Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotels top-floor reception room:

Blue Rainbow from Dark Rhapsody and Elder Gold from Deity Society sat on a sofa, an awkward silence between them, in a spacious, luxurious reception room. Magic Flash and Old Forest sat beside them, just as dazed.

This was simply too humiliating!

They had thought that their previous meeting with Shi Feng wouldve been their last, and they would never have to see each other again. They had seen Shi Fengs hope of a stronger partnership between their Guilds as nothing more than wishful thinking.

However, less than two days after that meeting, they had sought the Swordsman out again.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had transformed his brazen declaration into reality, taking control of the Dark Worlds Teleportation Gate and the Otherworlds lifeline. If any of the Dark Worlds powers or players wanted to continue and accelerate their development, theyd have to travel to Cold Spring Forest.

However, Zero Wings teleportation fees were just fraudulent. The Guild actually charged one Darkness Crystal or similarly Attributed Magic Crystal per person

Attributed Magic Crystals were even rarer than ordinary Magic Crystals, and Dark Players needed Darkness Crystals for their growth. In fact, they needed a lot of them. There werent even enough Darkness Crystals to go around for the Dark Worlds various powers and independent players, yet Zero Wing was cruel enough to charge Darkness Crystals as its teleportation fee.

Worse yet, they couldnt defeat Zero Wing

To secure its hold on the Teleportation Gate, Zero Wing had established a permanent magic barrier around it, in addition to stationing two Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, eight Combat Puppets, 600 Tier 3 Knights, and 2,000 Tier 2 Knights to guard the gate. The defenses Zero Wing had set up around the Teleportation Gate were maddening.

Sending an army of 20,000 Tier 3 experts would be futile against such high security, much less sneaking through

The only option the Dark Worlds powers and players had left was to hand over the required fee obediently.

After Blue Rainbow and the others waited for a while, the reception rooms doors opened abruptly, and Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, walked in. He was the monster that had single-handedly deterred the Dark Worlds army of several million players.

However, Shi Feng seemed like a completely different person at the moment.

When he had stood before the Dark Worlds Teleportation Gate, he had radiated an incredible aura that frightened everyone in his presence, but now, they couldnt even detect the hint of an aura as if he were just an ordinary player. Similar to Blue Rainbow and the others first meeting with this Swordsman, he seemed harmless.

Rather than contempt, however, they only looked at Shi Feng with fear in their eyes.

They hadnt paid much attention to him during their last meeting, but now that they did, they couldnt even consider Shi Feng as human. He felt more like a plant, nearly non-existent.

As Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold began to stand to greet him, Shi Feng gestured for them to remain seated, dispensing with the formalities. He then smiled and asked, Ive heard that youve conveyed my proposal to your respective Guild Leaders? How do your Guilds wish to cooperate with Zero Wing?

Magic Flash and Old Forest inwardly rolled their eyes at Shi Fengs question. His actions had practically engraved his words on their Guild Leaders bones, and theyd remember them for the rest of their lives.

Guild Leader Black Flame, your proposal has delighted our Guild Leaders, and they have stated that as long as Zero Wing will waive the teleportation fees for our Guild members, we will help the Candlelight Trading Firm establish itself in the Dark Worlds major NPC cities. What do you think? Blue Rainbow asked.

Although their two Guilds were reluctant to accept Shi Fengs conditions, they had no choice with the situation weighing against them. If they declined, both of their Guilds positions would become more disadvantageous as time passed.

Waive the teleportation fee? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, Thats fine, but Id like to set up a branch Shop in every NPC city in the Dark World. Of course, Zero Wing will cover the necessary expenditures. Your two Guilds only need to resolve the issue of Land.

Guild Leader Black Flame, you are asking for the impossible. The Dark World is even larger than the main continents ancient empires. While our Guilds are two of the top three in the Dark World, we only control a small portion of the Otherworld. We simply dont have the manpower and resources to ensure that Candlelight can operate in every NPC city, Elder Gold said, shaking his head with an unhappy smile.

Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination had a lot of influence on the surface, but the same couldnt be said for their control on the Dark World.

In the Dark World, players had partial control of the various NPC cities. As long as a power controlled one of these cities, they wouldnt have to worry about needing funds or resources, and without these concerns, they didnt have to worry about offending the Otherworlds top three Guilds.

To put it simply, helping Candlelight secure branches in the Dark Worlds major NPC cities was a colossal challenge.

Both Guilds would have to pull a lot of strings to fulfill their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, helping the trading firm set up Shops in every NPC city would be a dream. Even if World Domination cooperated, the feat wouldnt be feasible.

There is something else we need to inform you about, Guild Leader Black Flame, Blue Rainbow said. Due to your actions at the Teleportation Gate, the Dark Worlds various major powers loath Zero Wing. As a result, our Guilds are risking much by allying with your Guild. Moreover, Demons Heart has traveled across the Dark World, secretly persuading the various powers to join its alliance. By the looks of it, they plan to challenge the Ancient Gods Tower in the Dark World.

This Ancient Gods Tower is extraordinary, surviving since the Dark Worlds creation. There are rumors that its connected to thousands of Otherworlds. Nobody had been able to clear the towers trials yet, but as players grow stronger, the various powers will be able to activate a portion of it, if not all. If that happens, the various powers will reach the main continent, even without the Teleportation Gate. Only, they will have to do so by passing through another Otherworld.

Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who stood behind Shi Feng, frowned at the news. If what the female Dark Knight said was true, wouldnt that mean the effort they had put into capturing the Teleportation Gate would go to waste?

The Ancient Gods Tower? Shi Feng had some recollection of this name.

The Ancient Gods Tower was connected to thousands of Otherworlds. It was also one of the reasons that the Dark World was considered a special Otherworld in Gods Domain. However, since no power had taken control of the Dark Worlds Teleportation Gate in his past, none of the Dark Worlds powers had bothered to challenge the towers trials. Activating the Ancient Gods Tower was insanely difficult, after all.

Of course, while current players had no hope of fully activating the Ancient Gods Tower, activating some of it should be possible.

Thats right. The Dark Worlds various powers have already turned their focus to the Ancient Gods Tower, and Demons Heart has quite a bit of resources and information relating to it. Im afraid it wont be long before the various powers band together to challenge the tower, Blue Rainbow said, nodding.

One Darkness Crystal per person was no trivial cost. No one would pay such a high fee unless necessary.

What if I can help you secure the Ancient Gods Tower within a short time? Shi Feng asked.