Chapter 350 – The One Who Wields the Miracle of Evolution

Deep within the wilderness, in an uncharted location where directions were impossible to determine.

Sophia, Seventeen, and Sickle Moon pushed aside a patch of grass, gazing into the distance.

There, a towering ancient tree over four hundred meters tall hung thick, lengthy vines. Around the giant tree, roughly constructed wooden houses were scattered haphazardly, stretching as far as the eye could see before vanishing into the darkness.

“Another monster faction.”

“Though it doesn’t seem as large as a major tribe… this place gives me a very ominous feeling. Let’s detour around it.”

Sophia said.

Seventeen and Sickle Moon naturally had no objections; the three of them relied entirely on Sophia’s intellect.

The northbound team consisted of only the three of them, while the remaining elites stayed behind in Stone Ridge City to continue managing the Tianyuan Territory outpost. The elites were no weaklings either, with several Epic-tier powerhouses among them.

Initially, Sophia had led the elites northward.

Having more people provided advantages in exploration and combat. But with greater numbers, their tracks became harder to conceal, and their movements less agile.

They were ambushed and besieged by intelligent monsters multiple times.

Although they crushed these assaults with overwhelming force, Sophia foresaw that as they ventured further north, their progress would become increasingly difficult.

She promptly changed strategies, setting out with just the three of them to search for clues.

With the Black Crows she had dispatched acting as scouts, the team’s search capability didn’t diminish much.

As it turned out, Sophia’s choice was correct.

As they gradually moved northward, delving deeper into the untamed lands, the dangers they encountered along the way increased steadily. Even though they were all Epic-tier beings and had been elevated to the Peak of the Fourth Order using Upgrade Shards, they had to proceed with extreme caution, daring not let their guard down for a moment.

“Hunting grounds set up by intelligent monsters.”

“Naturally formed perilous death traps.”

“Dominant monsters occupying specific territories.”

“Occasionally, they even discovered traces suspected to be left behind by battles in the Legendary Realm.”

Under such circumstances, Sophia and her companions had no choice but to be doubly careful.

The ancient tree they had just spotted made Sophia deeply wary; she suspected it was some kind of dominant monster.

Such dominant monsters, even if they hadn’t crossed into the Legendary Realm, possessed terrifying power. They occupied a specific region, almost symbiotically linked to it, capable of unleashing an endless torrent of immense energy, their vitality surging beyond imagination.

Sophia had read about such dominant monsters in Taixuan’s records.

She judged that the ancient tree ahead was ninety percent likely not Legendary, but she had no intention of testing that theory.

“Let’s go, we’ll take a detour.”

As she spoke, Sophia picked up a purification potion and gulped it down.

They had already been surviving in the wilderness for a long time. Visible threads of Crimson Mist drifted around them, and they were exposed to it.

Most areas in the wilderness were contaminated by the Crimson Mist, and the deeper into the wilderness, the more severe the contamination. Only a few special regions and remote corners remained as ‘pure lands’ untouched by the Crimson Mist’s erosion.They traveled through the wilderness without stopping to rest in any “purified lands.” Under such circumstances, the Filth factors within their bodies only increased, accumulating relentlessly. If not for regularly consuming purification-type potions, once the Filth accumulated beyond a certain threshold, they would be affected, becoming disoriented and mentally confused.

In this situation, reducing the number of people in the team could also lower potion consumption.

“Our potions can only last for another half month,” Sophia said.

She didn’t really care how long the potions would last. Even without them, with their abilities, they could still survive in the Deep Wilderness—they would just need to find areas where the Crimson Mist was sparse, allowing the accumulated Filth within them to gradually decrease.

However, doing so would significantly reduce their search efficiency.

She wasn’t actually afraid of low efficiency or spending time; what she feared was spending time without achieving any results.

After all this time, they had found not even a trace of a clue.

But even if… even if there might be no results, she would keep searching. This was her only home in this world.

“Let’s go, we’ll continue the search. Don’t worry, we will definitely find a clue!” Sophia affirmed.

Even if she had no confidence, she couldn’t show it. She was the backbone, after all.

But in this vast wilderness, would heading north like this really lead them to a clue?

Lord, Isloria… where are you?

Faintly, she seemed to hear a familiar call—it was… the Lord’s voice! Was she hallucinating due to longing, or was she already being affected by the Filth?

“Wait!”

