Siyu Qingxuan looked at Qingzhu's pleading eyes, then glanced around at the elegant surroundings. It truly was something other guilds couldn't compare to. Joining would actually be a pretty good choice.
"Sigh, Nightwind and I just happened to meet by chance. It's not what you think. I can only try my best, so don't get your hopes up too high," Siyu Qingxuan whispered through private chat.
"Mm." Qingzhu blinked her bright, shimmering eyes and nodded firmly.
Compared to Qingzhu's fascination with Zero Wings, Zhan Wuji and his companions who had just walked in only thought the environment and benefits were pretty nice. But what truly shocked them was that a top-tier expert like
After observing for a while, Zhan Wuji quickly realized that the players in Zero Wings were all quite capable—far better than what he'd seen in other guilds.
Just as the rumors outside suggested, Zero Wings was truly the dominant power in
Before long,
He had to admit that the luxury-tier Blacksmith's Workshop was worth every penny. The thousand gold coins hadn't been spent in vain.
"I'm curious—what did you want to discuss with me?"
"Originally, I planned to ask Brother Nightwind to introduce us to your guild master, Hei Yan. But since Brother Nightwind possesses such strength and is clearly a high-ranking member of Zero Wings, speaking with him is just as good," Zhan Wuji said unhurriedly. "We're actually not players from the Star Moon Kingdom. We come from the Myriad
"Indeed. Most of the equipment you're wearing is Gold-grade gear at level 25. And the level 25 shield and weapon in your hands are of the Dark Gold rank—something exceedingly rare across the entire Divine Realm right now. Getting your hands on gear like this... even in the whole Star Moon Kingdom, there aren't many guilds that could manage it,"
"Their weapons and equipment are all level 25 Gold-grade and Dark Gold rank? How is that possible?" Qingzhu looked at Zhan Wuji and his companions in disbelief.
Qingzhu knew Zhan Wuji was strong—just from his level alone, that was obvious.
But she had always assumed that the Gold-grade and Dark Gold glows on Zhan Wuji's gear came from level 20 equipment. She had never once considered that they might be level 25.
Level 25 Gold-grade equipment was a luxury even for the upper echelons of major guilds, let alone Dark Gold rank.
Siyu Qingxuan was also startled. Only now did she understand why these people hadn't cared about giving them a level 25 Mythril staff as a gift. It turned out they were all wearing level 25 Gold-grade and Dark Gold weapons and equipment.
"Is this really the gap in strength between players from an empire and a kingdom?" Siyu Qingxuan found it hard to comprehend.
Zhan Wuji's companions, seeing the shocked expressions on Qingzhu and Siyu Qingxuan's faces, couldn't help but smile with a hint of pride. They had long grown used to the stunned looks on the faces of
"You've misunderstood. There is certainly a gap, but it's not as big as you think. Besides, they're not ordinary free players—these weapons and equipment were actually funded by someone else,"
In the Divine Realm's empires and kingdoms, the difficulty of leveling up was the same. However, empires had far more players. Because many prosperous, densely populated cities in reality were initially assigned as starting locations within the Divine Realm's empires, the player population was enormous. More people meant more competition, and competition generated greater motivation. Players' skills improved faster, and naturally, they were somewhat stronger in levels and equipment compared to kingdoms with smaller populations.
And Zhan Wuji's group was particularly special—not ordinary players at all. How could they be compared to the average player in
When
"Brother Nightwind is truly impressive. Our weapons and equipment were indeed funded by someone else. That's precisely why we came to find Guild Master Hei Yan," Zhan Wuji admitted without denying it, continuing slowly. "Perhaps you're not aware, but not long after the Divine Realm launched—right after the world's major financial groups entered the Divine Realm—a covert struggle began behind the scenes to avoid open conflict."
"This struggle is called the Dark Arena. The major financial groups each send their top fighters to compete, using these battles to gauge each other's strength. The winners can earn massive amounts of gold coins, Credit Points, rare items, and all sorts of things you wouldn't even imagine."
"I came here to invite your Guild Master Hei Yan to join our team."
"If our team wins, it would be a tremendous boon for a guild like Zero Wings that's short on funding. Not only would you receive a huge amount of Credit Points, but you'd also get top-tier equipment and massive amounts of gold coins beyond your wildest expectations."
"But right now, I'd like to invite Brother Nightwind. What do you think?"
Though Zhan Wuji's voice was soft, it was enough to leave everyone thoroughly shaken.
These were the world's top five hundred financial groups locked in battle. This struggle was incomparably fiercer than anything between first-rate guilds, and the caliber of experts they could recruit was beyond imagination.
"I understand. I can agree to this, but I have one condition as well,"
He had heard of this Dark Arena long ago. It was a place where experts gathered aplenty—far surpassing anything in the virtual gaming world. And the financial resources they commanded were beyond what a few first-rate guilds could compare to.
If he could keep winning in the competition, it wasn't impossible to earn more Credit Points than an organization like the
Take Zhan Wuji, for example. He hadn't been a virtual professional gamer to begin with—this was the only reason he had started playing the Divine Realm. Before this, he had been a first-rate professional bodyguard, protecting the world's top figures. Both his physical abilities and his mental potential had undergone extremely specialized training that ordinary people simply couldn't match.
But the Dark Arena offered prices high enough to make even Zhan Wuji's heart race, which was why he had started playing the Divine Realm.
However, precisely because of this, he had become unstoppable—earning the title of the War God Wují in the Dark Arena, ranking among the Divine Realm's absolute peak.
In his previous life,
Only those who received invitations could fight in the Dark Arena. No one else was qualified, because this was the playground of the major financial groups.
"A condition?" Zhan Wuji couldn't help but be surprised. He hadn't expected
(To be continued.)