Chapter 228 – The System of a Strong Nation

Outside the Pure Soul Source Pool, the waiting Lords engaged in idle chatter.

“You reckon, how much improvement will Tianyuan’s generals gain?”

“Tianyuan seems to possess three Epic-grade Generals. Given their potential, their absorption efficiency of the baptism power might be quite high.”

“Indeed, the same baptism power applied to them could elevate their Ranks by two or three levels more than us.”

A difference of two or three minor Ranks might not seem like much, but it could save several months of time.

Who wouldn’t envy that?

Moreover,

During the selection battles, Epic beings like the Frost Dragon were already immensely powerful. After leveling up, to what heights would their strength soar? It’s hard to imagine!

Fortunately, in the Dragon Court Competition, Tianyuan would no longer be their opponent but a reliable ally.

Thinking of it that way was quite reassuring.

However, as rising-star Lords, among the strongest of the new generation, they would never entertain the shameful notion of relying on others to win. The only thing they could truly depend on was their own strength.

They simply looked forward to how much their own generals would improve.

A significant Rank increase brought a tremendous boost to combat power.

Before the baptism, compared to other rising stars in the selection battles, they were only slightly stronger, perhaps by a margin or two. But after the baptism, this gap would widen substantially.

By the time the Dragon Court Competition concluded, they would nearly possess the power to step onto the grand stage of Taixuan.

They would no longer be novices or rising stars.

They would become powerhouses.

Powerhouses capable of resisting monster tides, bearing the banner of war, and exploring the mysteries of the world.

They would stride into a broader world.

The Secluded Mountain Lord was the most expectant.

Tianyuan had Epic beings, and so did he. His Lord of Flesh Mountain was even the highest-level Epic present.

“After the baptism, could the Lord of Flesh Mountain reach the Peak of the Fourth Order?”

Youshan shook his head. “But without a doubt, the Lord of Flesh Mountain, currently at the mid-stage of the Third Order, will certainly advance to the Fourth Order, possibly even reaching the mid-stage of the Fourth Order directly.”

Even if it reached the Peak of the Fourth Order, without having forged its own Domain, the Lord of Flesh Mountain could not step into the Legendary Realm.

Furthermore, even with both Domain and Willpower Light, which would ensure entry into the Legendary Realm, a powerhouse still needed time to temper their ‘Limitless Body’ to fully excavate their potential.

Additionally, a Legendary breakthrough required time; it couldn’t be achieved in an instant.

Even for an existence like his Lord of Flesh Mountain—Epic-grade and possessing memories and Legacy from a past life—it would need to temper itself for a year or two at the Peak of the Fourth Order before attempting a breakthrough.

As for other Epic beings, very few were like the Lord of Flesh Mountain, born with inherent Ranks.

Most of them were likely only Second-Order Elites or Third-Order Generals.

He believed that with the Lord of Flesh Mountain’s power, even if it encountered top-tier powerhouses from Eternal Star or Godwood, it had the capability to fight and emerge victorious.

However,

The number of Epic powerhouses in Eternal Star and Godwood might not be just one or two.

…

Inside the Pure Soul Source Pool, Lord Mu’s cells danced with joy, and his soul reveled in delight.

His physique, spirit, and energy soared like a rocket.

The same was true for Deadbone, Isloria, and the others.

Soon,

“Pop—”The Perfect Breakthrough Stone in Deadbone’s hand shattered. Having just reached the peak of Second-Order Great Perfection, it effortlessly advanced to Third-Order with the aid of the Perfect Breakthrough Stone, and its Rank continued to surge unimpeded.

The speed showed no signs of slowing.

The Perfect Breakthrough Stone had been prepared by Mu Yuan long ago.

Even without using this breakthrough material, a breakthrough would have occurred naturally under the baptism of the Soul Source Pool, but it would inevitably waste some of the baptism’s power.

They were racing against time, competing for every resource.

Waste was shameful.

The aura of breakthroughs released one after another within the vast, basin-like Soul Source Pool, yet these powerful surges seemed insignificant before the descending baptism light.

Time ticked by.

Even second-line generals like Bone Two, Bone Three, Bone Four, and Asun stepped into the ranks of Third-Order Warlord Tier.

By this time, the baptism light began to weaken.

The magnificent radiance descending from the heavens, like a great waterfall, gradually shrank from a large river to a small stream.

「Prompt: Hero Deadbone’s Rank has increased to Third-Order Level 8.」

「Prompt: Hero Isloria’s Rank has increased to Third-Order Level 7.」

The speed of Rank increases gradually slowed.

The baptism power was nearly exhausted!

A gleam ignited in Dolai’s eyes.

“Crack—”

The second Perfect Breakthrough Stone in its hand turned to dust.

Thick white mist surged and converged.

General Dolai could no longer maintain its human form and reverted to its round, blue jelly-like form.

In this primal state, its aura surged again, stirring up a gust of wind.

At this moment, General Dolai broke through two major tiers consecutively, stepping into the Fourth Order!

The energy within it was vast, rushing like great rivers.

It believed that even if it hadn’t created any new killing moves; even without Willpower Light or other major breakthroughs; even if it hadn’t Awakened new super skills;

Even as more and more powerful juniors emerged in the territory;

General Dolai was confident it could reclaim the esteemed position of second only to Tianyuan!

Hands on hips.jpg!

The baptism light had ceased to descend, but there was still plenty of drifting white mist within the Pure Soul Source Pool.

This white mist was the manifestation of residual power.

Seeing this, Dolai held nothing back. It opened its mouth wide.

Inhale~ Exhale~!

Like a whale swallowing, it drew in all the white mist from all directions.