Sophia jolted, as if, perhaps, maybe… it wasn’t a hallucination!

She had truly received a message from the Lord!!

…

“We’ve really made contact. The upgraded Mental Link talent is truly a super talent without a doubt!”

Confirming that Sophia and the others were safe and sound, Mu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He hadn’t been overly worried about their safety before, but upon hearing that the three of them had ventured deep into the wilderness heading north, he grew somewhat concerned.

The deeper into the wilderness, the greater the risk of encountering major dangers.

He knew well that he couldn’t dissuade Sophia and the others, and he genuinely needed someone to search for the “frenzied barrier” from the outside. All he could do was urge the three to be extra careful.

When they would find a clue didn’t matter; safety was the top priority.

“Thankfully, Sophia is with them. She’s a girl who understands caution.”

As for Seventeen, she had no experience surviving in the wild. If she were to roam alone, she might stumble into a dead-end one day and perish.

Sickle Moon went without saying.

The three of them combined had only one brain: Sophia accounted for one and a half, Seventeen for half, and Sickle Moon for negative one.

Out in the wilderness, the three of them were invigorated, their days of fatigue seeming to vanish, replaced by boundless energy.

“Charge, charge, roar!” Sickle Moon shouted.

Sophia didn’t stop her howling. Instead, she waved her hand and pointed into the distance. “The Lord has given us an important clue. How can we continue searching slowly? Charge!”

Sickle Moon transformed into a massive white wolf, though not overly gigantic.

Sophia and Seventeen mounted the giant wolf, and the three of them vanished like shadows into the dense forest.

…

Mu Yuan ended the connection.This kind of super long-distance communication still consumes a considerable amount of energy. Of course, as long as contact can be established, all consumption is not an issue. How many one-to-one communication artifacts are unable to connect across such vast distances?

“Unfortunately, it’s probably because the distance is truly too far; I can’t determine the location of Sophia and the others.”

Otherwise, it would save a lot of effort in the actual search.

As for now…

Mu Yuan doesn’t expect to establish communication with the outside world in a short time. His current short-term goal is to defeat Jackal Fang and the surrounding overlords, allowing Tianyuan Territory to truly establish a foothold in this region.

Through this territory promotion, a large number of Generals and officer-level experts have been elevated to the Peak of Fourth Order, and a batch of key buildings in the territory will also be upgraded in Rank. This way, the core strength of Tianyuan Territory will be greatly enhanced.

“The remaining two major changes—Lord Power and Evolution Power—can also improve the territory’s overall strength.”

The former…

「Lord Power」

「①: The Lord can borrow the power of their own troops, capable of utilizing up to 80% of their abilities depending on the level of trust. Currently, three templates can be pre-loaded.」

「②: The Lord can use Lord Power to temporarily enhance their own troops, strengthening their physique, spirit, and energy in three dimensions. The degree of enhancement depends on the mutual rapport and the Rank of Lord Power.」

「③: The Lord can use Lord Power to permanently solidify the talents/skills possessed by their own troops onto themselves, with a maximum of three talents/skills. This solidification is irreversible.」

「④: When the Lord stands within their own territory, they can materialize the territory’s power and wield it. Note: The extent of the territory’s might that the Lord can control depends on the Rank of Lord Power and the territory’s own scale (land, population, buildings, etc.).」

“This is the true Lord Power!”

Before this, he only possessed the first ability.

Veteran Lords often say that at this stage, the Lord can truly play a supportive role, capable of applying buffs to their own Generals.

The enhancement effect of these buffs is quite powerful, sometimes even doubling a General’s combat strength.

But…

That applies to other Lords.

The Generals of his Tianyuan Territory are exceptionally powerful one after another. The enhancement brought by Level 5 Lord Power seems somewhat insufficient.

Mu Yuan has already tested it.

To say it’s completely useless would be an overstatement. When he infused power into Isloria, she appeared radiant, with all her indicators enhanced by at least 30%.

However, Lord Power can only enhance one person at a time. A 30% increase in the three dimensions of a single General has virtually no impact on the overall battle situation.

After all, when he used it on Dolai and Deadbone, the enhancement was minimal.

Mu Yuan values the third and fourth abilities more.

These two are the foundation that allows a Lord to climb to the Peak.

“Solidifying skills or talents—most Lords choose to solidify three talents.”

Talents are rarer.

