Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Arena

“But I remember that such transactions require additional taxes, don’t they?”

‘Insightful One’ asked with a hint of curiosity.

Ye Yu settled into his seat with a smile and responded, “Who ever thinks money is too little? Even with the taxes, our income remains optimistic. Across the entire ‘Divine Ruin’ realm, it might take two or three years to earn a million Hua Xia coins. Half will be reserved for guild funds to maintain resources, and the rest will be distributed as rewards.”

The advantages of building a city were indeed numerous. As long as the faction held the supreme control over a map area, that faction had the right to construct cities there. This right could be transferred, which explained why ‘Insightful One’ had received offers from other factions to buy the rights.

Beyond profit, there were many practical benefits. For instance, building a city allowed the faction to establish a teleportation point inside it, enabling direct transport back to the guild territory without relying on NPC guild administrators scattered across the map. Moreover, owning a city granted the ability to construct defensive structures to fend off enemies both inside and outside the city, preempting many potential threats.

These defenses were entirely player-operated but required no level restrictions. So, even if there were no powerful players inside the city, any member of the ‘Purple Void Phantom Realm’ could activate the defenses to repel monsters or rival faction players.

In the old servers, many maps remained monopolized by a single faction for years because they had built and fortified their cities into formidable war strongholds. Without sufficient strength, no other faction could challenge them, especially when these cities housed powerful factions or elite players.

“Building a city, huh?” At this moment, ‘Insightful One’ fell silent, clearly deep in thought. Naturally, Ye Yu needed to consult with him regarding the city construction plans. Although Ye Yu was the soul of the faction and generally everyone followed him, ‘Insightful One’ was also the one who had invested the most effort. If Ye Yu was the spirit, then ‘Insightful One’ was the indispensable keystone.

Just then, a large group suddenly entered the ‘Purple Void Phantom Realm’ territory, led by a group of unfamiliar players.

At the forefront was a fixed team, all level 40, followed by players ranging from level 30 to 37, clearly returning from a large-scale dungeon run.

“Hey, I’m back.”

The leader, a player named Xun She, greeted them.

“Miss me?” Xun She looked directly at ‘Insightful One’ and the others as he greeted them. His presence here undoubtedly affirmed his status within the ‘Purple Void Phantom Realm.’ Ye Yu had granted ‘Insightful One’ the authority to allocate positions, and as long as the upper echelon had no objections, everything was approved.

“Did you clear the dungeon?”

‘Who’s the Fragrant One’ asked, and the two exchanged a glance before smiling.

Their familiarity suggested they had known each other for some time. Seeing Ye Yu’s group’s puzzled expressions, ‘Warm Cool’ gave a wry smile and explained, “Xun She is a friend of hers. We know him in real life; he’s also part of Qing University. Just not as close to us sisters because we don’t interact often outside the game. He was in another faction before but joined ‘Purple Void Phantom Realm’ the day before yesterday. Since he’s skilled, ‘Insightful One’ naturally gave him a good position.”

They hadn’t considered collaborating before, but now, likely attracted by the faction’s growing reputation, he wanted to join. Ye Yu, ever perceptive, guessed Xun She’s true intentions.

“Heh, such people never thought of joining before, but now with the ‘Purple Void Phantom Realm’ rising, they suddenly want in. They’re the epitome of hypocrisy; they make me sick—men like that.”

By Ye Yu’s side, Luo Feng muttered lowly, his expression darkening with disdain.

“That’s not fair, Luo Feng. Even the third brother said nothing,” Huang Hong said, placing a hand on Luo Feng’s shoulder with a wry smile. Luo Feng shot him a glance and replied, “Do you think I’m wrong? I’m just speaking the truth.”

“Boss, you’re back!”

At that moment, a player named ‘Understand Your Sorrows’ spoke up, “We cleared that high-difficulty buff dungeon you conquered earlier. We couldn’t before, but luckily, we managed it.”

Xun She chimed in confidently, “How could we fail with me here? Don’t forget, my skills are top-notch.”

‘Understand Your Sorrows’ was also an elder member under ‘Insightful One’ and held a respectable position within the ‘Purple Void Phantom Realm’ hierarchy. Ye Yu had spoken with him about the earlier matters.

After hearing Ye Yu’s words, ‘Understand Your Sorrows’ expressed agreement. The benefits of building a city were obvious, and any tax imposed was reasonable. As the faction grew, it would only become stronger.

Meanwhile, Xun She, sensing the mood, quietly approached ‘Warm Cool’ and chatted with her and the other female players.

“Warm Cool, did you get those materials I mentioned earlier? They’re crucial for your future equipment. New players don’t know their value now, but when they realize, some might even cry in the restroom.”

Warm Cool smiled and replied, “Yes, I checked them out. They’re definitely needed later. Thanks to you, I saved a lot.”

They then casually chatted about daily life. Ye Yu and his group, seeing this, moved to another spot and sat down, gazing out at the panoramic view of the guild territory.

Beside Ye Yu, ‘Cup of Wine, Weary Hero’ sat down and said, “I understand how you feel. Watching them chat so naturally and feeling you can’t join in brings a sense of helplessness, as if this place doesn’t belong to you.”

“Yeah, we’ve been away too long. And these are friends I met in-game. Even though we might be at the same school, we don’t plan to get to know each other. Warm Cool knows my real name but hasn’t approached me. These new friends have old friends too and know each other in real life. It makes me feel redundant.”

“Heh, but I sensed Warm Cool often glances in your direction, as if all her thoughts are about you.”

“That’s just your imagination. How could someone like you understand?”

Ye Yu rolled his eyes at ‘Cup of Wine, Weary Hero’ and joked, “Enough about that. We should discuss gathering materials to upgrade the guild city. It takes manpower and time. Our team alone can’t help much. Though the ‘Divine Ruin’ team system allows ten members, you, the scatterbrain, can join us for now.”

“Fine by me. I don’t want to be team leader anyway—it’s too much work.”

Upon hearing this, ‘Cup of Wine, Weary Hero’ raised his eyebrows, clearly looking to dodge responsibility.

“But honestly, relying solely on quests and selling materials is slow for making money.”

He shrugged and continued, “But we did collect a lot of good stuff from the ‘Ancient Temple of Mount Tai.’ That should net us tens of thousands of Hua Xia coins, right?”

Luo Feng nodded, “True. Based on what we gathered there, it could be a sizable sum, but to maintain our funds, tens of thousands of Hua Xia coins barely scratch the surface.”

Ye Yu said, “You can make money in the game, but it depends on luck or time investment. However, I think there’s one place combining skill and luck—though it’s risky.”

Hearing this, ‘Cup of Wine, Weary Hero’’s face lit up with eagerness. “You mean the arena? Betting everything on yourself?”

Ye Yu nodded but then cautioned, “Yes, but it’s very risky. We need to wait until the server levels up to 50 to qualify for the arena. We’re currently at level 40, and many rich players are formidable. Winning consistently isn’t easy.”

The arena was a perfectly balanced PvP space, allowing players to compete in three modes: duel, team, and solo. The system was designed to level the playing field by enhancing the stats and damage of lower-level players to ensure fairness. Even the best equipment gave no advantage here.

But a character needed to reach level 50 to participate. New servers had no strict level requirements, but older ones did.

…

…