Chapter 348 – Pure White Feather, Territory Upgrade

“Prompt: You have cleared the Ascension Trial. Based on your trial performance, you have received the rating ‘Unique’.”

The evaluation tiers for the Ascension Trial are fundamentally the same as those for the Hero Trial.

There are four levels: ‘Pass’, ‘Good’, ‘Excellent’, and ‘Perfect’.

However, even for the same rating tier, the World’s Blessing obtained from clearing a Historical Trial versus clearing a regular trial is inevitably different. Perhaps the value of a rating tier in a Historical Trial is one or two levels higher compared to a regular trial?

The rating he obtained wasn’t just Perfect, but Unique.

“Unique might be the evaluation above Perfect, achievable only by clearing a Historical Trial with the most outstanding combat performance?”

Mu Yuan guessed it was roughly like that; he didn’t understand the rest.

After all, he was just a newcomer who had been in the Eternal World for less than a year, with no background to speak of. He hadn’t even heard of Historical Trials before, let alone the Unique rating.

“None of that matters anyway. What’s important is that the territory has been promoted and I can receive an unexpected World’s Blessing—that’s enough.”

Mu Yuan thought.

He was still in the gray, misty trial space, with highlight scenes flashing before his eyes.

In one scene, Mu Yuan held up the Great Sun, shattering the monster waves;

In another, Dolai restrained space, crushing the Giant Pincer Legend;

In yet another, Deadbone silently appeared behind a Legendary Hunter, pointing a single finger. The Legendary monster’s eyes showed confusion and terror, its mouth gaping as its entire body decayed, leaving only a skeleton.

These were the highlight kill scenes, flashing by one after another.

The three scenes of breaking through the world’s barrier lingered the longest.

In one of them, countless grim white bones erupted from the ground, impaling thousands upon thousands of monsters, forming a forest of bones covering several kilometers.

At the top of the bone forest, the corpses of three Legendary Realm monsters were skewered. Their flesh rapidly decayed, leaving only skeletons.

This was the result of Deadbone fighting with almost no reservations, disregarding consumption.

These scenes finally froze.

Frozen on the scene of the Pure White God and the Serpent-Man God confronting each other.

But the next moment, it didn’t end there, nor did he exit the trial space.

The voice of the World’s Prompt sounded again in Mu Yuan’s ears.

“Ding!”

“Prompt: You have obtained the special clearance reward ‘Pure White Feather’.”

A pure white feather glowing with a faint purple light slowly drifted out from the confrontation scene, floating down before him and into his palm.

A vague, warm sensation transmitted from it.

“Pure White Feather”

“Rank: Epic”

“Ability ①: Pure White Sanctuary”

“Sanctuary from the Pure White God. The feather can transform into a pair of pure white wings, enveloping and protecting multiple targets. The pure white wings can cover a maximum area of ten thousand meters in radius, capable of blocking most Legendary attacks.”

“Pure White Sanctuary can last up to 10 minutes. After use, it requires self-recovery. The power limit of the Pure White Feather is unrelated to the user’s level.”

“Ability ②: Unknown”

“Note: This special item ‘Pure White Feather’ is bound.”

This was actually an Epic item!

But… in the Ascension Trial, do Lords have a chance to obtain treasure rewards?Mu Yuan was puzzled as his figure vanished into the gray, indistinct trial space.

…

At the same time.

「Prompt: As a trial lord has broken the three great heavenly seals, the crisis of the Pure White Kingdom has been resolved, and the trial has ended early.」

「Prompt: …」

「Prompt: …」

A resonant, bell-like sound of heaven and earth abruptly echoed in their ears.

At this moment, whether in the capital city or out in the wilderness, the few trial lords were all equally astonished.

“Isn’t this… a bit too fast!”

Only a few hours had passed since the last prompt sounded.

From the start of the trial until now, less than a day had gone by. The ten-day trial process had not even reached one-tenth of its duration!

Some were stunned, filled with admiration, and let out long sighs of relief.

“Regardless, we’ve hitched a ride, following a big shot to pass the promotion trial.”

Even though their performance during the process was not outstanding, due to the extremely short clearance time, they still received a fairly high rating.

Their overall gains were likely no less than achieving a perfect rating in a regular trial.

They were outstanding lords, capable of clearing ordinary trials with ease, but achieving a perfect rating was not so simple.

This time, they had managed to benefit from the situation.

The Golden Lion Prince, however, was somewhat gloomy. He had always aimed for the highest rating in the historical trial.

Yet,

while he repeatedly hit walls and was far from making progress, the Everstar Lord, whom he had only met once, had already completed the hidden task early… Even if the other had been incredibly lucky, there was likely a noticeable gap in strength between them.

