In the quiet, refined Super-tier Forging Room of the Candlelight Trading Company, Shi Feng—who had spent the better part of the day busy planning the company's future—suddenly heard the system's communication alert ring in his ear.
"He sure got back to me fast." Shi Feng glanced at the notification, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The person reaching out to him was Zhan Wuji, the very one who had previously invited him to the Dark Arena.
Shi Feng promptly removed his Demon Mask disguise, reverting to his usual appearance as Ye Feng, then accepted the call and said, "Brother Wuji, it's been a while—you've gotten a lot stronger, I see!"
Although Shi Feng couldn't make out Zhan Wuji's level through the screen, he could tell the improvement just from the equipment he'd swapped out.
Zhan Wuji had originally been decked out in a mix of level 25 Gold-grade and Dark Gold-grade gear, with Dark Gold pieces being the minority—only three or four at most. Now, however, more than half his equipment radiated the distinctive glow unique to Dark Gold items. The boost to his combat power must have been enormous.
"This gear was all procured by the consortium. Once Brother Ye Feng officially joins the team, they'll naturally provide full support as well," Zhan Wuji said with a grin.
He was clearly quite pleased with his loadout—otherwise he wouldn't have refrained from hiding the equipment's visual effects.
In truth, there was only one reason for not concealing those effects: to display the strength backing their team. This kind of power was simply incomparable to what any guild could muster. Dark Gold-grade equipment at level 25, for instance, was exceedingly rare in the current Divine Realm. Every single piece was worth a fortune—even a top-tier guild couldn't acquire more than a handful. It was the sort of thing money alone couldn't buy. And yet more than half of Zhan Wuji's own gear was level 25 Dark Gold equipment. One could only imagine how powerful the forces behind him truly were.
"The time and location for the evaluation have been set. It'll be held four days from now in the imperial capital of the Beast Empire—Beast City. All you need to do is come to the underground arena in Beast City. I'll be waiting for you there." Zhan Wuji's expression suddenly turned serious. "I hope Brother Ye Feng takes this matter to heart. Use these four days to upgrade your equipment quality as much as possible. I've heard the consortium's higher-ups have also brought in quite a few experts, some with quite impressive reputations—peak players from across the virtual gaming world. The competition this time will be fierce. But if you make it through, the compensation will far exceed your imagination."
"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll be there on time." Shi Feng smiled and said no more.
As for Zhan Wuji's suggestion to further improve his equipment, Shi Feng certainly wished he could. But Epic-grade gear wasn't exactly easy to come by.
"Epic-grade equipment…" Shi Feng couldn't help but fall into thought.
Upgrading the Heart of Icarus to Epic-grade required 5,000 points of Life Force. He had already used up all the Life Force he'd had before, so to evolve it he'd need to start from scratch.
Still, spending that much Life Force to open the Radiance Treasure Chests had yielded no small number of rewards.
Among them, he had completed the first-tier sets for both the Shield Warrior and the Guardian Knight, and already had a few pieces of the second-tier set. The first-tier sets for the Assassin, Elementalist, and Priest were also complete. For the Berserker, Ranger, and Druid first-tier sets, he was still one piece short. And for the Swordsman second-tier set, he already had two pieces.
Beyond these first-tier sets, he'd also obtained quite a few level 30 Gold-grade and Dark Gold-grade items. All in all, the haul had been remarkably bountiful.
"It's been some time since we last dealt with Yixiao Qingcheng. If we strike at them now, they probably won't be on guard." Shi Feng licked his lips. The remaining Radiance Treasure Chests were running low. But if he could upgrade the Heart of Icarus to Epic-grade and then produce a Promotion Token, the Candlelight Trading Company would truly become unstoppable.
With that, Shi Feng sprang into action. He left the Super-tier Forging Room and headed for the teleportation hall.
Although operating during the day was somewhat inconvenient, at his skill level, a sneak attack would pose no problem.
Just as Shi Feng arrived in Maple Leaf City, Melancholic Smile contacted him in high spirits.
"Guild Leader, those people have finally stopped bulk-purchasing Light Stones. Should we make our move now?" Melancholic Smile's voice was brimming with anticipation.