Chapter 381 - 223: A Level: 6 Ren Demon Palace

Chapter 381: Chapter 223: A Level: 6 Ren Demon Palace

From Luke’s explanation, Zhong Yi now had a clear understanding of how influence levels were determined on the Virtual Source Network.

First, any influence could be rated as a D Level Influence.

To be rated as a C Level Influence, one needed at least two C Level Talents.

Take Soul Soil, for example. Although its only members were Zhong Yi and Luke, Soul Soil already counted as a genuine C Level Influence.

As for becoming an A Level Influence, that required competing against other influences in the Secret Realms opened by the Wanyu Gambling Company.

Only by winning first place more than ten times in total and obtaining more than ten Hearts of the World through world exploration could an influence be rated as A Level.

Above A Level Influences, there were also S Level Influences.

However, the criteria for S Level Influences had no clear, rigid standards.

Every two years, the Four Major Companies on the Virtual Source Network—the Wanyu Source Material Company, Wanyu Soul Fighting Company, Wanyu Gambling Company, and Wanyu Boundary Exploration Company, each backed by one of the Nine Great Ecosystems—would jointly host a tournament between influences.

The tournament would feature a wide variety of competitions.

In the end, the top ten influences among all A Level Influences would receive an S Level rating.

There were only nine ecosystems, so at most, only ten S Level Influences could exist on the Virtual Source Network at any given time.

Receiving an S Level rating was a supreme honor for every member of an influence.

Zhong Yi had never encountered an S Level Influence before, but it went without saying that they must be terrifyingly powerful.

’If I joined an influence like that, forget Luke—even I would struggle to gain any recognition in the short term unless I made a spectacular show of my abilities.’

Zhong Yi checked and found that of the influences that had contacted him so far, more than half were B Level Influences, and there were over a dozen A Level Influences as well.

In contrast, very few C Level or D Level Influences had reached out to him.

After all, the leaders of D Level and C Level Influences knew full well that they didn’t have what it took to retain a Zhenxing C Level Talent.

The Secret Realms opened by the Wanyu Gambling Company could only be entered by individuals; team exploration was not allowed.

This meant that for Zhong Yi, there wasn’t much difference between joining a B Level Influence or an A Level Influence.

The main thing was what kind of offer the influence made him.

Zhong Yi had just warned Luke not to participate in any world explorations that his chosen influence won at the Wanyu Boundary Exploration Company’s auctions.

Zhong Yi didn’t plan on doing so himself, either.

Although Zhong Yi currently lacked high-end resources, if he continued on his current trajectory, he would one day become an overlord not only in the Guardian Beast World but also on the Virtual Source Network.

With this kind of momentum, there was no need for him to take risks for the sake of an influence he joined.

If he were to explore a new world, Zhong Yi would do it for a world that Soul Soil itself won at a Wanyu Boundary Exploration Company auction.

If he explored a world won at auction by an influence he represented, even if he managed to obtain a Heart of the World, it wouldn’t belong to him, but to the influence.

Zhong Yi used the one-click reply function to respond to every B Level and A Level Influence that had contacted him.

He directly asked them to state their offers, planning to screen them based on the compensation proposed.

Luke basically did the same.

During this process, many managers representing their influences invited Zhong Yi to speak with them face-to-face.

When it came to matters of compensation, Luke was just as inexperienced.

After a moment of thought, Zhong Yi replied to the first A Level Influence that had contacted him.

This A Level Influence was called the Liuren Demon Hall!

Zhong Yi granted the manager from the Liuren Demon Hall temporary access to his private reception room.

A moment later, a man with ashen-gray skin and a head of silver hair entered Zhong Yi’s reception room.

The man also wore what looked like an incredibly ostentatious crown.

The crown wasn’t studded with gems, but was instead entwined with grayish-brown spiderwebs.

Fingernail-sized, grayish-brown spiders crawled all over the webs, their carapaces reflecting a dazzling luster under the light.