General Dolai leveled up once more, only stopping its ascent upon reaching the third minor level of the Commander Tier.

General Dolai, strong!

Meanwhile, Undead General barely managed to reach Third-Order Level 9.

The other generals’ Ranks ranged from Third-Order Level 2 to Third-Order Level 8.

The average Rank had increased by one major tier.

Now, even if an A-class agent from the Divine Radiance Empire infiltrated again, Bone Two could easily defeat them.

…

After the baptism light ceased to descend, Mu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, clenched his fist, and calmly sensed the energy surging like rivers within him.

Another half hour later, the facility emitted a “beep” prompt, and the door slowly opened, with a golden path extending outward.

Mu Yuan recalled most of his generals into the Mark Space, taking only Deadbone and Dolai with him as he walked out.

“Your turn next, Kongming.”

Xixiang City Lord said.

One entered as the other exited.

Soon, the door to the Pure Soul Source Pool slowly closed again.

Kongming City Lord looked around at the emptiness, not a trace of white mist remaining, and scratched his head in confusion. “Something seems off?”

As the baptism light soon descended, he stopped overthinking and focused on absorbing with all his might alongside his generals.Today’s schedule was packed.

In the morning, each squad took turns entering the Soul Source Pool to undergo baptism and rank up. In the afternoon, led by the Xixiang City Lord, they proceeded to another treasure land to receive legacies.

These were skill legacies.

Not exactly top-tier.

Top-tier legacies couldn’t be mastered in a short time, and even if learned, they were difficult to immediately apply in combat.

The legacies provided by Taixuan could be summarized as “burst-type legacies.”

[Tip: Your Hero Undead General has learned the skills ‘Energy Enhancement,’ ‘Strength Enhancement,’ and ‘Spirit Enhancement.’]

Not everyone could master the legacies.

However, most general-level experts could learn at least one of the three legacies.

These were burst-type skills with no side effects, which could not be acquired through self-study or instruction—they could only be learned within the legacy grounds.

After learning them, three marks appeared in their minds.

A red mark, a white mark, and a blue mark.

These marks accumulated power, allowing for bursts during critical moments in battle.

The enhancement was roughly equivalent to having an additional built-in excellent-grade piece of equipment. For the Undead General, this was of little use, but for more conventional commanders like Lu Liu, Seventeen, and Isloria, it was quite beneficial.

It could be said that in just one day, the commanders of each faction had undergone earth-shaking transformations.

They could easily overpower their former selves with one hand.

The Lords were brimming with confidence.

But the Xixiang City Lord shook his head and said, “Although your strength is not bad, it is merely not bad.”

“You must understand that great nations like Eternal Star and Divine Wood have histories far longer than our Taixuan. They also possess special places like the Pure Soul Source Pool—perhaps even more of them.”

Places for bloodline refinement!

Places for willpower tempering!

And so on.

Of course, in empires like Eternal Star and Divine Wood, class stratification was also much more severe. While they had many treasure lands, not every outstanding Lord had the opportunity to use them.

“Therefore, if you encounter the imperial families of Eternal Star or Divine Wood, avoid them if possible. There is no shame in this—a Lord must learn to assess the situation and choose tactics wisely.”Similarly, the essence of great nations like Eternal Star and Divine Wood is not only reflected in their facilities but also in their troop systems.”

Take the six representatives of Taixuan, for example.

Tyrant Dragon pursued the Dragon series, Shen Mao focused on the Puss-in-Boots troop type, Kongming followed the traditional Human Race route, Wuji specialized in the Sword series…

In short, they covered every possible system.

The Evening Elephant Lord said, “The Divine Wood Dynasty, as its name suggests, primarily uses Wood-type troops. Their common series include ‘Rotwood Mages,’ ‘Treants,’ ‘Treeherders,’ and so on. The Western Desert Empire, on the other hand, excels in Desert-type troops, such as the ‘Mummy series,’ ‘Sandworm series,’ ‘Sandscorpion series,’ and the like.”

“This is not because they cannot recruit other troop types, but because they possess unique advantages in recruiting and training these specific series. They can use certain methods to obtain higher-tier troops during recruitment or awaken more skills during training and leveling up.”

“For example, with the same rare one-star troop, we typically only have one skill, while they can have two. This is achieved through exclusive awakening techniques, which are only effective for specific troop series.”

“What about Eternal Star?”

Someone asked.

The Xixiang City Lord replied, “Eternal Star naturally also has troop series they excel in, though they are not as easily identifiable by appearance.””Eternal Star excels in the Star series, such as… let me think.”

He paused and said, “For example, the ‘Star Shooter’ at the Outstanding One-Star rank is quite common under the command of Eternal Star’s powerful Lords. At the apex of this series, their advanced troop type, the epic lifeform ‘Polar Star Arrow,’ is something you might also encounter.”

“Once you encounter…”

He originally wanted to say “run.”

But hoping to escape before the Polar Star Arrow is likely wishful thinking.

“The royal families of powerful nations like Eternal Star and Divine Wood inevitably possess two or three epic units. This is why I advise you to retreat if you encounter them. But if retreat is impossible, then fight to the death with all your might.”

Mu Yuan was lost in thought.

His own Seventeen was a Polar Star Arrow. He was very curious to know who would be stronger between Seventeen and the Polar Star Arrows of the Eternal Star Empire.

The Xixiang City Lord provided extensive materials, marking over a dozen formidable enemies to avoid whenever possible, along with intelligence on various nations’ Lords and their powerful commanders.

Mu Yuan contemplated his selection of officers for the battle.

Soon, the day of the Dragon Court Competition’s official commencement arrived, and he prepared to depart for the Dragon Court Land.

Second update…

(End of chapter)