Chapter 290

While Qin Chuan and Lin Yue's relationship progressed further, somewhere in the Dream World, a team of over twenty players formed and was advancing rapidly toward the Dream World's central area.

This is an extremely elite team; the spirit beasts carrying everyone, used for travel, are all at least Hall Tier in strength, and the leading bird-shaped spirit beast is even larger, with a massive body over a hundred meters, its whole body shining with golden light, its spread wings like clouds hanging from the sky.

Epic Tier.

Although it is only Epic Tier Level 40, the gap between Epic Tier and Hall Tier remains obvious.

On the back of the golden giant bird, the most players were seated; at the very front was a woman with golden short hair and a graceful figure, she calmly gazed ahead, unknown what she was thinking.

Besides Lin Yue, there is only one other female player at this stage who possesses an Epic Tier spirit beast.

"Zefeiina, are we almost there?" Aolierjia sat behind Zefeiina, speaking softly; the masked woman's light-green eyes shifted slightly, showing a hint of nervousness.

"We are currently in Area 4750." Zefeiina spoke calmly, "At the speed of the Light Divine Bird, we will reach our destination, Area 5150, in at most half an hour."

"Half an hour..." Aolierjia leaned forward, her astonishingly soft elasticity pressed tightly against Zefeiina's back, almost overflowing under the pressure.

"Zefeiina, I feel you're somewhat different from before today."

"Huh?" Zefeiina turned her head to look at Aolierjia, "Which aspect do you mean?"

"I can't quite put it into words," Aolierjia said with a hint of distress, "I just feel it's not quite the same."

"It might just be your illusion." Zefeiina straightened her head, again looking ahead, a fleeting flash of dark light in the depths of her eyes, "Aolierjia, once we reach Area 5150, the other members will handle guild construction; you come with me to the Luo Yue Guild."

"Huh?" Aolierjia's eyes showed some resistance, "Why don't you go first, and I'll go next time?"

"No, just this time." Zefeiina slapped a hand onto Aolierjia's shoulder, holding down the Aolierjia who was preparing to turn invisible and flee, "Behave."

"... oh."—

"Huh?"

Near an SS-rank Secret Realm, Qin Chuan, who was in the midst of conquering an A-rank 5-star Secret Realm, suddenly let out a surprised "huh" and gazed at the empty space before him.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yue turned her head to look.

"Aolierjia has entered Area 5149 and is heading toward the Luo Yue Guild." Qin Chuan showed a thoughtful expression, "Not only her, but Zefeiina as well."

He had been monitoring Aolierjia for quite a while, and her movements were as familiar to him as the back of his hand.

As long as Aolierjia did not approach, he usually chose to ignore her.

But now, she is nearly at his base, so he can no longer ignore her.

"Are they sneaking past?" Lin Yue frowned slightly.

"No." Qin Chuan shook his head, "They are riding Zefeiina's Epic Tier spirit beast, coming openly; Aolierjia didn't even enter a stealth state."

"Since they're coming openly, they probably have no ill intentions." Lin Yue's brows relaxed, "Perhaps they want to cooperate with our guild."

"Possibly." Qin Chuan glanced at the guild members' coordinates shown by the teleport function, "Tie Chui and Tang Shao are in the guild, while a strike team is on its way back."

The strike team consists of Yi Fu Lin, Hong Ye, Lai Ang Ha Te, Hong Feng, and Chi Yu; the first three are Hall Tier players, and the later-added siblings are no less capable.

This is the Luo Yue Guild's strongest strike team aside from the two of them.

With them present, even if the two women harbor ill intentions, there's no need to worry.

Moreover…

Qin Chuan also leaned toward the idea that the two were representatives of the Mithril Dagger Guild seeking cooperation.

"Let Tie Chui handle the reception first; we'll return after clearing this secret realm."

After casually leaving a message for Tie Chui, the two turned their attention back to the secret realm before them. —

"Is that the Luo Yue Guild?"

In the air, Aolierjia gazed at the Luo Yue Guild perched on the hill, completely restored, and couldn't help but cluck, "Our guild looks far worse than yours."

"No way! We must make the guild members work harder." She couldn't help but clench her fists, "Even if our strength is inferior, it's fine, but our guild buildings aren't as nice as theirs—it's simply intolerable!"

"If you, as vice guild leader, are willing to spend a bit more time supervising the work, I think it's not difficult." Zefeiina said calmly.