With three talents solidified, the Lord’s own potential can be significantly improved.

Of course, usually only high-tier troops can Awaken talents, and many veteran Lords don’t even have three troops with talents.

Many Lords also use solidified talents as a cornerstone to forge their own Dao and become powerful figures in their own right.In the vast majority of powerful territories, the strongest individuals with the greatest chance of breaking through the legendary chasm are the lords themselves.

“Three solidification opportunities…”

If he had to choose, he would undoubtedly prioritize Dolai’s ‘Advanced Devour’ and Uta’s ‘Heaven Rewards Diligence’ first. These two were hailed as the most powerful developmental talents.

Talents, when loaded into templates for daily use, were indeed different from truly possessing them oneself.

As for which talent or Epic Skill to choose with the remaining opportunity, he hesitated somewhat.

“No need to rush.”

“Speaking of which, this talent solidification shouldn’t be like loading templates, where it becomes greatly diminished at the Epic level, right?”

It wasn’t mentioned above, so probably not?

Mu Yuan pondered the final application once more.

To use this ability, there was a prerequisite: the lord must have a deeper, more transparent understanding of Lord Power, and be able to perceive and command this elusive, formless force.

How could it be easy to materialize and control something that originally did not exist and was more akin to ‘authority’?

Many lords, even after stepping into the veteran realm, had to explore for several months before gradually mastering it.

“It seems… not that difficult after all.”

“The nature of this power is somewhat similar to the power of withering—once consumed, it can only slowly recover over time. It also resembles the elusive fate under Fate Star Weaving. The power of the territory could perhaps be understood as the territory’s luck? Similar to National Luck?”

Of course, it wasn’t that advanced.

It was merely the power of a Level 5 territory.

Mu Yuan spent half an hour familiarizing himself with it, and then…

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

He entered the lord’s perspective, his viewpoint continuously rising, while faintly glimpsing the illusory and ethereal might of the territory.

He grasped this might.

A multitude of colorful light points swarmed toward him.

In an instant, Mu Yuan’s vision soared repeatedly, making him feel as if he were a deity, wielding Divine Might, capable of anything.

“An illusion! This is just an illusion!”

With the aid of noble virtue, lofty Heart-Nature, and a strong will, Mu Yuan did not lose himself, even though the might he held in his hands seemed… just a tiny bit different from what was described in the books.

It was far more powerful.

Could a Level 5 lord be this strong?

Mu Yuan gazed at the three and a half Secret Realms suspended above the territory—like celestial realms, like the Netherworld—more vast than the territory’s land, and seemed to understand somewhat.

This territorial might was justifiably strong.

Too justified!

…

Emerging from the ‘Lord Mode,’ Mu Yuan felt as if he had fallen from the clouds, finding everything dull and uninteresting.

The gap was too great; he couldn’t even focus on cultivation.

However, there was one thing he was still looking forward to.

The power of evolution!

The power of evolution had once evolved when he passed the novice trial and advanced to a formal lord.

Whether it could evolve again this time, Mu Yuan wasn’t entirely sure; it was merely a guess he had made earlier.

“Will it or not…”

He couldn’t say for certain.

The changes in Lord Power came with panel prompts and relatively intuitive sensations.

But what about the power of evolution?

It was higher! More elusive! More formless!

Mu Yuan scanned his surroundings, able to see the occasional +0.01 popping up above the heads of Isloria and others.

He could also, through some intangible means, infuse the might of evolutionary miracles into a certain unit.

Compared to before, it seemed… no different?

“No, there is a difference, a huge difference!””Undead Evolution Points: …”

“Human Race Evolution Points: …”

“Element Evolution Points: …”

“Nature…”

The numbers from several major categories of Evolution Points gradually blurred, ultimately converging into a single mysterious, ethereal, and illusory rainbow-colored stream.

It slowly descended into Mu Yuan’s palm.

Specks of light from various parts of the Tianyuan Territory, and even from distant lands beyond the territory, drifted down and merged into the river of evolution.

“Evolution Points: 150,000.66”

“As expected, the Evolution Miracle has unified. From now on, all types of troops in the Tianyuan Territory, regardless of their series, can bask in the glow of evolution.”

He had anticipated this.

But he soon discovered that the power of evolution had undergone further changes. Perhaps only now could this Miracle Power truly be called Perfection?

(End of Chapter)