Chapter 179 – Third-Level Territory and Power Upgrade

Mu Yuan examined himself. He primarily cultivated two Concepts: Thunder and Spear, both currently at the initial stage. However, after numerous trials and sparring sessions with Rakshasa, he felt he had reached the Peak, needing only to break through a thin barrier to step into the ‘Minor Achievement’ realm.

Beyond these, he also possessed Concepts such as ‘Sword’, ‘Saber’, and ‘Fire’.

These were Concepts Mu Someone had unlocked during his leisure time, based on his swordplay and saber techniques that had reached the pinnacle of skill.

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

Once one had already stepped into the Concept level, unlocking the gates to other Concepts was as simple as eating and drinking.

At least, that’s how he felt.

Nothing to be proud of.

At the Festival Grounds, he had even witnessed the clash of Concepts between the Limitless Lord and the Everstar Lord. The Limitless Lord’s Sword Intent had already reached the ‘Major Achievement’ realm, radiant and extreme in its focus on the sword, yet encompassing everything with vastness and confidence.

Limitless Sword Intent!

Among Sword Intents, it was one of the highest grades.

Naturally, Sword Intents had their own hierarchies, just like ‘Skeletal Domain’ and ‘Undead Domain’—both were Domains, yet the gap between them was immense.

It was precisely by creating this top-tier Sword Intent that Wuji was evaluated as having ‘promise of becoming a Legend’. If not for his obvious weaknesses—his troops not being powerful enough and his territory construction not outstanding—he could have undoubtedly become the leading figure of this generation in Taixuan.

“Wuji probably possesses some top-tier Xiantian talent related to the ‘Sword’, but talent accounts for at most 1% of how far he has come today. The remaining 99% relies entirely on his own efforts.”

Just like Deadbone and Bone Two.

When Deadbone was at the ‘Bone General’ stage, his talents were only ‘Dark Heart’ and ‘Death Siphon’. His various innate configurations weren’t much different from Bone Two’s, yet the powers he extended and created from these far surpassed Bone Two by more than ten streets.

This was Deadbone’s natural talent and brilliance.

Wuji’s natural talent and brilliance in the sword were also top-tier.

“At the Festival Grounds, on my recommendation, Wuji recruited the top-tier Hero ‘Dawnlight Knight’—a Hero who had obtained the ancient Dawnlight Legacy of the Holy Radiance Empire and was skilled in both martial and literary arts. His weaknesses have likely been largely compensated for now, making him definitely one of the strongest candidates for Taixuan in the Dragon Court Competition.”

If he, Mu Someone, wanted to represent Taixuan in the competition, bring glory to his country, and incidentally strive for a tiny bit of luxurious resources, Wuji would be a competitor.

It seemed he had enhanced his own competitor’s version.

But,

“If the hope of qualifying rests on the opponent not being strong enough, then this qualification isn’t worth having.”

Without the confidence to face and crush all powerful opponents, how could one talk about climbing to the peak!

The Dragon Court Competition was merely a small scenic spot on this path.

“However, my development time is still short. Crushing all enemies in the competition is something I can’t achieve yet. Many opponents surely possess Major Achievement-level Concepts and have at least third-Rank commanders. Their fully-formed legions have most likely condensed nascent military souls as well…”

His goal wasn’t to slaughter everything effortlessly, but to qualify in the selection rounds and become one of Taixuan’s representatives.

Because simply by qualifying, Taixuan would invest substantial resources to help enhance their combat power.

He had heard that one of these resources was called the ‘Pure Soul Source Pool’, which could rapidly increase a person’s Rank without any side effects for those who entered it.How much one can absorb and how much one can improve depends entirely on their innate talent and potential.

However, he had heard that even a single War General-level expert entering it could advance at least three or four Ranks, with some even advancing six or seven Ranks.

This was the resource he desired most—bar none.

As for the ‘Dragon Nest recruitment opportunity’ rewarded to outstanding performers after the Dragon Court Competition, Mu Yuan considered it average. A Dragon Nest did not guarantee the recruitment of a true Dragon; more often than not, it only yielded sub-dragon species or Dragon-blooded descendants.

