The guild emblem of the Bull Man Tribe was set by Nie Yan. He liked those elements rich in cultural and religious characteristics; they had a special flavor.
“I’ve heard about your conflict with Triumph Guild. It’s just a matter of time before the Bull Man Tribe is swallowed up by Triumph,” Tuo Ba Shi said. Many professional players in the Dry Leaf Studio were puzzled. They had no idea where the Bull Man Tribe had come from. Although it had recently developed somewhat, it was still bold to challenge an established guild like Triumph. It was truly a case of young calves unafraid of tigers.
Hearing Tuo Ba Shi’s words, Nie Yan felt a slight anger in his heart. However, upon reflection, he realized that before joining a guild, Tuo Ba Shi naturally needed to consider these matters. Joining the Bull Man Tribe and offending Triumph meant placing himself at a disadvantage.
Disagreeing strongly with Tuo Ba Shi, Nie Yan was about to refute when he heard Tuo Ba Shi continue.
“I agree to join the Bull Man Tribe, but my actions don’t represent the stance of the Dry Leaf Studio, because I am not a member of the Dry Leaf Studio,” Tuo Ba Shi explained. Although he could team up with players from the Dry Leaf Studio, he wasn’t a member of the studio itself. The Dry Leaf Studio was entirely profit-driven, while he was merely a casual player who didn’t have to answer to anyone.
“Only you Bull Man Tribe dare to challenge Triumph. But I like engaging in challenging things,” Tuo Ba Shi smiled slightly.
“If Tuo Ba joins your guild, I will definitely join too,” Shi Fen Hao Shuang said generously, even he himself was surprised that Tuo Ba had agreed to join the Bull Man Tribe.
Tuo Ba Shi joined the Bull Man Tribe not because of its reputation, but because he found Nie Yan’s personality agreeable and believed Nie to be a friend worth befriending. To him, a sincere friend was the most precious thing.
Nie Yan hadn’t expected Tuo Ba Shi’s sudden change of heart, agreeing to join the Bull Man Tribe. He was somewhat surprised, but upon reflection, he understood Tuo Ba’s meaning.
“I must have been thinking too small-mindedly,” Nie Yan smiled apologetically. “But I still have to say I disagree with your view. One day, in Carol City, there will be only the Bull Man Tribe, and no Triumph Empire.”
Tuo Ba Shi looked at Nie Yan in astonishment. Where did his confidence come from?
“Alright, you two don’t need to discuss this anymore. It’s giving me a headache. For me, joining a guild is fine. Can I become the top swordmaster in the guild?” Shi Fen Hao Shuang was more interested in this question.
“Almost. But you still have a little way to go to be the top warrior,” Nie Yan replied. Between Shi Fen Hao Shuang and Cui Can Dao Guang, the latter was probably stronger. Cui Can Dao Guang already had a full set of expert-level Sanctum shields from the Saurens dungeon, and although his level was slightly lower than Shi Fen’s, his technique was more refined.
“Damn, there’s someone stronger than me? I’ll have to go back and meet him,” Shi Fen Hao Shuang’s competitive spirit flared.
Tuo Ba Shi remained silent for a moment. Perhaps the Bull Man Tribe indeed had many strong individuals; otherwise, Nie Yan wouldn’t be so confident.
They had seen the top players from Triumph Empire. The others weren’t particularly fearsome, but thinking of Po Tian, Tuo Ba Shi felt a sense of defeat. That guy’s precise control was amazing, and Tuo Ba Shi didn’t believe he could defeat Po Tian. Perhaps someone would say that individual strength wasn’t everything for a guild, but in future fortress battles, individual strength could affect the outcome. And fortresses determined a guild’s future development.
In Nie Yan’s view, Triumph Empire was indeed strong, but the Bull Man Tribe was also developing. One day, it would surpass Triumph Empire. Under Nie Yan’s instructions, Guo Huai had already begun sending invitations to many players. Future Archmages, future Guardian Knights, future Shadow Dancers… Although many people looked down on joining the Bull Man Tribe, since the game had just launched, many people’s potential had yet to be truly discovered. After receiving the Bull Man Tribe’s enthusiastic invitation, they joined the guild and unknowingly signed binding contracts with the Bull Man Tribe.
For example, one of the Guardian Knights from a previous life, Tao Tie, and one of the Archmages, Sha Bu Si De Huai Dan, although puzzled as to why the Bull Man Tribe had approached them, quickly succumbed to the temptation of the Bull Man Tribe’s superior material conditions.
Nie Yan had Guo Huai send invitations to everyone whose names he could remember. Although only a few agreed to join the Bull Man Tribe, the number was still considerable. There were five players at Guang Yin Wu’s level and dozens at the next level down. Many were still in negotiations, being promised many favorable conditions to be poached. Others were still watching and waiting.
With Nie Yan’s massive capital backing, the future Bull Man Tribe would become the hall of godlike players.
The name Bull Man Tribe was indeed well-earned.
