Chapter 40 – The Lord's Path

Soon, the sixteen outstanding newcomers followed the staff to the awards ceremony venue.

There weren’t many spectators, yet the place was arranged with grandeur and solemnity.

Mu Yuan understood perfectly. The Xuan Nation was investing significant resources to support newcomers and host this awards ceremony—it was only natural to emphasize a sense of ceremony. It made perfect sense.

He felt no impatience.

However, some rich second-generation heirs complained that the setting was too modest, with few spectators and no one there to shower them with praise—a situation they found unfamiliar.

As the award ceremony began, a few newcomers reluctantly put away their phones and turned their attention to the stage.

“…Next, let us invite the Vice-Chairman of our White River Association to deliver a brief speech.”

A burly figure strode forward, his imposing gaze sweeping across the room.

Mu Yuan’s eyes widened.

Wasn’t this the sturdy man who had served as his examiner earlier? He was actually the Vice-Chairman of the Baijiang City Association.

Jiang Cheng!

This was a true gaming elite!

Well, to be honest, Mu Yuan didn’t actually know him. But anyone who could hold the position of Vice-Chairman in an important organization like the White River Association had to be at least one of the top figures in all of White River, right?

Vice-Chairman Jiang Cheng didn’t use a microphone. With just a light cough, his voice rippled outward like a wave, reaching every corner of the venue.

Mu Yuan felt his spirits lift instantly.

Even the dark-eyed Liver Emperor beside him, who had seemed on the verge of collapse, suddenly perked up like a revitalized young man, as if experiencing a final surge of energy.

But of course, it wasn’t that. The Liver Emperor had genuinely recovered. The Vice-Chairman had used an auxiliary aura ability—a single cough had swept away the physical and mental fatigue of the players.

Jiang Cheng paused before speaking. “First, congratulations to all of you for passing the assessment. Once you complete the trial, you will become true Lords.”

“But… becoming a Lord is only the beginning. As Lords, you will gain power and enjoy life, but it also means you will face greater dangers and shoulder heavier responsibilities.”

“These words may seem premature to you now, but you will come to understand in time. Do not forget your identity as citizens of the Xuan Nation.”

“As long as you are Lords of the Xuan Nation, the Xuan Nation will always be your steadfast support.”

As a gaming elite, Jiang Cheng was decisive and efficient by nature—he had no habit of stretching three sentences into a three-hour speech.

Yet, whether it was him, the Liver Emperor, or even the rich second-generation and gaming second-generation heirs, everyone sat obediently, listening attentively to Vice-Chairman Jiang’s words without a trace of arrogance.

Gaming second-generation heirs? Even their older siblings and elders were mere weaklings in front of Vice-Chairman Jiang. Precisely because they understood how lofty his status was, they behaved as meekly as kittens. If any of them could catch Chairman Jiang’s eye, it would mean skyrocketing success.

Unfortunately, Chairman Jiang’s gaze didn’t linger on any of them. After speaking a few words, he strode away.

Well, that was to be expected. Someone of his stature wasn’t easily impressed.

After Vice-Chairman Jiang Cheng left, the staff began distributing Assessment Certificates to the players.

This certificate was not merely a formality—it also served as a credential. Using the verification code on the certificate, players could access higher-level permissions and obtain Advanced materials related to being a Lord.

While handing out the certificates, the staff reminded everyone not to disclose the materials.

At the same time, the staff provided an on-site introduction, explaining some basic key points—primarily aimed at the still-confused civilian players.”The status of a Lord player is lofty, wielding great authority, but building up a territory is not easy… and may even be beyond the capabilities of an individual alone.”

“While military units are responsible for combat, a territory must handle numerous affairs beyond battles—management, finance, logistics, production… As you begin to manage your territory, these issues will arise one after another. Without prior preparation, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed.”

“Therefore, Lords generally fall into three categories:”

Official Lords;

Corporate Lords;

Individual Lords.

The first, as the name implies, are Lords who accept official investment to jointly develop their territories, similar to state-owned enterprises.

The Safe Cities where rescue squads delivered new players earlier were Official Lord cities.

“Although Official Lords have relatively less power, they benefit from ease and security. Firstly, Official Lord cities have stronger defensive forces, eliminating worries about monster horde attacks. Secondly, the authorities establish important facilities like Player Associations and resource transfer stations within these cities. In other words, Official cities almost always become central hubs in their surrounding areas, making them more likely to thrive.”

“And as Lords, you can grow stronger along with your territory’s development—this is the advantage of being an enlisted Lord.”

Corporate Lords are supported by major nobles or invested in by large financial conglomerates.

Sometimes, commoner players or ordinary second-generation wanderers lack the resources to develop their territories and will accept investments from large corporations, similar to joint-stock enterprises.

