At the top floor of White River City's City Hall, Shifeng followed the senior administrator into a quiet and elegant study.
The study wasn't very large. There were only two bookshelves in the room, each one filled with dilapidated books. Some of the books didn't even have a cover. It was obvious that these books were quite old, and some of them even radiated a faint Divine Might.
In God's Domain, any item that radiated Divine Might was extremely rare and valuable. These items had been in the possession of Gods in the past, and after being contaminated with the Gods' aura for a long time, they had gained some Divine Might. One could just imagine how important these items were.
Among these books, books were especially valuable because they contained knowledge that Gods were interested in or had left behind. Some of these books even contained guidance to Tier 6 Gods.
Hence, on God's Domain's market, as long as these books radiated Divine Might, they were worth thousands of Gold or more. They were no less valuable than ordinary Epic Equipment.
Meanwhile, there were at least 50 such books on the bookshelves …
So, this is the study in White River City's City Hall? Shifeng was astonished when he saw the books radiating Divine Might.
In the eyes of ordinary players, it wasn't a big deal for the Magistrate to summon them in his study. After all, the Magistrate's location in the City Hall was unknown.
However, what everyone didn't know was that the Magistrate normally wouldn't summon players in his study.
Only after becoming the owner of a city's Auction House could players enter the City Hall's study. This was the privilege of an Auction House's owner. If it were any other player, they wouldn't be able to set foot in the study for the rest of their lives. Even Tier 6 players were no exception. It was no exaggeration to say that this study had the strongest defense in an NPC city.
This wasn't due to the magic array protecting the study. Rather, it was due to the special space the study was located in. It was like an Otherworld. Without permission, Tier 6 Gods couldn't enter the study.
At this moment, Consul Weissman was sitting in front of his desk by the window. He was seriously flipping through a book made of pure gold.
Compared to the last time Shifeng had met Weissman, the current Weissman was already a Level 200, Tier 5 Grand Wizard.
This was one of the benefits of being one of the first cities in God's Domain to be promoted. With a Tier 5 player presiding over the city, even Tier 4 players wouldn't dare act too arrogantly in the city. The city's security level was far superior to that of ordinary cities. Players could develop here with peace of mind.
"You're here. What business do you have with me?" Weissman smiled amiably at Shifeng.
At this moment, due to Weissman's promotion to a higher tier, both his facial expression and intellect had improved. Now, he appeared much more approachable than before. In fact, he even suppressed the aura he exuded as a Tier 5 player, making it impossible for players to sense his aura.
If not for Shi Feng's Identification Skill, he might've mistaken Weissman for an ordinary old man.
"Lord Magistrate, I have come to see you because I wish to make this city more prosperous. Hence, I wish to connect White River City's Auction House with the Auction Houses of other cities. I hope to obtain your permission," Shifeng said.
The Auction House was an important economic pillar of a city. The development of the Auction House was the development of the city, and the prosperity of the Auction House was the prosperity of the city.
In the past, when the various major powers obtained the Auction Houses of NPC cities, they treated them as money bags, the keys to controlling NPC cities. However, they didn't realize that the Auction Houses' true purpose was to speed up the development of their Guild Towns.
And this matter was delayed by more than a year. More than a year!
With the popularity and economy of an NPC city's Auction House, White River City should have been more than enough to upgrade to an Advanced City. It had only been two years since God's Domain's launch, yet there was still no Advanced City. In fact, White River City's Intermediate City was still a long way from becoming an Advanced City.
In God's Domain, Guild Towns were the foundation for the various large Guilds' development. There was a massive difference between each rank of Guild Town. This was especially true for Intermediate and Advanced Guilds. Although there wasn't a qualitative change, there was a massive difference in quantity. Moreover, some of the special buildings that could support players could only be constructed in Advanced Cities.
Hence, the various major powers regretted their decision when they learned of this matter.
If they had known about this matter earlier, their Guilds' development speed and player standards would've risen to a whole new level. This was especially true for player standards.
As players reached higher levels, the territories in kingdoms and empires wouldn't be enough for them to advance further.
This improvement wasn't simply a matter of players' levels. It also concerned the promotion to Tier 3. Level 100 was a major bottleneck in God's Domain. This wasn't just because Level 100 monsters were far stronger than Level 99 monsters, but also because Tier 3 players were far more difficult to deal with than Level 99 monsters.
If players wished to reach Tier 3, they needed to explore neutral maps. Unfortunately, Level 100-plus neutral maps were extremely dangerous, so dangerous that even Tier 2 experts would have a hard time surviving in them. Most importantly, the environment was extremely harsh. Take the Witch's Hill's low-Mana environment for example.
If players wished to develop well in Level 100-plus neutral maps, they'd have to rely on their Guild Cities. It was like an ordinary person walking through a barren desert, and a Guild City was an oasis.
Whether players could develop well in neutral maps depended on their Guild City's rank. A Basic City was only the bottom line. It could allow Tier 2 players to survive in neutral maps.
That's right, players would only survive in neutral maps. They wouldn't die from accidents.
At the Intermediate City standard, players wouldn't have to struggle so much in neutral maps. At the Advanced City standard, however, players would have a much easier time in Level 100-plus neutral maps, and players would have a much easier time completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. This was also why the various major powers had gone crazy over the Advanced City standard.
If they could upgrade their Guild City to the Advanced City standard early on, they'd be able to nurture their Tier 3 Promotion Quests faster and in greater numbers, widening the gap between them and other powers.
This was also why Shifeng was so desperate to secure the Auction House.
At the end of the day, a superpower was still a superpower. The resources and number of members it possessed were far superior to those of Ling Yi. Everyone thought that Ling Yi was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a superpower, but what they didn't know was that the difference between a superpower and a superpower was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.
Moreover, this gap would gradually reveal itself as time passed. This was the so-called snowball effect. While players might not notice this gap at Tier 2, once they reached Tier 3, the gap would become despair-inducing.
If Shifeng didn't establish a solid foundation now, he might be able to protect himself once the various major powers began to nurture their Tier 3 players. However, Ling Yi might not be able to protect himself against a superpower.
"Connect Auction Houses to other towns?" After giving the matter some thought, Weissman set down the book in his hand and said, "It's not impossible, but it won't be easy. If you fail, you'll have to pay a considerable price. Are you sure you're willing to accept this?"
"Yes." Shifeng nodded heavily. He had long since known about this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here in the first place.
"Then, which town do you wish to choose?" Weissman asked.
"Stone Forest Town!" Shifeng replied.
The Witch's Hill, where Ling Yi's City was located, was a treasure trove for leveling up. He couldn't afford to move Ling Yi's City to a neutral map. Meanwhile, the Stoneclaw Mountains, where Stone Forest Town was located, had already begun to decline in popularity. Moreover, Stone Forest Town was already an Advanced Town. It was only a step away from becoming a city. Naturally, Stone Forest Town had to prioritize its development.
Although connecting a town's Auction House was slightly more difficult than connecting a town's Auction House to a city, it was only as difficult as an Epic Team Quest. To Shi Feng, it shouldn't be a problem.
"Alright. As White River City's Magistrate, I'll grant you this privilege. This is what you need to do. I hope you succeed!" Weissman said as he took out a parchment and handed it to Shifeng.
As Shifeng accepted the parchment, the sound of a system notification entered his ears.
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