Chapter 389 – Visitors from a Small Force

The City Lord looked toward his adjutant.

The construction funds for the academy came from two sources: one was allocations from the Alliance, and the other was investments from the local authorities. Additionally, a small portion came from powerful Lords who invested in the construction.

The Tianze City authorities had made substantial investments, aiming to build the top-tier cultivation academy in Taixuan—Tianze City indeed had the foundation for this, as the city already housed academies that provided cultivation and learning opportunities for Third-Order and Fourth-Order Experts. They had even conducted several advanced training classes for those at the peak of the Fourth Order.

The current Tianze Academy and Taihu Academy were large-scale expansions built upon this foundation.

The academies possessed numerous Miracle Buildings dedicated to cultivation, with first-rate experts in both strength and experience stationed there. They even had more than one Legendary Realm guest professor who would occasionally visit to impart some Elementary-level knowledge.

Tianze City’s establishment of advanced academies was not solely to attract the few top-tier geniuses after the fusion of the two realms but also to draw in the officers, elites, and high-tier professionals from various regions and Lords.

Firstly, this would generate revenue and broaden Tianze City’s income channels.

Secondly, it would help establish relationships with many high-tier experts and individuals with potential.

If a few Legendary Realm figures could emerge among them;

If, one day in the future, Tianze City faced a crisis, these connections could prove immensely useful.

To this end, the Tianze City authorities had set the compensation for instructors and mentors at the advanced academies very high, far exceeding the basic standards. Not only were the Contribution Points salaries substantial, but instructors could also use the local high-tier Miracle Buildings. Those wishing to purchase property in Heavenly Marsh City could also enjoy significant discounts and benefits.

However, there was one prerequisite to obtaining these benefits.

They had to be sufficiently outstanding.

The adjutant spoke, “After we announced the compensation, many high-tier professionals and seasoned Lords have submitted applications. The number of applicants for advanced academy instructor positions has already far exceeded our recruitment quota, with the vast majority of applicants possessing at least Third-Order Warlord Tier strength.”

This was only natural.

Setting aside Lords and player professionals, even ordinary troops had to Breakthrough to the Third-Order Warlord Tier and possess several years of life experience to potentially Awaken self-awareness.

But such minor experts, in the eyes of the Tianze City Lord, were far from meeting the standards of an outstanding instructor.

He could easily summon hundreds of Third-Order troops under his command, but could he expect these individuals, who often stumbled over their words, to possess excellent teaching abilities? He could not.

That was why he needed external recruitment.

Otherwise, he could simply use Tianze City’s own experts.

Many high-ranking officials within Tianze City were eyeing these positions, hoping to slot their own troops into the academy to secure an instructor spot.

How could he allow that?

Tianze Academy was the culmination of years of his meticulous planning! He would not permit anyone to undermine it!

The City Lord declared, “Since there are many applicants, we will select the best from the best. I will prepare an assessment to screen for truly capable talents. For such individuals, Tianze City has never been stingy with rewards, but the funds of Tianze City’s authorities are not blown in by the wind—we cannot waste them on those who merely occupy positions without fulfilling their duties.”

…

Tianyuan City.

Mu Yuan lay slumped over his desk, his eyes vacant.

He had been covering shifts for Isloria for four full days and was finally free today.

“Knock, knock, knock—”The slightly ajar office door was knocked upon, and Mu Yuan instinctively straightened up, the weariness on him vanishing completely as an intangible lordly dignity radiated from within.

Moli entered, holding some freshly printed documents.

There weren’t many.

“These are the academy details you requested.”

After she left and closed the door, Mu Yuan resumed his lazy posture.

He had intended to continue letting his mind wander, but noticing the documents placed nearby, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward them.

It seemed he suffered from a condition where he felt restless seeing work left unattended.

Mu Yuan picked them up and began flipping through the pages rapidly.

He turned the pages quickly but wasn’t skimming. With his current level of mental energy, he was practically a human scanner—if he focused, he could recall exactly how many punctuation marks were in each line.

The academies in Boulder City don’t seem to have many instructor recruitments or course offerings, do they?”

Actually, it couldn’t be considered few.

Boulder City offered a ‘Defense Department,’ primarily targeting Xuan Nation citizens who had awakened into defensive professions like Sentinels, Imperial Guards, Shield Warriors, Guardians, etc.

There was also an ‘Archery Department,’ mainly for various archer-type professions.

The archer lineage was a major category among professionals and an advantageous troop type in defensive warfare. This was also a key focus of Boulder City’s training programs.

Beyond that, departments like ‘Assassin’ and ‘Mage’ clearly received less investment from Boulder City.