"Damn it!" Aolierjia snorted, "What guild is this, making me personally supervise the work!"

"Slap!"

While Aolierjia clutched her head and howled, Zefeiina withdrew her hand, "We represent the Mithril Dagger Guild; pay attention to our image later."

"Got it, got it." Aolierjia rubbed her head, slowly lowered her hand, looked down at the Luo Yue Guild, then showed a surprised expression, "How did they come out to greet us."

"After we entered Area 5149, it was already shown on the rankings." Zefeiina spoke softly, "That's probably the reason."

"Alright, I still wanted to give them a surprise." Aolierjia slightly shook her head.

The Light Divine Bird let out a clear, melodious cry, its body swiftly descended, kicking up a gust of wind, finally landing on the ground; the two women seated behind it leapt down from midair.

Tie Chui quickly stepped forward to meet them, with Yi Fu Lin, Hong Ye, and Lai Ang Ha Te closely following.

"Welcome to the Luo Yue Guild, friends from afar." Tie Chui showed a broad, kind smile, "The guild leader and vice leader are temporarily absent; I'll handle the reception."

"It's not really far." Zefeiina slightly shook her head, "The Mithril Dagger Guild will relocate its base to Area 5150 starting today, just one area away."

"Oh?" Tie Chui was somewhat surprised; this was information he didn't know.

However, he quickly reacted, "If that's the case, from now on we'll be neighbors."

"Come with me to the guild first; our guild's dedicated chef, Mr. Tang Shao, has already begun preparing a lavish meal for the two of you."

"Does your guild even have a dedicated chef?" Aolierjia beside them suddenly spoke up.

"Mr. Tang Shao is a member with outstanding player talent, but his talent in cooking clearly surpasses ordinary player talent." Tie Chui chuckled, "This has been acknowledged by every member of the Luo Yue Guild."

Aolierjia quickly turned her head to look at Zefeiina beside her, her light-green eyes full of anticipation.

Zefeiina pretended not to notice, her gaze falling on Tie Chui, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be the possessor of the Divine Forging talent."

As the words fell, the three people following behind Tiechu simultaneously looked at Zefina, their eyes holding a hint of wariness.

"If no one else claims this talent, then it's probably me." Tiechu laughed, waving his hand to indicate the three needn't be nervous; he wasn't surprised that Zefina had guessed it, "However, even if your purpose for coming is related to me, I still need to negotiate with the chairperson and vice chairperson."

"I'm just confirming." Zefina said calmly, "Insight and Holy Domain are in the Dragon Gate No. 1 Guild; Sun-dial Needle, Prayer Life, and Divine Forging are in the Luo Moon Guild. That way, only Ascending Spirit and Fusing Soul have not yet appeared."

"The previous owners of these two talents were certainly not peace-loving folks." "Talent is just talent; ultimately, where it's used depends on the player who wields it." Tiechu smiled faintly, then glanced somewhat unexpectedly at the two women, "So you two are the holders of Avoid Illness and Traceless?"

"Hmph." Aolierjia drawled, "No matter who ends up with Ascending Spirit and Fusing Soul, as long as they annoy me, I'll definitely beat them into submission."

Saying that also served to confirm the fact that they possessed a golden talent.

Evelyn had her hands in her pockets, couldn't help glancing up and down at Aurelia, then her gaze fixed on Aurelia's heaving bosom; after a moment she lowered her head to look at herself.

She hated women with big chests!

Hongye watched the two women, wondering which golden talent each possessed.

Aurelia wore a mask, feeling more traceless, so Zephyra must be avoiding illness? One in two odds—if she guessed right, she'd reward herself with an extra caramel pudding today. "Soul Ascension and Soul Fusion are currently regarded as the strongest combat talents." Leonhart beside her chuckled, "Ms. Aurelia is very confident."

"Being recognized doesn't mean it's correct." Aurelia snorted, green eyes flashing with pride, "In fact, I've secretly tailed Ericte for a long time, having countless chances to beat him, and Songban Zhigui has been punished by me more than once."

"This really is…" Leonhart showed a surprised expression, "quite unexpected."

Hongye beside them nodded satisfactorily.

Guessed right—today's caramel pudding was secured! While the six chatted, they entered the Luo Yue Guild building.

"Please wait a moment, the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader will be back shortly." Inside the reception hall, Tiechui spoke with a smile.

"Even if they're not in Zone 5149, can they return quickly?" Zephyra suddenly asked.

