Meteor Fire City, Sky Flame Advanced Inn.
As one of the top three factions in Meteor Fire City, the Sky Flame Adventurer Team had practically turned the Sky Flame Advanced Inn into one of the city's landmark buildings. Not only did it boast a total of nineteen floors, but it also occupied the largest plot of land along Meteor Fire City's main commercial boulevard—roughly the size of a full stadium.
The Sky Flame Advanced Inn also offered the best resting environment in Meteor Fire City. With its reasonable prices, a great number of players and NPCs chose to stay there every single day. Its business was so booming that it ranked in the top ten along the entire boulevard.
A petite female assassin in black, level 131 and clad in epic-grade equipment, walked straight up to the top-floor lounge of the Sky Flame Advanced Inn. She approached a commanding man sitting behind a desk, tidying up documents at a measured pace.
This middle-aged man, who exuded authority without so much as a scowl, was none other than the captain of the Sky Flame Adventurer Team—known as the "Lionheart Boiling Blood," or simply Lionheart.
"Captain, I've tracked down the person you asked about. She's a Priest from the Knight Order named Yu Luo."
"All the information came from her, and not long ago, she put out word that she'll be holding a small auction at the Auction House—not consigning items for sale, but selling five Soul Crystals and fifty drops of Soul Water of a lesser effect." The black-clad female assassin produced a Memory Crystal and handed it directly to Lionheart. "This contains a visual record of her. In addition, she's likely acting on someone else's behalf. The real sellers should be the five people who entered Meteor Fire City alongside the Knight Order—there are visual records of them in here as well. The leading figure in the black cloak has been confirmed as a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, but I couldn't find any records of him in nearby main cities."
"Good work." Lionheart, dressed in blood-red light armor and already at level 133, studied the images within the Memory Crystal, gave a slight nod, then turned to the several vice-captains seated in the main hall and asked flatly, "What do you all think about this?"
"This is nothing short of a direct challenge to our Sky Flame Team! Our offer was already generous—we even gave that Tier 4 Sword Emperor face—yet they couldn't even be bothered to show the slightest respect to the Sky Flame Adventurer Team!" A cold, shadowy man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window spoke with an icy edge to his voice. "I think it's necessary to teach these newcomers a lesson—if they want to make a living in Meteor Fire City, they'd better learn their place. And a treasure that boosts the success rate of a Tier 4 class advancement absolutely cannot fall into the hands of any other faction in the city!"
The other three vice-captains present all nodded in agreement with what the cold, shadowy man had said.
Though Vice-Captain Chasing Wind Under Heaven was known for his icy demeanor and lack of warmth, he was fiercely loyal to the Sky Flame Adventurer Team and its captain. More importantly, Chasing Wind Under Heaven had already advanced to the Tier 4 Class of Dark Walker—his assassination skills were unmatched among all players in Meteor Fire City. With that, the Sky Flame Adventurer Team's top-tier combat power already stood at number one in Meteor Fire City.
This was their golden opportunity to bring Meteor Fire City completely under their control. How could they allow another faction to suddenly rise to prominence?
Now these newcomers were openly showing them such disrespect. A lesson was in order, no question.
Even a Tier 4 Sword Emperor meant nothing, because Chasing Wind Under Heaven wasn't just a top-tier hidden class—he had also inherited a special magical combat technique. Concealed within the shadows, he had a strong chance of one-shotting even Tier 4 defensive-class players, let alone a Tier 4 Sword Emperor.
"Here's what we'll do. We go talk to him first. If both sides find the price agreeable, everyone's happy. If we can't reach an agreement, then we can cut ties without any regrets," Lionheart said after a moment's thought.
He largely agreed with Chasing Wind Under Heaven's thinking.
After all, Soul Crystals could strengthen a player's soul to some degree. The strength of one's soul had a significant impact on learning ability—even a slight boost would prove immensely helpful when advancing to a Tier 4 class and learning Tier 4 magical skills.
The Sky Flame Adventurer Team had to keep this kind of resource firmly in their own hands. They absolutely could not let any other faction in the city get their hands on it.
Once Lionheart finished speaking, the four vice-captains all nodded in silent assent.
"Chilan, find out where that Sword Emperor is right now. I need to know immediately," Lionheart then said, turning to the black-clad female assassin.
"Captain, do you still not know how I operate?" The petite female assassin grinned triumphantly. "The moment you told me to look into this, I locked onto that Tier 4 Sword Emperor and had people watching his every move. Right now, that Sword Emperor is already at the Auction House—it looks like he's planning to rent out an auction hall and host a small auction."
"Excellent!" Lionheart looked at Chilan with clear satisfaction. "Chilan and Chasing Wind, you two follow them covertly. After that, I'll personally go meet this Tier 4 Sword Emperor and see what his background really is, that not a single piece of information could be found on him."
He was, in truth, quite curious about this Tier 4 Sword Emperor.
Tier 4 classes were extraordinarily rare throughout the entire Divine Realm. According to the Sky Flame Adventurer Team's intelligence, a considerable number of main cities still didn't even have two Tier 4 players to their name. The vast majority of main cities had only a single Tier 4 at most. Any city with two or three Tier 4 players was, without exception, a major population center.
Now here was someone who had already achieved Tier 4 and yet, instead of properly seizing control of a main city to expand their faction's influence, had come wandering into someone else's city. It was simply unbelievable.
"Yes!" Chilan and Chasing Wind Under Heaven both responded with respectful bows.
Meteor Fire City, the Auction House.
As a major commercial hub, the Auction House was arguably the most bustling place in all of Meteor Fire City. It was larger than even the royal capital's Auction House, and the volume of buyers and sellers was staggering. Even rare magic ores that were seldom seen on the Divine Realm continent were sold here in bulk stacks, at prices that were dirt cheap.