Chapter 144 – Gold and Purple Intertwined, Cold Moon

Passing through the golden archway of the Secret Realm, a path paved with white jade stones appeared before his eyes.

The road was wide enough for two or three carriages to travel side by side. At intervals of about several dozen meters stood majestic archways as tall as gates. On both sides were antique buildings two or three stories high, with numerous large red lanterns hanging between them, their long tassels swaying in the wind, creating a festive scene.

After passing through roughly three archways, he arrived at a vast open area. Surrounding it were many streets and alleys similar to the one he had come from, while in the distance, a wide stone staircase extended straight upward, reaching as far as the eye could see. At its end, shrouded in mist and clouds, stood an ancient and majestic hall with its bronze doors tightly shut.

Perhaps because the Secret Realm had just opened and it was not yet 6 a.m., there were not many people around at the moment. Only a dozen or so newly appointed Lords like him could be seen looking around curiously.

But it was certain that the place would soon become lively.

Ding!

Prompt: You have entered the ‘Festival Grounds.’ This Secret Realm is a safe zone where energy usage is restricted. Those who maliciously provoke conflicts will be expelled from the Secret Realm.

Prompt: Tags are invisible to outsiders. Heroes available for recruitment can only see tags they ‘like’ or ‘dislike.’ Additionally, the more tags a Lord possesses, the more information they can see about the heroes available for recruitment.

At that moment,

Mu Yuan, clad in Black Armor that enveloped his entire body, was fiddling with something, much like many other Lords.

Suddenly, someone nearby shouted, “Hahaha, Griffon Keeper, I’ve actually condensed a rare tag! This round of hero recruitment is in the bag!”

Some looked on with envy.

Others, seeing their own solitary ‘Village Head’ tag, were left speechless.

Tiny specks of faint light drifted out from Mu Yuan’s body, dispersing into the surrounding mist-like haze and gradually beginning to condense.

[Village Head]

A standard tag condensed, marked in white and appearing particularly lackluster.

Shortly after,

[Explorer], [Pioneer], [Foe of Monsters], [Wealthy Tycoon]… He actually had the Wealthy Tycoon tag? Even though he felt impoverished all the time!

[Rookie King], [Sword Proficiency], [Spear Proficiency], [Spell Proficiency], [Warrior], [Micro-Management Great Master], [Talented Individual]…, [Spear Intent], [Thunder Intent], and so on. The tags condensed from his personal attributes alone numbered a full seventeen. He truly had many specialties.

Among them, ‘Spear Intent,’ ‘Thunder Intent,’ ‘Warrior,’ and ‘Micro-Management Great Master’ were blue-tier tags.

[Goblin Slayer], [Serpent Slayer], [Leave No Blade of Grass], [Dig Three Feet Deep], [Great Victory], [Foe of Divine Servants]…

These were tags earned by Tianyuan Territory from battles spanning from south to north.

[Fertile Land], [Gathering of Talents], [Peaceful Living], [Land of Cultivation], [Land of Mages]…

These were tags formed based on the rare structures in his territory. There weren’t many of them, as not every rare-tier structure could condense a tag.

Among these, ‘Land of the Undead,’ ‘Forest of Ten Thousand Trees,’ and ‘Land of Mages’ were blue-tier tags, even though Tianyuan Territory didn’t have a single true Mage in the literal sense.

With all these condensed, he already had several dozen tags.

But this was far from the end.His greatest strength had yet to fully manifest and take form.

[Undead Legion], [Night Parade of a Hundred Demons], [Honored Guest of the Undead],…

[Treant Legion], [Flower Spirits], [Friend of Nature],…

[Friend of Elements],…

[Sister’s Friend], and so on.

Among these, ‘Honored Guest of the Undead’ was a purple-tier entry, ‘Friend of Nature’ was a blue-tier entry, while ‘Sister’s Friend’ was merely a green-tier entry.

It was probably because there were too few sisters. If they hadn’t evolved to the level of priestesses, it was unlikely that any entry would have formed at all.

Mu Yuan skimmed through them briefly before shifting his gaze to the most dazzling entries in his possession.

[Mighty Legion]—this was a purple-tier entry.

[Generals Like Rain]—this was also a purple-tier entry.

[Unrivaled General Under the King]—this was a light golden-tier entry.

[Enlightenment]—this was a golden-tier entry.

[Path of the Emperor]—this was also a golden-tier entry.

Three golden and three purple entries—his competitiveness was just passable.

Mu Yuan couldn’t quite gauge how strong those top-tier lords who had been developing for over two years were now. Some might have even established cities and commanded vast legions.

If it were Han Yue, who had developed for two and a half years, she would likely have already achieved an unrivaled presence by then.

However, Mu Yuan had mostly figured out the rules of the festival and could still carry out a major upgrade of his own troops to enhance his competitiveness.

“Materialized entries are actually hints, telling the lord where their strengths lie and in which direction they can develop… This is an implicit benefit of the Hero Festival, depending on whether the lords can perceive the key elements.”

After wandering around and taking in the scenery of the Secret Realm, he decided not to linger since the festival hadn’t officially started. He would return on the opening day… Rumor had it that there would be an unlimited supply of delicacies during the festival, which Dolai would surely love.

As he was heading back, a voice called out to him.

“Big shot!”

“Tianyuan big shot!”

Mu Yuan instinctively turned around and saw a girl tentatively calling out to him.

The girl was dressed in a moon-white robe with the hood pulled up, revealing a glimpse of an exquisite, flawless face and strands of hair that shimmered with a faint blue-green hue.

It seemed to be…

“Liu Miumiu?”

