Chapter 145 – Wealthy and Generous

“Three Elven Praises, one super iced.”

Liu Miumiu called out to the maid, lively and enthusiastic.

In contrast, the Cold Moon City Lord resembled a refined young lady from a noble family, yet brief conversation revealed she wasn’t as unapproachable as her aloof exterior suggested—not keeping others at a thousand miles’ distance.

“Great Cold Moon, I’ve long heard of your reputation, and now I finally meet you in the… ahem, in person,”

Mu Yuan said, his words completely sincere. After all, while researching various materials, the name ‘Cold Moon City Lord’ had frequently appeared, and he’d lost count of how many times he’d heard it.

Legends of the Cold Moon City Lord were everywhere.

In fact, the Cold Moon City Lord had numerous fans, particularly among female admirers. The “Sister Han Yue Fan Club” was even a first-rate force ranked within the Taixuan Alliance.

He, the Great Lord of Tianyuan, probably had a fan club too… right?

Cold Moon City Lord Liu Xiyue was also sizing up Mu Yuan.

To her, Mu Yuan was hardly unfamiliar; rather, she’d heard so much about him that her ears were nearly calloused.

Initially, when her younger sister mentioned ‘Slime with legendary potential’ and ‘peerless Skeleton General of our time,’ she hadn’t believed it. It wasn’t that she distrusted her sister, but rather that she doubted Liu Miumiu’s judgment and discernment.

Later, when the Tianyuan Lord overpowered Lord Wang Ba and her younger sister to top the Golden Rankings, securing the most prestigious Rookie King title, she still wasn’t particularly impressed, merely considering him an outstanding young man.

Until,

many speculated that the Tianyuan Lord wasn’t some top-tier second-generation with immense background connections. Only then did Liu Xiyue truly become somewhat surprised.

After all, she wasn’t a second-generation player either; back then, her family was just relatively wealthy, but overall, she was also a player with an ordinary background.

She started from scratch, claimed the top spot, and then advanced triumphantly.

For the Tianyuan Lord to surpass various top second-generation players, his talent might not be inferior to her own~!

“I’ve followed your affairs quite a bit. The blue-haired girl who overpowered a crowd of opponents in the Resource Secret Realm—if I’m not mistaken, she’s the former Slime, right?”

Liu Miumiu often said that Slime had legendary potential, and having witnessed some special existences herself, she deduced the sole truth through observation, reasoning, and simulation.

Seeing Mu Yuan’s surprise, the corners of Liu Xiyue’s lips curled up slightly.

Indeed, her reasoning was correct. Who dared say she only knew how to wield a sword from south to north?

Hmph~!

She said, “You’re likely following the independent lord path, but I can provide you with an investment, and without requiring any contracts—simply put, it’s free, a outright gift.”

Mu Yuan: “!!!” Gasp—

This wasn’t surprise; it was fear.

The Cold Moon City Lord was indeed a wealthy woman, but wealthy women could have ill intentions too. Boys out in the world must learn to protect themselves.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s truly free. Well… let me put it this way: between our Taixuan Alliance and empires like Divine Radiance and Eternal Star, sometimes the ownership of resource lands is decided through contests among young lords. In a year or two, you’ll definitely be able to shoulder the responsibility among young lords.

“In the future, you might even be able to help with greater matters. Just consider it as this elder sister’s supportive investment in an outstanding junior. Owing me a favor is enough.”Mu Yuan originally wanted to refuse, but she… the Cold Moon City Lord offered too much, and it was precisely what he needed.

“Miracle Blueprint: Domain Jammer”

“Grade: Excellent”

“Description: After construction, it will form a special domain field that can block and interfere with most observation, deduction, and divination methods.”

This was an anti-surveillance divine artifact!

After witnessing the wonders of the Star Gazing Association, Mu Yuan felt somewhat pressured. How many similar miraculous methods existed in this world?

Currently, the Tianyuan Territory might not be worth using powerful divination methods by external forces, but what if… the Tianyuan Territory became increasingly prominent, the brightest star in the night sky?

Not to mention distant possibilities, during the upcoming ceremony day, it would be hard for him not to attract everyone’s attention.

He wanted to keep a low profile, but often, circumstances didn’t allow it.

He truly desired this miracle blueprint and the complete set of construction materials that came with it.

Rich lady, generous, hungry hungry.

“No, this blueprint is an official investment,” the rich lady Han Yue said. “What comes next is my personal investment.”

With that, she produced a pile of items glowing with treasure light.

The most valuable among them were three rare objects emitting a faint blue halo.

“Excellent-grade Remnant Souls!”

“How about it? Not a bad investment, right?”

What do lords with insufficient background lack the most? They lack everything, but as long as they possess the most crucial high-tier troops, other deficiencies can gradually be earned through their own efforts.

And the earlier high-tier troops are obtained, the fewer detours of several months or even years they’ll have to take.

This was how generous and considerate she, Liu Xiyue, was toward promising juniors she valued.

The corners of her lips curved upward slightly like a magnificent crescent moon, but… the expressions of surprise, excitement, thrill, trembling, and tears she had anticipated didn’t appear on Tianyuan’s handsome face.

Instead, there was only hesitation, as if wanting to speak but stopping, then wanting to speak again. Though he said nothing, she seemed to read in Tianyuan’s eyes: “Is that all?”

How could a newcomer show faint disappointment at Excellent-grade Remnant Souls!

Wait, that meant there was only one truth—Tianyuan not only possessed Excellent-grade troops but even had more than three!

He already had his own generals, so Excellent Remnant Souls were merely icing on the cake for him, far from providing timely assistance.

This wouldn’t do.

“It seems you’re even more outstanding than I imagined.”

