The conference room, large enough to cover half a football field, fell silent as Cold Light Poetic Shadow finished speaking. The female knight Yu Bai then took a single step forward, arriving at Cold Light Poetic Shadow's side. Her gaze swept across every person in the room.
Though Yu Bai hadn't said a word, everyone present quieted down and turned their eyes toward her, for they all understood that this Holy Sculpture Alliance meeting had finally begun.
"First, on behalf of Phantom Myth, I'd like to thank everyone for attending this Holy Sculpture Alliance meeting. Although the invited representatives from Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion were unable to attend due to special circumstances, they have sent delegates who can make decisions on behalf of the guild. I trust this will not affect the meeting's execution afterward—please rest assured of that." Yu Bai addressed everyone in a measured tone.
As Yu Bai spoke, the senior figures of the various superpowers couldn't help but glance at a white-robed elder representing Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion.
The disappearance of Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion's Grand Pavilion Master and the other two Pavilion Masters was no longer a secret within the circle. Everyone had speculated that it was a power struggle between the two Pavilion Masters, and that once a victor was decided, they would reappear. Yet no one had expected that for such a critical meeting—one that concerned the very life and death of Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion going forward—not a single one of the Grand Pavilion Master or the two Pavilion Masters would show up. Only a few guild elders and the Elder Chief had come, which left everyone genuinely puzzled about what had happened to Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion.
"Now that everyone is present, I won't waste any more words. Let us move on to the main topic of this meeting." Yu Bai glanced around the room once more and then clapped her hands.
In an instant, a map of the entire
Although the displayed map still showed many dark, unexplored regions, all areas currently known to players were clearly marked. Even the Level 120 to Level 140 neutral zones—which many of the superpowers present had been unable to fully explore—were shown in detail.
"What a detailed map!"
The senior figures of every superpower in the room let out murmurs of astonishment.
A detailed map of the Divine Realm might not seem like a rare commodity, but compiling one in its entirety was no easy task. The neutral maps for zones above Level 100, the monster lairs in the various Forbidden Lands, and the distribution maps of neutral factions—these were closely guarded secrets of the major powers, never disclosed to outsiders. After all, only with such detailed intelligence could they plan to relocate their guild towns more effectively and ensure faster, better development.
Yet here was Phantom Myth, laying out all this precious map information without a second thought. The scale of that gesture was staggering.
As the attendees studied the map floating above the round table, they quickly noticed a number of problems.
That was right!
Across the map, patches were shaded in light gray and silver-white. These were none other than the territories controlled by the various NPC dark factions of the Divine Realm and the current activity zones of the Holy Sculpture monsters.
The NPC dark factions were one thing—their distribution mostly matched the intelligence they had gathered, concentrated in the neutral zones above Level 100. But the activity range of the Holy Sculpture monsters nearly made everyone in the room think their eyes were deceiving them.
"How can the Holy Sculpture monsters' range of activity be this large?" A gray-robed assassin wearing the emblem of the Shadowless Empire guild stared at the map of the
Because on the map, in addition to the areas already known—the Thorn Kingdom, the Star Moon Kingdom, and the
How could anyone believe this?
"Is this really the Holy Sculpture monsters' range of activity? Has there been some kind of error?"
At that moment, it wasn't just the vice guild master of the Shadowless Empire who was stunned. Every senior figure from the other superpowers, except those from the four great super-guilds—Pride Empire, Celestial Dragon Manor, Sacred Law Hall, and Nine Heavens Tower—stood frozen in disbelief.
They had long known that these Holy Sculpture monsters were not to be trifled with and were certainly a major problem for the
"There's no need for skepticism," Cold Light Poetic Shadow said softly. "This map data was compiled through intelligence shared and verified by several of our super-guilds. And this range of activity reflects the situation from just one day ago." She paused. "I know many of you will find this hard to accept, but it is the truth. And it's one of the reasons I invited you all here."
As Cold Light Poetic Shadow spoke, the vice guild masters of the other four super-guilds nodded in succession, confirming that what she said was truthful.
"One day ago? Does that mean the Holy Sculpture monsters' range has grown even larger by now?" A Level 116 female druid from the Moon God World's
"That's correct. At this rate of expansion, they should have already reached the borders of these kingdoms and empires." Cold Light Poetic Shadow nodded. "I fear it won't be long before the Holy Sculpture monsters cover nearly half the
After Cold Light Poetic Shadow finished, the various superpowers who had been relatively relaxed before now grew visibly tense and solemn.
Originally, most of them had come hoping to see what benefits they might glean. After all, everyone had guessed this was really a meeting aimed at
"Vice Alliance Leader Cold Light, since you've gathered us all here, do you have any way to stop this?" The white-robed elder from Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion asked, his expression heavy as he looked at Cold Light Poetic Shadow.