Seeing Wang Guofeng enter, Zhang Yuhe greeted him warmly.
"Come, sit down and have a cup of tea. The tea here is quite good—it calms the qi and focuses the mind. It even has a slight buffing effect on cultivation."
After speaking, Zhang Yuhe picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Wang Guofeng.
To be honest, when Zhang Yuhe first saw Wang Guofeng—the president of the Blue Star Alliance—he was slightly surprised.
He had only seen photos of Wang Guofeng before and had never met him in person. Judging by his aura, Wang Guofeng was already a late-stage Jindan cultivator.
It had only been a little over a year since Yufantian had opened. Even with no wasted time, players could have only cultivated the equivalent of around a hundred years inside the realm.
To reach late-stage Jindan in that span was remarkably fast.
Even among the Dao Saint Sect's inner disciples, few advanced that quickly.
After all, when Blue Star players first entered Yufantian, they had no foundation—no spells, no techniques, and no magical tools.
They started entirely from scratch, and Zhang Yuhe knew from experience just how grueling that was.
Apart from being able to resurrect upon death and occasionally loot spirit stones or trash-tier items from monsters, players had no advantage over Yufantian natives.
In fact, they were at a disadvantage—their starting point was lower, and their cultivation path more difficult.
Players had to spend enormous time gathering resources and couldn't cultivate in peace like disciples of major sects.
Under such conditions, Wang Guofeng's achievement of reaching late-stage Jindan in a hundred years was nothing short of astonishing.
Still, when Zhang Yuhe recalled that Wang Guofeng possessed a Nine-Rank Spiritual Root, he understood.
Nine-Rank Spiritual Roots were among the highest-grade cultivation aptitudes in all of Yufantian. Even many inner disciples of the Dao Saint Sect didn't possess such a gift.
After the two sat down, Wang Guofeng took a gentle sip from his teacup. Setting it down, he looked at Zhang Yuhe with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"What did you mean by 'brother'? Are you a player too?"
"Yes. My name is Zhang Yuhe," he replied with a nod.
"Zhang Yuhe..." Wang Guofeng repeated the name silently to himself but still couldn't recall having heard of him.
"You're really low-key. I've never heard of you."
Upon confirming that Zhang Yuhe was also a Blue Star player, Wang Guofeng was genuinely impressed.
Although Zhang Yuhe's mid-stage Foundation Building cultivation wasn't at the top of the rankings, it certainly wasn't average.
He must've been cultivating in Yufantian quietly and diligently. It was no wonder other players hadn't heard of him.
Such behavior was rare among Blue Star's younger generation. Most were prideful and loud. After cultivating for even a little while, they usually went out of their way to make themselves known.
But Zhang Yuhe? No one had even seen him.
"I prefer peace and quiet," Zhang Yuhe said with a casual sip. "I'm not interested in joining the crowd."
Wang Guofeng nodded in understanding. People had different personalities, after all. He was simply curious and didn't press the issue.
He hadn't come all the way to Cloudsdale for idle talk—he had something important to discuss.
Thinking of this, Wang Guofeng took a deep breath and asked in a serious tone, "You said you work in the Yunzhong Town Guard Mansion. You weren't lying, were you?"
"I really do," Zhang Yuhe replied firmly. "I'm the town guard of Yunzhong Mansion. It's completely true."
Wang Guofeng nodded after hearing the confirmation. If he could establish a connection with Zhang Yuhe, he might have a chance to contact the Yunzhong Town Guard.
Based on the intel he had, there might even be a way to join the town guard.
With this in mind, Wang Guofeng organized his thoughts and said solemnly, "I have the information you're looking for, but my conditions are high. I doubt you have the authority to grant them, so I don't want to trouble you. Please introduce me to someone in charge at the Town Guard Mansion."
Zhang Yuhe wasn't surprised by the request.
From Wang Guofeng's perspective, his mid-Foundation Building cultivation likely seemed low-ranking—probably someone doing errands in the mansion.
