Everyone inside the dragonkin lair had been wiped out, and Shi Feng began collecting the loot.
Thanks to the Fiend's Grip effect, the equipment drops from Canglang Zhantian and the others had doubled. On top of that, Shi Feng's luck stat meant some of Yixiao Qingcheng's elites had even dropped three pieces of equipment each. Just from killing a hundred people, he had obtained over two hundred items — the worst of them being 20th-level Mythril Rank gear. In one stroke, Shi Feng had earned nearly a thousand gold.
No wonder so many players liked joining dark factions. Shi Feng looked at the dazzling array of high-grade equipment filling his inventory and couldn't help but marvel. If Zero Wing had to obtain all this equipment on its own, who knew how long it would take. Yet he had gotten it all in under five minutes, saving an immeasurable amount of effort.
But these equipment pieces were not what Shi Feng cared about most.
The key was that he had killed Canglang Zhantian and the others.
By absorbing their Immortal Souls, Canglang Zhantian and the others wouldn't be able to log back in for at least two or three days. Add to that the loss of their equipment, and they would need at least four or five days to recover. This single blow had stripped Yixiao Qingcheng of its trump cards and severely slowed their momentum.
"I've already collected 100 Life Force points. If I push hard before logging off to rest, I should be able to gather 300." Shi Feng glanced at the Heart of Icarus's stats, licked his lips, and then left the dragonkin lair to hunt down more members of Yixiao Qingcheng.
His earlier attack on Canglang Zhantian and the others was exactly what he wanted — those people had already alerted nearby Yixiao Qingcheng members, trying to rally them to come to the rescue and corner him. After all, Yixiao Qingcheng ruled Maple Leaf City with an iron fist. Now that someone dared to provoke them, they naturally wanted everyone to see what happened to those who crossed Yixiao Qingcheng.
Because this was a matter of guild reputation. Any guild that wanted to maintain authority had to take action in response, let alone a guild as dominant as Yixiao Qingcheng, which controlled an entire city.
This was exactly what he wanted — it saved him the trouble of having to hunt them down himself.
Time slowly trickled by.
Just as Shi Feng had predicted, the moment Canglang Zhantian was attacked, Yixiao Qingcheng's players at Giant Dragon Ridge went mad rushing over.
On their own turf, only they killed others — nobody dared to kill Yixiao Qingcheng's people. Now someone had popped up and done just that. To them, this was outright rebellion. One after another, they stormed toward the dragonkin lair in a towering rage, intent on teaching Shi Feng a lesson.
But what awaited them was a bottomless abyss.
Most of those who came were twenty-man squads, with very few large parties of a hundred or more. Although they were all elite players, they were far inferior to the large force that Canglang Zhantian had led.
Whenever Shi Feng spotted a group, he unleashed Inferno Spirit Storm without a second thought. The few players who narrowly escaped its reach were charged down and finished off by Shi Feng in just a few strikes. From start to finish, each battle took no more than five or six seconds — not even enough time for these Yixiao Qingcheng members to contact other teams before being devoured one by one, their lives converted into Life Force for the Heart of Icarus.
In just over half an hour, Shi Feng had gathered 300 Life Force points, allowing the Heart of Icarus to evolve to Mythril Rank. Its base luck stat rose from 7 to 9. It might seem like only a two-point increase, but it significantly boosted item drop rates. Evolving to Gold-grade, however, would require a full 600 Life Force points — double the previous amount.
Shi Feng had originally intended to log off, but realizing how rare an opportunity like this was, he continued his slaughter of the Yixiao Qingcheng members who kept streaming in without end.
The Yixiao Qingcheng members still had no idea what was happening at the dragonkin lair, nor did they know their companions were dying one by one. Since those people had lost their Immortal Souls, they couldn't even log back in, let alone contact anyone.
Even if they could be reached, it would only happen after the fact of being unable to log in was reported up to Yixiao Qingcheng's leadership — and by then, who knew how much time would have passed.
