Chapter 1 A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Beside a stream in White Mist Canyon, over a hundred players, all bearing the guild emblem of Purple Moon – the mark of Yi Xiao Qing Cheng (一笑倾城) – were dealing with enemies blocking a mine entrance.

They were currently clearing out eight Level 27 Special Elite Flame Bear monsters that had charged out of the mine.

Flame Bear, Special Elite, Level 27, HP 70,000.

Although the massive Flame Bears were formidable, the members of Yi Xiao Qing Cheng fought with impressive coordination, steadily whittling down the Flame Bears’ health.

“Leader Dongfang, the ‘Monkeys’ you sent out – more than ten of them – were wiped out by a Zero Wing squad,” a Level 23 gray-clad ranger reported to a Level 24 swordsman who was directing the battle.

This Level 24 swordsman, clad in Level 20 Mithril equipment, carried a Snake Bone Sword – a Level 20 Fine-Gold weapon – on his back, putting him among the top-equipped players in God’s Domain at this time.

“Two squads of elite assassins, completely wiped out by one Zero Wing squad? Did Zero Wing get reinforcements?” Dongfang Yijian, the Level 24 swordsman, asked in surprise.

The assassin called "Monkey" that the gray-clad ranger mentioned wasn't a top expert, but he was skilled in PvP and had a respectable kill record. It would be difficult for an ordinary expert to defeat him, and even harder to kill him if he was determined to escape. Dongfang Yijian hadn't expected that Monkey would take so many men with him on the assassination attempt and that not one of them would return.

The only explanation was that they were overwhelmed by superior numbers and surrounded.

“No, there was only one Zero Wing squad, but their leader is a Level 26 expert assassin,” the gray-clad ranger replied, shaking his head.

“Could it be Zero Wing’s Huowu (Fire Dance)?” Dongfang Yijian grinned. “Before I came to White River City, I heard that Zero Wing's assassin, Huowu, was very powerful and was called the Fire Rose. I thought she was just a pretty face beside Heiyan (Black Flame). She really lives up to being a leader in Zero Wing’s main force. She's quite strong.”

“The person who killed Monkey wasn’t her. The assassin expert is male, named Feiying (Flying Shadow). Monkey didn’t last five moves before being killed by him. Eight out of the twelve men in the two squads died by his hand. This Feiying wasn't mentioned in the intelligence we received,” the gray-clad ranger said, well aware of Dongfang Yijian's personality.

Dongfang Yijian had absolute confidence in his own strength and looked down on everyone. He loved PvP, especially with experts, being a complete battle fanatic. But it couldn't be denied that Dongfang Yijian was a top expert within Yi Xiao Qing Cheng, which was why he had been sent to White River City. If he hadn't been ordered not to provoke battles, Dongfang Yijian would have been the first to attack Zero Wing.

“Feiying? Interesting.” Dongfang Yijian showed a slight flicker of interest. “Forget about Zero Wing's squad. Since Monkey and the others didn’t kill Zero Wing’s people, they must have notified Zero Wing's higher-ups. The only thing we need to do now is take the ore here.”

“Leader Dongfang, won’t this conflict with Zero Wing lead to a full-scale war between the two guilds? Weren’t we told not to create friction?” the gray-clad ranger asked, puzzled.

“Zero Wing has been acting strangely lately, mining ore in White Mist Canyon. Plus, they've been mysteriously acquiring a lot of equipment recently, which might be related to this. The higher-ups also said that small conflicts are fine. What can Zero Wing do even if we ambush their people, those cowards?”

“Are they going to start a full-scale war with us?”

“Don't be silly. Zero Wing missed their best chance to start a war when Yi Xiao Qing Cheng first entered White River City. Starting a war now is just suicide. Although, I would like Zero Wing to make a move, but it’s a pity they don't dare.”

Dongfang Yijian simply smiled and continued to direct the team to kill the Flame Bears in the mine.

But unbeknownst to them, a six-person squad appeared in the misty forest not far from the mine entrance. The players in this squad completely ignored Dongfang Yijian and the hundred-plus elite members he led, and leisurely walked over.

“Guild Leader, that’s the mine. I used a Treasure Detection Scroll earlier and sneaked inside to take a look. It’s almost entirely Starfire Ore veins. If we mine it all, we can get at least three or four hundred Starfire Ore,” Feiying said slowly, pointing to the mine Dongfang Yijian was guarding. “However, after I came out, my squad was ambushed by Yi Xiao Qing Cheng’s assassins. Although I immediately went to rescue them, I was a step too late, resulting in the deaths of two members of the squad, and the mine was also occupied by Yi Xiao Qing Cheng.”

“Ziyan, go resurrect the two who died. The rest of you, come with me to take a look,” Shi Feng nodded and immediately instructed.

Ziyan Liuyun then ran to the location of the two players’ deaths, while Shi Feng led Shui Se Qiangwei (Aqua Rose), Heizi (Blackie), Huowu, and Feiying towards Dongfang Yijian.

Shi Feng's actions undoubtedly attracted the attention of Dongfang Yijian and the others.

“Zero Wing's people are interesting,” Dongfang Yijian said with a smile, watching Shi Feng and the others approach.

“Leader Dongfang, that Level 24 swordsman is Heiyan. The two great beauties beside him are the Elementalist Shui Se Qiangwei and the assassin Huowu. The curse mage is Zero Wing's well-known expert, Heizi, and the male assassin is Feiying, who killed Monkey and the others," the gray-clad ranger introduced Shi Feng and the others one by one.

The members of Yi Xiao Qing Cheng were all very surprised by Heiyan's arrival.

Heiyan’s reputation was simply too great.

Who was Heiyan?

He was the Star-Moon Kingdom’s publicly acknowledged number one expert. Every player in White River City had seen the combat videos of Heiyan. One man, one sword, slaughtering a hundred members of Dark Star, his aura alone intimidating tens of thousands of players from stepping forward. He was a one-man fortress, impenetrable to all.

“Guild Leader Heiyan, may I ask what brings you here?” Dongfang Yijian asked, looking at Shi Feng with a playful smile.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. Today, you sent people to ambush our guild members and now you're occupying a place that our guild spent a lot of effort to find. Aren’t you going a bit too far?” Shi Feng asked calmly.

Although Shi Feng's voice wasn't loud, the force and domineering attitude in his words made the members of Yi Xiao Qing Cheng feel immense pressure.

“Going too far?” Dongfang Yijian laughed loudly. “I lost twelve men here. I haven’t even asked you for compensation, and you come here to question me?”

“Since you’re here, we can discuss the compensation issue. Zero Wing is rich and generous. I don't want much, just 100 gold per person, totaling 1200 gold. How about it?”

Dongfang Yijian’s face was full of mockery.

He felt that Shi Feng and the others were completely stupid, daring to come to his territory with only five people.

Now that the players’ levels weren't low and their equipment wasn't bad, and they had learned quite a few skills, the idea of killing one person with a single sword strike was impossible.

They had nearly 150 people here, all elite members of the guild, all above Level 22, with considerable combat power. They could easily handle not just five people, but even fifty people without any problems.