Of course, the Dragon-blooded descendants emerging from a Dragon Nest were undoubtedly among the top tier of the Elite Rank, possessing extraordinary combat prowess and immense potential.

Even so… well, obtaining a Dragon-blooded descendant or a Dragon for free was still quite appealing.

After all, it was free.

Perhaps he could even become a Dragon Rider.

He thought of the Dragon Blood Valkyrie from the Festival Grounds, guessing she was still wandering somewhere.

“To increase our chances of victory, we need to shape the embryonic form of the Army Soul. Isloria, Rakshasa, and the others must also evolve, and the average Rank of the main forces in the territory must be raised. As for myself…”

As one of the top two or three strongest combatants in Tianyuan, he himself had to exert 99% diligence and effort.

He took out the materials he had downloaded and printed from the Real World, carried on special paper.

Sitting in the City Lord’s Mansion, with his legs propped on the desk, the bound materials floated before him, flipping page after page on their own.

“There are two mainstream combat systems in the Eternal World. The first revolves around legions, condensing the embryonic form of the Army Soul and continuously refining and strengthening it, granting the entire legion immense power. Top-tier legions can transform into colossal giants capable of slaying gods and demons.”

“The second system centers on individual top-tier experts, supported by numerous troop types and structures.”

“The renowned Cold Moon City Lord, for instance, possesses a guard legion primarily composed of ‘Frost Sword Attendants.’ The purpose of this legion is not to protect her but to provide her with vast amounts of homologous power when necessary.”

“Cold Moon City Lord is already a top-tier expert. Her individual power has its limits, but the combat methods built around her as an individual have almost no limits.”

“Aside from Cold Moon City Lord, the leading figure from two generations ago, the Arrow Sword Master, was also a representative of ‘extreme individual might.'”

“The two paths are not mutually exclusive and can be integrated.”

The path of ‘extreme individual might’ was not unfamiliar to Mu Yuan.

His Undead General was already walking this path.

The Undead Holy Mountain, the strategic talent Undead Domination, and many other abilities it possessed offered advantages in this regard.

Lords, due to their ‘Lord Power,’ naturally have an advantage in borrowing strength. If they can Awaken certain unique strategic talents, their advantage becomes even greater.

“However, I don’t need to charge into battle myself; I usually stay within the territory. So, aside from selecting suitable abilities to integrate, my combat system must be strong enough, impressive enough, and practical enough.”

His goal was to possess ultra-long-range combat capabilities.

Support abilities would suffice, as would striking power.

Then, he could coordinate with his ‘Mental Link’ talent, the War Falcon’s ‘Vision Sharing’ ability, and his own exquisite micro-management skills to slay enemies from tens of thousands of miles away.

The difficulty lay in how to transmit power.

He had some ideas, stemming from the granting of evolution abilities.After stepping into the Professional Tier, he could remotely bestow the baptism of evolution upon his troops. How exactly was this mysterious power transmitted? If he could grasp even a fraction of it, a complete system would be within reach.

Another path was to upgrade the territory.

As long as the territory’s rank increased, the Lord Power would also grow, allowing for more intricate applications in the future.

As for Tianyuan Territory, it had met the conditions for promotion to Level Three several days ago. He had merely delayed the process slightly to maximize the benefits.

Mu Yuan opened the panel and pulled up the troop list.

「Tree Spirit Grandma: Tier 2, Rank 1」

「Bone Little Six: Tier 1, Rank 7」

「Tier 0, Rank 9 Great Perfection Troops: 233」

Just like during the last upgrade, Mu Yuan arranged for 120 of the most suitable Apprentice Tier troops to enter the two Breakthrough Dojos and recalled the troops that were out on missions.

Once all preparations were complete, Mu Yuan murmured softly.

“Upgrade.”