If Yixiao Qingcheng's members eventually figured things out, it would be much harder to target them afterward.
Since this reckoning was inevitable anyway, Shi Feng decided to cash in while he could, killing as many as possible.
Unaware of the slaughter and focused solely on punishing Shi Feng, Yixiao Qingcheng's members were devoured throughout the night. Every squad that arrived was annihilated without exception — even the hundred-man parties. Not a single one escaped as anything more than ghosts beneath Shi Feng's blade.
Meanwhile, at Yixiao Qingcheng's guild headquarters in Maple Leaf City...
"You Lan, what brings you here in such a rush?" A handsome, commanding middle-aged man sat elevated upon the guild master's throne, a smile on his face.
This man was none other than Yixiao Qingcheng's true guild master, Xiao Cangtian. He had bronze-toned skin and a pair of deep, dark eyes that radiated an indescribable air of authority and world-weariness.
Although Yixiao Qingcheng was only a second-rate guild, it had been established in remarkably short time — built entirely by Xiao Cangtian's own efforts. In the early days, he had made the brilliantly correct decision to develop in Maple Leaf City, and the guild rose rapidly to become the city's overlord. Then the Underworld came to discuss a takeover, not only providing massive funding but also supplying a variety of powerful players, transforming Yixiao Qingcheng into a major guild that rivaled any first-rate organization.
What surprised Xiao Cangtian most, however, were the experts the Underworld had sent over. Thanks to those players, Yixiao Qingcheng had conquered team dungeons with ease, making a name for itself across all of Maple Leaf City. It had become a renowned major guild within the Star Moon Kingdom as well, and was even rumored to have the potential to become the kingdom's number one guild.
"Miss You Lan, now is no time for jokes. Recall every member at Giant Dragon Ridge immediately — or hand in your Yixiao Qingcheng guild emblem." You Lan's expression was grave, her tone stripped of all its usual diplomatic pleasantries, replaced with an iron command that brooked no refusal.
"Miss You Lan, has something happened at Giant Dragon Ridge?" Xiao Cangtian was no fool. Given the abrupt change in You Lan's tone, he naturally sensed the matter was not simple. But pulling leveling players back without a clear explanation would reflect poorly on the guild.
"Don't tell me you, Guild Master Xiao, have no idea what's happened at Giant Dragon Ridge?" You Lan asked in a low voice.
"You mean that incident where someone attacked our Yixiao Qingcheng members?" Xiao Cangtian suddenly realized and couldn't help but laugh. "Miss You Lan, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. It was just a sneak attack on our people — there's no need to pull everyone out of Giant Dragon Ridge. Besides, plenty of guild members have already gone to deal with that arrogant fool. I'm sure he'll be found and killed soon enough."
"Mountain out of a molehill? Found and killed?" You Lan couldn't help but laugh at that, a trace of mockery flashing in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what's actually happening at Giant Dragon Ridge right now? How else could you say something so laughable?"
"Miss You Lan, let me make one thing clear. In White River City, you may be Yixiao Qingcheng's guild master, but here in Maple Leaf City, I, Xiao Cangtian, am the true guild master." Xiao Cangtian was displeased with You Lan's attitude. If not for the Underworld backing her, he wouldn't have given her the time of day.
"Since you don't know, then I'll tell you — the Zero Wing guild master, Black Flame, is currently in Giant Dragon Ridge. Your subordinates who went there to level up are most likely dead or dying by now. If you don't recall them soon, there may not be anyone left to recall!" You Lan said sharply. "I've said my piece, Guild Master Xiao. Whether you act on it is up to you."
With that, You Lan turned and left the guild master's lounge. In Maple Leaf City, her responsibility was limited to trade development — she was not permitted to interfere in Yixiao Qingcheng's affairs, nor did she have the power to do so. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to come here to see Xiao Cangtian in person.
The moment Xiao Cangtian heard that name, he froze.