The hall was luxuriously decorated, with a ceiling made of a special material of glass, so the light was very bright. In the center was an artificial mountain, a fountain pool, and various plants, full of greenery.

Passing through the hall and around a spiral corridor, one arrived at a gathering area.

A spacious outdoor tea area had been specially set up here, where a large group of people were chatting. They were all only eighteen or nineteen years old, full of youthful vigor. Nie Yan scanned the group, and several familiar faces caught his eye. Hao Cheng, Zhao Li, and 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; their relationship was the closest.

"Hey, Nie Yan, Tang Yao, you're here." Hao Cheng spotted Nie Yan and Tang Yao and immediately walked up to them, punching Nie Yan in the chest. "Yo, kid, you've gotten stronger and taller. I remember you were nothing but skin and bones back in junior high. Have you started working out recently?"

Hao Cheng noticed that Nie Yan was indeed quite 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 famous for fighting in junior high school, having taken down several tough guys at school, and had been 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 subtle?" Tang Yao said with a laugh and a curse.

After a while, Zhao Li and Guo Huai also came over. Zhao Li was slightly shorter than Hao Cheng, with darker skin and a square face, but his appearance was still passable. He was very popular with girls, and he had hooked up with quite a few in junior high. Guo Huai, on the other hand, 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 started chatting.

Not far away, several girls were frequently looking over at them, and their chatter reached Nie Yan and the others' ears.

"Hey, isn't that Nie Yan?"

"Seems like it."

"He's changed so much."

"Yeah, he's much better-looking than before. I remember he used to be so skinny."

Nie Yan glanced over there and saw several girls who looked somewhat familiar, giving them a smile. They smiled back shyly, surprised that Nie Yan was no longer as reserved as he used to be.

Nie Yan had once been a top student who didn't care about the world and only knew how to study. He couldn't remember when his personality had started to change in his previous life. Now, he had the mind of an adult and was no longer easily surprised.

The five of them talked about their situations, and gradually, the topic turned to the most talked-about game, Faith.

"Are you guys playing? Where are you hanging out? Let's team up and level up next time! You know those guys in Class Two? A dozen of them went into 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, very excited when talking about the game.

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

"Warrior, already level eleven. What's annoying is that I'm in a small team, and we occasionally run dungeons together, but there are a few noobs in the team, and we keep wiping. Otherwise, I could be even higher level," Hao Cheng said. He had trained in Sanda, so his reactions were good, and he had quite a talent for playing Warrior. "What about you?"

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

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

"Damn, those bastards from Holy Light ambushed us last time and almost killed me," Tang Yao said, his face turning sour.

"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 brother.

"I'll quit the guild when I get back. I'm not having fun anyway," Zhao Li said, patting Tang Yao on the shoulder.

"That's what brothers are for!" Tang Yao said with a smile. This was his best friend.

"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, not beyond his expectations, but Guo Huai, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan were probably not doing so well.

"I'm level ten too, a Holy Word Mage," Guo Huai said. His level was not low either.

Hao Cheng's eyes lit up. Guo Huai was also level ten. Being able to get to level ten proved that Guo Huai's strength was pretty good, and he was a Holy Word Mage. With three relatively strong people, the five of them could team up to grind and level up.

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

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

"Uh, fou...rteen?"

"Are you kidding?"

The atmosphere suddenly became strange. Hao Cheng, Guo Huai, and Zhao Li looked at Tang Yao with shocked expressions. They were stunned for a long time. Level ten and eleven were considered pretty good at the moment, but there were still many players at that level. If he was level fourteen, that was a bit heaven-defying. Ranking in the top three on the level leaderboard? That was too scary.

The atmosphere was eerily silent.

Tang Yao's vanity was greatly satisfied by Hao Cheng and the others' reactions. He was slightly smug.

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

"Yeah, too awesome, level fourteen, heaven-defying. What's your name in the game?"

"Yao Zi," Tang Yao said.

"Damn, you're that Yao Zi? 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 just 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? It's more like others should be following you. Quit whatever guild you joined."

"That's right, you're so fierce, you could start your own guild. Look at those big shots on the level leaderboard, Potian, the guild leader of Triumph, Half-Asleep Fox, the guild leader of the Holy Roman Empire, and the guild leaders of Holy Light and the Mad War Alliance..." Guo Huai listed them off. Everyone then realized that all of the top ten on the level leaderboard, except for Tang Yao, were the guild leaders of major guilds.

"Among the people I know, you're the most awesome. If you start a guild, many people will respond immediately. I'll go get a bunch of my buddies 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, shocking everyone with his unusually long speech.

"That's so terrifying?" Tang Yao was stunned.

"Of course. You're level fourteen, how much appeal do you have? 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 be limited to two or three thousand. If the guild warehouse is built and the benefits keep up, and then we let them pull in people, the number will definitely snowball and get bigger and bigger," 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 embarrassedly and said, "I thought about starting a guild with my friends, but we gave up later. We have no appeal, and our financial resources are completely different from those of the 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 chain, with more than two hundred large chain supermarkets under his name, with vast financial resources. It was normal for Guo Huai to have such thoughts, after all, Faith was becoming increasingly popular. If a large guild could be successfully started, it would bring significant economic benefits.

"I've never heard you mention it before. You've always been the type to do things quietly."

"How about it, Yaozi, let's start a guild together. You be the boss, and I'll just take a small share. I'll figure out the funding," Guo Huai said, his eyes shining. If Tang Yao could keep standing on the level leaderboard, his appeal would be amazing. If he raised a banner, followers would constantly come in. Even if they couldn't build a guild as big 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 asked, stunned.

"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 smile, uttering words that shocked Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li.

"Nie Yan?"

Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li turned to look at Nie Yan, who had been silent on the side. Only then did they remember that they had been chatting too excitedly, and they seemed to have forgotten to ask what level Nie Yan was. Could he be even more terrifying than Tang Yao?

Nie Yan, who had been sitting beside them without speaking, instantly became the focus of attention.

"Nie Yan, what class are you playing, 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 level fourteen, that's too awesome. How come it's not on the level leaderboard?" Hao Cheng exclaimed. He knew how difficult it was to level up as a Thief. The highest-level Thief seemed to be only level twelve, and none of the top ten were Thieves.

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

"Sure enough, the quiet ones are the dangerous ones."