Chapter 1 The Private Residences of Stone Forest City

The private residence auction in Stone Forest City descended into madness from the very beginning. Contrary to what ordinary players imagined, there was no lack of competition. Instead, everyone was vying for them like they were snatching up discounted cabbages, their eyes bloodshot. Anyone who dared compete would face their wrath.

The atmosphere in the entire venue was exceptionally high and boiling.

"Are you kidding me? It's just a month's rent, and someone actually bid up to 50,000 Credits? Are these people crazy?" the Level 56 female Priest sitting next to Tian Tong exclaimed, dumbfounded.

In her opinion, the private residences of Stone Forest City were indeed good. They provided convenient access to the Abyssal Passage, undoubtedly saving a lot of time running back and forth. This allowed them to recover their Stamina and Concentration sooner, indirectly speeding up leveling. However, the increase was limited. Leveling speed mainly depended on the player's own skill.

She thought that the previous price of 30,000 Credits was already high. Not many players could afford to rent at that price. But now, everyone was acting like they were insane. The number of bidders exceeded a hundred, and some hadn't even had time to bid before others surpassed their offers. It seemed there was no shortage of money.

In the blink of an eye, the price rose to 50,000 Credits per month...

"No, these people understand the true value of the private residences in Stone Forest City," Tian Tong shook her head and said. "Compared to the faster leveling speed the private residences provide, the saved travel time is the most important thing. With that time, they can do more training in Stone Forest City. I heard that the Mana density in Stone Forest City is far higher than in the Colosseum of Gods and Demons. Just staying there can speed up your thinking and physical reactions. If you can train there long-term, the speed of improvement will definitely be much faster than in the outside world."

In God's Domain, Levels and Equipment are all superficial. Only one's own strength is the foundation of everything.

For true experts, nothing is more important than improving their own combat skills. That's why she wanted to rent a private residence in Stone Forest City.

In the short time that Tian Tong was explaining, the auction price had already risen to 65,000 Credits, leaving the ordinary players in the audience sighing in dismay.

"70,000!" Tian Tong said, announcing her bid.

"80,000!" A Level 68 Ranger quickly offered an even higher price without hesitation.

"200,000! I, Fei Yu, must have this first house!" At this time, a Level 69 Berserker shouted loudly.

With this Level 69 Berserker's declaration, the entire venue was instantly filled with exclamations.

"200,000? That's enough to rent a villa in the city!"

"Has Fei Yu, who ranks twenty-sixth on the Dark Night Empire's Berserker Ranking List, come too?"

"No, I heard that Fei Yu recently defeated two top experts from the first-rate guild, Blood Jade Family. He's now ranked twenty-third on the Berserker Ranking List. I heard that even super-forces are trying to recruit him, offering sky-high contracts."

"It seems that the first private residence in Stone Forest City will belong to Fei Yu."

The players in the audience looked at the imposing Fei Yu, unable to suppress their awe. Ordinary players, in particular, couldn't understand why a top expert like Fei Yu would be willing to spend 200,000 Credits just to rent a private residence in Stone Forest City for a month. It was simply insane.

But just as the host's gavel was about to fall for the first time, a voice echoed throughout the venue again.

"400,000 Credits! We, the Azure Sky Adventurer Team, want it. We hope everyone can give us some face!" A Level 70 Guardian Knight suddenly announced.

Instantly, everyone in the audience turned their gaze to this Level 70 Guardian Knight, their mouths wide open, unable to believe what they were hearing.

"No way! Has Kong Jiuxiao, the leader of the Azure Sky Adventurer Team, actually come?"

In the Dark Night Empire, the Azure Sky Adventurer Team was a top-five adventurer team. Their leader, Kong Jiuxiao, was known as one of the Dark Night Empire's Ten Great Guardian Knights. Rumor had it that he was in no way inferior to the top experts in the super-forces. He single-handedly raised the Azure Sky Adventurer Team to become one of the top five adventurer teams in the empire, attracting the elders of Star Ring to try to recruit him. He was an absolute big shot in the entire Dark Night Empire.

"Kong Jiuxiao, this is a bidding auction. Money talks," a burly Level 70 Assassin stood up and said. "We, the Wind Riders Adventurer Team, won't waste any words. 500,000!"

"550,000!"

"600,000!"

"650,000!"

The two sides bid against each other, neither willing to give way, leaving the entire venue in silence.

"Is it really worth it? It's just a private residence?"

"Yeah! This is only the first one. There will be more later, won't there?"

"Are these two major adventurer teams even letting us bid happily?"

Everyone couldn't understand. It was just renting a private residence in Stone Forest City, and it had not only attracted the top two adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire to compete, but the prices they were offering were also getting higher and higher...

This was just the auction for the first private residence. There were clearly many more to come. These two top adventurer teams could have yielded to each other. There was no need to go to this extent.

"How could this happen?" Tian Tong's expression was gloomy.

Originally, she had sold that treasure, and with some of her own savings, she had scraped together 300,000 Credits. She thought that renting a private residence in Stone Forest City wouldn't be a problem at all. She could even rent it until she reached Level 100 without any problems. But now, she didn't even have the qualifications to bid...

The companions beside Tian Tong were all stunned at this moment.

In the end, the first private residence was bought by Kong Jiuxiao of the Azure Sky Adventurer Team for 860,000 Credits, shocking the entire audience.

Just when everyone thought that the Azure Sky Adventurer Team and the Wind Riders Adventurer Team were just doing it for publicity and had offered such high prices, and that everyone else could bid happily afterward...

"500,000!"

"550,000!"

The auction for the second private residence started at 500,000 Credits and eventually sold for 930,000...

The third private residence sold for 880,000, and the fourth for 890,000. Moreover, all those who bought these private residences were the leaders of various adventurer teams. Ordinary players had no chance to buy them at all.

It wasn't until the auction for the eleventh private residence began that the members of the various major guilds who had been sitting in the VIP boxes finally made their move.

"1,000,000!"

"1,200,000!"

...

With the major guilds making their moves, the adventurer teams were completely out of the picture. The lowest selling price was 1,500,000.

"They're crazy! These people must be shills!" The female Priest sitting next to Tian Tong couldn't help but say. "That's right, they must be shills!"

Although the female Priest said that, Tian Tong didn't think so at all. Even many expert players in the audience didn't think so.

Because the players who were bidding were all well-known figures in the Dark Night Empire. Even if Zero Wing had face, it couldn't possibly invite so many big shots to bid so frantically.

Seeing the competition between the high-level members of the major guilds, many players in the audience finally understood why the Azure Sky and Wind Riders adventurer teams had frantically snatched up the first private residence in Stone Forest City. It was simply that the major guilds were secretly giving way to these top adventurer teams. But they couldn't give way too much. Ten slots were already enough for the top adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire to divide.

"From the very beginning, we free players didn't have the qualifications to bid for the private residences in Stone Forest City?" Tian Tong looked at the private residences in Stone Forest City being sold one after another and couldn't help but smile wryly.

At this time, the Candlelight Trading Firm in Dark Night City wasn't the only one putting on a similar performance. The Candlelight Trading Firms in the various kingdoms and empires were also staging the same scene, causing a sensation in the various kingdoms and empires.