When Ci Xin heard about fifty sets of Sturdy Stones, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
The Assassin Alliance had scoured the entirety of Red Leaf Town and couldn't even collect five sets, yet Shi Feng casually mentioned fifty sets.
Fifty sets of Sturdy Stones—forged into whetstones—even if the blacksmiths had a mediocre success rate, would be more than enough to help every elite team player in Red Leaf Town level up to 10 and enter White River City.
"Brother Ye Feng, you're not pulling my leg, are you? You really have fifty sets?" Ci Xin asked, still half-skeptical. It wasn't that he didn't trust Shi Feng—the number was just absurdly large. Even a top-tier guild in a major town wouldn't be able to cough up that many. Managing six or seven sets would already be impressive.
"Of course. When have I ever joked about that?" Shi Feng shook his head with a chuckle.
He wasn't giving Ci Xin all those Sturdy Stones just to earn gold coins. More importantly, he wanted Ci Xin to advance into White River City as quickly as possible. After all, the Assassin Alliance's main power base was centered around White River City and the nearby cities. Once the Assassin Alliance grew stronger in White River City, given his relationship with Ci Xin—whether for the sake of guild development or personal friendship—Ci Xin would naturally suppress or even crush those second-rate guilds. That would keep those guilds busy fighting the Assassin Alliance, leaving them no time to bother him.
He had originally considered selling some to Bai Qingxue as well, but Bai Qingxue's team had leveled up remarkably fast—they'd hit 10 in a single day. Now all her elite members were already in White River City completing quests, so she no longer needed his help.
More importantly, Bai Qingxue had the ultra-premium White River City guide he'd sold her. With that, she could easily pull ahead of other guilds and stand tall above them all.
As the saying goes, it's nice to rest in the shade of a tall tree. Once he had protectors like Bai Qingxue and Ci Xin watching his back, he could develop in peace. Would those second-rate guilds dare mess with him then?
"Brother Ye Feng… I don't even know how to thank you. If there's anything you need in the future, just say the word. As long as it's within my power, I'll give it my all," Ci Xin said, deeply moved. He now regarded Shi Feng as a true brother.
Though the price—4 gold and 50 silver—wasn't easy to come up with on short notice. It would take time to pool liquid assets from other towns, plus gather some from the gold-farming teams, before he could scrape together the full amount.
But the cost, however steep, was nothing compared to the value of fifty sets of Sturdy Stones. They would guarantee that his elite team in Red Leaf Town would be the first from the Assassin Alliance to enter White River City. At that point, his status would rise further—he might even become an elder of the Assassin Alliance. And all of it was thanks to Shi Feng's help. He himself hadn't done a single thing for Shi Feng in return, which gnawed at his conscience. But he had already made up his mind: once he got to White River City, he would fully support Shi Feng. Anyone who opposed Shi Feng would be opposing him.
"When are you sending someone to Red Leaf Town for the trade?" Shi Feng asked.
"Whenever you're available. Anytime works for me," Ci Xin replied.
"Oh, there's something else I wanted to ask. Do you know where that Martial Alliance elite team led by Fengyun Wuhui is stationed?"
Shi Feng figured that since he had to go to Red Leaf Town anyway, he might as well settle the score with Fengyun Wuhui while he was at it.
"I do. They're over at the White Sand Ruins. What, you want to go after them? Let me grab some guys and come with you—they've got a lot of people. Going alone is too dangerous," Ci Xin said, slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Shi Feng's retaliation to come so quickly, and against that particular elite team no less. Fengyun Wuhui had assembled that squad by consolidating the elites from five different towns. Its numbers far exceeded even Ci Xin's own elite team—it would be no easy fight.
"Thanks for the offer, but I prefer to handle my own business. Let's do the trade at the Red Leaf Town bank vault in twenty minutes," Shi Feng said with a nod of gratitude.
