Hashes of light illuminated the Teleportation Hall as s.h.i.+ Feng's team returned to White River City. After Monarch raid, they had spent almost all of their Stamina and Concentration. Although they had rested in the Purple Frost Field for some time, they were visibly exhausted.
"How strange. I_m back in the city, yet my Stamina still feels like it's barely recovering?" Aqua Rose muttered as she concentrated on her physical state.
Fire Dance, Yan Tianxing, and the other Refinement Realm experts felt the same.
Once players reached the Refinement Realm, they gained more precise control over their bodies, and when they lacked Stamina, it subtly influenced their physical performance. Hence, Refinement Realm experts could sense how much Stamina they had remaining based on their physical condition.
Normally, players' Stamina rapidly regenerated when they returned to a town or city, yet Aqua Rose and her companions' Stamina had barely changed. Their Stamina recovery rate was surprisingly slow.
"Don't worry about it. It's just the result of the Power of Frost that infected your bodies. Once the Power of Frost dissipates, you'll return to normal," s.h.i.+ Feng explained.
Not only were high-level maps dangerous, but they also inflicted lasting negative effects on the players that dared to explore them.
Even among high-level maps, the Purple Frost Field was considered a special place. All forms of energy, with the exception of the Power of Frost, had been expelled from the map. Not only would players' Stamina deplete far faster than usual if they remained in the map for a long time, but their Stamina recovery rate would also be affected. Fighting a World Boss like the Frost Monarch would only make their condition worse. In their current state, these players would need to rest in a city for at least 10 hours to recover fully.
"Doesn't that mean that we'll have to rest for a long time, unable to do much else?" Gentle Snow asked, frowning.
She had just obtained the Frost Bone Dragon, and she wanted to lead a team to grind Field Bosses in unexplored high- level maps as soon as possible to utilize this advantage and secure a large stock of high-level equipment. Zero Wing's main force members had reached such a high level, but most of their weapons and equipment hadn't. If they had had up-to-date weapons and equipment in their compet.i.tion with Starlink, securing their victory would've gone much smoother.
"Mhm, but it can't be helped. High-level resource maps aren't like they were before," s.h.i.+ Feng responded with a shrug.
Reaching Level 100 in G.o.d's Domain wasn't difficult. The true difficulty lay in obtaining top-tier weapons and equipment that corresponded with their levels.
The Purple Frost Field was one of the best places to acquire top-tier Level 90 equipment. Not only did the map have its own Level 90 World Boss, but it was also home to quite a few Level 90-plus Mythic Bosses.
Unfortunately, maps like the Purple Frost Field had their own form of special energy, so grinding for top-tier weapons and equipment was even harder than normal. In reality, the Purple Frost Field's harsh environment was gentle compared to the various maps available at that level. Some environments even affected players' physiques and Basic Attributes.
This was also why the various minor powers and adventurer teams had survived in G.o.d's Domain in s.h.i.+ Feng's previous life. Grinding in these special maps for long periods was impossible due to their environments, and as a result, the various major powers hadn't been able to monopolize these maps' Field Bosses. To dominate these maps, G.o.d's Domain's major powers would need a lot more manpower.
This was precisely why s.h.i.+ Feng wanted to develop the Asura adventurer team, using it to attract more expert players. Although Zero Wing had an incredible main force, the Guild's other teams lagged far behind them.
Gentle Snow's and Aqua Rose's frowns deepened. This meant that their level and Mount advantages weren't as great as they had thought.
"Forget about farming top-tier weapons and equipment for now. You should help our other members level up. Once the Power of Frost's effects wears off, you can organize teams to raid Team Dungeons and get our raiding progress up to speed," s.h.i.+ Feng said, chuckling.
Collecting a large stock of top-tier weapons and equipment wasn't a walk in the park. If it were, the various superpowers would have squashed the game's minor powers and adventurer teams. They wouldn't have poured so much attention into nurturing Lifestyle players and grinding for resources, either.
"I'll do that, then." Gentle Snow felt helpless. She had no choice but to accept s.h.i.+ Feng's suggestion and take things one step at a time.
After their conversation, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose left the Teleportation with the rest of Zero Wing's members. They planned to take the Guild's members out to power-level in high-level maps. s.h.i.+ Feng, on the other hand, led Asura's members to the Candlelight Trading Firm and loaded them up with Advanced Mana Armor Kits, All-rounded Devices, and other Consumables that the trading firm only sold internally. He also instructed Melancholic Smile and her team to produce some Resistance equipment for the adventurer team members to help them develop at a higher rate.
s.h.i.+ Feng then found a Special Forging room before using the Abyss Pendant to teleport to Dragonheart Island.
In the blink of an eye, s.h.i.+ Feng appeared in an alleyway in Dragonheart City's outer area.
But for some reason, Dragonheart City seemed livelier than during s.h.i.+ Feng's last visit. Hardly any players had spent their time in the city's outer area before, but now, he noticed a large number of players in this area of the city. Moreover, most of these players were neutral-race players, not human.
Why are so many neutral players here? s.h.i.+ Feng was astonished when he saw how many neutral players roamed the street.
These neutral players were very high-leveled, with most of them at Level 76 or higher. There were even quite a few Level 78 players. Mainstream players had just reached Level 72 and 73 at this stage of the game, so these neutral players' levels were surprising. Even most large Guilds' peak experts had only just reached this level. Meanwhile, Dragonheart City was located in the Sea of Death's inner region, and the closest neutral city was very far away. There should only be a small number of neutral players that would bother traveling this far.
Neutral experts weren't the only players in the city right now. There were also large crowds of experts from the various major powers and many from second- and third-rate Guilds.
As s.h.i.+ Feng observed the pa.s.sing players, he noticed a familiar group.
It was none other than Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who loved to vanish from the Guild, and they seemed to be in the company of Melody and a few other Ninth Heaven members. Since s.h.i.+ Feng was still disguised as Black Flame, Thoughtful Rain and her companions quickly recognized him.
You're here, too, Big Brother Black Flame?" Blue Bamboo promptly walked up to s.h.i.+ Feng as soon as she saw him.
"Guild Leader Black Flame," the Half-elf Melody greeted.
"Why are you guys here?" s.h.i.+ Feng asked, surprised.
The Fairy Country, Melody's home country, was quite a distance away from Dragonheart Island. Traveling so far was a major challenge.
"Oh? You don't know, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Melody asked, giving s.h.i.+ Feng an odd look.
"Know what?" s.h.i.+ Feng asked.
"We're here because we've received news that a pathway to the western continent has appeared in Dragonheart City.
All of the various major powers are heading this way to test their luck and see if they can make it to the western continent," Melody explained.
