Leader Ying Zhun's words sent the idle fourth-tier experts gathered there into a frenzy, their blood boiling with the urge to charge forward and eliminate the seven people before them.
Currently, the Alliance's bounty for a native fourth-tier expert was set at a hefty three hundred Contribution Points for a single kill. If a curse was used to secure the kill, the reward could be bumped up to a full one thousand points.
A thousand Contribution Points was a princely sum, not just for players like them who lived in the commoner districts, but even for those residing in the prosperous, upscale areas.
If one were to convert a thousand Contribution Points into income, it would be equivalent to what an ordinary person in the prosperous districts earned over ten years.
That's right—the Star Continent Alliance's bounty on fourth-tier natives was that staggering!
It also demonstrated the Alliance's unyielding resolve to conquer this Divine Realm continent.
That wasn't even the crucial part. While Alliance Contribution Points could be exchanged for money, money could not be converted back into Contribution Points. These points could be redeemed for many items and resources that were simply unobtainable with cash.
These seven fourth-tier Class holders represented an absolute fortune. Even if divided among the group, each person's share would be substantial.
However, Qi Yuan offered no response to Leader Ying Zhun's words. His gaze remained fixed, cold and heavy, on a single man in the crowd—a man clad in a black cloak, with eyes bright as stars and moon. Even facing encirclement by over a hundred fourth-tier combatants and suppressed by a Master-level magic array, he maintained an air of calm detachment.
"Guild Leader Black Flame! You've truly made it difficult for me to find you!"
Qi Yuan ignored everyone present, his gaze locked on Shi Feng, practically enunciating each word, every syllable saturated with boundless fury and killing intent.
Since the battle at Heavenly Spring City, he had been rescued and spared over ten days of captivity, yet his reputation within the guild had taken a severe hit. He had fallen from his standing among the top three peerless geniuses to the point where he now had to personally carry out menial tasks like tracking down Tiger Radiance's fourth-tier experts—assignments beneath his dignity.
He hated Shi Feng to the core for this. Yet after the World Gate opened, he had found not a single shred of information about Shi Feng, no opportunity to strike and reclaim his lost glory.
But today, perhaps even heaven had been moved by his plight, delivering Shi Feng right into his grasp.
Yet regarding Qi Yuan's venomous resentment, Shi Feng wore an expression of complete indifference. Watching Qi Yuan step forward, he remarked with perfect calm: "So it's Leader Qi Yuan of Hundred Ghosts. It's been a while—your strength has improved considerably, Leader Qi Yuan."
Compared to their encounter at Heavenly Spring City, Qi Yuan was now dramatically more powerful.
Not only had his level risen to 145, but his magical body had broken past the 100% threshold—his completion rate was absolutely on par with Tefiharia's.
Most critically, beyond a full set of epic-grade equipment, Qi Yuan possessed at least three fragments of legendary-grade items. He had also mastered a Domain and reached an exceptionally high level in the Realm of Reason. In terms of combat power, he far surpassed ordinary fourth-tier NPCs.
It was plain to see that the title of Hundred Ghosts' peerless genius was entirely deserved—not a shred of exaggeration.
"Yes! This is all thanks to Guild Leader Hei Yan!" Qi Yuan gritted his teeth. "Now that today's the perfect opportunity, why don't we..."
Just as Qi Yuan was about to propose a fight to the death with Shi Feng, the Berserker Fei Ye, who had been trailing behind him all along, hurriedly tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Qi Yuan, don't do anything rash! His strength is absolutely monstrous, and the Elder already told you — you can't make enemies of Hei Yan and his people right now!"
Qi Yuan had been locked inside Heavenly Spring City, so he had never witnessed the battle at the Tower of Secret Covenant with his own eyes.
Setting aside the fact that Shi Feng alone had slaughtered over a thousand weakened fourth-tier legendary Holy Sculptures until the ground ran red with their blood, cutting through them like melons and vegetables — even the hidden methods Shi Feng kept up his sleeve were anything but ordinary.
Even with the suppression of a master-grade magical barrier in place, she had personally seen Shi Feng unleash an extraordinarily powerful Domain World that could reduce those legendary Holy Sculpture monsters to barely half their fighting potential.
The reason Elder Wind Shadow had conceded defeat last time wasn't solely due to the threat of the mobile fortress. More importantly, it was wariness toward Shi Feng's hidden cards that had driven the decision to settle for compensation.
Even though they now held a massive numerical advantage, it was by no means a guaranteed victory against Shi Feng and his group.
And with Fei Ye's warning, Qi Yuan gradually calmed down.
"I understand!"
Though every fiber of his being screamed to cut Shi Feng down right then and erase his humiliation, he was no longer the same person he used to be — someone who could act on every whim. Fei Ye accompanying him now served not only as protection but also as supervision.
If he defied Elder Feng Ying's orders, as long as Fei Ye reported it, no matter whether he killed Shi Feng or not, the consequences would be anything but favorable — he would likely be pushed even further to the margins.
After finishing his exchange with Fei Ye, Qi Yuan turned his gaze toward Captain Ying Zhun in the distance once more.
"Captain Ying Zhun, have your men lower the magical barrier and let them pass!"
When Qi Yuan finished speaking, whether it was Captain Ying Zhun on the scene or the various independent Tier 4 experts, every single one of them froze for a moment, unable to process what they had just heard.
"What on earth is going on?" Smoke Cloud Sixteen Dreams's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
She was completely at a loss to understand this sudden turn of events.
The fury and venom Qi Yuan had displayed earlier were plain as day even to an outsider like her — let alone letting them leave, it would have been astonishing enough if he hadn't gone straight for the kill.
Yet now he was directly telling them to leave.