The hall was decorated luxuriously, with a ceiling made of special glass material, allowing plenty of light to flood in. A rockery fountain and pool were placed in the center, overgrown with various plants, full of greenery.

Passing through the hall and around a spiral corridor, there was a gathering area.

A spacious open-air tea garden had been specially created here, where a large group of people were chatting. They all looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, full of vigor. Nie Yan scanned the group, and several familiar faces caught his eye. Hao Cheng, Zhao Li, Guo Huai—these three buddies had kept in touch with him in his previous life when he was down on his luck, so he remembered them particularly clearly. They were all Nie Yan and Tang Yao's best friends from junior high school.

"Hey, Nie Yan, Tang Yao, you're here." Hao Cheng spotted Nie Yan and Tang Yao and immediately came up, punching Nie Yan in the chest. "Yo, kid, you've gotten stronger and taller. I remember you were just skin and bones back in junior high. Have you started working out recently?"

Hao Cheng noticed that Nie Yan was indeed very different from before, his physique and temperament were worlds apart, which surprised him slightly.

Nie Yan smiled and said, "You haven't changed much, still as strong as an ox."

Hao Cheng was very tall and sturdy. He was notorious for fighting in junior high school, having taken down several tough guys at school. He had also served as the captain of the Sanda team.

Hao Cheng glanced at Tang Yao next to him and laughed, "You've gotten fatter than before, kid."

"Damn, can't you be a little more tactful?" Tang Yao said with a laugh.

After a while, Zhao Li and Guo Huai also came up. Zhao Li was slightly shorter than Hao Cheng, with darker skin and a square face, but in terms of looks, he was still decent. He was very popular among girls, and he had hooked up with quite a few girls in junior high school. Guo Huai was the more introverted type, wearing glasses and looking refined.

"Nie Yan's here," Guo Huai said with a smile.

"Hey, Nie Yan, long time no see. The five of us are finally together again," Zhao Li said excitedly.

Guo Huai pointed to the sofa next to him and said, "Let's sit over here."

The five of them sat together and chatted.

Not far away, several girls kept looking over at them, and their voices reached Nie Yan's ears.

"Hey, is that Nie Yan?"

"It looks like it."

"He's changed so much."

"Yeah, he looks much better than before. I remember he used to be very skinny."

Nie Yan glanced over there and saw several slightly familiar girls, giving them a smile of greeting. They smiled back shyly, surprised that Nie Yan was no longer as reserved as before.

Nie Yan had once been a bookworm, an excellent student who knew nothing of the world. He couldn't remember when his personality started to change in his previous life. Now, he had the mind of an adult, and nothing could easily stir him.

The five of them chatted about their situations, and gradually, the topic turned to Faith, which was currently the most attention-grabbing game.

"Are you guys all playing? Where are you hanging out? Let's team up and level up next time! You know the guys in Class Two, right? A dozen of them entered the game together to level up, and they're supposedly really awesome now. The highest level is already twelve. Someone in Class Eleven started a guild, and it already has several hundred people," Hao Cheng said excitedly about the game.

"Hao Cheng, what class are you, and what level are you?" Zhao Li asked.

"Warrior, already level eleven. It's frustrating being in a small team, occasionally running a dungeon together, but there are a few noobs in the team, and we keep wiping. Otherwise, my level could be even higher," Hao Cheng said. Having practiced Sanda, his reactions and everything else were pretty good, so he had a natural talent for playing a warrior. "What about you?"

"I'm a level ten Retribution Paladin, now in Holy Flame, but unfortunately, I only got into a second-rate team and couldn't get into their elite team," Zhao Li said with a wry smile.

Nie Yan was a little surprised that Zhao Li had joined Holy Flame.

"Damn, those bastards from Holy Flame ambushed us last time, almost got me killed," Tang Yao said, his face darkening.

"This has nothing to do with me," Zhao Li quickly clarified.

"I know," Tang Yao nodded, there was no need to take such things out on his own brothers.

"I'm going to quit the guild when I get back, anyway, I'm not having a good time there," Zhao Li patted Tang Yao on the shoulder and said.

"That's my brother!" Tang Yao smiled, this was what his best friend should be like.

"What about you guys, what level are you?" Hao Cheng looked at Guo Huai, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan. Zhao Li's level was okay, which wasn't unexpected, but Guo Huai, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan were probably not doing so well.

"I'm also level ten, a Holy Word Priest," Guo Huai said, his level wasn't low either.

Hao Cheng's eyes lit up, also level ten. Being able to reach level ten proved that Guo Huai's strength was still pretty good, and he was a Holy Word Priest. With three relatively strong players, it would be good to team up and grind together.

"Tang Yao, what about you?" Hao Cheng asked. He didn't have much hope for Nie Yan and Tang Yao. Back in junior high school, they didn't play games much. He was quite surprised when he heard that Tang Yao and Nie Yan were playing games.

