Chapter 148 – The Festival Begins, Heroes Enter

Even while possessing one or two Epics and dozens of Excellents, Lord Mu never neglected his own cultivation.

The following days passed quietly in simple yet fulfilling cultivation.

Boom—

Outside Tianyuan Territory, a particularly bold wandering monster had just ventured within a few kilometers of the territory when it was seized by a large azure bird. Sharp claws pierced through its shoulder blades as it was lifted high into the sky, then slammed heavily to the ground, followed by several supplementary strikes of azure wind blades.

In the blink of an eye, it became today’s ingredient for Tianyuan’s banquet.

“Dolai has said many times, smashing like this greatly affects the meat quality gurgle~!”

Aside from wandering monsters, occasionally scattered monsters would gather, forming hordes of hundreds, thousands, or even two thousand to assault Tianyuan Territory.

This was part of the daily routine lords needed to adapt to.

Even outside the Crimson Moon Tide period, monsters would periodically form small waves and swarm forth. If a lord grew careless, while their territory might not fall, they would still suffer significant losses.

In the White River group chat, new lords lamented their misfortunes—one had their base pushed to the gates by a nest of goblins, resulting in over a dozen civilian casualties and countless injured. They were now frantically purchasing various medical supplies, and reportedly, public morale had plummeted.

The monster hordes attacking Tianyuan Territory were relatively large in scale. Even during peacetime, the strongest horde exceeded two thousand monsters, including over ten Professional Tier elite monsters.

This was nearly comparable to the maximum assault during the novice trial.

However, thanks to the round-the-clock reconnaissance by Tianyuan’s Storm Falcon squad, incoming monster hordes were detected while still far from the territory. Moreover, with an increasing number of Storm Falcons awakening self-awareness and becoming smarter and more sensible, Lord Mu no longer needed to micromanage constantly.

They were now mature birds, capable of patrolling, foraging, hunting monsters, retrieving spoils, and reporting anomalies on their own.

When such situations arose, Mu Yuan would pick up the minimally maintained mental threads and connect to a falcon’s vision to assess the situation.

For instance, that particular monster horde was intercepted and eliminated by the Undead Legion several kilometers away from the territory.

Afterward, Deadbone traced the horde’s path back to a deeply hidden monster tribe. Following a battle of wits—a self-struggle of wits—the Undead Legion crushed this tribe, which was only slightly stronger than the Snakefolk Tribe, with overwhelming force. They encountered no crises and no descending envoys.

While the Undead General felt relieved, he harbored a faint trace of disappointment.

Lord Mu remained within the territory throughout, only occasionally glancing at the situation to maintain control without needing to do more.

He continued cultivating, fighting, and occasionally granting his subordinates evolutionary boosts or bestowing baptismal radiance. For example, a certain General was quietly preparing to evolve and astonish everyone.

He spent most of his time not in the luxurious and comfortable City Lord’s Mansion, but immersed in the empty, cold Training Ground.

Fight! Constantly fight!

He frequently sparred with Rakshasa, Lu Liu, Red Robe, or Seventeen, making rapid progress.

“Slash—”Mu Yuan gripped a war saber, bringing it down with the force of Cleave. At this moment, he had not loaded any templates and was still in his blank slate Lord state.

「Skills: Cleave, Thrust, Impact, Tear,……」

After a period of cultivation and template borrowing, he naturally and truly mastered these skills.

This was indeed partly due to the Lord Power, but…

“Still, it’s mainly because I’m too much of a genius. The festival’s entries clearly stated this.”

Mu Someone remarked.

Of course, high-tier, high-Rank troops could also learn skills through acquired effort, just like how Bone Two learned Charge. Undead General could naturally learn even more, though he rarely bothered to delve into these basic skills—there was no need.

He already possessed numerous Advanced and top-tier skills that were difficult to learn or master.

Deepening his grasp, extending their development, and occasionally refining or upgrading them was sufficient.

……

Time passed slowly, and the atmosphere of the festival grew increasingly intense.

Finally,

“Dong”

A melodious bell tolled, spreading far and wide. The golden Secret Realm Gate rippled with concentric circles, signaling that the Lord Festival had arrived.

Even if they weren’t new Lords or lacked festival tickets, some powerful beings could faintly hear the bell echoing through the world’s sky.

“It’s the Hero Festival day again.”

In the Alliance’s Capital City, beneath an ancient and vigorous giant tree, two elders were engaged in a game of chess.

One of the elders held a smoking pipe, the wisps of smoke he exhaled seeming to transform the surroundings into a celestial realm.

The other elder had white eyebrows and a white beard, his eyes sharp and spirited, appearing vigorous and energetic. Yet, when his gaze fell upon the chessboard, he couldn’t help but scratch his head in frustration.

Seizing the moment, he chimed in, “I heard from Ah Feng that this year’s newcomers aren’t up to par?”

“They are indeed rather ordinary,” the pipe-smoking elder replied. “In the previous festival, Little Han Yue overshadowed all her peers, and the one before that, Flowing Arrow performed quite impressively. But this year… in terms of recruiting top-tier Heroes, our Taixuan’s competitiveness isn’t strong. That lad Wuji has excellent personal martial skills, but he’s too specialized.”

The elder sighed softly, blowing two smoke rings before continuing, “It’s not that there are no promising sprouts. Among the newcomers who just passed the trials this year, a few lads show great future potential—Tianyuan, Great Sun, Wang Ba. Han Yue seems to think highly of Tianyuan, outright claiming him as her own.”

