Chapter 1 The Guild Badge

The Nirvana Guild badge was designed by Nie Yan. He liked things with a strong sense of belief and culture; they had a certain charm.

"I've heard about your conflict with the Triumph Guild. It's only a matter of time before Nirvana is swallowed up by them," Tuoba Shi said. Many professional players in the Fallen Leaves Studio were wondering where Nirvana Guild had popped up from. Although it had developed recently, it actually dared to confront an old guild like Triumph. They were truly fearless newborns.

Nie Yan felt a surge of anger at Tuoba Shi's words. But thinking about it, it was natural for Tuoba Shi to consider these things before joining a guild. Offending Triumph for joining Nirvana would put him in a disadvantageous position.

Just as Nie Yan was about to refute Tuoba Shi's statement, feeling very disapproving of it, Tuoba Shi continued.

"I agree to join Nirvana Guild, but my actions don't represent the Fallen Leaves Studio's position, because I don't belong to Fallen Leaves Studio," Tuoba Shi said. Although he could find players from Fallen Leaves Studio to team up with, he wasn't a member of the studio. Fallen Leaves Studio's sole purpose was to make a profit, while he was just a casual player and wasn't responsible to anyone.

"Going toe-to-toe with Triumph, only your Nirvana Guild dares to do that. But I like challenging things," Tuoba Shi smiled slightly.

"If Tuoba joins your guild, I'll definitely join too," Shi Fen Haoshuang said, very straightforwardly. Even he was surprised that Tuoba would agree to join Nirvana Guild.

Tuoba Shi's reason for joining Nirvana Guild wasn't because he cared about its reputation, but because he felt that Nie Yan was a good person with a good character, a friend worth making. For him, a friend who could be sincerely connected with was the most precious thing.

Nie Yan didn't expect Tuoba Shi to make such a sudden turn and agree to join Nirvana Guild. He was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he understood Tuoba's meaning.

"I was being petty," Nie Yan said with an apologetic smile. "But I still want to say one thing. I don't agree with your view. Sooner or later, there will only be Nirvana Guild in Calore, not the Triumph Empire."

Tuoba Shi glanced at Nie Yan in surprise. Where did his confidence come from?

"Alright, stop discussing these topics, they give me a headache. Joining a guild isn't bad for me. Can I become the number one Berserker in the guild?" Shi Fen Haoshuang was more interested in this question.

"Almost. But for the number one Warrior, you're still a bit behind," Nie Yan said. Between Shi Fen Haoshuang and Cancan Daoguang, Cancan Daoguang was probably stronger. The current Cancan Daoguang was decked out in a full set of Saintly Guardian equipment from the Solas Temple expert-difficulty dungeon. His level was a little lower than Shi Fen Haoshuang's, but in terms of skill, Cancan Daoguang was more refined.

"Damn, there's actually a Warrior stronger than me. I'll have to meet him when I get back," Shi Fen Haoshuang's competitive spirit was ignited.

Tuoba Shi was silent for a moment. Maybe there really were many strong players in Nirvana Guild; otherwise, Nie Yan wouldn't be so confident.

They had met the top players of the Triumph Empire. They weren't afraid of the others, but when he thought of Potian, Tuoba Shi felt dejected. That guy's precise control was too amazing. He didn't think he could defeat Potian. Some might say that personal strength didn't matter much to a guild, but in future fortress battles, personal strength could influence the outcome. And fortresses determined the future development of a guild.

In Nie Yan's view, the Triumph Empire was indeed very strong, but Nirvana Guild was also developing and would surpass the Triumph Empire sooner or later. Under Nie Yan's instructions, Guo Huai was already sending out invitations to many players—future Grand Magisters, future Guardian Knights, future Shadow Dancers… Although many people disdained joining Nirvana Guild, the game had just launched, and some people's potential hadn't been truly discovered yet. After receiving Nirvana Guild's warm invitation, they joined Nirvana Guild and signed a contract of servitude without really knowing what they were getting into.

For example, Taotie, one of the Guardian Knights in his past life, and Sha Bu Si De Huaidan, one of the Grand Magisters, and so on. Although they were puzzled as to why Nirvana Guild would seek them out, they quickly succumbed to the temptation of Nirvana Guild's superior material conditions.

Nie Yan had Guo Huai send out invitations to everyone whose name he could remember. Although only a few agreed to join Nirvana Guild, it was still a considerable number. There were five people on the level of Shadow Dancer alone, and dozens of lower-tier players. Guo Huai and the others were still in communication with many people, promising them many favorable conditions in an attempt to poach them. There were also some people who were still observing.

With Nie Yan's huge capital support, the future Nirvana Guild would be a hall of fame for god-level players.

The name Nirvana Guild would be well-deserved.

