Inside a vast, silent, and frigid ancient tomb, dozens of people stood in formation before the entrance, organizing their ranks.
Every person here was above Level 17. All their equipment was Iron Rank or above, mixed with quite a few Mythril Rank pieces. The main tank leading the group wore Mythril Rank gear across more than half his equipment slots, and the crescent-shaped shield in his hands was Gold-grade.
All of them gazed with reverence at the woman before them—an otherworldly beauty clad in silver-white light armor, gripping a deep blue greatsword that shimmered with an azure glow. Crystal-clear black eyes sparkled with wisdom, while jet-black hair cascaded to her waist, drifting gently in the wind. She radiated an incomparable aura, like a goddess of war made flesh.
This peerless goddess of war was none other than Bai Qingxue, the Ice Goddess of the Snake of the Body.
After weathering the crucible of the three major dungeons, Bai Qingxue had grown ever more radiant—like a raw gemstone cleansed of its impurities, suddenly transformed into a cold, brilliant sapphire.
Now she not only wore the Mythril Rank Snow Dawn armor set, but she also wielded a greatsword of terrifying power whose true grade was impossible to discern.
The Snow Dawn set had dropped from the Hard-mode three major dungeons, but the Azure Sky greatsword was not from the three major dungeons. It was a weapon she had obtained by chance in an underground temple beneath some ruins, after defeating the guardian of a field Great Lord.
If Shi Feng were to see this two-handed greatsword, he would certainly be shocked—because this greatsword was also a Magic Artifact, and moreover, it was Azure Sky, one of the thirty-six legendary swords of the Divine Realm.
Just as they were preparing to challenge the fourth boss of the Eternal Rest—the Bone General Jela— Bai Qingxue heard the system's announcement, a hint of surprise flickering through her beautiful eyes.
"How is his speed so fast?" Bai Qingxue knew all too well how difficult guild territories were to obtain. Even though Snake of the Body was already White River City's number one guild with such powerful allies, she was still a considerable distance from becoming a Baron in terms of reputation. Yet Zero Wing had still managed to outpace her. The corner of Bai Qingxue's lips curved upward, and she smiled softly. "Looks like I should congratulate him."
In White River City, Snake of the Body and Zero Wing were allies — though outsiders had no idea. If they ever found out, they would certainly be shocked. The number one guild in White River City and a declining new guild like Zero Wing were allies? No matter how you looked at it, it seemed impossible.
But that was exactly what Bai Qingxue had done.
Although Snake of the Body was the number one guild in White River City, it was far from unshakable. The Dark Star Guild, which had been closely nipping at their heels, was quite formidable. Moreover, Dark Star had subtle connections with another top-tier first-rate guild — Hegemon's World.
If those two great guilds joined forces and declared war on Snake of the Body, it would certainly be more than they could handle.
So allies were absolutely necessary. Among the six great guilds, there were three other candidates — one was the first-rate guild Imperial Light, and another was the top second-rate guild, the Assassin Alliance. But in the end, Bai Qingxue still chose the recently established Zero Wing.
Because she saw potential in Zero Wing.
Setting aside Night Edge, who was elusive and possessed heaven-defying combat strength — There was Black Flame, the Star Moon Kingdom's chief Blacksmith, who boasted astonishing power. Behind him lay hidden forces that were impossible to see through, and on top of that, he maintained deep connections with the Star Trace Trading Company.
Her financial resources were astounding. Even she felt humbled.
Although Bai Qingxue couldn't quite figure out the exact relationship between Night Edge and Black Flame, both of them possessed unfathomable strength yet had remained hidden and unrevealed all this time. This left Bai Qingxue quite perplexed.
Just the two of them joining forces would be enough to send a chill down even Bai Qingxue's spine.
On top of that, there was now Violet Watercolor, who shouldn't have appeared here at all. She was a honorary elder of Twilight Echo, and her reputation in the virtual gaming world was no less than her own. It was just that Bai Qingxue was more well-known publicly, having done quite a few commercial endorsements that brought her fame to a wide audience.
Bai Qingxue had never fought Violet Watercolor directly, but she had watched her combat footage. In terms of pure fighting technique, if Bai Qingxue compared herself to Violet Watercolor, it would be an even fifty-fifty split.
The mere presence of these three individuals in Zero Wing was already reason enough for Bai Qingxue to seek an alliance, let alone the fact that Zero Wing also harbored other experts who emerged one after another in endless succession.
Outsiders all assumed that Zero Wing would inevitably crumble sooner or later, but Bai Qingxue saw things very clearly.