Since the matter concerned the Demon God Sect, it made sense that Wang Guofeng would want to speak to someone with more authority.
But Zhang Yuhe didn't mind.
In Yunzhong Mansion, who had more authority than him?
He simply asked, "What's your condition? Let's hear it."
"As I said before," Wang Guofeng replied, "as long as the information is reliable, the conditions are yours to name."
Wang Guofeng looked at Zhang Yuhe helplessly.
He had initially hoped to bypass him and directly contact the Town Guard.
But that was easier said than done. He didn't know anyone else, and more importantly, his information was only speculative—he had no concrete evidence.
If he went to the Yunzhong Town Guard Mansion and said he guessed where the Demon God Sect's secret base was, he'd probably be thrown out as a lunatic.
"It's tricky," he admitted after a moment. "I want to join the Dao Holy Sect. If that's not possible, I'll settle for the Town Guard."
He deliberately set his conditions high—if Zhang Yuhe couldn't meet them, maybe he'd still introduce someone more influential.
That way, Wang Guofeng could negotiate directly without fear of being dismissed or ridiculed.
He didn't mean to insult Zhang Yuhe; he simply assumed his status was too low for such discussions.
Zhang Yuhe was slightly surprised.
He'd expected Wang Guofeng to ask for techniques or magical tools—items usually monopolized by native sects and difficult for players to obtain.
But after a moment's thought, he realized the request was actually clever.
If one could join the Dao Holy Sect or the Town Guard, there'd be no shortage of resources later.
Of course, Wang Guofeng was probably just making a bold offer. He didn't expect to be taken seriously.
Zhang Yuhe tapped his fingers lightly on the table, thinking.
Allowing Wang Guofeng into the Dao Holy Sect was impossible for now.
As an inner disciple, Zhang Yuhe had the right to recommend candidates, but the sect still had strict standards—spiritual root quality, background, and cultivation age were all factors.
Those who had cultivated too long without breaking through were usually rejected. They were deemed "overripe."
After some thought, Zhang Yuhe responded seriously.
"Joining the Dao Holy Sect is out of the question—for now. But joining the Yunzhong Town Guard Mansion is no problem at all."
Once he reached the Void Refining Realm and became an elder, he could bring Wang Guofeng into the Dao Holy Sect—not as a disciple, but as a personal retainer.
Elders had the right to choose their own retainers, and the sect had far fewer restrictions on those.
As for joining the Town Guard, it wasn't difficult. The Yunzhong Guard was short on manpower. He'd even been looking for help.
Previously, he hadn't considered bringing players into the Guard.
To him, players were too unpredictable—impatient, easily bored, and prone to causing trouble.
If things spiraled out of control, who would clean up the mess?
But Wang Guofeng gave him a different impression—steady, reliable, not the type to stir up chaos.
More importantly, the sea monster incident earlier had changed Zhang Yuhe's perspective.
He had assumed that if players could cultivate freely and gain resources in Yufantian, they'd soon surpass the monsters on Blue Star.
But today's sea monster proved otherwise.
If there was one such threat, there could be more.
Although Zhang Yuhe rarely took action on Blue Star, that didn't mean he didn't care.
From a cultivation standpoint, everything was about karma. He was born on Blue Star and cultivated in Yufantian. That meant he had karmic ties to both worlds.
If either world experienced turmoil within his power to stop, he had an obligation to act.
That was his responsibility.
Previously, he hadn't involved himself because he believed others could handle things.
Now, he realized the players weren't strong enough yet.
"Maybe I should help improve the players' strength a little," he thought.
If he ever ascended to the Immortal Realm and Blue Star faced a crisis, stronger players could respond in his place.
When Wang Guofeng heard Zhang Yuhe say he could join the Town Guard, he was stunned.
With a skeptical look, he asked, "You're serious? You can really get me into the Guard? You're not joking?"
"Come with me," Zhang Yuhe said simply.
Without further explanation, he flicked his sleeve, and the two of them flew off toward the Town Guard Mansion.