Chapter 1 A Tremendous Impact

The news of Illusory Myth's failure hit the major powers like an earthquake, leaving them in disbelief.

The previous compromise by the Underworld Empire had already surprised them. Of course, it wasn't incomprehensible, considering the Holy Dragon was there, something players couldn't hope to resist.

Now, Illusory Myth, possessing the means to avoid the Holy Dragon, had not only failed but was utterly defeated, not even by the Holy Dragon, but by Shi Feng alone. How could they believe it?

This was one of the virtual gaming world's five giants!

For countless years, no player had been able to withstand the onslaught of these five giants. Invariably, they were suppressed and forced to submit to their will.

Now, Shi Feng had not only blocked the will of Illusory Myth, one of the five giants, but had also single-handedly killed eight of their monstrous experts. It was simply suffocating.

Instantly, the upper echelons of the various powers took action, notifying their expert teams already en route to Star-Moon Valley. They not only abandoned their plans for Star-Glory Fortress but also warned their team members not to cause trouble in Star-Glory Fortress, especially when facing Shi Feng.

This wasn't just because Shi Feng had blocked Illusory Myth's attack, but also because of his monstrous strength. Killing third-tier experts was one thing, but annihilating a hundred-man team of third-tier experts was effortless for him. He was a one-man army, an absolute taboo.

In an instant, the tens of thousands of experts who had arrived at Star-Glory Fortress became incredibly obedient, like lambs…

Because after this battle, no one in the western continent could shake Star-Glory Fortress within Star-Moon Valley. As the only fortress in Star-Moon Valley, its future was assured. If they wanted to develop in Star-Moon Valley, developing within Star-Glory Fortress was a necessity.

If they were prevented from entering Star-Glory Fortress, they would have nowhere to cry. After all, even Illusory Myth was helpless against it, let alone them.

Meanwhile, in the City Lord's Mansion of Star-Glory Fortress, Shi Feng was swamped.

Because of Illusory Myth's defeat and the other powers' reluctance to cause trouble, the number of players flocking to Star-Glory Fortress was increasing, including merchant players and even guilds wanting to cooperate with Zero Wing, renting shops in Star-Glory Fortress at high prices, making the entire fortress crowded.

"Guild Leader, the total number of players in Star-Glory Fortress has reached nearly 500,000. We estimate our pure Magic Crystal income to be over 250,000 per day," Aqua Rose said, her eyes shining as she looked at the latest statistics. "We should be able to repair the large combat arena in the City Lord's Mansion within a few days, allowing our people to conduct various combat training inside, greatly improving their control over mana."

Although Star-Glory Fortress was an ancient fortress and couldn't be expanded, meaning the population limit couldn't be increased, various infrastructure repairs could be done to enhance the fortress's functions.

Among these, the most helpful for players was the large combat arena, with a repair cost of 1.5 million Magic Crystals…

Originally, this was something they wouldn't have dared to dream of in the short term, but with the current number of players, it was now on the agenda.

This large combat arena was similar to a special dungeon, located on the first underground floor of the City Lord's Mansion. Fighting simulated monsters in the ancient environment of Star-Glory Fortress greatly helped players improve their control over mana. After all, there was no such environment outside Star-Glory Fortress.

And players grew the fastest in life-and-death battles, far more than through hard training in ordinary combat rooms.

With this large combat arena, they could continuously send core guild experts from the eastern continent to train and improve, and the speed at which they unlocked Mana Bodies would be several times faster than that of other super forces.

"Already so many people?" Shi Feng was also slightly surprised.

Although he knew that after the battle with Illusory Myth and the Demon God's殿, Star-Glory Fortress would enter a period of rapid development in a short time, he didn't expect it to be so fast.

"It's a pity that Star-Glory Fortress is just a small fortress; otherwise, we could earn much more Magic Crystals," Aqua Rose said regretfully.

Magic Crystals were becoming increasingly important to players, even in the eastern continent, because many ordinary weapons and equipment required Magic Crystals to craft, leading to a growing demand.

Now that they finally had a chance to earn a large number of Magic Crystals, they were limited by Star-Glory Fortress itself, which was frustrating.