“If these lads had been selected as Lords a few festivals earlier, we wouldn’t have to struggle so much when choosing candidates for competitions with nations like Divine Radiance and Eternal Star.”

As he spoke, the elder picked up a red chess piece and gently placed it down.

“Checkmate.”

“Ch-Checkmate? What checkmate?”

The white-browed elder across from him froze, then his expression shifted dramatically, cycling through six distinct changes in just two seconds, his face turning grave. “Old friend, I forgot to close the spatial flask at home—it’s urgent. I must take my leave now. We’ll continue our match next time we meet.”

Before his words fully faded, his figure gradually dissolved, turning into countless dust-like particles that scattered into the world, leaving only his lingering voice echoing in the air.

Along with him vanished the chess piece marked “General,” which had been surrounded by enemy forces.

……

“The time has come; it’s time to set off.

“Deadbone, aren’t you planning to go?”Deadbone shook his head. For him, rather than spending time eating and drinking at the Festival Grounds, it was better to devote that time to cultivation and becoming stronger.

He still had over a dozen skill derivation and improvement plans to work on.

Moreover, with the Lord and Dolai both gone, someone needed to keep a constant watch over the territory.

As for Dolai’s excitement and eagerness to start eating, he held no dissatisfaction or frustration. He would shoulder the responsibilities of the territory, letting his younger siblings enjoy themselves happily.

Festival Grounds,

Large red lanterns hung high, their long tassels swaying in the wind.

With the official commencement of the festival, the entire Secret Realm had become bustling. Lords continuously entered from outside, and figures of foreigners could often be seen.

Some buildings and areas within the Festival Grounds had even been sponsored by wealthy lords acting as ‘sponsors,’ offering a variety of drinks and food services.

All of this was, of course, free.

What were these wealthy lords after? Naturally, they sought an opportunity to make their territories famous, hoping to boost their presence and favorability among the heroes waiting to be recruited in advance.

Some sponsors also displayed names like ‘Red Lotus Group,’ ‘Medicine God Group,’ and ‘White Shark Group’—likely tasks assigned by their financial backers. They similarly provided unlimited high-quality food and drinks, most of which were graded, with occasional rare-tier beverages and delicacies.

“So, this is how the unlimited food supply during the festival works?”

Dolai’s large eyes sparkled with excitement, barely able to contain its eagerness.

It glanced at the Lord, and seeing Mu Yuan nod, “Go ahead, play however you like. Consider today your day off.”

“Guji!”

With a biu, Dolai shot off like a spring, disappearing into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Mu Yuan adjust the Black Armor he was wearing and stroll forward unhurriedly. The festival would last until midnight, with the peak competition occurring in the final few hours. Until then, he might as well enjoy the festive atmosphere a little.

After a moment’s thought, he switched his attachment to the ‘Dolai Template.’

Why? Wearing Fearless General Lu Liu’s full-body armor would hardly allow him to enjoy himself freely. It was better to use Dolai’s power to slightly adjust his physique and facial features, then simply wear a set of Black Armor.

A short while later,

Mu Someone re-entered the Festival Grounds, holding a rare-tier drink called ‘Ice Heart Snow Lotus,’ leisurely strolling through this ancient yet bustling Secret Realm.

The lords he saw were almost all brimming with excitement, anticipation, and enthusiasm.

After all, even the most ordinary lord had the chance to recruit a Hero and leap through the dragon’s gate in one bound. Who wouldn’t be excited? Even if they failed to recruit a Hero, eating and drinking to their heart’s content would make the trip worthwhile.

“Big shot, over here!”

At an unlimited drink supply area sponsored by the Tide-Calling Territory, Liu Miumiu waved at him.

Looking around, he spotted several other familiar faces.

Jiang Luoxing, Great Sun Lord, Yu Siyu of the Misty Rain Territory, and others. After all, as fellow new lords who had also topped the Golden Rankings, they naturally formed a small circle to counter the pressure from veteran lords.

That alone was fine, but the main point was…

Around this supply area, signs bearing the names of sponsors like ‘Luoxing Territory,’ ‘Great Sun Territory,’ ‘Misty Rain Territory,’ and ‘Wangba Territory’ were prominently displayed.Looking left and right, why does it seem like everyone has sponsored a large amount of supplies, while I’m the only one freeloading?

Ahem~

Mu Yuan sat down without changing his expression.

We’re casual players, and we’re proud of it~!

“They’re here, they’re here, the Heroes are coming out.”

Not long after he sat down, someone in the distance excitedly shouted.

Mu Yuan looked into the distance. Far away, the grand and ancient palace standing atop the mountain finally opened its doors at this moment. One after another, figures emerged from the palace, descending the long stone steps at varying paces.

It was as if they were walking a red carpet.

Their attire and appearances varied greatly.

Some Heroes wore dazzling silver armor, as majestic as Generals on the Battlefield;

Some Heroes were dressed in luxurious robes, adorned with multiple gemstone rings on their fingers, maintaining the elegance and pride of high nobility;

Others carried decaying wooden coffins on their backs; some wore eye patches; some Heroes sat in sedan chairs, carried forward step by step by puppets;

All of them shared a common trait: extraordinary appearances and an overwhelming Aura.

Lords indeed hold prestigious status in the Eternal World, with even the lowest among them being upper-middle-class figures. However, here and now, these Heroes emerging from the palace were the center of attention, drawing countless eager gazes.

They, have arrived!

Next chapter before 12 o’clock, but this plot will take about two to two and a half days to finish. Readers worried about interruptions are advised to save it for later, QAQ.

(End of Chapter)