Shi Feng completely ignored the high buyout offers from these guilds and headed directly to the inn where he was supposed to meet up.
He had hoarded Sturdy Stones for so long, even buying over ninety percent of the entire White River City region's supply. There was no way he would sell out for such petty profits.
The current equipment durability crisis was only just beginning. As players' levels rose and they went to farm higher-level monsters for experience, they would soon realize the importance of the Whetstone, or their leveling speed would suffer. It could be said that the demand for Whetstones would be no less than that for ordinary HP and Mana Recovery Potions.
And crafting Whetstones required Sturdy Stones. As more and more players needed them, and major guilds sought to widen the level gap, among other factors, the price would climb several times over.
In his past life, the highest buyout price for Sturdy Stones had reached three silver coins per stack—a tenfold increase. Now, with the evolution of Divine Realm and the early entry of major financial consortiums, resources had become even tighter. The price would likely hit new highs. The current eighty copper coins per stack was just the beginning.
Red Leaf Town, Trade District, Black Rose Bar.
At this moment, everyone from Huo Wu's team had gathered here to discuss their future development.
This Black Rose Bar was a frequent haunt for Huo Wu's team. Because of its remote location, few players came here, so it had become their gathering spot. Every time they cleared a small dungeon or obtained some top-tier equipment or item, they would come here to celebrate.
"Huo Wu, we all understand what you mean, but I'll say the same thing I've always said. I'm just playing Divine Realm to relax, I don't have any grand ambitions, and I like being free and easy. I certainly won't use Divine Realm to build a career. If you want to join that Night Edge's team, I'm sorry, but you can count me out."
"That's right, Huo Wu. If it were any other time, we'd probably just let it slide. Joining wouldn't be a big deal. But Night Edge has gone and provoked the Martial Alliance, and now even we're being targeted. The Martial Alliance has already put the word out: if we don't cut ties with Night Edge and apologize, they'll make sure we never level up or complete quests again. They'll kill us the moment we leave town. If we actually joined Night Edge's team, wouldn't that be even worse?"
"Exactly. The Martial Alliance is way too powerful right now. There's no way that Night Edge can establish himself in Red Leaf Town. If we're going to join his team, then I'll have to find my way out."
"That's what I'm thinking too. Our levels have already dropped a lot, averaging only 5 now. We can only apologize to the Martial Alliance if we want to survive in Red Leaf Town. If we really join Night Edge's team, then we're truly done for."
"Based on my investigation, the Martial Alliance in Red Leaf Town is now completely under the control of Fengyun Wuhui. He's gathered Martial Alliance players from five surrounding towns, preparing to develop with full force in this major town of Red Leaf. The Martial Alliance here now has many experts, great benefits, and is developing rapidly. I hear their member count has already surpassed a thousand, with over two hundred being Elite members. They're much, much stronger than before."
"They have the ability to keep an eye on us indefinitely, preventing us from leveling. They're simply not someone we can afford to provoke."
"Even if we reach level 10 and go to White River City to develop, the Martial Alliance's numbers there will exceed ten thousand by then, making it even easier for them to deal with us. We shouldn't have provoked them in the first place. The only way out now is to apologize."
"Exactly, I agree too. We're just playing Divine Realm for a bit of casual fun, not to get dragged into some war between Night Edge and the Martial Alliance. If you want to join, Huo Wu, please don't bring us along. We really don't want to be watched 24 hours a day anymore."
Inside the bar, only members of Huo Wu's team were present, but the opinions they expressed completely exceeded Huo Wu's expectations. One after another, they stated they would absolutely not join Night Edge's team, and even wanted her to apologize to the Martial Alliance.
"Alright... I understand. Then I'll just say one thing."
"Who among you is willing to follow me and join Night Edge's team? If anyone is, please come stand over here with me."
Huo Wu knew and understood everyone's difficulties. They were all veteran players from past virtual games, but those games had a total player base of only around 100,000 or 200,000. Even in the late game, the largest guilds had only a few thousand members. But Divine Realm had clearly shown them what a major guild was, what a virtual game with over 2 billion registered players worldwide was like.
Divine Realm was completely different from any previous virtual reality game; it completely overturned their perception of virtual gaming. This was fundamentally a fantasy world.
They used to think major guilds weren't all that impressive, but now they understood just how terrifying guilds in a large-scale virtual game could be. A single town's branch had over a thousand members and was still growing. By the time they got to White River City, the numbers would break ten thousand. They were simply not the kind of casual, free-roaming players who could afford to cross such an organization.
And such a guild was merely a low-ranking one, let alone the titans that were third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate guilds.
Although the Martial Alliance in Red Leaf Town was terrifying now, ever since Huo Wu witnessed Night Edge's stunning performance, it had deeply touched her heart and mind. It made her feel like all her past gaming experiences had been wasted. Now, all she wanted was to follow Night Edge and see what the world of top-tier experts was like.
"Huo Wu, wake up. We're not following you. The only way out now is to choose to apologize. Didn't you always want to become a top expert in Divine Realm? If you keep fighting the Martial Alliance now, the result will only be the opposite of what you want. Stop being foolish and making such a foolish choice."
Right after Huo Wu finished speaking, apart from Shuiniu, not a single person stepped towards her. They all hung their heads, thinking Huo Wu was being incredibly stupid to actually be charmed by that Night Edge. Making this kind of choice was just a foolish act of going down with the ship.
"Fine. Since that's the case, then Shuiniu and I will join." Huo Wu's expression was downcast. It was clear they had all come together with such difficulty, dreaming of achieving something in Divine Realm, yet this was the outcome.
She then opened her friends list and clicked to contact Shi Feng. She had already spoken to him before, and said she would inform him once there was a result. Now that the discussion was over, of course she had to say something.
"Brother Night Edge, I have a result here." Huo Wu said, her voice low. Although she had long guessed this outcome, she had thought three or five people might come, but now it was only two. She felt too embarrassed to even speak up.
"That's great. How many people do you have over there? If the number is about right, we can start running team dungeons very soon."
At this moment, Shi Feng had just finished his meeting with Ke Le and the others. He was planning to fully build a core team, first sending Ke Le and the others to the Auction House to buy larger-capacity backpacks and a large quantity of magical potions, as well as recovery foods and drinks. He was also going to have Ziyan Liuyun join them to meet up with Hei Zi to farm monsters and level up. He hadn't expected Huo Wu to contact him right at this moment. It was simply perfect timing. (To be continued...)
ps: Four consecutive days of triple updates now, feeling really tired. Old Cat is asking for support! Monthly tickets or recommendations are all welcome!!!