“The big shot still remembers me~!”

Mu Yuan had only seen Liu Miumiu from a distance inside the Challenge Realm and wasn’t familiar with her at all. However, the girl carried a unique aura about her, like calming water, which felt somewhat familiar. It took him a couple of seconds to recall who she was.

Wait, compared to Liu Miumiu, his own attire and appearance were completely different from how he had looked in the Challenge Realm.

“How did you recognize me?”

“Intuition.

“I recognized you just from your silhouette~ (proud face)”

She paused before adding, “Are you free, big shot?” Um… it’s just… well, my sister wants to meet you.”

What kind of misleading way of speaking is this?!

After a while, Mu Yuan finally understood what was going on—it had to do with how mysterious his identity was.

On the forums, it seemed like Tianyuan Territory had lost its popularity, but in reality, forces within the Xuan Nation and even some foreign powers were investigating the identity of the Tianyuan Lord.

Domestic forces had already begun to suspect that the Tianyuan Lord did not come from a top-tier background.

After all, there were only so many eligible second-generation heirs from elite backgrounds, and after some investigation, possibilities were quickly eliminated one by one.

This only made various forces more eager. Whoever could find Tianyuan would have the opportunity to win over a future Great Lord.Foreign forces mostly hold the idea of either recruiting or promptly eliminating potential threats.

“On the dark web, someone has posted a bounty of 400 million for your real identity and territory coordinates, Great Lord. It’s likely someone with malicious intentions, so please don’t fall for it!”

Do I look that stupid to you?

But to be fair, 400 million could be exchanged for a huge amount of Soul Crystal Coins. For a moment, he was genuinely tempted.

The question is, where is this dark web?

Liu Miumiu said, “Anyway, that’s the situation. Would you have time to meet my elder sister for some afternoon tea or something?”

Mu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, “How would we meet?”

If it were a real-world meeting, he would politely decline. But if the meeting location was convenient, fast, and secure, he felt it might be acceptable.

After all, even if he turned this one down, many others would come knocking.

There was no guarantee he wouldn’t encounter some tracking or locating methods he couldn’t defend against. And Liu Miumiu’s sister, the Cold Moon City Lord, was a prominent figure within the Taixuan Alliance with a fairly good reputation.

In short, she was a very powerful and wealthy woman.

At that moment, Liu Miumiu took out a crescent-shaped key from her Storage Ring.

“This key leads to the small public Secret Realm ‘Elven Courtyard’. Like this festival Secret Realm, the courtyard is a non-combat zone where fighting is prohibited. My sister suggested arranging the meeting here so you can meet anytime it’s needed.”

After a brief consideration, Mu Yuan took the Secret Realm Key. “Alright.”

“I just asked my sister, and she’s free now. How about right now?”

“Fine, I’ll be there shortly.”

Liu Miumiu hurried out with quick steps.

Mu Yuan glanced at the Secret Realm Key in his hand a few times and also headed toward the exit. However, just as he was about to step out the door…

Ding!

Prompt: Detected that you are carrying the item ‘Secret Realm Key (Elven Courtyard)’ across domains. An additional payment of 3.5 Soul Crystals is required. Proceed?

Mu Yuan: “…” Damn it, this Secret Realm is such a rip-off!

…

Fortunately, Lord Mu had the habit of carrying money with him. Otherwise, he might have had to ask Deadbone or Dolai to bring some in to bail him out.

Why didn’t Liu Miumiu mention this earlier?

Oh, she probably assumed he already knew? But not only was he not a top-tier second-generation heir, he came from a completely common background.

Or perhaps she thought no one could possibly lack even a few Soul Crystals for pocket money?

Mu Yuan thought with a pained heart that during his poorer days, he really never carried more than two Soul Crystals on him.

Thinking of this, he went to the Warehouse to retrieve over a dozen Soul Crystals and stuffed them into his Storage Ring before placing the Secret Realm Key inside.

A third spatial door opened above the Lord Altar, making the area feel somewhat crowded.

Mu Yuan reached out to test it, thought for a moment, and instead of transforming into Lu Liu, he chose to load the Dolai template. After adjusting his appearance slightly, he stepped through.

…

Prompt: You have entered the Secret Realm ‘Elven Courtyard’. This is a peace Secret Realm where combat is prohibited, and only Lords or Heroes may enter.

Just as Liu Miumiu had said, the entire Secret Realm was not large. The churning gray mist—symbolizing the realm’s boundaries—could be seen in the distance. The entire courtyard seemed like a sky island floating in the endless gray mist. It was planted with a variety of flowers, with babbling brooks, small bridges, pavilions, and lush greenery creating a picturesque scene.In the distance, Liu Miumiu waved her hand and led him to a building that resembled a coffee shop.

“Follow me.”

As soon as they stepped inside, attendants dressed in black-and-white maid uniforms softly greeted them, “Welcome~”

They were not human. Though their features were exquisite—flaxen hair cascading over their shoulders, large eyes, and fair skin—there were distinct joint connections at their elbows and knees that clearly differed from those of humans.

With his keen observational skills, Mu Yuan scanned them at a glance but did not stare further.

His attention had already shifted to a woman approaching from afar.

Her appearance did bear some resemblance to Liu Miumiu’s, yet without placing the two side by side for comparison, it would be difficult to connect them.

Because,

she was like the coldest ice, her eyes seeming to freeze the world—stunningly beautiful, yet accompanied by an indescribable aura.

Like a Fairy descending to the mortal realm, as if peerless in the world.

Is this what a true powerhouse is like?

(End of Chapter)