In this trial, he was not the protagonist, but merely a supporting character.

The Golden Lion Prince clenched his fist tightly.

He had cleared the trial, his territory had advanced; he had been incredibly lucky to encounter a historical trial, yet…

All he felt now was grief and indignation.

“To think there is such a prodigy in the Eternal Star Empire. No wonder my advisors always say the Eternal Star Empire has great ambitions, even daring to challenge the Holy Griffin Empire’s hegemonic status. This won’t do…”

Such a prodigy from the Eternal Star Empire has limitless potential.

He must not be allowed to live!

As soon as the Golden Lion Prince emerged from the trial space, he immediately ordered a carriage prepared, intending to head for the imperial capital.

…

Tianyuan Territory.

Mu Yuan’s figure appeared in the City Lord’s Mansion, unharmed and restored to his peak condition.

Deadbone, Dolai, Uta, and other subordinates, whose bodies were in the outside world, had their consciousnesses return as the trial ended.

“Are we back?” Isloria peeked in. “It seems everything went smoothly.”

“Yes, after all, it was just a promotion trial. Nothing unexpected happened,” Mu Yuan said.

As for the ordinary trial escalating into a historical trial, in his view, that didn’t count as unexpected.

When rising star lords like ‘Wuji’ and ‘Youshan’ undertook their promotion trials, they relied on their formidable strength to break the rules and bulldoze their way through.

Having heard of these precedents, Mu Yuan had long conceived the idea of a speedrun clearance.

In the end, it didn’t differ much from his initial plan.

He swept through, shattered the rules, and cleared the trial quickly.

Even though it was a historical trial, wasn’t it essentially the same speedrun process?

Since there wasn’t much difference, it didn’t qualify as unexpected.

「Prompt: You have passed the promotion trial. Your territory is now upgrading.」

Hum—

Hum—

Mu Yuan’s perspective elevated, as if he were a deity looking down upon the earth from the heavens.From a bird’s-eye view, the territory of Tianyuan Territory was rapidly expanding and spreading.

These changes were invisible to the naked eye; only the Lord and Heroes could witness the continuously extending boundary lines.

Through the Lord’s vision, Mu Yuan also observed that the wispy strands of Crimson Mist drifting through the world were gradually receding as the territorial borders advanced.

Where the territory covered, the land seemed to rejuvenate with more vitality, as new greenery broke through the soil.

These changes were no different from when the territory leveled up from Rank 2 to 3, or from 3 to 4.

However, progressing from Rank 4 to 5 was a significant hurdle, bringing more than just ‘territorial expansion’, ‘Miracle Buildings leveling up’, and ‘Lord Power enhancement’.

Depending on the trial rating, the heavenly baptism the Lord could receive and the changes to the territory would vary significantly.

Sometimes, these differences marked the beginning of a complete transformation.

While a mere level-up wouldn’t bring about a metamorphic change for his Tianyuan Territory, it would still yield some noticeable improvements.

“For instance, the Lord can take this opportunity to upgrade some Common-tier buildings to Rare-tier, or elevate Rare-tier buildings to Excellent-tier.”

As for how many buildings could be upgraded, that depended on the trial rating.

「Prompt: You may choose to upgrade 10 Common-tier buildings and 3 Rare-tier buildings.」

「Prompt: Countdown: 300, 299, 298, …」

「Prompt: If the time limit is exceeded, upgrade slots will be used randomly.」

Mu Yuan had already considered this issue and had his answer ready.

For the ten Common-tier upgrade opportunities, he allocated four to Warehouses and the remaining six entirely to upgrading Common-tier Guiding Beacons.

「Warehouse (Green)」

「Description: Compared to Common-tier Warehouses, Rare-tier Warehouses feature larger folded space, a more durable structure, and include a large refrigeration chamber.」

For the three Rare-tier building upgrade opportunities, after some thought, he used two on the ‘Breakthrough Dojo’ and one on the ‘City Lord’s Mansion’.

Excellent-tier buildings obtained through upgrades derive their abilities from their Rare-tier predecessors and cannot develop new capabilities. Generally, these are slightly inferior to natural Excellent-tier buildings.

Even so, the improvements from building upgrades remain substantial.

The Breakthrough Dojo had always been a crucial structure in Tianyuan Territory, assisting troops in breaking through from ‘Zero Order to First Order’ and ‘First Order to Second Order’. This breakthrough process was entirely eco-friendly, requiring no Materials, only some additional time.