"Got it. I'll have someone look up their exact position and send you the details. The 4 gold 50 silver—I'll have it delivered to you right away," Ci Xin replied. He understood the pride of a top player, so he didn't press further. If he went after the Martial Alliance without Shi Feng's approval, he'd probably end up annoying him instead.
Twenty minutes later.
Shi Feng arrived in front of the Red Leaf Town bank vault.
"Hello, Brother Ye Feng! I'm Ke Ke from the Assassin Alliance. Brother Ci Xin sent me here. This is the grinding location of the Martial Alliance's elite team."
A fresh-faced, lovely female elemental mage walked up to him, her eyes lighting up at the sight. The man before her was the legendary god-tier expert that everyone in Red Leaf Town knew by name. Even their own leader, Ci Xin, had to treat him with the utmost respect. On top of that, he was a friend of her idol, the Ice Goddess. A normal lifestyle player like her would never normally get the chance to meet someone like him. She'd only been sent because the other blacksmiths were too busy, and as a newly recruited blacksmith, she was available. She hadn't expected to actually meet such a distinguished figure.
Shi Feng activated his Eye of Observation and swept a glance over her. The corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.
Shuang Keke—wasn't she one of the Star Moon Kingdom's Ten Great Master Blacksmiths?
As one of the Star Moon Kingdom's Ten Great Master Blacksmiths, Shuang Keke was a forging prodigy closest to the level of a Grandmaster Forger. She was roughly on par with Selluela in White River City—both a beauty and a forging genius. Numerous top-tier guilds had been willing to offer annual salaries worth hundreds of millions of Credit Points to recruit her, but she had turned them all down, choosing instead to remain in the third-rate guild Wish Temple. Rumor had it she did so out of gratitude. In her early days, Shuang Keke had been clumsy and awkward, with terrible success rates on her creations, and had been rejected by guild after guild. Wish Temple had been the one to nurture her talent, so she refused to leave.
Yet despite having such a master blacksmith on their roster, Wish Temple had ultimately been destroyed by the Snake of the Body. In the end, Shuang Keke had joined Dominance—one of the top-tier guilds rivalling the Snake of the Body—specifically to get her revenge.
So why was Shuang Keke with the Assassin Alliance now?
Shi Feng couldn't quite figure it out. Wish Temple's main power base hadn't been in the White River City area but in the royal capital, Star Moon City. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been wiped out by the Snake of the Body.
"Could it be that she wasn't valued in the Assassin Alliance, leveled up, and then went to Star Moon City, where Wish Temple took notice of her?" Shi Feng speculated. If the Assassin Alliance ever found out they'd once driven away a master blacksmith, they'd probably beat their chests and cough blood.
"Brother Ye Feng?" Shuang Keke noticed Shi Feng staring at her with a serious expression and couldn't help feeling nervous.
Shi Feng snapped back to his senses. It wasn't that he was making a big deal over nothing—a top-tier master blacksmith was invaluable to any guild. But he couldn't very well poach Shuang Keke right now. She was still a member of the Assassin Alliance, after all. He would have to wait until she left on her own. For now, he could only watch and wait.
"Oh, it's nothing. Here are the fifty sets of Sturdy Stones," Shi Feng said, immediately initiating the trade and transferring all fifty sets to Shuang Keke.
When Shuang Keke saw the fifty sets of Sturdy Stones in the trade window, her eyes went wide. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. Nowadays, even buying a single Sturdy Stone was incredibly difficult, and Shi Feng had just produced fifty sets in one go. No wonder even their leader Ci Xin treated him with such reverence—this was truly a figure that ordinary players could only look up to.
Shi Feng then left Red Leaf Town and headed toward the White Sand Ruins. He didn't send Shuang Keke a friend request—doing so might alter the course of history and inadvertently keep her stuck in the Assassin Alliance, which would be a disaster. So he left things as they were.
With the Martial Alliance's location now confirmed, the next step was to make Fengyun Wuhui understand the consequences of making an enemy of him.