In one of Yuantian City’s Upper Zone’s mansion districts…

“Uncle Hong, did something happen? Why did you suddenly call for me?” Muxin asked in confusion as she looked at Hong Xinyuan, who was standing by a French window and looking at the night view outside.

She was just about to explore an ancient ruin. She had gathered her subordinates already. If she were lucky, she might discover a Tier 4 Legacy Land or a Legacy Guidance there. These things were incredibly important for the current Frost Heaven.

The War of Worlds would be starting soon. Although her investigation had turned up very little information about the war, she had managed to deduce that they would face players of another world. At that time, the only options left for them would be to conquer or be conquered. It would be different from when players of Otherworlds entered the main continent. There would be no third option available to them.

Hence, Frost Heaven needed to make as many preparations as possible before the War of Worlds began. Naturally, increasing the number of Tier 4 players the Guild had was a top priority.

Kerui, who stood beside Muxin, was also confused by Hong Xinyuan’s summons. She had just fallen asleep, yet before she could get any rest, she was rudely roused out of bed. Hence, she was still incredibly sleepy and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into her bed right now.

“Take a look for yourselves,” Hong Xinyuan said as he passed a document to Muxin and Kerui.

The document was none other than a summary of Wang Xinyuan’s home assault in the Sixth Southern District.

“How is this possible?!”

Muxin couldn’t help doubting her eyes when she read the report.

She had heard of Haitian City’s Upper Zone’s Wang Xuanming. An expert of his caliber could definitely rank as the number one or number two expert in the base layer of Yuantian City’s Upper Zone.

If such an expert decided to take covert action, even the Boulder Corporation would be powerless. All the corporation could do was have its members take shelter in its mansion temporarily.

Nevertheless, Wang Xuanming had not only failed in his attack on Shi Feng but even gotten apprehended. How could anyone possibly believe this?

“He was actually that powerful?”

After reading the report, Kerui was now wide-awake. Simultaneously, a hint of confusion had appeared in her eyes.

“Everything is as the report states.” Looking at Muxin’s surprised expression, Hong Xinyuan said, “I have to admit that I indeed underestimated Shi Feng. It seems that he has kept a lot more secrets than we thought.”

After pondering on the matter for a moment, Muxin asked, “Uncle Hong, do you mean for us to deepen our relationship with Zero Wing?”

“That’s right. You already know what’s coming in the future. When the war begins, even superpowers will have difficulty surviving. If we wish to survive, thoroughly solidifying our alliance with Zero Wing will undoubtedly be a good choice,” Hong Xinyuan said, nodding. “I also plan to sell some of the corporation’s Phantom Potions and Life Potions to Zero Wing. These should be what Zero Wing lacks the most right now.”

“I understand. I’ll contact Zero Wing immediately.” Muxin nodded and promptly left the living room.

Kerui snapped out of her daze. Looking at Hong Xinyuan, she asked, “Uncle Hong, do we need to go to such lengths?”

If Hong Xinyuan were merely trying to form a strategic alliance with Zero Wing, then she could still accept such a decision. After all, the present strength and potential Zero Wing had displayed far exceeded those of the various superpowers. In fact, Zero Wing might even become an existence rivaling the Five Great Super Guilds. The only things the Guild lacked now were time and talents.

However, Hong Xinyuan’s decision to sell some of the Boulder Corporation’s Phantom Potions and Life Potions to Zero Wing greatly confused her. These items served as the foundation for the various corporations. Even the successors of major corporations could get their hands on only a limited number of them.

“You don’t understand. Wang Xuanming isn’t someone who can be defeated so easily. The cards and secrets Shi Feng has hidden are absolutely extraordinary.” Shaking his head, Hong Xinyuan said, “Deepening our relationship with him now will be beneficial for both the corporation and you two sisters.”

In reality, apart from Shi Feng’s great potential, another reason behind Hong Xinyuan’s decision to go to such lengths to befriend Shi Feng was an astonishing piece of information Xia Qingying had leaked to him.

Shi Feng wasn’t the person who defeated Wang Xuanming!

Hong Xinyuan knew that Wang Xuanming’s combat power was only slightly beneath Xia Qingying’s. Hence, defeating Wang Xuanming was an incredibly challenging proposition. Needless to say, defeating him in just a few seconds would be even more difficult.

Only the big shots living in the Upper Zone’s middle layer could defeat Wang Xuanming that fast.

If the Boulder Corporation could befriend such big shots, it would bring much greater benefits to the corporation than simply silently developing its foundations on the base layer.

…

At the same time, inside a mansion in the distant Haitian City’s Upper Zone…

“Young master, what should we do?” Yi Kui asked in a worried tone as he looked at Lu Tiandi, who had just exited his gaming cabin. “Yuantian City’s Upper Zone has already apprehended Mr. Wang. If your teacher blames you…”

Wang Xuanming was a bona fide peerless genius. Finding a student like him was difficult, even for the middle layer’s big shots. Now that Wang Xuanming had been caught conducting a home assault, he would definitely be banished from the Upper Zone. Without the Upper Zone’s various resources, any further improvements would be utterly impossible for him.

