Several figures walked out of the dark-gray rift one after another. Upon seeing these figures, Hidden Soul’s eyes widened in shock.

This was because the people who had walked out of the rift were none other than the members of the Glimmer adventurer team and the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce. Both organizations were powers based in the Stratified Abyssal Realm’s Slumber City.

Although only seven people had stepped through the rift, every one of these seven people had combat standards at the World Tower’s third-floor standard or higher. They were all existences that even the various superpowers would find tricky to deal with.

More specifically, every one of these seven people was an expert who had gained the Temple Knight status.

It was incredibly difficult for players to gain the Temple Knight status in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. This was the case even for third-floor experts. Out of all the third-floor experts in Slumber City, only around one-fifth of them had managed to pass the trial to become a Temple Knight. Meanwhile, every official Temple Knight possessed combat standards rivaling Tier 6 God-ranked experts, with some even surpassing God-ranked experts.

Not to mention, Slumber City’s number one expert was even among the seven people who had stepped out of the rift.

The Glimmering Sword, Laura Crader!

Laura Crader was a monster whose strength was shrouded in mystery. She was also the only expert whose strength Hidden Soul had failed to see through.

In addition to Laura Crader, the three vice commanders of Glimmer standing behind Laura also possessed extraordinary strength. Hidden Soul could feel an intense pressure coming from the two men and one woman. Out of the three vice commanders, the three-meter-tall middle-aged man that looked like a bear gave off a presence that was just as strong as Solitary Soul, the commander of the Death Curse adventurer team.

If these four moved together, Hidden Soul doubted that there’d be anyone who could go against them. It was especially true considering all four of these people had already reached Level 120 and were equipped with at least two or three Fragmented Legendary items. In terms of equipment standards, they undoubtedly stood at the top of the current Miniature Ancient World.

“Why is the Mana density here so much lower?” Wordless Ember, a Level 116 Swordsman from Purple Light, muttered as he looked around in confusion. “Wasn’t the world outside supposed to be much better?”

According to the rumors circulating in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, there existed a much more expansive world outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, this outside world was vastly superior to the Stratified Abyssal Realm in many aspects.

However, based on his senses, Wordless Ember found that the density of the Mana inside this office was much lower than the Mana in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. He even wondered if he had returned to the starting zone for a moment.

“This should be outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm. While the Mana density is indeed lower, the elemental composition of the Mana here is much more complex. The dark element only makes up a small percentage, so using Dark Skills and Spells won’t bring us any more advantages. Moreover, I can feel that the restriction on Mana has lessened significantly. It has become much easier to release my Mana Domain,” Sleeping Quicksand, a Level 117 Oracle, said definitively.

“You two be quiet,” Echoing Judgment, the commander of Purple Light, said as he gave Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand a glare. Then, he turned to Shi Feng and said apologetically, “I’m sorry for their rude behavior, Mr. Black Flame. This is their first time leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm, so they can’t help but get excited.”

Although many rumors mentioned the possibility of leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm floating about in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, none had ever been verified. When Shi Feng had told him that he could bring people out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Echoing Judgment had thought that Shi Feng was joking with him.

After all, it was the dream of countless players to leave the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Even the Dark Sanctuary’s various powers didn’t have a way to do so. So, there was no way Echoing Judgment could take Shi Feng’s words seriously.

However, it also didn’t make sense for him to trick the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce. After all, on top of Shi Feng’s status in Slumber City, Zero Wing was also currently receiving the full support of the Glimmer adventurer team. When it came to resources, Glimmer was leagues ahead of Purple Light. This was also the case in terms of combat power.

Hence, despite his doubts, Echoing Judgment had agreed to Shi Feng’s offer to bring some of Purple Light’s members out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm periodically. In exchange, Purple Light would join the Asura Mercenary Alliance and fully support Zero Wing’s endeavors in the Stratified Abyssal Realm.

Subsequently, following the terms of their agreement, Echoing Judgment brought Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand to Zero Wing’s Shop, which was established on one of Slumber City’s Golden Lands. Then, after waiting for nearly a day, just when he started to wonder whether Shi Feng had tricked them, a spatial rift suddenly opened inside the Shop’s secret room. Moreover, this rift had actually brought them out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm.

“This place might be outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm, but it is still only a Miniature Ancient World. So, the Mana density here is indeed inferior to the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, there is no level limit here,” Shi Feng explained. “You can also break through the limits of Tier 3 and ascend to higher tiers. So long as your tier is sufficiently high, you will also have an easier time once you enter the Greater God’s Domain in the future. At the very least, it’ll be much better than if you were to simply wait for the Stratified Abyssal Realm to merge with the Greater God’s Domain.”