“As for production professions like alchemy, forging, and farming, Boulder Academy is…”

Not nonexistent, but only basic courses were available.

Boulder Academy had elementary-level programs.

Essentially, after a training semester, students were considered qualified if they could function as a cog in an assembly line.

“Kinda lacking.”

Mu Yuan understood why.

The main purpose of the elementary academy was to equip everyone with basic survival skills.

The academy provided free training but didn’t force everyone to participate.

Over the past few months, many ordinary people had found suitable and decent jobs.

Talent shines everywhere.

But there were also many talented individuals eager to learn more and advance further.

Moreover, Boulder City was originally a frontline fortress, established to monitor and guard against the Despair Dark Forest. Over time, it grew into one of the core cities of the region.

Boulder City’s technological development was almost entirely focused on warfare.

The factories within the city produced war machinery and ammunition.

What about shortages in food and potions?

Not much was done.

Boulder City wasn’t an independent city but an official stronghold, regularly receiving supplies from the rear.

“Old Qin gave me a batch of training slots for Boulder Academy.” They’re sufficient, but…”

Mu Yuan looked toward Tianze City, the capital of the Twilight Great Domain.

This was the true central hub.

Places like Boulder City had only one isolated major city.

Beyond that, hundreds of kilometers away, were the cities of other lords.

Tianze City was different.

The Tianze territory had already constructed numerous cities and towns, forming a veritable Tianze City defense perimeter.

Tianze City itself had a population exceeding thirty million, while the entire defense perimeter housed over a hundred million residents.

“Tianze City also has a higher demand for instructors, with generous treatment.””

Mu Yuan stroked his chin.

In that case, he would naturally send a group of capable individuals to both Boulder City and Tianze City.Not only could they take advantage of the benefits and treatment, but they could also establish an external office for Tianyuan Territory.

Killing two birds with one stone.

“As for the candidates…”

“Ordinary junior officers are easy to select, but besides them, we still need…”

Ailin, who is in charge of managing Tianyuan Academy.

Ailin has some teaching experience and is involved in many fields herself. However, she is only familiar with these fields and cannot be considered highly proficient.

Ailin has a strong ability for theoretical learning. If she achieves success in her studies, she can return and teach others in Tianyuan City.

There is another candidate Mu Yuan is hesitant about.

Master Li Erniu!

Master Li has considerable talent in the field of forging.

However, he has never received systematic training and has relied entirely on his own talent to explore independently.

Master Li was able to craft Excellent-grade equipment a long time ago, but even now, he can only produce relatively ordinary Excellent-grade equipment. He is unable to utilize the advantages of several high-grade materials to forge top-tier Excellent-grade equipment.

This is the bottleneck caused by an unstable foundation.

Tianze City offers advanced forging courses.

It is said that Tianze City has even hired a dwarf master at a high price, which has greatly motivated many people.

If Master Li goes for further training, he is bound to make significant progress upon his return.

However…

If Tianyuan Territory loses Master Li, the forging department would almost come to a standstill, and it might even become impossible to produce a single piece of Rare-grade equipment.

“Should he go or not?”

Mu Yuan was conflicted.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he still decided to let Master Li go.

Not just Master Li, but several of his more talented apprentices would also go with him.

Trading a temporary halt in production for a more advantageous future.

It was worth it.

Well, mainly because Tianyuan Territory currently has no major conflicts. If he needs to purchase any war supplies or large-scale equipment, he can always rely on merchant caravans.

So, let him go.

Mu Yuan finalized the main personnel.

As for the secondary personnel, he would let the generals screen them themselves.

…

About a hundred kilometers east of Tianyuan City.

A super team composed of over a dozen Third-Order and Fourth-Order Experts was cautiously making its way through the Wilderness.

“We are only about a hundred kilometers away from our destination.”

Catwoman Kalite said respectfully to the Clan Chief.

The Clan Chief nodded slightly.

“The legendary Tianyuan City is almost here. I am also incredibly excited.”

“Once we cross these mountains, we will see it. It truly is an extraordinary city, standing tall on the vast land, unafraid of wind, rain, or the impact of waves.”

Kalite praised.

She had said this countless times.

However, more than half of the catfolk experts in the team had never actually seen a human city.

They wanted to believe.

But their inherent fear of Monster Overlords and their stereotypical impression of the weakness of living beings made them half-believing and half-doubting.

Could it be fake?

Could it be that Tianyuan City had already been destroyed by disaster in the past few days?

None of this could be said for sure.

They were still on edge.

The Clan Chief spoke, “Look around. The closer we get to our destination, the fewer monsters we encounter. Think about it—has it been two hours since we last encountered any troublesome monsters?”

The catfolk thought about it and realized it was true.