The man saw Zhong Yi, glanced at Luke beside him, and then said with a smile,

"You’re Zhong Yi, right? May I ask which ecosystem you come from?"

"My name is Du Xiu, and I’m from the Demon Spirit Ecosystem."

"We’re here to discuss the terms of you joining the Liuren Demon Hall, so..."

Announcing one’s name and home ecosystem immediately upon meeting a stranger was a sign of utmost sincerity in communication.

Furthermore, the silver-haired man’s tone was quite polite.

Even an A Level Influence was thirsty for Zhenxing C Level Talents.

In the eyes of these A Level Influences, a Zhenxing C Level Talent was roughly equivalent to a B Level Talent in training.

They had a high probability of becoming a B Level Talent.

Zhong Yi saw through the man named Du Xiu’s intentions. He proactively poured Du Xiu a glass of juice and then said,

"He is my friend, and he is also a Zhenxing C Level Talent."

"He hasn’t chosen to join any influence yet, either."

Without Zhong Yi needing to say another word, Du Xiu’s eyes lit up.

The Wanyu Soul Fighting Company would publicly announce the certification and promotion information for every talent.

Du Xiu knew the name Luke. As an A Level Influence, the Liuren Demon Hall had Du Xiu in charge of personnel matters.

The Liuren Demon Hall had previously won a succession of newly discovered worlds at the Wanyu Boundary Exploration Company’s auctions.

In the continuous explorations over the past century, the Liuren Demon Hall had lost quite a few talents.

In another six months, the new influence rankings would begin.

The Liuren Demon Hall had no chance of ranking in the top ten, but it absolutely could not fall out of the top 1,000 among all A Level Influences.

But recently, the departure of several B Level Talents had shaken the Liuren Demon Hall’s foundation.

This made Du Xiu particularly invested in recruiting new members.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have personally made this trip right after contacting Zhong Yi.

"I can’t believe you two are friends!"

"For two friends to both become Zhenxing C Level Talents on the same day—that would be an amazing story if it got out."

"Whether you join the Liuren Demon Hall or not, I want to leave a good first impression."

"I won’t beat around the bush. If you are willing to join the Liuren Demon Hall, the Hall will give you a thirty-percent share of all the revenue you generate for it."

"You can choose to exchange this revenue for resources within the Liuren Demon Hall or convert it directly into Divine Origin Value."

Hearing Du Xiu’s introduction, the smile on Zhong Yi’s face faded.

A thirty-percent share of the revenue was far lower than Zhong Yi had expected.

’These are resources I would earn for the Liuren Demon Hall, yet they’re only offering thirty percent of the total revenue.’

’A full seventy percent would be skimmed off by the Liuren Demon Hall.’

In Zhong Yi’s opinion, a split like this was rather unreasonable.

And this was supposedly the offer made with "utmost sincerity" that Du Xiu had mentioned.

For a moment, Zhong Yi couldn’t tell if the Liuren Demon Hall’s offer was too low, or if this was the standard split that other A Level Influences on the Virtual Source Network offered to Zhenxing C Level Talents.

Seeing the smiles on Zhong Yi and Luke’s faces falter, Du Xiu hurriedly continued,

"The thirty-percent share I mentioned is just the base income."

"The Secret Realms opened by the Wanyu Gambling Company allow 3,000 influences to enter simultaneously, with each influence sending only one member at a time."

"If you can rank in the top 1,000, the share can be increased from thirty percent to fifty percent."

"Ranking in the top 100 will increase the share to seventy percent, and ranking in the top 30 gets you ninety percent."

"If you can rank in the top 10, not only will you get one hundred percent of the revenue, but you’ll also receive an additional reward."

"If you make it into the top three, not only will the revenue share be even greater, but you’ll also be rewarded with a priceless treasure that can enhance or bestow Rule Authority."

"What every influence needs right now are the absolute top-tier talents."

"When you join an influence, resource acquisition is all about strength."

"As long as you have the strength, you won’t need to worry about coming up empty-handed in the Liuren Demon Hall!"