After a major battle, it generally takes a good while to recover.
But the Zero Wing Guild had become famous overnight. Their prestige in the entire Star Moon Kingdom had jumped several levels, surpassing even the kingdom's few first-rate guilds by a wide margin.
Hordes of free players flooded into White River City.
A guild that had previously been home to only fifty thousand players suddenly swelled to over eighty thousand, and that was after Zero Wing had already raised the requirements for joining. What was truly terrifying was that this number kept skyrocketing with no sign of slowing down. The speed of growth left every other guild slack-jawed.
The Zero Wing Guild could now be described as bursting at the seams.
All of this was because Zero Wing's future was virtually limitless.
Before, Zero Wing had drawn attention, but it was still a small guild. One wrong move against a major guild could have meant annihilation, so most players had prioritized the bigger organizations when choosing where to join.
But now things were different. First, Zero Wing no longer feared any guild. Second, its member benefits exceeded those of first-rate guilds. And third, the guild warehouse was stocked with all kinds of top-tier equipment that made people drool just looking at it—not to mention the large amount of personal space available for rent.
Whether it was leveling up or upgrading gear, everything happened faster here than in any other guild.
With so many advantages, everyone wanted in.
"You guys at Zero Wing are way too arrogant! All you did was repel one attack from the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion. Our Flying Eagle Brigade ranks well above average among the free teams out there. We'd be taken seriously even in a first-rate guild. But joining Zero Wing? Only one or two out of ten pass, and some don't even get through at all. You're really not taking us seriously." A level-24 Guardian Knight fumed.
"Exactly! We traveled all this way and spent a fortune on teleportation fees just to join Zero Wing. Couldn't you lower the trial difficulty a bit?" another level-23 Ranger complained.
Inside Zero Wing's registration and trial grounds, quite a few players voiced their frustration.
Even Waterfall Rose found the situation headache-inducing. She couldn't understand why Shi Feng had suddenly raised the standards. The previous requirements were already steep—higher, in fact, than the entry bar for first-rate guilds—and now they'd been bumped up yet another level. It was practically driving players away…
"Guild Master, there are countless guilds in the Divine Realm, all scrambling to recruit members. Right now, after our victory over the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion, is the perfect time to expand rapidly. If we don't capitalize on the momentum and recruit in large numbers now, it'll be much harder later. Couldn't you lower the conditions a little?" Waterfall Rose asked regretfully.
The players who had traveled from other cities to meet the current requirements were generally those who were already doing well in their home cities. They had come specifically to White River City and joined Zero Wing for better future prospects. In other words, this batch represented the cream of the crop from other regions. Not absorbing them into the guild now would be a real shame.
"I'm not changing the conditions. It's not like I invited them here. The requirements are what they are—if they pass, they join. If they don't, there's nothing I can do. Zero Wing's resources are limited, and this isn't a scrap collection station. If I keep lowering the bar every time more people show up, where does it end?"
"Besides, Zero Wing's future direction is the elite route. Recruiting a massive number of people serves no purpose." Shi Feng showed not a hint of regret as he explained calmly. "After our battle with the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion, you saw it yourself. Over ten thousand elite members were practically wiped out by the Dragon War Corps. If not for the large number of NPC guards, we would have been annihilated. So what we need to do now isn't expand our numbers—it's improve our quality."
Waterfall Rose fell silent.
The gap between the two sides in that battle had been enormous. Never mind the Dragon War Corps—even the difference in elite member quality had been significant. If the two sides had been evenly matched, the losses wouldn't have been nearly so devastating.
"You're right—I was thinking short-sighted. I'll go handle it right away." It was only after Shi Feng's words that Waterfall Rose snapped out of her daze. The euphoria of victory had clouded her judgment.
Zero Wing had always followed the elite route. That was precisely why its members' strength had grown so quickly. With only fifty thousand members, the guild already boasted over thirteen thousand elites—an astonishing ratio.
And Zero Wing had only been developing for a short while. Going from a small guild of a few thousand to its current state, where its elite count surpassed that of second-rate guilds, was entirely because each member received a generous share of resources.
After that, Shi Feng handed all of Zero Wing's affairs over to Waterfall Rose and headed for the forging room.
The intermediate magic armor plates were in incredibly high demand. The batch he had crafted a few days ago was nearly depleted, and he needed to replenish the stock.
During this period, he had been busy developing the Candlelight Trading Company and hadn't had time for anything else.
Especially looming was the time-limited epic quest, Darkness Descends.
Fortunately, the Candlelight Trading Company was already up and running with its reputation fully established. Gathering thirty thousand gold coins wouldn't take much longer.
While a flood of players signed up to join the Zero Wing Guild, the Candlelight Trading Company was equally bustling.
White River City's prosperity was now on par with Star Moon Royal City. Moreover, the Candlelight Trading Company had been selling equipment in large quantities and had become wildly popular. The Supreme Business Pavilion, by contrast, couldn't compare at all.
Inside the thriving Candlelight Trading Company, the same major guilds that had once been eager to kick Zero Wing while it was down had gathered once more. This time, however, there was none of their former arrogance. Every one of them was well-behaved.
"Guild Master, do you think Black Flame will actually agree to see us this time?" Purple Pupil asked, looking toward Galaxy Past.
"If they're running a trading company, they obviously want to do business. But I can't read this Black Flame character. He went head-to-head with the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion without batting an eye before. He might very well ignore us." Galaxy Past smiled bitterly. "We should have learned from Bai Qingxue from the start. I heard she managed to buy a good number of intermediate magic armor plates and is already preparing to tackle a fifty-person large-team dungeon."
The Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion's defeat had sent Nine Dragons Emperor storming back to headquarters with the Dragon War Corps to regroup. These first-rate guilds had no way to act against Zero Wing now. All they could do was wait.
It wasn't long after Shi Feng settled into crafting intermediate magic armor plates that Melancholic Smile walked in.
"Guild Master, a number of first-rate guild executives have come to the Candlelight Trading Company. They all want to arrange a meeting with you and are asking when you might be available," Melancholic Smile said softly.
"So they've finally shown up?" Shi Feng paused his work and smiled slightly. "Then let's go meet them."