THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 6 - Season 10 Episode 12

The news of the Candlelight Trading Firm mass-recruiting Lifestyle players spread like wildfire.

It wasn’t just limited to White River City; very quickly, everyone throughout Star-Moon Kingdom heard about the opportunity. The official forums buzzed with activity.

“What? This can’t be true, right? The Candlelight Trading Firm is actually recruiting members without any rank restrictions?”

“I heard that Candlelight wants to recruit a lot of people this time. I wonder if an Intermediate Apprentice like myself has a chance?”

“I remember that, when Heaven’s Burial recruited Lifestyle players, applicants needed to be at least Advanced Apprentice rank with a 65% success rate or higher to pass their assessment. However, Heaven’s Burial still doesn’t have a 2-star Shop. Candlelight’s assessment will probably be extremely difficult.”

Currently, Lifestyle players grew more important by the day. However, it was extremely difficult for a Lifestyle player to make a name for themself if they had to rely on their own strength. This was because Lifestyle players needed a lot of resources for their practice. The more important a Lifestyle class was, the more resources they needed to improve. Moreover, the further a Lifestyle player progressed, the more valuable were their required resources.

Hence, if a Lifestyle player did not join a Guild, it would become extremely difficult for them to grow stronger.

Just hours after the Candlelight Trading Firm announced its recruitment campaign, thousands of players had lined up outside the firm’s 3-star Shop in White River City, and the crowd was still growing.

Melancholic Smile arranged for these Lifestyle players to take the firm’s assessment, one after another.

The test was very simple. Lifestyle players were required to produce a tool or item corresponding to their ranks, and they would be given a pass as long as they achieved a success rate of above 60%.

“What, exactly, is Zero Wing trying to do?” When the various large Guilds heard the news, they immediately assumed that Zero Wing had gone nuts.

Although Lifestyle players were important, one needed to invest a lot of resources to nurture profitable Lifestyle players. Moreover, a loss was guaranteed during the early nurturing stages. Hence, when Guilds like themselves recruited Lifestyle players, they set their requirements very high and would only recruit a limited number. Otherwise, the expenditure would do more harm than good.

Yet, not only was Zero Wing recruiting Lifestyle players regardless of rank, but it had also significantly lowered the assessment’s difficulty. During Zero Wing’s previous recruitment campaigns for Lifestyle players, it had required a success rate of 70% or higher.

In just half an hour, Zero Wing had recruited over 30 Lifestyle players. Among them, only seven were Advanced Apprentice rank, while the others were below that. This outcome worried the Lifestyle players still outside of the Candlelight Trading Firm. They were afraid that the available slots would be taken up before their turn arrived.

Contrary to expectations, however, more Lifestyle players were accepted. Very quickly, over a hundred players had been accepted into the firm. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm showed no signs of stopping its recruitment…

Seeing this, the spies the various Guilds had sent reported this information to their respective Guilds.

“What?! They have accepted over a hundred Apprentices?! Has Zero Wing’s upper management lost their minds?!”

“Could a 3-star Shop really be that powerful?”

The various Guilds that had received this message were stunned. Normally, they would only recruit around 40 Lifestyle players when they gained an additional 1-star Shop. If they recruited any more, there wouldn’t be enough Workshops and resources to go around.

After the Candlelight Trading Firm upgraded one of its 2-star Shop to 3-star status, the building had only gained two floors. Generally, it would be a miracle if they could recruit 200 players.

—

“Big Sis Melancholic, should we raise the assessment bar? At this rate, we’ll fill the new Workshops. It will be a pity if we miss out on any talented newcomers later on,” Cream Cocoa asked worriedly as she watched the thousands of people lined up outside of the building.

“Relax. I’m actually concerned that we won’t be able to recruit enough people.” Melancholic Smile smiled bitterly.