All of Qin Chuan's spirit beasts had broken through to Epic Tier and disappeared from the rankings, but Xiao Bai remained at Hall Tier; from the rankings one could deduce Lin Yue's location, and thus indirectly Qin Chuan's.

Tiechui smiled without speaking; moments later two figures pushed open the reception hall doors and entered.

They were Qin Chuan and Lin Yue, having just completed the subjugation.

"Thanks for waiting." Qin Chuan took the main seat and smiled.

"The function unlocked at Guild Level 3 is quite unusual." Zephyra's pupils contracted slightly, and she quickly realized how Qin Chuan and Lin Yue had returned.

"Indeed, after the guild rose to Level 3, members' safety was greatly enhanced." Qin Chuan nodded in agreement, then added, "Although we'd just seen each other yesterday daytime, this should be our first meeting in the Dream World."

"So, Zephyra, what brings you here?"

"Three things." Zephyra spoke softly, "First, our guild's Vice Guild Leader previously had some misunderstandings with you."

"Sorry!" Aurelia removed her mask, revealing a face as exquisite as in reality, her expression tinged with a hint of pain as she handed Qin Chuan a gift box.

"This is compensation."

Qin Chuan opened it and glanced inside, left speechless.

An Epic-tier resource.

Although it was surely chosen from the Epic-tier resources the other party had no use for, its value does not thereby decrease.

Perhaps someone in the Luo Yue Guild actually needs it.

He hadn't planned to do anything to Aurelia anyway; now it was convenient to go along with the flow.

Of course, the lock on the third talent of the Sundial will certainly not be cancelled.

"Just some misunderstandings." Qin Chuan smiled, "It's all in the past."

Hearing Qin Chuan's words, Aurelia's long‑hanging heart finally let go completely.

"Great! That demon lord will finally stop staring at me!" "Second matter." Zephyra whispered, "When breaking through to Epic Tier, we hope to use Divine Forging's power to strengthen equipment affixes, and the Silver Dagger Guild will provide sufficient resources as compensation."

"I agree to this on Tiechui's behalf." Qin Chuan glanced at Tiechui and smiled.

He and Tiechui had already discussed this matter.

Tiechui's second Divine Forging talent has no cooldown or limit; while meeting guild members' needs, it can also serve as a cooperative service the Luo Yue Guild offers externally.

By doing so, gaining more resources can let the Luo Yue Guild's overall strength increase faster.

Amid the peril of the dungeon's Descent, this is a win‑win move.

As the leaders of their respective guilds, the two discussed the cooperation's details and eventually reached agreement.

Afterward, Zephyra's expression grew slightly stern; she swept her gaze over the Luo Yue Guild members present and said, "Third, I wish to speak with you alone."

"Guild Leader, we're leaving first." Tiechui stood, waved at Evelyn and the other two, and said, "Let's go see if Mr. Spoon needs any help."

The three understood and promptly left the reception hall.

Zephyra said nothing, turning her gaze to Lin Yue.

"All matters, Yue Li may be present." Qin Chuan spoke calmly.

Zephyra nodded slightly, then turned her gaze to Aurelia, who had pricked up her ears beside her.

One second… two seconds… three seconds…

"I have to go out too?!" Aurelia pointed at herself, face full of disbelief.

"Go ahead, wait for me outside." Zephyra whispered, "If you dare to eavesdrop tracelessly, you're as good as dead."

Aurelia: "…"

"Damn woman!" she muttered discontentedly, rose, and walked toward the door; just before exiting she turned back to make a face at Zephyra, then closed the reception hall door.

Lin Yue's expression was a little odd; having never interacted with Aurelia before, she felt a strong contrast from the woman who had once tried to ambush her.

"Aurelia is a proud yet lovable person." Zephyra chuckled, then her expression turned serious as she fixed her gaze on Qin Chuan and spoke word by word:

"I may have been bewitched by some kind of power."

"After entering the Dream World, I recalled today's real‑life experiences and noticed a voice continually guiding me from the shadows, trying to make me occupy the dungeon for a long time, thereby causing its Descent."

"Even after entering the Dream World, that voice hasn't completely vanished from my mind." Her voice paused slightly, "but it seems to have become more mechanical."

"Before, it was a live person speaking; now it's like a mechanical program endlessly repeating."

"Others might not notice the problem, but I am different." Zephyra spoke calmly, "Before the Supernatural Descent, I was the chief researcher of the AI team at Newjin University."

"Such a program is far too unintelligent."

(End of chapter)