“There are no level and tier limits?” Wordless Ember’s eyes glowed with excitement.

The Stratified Abyssal Realm’s level and tier limit might have been fine if they weren’t aware of the existence of higher levels and tiers. However, there existed Tier 4 NPCs in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, any player who had seen the strength of Tier 4 NPCs would be lying if they said they weren’t interested in getting promoted to Tier 4.

Meanwhile, when the four people from Glimmer heard Shi Feng’s words, they had similarly shown hints of excitement on their faces. However, unlike Purple Light’s members, Glimmer’s members weren’t surprised by the Miniature Ancient World’s inferior Mana density. It was as if they had expected this situation, their faces strangely calm when they sensed their surrounding environment.

“Here is the information on this Miniature Ancient World. Take a look at it while you rest here for a while. You’ll have many things you need to do afterward,” Shi Feng said as he handed the seven people a compilation report on the Miniature Ancient World. Then, he left the office before Hidden Soul could even react to this unexpected development.

…

Morning the next day, the sun rose in the Miniature Ancient World and shined its rays onto Abyssal Star City.

After losing the various powers’ support, the number of players frequenting the Asura Mercenary Alliance’s headquarters had fallen by more than 80%. The number of Refinement Realm experts picking up quests in the quest area had also reduced to an unimaginable level.

Meanwhile, inside the top-floor conference room, the round table that originally had twelve seats arranged around it currently had only four remaining.

“The conference room sure has become a lot quieter now that those Guilds are gone,” Galaxy Past said, sighing as he looked at the somewhat empty conference room. “Although we now have a lot less competition, it has also become a lot more difficult for us to face the Flower of Seven Sins.”

Galaxy Past had some matters he needed to deal with previously, so someone else had attended the previous conference in his place. However, he didn’t think such an unexpected development would take place during the conference he had missed.

The departure of World Dominators and Blackwater instantly caused the Asura Mercenary Alliance to lose its place in the Boundary Mountain Range.

As if to rub salt into Asura’s wound, after leaving the mercenary alliance, Blackwater, World Dominators, and the various first-rate powers had formed their own alliance and secured themselves a spot in the Boundary Mountain Range. Now, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was truly behind the various powers when it came to progressing toward the Tier 4 promotion.

“None of those powers have joined with sincere intentions, so it’s fine even if they leave Asura sooner than later. Although our progress toward Tier 4 might slow down a little, the mercenary alliance would have to deal with fewer leeches at the very least,” Crimson Heart, who was representing Hundred Flower Palace, said nonchalantly. “Moreover, Asura still retains a significant advantage when it comes to leveling up. It won’t be too late for us to go and compete for the Boundary Mountain Range’s resources after we have reached an adequate level.”

“It seems you are quite confident in Asura’s future development, Vice Guild Leader Crimson. Do you perhaps have some insider information?” Liu Wusheng asked curiously as he looked at Crimson Heart, who had not attended the previous meeting.

According to Witch’s Sin’s sources, Hundred Flower Palace shouldn’t have a close relationship with Zero Wing. Yet, for some reason, Hundred Flower Palace suddenly appeared and started showing full support for Zero Wing’s decision. It had even gone as far as to invest all of its experts into resisting the Flower of Seven Sins and completing the Asura Mercenary Alliance’s quests to secure itself an administrative seat in Asura.

It was as if Hundred Flower Palace possessed some kind of unknown confidence toward the Asura Mercenary Alliance. It didn’t even show any concern toward Asura launching a full-scale war. This behavior was truly cause for suspicion.

“It’s not really insider information. I’m sure it won’t be long before Guild Leader Black Flame tells it to you himself,” Crimson Heart said with a faint smile.

After experiencing the trip to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Crimson Heart was very confident in the Asura Mercenary Alliance’s future.

So long as Asura could receive a stable supply of Hypersensitivity Potions, given enough time, it absolutely would not have any trouble resisting the Flower of Seven Sins in the future. Asura might even become the Eighth Great Power in the Miniature Ancient World.

“Guild Leader Black Flame will tell us himself?”

Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past were confused by Crimson Heart’s words. They couldn’t understand why Crimson Heart was so confident that Asura could go up against the current Flower of Seven Sins.

At this time, the doors to the conference room suddenly opened. Then, Shi Feng entered the room with a man and a woman following him.

The man was a robust middle-aged man, while the woman was a rare beauty with long light-blue hair. Upon seeing the woman wearing a silver crown, Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and even Crimson Heart were shocked.

Level 120?

The Glimmering Sword?

…

TL Notes:

[1]

Fyi, the “Level 120?” should be the thoughts of Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past, while the “The Glimmering Sword?” should be Crimson Heart’s thought bubble.