Chapter 282 – Peak of the Fourth Order

Twenty kilometers away from where the Snake God conglomerate had appeared, in a secure location, various legions from the expedition force were resting and recuperating.

Elite soldiers rested on the spot, gulping down potions to restore their nearly depleted bodies.

Under the healing of nuns and other support-type units, the wounded saw their injuries visibly healing, though their energy remained quite low.

Some powerful individuals had suffered severe injuries or excessive depletion, unable to recover quickly and only managing to preserve their lives, or slowly restoring their Origin Qi over time.

For example, commanders who had overloaded themselves with energy to use large-scale skills;

Or experts who had consumed blood-burning potions or used life-risking techniques;

Like Uta;

After the battle, once the Willpower Light state faded, Uta’s life hung by a thread like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment. His entire body resembled shattered porcelain, terrifying anyone who saw it.

Miserable, truly miserable.

Mu Yuan, however, was quite accustomed to this. Not only during desperate battles, but even during routine sparring sessions with other commanders, Uta would often end up in such a state.

His life wasn’t in danger – with proper care, he could recover within a few days.

For a severely injured expert, recovering in just a few days was already remarkably fast. But from another perspective: Uta’s ultimate skill had a cooldown period of several days, which seemed quite lengthy indeed.

While the elites and commanders rested and recovered, various Lords or leaders of mercenary groups gathered at the temporary camp at the center.

The camp was a special equipment produced by the Amber City Lord, possessing abilities such as ‘temporary settlement’, ‘shelter from wind and rain’, and ‘accelerated recovery’.

Mu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel at how many Treasures veteran experts had in their possession – they seemed to have everything one could need.

Within the camp, mercenary group leaders were typically accompanied by their deputy leaders and several other powerful members of their groups.

As player organizations, after obtaining their share of Treasures as a mercenary group, they still needed to distribute them internally. In such cases, deciding which Treasures to choose wasn’t something the leader could decide alone – they had to negotiate with the powerful members of their team.

The various Lords also didn’t come alone, mostly bringing two or three commanders with them.

Some high-ranking commanders of noble origins held considerable status within their territories, and their opinions and suggestions were often valued by their Lords.

By Mu Yuan’s side were the treasure-seeking Dolai and the intelligence crow.

Dolai blinked its large eyes, looking at the rows and columns of displayed Treasures.

It felt like arriving at a street stall with ring toss games.

From bottom to top, the value of the Treasures increased progressively.

The most common Treasures were white-grade Materials like iron ore, harvested from clearing monsters along the way. Of course, the iron ore wasn’t displayed piece by piece – dozens of units were grouped together as one lot.

Additionally, there were rare-grade Materials like ‘Elemental Orbs’ and ‘White Stardust’, or rare-grade equipment.

Some damaged rare equipment was also bundled together as lots.

Some of these came from elimination rewards; others were gifts from heaven obtained by purifying the totems of Snakemen strongholds.

“There are also several rare-grade Miracle Building blueprints, including Elementary Mage Towers, Alchemy Huts, Acid Cannons, and so on.”

Furthermore, there were numerous Remnant Souls, including many Rare Remnant Souls among them.There were a few more, all Excellent One-Star Remnant Souls emitting a faint blue halo: Black Knight, Dragonhawk, Vampire Viscount, Medusa, and Earthrock Dragon.

These, bestowed by the heavens and earth, ranked among the top-tier treasures in the entire haul.

Many lords stared with blazing eyes.

Among them, quite a few already possessed troops of Excellent grade, and these high-tier units had matured, becoming their trusted right-hand men and reliable generals within their territories.

Precisely because of this, they desired another one even more.

One more would mean an extra arm—who wouldn’t want that?

But treasures were limited.

The Taixuan Alliance, established for many years, had perfected its rules for exploration and distribution. The contribution rankings were now clearly listed.

Amber Lord himself only ranked third.

In second place was the lord whose Hero had used the strategic skill ‘Meteorfall.’ This lord was also a Level 7 lord, more seasoned, a rather taciturn middle-aged man known as Rockpeak Lord. He had brought two Heroes with him on this expedition.

The troops led by Rockpeak Lord had always been the absolute main force of the expedition team, contributing significantly. ‘Meteorfall’ had also played a key role in the final battle, hence his second-place ranking.

No one disputed Mu Yuan’s first place.

Not to mention his pivotal role in turning the tide in the final battle, just the intelligence he provided during the expedition alone placed him above the vast majority of lords.

Naturally, Lord Mu’s contributions far surpassed those of the second-place holder.

Therefore, according to the rules, the first to choose a treasure was him, and the second to choose was also him.

Only then did it come to Rockpeak Lord, followed by Amber City Lord, and then, once again, Lord Mu.

