After the “Hundred Year Armistice Convention” [TLN: See Chapter 1] was signed, the virtual world was no longer just a simple gaming world. It signified something much greater than that. As such, Yan Huang Alliance, which was backed by the highest political authority in China, was no ordinary guild either. The words “Yan Huang” in its name signified that it represented China’s power and reputation in the virtual world [TLN: Chinese people commonly refer to themselves as 炎黃子孫, or “Yan Huang’s Descendants”, after two great Emperors, Yan Di (Yan Emperor) and Huang Di (Huang Emperor)]. When international conflicts arose, those conflicts would be settled in the virtual world. Thus, the one to step up for China was naturally the Yan Huang Alliance. Thus, the Yan Huang Alliance that represented China’s wealth, status and dignity held great attractiveness to all players. Players fought to join this guild. Moreover, no one dared to oppose anything that was tied to the welfare of China, one of which was the Yan Huang Alliance.

Moreover, its fame, size and riches were something that normal guilds could never compare to. The Yan Huang Alliance contained countless family groups in China, both large and small. As such, it was tied not only to the welfare of China and the Long family, but countless other family groups as well. The Yan Huang Alliance was simply an existence that would exist eternally, and would not be allowed to be destroyed... of course, there wasn’t anyone who had the power to destroy it.

Furthermore, Yan Huang Alliance’s power did not just come from the “Yan Huang Alliance” itself. It had countless branches and subsidiary guilds...... Ling Chen had previously encountered the “Battle Alliance” led by Xiao Qiu Feng before, which was one of the subsidiary guilds of the Yan Huang Alliance. If the Yan Huang Alliance was threatened in any way, all of these subsidiary guilds would assist the Yan Huang Alliance. Thus, without a doubt, Yan Huang Alliance was a giant in China.

There were hundreds of millions of players in China, but only ten in the Heaven Rankings. Of these ten spaces, three of them were taken by the Yan Huang Alliance, including the number 1 position, which was taken by the supposedly unbeatable “Sword Emperor”. If all the subsidiary guilds were included as well, half, or even more than half, of the Heaven Rankings would belong to the Yan Huang Alliance.

“...... Five years ago, the head of the Long family put Long Tian Yun in charge of all of the Yan Huang Alliance, who met everyone’s expectations. You’ve got to hand it to the Long family- there’s not a single member of that family who’s an ordinary person. That year, Long Tian Yun was only twenty years old. Within five years, under his leadership, the Yan Huang Alliance has become stronger and stronger, growing at an unprecedented rate. His personal battle power is very strong; his leadership is second to none; his schemes and plots are also incredible. And his eyes... oh, how do I describe it... being looked at by him, it feels like I’m not wearing clothes at all- he can see everything, including my thoughts, clear as day. All in all, he’s a very powerful and very scary person. Even though he’s young, no one dares to look down on or underestimate him. Plus, his looks are extremely good as well......” Yun Feng scratched his face as he muttered, “Although I’ve always thought that my looks are pretty good, when compared to him, even I have to admit that I can’t compare... Ai, Long family genes.......”

Ling Chen: “........”

“No matter if it’s power, wealth, looks or future prospects, he has them all. I believe that many girls would not even dare to dream of marrying him. Meng Xin, why did you reject someone like that?” Ling Chen slowly asked, his voice completely calm and emotionless. Beneath his mask, no one was able to see the glint of coldness in his eyes.

Yun Meng Xin shook her head, “If comparing how flawless his external attributes are, no one can match up to him. That year when my father and the Long family made the arranged marriage, I did my best to get to know him... On the surface level, he’s very approachable and friendly, humble and kind. However, he has a side that the vast majority of people do not know about. Deep down, in order to achieve his goals, he resorts to any method, no matter how vicious or cruel it is. Although he is yet to reach the age of thirty, he has lost all his humanity and sees people only as tools and stepping stones... things like emotions or morality probably mean nothing to him at all.

Ling Chen’s tone did not change at all as he casually asked, “If he didn’t resort to some cruel and vicious methods, how else would he be able to control and develop a guild as large as the Yan Huang Alliance? How would someone who relies on his emotions and morality support and manage the largest guild in the whole world; a guild that is tied to the welfare and reputation of China itself?”

Cruel and vicious? Who could compare to Ling Chen when it came to this...... Ling Chen looked at his own hands. Before he met Shui Ruo, his hands had been completely stained in blood. They had taken away countless lives, and could never be washed clean. If he hadn’t met Shui Ruo, perhaps he... would have already become a heartless demon with no hope of redemption.

Yun Meng Xin was silent for a short while, and then gently sighed, “Indeed, what you said is true. Being able to accomplish what he has accomplished by the age of 25 is not something that anyone is able to do. He will definitely become a figure who is admired by countless people... but he definitely is not suited to being a spouse to live with for a lifetime. What I want is someone who I love, who loves me back. Someone who will protect me and care for me for a lifetime. Although Long Tian Yun’s background and status are things that no one can even compare to, but he’s definitely not the type of person I want to marry. His personality is one that would casually use and sacrifice the people closest to him in order to benefit himself. Marrying him would be the same as marrying a deceptive viper. I would never be happy. The life he lives is not the life I desire.