After hearing Yi Kui’s report, Lu Tiandi smiled and said, “We don’t need to do anything! Although the outcome is different from what I imagined, things are still progressing according to plan. Now, all we need to do is sit back and wait.”

Wang Xuanming had always been their teacher’s favorite pupil, receiving the best resources available. Hence, Lu Tiandi had always gotten short-changed in terms of resources. If not for Lu Xingluo suffering a major failure, his teacher wouldn’t have started placing importance on Lu Tiandi at all.

Lu Tiandi’s original plan had Wang Xuanming and Shi Feng forming a grudge against each other. In his opinion, with Shi Feng’s abilities and potential, Wang Xuanming probably couldn’t do anything significant to Shi Feng. Once Wang Xuanming failed in his attack, Shi Feng would definitely retaliate and create a lot of problems for Wang Xuanming. Naturally, Wang Xuanming wouldn’t sit still and would retaliate against Shi Feng as well.

Shi Feng had exceeded Lu Tiandi’s expectations and defeated Wang Xuanming. However, this was not bad news for Lu Tiandi; in fact, this was the outcome he hoped to see the most.

After all, not only would Wang Xuanming get banished from the Upper Zone now, but Shi Feng would also earn the ire of their teacher. Once their teacher retaliated, Shi Feng would most likely be forced to leave the Upper Zone. In fact, he might even disappear from the world altogether. At that time, Lu Tiandi could plan on taking over Zero Wing.

“According to plan?”

Yi Kui shuddered involuntarily when he saw Lu Tiandi’s indifferent smile. He never thought that Lu Tiandi would scheme against even Wang Xuanming.

Ignoring his butler’s reaction, Lu Tiandi said, “Alright, move along. I still need you to take care of Ji Luorong’s group in God’s Domain!”

“Yes, sir!”

Yi Kui responded in a hurry. Although he had long since known that those who stood in Lu Tiandi’s way would never have a good ending, he still got frightened when he saw one of Lu Tiandi’s schemes coming to fruition.

…

Meanwhile, after Wang Xuanming’s assault, Yuantian City’s Upper Zone arranged for Shi Feng’s group to live in a better residential unit. Xia Qingying had an Enforcement Robot stationed near Shi Feng’s new house long-term to prevent a similar situation from occurring.

As icing on the cake, the Green God Company gifted ten Phantom Potions and ten Life Potions to Shi Feng as compensation.

However, Shi Feng did not feel happy at all in this situation. On the contrary, he even felt slightly pressured.

Now that Wang Xuanming is in custody, his teacher definitely won’t spare me. Even with an Enforcement Robot guarding the house 24/7, it’ll probably be difficult to stop the retaliation of a mental strength master.

As Shi Feng studied the information Xia Qingying supplied him, his head ached.

Fu Jiuzhong, Wang Xuanming’s teacher, was no ordinary individual. He was an expert that ranked at the top even in the middle layer and wielded incredible authority. He even had influence over several corporations operating in Yuantian City that rivaled the Boulder Corporation in scale.

If Fu Jiuzhong began targeting Shi Feng, Shi Feng would most likely have difficulty acquiring resources from Yuantian City’s base layer.

Although it is still a little early, it seems I have no choice but to take on the Divine Dragon’s trial.

Even now, Shi Feng still wasn’t confident of completing Auerbeck’s trial. This was because a Tier 4 Divine Dragon was much stronger than an ordinary Tier 4 Dragon. Even Tier 5 existences were unlikely to be a match for a Tier 4 Divine Dragon.

Originally, Shi Feng had planned to challenge the trial only after further improving his Mana Body.

However, it seemed that he had no choice but to push his plans forward.

It was of utmost importance that he completed the Divine Dragon’s trial now!

This was because only by completing Auerbeck’s trial would he become the Divine Dragon’s true companion. If that happened, Zero Wing could thoroughly solidify its position on the western continent, and the Starlight Fortress could serve a much greater purpose. At that time, Zero Wing would be able to not only recruit talents from the western continent in large numbers but also acquire large amounts of Seven Luminaries Crystals. After all, a Heaven Mode Regional Dungeon produced an astonishing amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals.

With the Seven Luminaries Crystals he acquired, he would then be able to exchange for a bunch of Phantom Potions and Life Potions. Only by securing Phantom Potions and Life Potions in bulk could he achieve a breakthrough in his mental strength in the real world and his Concentration in God’s Domain.

After returning to his room, Shi Feng promptly consumed a Phantom Potion and a Life Potion. He then lay in his Fearless Cabin and logged into the game.