Fissus Canyon was a lush, verdant place. Grass and trees grew thick and green, and several small rivers wound through the valley. Flocks of birds and beasts circled overhead, and the forests were alive with birdsong — a scene right out of paradise.
Though it was beautiful, no players had come here to level up yet. After all, the current level cap was only 6, and most people preferred to grind safely in level 6 or 7 zones. This was a level 8 monster area, with level 9 monsters lurking deeper inside. It would be a while before any players showed up to disturb the peace.
More importantly, Shi Feng had come here to pursue the unique quest, "Iron Shell Fortress" — a quest that was absolutely critical for establishing a guild.
In his previous life, the player who had completed this quest had used it to transform a second-rate guild into a first-rate one. Now that the quest was in his hands, the benefits would naturally go to his own guild.
Before entering the canyon, Shi Feng made sure to use the Devil Mask to alter his appearance. He transformed his silver-white Silvermoon Set into a sleek, jet-black ensemble that could easily be called a Blackmoon Set. He then changed his face into that of a mature man in his late twenties, threw on a black cloak, and let his resolute features disappear into the shadows of the hood. One look at him and you could feel an aura of deep mystery — clearly a man with a story.
The outfit made him look something like a Night Ranger, except instead of a weathered black bow, he carried two silver longswords on his back. He certainly didn't resemble a Night Elf.
In this getup, no one would ever suspect he was Shi Feng. Not even the sharp-eyed Bai Qingxue would be able to tell.
When he arrived at the meeting spot, Bai Qingxue and her team hadn't shown up yet.
Shi Feng casually pulled up the system notifications to check on his blueprint sales over the past while.
"They sold out that quickly?" His eyes nearly went blind scrolling through the stream of income notifications.
There were over a dozen Auction House alerts, each showing roughly 3 gold coins in revenue.
Twenty blueprints in total, averaging 3 gold each — it was easy to see how desperate those guilds were. Still, compared to the 3 gold they'd spent, those guilds would earn it back fast enough. The Divine Realm had only been open for three days, and as time went on, more and more players would flood in. New players would eventually outnumber the veterans, and these newcomers were the real spending crowd. The level 3 Gleaming Breastplate was guaranteed to be in short supply. In the near term, there was no chance of its price dropping significantly — it might even appreciate.
But Shi Feng had already achieved his goal, so he had no intention of continuing to craft Gleaming Breastplates for profit. His bag now held over 50 gold coins — the sum total of liquid assets from more than a dozen major guilds. If that kind of money were poured into building up a single guild, the results would be terrifying. Unfortunately, running a guild on money alone wasn't enough.
He couldn't just sit on the gold, either — that would be like letting it rot in his hands. So Shi Feng withdrew 20 gold and deposited them into the virtual trading center. At current rates, that amount was worth 180,000 credit points.
Even Shi Feng hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. In just three days, he'd earned this much. But to open a decent studio, this money was far from sufficient.
Lan Feilong had invested five million credit points upfront to launch Shadow Studio, then poured in over ten million more in the first month alone. Just getting a studio off the ground cost a fortune — not to mention a guild with thousands or tens of thousands of members. But once a studio or guild was established, everything changed.
Over a hundred thousand credit points was nothing to a proper guild.
He needed to earn a lot more.
That was exactly why Shi Feng had chosen to cooperate secretly with Bai Qingxue. She was, after all, a top-tier whale.
"Are you Black Flame?" A voice as crisp as jade striking the ground came from behind him.
Shi Feng turned to find Bai Qingxue approaching with a graceful smile, sizing him up. Though this was their second official meeting, he still wasn't used to being scrutinized by her. He replied in a measured tone, "That's right. I'm him."
When Shi Feng confirmed his identity, the system notification verified Black Flame's status, and Bai Qingxue's beautiful eyes sharpened. She quietly activated an observation skill.
In an instant, Bai Qingxue froze. She couldn't see his name at all — it only showed Level 5, Target Unknown.
She had assumed Black Flame was simply a skilled blacksmith with good fortune, clever methods, and decent gaming ability. She hadn't imagined that his gaming skill was anything but ordinary. He had to be a top-tier expert, or he could never have gotten his hands on such high-level items.
Hidden-identity special items — the Snake of the Body didn't have a single one, and she'd never heard of any other first-rate guild obtaining one either. Yet this mysterious man not only possessed one, but even with his equipment's visual effects suppressed, she could feel the powerful force radiating from it. The gear was exquisitely crafted, with magical runes flowing across its surface — clearly a matching set. She doubted his equipment was any worse than hers. Her own set had required an elite team behind her and a considerable amount of time to assemble. So how had this man obtained such a fine set?
Bai Qingxue stared at him silently, wondering if Black Flame wasn't a player at all, but rather the leader of some mysterious organization. How else could he have the financial resources and manpower to accomplish those things, let alone earn the title of the Star Moon Kingdom's undisputed chief blacksmith? Running a forging operation alone should have consumed all his time — where had he found the opportunity to acquire such an exceptional set of equipment?
"Hello. My name is Bai Qingxue, First Vice President of the Snake of the Body." Bai Qingxue extended her fair, delicate hand in a formal gesture — a stark contrast to their first meeting, when she had regarded Shi Feng with the casual superiority of someone in a position of power.
The other team members behind her were stunned. They hadn't expected their captain to initiate a handshake.
Was this middle-aged man really that impressive? Did it warrant such formality?
Zhao Yueru stood behind Bai Qingxue, her lovely eyes fixed on Shi Feng the entire time. His string of accomplishments over the past few days had already made her quite interested in him. Seeing him in person, she found that he radiated an aura of maturity and composure that naturally drew one's attention. Now that even Bai Qingxue had acknowledged him like this, she felt a subtle spark of goodwill forming.
"Hello. You can call me Black Flame." Shi Feng couldn't very well act too aloof, so he shook Bai Qingxue's hand. Her hand was indeed soft and smooth. If Hei Zi knew about this, he'd probably rush to shake Shi Feng's hand and then refuse to wash it for three days straight…
The reason Shi Feng hadn't completely transformed the appearance of his Silvermoon Set was precisely to make an impression. Seeing that the effect was working, he got straight to the point: "The reason I contacted you this time is to propose cooperation with your Snake of the Body. What are your thoughts?"
"We would absolutely welcome it. If you came to join the Snake of the Body as our chief blacksmith, name your price." Bai Qingxue had anticipated that Black Flame might make outrageous demands, but as long as she could recruit him, it would be worth it. With her resources, satisfying his appetite would be no problem at all. She spoke with supreme confidence.
"Miss Bai, I think you've misunderstood. I won't be joining you. I want to cooperate with your guild as equals. If you can't accept that premise, then I see no reason to continue this conversation."
With that, Shi Feng turned to leave.