The upgraded Breakthrough Dojo could facilitate breakthroughs from ‘Second Order to Third Order’ and ‘Third Order to Fourth Order’. However, higher-order breakthroughs took longer, had fewer slots, but offered equivalent breakthrough effects.

As the building level increased (Rank 4→5), the number of high-order assistance slots would also rise accordingly.

“Now, the elites of our main forces have reached the mid-to-high stages of the Elite level. After another baptism, I estimate many will advance to the Third-Order Warlord Tier. At this point, the Breakthrough Dojo will play a significant role.”

As for upgrading the ‘City Lord’s Mansion’…

Mu Yuan wasn’t someone who sought luxury and comfort; the living conditions in the Intermediate Mage Tower in the sky were even superior to those in the City Lord’s Mansion.

However, as the territory grew and the official team expanded, the scale of the City Lord’s Mansion, the municipal center, needed to be expanded as well.

Rumble—The Breakthrough Dojo, City Lord’s Mansion, and other buildings began their tier upgrades.

Among them, the City Lord’s Mansion underwent the most dramatic changes, expanding several times in area while miraculously not encroaching on adjacent structures, as if the land beneath the mansion had stretched along with it.

The original two-story building transformed into a towering structure over ten meters high, with numerous new furnishings and equipment appearing inside.

These awaited further exploration.

Isloria gazed at the suddenly enlarged hall and the documents scattered across the floor from the disruption, falling into a silence so profound that veins bulged on her forehead.

In the distance, Mu Yuan shuddered inexplicably, wondering why a cold breeze had swept through at high noon.

Though the building upgrades concluded, the territory’s evolution continued.

The next moment, the system prompt chimed in his ears once again.

「Prompt: You have received a blessing from heaven and earth. Unit Buildings are upgrading.」

…

「Prompt: Your Tier-1 Unit Building ‘Skull Graveyard’ has been enhanced. Monthly recruitment quota increased to 200 units. Environment upgraded. Buffs upgraded.」

「Prompt: Your Tier-3 Unit Building ‘Treant Forest’ has been enhanced. Monthly recruitment quota increased to 40 units. Environment upgraded. Buffs upgraded.」

「Prompt: Your Tier-3 Unit Building ‘Icy Spirit Cold Pool’ has been enhanced. Monthly recruitment quota increased to 40 units. Environment upgraded. Buffs upgraded.」

The Skull Graveyard had previously received environmental improvements, but this upgrade was far more substantial.

Black mist surged abruptly, blotting out the sky.

The dark soil expanded at visible speed, rapidly spreading hundreds then thousands of meters without slowing, eventually covering tens of thousands of meters—seemingly larger than the entire Tianyuan Territory.

No, not seemingly!

The Skull Graveyard was now genuinely vast, yet inconspicuous.

It hadn’t expanded across the territory’s land but had extended into its own interdimensional space!

Much like the Interdimensional Zone.

Roughly one-tenth of the Skull Graveyard’s land remained embedded within Tianyuan Territory, while the rest folded into spatial layers, resembling an exposed Secret Realm.

The Treant Forest and Icy Spirit Cold Pool similarly developed their own independent spaces.

These dimensional spaces remained invisible externally, accessible only by traversing the Border Zone in the correct direction.

But through his Lord’s vision, Mu Yuan could perceive three massive semi-Secret Realms—resembling celestial paradises or netherworlds—folded within this space.

The Unit Buildings had undergone complete metamorphosis, with increased recruitment quotas and critical recruitment rates being the least remarkable aspects.

The true treasures were the vast land areas within these Unit Secret Realms and the elemental energies and profound powers born from them.

“Speaking of which, my Skull Graveyard remains a Tier-1 Unit Building, yet by any measure—land area or elemental power—it far surpasses mid-to-high tier recruitment sites.”

Given the Skull Graveyard’s current scale, upgrading it to the Tier-2 ‘Skeleton Twilight Grounds’ would pose no difficulty.

But there was no need.

Such an upgrade would merely transform recruited Little Skeletons into Skeleton Soldiers.

Meaningless to him, and potentially reducing monthly recruitment numbers.

Mu Yuan vaguely perceived that the core of Unit Buildings seemed to be this ‘land’—the territory’s foundation. So long as this foundation remained sufficiently expansive, infinite possibilities could unfold from it.Isn’t the Dragon Court Land essentially an immense recruitment ground, almost like a Small World?

Perhaps the true value of Unit Buildings lies not in unit recruitment, but in something else. When a Lord obtains a Unit Building, it’s akin to gaining a certain potential.

This was merely his baseless speculation.

Whether it’s true or not remains rather distant for him personally.

After all, he’s just a novice who has been building his territory for less than a year.

(End of Chapter)