Mu Yuan looked at the treasures in the front row.

Some emitted a blue halo, while others shimmered with the unique glow of Interdimensional Treasures.

He pondered, his gaze naturally skipping over the Excellent Remnant Souls first and settling on the Interdimensional Treasures.

Since there were no Excellent-grade blueprints or Hero’s Tokens available at the moment, choosing treasures was particularly important.

Mu Yuan selected the first set of treasures.

—Upgrade Treasure Trio.

「Rank-3 Treasure: Can increase level by 3.」

「Rank-4 Treasure: Can increase level by 4.」

「Rank-6 Treasure: Can increase level by 6.」

Treasures that boost levels are relatively low in value among the various treasures, which is why three are bundled together as a set.

Of course, “low” is relative.

Many Fourth-Order Commander Tier experts can get stuck at minor levels, possibly for a year or two. But using these treasures allows them to bypass these minor hurdles and directly increase their levels by a fixed amount.

Even Third-Order Peak experts using such treasures have a significant chance of crossing the extremely difficult Commander Tier breakthrough barrier.

Many lords would choose this set of treasures.

That’s why Mu Yuan picked it first.

In his hands, the value of these three treasures far outstripped that of other treasures by a wide margin.

“The Legendary Realm is within reach.”

“After using these treasures, even Dolai and Deadbone can be elevated to the Peak of the Commander Tier. Of course, reaching the Peak of the Commander Tier doesn’t mean instantly becoming a Legend; they still need to refine their bodies—including physique, spirit, and energy—to their absolute limits.”

This refers to the minor improvements that can still be made even after reaching the Peak of the Commander Tier.

The greater the improvement, the higher the probability of breaking through to the Legendary Realm, and the greater the benefits gained after the breakthrough.

This is a crucial step.In any case, with these treasures, the time for Tianyuan Territory to produce its first Legendary Realm existence would be shortened by several months.

“Now, the second one…”

He looked at Dolai.

Although Dolai possessed a unique ‘treasure intuition’, it clearly couldn’t distinguish which item was more valuable or more suitable. It would be better to hear Sophia’s opinion.

“Wait, this one…”

「Willpower Treasure」

「Appraisal: Can significantly increase the user’s Willpower Light.」

This was an extremely rare special-type treasure.

The usage condition appeared to be Willpower Light, but unlike a Domain, even if the light hadn’t yet ignited, any lifeform that had sprouted intelligence possessed its own will.

There was over an 80% probability that this treasure could significantly enhance the user’s willpower.

It could assist strong individuals in igniting their Willpower Light!

Mu Yuan also noticed that many Lords were focusing their attention on this treasure. For them, even a 50% or 30% chance would be worth gambling on, let alone 80%.

If they won the gamble, the probability of their General breaking through to the Legendary Realm in the future would be greatly enhanced.

“It’s decided then.”

Mu Yuan picked up this treasure, turned around, and stuffed it into Dolai’s mouth.

“Gurgle~?”

“You better make the most of this opportunity.”

The treasure transformed into light and surged into Dolai’s body.

For a moment, it seemed as if some indescribable change had occurred.

There was no Aura soaring to the heavens, no majestic divine might, but Dolai’s willpower effortlessly broke through the barrier and ignited its light.

The formless, intangible will gained substantial power from this moment onward.

It was light.

From then on, Dolai had already fulfilled the two most difficult prerequisites among the three required to break through to the Legendary Realm. The remaining ‘Limitless Body’ would inevitably be satisfied given Dolai’s foundation, requiring only a little more time.

Mu Yuan received a panel notification, and some powerful individuals also detected the changes in Dolai.

“It really ignited its Willpower Light?”

“There’s actually a treasure that can directly ignite the light? Tsk! We’ll have to keep a closer eye out for such items in the future.”

Mu Yuan really wanted to say that it probably depended on the user’s personal conditions.

Although Dolai had a clear yet foolish look in its eyes, it was, after all, General Dolai, the renowned Five-Star General of Tianyuan.

But upon second thought, if even Dolai could achieve such a significant breakthrough, other strong individuals would surely experience some effect, however minor.

Rockpeak Lord felt somewhat regretful seeing this treasure being chosen and selected another one that could significantly enhance Mental Energy.

Amber Lord picked up another extremely rare special treasure with an evolution ability—it could increase any individual by one small star rank but couldn’t cross into the Epic tier.

The most valuable major treasures were essentially all picked clean.

As for others, such as treasures that could expand a Domain, Mu Yuan indeed needed them but decided not to take any for now.

His gaze swept back and forth across the first row of treasures.

Above the Medusa’s Remnant Soul among them, a bewitching snake-woman shadow appeared.

