Chapter 1 The Green Valley

Fissis Canyon was lush and green, with thriving vegetation. Several small rivers meandered through the canyon, while a large flock of birds and beasts circled and danced in the sky above. The forest was filled with the melodious songs of countless birds, creating a scene that resembled a paradise.

Although the place was beautiful, no players were currently leveling up here. After all, the highest level players were only level 6, and they usually leveled up safely in level 6 or 7 areas. This was a level 8 monster area, and the depths even contained level 9 monsters, so players wouldn't bother it for a while.

More importantly, Shi Feng was here to complete the unique quest "Steel Fortress," which was crucial for establishing a guild.

In his previous life, the player who completed this quest transformed a second-rate guild into a first-rate one. Now that he had taken on the quest, he naturally wanted to benefit the guild he would establish.

Before entering the canyon entrance, Shi Feng had specially used the Demon Mask to change his appearance. He transformed his silvery-white Silvermoon Set into a set of jet-black, glossy armor, which could be called the Blackmoon Set. He also changed his face into that of a mature uncle, appearing to be twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Wearing a black cloak, his determined face was hidden within, giving off an aura of mystery at first glance—a man with a story.

This getup was somewhat like a Dark Night Ranger, except he carried two silver longswords on his back instead of a simple black bow, and he wasn't a dark elf.

With this disguise, no one would think it was Shi Feng, not even Bai Qingxue with her sharp eyes.

Arriving at the meeting place, he found that Bai Qingxue and the others hadn't arrived yet.

Shi Feng casually opened the system prompts to check the sales of the design drawings during this time.

"They sold out so quickly?" Shi Feng's eyes almost popped out as he looked at the series of income notifications.

There were more than a dozen auction house prompts, each showing an income of around 3 gold.

A total of 20 design drawings, with an average price of 3 gold coins each, showed how much these guilds were willing to spend. However, compared to the cost of 3 gold coins, these guilds would quickly earn it back later. God's Domain had only been open for three days, and as time went on, more and more people would enter God's Domain. The number of new players would even exceed the number of old players, and these new players were the main consumers. The level 3 Glimmer Leather Armor was definitely in high demand. In the short term, there was no possibility of a significant devaluation, and it might even appreciate in value.

However, Shi Feng's purpose had been achieved, so he didn't plan to continue making Glimmer Leather Armor to earn money. Now, he had more than 50 gold in his backpack. This money was all the liquid capital of more than a dozen large guilds. If it were all used to run a guild, it would be a terrifying thing. Unfortunately, running a guild wasn't just about money.

He couldn't just keep the gold coins in his hands; that would be a waste. So, Shi Feng took out 20 gold and put it on the virtual trading center. At the current price, these gold coins were worth 180,000 credits.

Shi Feng himself didn't expect everything to go so smoothly. In just three days, he had earned so much. However, this amount of money was not enough to open a good studio.

Lan Feilong's initial investment in opening the Shadow Workshop was five million credits, and subsequent monthly investments exceeded ten million credits. It was clear how expensive it was to set up a studio, let alone a guild of thousands or tens of thousands of people. However, once the studio and guild were up and running, things would be very different.

More than ten thousand credits was nothing to a guild.

He needed to earn more money.

That's why Shi Feng chose to secretly cooperate with Bai Qingxue, who was, after all, a great tycoon.

"Are you Black Flame?" A clear, jade-like voice came from behind Shi Feng.

Shi Feng turned around and saw Bai Qingxue walking over with a smile, sizing him up. Although this was their second formal meeting, he was still not used to being stared at by Bai Qingxue. He said in a slightly deep voice, "That's right, I am."

Hearing Shi Feng's reply and receiving a message prompt confirming Black Flame's identity, Bai Qingxue's beautiful eyes narrowed, and she secretly cast an observation skill.

Suddenly, Bai Qingxue froze. She couldn't see Shi Feng's name; it only showed level 5 and "target unknown."

Bai Qingxue thought that Black Flame was just good at forging, had many encounters, clever methods, and decent game skills. She didn't expect Black Flame's game skills to be more than just decent; he was definitely a top expert. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to get these high-level things.

Special items for hiding one's identity were nonexistent in the entire Ouroboros, and she hadn't heard of any other first-rate guilds finding them. However, the mysterious man in front of her not only had one but also wore equipment that, even with the special effects hidden, exuded a powerful force. Moreover, this equipment was exquisitely crafted, with flowing magic patterns, indicating that it was a set. Its quality was probably no worse than hers. Her equipment was obtained with the help of her elite team and a lot of time, but how did the man in front of her obtain such good equipment?

Quietly gazing at Shi Feng, Bai Qingxue suspected that Black Flame wasn't a player at all but a team leader of a mysterious organization. Otherwise, how could he have the financial resources and material resources to do those things and even obtain the title of chief forger recognized by the players of the Star-Moon Kingdom? Just managing the forging organization would be too much work; where would he have the time to get such a good set of equipment?

"Hello, my name is Bai Qingxue, the first vice president of Ouroboros," Bai Qingxue said formally, extending her fair, jade-like hand. Unlike their first formal meeting, she wasn't casual, treating Shi Feng as someone in a higher position.

The other members behind Bai Qingxue were shocked. They didn't expect their captain to take the initiative to shake hands and show goodwill to someone.

Was the uncle in front of them really that powerful, requiring such formality?

Zhao Yueru stood behind Bai Qingxue, her beautiful eyes constantly sizing up Shi Feng. Shi Feng's series of actions had already made her very interested in him. Now, seeing him in person, she found that Shi Feng exuded a mature and steady aura, making people want to pay attention to him. Now that Bai Qingxue recognized him so much, she felt a hint of goodwill toward him.

"Hello, you can call me Black Flame," Shi Feng said, unable to act too aloof. He shook hands with Bai Qingxue, finding that her hand was indeed very soft and smooth. If Heizi knew, he would probably shake his hand immediately and then not wash his hands for three days...

The reason Shi Feng didn't completely change the appearance of the Silvermoon Set was to intimidate. Seeing that the effect was good, he cut to the chase and said, "I contacted you this time to cooperate with your Ouroboros guild. I wonder what your intentions are?"

"We are, of course, very welcome. If you come to our Ouroboros to be the chief forger, you can name your price," Bai Qingxue said, guessing that Shi Feng would ask for a high price. However, as long as they could get Shi Feng, everything would be worth it. Moreover, with her strength, satisfying Shi Feng's appetite was definitely no problem, she said with extreme confidence.

"Miss Bai, I think you misunderstood. I won't join you, but I will cooperate with your guild as an equal partner. If Miss Bai can't recognize this point, then there's no need for us to continue talking."

After saying that, Shi Feng turned to leave.