"Ahem." Tang Yao glanced at Nie Yan, and seeing Nie Yan nod, he smiled slightly and said, "Arcane Mage, level fourteen."

"Uh, four...teen?"

"Are you kidding me?"

The atmosphere suddenly became strange. Hao Cheng, Guo Huai, and Zhao Li looked at Tang Yao with shocked expressions, stunned for a long time. Level ten, level eleven, while considered pretty good at the moment, there were still many players at this level. But if he was level fourteen, that would be a bit insane. Top three on the level rankings—that was too scary.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

The reactions of Hao Cheng and the others greatly satisfied Tang Yao's vanity, and Tang Yao was slightly smug.

"You're amazing, kid, hiding so deeply!" Hao Cheng patted Tang Yao on the shoulder.

"That's right, too awesome, level fourteen, incredible. What's your name in the game?"

"Yaozi," Tang Yao said.

"Damn, you're that Yaozi? I was wondering who was leveling up so fast. We'll follow you from now on. Bro, you know what I mean. Do you have any equipment you've replaced?"

"Don't, please, I'm following someone else," Tang Yao said with a wry smile.

Hao Cheng and the others were stunned for a moment and asked, "You're so awesome, and you're still following someone else? Others should be following you. Quickly quit whatever guild you've joined."

"That's right, you're strong enough to start your own guild. Look at those big shots on the level rankings, Broken Heaven, the president of Triumph, Half-Asleep Fox, the president of the Holy Roman Empire, and the presidents of Holy Flame and the Mad Warrior Alliance..." Guo Huai listed them off, and everyone realized that except for Tang Yao, the top ten on the level rankings were all presidents of major guilds.

"Out of everyone I know, you're the most awesome. If you start a guild, many people will respond immediately. I'll go pull in a large group of brothers to join," Hao Cheng said quickly.

"Me too," Zhao Li immediately echoed from the side.

"We can pull in at least two or three thousand people in the first batch!" Guo Huai said, his words shocking everyone, especially since he was usually quiet.

"That's that terrifying?" Tang Yao was taken aback.

"Of course, you're already level fourteen, how much appeal do you have? If we go pull, we can pull in two or three thousand just from classmates, but guild benefits are a problem. If the guild warehouse can't be built, it'll be a bit troublesome. If the guild warehouse can't be built, the number of people will only stop at two or three thousand. If the guild warehouse is built and the benefits are up to par, then let them pull in people, and the number will definitely snowball," Guo Huai's thinking was quite clear.

Nie Yan nodded slightly, Guo Huai was right.

Seeing Zhao Li and Hao Cheng looking at him in surprise, Guo Huai pushed up his glasses, a little embarrassed, and said, "I thought about starting a guild with my friends, but we gave up later. We don't have any appeal, and our financial resources are not on the same level as those big guilds."

Only then did Nie Yan remember that he had heard in junior high school that Guo Huai's father seemed to own a supermarket with more than two hundred large chain supermarkets, with strong financial resources. It was normal for Guo Huai to have such thoughts, after all, Faith was receiving more and more attention. If a large guild was successfully started, the economic benefits would be great.

"I've never heard you mention it before, you always do things so quietly."

"How about it, Yaozi, let's start a guild together, you be the boss, and I'll just take a share. I'll figure out the funding," Guo Huai said, his eyes gleaming. If Tang Yao could keep standing on the level rankings, then his appeal would be astonishing. Raise a banner, and believers would come in droves. Even if they couldn't build a guild as large as Triumph or the Holy Roman Empire, building a medium-sized guild was still possible.

Tang Yao shook his head and said, "The guild will be built, but I'm not the boss, and I don't have the final say on the shares."

"You're not the boss? Then who will be?" Guo Huai was stunned for a moment and asked.

"I might be the boss on the surface, but the actual boss is... Nie Yan. Because I'm following him," Tang Yao said with a laugh, saying something that shocked Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li.

"Nie Yan?"

Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li turned their heads in surprise to look at Nie Yan, who hadn't said anything, and they then remembered that they had been chatting too excitedly and seemed to have forgotten to ask Nie Yan what level he was. Could he be even more terrifying than Tang Yao?

Nie Yan, who had been sitting beside them without saying a word, instantly became the focus.

"Nie Yan, what class are you, and what level are you?"

"Yeah, we haven't had a chance to ask."

"Don't hide it, tell us quickly!"

Seeing the expectant expressions on everyone's faces, Nie Yan smiled and said, "Level fourteen, Thief."

"A Thief can level up to fourteen, that's awesome. Why isn't it shown on the level rankings?" Hao Cheng blurted out. He knew how difficult it was to level up as a Thief. The Thief with the highest level seemed to be only twelve, and none of the top ten were Thieves.

"He's not on the level rankings, he's hidden it," Tang Yao explained.

"Sure enough, the quiet ones are fierce."