Hmm, very alluring, but unfortunately, it doesn’t suit our Tianyuan style.

Mu Yuan was somewhat fond of the Medusa, not because of its allure, but because the Petrifying Gaze was extremely powerful—capable of killing enemies beyond its tier and imposing strong control.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t evolve the Medusa, so what use was it? A mere Outstanding One-Star troop type—useless.Even if they could evolve, newly recruited units still had to be slowly cultivated starting from the Apprentice Tier. By the time this Medusa grew up, his Tianyuan Territory could probably form a legendary team.

Lord Mu preferred to nurture the veteran employees of his territory.

He ultimately chose a rare-grade ‘Breakthrough Dojo’ building blueprint. This Miracle Building could assist units in breakthroughs, though it had limited slots—one slot per unit. Having one more dojo meant dozens of additional slots, making it quite worthwhile.

Within the temporary camp, the Lords and representatives of mercenary groups stepped forward one by one to select their spoils.

The Lords who obtained outstanding-grade Remnant Souls and some precious Treasures were beaming with joy.

Of course, the number of high-grade Treasures was limited, and not everyone could obtain satisfactory items. However, the fundamental purpose of this campaign was not to seize Treasures but to eradicate the Serpentfolk Tribe.

Now, the threats within the Land Between Worlds had largely vanished, allowing everyone to truly explore and sweep through this area inch by inch.

If they could find a few more Treasures, this expedition would be a great harvest.

Half an hour later, the spoils were divided. The Lords and mercenary leaders, eager to sweep the area for treasures, bid their farewells and departed.

After exchanging contact information with Amber City Lord, Lord Li Yao, and a few others, Mu Yuan also led his troops away.

Soon, dozens of kilometers away.

“Alright, now it’s time for the wonderful upgrade session.”

Mu Yuan took out various Treasures one by one.

Among them were a full seven Domain Expansion Treasures.

Amber Lord might have guessed that General Dolai had mastered a Domain and needed enhancement. However, that wasn’t the case.

Seeing that no one was around, Mu Yuan handed a Domain Treasure to Red Robe.

In an instant,

the Netherworld Market manifested, and a red pavilion, as if soaked in blood, rose from the ground. This was Red Robe’s Epic Skill and environmental skill.

The Domain, derived from these two skills, took shape after Red Robe immersed herself in comprehension for a while.

It was a natural progression.

Afterward, Mu Yuan distributed the remaining Domain Treasures equally among his subordinates: Rakshasa, Bone Four, Sophia, Uta, and others.

As expected, Uta showed no effect after using his.

Sophia’s results were the most pronounced. After all, she possessed more experience and insight than the other subordinates, and her Comprehension Ability ranked among the top in Tianyuan Territory.

After using two Treasures, Sophia developed her own Night Crow Domain.

To Mu Yuan’s surprise, Bone Four also showed significant results from using the Treasure, so he invested a second Treasure in it.

Using its Epic ability, Undead Territory, as a foundation, Bone Four also created a Domain.

The Skeletal Domain.

It was similar to Deadbone’s early Withered Bone Domain—fairly ordinary, but still a Domain. Even ordinary Domains required Legendary powerhouses to master. Creating a Domain was an extremely difficult feat in itself; who would dare to be picky?

Next came the major upgrades.

General Dolai used Leveling Treasures.

Mu Yuan used the Treasure that could ‘increase 4 Ranks’ on Dolai, emphasizing stability.

Ding!

Notification: Your hero ‘Dolai’ has reached Peak Fourth Order Rank. It can no longer gain any Soul Power experience by absorbing Soul Sand.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“This Dolai has become stronger~!”

Dolai could feel the energy within its body growing more immense, its strength increasing by at least fifty to sixty percent compared to before.”It seems… it’s more than that. Dolai vaguely sensed that barrier.”

It looked as if begging for praise.

This was indeed remarkable. Other Peak experts required ritual assistance to forcibly enter the ‘Ultimate Ascension State,’ while Dolai might achieve it through its own power alone.

“But we can’t experiment recklessly. If the Ultimate Ascension fails without the proper venue and medicinal aids, it could be instantly fatal.”

Mu Yuan said, “Moreover, your foundational attributes still have room for improvement. You can sense that yourself, right?”

Dolai frowned, falling into deep thought.

After a long while, it spoke with uncertainty, “Seems… possible.”

“That much of a gap.”

It extended two fingers to gesture, then reconsidered and switched to using its arms.

It spread its hands apart as if holding a large sphere.

Or possibly a Universe.

“Just… about this much of a gap.”

Mu Yuan stared at Dolai.

Dolai responded with innocent, wide eyes.

Mu Yuan fell into contemplation.

(End of Chapter)