Zero Wing Tower, Top-Floor Reception Room.
"Shi Feng, it really isn't easy to get a meeting with you these days. I've been waiting a full two days." Duan Hanshan sat on the sofa, took a sip of tea, and teased Shi Feng, who looked every bit the unremarkable passerby as always.
Though Duan Hanshan was joking, there was a hint of surprise lurking in his gaze.
Because the Shi Feng standing before him felt different somehow, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on how.
Shi Feng in the Divine Realm had always given off an impression as deep and unfathomable as the ocean. The Shi Feng before him now still carried that same ocean-like calm and expanse, but there was something else — a sense that a storm was brewing, as though a stillness that had persisted for years was on the verge of erupting.
Duan Hanshan even felt a faint thread of danger when he looked at Shi Feng. It was subtle and elusive, leaving him unable to determine whether it was real.
Shi Feng himself had noticed none of this.
After breaking through to Tier 4 and stepping out of the virtual reality pod, the only change he'd felt was that his mind had grown slightly sharper than before. Beyond that, there was nothing different.
This actually surprised him. In the past, major breakthroughs had caused his brain to consume enormous amounts of energy, leaving his body severely depleted. Now, his physical condition was remarkably good — the previous sense of exhaustion had vanished entirely.
"Elder Duan jests. I truly only just managed to log out of the Divine Realm," Shi Feng explained with a wry smile. "May I ask what brings you here personally to Zero Wing headquarters? Is there something important going on?"
As the representative of the Duan family within the Azure Chamber of Commerce, Duan Hanshan's status and standing were on par with the guild masters of the top-tier super-guilds. For a guild master of that caliber to personally lead a team for new member training and exchange — no matter how you looked at it, that was impossible. The Azure Chamber of Commerce was a colossal power with commerce at its core, constantly needing to seek out and gather intelligence. They were far busier than an ordinary combat-oriented guild.
"Guild Master Shi, you really are the type to cut straight to the point. Not at all like the leaders of other powers," Duan Hanshan said with a laugh. "But in that regard, I'm the same."
"Then let me be direct. The truth is, my visit this time isn't about any exchange or training between our guilds' new members. It's entirely about another major development — one that may even concern your Zero Wing."
"A major development that concerns us?" Shi Feng's curiosity was piqued. "What exactly is it, Elder Duan?"
A "major development" coming from someone of Duan Hanshan's caliber was bound to be an event that would shake the various great powers. That said, Shi Feng hadn't heard of anything earth-shattering in the Divine Realm recently — Liang Jing had reported to him, and aside from the massive system upgrade, nothing else stood out.
"Something happened to the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion — your former ally," Duan Hanshan said abruptly. "You're aware of that, I trust?"
"I am. The three Pavilion Masters vanished, and even their close associates disappeared without a trace. There's still no news whatsoever," Shi Feng confirmed with a nod.
The disappearance of the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion's three leaders had sent shockwaves through every major power. Shi Feng had even asked Mu Lingsha to dig around for information, but to no avail.
"The matter I'm bringing up is connected to the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion," Duan Hanshan continued, his expression turning serious. "Last night, the guild master and all the vice guild masters of the top-tier guild Nine Star Heritage disappeared without a word…"
"The entire leadership of Nine Star Heritage? How is that possible?" Shi Feng was stunned.
Nine Star Heritage's accumulated resources and depth far exceeded those of the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion. Rumor had it that a major corporation had suddenly invested heavily in them, and they had already carved out territories across several empires, rivaling the Star Ring Guild.
Moreover, Nine Star Heritage had no fewer than six vice guild masters, each managing a branch in a different empire. For every single one of them to vanish overnight — that was even more inconceivable than the simultaneous disappearance of the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion's three leaders.
As for the idea that someone had raided Nine Star Heritage's headquarters, that was even less plausible. A power of their caliber had comprehensive security systems in place. Even several Grandmaster-level experts wouldn't be able to extract people silently.
"This news has been sealed off. Very few superpowers know about it yet," Duan Hanshan said in a hushed tone.
"So what does any of this have to do with us?" Shi Feng pressed, growing even more curious. "Is the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion somehow involved?"
"That's not it," Duan Hanshan shook his head. "According to confidential intelligence obtained by the Azure Chamber of Commerce, both the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion and Nine Star Heritage had secret contact with the Hand of Sacred Heart on the same day. After that, they both went completely silent. And in the case of Nine Star Heritage, there's an additional detail — when those people disappeared, a group of mysterious individuals was seen transporting their virtual reality pods away."
"Mysterious individuals moved their virtual reality pods? Could they be behind all this?" Shi Feng had a nagging feeling that this was the same situation as the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion's. "Do you know where they took the pods?"
"We're not certain whether the mysterious individuals are connected to everything yet. As for where the pods were taken — the Azure Chamber of Commerce did manage to trace that," Duan Hanshan said with a smile.
"Where?" Shi Feng asked, intrigued.
For powers as influential as the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion and Nine Star Heritage, the trail should have been easy to follow. Yet the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion still hadn't turned up a single lead. It was truly baffling.
"The Upper… Tier… District!" Duan Hanshan enunciated each word separately.
"The Upper Tier District?"
The fog in Shi Feng's mind only deepened. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.