The monopolization of the rankings wasn't just making the "We Are the Only Crazy" guild furious; other guilds were angry too.
The Level Honor Rank was definitely a chance for guilds to show off. While the effect wasn't as good as directly clearing a dungeon, holding it for a long time could still provide significant publicity.
Now, eight out of ten spots were held by Zero Wing. That occupancy rate was truly a bit high—high enough to cause considerable discontent among the guilds. They would have loved nothing more than to invite Zero Wing's president over for a drink and have a fiery showdown to satisfy their speeding blood.
In the 18-level Sunstone Ridge, an elite team of twenty was clearing out the 18-level Six-Armed Stone Monkeys.
These Six-Armed Stone Monkeys were tall, at least two meters, but they were agile and had extremely high physical defense. Their only weakness was very low magic resistance, making large-scale magic attacks highly effective. Moreover, on this mountain, the monkeys lived in groups, making it easy to attract and kill multiple packs at once.
"Qingxue, the Level Honor Rank has been completely taken over by Zero Wing, and their levels are all so high. It's going to be incredibly hard for us to catch up. I really don't know how they leveled up so fast." Zhao Yueru was sitting on a rock, drinking water to replenish her mana after seeing the report from her subordinates and glancing at the Level Honor Rank, she was instantly shocked.
As someone who had previously ranked in the top ten, Zhao Yueru understood all too well how huge the gap between level 15 and level 18 was. Even for them, it would take over a week.
This meant these eight people would likely stay on the Level Honor Rank for at least a week, assuming they did nothing else. If they kept killing monsters and leveling up, who knew how long it would be before the top eight changed.
"They really are strong. That Night Edge has big ambitions. He doesn't make a sound until he strikes. Now he's finally making his move." Bai Qingxue glanced at the IDs of the top eight, not feeling particularly surprised.
"Qingxue, did you already know?" Zhao Yueru asked in surprise. As for what Night Edge was like, she knew perfectly well—he was just a bit stronger, a bit better at commanding, a bit better at observing, and so on. But establishing a guild wasn't child's play. It meant competing for dominance with other guilds.
For a small guild like Night Edge's, laying low meant other large guilds wouldn't bother with them. But being this flashy was practically inviting them to attack.
"Yes. After they hid their levels, I had a feeling their levels weren't simple. It was just that Night Edge didn't want anyone to find out, so he hid them. I just didn't expect their real levels to be this high." Bai Qingxue was quite tempted by these talents, secretly lamenting that such experts were stuck in such a small guild. If they were in Snake of the Body, they would shine even brighter.
Such a small guild would likely fade quickly.
Because the most important thing for a guild was financial power. Bai Qingxue was certain Shi Feng couldn't possibly have amazing financial resources, especially gold coins. Without a large company's backing and support, and also manpower, these few people alone couldn't sustain a Divine Realm guild, especially with pressure from other large guilds. The Zero Wing guild wouldn't last long.
However, since Shi Feng was her friend, Bai Qingxue sent him a congratulatory message, congratulating him on establishing the Zero Wing guild. As for how to develop it, an outsider like her shouldn't offer too many suggestions.
On the third floor of the Star Trace Trading House, events were not unfolding as poorly as Bai Qingxue had assumed.
If Bai Qingxue saw, she would be greatly shocked, because not only did Shi Feng have ample funds, but he also had a batch of elites who had just left Echoing Twilight, along with Echoing Twilight's honorary elder, Watercolor Rose.
As a former manager of a first-rate guild, Watercolor Rose had once commanded tens of thousands of subordinates. Now, with substantial financial backing, managing a small guild of a few hundred people was incredibly easy.
"President, I've understood your intentions. I will expand the membership to five thousand as quickly as possible. Regarding the welfare benefits, I hope you can decide on them soon. For now, I'll use Echoing Twilight's benefits as a temporary substitute. If we wait too long, it will be harder to change later." Watercolor Rose also understood Zero Wing's situation and was quite optimistic about its current state.
Financial power, manpower, and reputation—all three were present. It would be easy to quickly recruit a large number of new members.
"Then I'll trouble you with this, Miss Watercolor." Plans couldn't keep up with changes. Originally, he had estimated it would take longer to establish the guild, but with Watercolor Rose's sudden joining, Shi Feng couldn't wait any longer. Even if preparations were insufficient now, he had to establish the guild. He also wanted to handle these guild matters quickly, as he had other things to do. Moreover, with an expert right in front of him, why not use her?
"President Black Flame, I'm already the vice president of the Zero Wing guild. Please just call me Watercolor from now on. If the president has no further instructions, I'll start arranging our actions." Perhaps due to her new position, Watercolor Rose quickly entered strongwoman mode, adopting a businesslike demeanor.
Shi Feng had no choice but to retreat, and went on to craft the Arcane Shield and Basic Mana Armor Plates.
Next, the guild's membership would grow significantly. One of the welfare benefits Shi Feng had established was the Basic Mana Armor Plates. This item's appeal to free players was fatal; to get it, one needed to exchange guild contribution points.
There were many ways to obtain guild contribution points. First, by running dungeons. Second, by exchanging equipment of Bronze Rank or above. Third, by contributing to the guild, with guild leadership rewarding contribution points. Fourth, by completing guild quests, which awarded points by the system. Fifth, through a reward mechanism based on accumulating a certain amount of personal guild honor value.
So there was no need to worry about not gathering enough guild contribution points.
However, to prevent exploitation, obtaining the Basic Mana Armor Plates wasn't easy. First, one needed to earn a certain amount of honor value for the guild. Second, the required contribution points were substantial, valued at no less than twenty silver coins.
With these two safeguards, exploiting the system to get the Basic Mana Armor Plates was impossible.
While Shi Feng was crafting the Arcane Shields and Basic Mana Armor Plates, Watercolor Rose had also arranged for many people to recruit players in the Trade District and at the Adventurer's Association.
After half a day of player recruitment, the Zero Wing guild's numbers were skyrocketing. From just a few hundred people, it instantly surged to over three thousand, and the growth showed no signs of slowing.
"Watercolor, the number of people wanting to join the guild hasn't decreased at all. If this continues, we could probably recruit eight or even nine thousand people. The planned five thousand is more than enough. Should we increase our recruitment target?"
"Stick to the original plan. We can't take on so many people at once right now; it would only cause the guild to stagnate and hinder development. Increase the entry requirement from the planned level 11 to level 12."
Under Watercolor Rose's management, the newly joined players began completing guild quests, and many others, led by Watercolor Rose's subordinates, started running small dungeons to improve their equipment. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, looking nothing like a newly established guild.
Unknowingly, the Divine Realm entered nighttime. After crafting a large number of Basic Mana Armor Plates and three gold-grade Arcane Shields, Shi Feng went offline directly.
Because today was the long-awaited Jinhai City social mixer, and he needed to prepare a bit. (To be continued...)