defenses kept them at bay.
But once the era of Tier 4 Classes truly arrived, breaching fortified territory would become entirely feasible — even routine.