There were also many low-profile but strong players in his past life, such as Tuoba Shi and Shi Fen Haoshuang. It wasn't just their equipment. At their current level, their skills were already quite good. Their joining undoubtedly meant that Nirvana Guild had two more strong players.

Nie Yan could clearly feel that Nirvana Guild was slowly growing under his leadership, and one day it would grow into a towering tree.

System: Tuoba Shi has joined the guild.

System: Shi Fen Haoshuang has joined the guild.

"I have a set of Thief equipment here, but it's not mine. If you can come up with something to trade, I can talk to Fallen Leaves Studio," Tuoba Shi said, feeling slightly embarrassed. Fallen Leaves Studio belonged to his family after all, and he didn't have ownership of it, so he had no right to take equipment from them. If he could offer something of equal value in exchange, it would be a different story.

"What level is the set?" Nie Yan asked, surprised that Fallen Leaves Studio would have spare equipment.

Now that he thought about it, Fallen Leaves Studio, like Kuangzhan Studio, was a well-established studio with strong resources. Of the top 100 professional players in the country, about a dozen came from Fallen Leaves Studio, and there were 30 to 40 in the top 500. Such a powerful studio was very efficient in its operations.

Nie Yan thought of the Ares Tribe, the Ares Studio established with the capital support of Nie Yan's father. Its strength had once surpassed Fallen Leaves Studio and Kuangzhan Studio. It seemed that Nie Yan was still being too small-scale.

"Level 20. A member of Fallen Leaves Studio's elite team just leveled up to 25 and replaced a level 20 set of equipment. They haven't decided who it belongs to yet. If I ask them for it, I can definitely get it, but I have to give them something as a token of appreciation, otherwise they won't be able to explain it," Tuoba Shi said. Since Fallen Leaves Studio was opened by his family, those people wouldn't dare to refuse him if he asked for equipment. "Actually, I don't have much money besides the set of equipment I'm wearing," Tuoba Shi said dejectedly.

"I understand," Nie Yan nodded and thought for a moment. "I can offer a set of level 30 gold equipment in exchange, but I need to see the stats of the Thief equipment first." In fact, Tang Yao had been farming Scale Frogs non-stop and had managed to gather several sets of level 30 gold equipment, with decent stats. It would be very worthwhile if he could exchange it for a set of gold equipment that Nie Yan could wear at level 20.

"Level 30 equipment..." Tuoba Shi was startled. Even Fallen Leaves Studio had only collected some scattered pieces of level 30 equipment so far. Then he suddenly remembered, "I almost forgot, your guild leader is already level 26. It seems like you've been farming level 30 monsters all the time, so it's normal to have level 30 equipment. If you use level 30 gold equipment to trade, Fallen Leaves Studio would even have to pay you extra."

"Can I ask a question? What's the highest level in Fallen Leaves Studio?" Nie Yan asked. He was puzzled as to why no Fallen Leaves Studio players had appeared on the level rankings.

"The highest is level 25. Unlike us, they often form teams to run various dungeons. If they wipe out too many times in expert-difficulty dungeons, they definitely won't be able to level up. If you level up too fast, your equipment often can't keep up, and your leveling speed will eventually slow down. The professional players in Fallen Leaves Studio are leveling up quite fast. They have good equipment. In fact, it would only take them two or three days to reach level 26, but they've been studying expert-difficulty dungeons and don't pay much attention to leveling up. The people on the level rankings, such as Love Killer and Half-Awake Fox, are definitely the same. Even Potian probably isn't leveling up at full speed," Tuoba Shi said. With his strength, he would probably only rank around third in Fallen Leaves Studio.

These studios were mainly aimed at making profits, and their goals were different from Nie Yan's, so there was no conflict of interest. They were professional players. If Nie Yan was willing to offer enough money, he could even hire them to do things for him.

In fact, in his past life, the strategies for those expert-difficulty dungeons were first leaked from these high-end studios. Only those who were extremely sensitive to the game could research the strange tactics for various dungeons. Nie Yan remembered that someone from Fallen Leaves Studio in his past life had researched the technique of soloing the Sothis Valley at level 5 and released a video on the internet, which was amazing.

Tuoba Shi chatted with someone in private for a while, then turned to Nie Yan and said, "That set of level 20 Thief equipment is called Eternal Night's Silence. I've already asked for it. I also told them that you're willing to exchange it for a set of level 30 gold equipment. They said they're willing to pay extra."

It was actually Eternal Night's Silence. Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat. That set of Eternal Night's Silence equipment was top-notch for level 20 Thief players. It came from the Solas Temple expert-difficulty dungeon. If he wore that set of equipment, his leveling speed would be much faster. After getting the Badge of Justice, he should also focus on leveling up.

"The leader of Fallen Leaves Studio wants to meet you," Tuoba Shi suddenly turned to Nie Yan and said, surprising Nie Yan. What did the people from Fallen Leaves Studio want from him?