Ling Chen: “........”

Yun Feng gave a sigh and said, “Meng Xin, don’t worry. No matter what, I will stand on your side. Father and the rest of them have been looking down on us, humph.”

“We definitely will stand on the side of big sister Meng Xin. Big sister Meng Xin is a goddess who came down to earth. Even if it’s Long Tian Yun, he is not worthy of big sister Meng Xin! Plus... the thing I most most most most most hate is using us girls’ futures as ways to secure benefits, I hate it! This sort of thing, I definitely won’t allow to happen to big sister Meng Xin.” Xiao Qi said as she grabbed Su’Er’s little hands. Su’Er also vigorously nodded her head. They had seen this sort of thing too many times. They definitely did not want to see Yun Meng Xin become a sacrificial offering as well- even if it was to the Long family.

Yun Meng Xin warmly smiled, her every word filled with gratitude, “Thank you, all of you.”

Yun Feng continued to speak, “Let’s return to the main topic. Ling Tian, although you haven’t been in the virtual world much, you’ve surely heard of the Yan Huang Alliance right? I believe that if there’s anyone who can help Meng Xin complete her goal in two years, it’s you... however, if there’s one thing we have to remember, it’s to avoid the Yan Huang Alliance at all costs. Long Tian Yun is determined to have Meng Xin and... ai, at least until now, he’s always been able to get what he wants. Like Meng Xin said just then, his schemes and plots are something to be feared, and he would do anything to accomplish his goals. I’m sure that he knows about the bet my father and Meng Xin made. If, in two years, Meng Xin really could garner a reputation and fortune that could rival the Yun family financial group’s, I’m sure that Long Tian Yun would try to suppress you guys as much as possible...... not only does Meng Xin need to face an almost impossible goal, but will face many obstacles as well. Yan Huang Alliance is pretty much invincible, and there’s no one with the power to fight with it. Its power and people cover every corner of the virtual world. Facing the Yan Huang Alliance as our enemies, all we can do is quietly expand and grow. Never directly face Long Tian Yun... otherwise, everything will have been for nought.”

After Yun Feng finished speaking, he silently waited for Ling Chen’s response. The three girls all remained silent. Even the energetic and boisterous Xiao Qi didn’t say anything along the lines of “We don’t need to be afraid of the Yan Huang Alliance” to improve the mood.... The Yan Huang Alliance was simply too big and powerful, every person knew this.

Ling Chen was quiet for a while, then spoke, “Let’s talk about the other two big powers.”

Yun Feng nodded his head and said, “The second ranked power out of the three great powers is the Skyfall Dynasty. The Skyfall Dynasty appeared earlier than the Yan Huang Alliance. The Yan Huang Alliance was only created after the “Hundred Year Armistice Convention”; the Skyfall Dynasty was created before the Armistice. To date, it has been around for more than sixty years. It has become one of the legends of the gaming world. It has an extremely solid foundation, and even the Yan Huang Alliance doesn’t dare to do anything to it. The Skyfall Dynasty is the only guild that dares to openly oppose the Yan Huang Alliance. The Yan Huang Alliance’s forces are gathered in the North, around China’s capital. The families that are part of the Skyfall Dynasty are gathered in South. One of the families is the Li family financial group, as well as China’s strongest “three great families”.

With the financial resources of the Li family and the skill of the experts of the “three great families”, the Skyfall Dynasty’s power has been ever-increasing. Although it cannot compare to the Yan Huang Alliance, it’s definitely not an ordinary guild either. The Yan Huang Alliance and Skyfall Dynasty have always been having small conflicts, but have been wisely avoiding large-scale conflicts. Both sides know that if these two great powers started a war, no one would benefit. If, one day, Yan Huang Alliance was able to destroy the Skyfall Dynasty, it would be pyrrhic victory, as they would suffer severe casualties as well. Moreover, attacking the Li family financial group would affect the economy of all of China, and even the Long family would not dare to easily anger the “three great families”. The Skyfall Dynasty also has many experts- the “Three Heavenly Kings” of Skyfall Dynasty are all ranked on the Heaven and Earth Rankings. The most powerful is ranked number 3 on the Heaven Rankings, and the other two are ranked number 8 on the Heaven Rankings and number 2 on the Earth Rankings. Just the Yan Huang Alliance and Skyfall Dynasty occupy almost half of the Heaven and Earth Rankings.”

“The third ranked power- The Dark Night.” After saying the name “The Dark Night”, Yun Feng’s voice paused, and his whole body shivered.

“You probably haven’t heard of the name The Dark Night before. It’s a power that only recently emerged, and has only been around for a few years. The Yan Huang Alliance and Skyfall Dynasty all have millions of players, with the Yan Huang Alliance approaching ten million players... can you guess how many members the third ranked The Dark Night has? Whew... when I say it, you definitely won’t believe me. The Dark Night’s players only number around two thousand, some people say there aren’t even one thousand... not even 1/1000 of the number of players the Yan Huang Alliance and Skyfall Dynasty have. However, they still able to stand with the other two as one of the “three great powers”.”

Ling Chen did not speak, and waited for Yun Feng to continue.