The Dark Guild Dark Crow had kept an extremely low profile during the early days of the Divine Realm. Everything they did was conducted in secrecy—even when Shi Xue Fengqing and the others came out, they didn't wear any guild emblems. That alone spoke volumes about how discreet the guild truly was.
If it weren't for the fact that Dark Crow wanted to demonstrate their strength this time and earn Zero Wing's trust, they never would have made such a bold move.
It had to be said—this was the benefit of Zero Wing gradually ascending to the upper echelons of the Divine Realm.
More often than not, even without doing anything at all, a whole crowd of people would come knocking on their own accord to discuss cooperation.
If it were some third-rate guild, or even some insignificant nobody guild, they wouldn't even be able to get close to these people, let alone have them show up uninvited.
Now the Asura Team was desperately short on powerful experts, and here came Dark Crow, this secretive organization, delivering themselves right to his doorstep.
Shi Feng's straightforward manner caught Shi Xue Fengqing slightly off guard.
He had originally expected Shi Feng to beat around the bush for a while, with him having to take the initiative to propose terms for cooperation. He never imagined Shi Feng would be this direct—so direct that Shi Xue Fengqing almost didn't know how to react. The guild had sent him precisely because of his experience and composure. All the talking points he had prepared beforehand, even the opportunity for Qilin and the others to show off their strength, had all been rendered unnecessary.
"What's wrong? Do you not have any terms?" Shi Feng said with a smile.
"No, I was simply taken aback by Elder Ye Feng's directness. After all, our Dark Crow is just a nameless, obscure guild," Shi Xue Fengqing replied, shaking his head. "Since Elder Ye Feng has put it this way, let me state our conditions."
"Dark Crow will fully assist the Asura Team, and in return, we want fifty percent of the revenue from the Dark Arena!"
"You're asking for quite a lot. Fifty percent is too much. The most I can offer is twenty percent."
Shi Feng flatly rejected the price Shi Xue Fengqing had proposed. Even his cooperation with Feng Qianyu was a fifty-fifty split. If Dark Crow took another fifty percent, Zero Wing would get absolutely nothing.
"Perhaps Elder Ye Feng isn't yet fully aware of our Dark Crow's strength. Would you allow us to demonstrate? We can discuss the price after that," Shi Xue Fengqing said, furrowing his brow slightly upon hearing Shi Feng's counter-offer. Still, he wasn't particularly surprised. Dark Crow had always operated in the shadows—no one knew how terrifying they truly were. If it weren't for the resources needed by the recently emerged Mental Space System, they wouldn't have come here to cooperate with Zero Wing in the first place.
In his view, Shi Feng simply didn't understand just how powerful Dark Crow was, which was why he had offered a mere twenty percent. Once Shi Feng saw firsthand that with Dark Crow's assistance, there was an extremely high chance of becoming the Dark Arena's host organization, he would eagerly agree to fifty percent. After all, this was a surefire deal with guaranteed profits.
"A demonstration?" Shi Feng naturally understood what Shi Xue Fengqing was thinking, but he truly couldn't allow that. Just as he was about to decline, an idea suddenly struck him. He had been worrying about not having enough powerful experts, and now here was the perfect opportunity. No sense letting such capable fighters go to waste. He nodded with a smile. "If your Dark Crow wants to demonstrate that you have sufficient strength, that's fine with me. I happen to have a difficult task on hand that requires some powerful experts. If you can show sufficiently impressive strength during this task, the price can certainly be renegotiated. Of course, I'll pay the task rewards in full."
"No problem. This task can be handed over to Dark Crow completely—consider it our introductory gift to Zero Wing. As for the rewards, forget about them," Shi Xue Fengqing said with great confidence. Their entire purpose in coming here was to prove Dark Crow's strength, and he was certain the people of Zero Wing would be in for quite a shock.
"I'll need some time to prepare—about two to three hours. You should get your people ready as well. This is a difficult task, and I only need you to send a squad of six experts," Shi Feng said.
"That won't be necessary. The people we have here are more than enough," Shi Xue Fengqing said with absolute certainty.
Seeing Shi Xue Fengqing so resolute, Shi Feng said nothing more. He left the reception room directly and contacted Youlan, informing her that the trial of the Titan Holy City could begin now—one hundred participants in total, with each side contributing fifty experts, and the team to be commanded by Zero Wing.