“Not enough people? How is that possible? There are thousands of people outside right now. If we leave the bar at a 60% success rate, at least four or five hundred of them should pass. How is that not enough people?” Cream Cocoa was no longer the noob she had been when she had first started playing God’s Domain. She knew that, although Lifestyle players who could achieve a 60% success rate were rare, with the base number being so high, a frightening number of people could pass the assessment.

Five hundred Lifestyle players was not a small crowd. Even an ordinary second-rate Guild could not afford to nurture so many.

Furthermore, the Candlelight Trading Firm was already saturated with Lifestyle players.

With the extra Workshops that came with the two additional floor spaces, the most they could afford to recruit was around 300 Lifestyle players. Any more and they would have to rent Workshops from the Lifestyle Associations.

However, renting Workshops would massively burden their finances.

“Four or five hundred really isn’t enough. The Guild Leader has already determined that we need to recruit 1,200 players,” Melancholic Smile chuckled. “With just the Lifestyle players in front of us, we will probably won’t reach that goal. Hopefully, more players will show up.”

Cream Cocoa was rendered speechless.

Lifestyle players were only a small minority of the player population in God’s Domain. In addition, the various Guilds often held recruitment campaigns of their own. Gathering 1,200 qualified Lifestyle players was a colossal task.

Unfortunately, Cream Cocoa had another concern.

Where were they going to house all of these Lifestyle players?

—

Elsewhere, Shi Feng had completed his trade with Phoenix Rain in the City Hall and officially gained the Deed to a plot of Land in Lake Heart City.

“This is the information we have obtained on the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Take a look. The match is in two days. I look forward to the Asura Battle Team’s performance,” Phoenix Rain said, smiling pleasantly as she handed Shi Feng the information she had collected on the enemy battle team and the time, venue and rules for the next battle. She was in a good mood after obtaining the 10,000 Gold from Shi Feng.

“Oh? The Miracle Guild?” Shi Feng was slightly surprised after a general glance through the information.

“We have only discovered this after the system upgrade,” Phoenix Rain said solemnly. “You mustn’t underestimate the Miracle Guild. Although it is a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, Miracle’s foundation is much stronger than ours. It can even contend with Super Guilds. When the time comes, the Evil Dragon Battle Team’s roster will undergo a complete change. You best prepare for the match.”

Although Phoenix Rain had said as much, she did not think that the Asura Battle Team had any chance of winning.

After all, the Asura Battle Team had exposed too many of its trump cards. The Miracle Guild would definitely come prepared. If Miracle went all out in this match, the Asura Battle Team would be overwhelmed. After all, the difference between each side’s strength was immense.

Phoenix Rain only prayed that the Miracle Guild would not take the match too seriously. This way, she could haul in another fortune.

Shi Feng nodded silently in response to Phoenix Rain’s advice.

In truth, even without Phoenix Rain’s warning, Shi Feng knew just how powerful the Miracle Guild was.

In his previous life, when a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame had appeared in God’s Domain, the various large Guilds had employed all sorts of methods to obtain it. In the end, however, a dozen or so experts from the Miracle Guild had secured the flame. Among the Guilds experts that had fought for the Mysterious Flame, two other Super Guilds’ top combatants had been present.

That battle had become a classic within God’s Domain.

To put it simply, defeating the Miracle Guild-led Evil Dragon Battle Team would be extremely difficult for the Asura Battle Team.

—

As Shi Feng hurried towards the Candlelight Trading Firm, a party of six arrived in the Teleportation Hall in White River City. The instant these players appeared, they became the main focus within the hall. Their equipment was too gorgeous to ignore. Even the lowest quality equipment was Dark-Gold rank. As for these players’ Levels, that was even more impressive.

Of the six players, two were Level 40, while the remaining four were Level 39. Even in an empire, this group would be a force to be reckoned with, much less White River City.

“So this is White River City? The standard of the players here is quite high.”

“We’re not here to sightsee; focus on the task at hand. Let’s head over to Zero Wing to have a look.”