However, corporations are not charities. Some reputable corporations only seek investment returns without interfering in the players’ internal affairs, while others not only interfere but even attempt to marginalize inexperienced commoner Lords.

History has witnessed such incidents.

“If you wish to accept corporate investment, you must keep your eyes open and thoroughly investigate the corporation’s reputation.”

Individual Lords naturally refuse external investment and maintain complete autonomy.

They appear to have the most freedom but face the greatest challenges.

Such Lords are rare, typically either extremely weak or exceptionally strong.

The staff member continued, “Of course, whether Corporate Lords, Individual Lords, or various merchant guilds and organizations, they are all part of our Xuan Nation—an inseparable component of our ‘Taixuan Alliance’ in the Eternal World.”

“To this end, Xuan Nation has launched the ‘Taixuan Covenant’ platform. Individual Lords and Corporate Lords can undertake officially issued tasks to earn Contribution Points, which can be exchanged for rare resources difficult to obtain elsewhere.”

This is equivalent to being a cooperative Lord with Xuan Nation.

While individuals retain autonomy over their territories, they must also align with the Taixuan Alliance’s broader strategic direction.

The Alliance doesn’t demand unconditional cooperation from Lords, but during critical moments, involvement is unavoidable.

Absolute freedom never existed in this world to begin with.

Moreover, new Lords’ territories are located in the peripheral regions of the Taixuan Alliance. During monster sieges, local Lords often rely on official reinforcements.

Therefore, from the official perspective, Lord players are actually more reliable than wanderer players.

Lords’ territories and foundations are rooted within Taixuan.

This is one reason why the authorities are willing to invest substantial resources in nurturing new Lords’ territories.

…

“It’s said that the Taixuan Covenant also includes support programs for outstanding Individual Lords? As long as their performance is sufficiently remarkable, they can receive various resource rewards?””At most, there might be occasions where you’ll need to compete against young lords from other countries as a rookie lord, securing benefits for the Taixuan Alliance?”

It seemed this involved the allocation of some important resource territories.

This was voluntary, but if one could win resources for the Xuan Nation, rookie lords would receive substantial rewards. Extremely generous ones!

Overall, individual lords needed to compete more fiercely—without competing, how could they sustain such vast territories?

“Most newcomers want to pursue the path of an individual lord, but along the way, they realize this road is full of thorns, and ultimately, they have no choice but to yield to reality.”

“If you truly wish to walk the path of an individual lord, you can’t afford to miss those precious opportunities.”

“Caution is naturally not wrong, but when it’s time to compete, you must act decisively.”

The above was what Vice-Chairman Jiang said to Mu Yuan after the ceremony had concluded, when Mu Yuan went to collect his additional newcomer benefits.

…

In the vice-chairman’s office, Jiang Cheng stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the crowds of players gradually dispersing.

“I hope this batch can produce a few more accomplished rookie lords.”

He murmured.

The orange-red glow of twilight bathed his body, highlighting his sharply defined, granite-like muscles. His eyes shone brilliantly, as if he were a fire deity bathing in the sun of flames.

He recalled the young man in the examination hall who, despite having already secured a significant advantage, still used ‘cautious’ tactics to defeat two Great Goblins.

Very steady.

Lacking the recklessness, pride, and arrogance of some young geniuses.

When Jiang Cheng mentored junior players, he always taught them to be cautious, then even more cautious—a single misstep could mean death, or at the very least, heavy losses.

This was also why he valued this young man, and not just because of his strength.

Only through careful and steady management could one laugh last in the perilous Eternal World.

However,

Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but feel this young man was overly steady?

With a lineup of ten Skeleton Soldiers, it was already quite impressive for a newcomer player from a common background, yet he had an inexplicable intuition that this still wasn’t the full extent of that kid’s power.

It wasn’t a matter of having a few more Skeleton Soldiers.

During the assessment, keeping a few troops to defend the base was standard practice.

Jiang Cheng just felt that Mu kid not only kept some troops back but also held onto a trump card.

“Could it be that this kid has already recruited a rare-tier troop?”

Was that possible?

Considering Mu Yuan’s performance, Jiang Cheng vaguely felt… it really might be possible!

He shook his head and chuckled, “Whether it’s true or not, competitions like the rookie lord contest are still too far off for him. Let’s first see how far this kid can go. Perhaps he can climb the trial rankings as a commoner and achieve a decent placement?”

Jiang Cheng looked forward to it.

Compared to the children of the wealthy or gaming veterans, he hoped even more to see the new commoners stand out. Not only because he himself had once been an ordinary person, but more importantly:

“Mu kid comes from a common background and is an orphan; everything he has achieved today is through his own efforts.” Only someone like this can go far, and only then is there a sliver of a chance to scale the absolute peak.”

(End of Chapter)