"A small fortress is enough. After all, our foundation in the western continent is too weak. Even if we had a medium or even a large fortress in front of us, we wouldn't be able to manage it," Shi Feng said slowly, looking at Aqua Rose, who sighed slightly.

"I understand, but only ten people can be teleported over at a time. That's too few. It would be great if we could teleport more," Aqua Rose nodded.

She had deeply experienced the benefits of the western continent, especially in terms of mana control. The speed of improvement here was unmatched in the eastern continent, not to mention having Star-Glory Fortress.

If possible, she really wanted to bring all the main force members of Zero Wing over, so that the problem of insufficient strength among Zero Wing's third-tier experts would be solved.

"There's no need to rush to send more people over. Since the large combat arena will be opened soon, have Yan Tianxing prepare to set up an Adventurer's Alliance branch in Star-Glory Fortress. As long as they are members of the Adventurer's Alliance, they can earn points by completing tasks issued by the alliance, and then exchange those points for time in the large combat arena and other items. If their level in the Adventurer's Alliance is high enough, they can even exchange for private residences in Star-Glory Fortress," Shi Feng said.

Sending Zero Wing's people over was too slow, and as players' levels continued to rise, more and more people would advance to third-tier and unlock Mana Bodies. He could withstand it for a while, but not forever. After all, he had too many things to do and couldn't stay in one place.

If they really wanted to stabilize Star-Glory Fortress for the long term or allow Zero Wing to develop rapidly in the western continent, they needed enough manpower and resources.

He hadn't dared to think about it before, but with the current popularity of Star-Glory Fortress and the large combat arena, they could definitely attract a large number of free experts to join. As long as they attracted enough experts, it wouldn't be difficult for Zero Wing to gain a foothold in the western continent and obtain a large number of precious resources.

"Guild Leader, Hell Fiends just sent a message saying that the Underworld Empire has agreed to our conditions and is willing to accept our employment, but there is an absolute condition: everyone must unlock their Mana Bodies within a month, or they will have to give up 20% of their shares in Star-Glory Fortress," Aqua Rose frowned.

Unlocking the Mana Body was no easy task. They were lucky enough to enter the Gate of Inheritance and the Inheritance Room, which was how they managed to unlock their Mana Bodies. No one knew the difficulty better than them. But the Underworld Empire wanted all members of the Hell Legion to unlock their Mana Bodies, which seemed impossible no matter how they looked at it.

"It seems they have finally come to their senses," Shi Feng said with a smile. "Alright, tell them I agree to their conditions."

Originally, he didn't think this was very likely. After all, the Hell Legion was the Underworld Empire's trump card, with nearly 300 third-tier experts, each of whom was a top-tier expert representing the peak combat power of God's Domain.

But now it seemed that his hard performance in Illusory Myth had finally had some effect.

Holy Annihilation's first sword, Light Shadow, was incredibly powerful, giving him the power of a fourth-tier, allowing him to fight legendary monsters of the same level. However, the complexity of Light Shadow far exceeded that of a bronze-level combat technique, and the consumption of mental power was incomparable to that of a bronze-level combat technique.

After eleven consecutive swords, his mental power was almost completely exhausted. A few more strikes and he might enter a state of mental depletion, leaving him at the mercy of the enemy.

"Guild Leader, that's letting them unlock their Mana Bodies within a month…" Aqua Rose said worriedly.

If it was just leveling up or getting equipment, she wouldn't be too worried. But Mana Body was something that could only be relied on oneself, and there were too many unknown factors. The number of third-tier experts would increase over time, and there was no need for them to rush so much, betting the future of Star-Glory Fortress.

"Don't worry, unlocking the Mana Body isn't as difficult as you think," Shi Feng said, smiling at Aqua Rose. "And many things are better done sooner than later. If we're late, we'll miss many opportunities. Now that the Underworld Empire has agreed, it's time for us to return to the eastern continent."

If he hadn't unlocked his Mana Body, he wouldn't be so confident. But after learning a large amount of knowledge from the Memory Inheritance, it wasn't difficult for him to help the Underworld Empire's trump card legion of experts unlock their Mana Bodies within a month. After all, these people were absolute geniuses in the eyes of the major powers.