In a previous life, many players were low-key but strong, such as the current Tuo Ba Shi and Shi Fen Hao Shuang. Their strength wasn’t just in their equipment; at their current level, their skills were already quite good. Their joining the guild undoubtedly meant the Bull Man Tribe had gained two more strong members.
Nie Yan could clearly feel the Bull Man Tribe slowly growing under his leadership, destined one day to become a towering tree.
System: Tuo Ba Shi has joined the guild.
System: Shi Fen Hao Shuang has joined the guild.
“I have a set of rogue gear, but it’s not mine. If you can provide something of value in exchange, I can ask the Dry Leaf Studio to let you have it,” Tuo Ba Shi said somewhat awkwardly. After all, the Dry Leaf Studio belonged to his family, and he had no authority to take equipment from there without permission. However, if he could provide something of equal value in exchange, it would be different.
“What level is the gear set?” Nie Yan asked, surprised that the Dry Leaf Studio had spare gear sets.
Thinking about it, the Dry Leaf Studio, like the Kuang Zhan Studio, was an established studio with substantial strength. Among the top 100 professional players in the country, about a dozen came from the Dry Leaf Studio, and there were about thirty to forty among the top 500. Such a powerful studio operated with great efficiency.
Nie Yan thought of the War God Tribe, the War God Studio established with his father’s capital support. Its strength had once surpassed that of the Dry Leaf Studio and Kuang Zhan Studio. It seemed Nie Yan’s efforts were still too small-scale.
“It’s a level 20 set. One of the elite members of the Dry Leaf Studio recently leveled up to 25 and replaced his level 20 gear set. Its ownership hasn’t been decided yet. If I ask for it, they will definitely give it to me, but I also need to give them something in return, otherwise they can’t explain it to their superiors,” Tuo Ba Shi explained. Since the Dry Leaf Studio was run by his family, those people wouldn’t dare to refuse his request for equipment. “Actually, besides the gear set I’m wearing, I don’t have much money,” Tuo Ba Shi said gloomily.
“I understand,” Nie Yan nodded and said after thinking for a moment, “I can offer a level 30 epic gear set in exchange, but I need to see the rogue gear set’s attributes first.” In fact, Tang Yao had been continuously farming scale frogs, and they had managed to gather several sets of level 30 epic gear with decent attributes. Exchanging for a level 20 epic gear set that Nie Yan could wear would be a great deal.
“A level 30 gear set…” Tuo Ba Shi was shocked. Even the Dry Leaf Studio had only collected some scattered pieces of level 30 gear sets so far. Suddenly he remembered, “I almost forgot, your guild’s leader is already level 26. It seems he’s been farming level 30 monsters continuously, so having level 30 gear sets is normal. If you use a level 30 epic gear set to exchange, the Dry Leaf Studio would have to pay you extra.”
“May I ask a question? What’s the highest level in the Dry Leaf Studio?” Nie Yan asked curiously. He was puzzled why players from the Dry Leaf Studio hadn’t appeared on the level leaderboard.
“The highest level is apparently only 24. Unlike us, they often form teams to tackle various dungeons. Their frequent wipes in expert-level dungeons definitely slow down their leveling. Leveling up too fast often means their gear can’t keep up, which eventually slows down their leveling speed. The professional players in the Dry Leaf Studio level up quite fast. With good gear, reaching level 26 would only take two or three days. However, they’ve been focusing on researching expert-level dungeons and haven’t emphasized leveling much. The top players on the leaderboard, like Ai Qing Sha Shang and Ban Xing De Hu Li, are probably the same. Even Po Tian is definitely not leveling at full speed,” Tuo Ba Shi explained. With his strength, he probably ranked around third in the Dry Leaf Studio.
These studios were mainly profit-driven, different from the goals pursued by Nie Yan and his companions. There was no conflict of interest. They were professional players, and if Nie Yan was willing to pay enough, he could even hire them.
In fact, in the previous timeline, the strategies for expert-level dungeons were first released by these high-end studios. Only these players who were extremely sensitive to the game could figure out the strange strategies for various dungeons. Nie Yan remembered that in the previous timeline, someone from the Dry Leaf Studio had researched a solo technique for the five-level Saos Valley and released a video online, which was amazing.
After chatting privately with someone for a while, Tuo Ba Shi turned to Nie Yan and said, “That level 20 rogue gear set is called Eternal Silence. I’ve already asked for it. I told them you’re willing to exchange a level 30 epic gear set. They said they’re willing to pay extra.”
It was actually the Eternal Silence set. Nie Yan’s heart trembled. That Eternal Silence gear set was top-tier equipment for a level 20 rogue. It dropped from the expert-level Saurens dungeon. If he could equip that set, leveling up would become significantly faster. After obtaining the Justice Chapter, it would be time to focus on power-leveling.
“The leader of the Dry Leaf Studio wants to meet you,” Tuo Ba Shi suddenly turned to Nie Yan, which surprised him. What did the Dry Leaf Studio members want with him?
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