Along the way, they had naturally encountered monsters from time to time.

Sometimes, when the grass rustled slightly, they would tense up like startled birds.But upon careful reflection, the few groups of monsters encountered recently had all been easily defeated, like remnants left behind after a thorough sweep and purge.

This area was very safe!

In the past, when had the Wilderness ever possessed such a secure region?

All of this could only be attributed to the changes brought about by the emergence of Tianyuan City.

Suddenly,

Catwoman Kalite grew alert, baring her teeth as her gaze fixed intently into the distance.

“Friends, no need to worry. We are not enemies.”

A magnetic voice echoed.

Following this, several burly figures emerged.

Gleaming white armor, fiery red manes like blazing flames.

The leader’s eyes shimmered with a faint golden glow, radiating an aura of authority even without anger.

“Friends of the Flame Lion tribe?”

The Catwoman Clan Chief spoke.

The Flame Lion warrior replied, “Indeed. I am the Clan Chief of the Flame Lion tribe, Flame Lion Kai.”

The Catwoman Clan Chief introduced her own identity with neither humility nor arrogance.

However, as living factions, the Catfolk and Flame Lions were not on the same level.

Their Catfolk squad of over a dozen members had only three Fourth-Order Experts.

The Flame Lion squad, with merely six members, seemed to consist entirely of Fourth-Order Experts.

And…

‘So strong! So strong! This Flame Lion Clan Chief is incredibly powerful!’

Catwoman Kalite kept shouting in her heart. Her fur stood on end, her instincts constantly reminding her that the Flame Lion Clan Chief before her was unimaginably formidable.

Even if both were Fourth Order, she herself would likely not last three moves against this Flame Lion Clan Chief.

Clan Chief Flame Lion Kai alone could annihilate their entire team.

The gap was too vast.

Was this the legendary top-tier expert said to possess the ‘potential of a legend’?

The Catfolk grew somewhat tense.

Like mortals standing before ferocious beasts.

Clan Chief Flame Lion Kai laughed heartily, “Friends, you must also be heading to Tianyuan City. Why not travel together?”

The Catwoman Clan Chief pondered briefly, “Then we thank Clan Chief Flame Lion for your consideration.”

She lowered her own stance.

However, the Catwoman Clan Chief wasn’t worried about the Flame Lions attacking—after all, there was no enmity between them, and they were quite close to Tianyuan City.

In fact, the appearance of the Flame Lion tribe had somewhat eased her previously anxious heart.

She remained calm and composed before her clansfolk, as was necessary.

In truth, she had little confidence in this cooperation.

Their Catfolk knew far too little about the outside world.

If not completely ignorant, then almost so.

What was the actual situation in Tianyuan City? Had they truly defeated the regional overlord? She didn’t know.

She only knew that her Catfolk had no choice—they had to take this gamble.

If they didn’t, within a dozen years, they might completely lose their living space.

The Flame Lions were different.

The Flame Lion tribe lacked no living space and had channels to obtain outside information.

Since the Flame Lion Clan Chief had come personally, the reliability of this cooperation had risen from perhaps ten percent to thirty or forty percent.

Half an hour later, the two teams crossed the hill and could already see Tianyuan City standing tall in the distance upon the earth.

And outside Tianyuan City, the crisscrossing trenches and shattered giant craters.

These were scars, scars symbolizing honors.

“Is this Tianyuan City? They truly haven’t concealed it at all.”

“For humans to dare move their city to such a conspicuous plain area shows their confidence. Is this what a regional overlord is like?”

“Look at the giant craters around—those remain from the great battle where Tianyuan City established its overlord status. It’s said that in that battle, Tianyuan City annihilated dozens of monster legends!””Hey now, let’s not exaggerate the rumors – Nature’s Garden, Boulder Mountain Ridge, and Tianyuan City combined only have a few legendary figures at most.”

Having reached this point, the journey became as smooth as walking on level ground.

Not a single monster could be seen in the surroundings.

The catfolk and Flame Lion teams moved much faster, soon arriving outside Tianyuan City.

Here, humans bustled about.

Some were excavating foundations, some were cultivating farmland, and others were transporting goods.

In the distance, a pink-haired human woman dressed like a civil official was directing the planning and construction of buildings.

A magic sphere rose behind her, emitting energy lasers that carved out one square area after another on the distant ground.

At that same moment, wispy strands of Qi began to emanate from the Incarnation.

Flame Lion Kai’s eyes widened.

His golden pupils reflected waves of irrepressible astonishment.

His intuition was telling him that this human woman dressed as a civil official before him seemed to possess strength not inferior to his own – perhaps even surpassing it.

Was she really just a civil official?

Was this the human Tianyuan?

(End of Chapter)