''Then... young master Shun... what must I do, for you to forgive me?''

A big smile covered Shun Long's face, as he finally heard the words that he had been waiting to hear, since the first time that they had met with Zhang Dingxiang.

All of his actions until today, since he had arrived in the Night star continent, including having the 'Silver-winged panther king' out in the open and strolling around the Silver sword city on its back, were planned to lead to this moment.

Shun Long was certain that since he had entered a 'seemingly big guild' from the outside, there would definitely be a high-rank Elder who would try to recruit them, as soon as he and Liu Mei stepped inside.

And indeed, as soon as he and Liu Mei entered inside, everything went according to his expectations, as an Elder from the Pale Moon guild had come to meet them.

Of course, Shun Long hadn't been certain that Zhang Dingxiang would be tricked with just a few top-grade rank 3 'Blood combustion pills', which was why he was prepared to refine the rank 4 'Golden Jade spirit tree' into a rank 4 'Spirit enhancing pill' before he came here again.

Who would expect after all, for the Elder of the 'Pale Moon guild' to be so greedy, that Shun Long didn't even need to put in motion his second plan ?!

Shun Long smiled as he looked at Zhang Dingxiang in front of him, but the tone of his voice was still cold as he said

''I have a few questions. If Elder answers truthfully, then I will think of staying to the 'Pale Moon guild' until the 3 months period is over. However, if you lie to me again Elder Zhang, then you can forget about me helping your guild.''

Zhang Dingxiang's heart constricted, as he clearly understood that he had fallen into a trap, and with a painful look in his eyes, he nodded his head as he said

''Please ask your questions young master Shun. If I can answer, then I will definitely do so. But you should also understand, that some things are impossible to reveal.''

Shun Long didn't seem to mind the bald Elder's words, and nodding his head he asked

''Then, here is my first question. Who is the strongest person in your 'Pale Moon guild'?''

Zhang Dingxiang exhaled a sigh of relief when he heard the question before he replied

''This isn't really a secret within the Silver sword city. At least, all of the strong guilds know, that our Guild Leader is madam Xie.

Madam Xie is an S-ranked mercenary, as well as an early stage Nascent Soul expert.''

Shun Long nodded his head without asking any more questions regarding this matter. After all, he hadn't really cared that much about the guild leader, but it was good to have a general idea of how strong the upper echelons were.

With a nonchalant look on his face, he then continued

''Then, what about the rest of the guilds who are ranked in the top 10?''

Zhang Dingxiang replied truthfully, without hiding anything

...

''Aside from the 'Turtle Tycoon merchant guild', as well as the 'Dark Blade guild', there are no other guilds inside the Silver sword city that have any SS-rank mercenaries. Of course, the Mercenaries' Association, as well as the rulers of the Silver sword city, the Silver sword clan, also have SS-ranked mercenaries.''

Shun Long nodded without any expression on his face, but inwardly he was actually surprised.

Thankfully, what Zhang Dingxiang considered 'common knowledge', while he thought that Shun Long was still testing him, was actually valuable information to Shun Long who had just arrived here with Liu Mei just half a month ago.

After all, Shun Long didn't know anything about the Silver sword clan so far, but according to Zhang Dingxiang's words, both they and the Mercenaries' Association, had at least an SS-ranked mercenary each, if not even more.

At this point, Shun Long only had 2 more questions to ask the bald Elder in front of him.

An invisible glint flashed through his eyes, but the tone in his voice was still the same 'uncaring tone' as before, as he asked the chubby Elder

''Then, what do you know about the Heaven's Dome city?''

Shun Long saw the look in Zhang Dingxiang's face change into one of fear, astonishment, and awe. The middle-aged Elder of the 'Pale Moon guild' observed Liu Mei and Shun Long seriously for a few moments before he asked a question on his own

''Young master Shun... are you referring to the Heaven's Dome city where the Mercenaries' Association's main headquarters is?''

Even Liu Mei was astonished, as she didn't know how Shun Long knew a city named Heaven's Dome city. The only logical conjecture would be, that the Dao King inside the 'Vermilion realm' had told Shun Long about this.

Liu Mei saw Shun Long nodding his head at Zhang Dingxiang without any change in his expression, confirming that they were talking about the same city.

Shun Long however, had only seen the name of this city inside the map that Cui Guoliang had given to him, so he wasn't entirely certain if this was truly the same city. After all, with how vast the Night star continent is, it was possible that there was more than one city with the same name.

Zhang Dingxiang nodded his head somewhat absent-mindedly, looking like he was recalling some memories. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Shun Long and said

''Young master Shun... I really wonder about your origins. However, I must warn you, that even with a peak rank 5 magic beast to protect you, you will still be weak inside the Heaven's Dome city.''

Shun Long's eyes flashed with a bright light, as he looked seriously at the bald Elder in front of him.

After a brief pause, Zhang Dingxiang continued with a serious look in his eyes

''Actually, I have only been to the Heaven's Dome city a few times, mostly while I accompanied Madam Xie.

However, young master Shun I can tell you the same thing that Madam Xie told me before we entered the city.

'The Heaven's Dome city, is a city filled with luxury, where you can find everything inside as long as you have enough money... but it is also a city filled with terrifying monsters.'''

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