"An acquaintance?"
The members of the team watched as Feng Si went up to greet the newcomer, and their eyes on Shi Feng softened slightly, though they remained wary of him.〔
Shi Feng was shrouded in a black cloak that concealed all information about him, but the fact that he arrived riding a mount was proof enough that he was no ordinary player. Otherwise, he couldn't have leveled up to 40 so quickly.
If he were a weak acquaintance, that would be one thing, but the strength Shi Feng had displayed made him a potential threat.
"You all know him?" A burly, ox-like man with a hardened face turned to Yan Qiu beside him and asked.
This weathered-looking warrior wore silver-gray knight's armor and carried a tall, deep-red crescent-shaped shield on his back. A refined and ornate golden knight's sword hung at his waist, and his level had already reached 40 — a rank that put him among the notable players even across the entire Black Dragon Empire.
"Yes, he's an elder of the Zero Wing guild, and he's extremely strong. We owe our safe completion of the previous mission largely to his help," Yan Qiu nodded in response to the man's question, holding nothing back. The man beside her was none other than the leader of their guild, Wind God's Spear — Duetian Feng. "If Shi Feng — Night Edge — joins us for this mission, I think our chances of success would go up significantly."
Duetian Feng's gaze lingered on Shi Feng after hearing Yan Qiu's words.
What kind of person was Yan Qiu?
She usually came across as approachable, but deep down she was incredibly proud. The number of people who had truly earned her respect could be counted on one hand.
"Yan Qiu, you're exaggerating way too much. He's just some expert from a big guild — how strong could he really be? If we bring him along, he'll probably just slow us down," a cold-faced young man in dark brown leather armor chimed in with a dismissive smirk.
Setting aside the fact that Wind God's Spear had recently gone head-to-head with several major guilds and come away with impressive results, even the experts who had recently joined their ranks far outshone the so-called prodigies of first-rate guilds — let alone the members gathered here today.
Every single member of Wind God's Spear who had assembled here today was a top-tier player with a fearsome reputation. How could someone like Shi Feng possibly compare?
He hadn't even seen Shi Feng's name on any of the major power rankings.
"Leader, I'm sure Brother Feng Si can back me up on this," Yan Qiu said, ignoring the cold young man and looking directly at Duetian Feng.
Nearby, Siyu Qingxuan watched as Yan Qiu passionately vouched for Shi Feng, and a glimmer of hope flickered in her beautiful eyes. She couldn't quite explain it herself, but being around Shi Feng always gave her an inexplicable sense of security — something even a powerhouse like their leader Duetian Feng had never made her feel.
"Now that's interesting." Duetian Feng found himself studying the cloaked Shi Feng with a trace of curiosity in his gaze.
Shi Feng's level was beyond question, but a player's true skill could usually be gauged by the aura they radiated. The stronger the player, the more imposing their presence — a byproduct of the confidence built through countless battles.
And yet...
After observing Shi Feng for a good while, Duetian Feng couldn't detect even the faintest trace of a powerful aura coming from him.
Suppressing one's aura wasn't something even top players could easily accomplish. It required a certain level of mental and spiritual mastery — the kind typically found only in veterans in their thirties, forties, or even fifties. It was virtually unheard of in someone so young.
But both Yan Qiu and Feng Si seemed to hold Shi Feng in extremely high regard.
It was genuinely puzzling.
"Let's pass on Shi Feng this time," Duetian Feng said after a moment's thought, shaking his head. "Maybe we can adventure together in the future. Right now our roster is set, and making sudden changes to our lineup could jeopardize the mission. This mission is no ordinary one — if we pull it off, Wind God's Spear will rise to a whole new level. And when that happens, it won't be us hiding in the shadows of the Night Empire anymore. It'll be those big guilds running for cover."