When Nangong Jingtian received the news, his expression was less than pleasant.
Why was this village chief's demeanor so peculiar?
After all, the Nangong family had taken him as a master, so shouldn't he at least look after the Nangong family?
If he was only accepting disciples, could they perhaps do something to Dou Youyou's Dou family?
While the village chief was someone not to be offended, it didn't mean they couldn't play some minor tricks on the Dou family.
For a company like the Dou family, which earned at most a hundred million a year, making them disappear was easier than crushing an ant.
"Father, I feel like the village chief took our benefits but doesn't seem to consider us grateful!"
Nangong Hongliu was somewhat confused, unable to understand the village chief's intentions.
"Have people from other families approached him?"
"I heard they did, going early, but there's no news. He likely ignored those people!"
"Doesn't this village chief fear us causing trouble for the Dou family? Or does he simply not fear it?"
"Why don't we try?"
Nangong Hongliu glared at Nangong Jingtian.
"How can you be so stupid? Do we need to do such things ourselves?"
"Yes, I know I was wrong!"
"After all, the Dou family was able to break free from the Ye family of the capital thanks to our connections. We major families in the capital helped them with something so important, and he only accepted one disciple. It doesn't quite add up!"
"Then what does Father mean?"
"No rush. Let's see how Nangong Zhenghao develops. Having Nangong Zhenghao in our grasp is more important than obtaining the guild token!"
"Nangong Zhenghao doesn't know how much longer he can live. Is it necessary for us?"
"Idiot, is this how you monitor Nangong Zhenghao? Do I have to do it myself? Based on the reports from these past few days, Nangong Zhenghao's body is recovering at an extremely rapid pace. Do you think this kind of recovery speed is terrifying?"
"This... could it be the village chief's doing?"
"I'm not sure either. After all, this game, theoretically speaking, is no longer just a game. What exactly it is, this old man can't figure it out. However, during my recent game sessions, I've also noticed that my own old body has become much sturdier than before!"
"I see. No wonder when I saw him this morning, he kept his head down. It was to prevent me from seeing his complexion. I thought it was due to his illness! Father, I know what to do!"
"Good. It's good you understand. As for the Dou family, we don't need to worry about them for now. After all, our people are still in the village chief's hands. We need to use the village chief's help to make Nangong Zhenghao powerful. That's what our Nangong family needs to do!"
"Understood!"
Zhang Pingfan refused the requests of all the major families.
In Zhang Pingfan's eyes, these members of the major families were all inherently rebellious.
The methods they likely employed to become such colossal entities were probably not honorable, as those who achieve great things do not fuss over minor details.
If he helped them today, would they still listen to him once they became strong and grew?
The three major guilds were different.
They were already under oppression, with the major families being like mountains pressing down on them, making it impossible for them to breathe.
Their only recourse for survival was to pledge allegiance to the village chief.
Therefore, it was quite easy for Zhang Pingfan to control the presidents of the three major guilds. As for those major families, Zhang Pingfan doubted he had the capability to deal with them.
Since he lacked the ability, Zhang Pingfan chose to ignore them. Of course, if they dared to lay a hand on Dou Youyou, then he would not be polite.
Since the appearance of dungeons,
The difference in player skill and awareness began to show.
A divide also started to appear among the experts of guilds.
Before the dungeons, everyone either farmed monsters or teamed up to defeat bosses for equipment drops.
But now, skilled players could form their own parties and tackle dungeons.
With good luck, they could even obtain equipment of Emerald grade or higher.
Moreover, for the level 30 dungeons, the lowest-level equipment dropped was level 30. What drove players even crazier was that the level 30 dungeons had a total of five bosses, and the weakest equipment dropped by each boss was green.
It was difficult to get a green equipment drop in the wild; most of the equipment from normal and elite monsters was white.
With good luck, a single piece of green equipment could be sold for a considerable sum, let alone one with blue attributes.
However, with the advent of dungeons, the price of green equipment plummeted.
Green equipment would become the most common tier of gear.
To improve one's combat power, at least blue and gold were needed.
The level 30 dungeons offered hope.
Clearing the level 30 dungeons was not easy.
Up to this point, only the team led by Tian Qi Huang had cleared it, and no other player had managed to clear it again.
After all, Tian Qi Huang was a hidden class, a Divine Seal Knight. His attack and defense were on a different level compared to ordinary players. Furthermore, his equipment was already significantly better than other players.
It was only natural for him to clear it, though the completion time was a bit long. For a level 30 dungeon, under his leadership, a five-person party took a full 45 minutes.
"Youyou, you haven't attempted the level 30 dungeon yet, have you? Do you have time now?"
Dou Youyou nodded and said, "Yes, with my sister handling recruitment, I don't have much to do. I'm currently leveling up. Didn't Master tell me to try and reach level 50 as soon as possible?"
"Then you should check out the level 30 dungeon. Perhaps the experience points from the dungeon will be higher than those from wild monsters!"
"That's true. Before, my sister always brought me along, but now it's just me, and I don't really know what to do. Should I go alone or form a team?"
Zhang Pingfan rolled his eyes.
"Are you stupid? What's your combat power now, and what's theirs? If you can solo it, then just go alone. It's better than having others hold you back. Go in and take a look first. If it's not working out, bring Zhao Xin along. That kid has decent equipment too, and he's also level 30!"
"Understood!"
"When you return to Pingfan City, I'll give you my mobile spring water. That will increase your chances of clearing it."
Dou Youyou shuddered at the memory of her appearance with the mobile spring water in the新手村 (newbie village).
"Master, won't that be too unsightly? Your disciple won't look pretty like that."
"Unsightly? If you find it unsightly, then I'll give it to your junior brother, Changsheng, later!"
"No, you promised it to me, you can't go back on your word! I'm coming now!"
"You rascal, I know your character well enough!"
Saying this, Zhang Pingfan continued drawing the painting in his hands. However, Zhang Pingfan had learned his lesson: as long as he drew something successfully and the system detected it as okay, he would gain skill experience!
So, he spent all day drawing eggs. Yes, you read that right, just an egg. This guy was exploiting a bug again.