“In that case…”

Liu Xiyue retrieved the three remnant souls, pondering what she could invest to surprise this junior before her.

Hero’s Token? She didn’t have such a thing, and even if she did, she would definitely prioritize her own little sister first.

Large quantities of Soul Crystals? Money was too vulgar and low-level—how could she offer something like that.

It needed to be essential, high-tier, and fitting for her status.

“In that case, here, these are Perfect Breakthrough Stones. You’ve probably seen them before.”

With a snap, she produced a bag of breakthrough stones, some glowing green, with a few emitting blue light.

The green light came from Elementary Breakthrough Stones, which could only be used for breakthroughs at the Professional and Elite tiers.

The blue light came from Intermediate Breakthrough Stones, which could be used for breakthroughs at the General and Commander tiers.

In total, there were three Intermediate stones and over ten Elementary ones.Worried that Tianyuan might not fully grasp the meaning of the Perfect Breakthrough Stone, she explained, “The enhancement a Perfect Breakthrough brings to military units is 15–20% higher than a normal breakthrough. It may not seem like much, but if a powerhouse wishes to break through to the Legendary Realm, they must polish their foundation to perfection at every stage. Only then is there a slight possibility of success in the future.”

This was something Mu Yuan happened to know.

He had also once desperately searched for Perfect Breakthrough Stones, but his wallet was too empty, forcing him to hold back.

Now…

He glanced at the breakthrough stone shimmering with treasure light, then looked again at Liu Xiyue, who seemed to be bathed in the same radiance.

How wealthy, and how generous.

…

In the end, Mu Yuan accepted these treasures. After all, accepting one item was the same as accepting ten. With more debts, he wasn’t afraid of rich women. At most… selling himself was out of the question, but he could always have Dolai and the others work to repay the debts in the future.

He had also heard a little about the disputes between nations and the rookie Lord competitions.

He’d heard about it from President Jiang Cheng before.

(Jiang Cheng: Clearly, I was the first…)

“Young man, do your best. I have high hopes for you,” Liu Xiyue said. “Starting from the festival, strive to embark on the path of invincibility.”

…

After Mu Yuan left, Liu Xiyue and Liu Miumiu continued drinking coffee.

“This kid has the same flair I had back in the day.”

“Is he really that amazing?”

Although Liu Miumiu thought Mu Yuan was impressive, her number one idol was, of course, her own sister.

“At this stage, he has the same potential I had back then, but whether he can maintain it is uncertain. Back then, there were some genius Lords who weren’t much worse than your sister. Now, though… hmph.”

“Wait, does that mean I’m far behind the big shot Tianyuan now?”

She suddenly realized.

Liu Xiyue rolled her eyes at her foolish sister.

“I’ve already asked someone to bring you an Elite three-star ‘Mermaid High Priest.’ However, this type of unit possesses considerable intelligence and pride from the moment of recruitment. Don’t use it until you officially reach the Elite level, or you might not be able to handle it.”

“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll reach the Elite level soon.”

She patted her chest confidently and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window. “I wonder which Hero the big shot Tianyuan plans to recruit.”

Liu Xiyue said, “His path is different from yours. The two of you won’t be in direct competition. Follow the strategy I gave you: if you have the chance, recruit that Hero. But if the competition for that Hero is too fierce, especially if you run into any of the aforementioned Lords, settle for the second or third-choice Heroes.”

The previous Hero Festival had been her stage, so she knew exactly which Heroes were the best.

If her sister had more time to develop, with her support, she wouldn’t need to fear any opponent. But time was too short, and the same went for Tianyuan.

She was just afraid that Tianyuan would stubbornly pursue his desired Hero and refuse to settle for a lesser option.

She had been like that back then… and even now.

It’s just that the timing of this festival really doesn’t favor Tianyuan Territory.

…

Back in his territory, Mu Yuan looked at the large pile of treasure-glowing items in his Storage Ring and felt as if he were dreaming.

He had only gone to the festival’s Secret Realm, so how had he ended up meeting two rich women, one older and one younger?

「Notification: You have transported a large quantity of goods across domains. Cross-domain transportation fee of 11.5 Soul Crystals has been deducted.」

Mu Yuan snapped back to reality as if doused with ice water in the dead of winter.Even with the wealthy lady’s investment, he, Mu Someone, was still a poor man, almost unable to afford the cross-domain shipping fees! After all, he was essentially transporting several outstanding-grade items.

“First, let’s build this Domain Jammer… It’s fortunate that it comes with a complete set of construction materials, otherwise, I might not have been able to afford them all.”

“As for the other treasures, let me see…”

There was a batch of cultivation aids, along with Miracle Blueprints for the ‘City Lord’s Mansion’, ‘Bathhouse’, ‘Advanced Housing (3/3)’, and ‘Public Toilets (3/3)’.

These were all lifestyle-oriented, or rather, luxury and comfort-type buildings.

Clearly, the wealthy lady Liu had noticed his humble origins and realized he wouldn’t spend money on such lifestyle buildings, so she specifically provided this assistance.

Love it, love it.

Their practical uses were also significant.

Especially with the upcoming festival.

Even setting the festival aside, public toilets could effectively improve the territory’s hygiene and health standards, greatly enhancing the environment. Otherwise, as the number of residents increased in the future, the southern residential area of Tianyuan Territory would inevitably become foul-smelling.

The bathhouse could also make the residents cleaner and healthier while boosting public morale.

And with the Advanced Housing, the living conditions of his own officers would finally be improved—after all, what territory would make officers with legendary potential live in crude wooden huts?

“What she gave is just too perfectly targeted.”

Let’s restore the glory of 11:30, please vote for me~

(End of Chapter)