Shilin Town, ever since it fell under
Because of the Stone Fang Mountains, Shilin Town had become a gathering place for elite players.
New buildings were springing up within the small town, changing daily. The blacksmiths' workshops and inns, in particular, were seeing major expansion. The number of blacksmith shops for equipment repair alone had increased by six compared to when they first opened, and inns had jumped by over twenty. Now, even though many players had converged on Shilin Town, there were no longer the long queues of the past.
Just getting equipment repaired used to take several hours.
However, ever since Zero Wing abandoned their attempts to explore the Stone Fang Mountains and shifted their main focus to team dungeons and other leveling maps, the atmosphere in Shilin Town had become noticeably oppressive. It felt like any major guild could erupt into conflict at any moment.
Although Zero Wing had given up on the Stone Fang Mountains, the other major guilds had never decreased their supply operations in Shilin Town. In fact, they had only increased them, meaning the magic crystals Zero Wing harvested each day hadn't reduced much. Seeing this, all the other guilds were green with envy, wishing they could replace Zero Wing and manage Shilin Town themselves.
Inside the Tianji Pavilion's headquarters.
"Uncle Yuan, you suddenly called us over. Is there something important?" asked a young man.
This youth wore silver scale armor and carried a heavy sword on his back. His posture was vigorous, his expression blank. Red hair was tied high, and his entire being radiated a bloody, murderous aura, giving off a strong "keep away" vibe. Despite this, his level was very high—he was a level 34 Berserker, already ranked near the top of the Star Moon Kingdom's level leaderboard.
Besides this young man, many other young men and women sat in the guild hall. Their levels were all exceptionally high, with the lowest being level 33. Their equipment was at least Gold-grade level 30 gear, which would be rare even in a top-tier guild. Yet in the great hall of the Tianji Pavilion, there were nearly a hundred such individuals.
"Of course it's good news. Leng Qiu, have you forgotten why the Guild Master asked you here?"
Every major power cultivated expert players internally, and Leng Qiu was among the best of the new generation in the Tianji Pavilion. He was even a genius acknowledged by many elders and veterans of the guild.
"Hmm? Has the Seven Sin Blossoms finally moved again?" Leng Qiu asked excitedly.
The Guild Master wanted their new generation to know the strength of the Seven Sin Blossoms. That was why he had them come for a look, to let them see the gap and not remain frogs at the bottom of a well.
Although the Tianji Pavilion had considerable influence in the virtual gaming world, it was still far behind the mysterious and powerful Seven Sin Blossoms. The Seven Sin Blossoms were a terrifying force that even the super guilds dreaded.
"But I heard that after being attacked several times by the Seven Sin Blossoms, Zero Wing has become increasingly cautious and low-key. Whether it's members of their main team or the Black God Legion, they usually stay in the God-Demon Arena or go disguised to do quests. They no longer group up to level. Even if the Seven Sin Blossoms want to act, there's no chance. So how is there an opportunity now? Have they decided to trade one for one, disregarding their own safety?" Leng Qiu asked curiously.
Previously, they had received news and observed from a distance a few times, but Zero Wing's people were too useless. Before the Seven Sin Blossoms had even exerted themselves, they had all been wiped out.
But it had to be said that Zero Wing also had formidable experts.
In the last covert clash, Zero Wing had ten people. The Seven Sin Blossoms sent a six-person squad to ambush them. In that fight, an assassin named Huo Wu was very impressive. She actually managed to fight on par with one of the Seven Sin Blossoms' squad leaders. In the end, she activated an explosive skill, managed to kill one of the Seven Sin Blossoms' assassins, and then escaped.
However, after that battle, Zero Wing lost nine people. The Seven Sin Blossoms only lost one. But even that was astonishing, because in all the previous covert engagements, only Zero Wing's people died, and not a single member of the Seven Sin Blossoms had ever fallen.
It wasn't that Zero Wing was too weak, but that the Seven Sin Blossoms were too strong.
Leng Qiu had mentally compared himself. At best, he could spar with an ordinary member of that squad. If their classes didn't counter each other, the odds of winning or losing were about fifty-fifty. As for dealing with a squad leader, the strength gap was a bit too large; he had no chance of winning.