「Prompt: Soul Crystals -100. Tianyuan Territory (Second-Level Territory) is now upgrading…」

From an overhead perspective, the mist outside the territory began to recede rapidly once again, as the sovereign land symbolizing authority and power expanded inch by inch.

It crossed rivers and forests.

This expansion continued for half an hour before gradually coming to an end.

「Prompt: Your territory has been upgraded to Level Three.」

「Prompt: You have unlocked the permanent blueprint ‘City Walls (Common)’ and obtained the blueprint ‘Guiding Beacon (Common · 3/3).’」

「Prompt: You have gained the Level Three Territory Buff <Cultivation Speed +6%, Breakthrough Rate +2%>.」

Mu Yuan quickly scanned the information.

With the current territory being sufficient, the greatest benefit of the upgrade was that various buildings could now be upgraded accordingly.

If the Breakthrough Dojo were raised to Level Three, the number of slots would not increase, but it would allow breakthroughs for ‘Professional Tier Peak’ units. In Tianyuan Territory, elite soldiers like Bone Little Six, who were in the first echelon of outstanding troops, were already not far from reaching Professional Tier Rank 9 Great Perfection.

Additionally, although the ‘City Walls’ blueprint was only Common grade, it was still valuable.

“These walls, when built, would be about four meters high. Their sturdiness is acceptable, but they pale in comparison to the walls of Stone Ridge Town.”

Mu Yuan hesitated about whether to build them.

Naturally, he wanted to construct more robust and reliable Advanced City Walls. However, high-level wall blueprints were extremely rare, and disposable wall blueprints were useless. Only permanent blueprints could build true, majestic walls that encircled the entire territory.

“The Monster Tide Season has not yet arrived. If no suitable blueprint is found by then, I’ll just build the common walls.”

As he pondered, daylight began to fade.

Mu Yuan felt as if he were bathing in a hot spring, with every cell in his body rejoicing.

Unfortunately, since he was already an Elite-level powerhouse, the baptism effect from the Level Two to Level Three upgrade was not significant—only a minor half-rank increase.

He was more concerned about the changes in his Lord Power.

So he closed his eyes and carefully contemplated it.

「Lord Power: The Lord can borrow the power of the troops under their command, capable of utilizing 30% to 80% of their abilities based on the troops’ trust level. Currently, up to three templates can be pre-loaded.」

“So that’s how it is.”

“The upper limit remains unchanged, but the operability has increased significantly.”

For example, he could now simultaneously borrow the power of three commanders—(40% + 30% + 30%) × 80%—and use this as a foundation for skill combinations.For example, he could seamlessly switch from the Deadbone template to the Dolai template in the very next second, unlike the previous template conversions which had cooldown periods.

Mu Yuan was currently utilizing two completely different powers.

One originated from Deadbone, representing the shadowy power of the undead, while the other came from Laney, embodying the purifying power of Holy Light.

Black, coiling mist and bright, pale golden light shimmered around his left and right hands respectively. At first glance, the power of Holy Light appeared scarcely weaker than the undead energy.

This was only natural.

Although Laney was rather weak, merely at mid-tier first rank, he, Lord Mu, was a second-rank powerhouse with immensely profound energy reserves. Furthermore, having loaded the Deadbone template, his foundational attributes surpassed even many third-rank beings when combined.

His healing capacity far exceeded Laney’s (proud expression).

However, after loading most of the Deadbone template, his body and energy had already inclined toward the dark element. Using this as a foundation to channel Holy Light power inevitably felt uncoordinated and obstructed.

It was like an ice creature wielding a blazing sword continuously emanating flames.

After some experimentation, Mu Yuan began to understand how to construct the Great Lord’s personal combat system.

He could continue progressing along this path.

But to rapidly enhance combat effectiveness in the short term, breakthroughs would need to come from the three pre-loadable template slots.

“Wait, why should I limit myself to borrowing power proportionally? Why not maximize one particular aspect from a specific template instead?”

One more chapter for now.

Double monthly votes are only available for the final few hours! Spinning 3,600 degrees with pen and ink begging for monthly votes ah

(End of chapter)