Chapter 433 – Recruiting Wild Heroes

At the passage leading to the Twilight Great Domain in the Land of Fury.

Mu Yuan stood observing for a full hour without witnessing any resurgence of the energy tides.

Dolai’s plan had actually succeeded.

Of course, the area affected by Dolai’s ‘Devouring Heaven and Earth’ was merely a small corner compared to the vast Land of Fury. Even excluding other regions of the violent blockade zone and calculating only the straight path from the outside through the Land of Fury to this point, at least 9/10 of the remaining journey was still filled with energy tides.

“However, the further out you go, the less violent the energy tides become. The truly despair-inducing, impassable area for Fourth-Order Commander Tier beings is only this small stretch on either side of the passage.”

“Once Dolai devours the core area of the Twilight Wildlands on the other side, the difficulty of traversing this path will drop significantly.”

At most, after one or two more devourings, merchant caravans will be able to travel freely back and forth without Dolai’s escort.

This will greatly enhance Tianyuan City’s connections with the outside world.

“Clearing the area around the Southern Ten Islands Passage in the Ten Directions Island Region is sufficient. There’s no need to deal with passages like the one in the Eastern Whirlpool Sea for now.”

“It’s not easy for Dolai to use Devouring Heaven to pacify the fury here either.”

After all, this fundamentally alters the nature of an entire region.

This is already quite extraordinary.

Deadbone couldn’t accomplish this.

Even beings at the third legendary Law Realm would most likely be unable to achieve this.

Admittedly, Law Realm existences can wield conceptual power and are stronger than the super juvenile Dolai, but Law Realm masters can at most control one or several specific conceptual powers.

Concepts have specificity.

Severing can only sever, burning can only burn.

Using conceptual power to forcefully impact this region would only make it more violent, chaotic, and fragmented.

What about Dolai? Under Devouring Heaven, any type of concept can be swallowed and converted into nourishment.

It truly isn’t picky about what it eats.

After resting for two hours, Dolai went to the other side of the dimensional passage and performed ‘Devouring Heaven and Earth’ again in the same manner.

Immediately, the world cleared, and the tides dissipated.

“Mission accomplished… burp~”

Dolai patted its not-swollen little belly, though it was already completely stuffed.

「Prompt: Your hero ‘Dolai’ has used Devouring Heaven and Earth to digest several strands of concepts.」

「Prompt: Your hero ‘Dolai’ has comprehended a trace of the Law of Fury and can now wield the power of the fury concept.」

「Prompt: …」

With the mission accomplished, Lord Mu was preparing to return when he received a message from Sophia.

“There’s some trouble at Ironstone Mountain in the Shenluo Great Domain. A lord is attempting to forcibly recruit the legendary hero Xie Yi. Gunpowder and others who remained at Ironstone Mountain for training have already been affected.”

“I’m preparing to head to Ironstone Mountain. Does the Boss have any further instructions?”

She said.

Mu Yuan had almost forgotten about the existence of a wild hero at Ironstone Mountain. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but… a wild, epic-tier hero only held moderate appeal for him, not worth pursuing too aggressively.

If this hero weren’t proficient with firearms and a Master Gunsmith powerhouse, Mu Yuan estimated that his faction and the other party wouldn’t have any intersection at all.

He could choose not to compete for this hero.However, he would not tolerate other lords disturbing his subordinates who were learning their craft.

“Tianyuan City now has ten Legendary Realm powerhouses, with ample high-end strength. We can dispatch one to garrison Ironstone Mountain.”

“Of course, stationing a Legendary Realm powerhouse at Ironstone Mountain just to watch over Gunpowder and the others would be excessive. But Tianyuan City does need to establish its own office in the Shenluo Great Domain. Having a Legendary Realm expert garrison such an outpost would perfectly demonstrate our strength.”

After some thought, he flew towards the Whirlpool Sea with Dolai.

When Mu Yuan arrived, Sophia and Rakshasa were already there.

He had summoned Rakshasa.

He asked Sophia, “What’s the current situation?”

Sophia replied, “Hero Xie Yi has consistently refused recruitment offers from various lords. Groups of lords have come and gone, but recently, a rather aggressive lord has arrived at Ironstone Mountain.”

“Currently, there are still retainers of some Great Lords on Ironstone Mountain, so this aggressive lord hasn’t dared to take drastic action yet. But tensions are already running high.”

The four of them easily passed through the dimensional passage and arrived at the Shenluo Great Domain.

The distance to Ironstone Mountain was still considerable, and their flying speeds varied—Mu Someone and Rakshasa flew relatively slowly as they lacked natural wings.

“Watch me!”

Dolai said.

It pointed towards the sky, and the elements of heaven and earth came roaring forth. The wind elements arranged themselves in formation, flanking both sides of the group.

Azure winds surged, forming a massive sphere of wind.

Endless winds from all directions blew.

The wind sphere flew forward, following the rhythm of the wind and disappearing beyond the horizon in the blink of an eye.

This level of control over celestial energy left Sophia and Rakshasa, who were also in the Legendary Realm, utterly amazed.

At this moment, the two couldn’t manipulate any celestial elements at all, as if they had entered a ‘magic prohibition domain’—the entire surroundings were under Dolai’s control.

‘This is a legendary being indeed.’

When Dolai carried people while flying, its speed wasn’t much slower than the Wind King’s Wings at the Peak Heaven-Earth Realm.

Within just a few hours, they arrived in the Ironstone Mountain region.

“The elements here are quite active.”

Dolai sensed the changes from afar.

As they approached, Mu Yuan saw that Ironstone Mountain had become much quieter. Many lords and professionals who had previously come to seek Great Master Xie Yi for firearm crafting had retreated to the mountain’s base.

Because the mountain was shrouded in oppressive Legendary Realm auras that caused unease and discomfort.

Mu Yuan scanned the area from a distance.

His old acquaintance, the Divine Cat Lord, was no longer here—after all, she was the Taixuan Lord and couldn’t remain here indefinitely.

But he spotted several familiar faces.

The Golden Grand Duke, the Gem Grand Duke, and several of their Legendary Generals whom he had met once or twice.

“Another lord has arrived?”

“No matter, no one can stop this lord from recruiting Great Master Xie Yi today.”

“A powerhouse like Great Master Xie Yi should join a powerful territory like ours. We are fated to meet.”

Instead of heading towards the tense group, Mu Yuan went to find his own people—Gunpowder and the others.

Seeing that Gunpowder and the others were unharmed, Mu Yuan relaxed.

Gunpowder said, “Master Xie Yi has taught us many techniques. He said we’ll soon be ready to graduate.”

Mu Yuan nodded, “I understand.”

…

Ironstone Mountain, Forge District.Xie Yi let out a soft sigh and looked toward a lord not far away, whose body was encircled by swirling grains of sand and whose aura was unparalleled. “I’ve said it before—I have no intention of joining any territory.”

The lord replied, “No, you do. Look, you’ve stayed at Ironstone Mountain for so long without being recruited. Isn’t that because you were waiting for me? Isn’t that fate?”

He paused briefly before continuing, “You may not yet understand the true caliber of our Yellow Sand Kingdom, but no matter—you will soon.”

The Yellow Sand Lord turned his gaze to the Golden Grand Duke, the Gem Grand Duke, and several other lords, declaring:

“Gentlemen, let us adhere to the universal laws of the Eternal World and decide the recruitment rights for Great Master Xie Yi through a ‘Duel of Champions.'”

“So, who will step forward, and who will forfeit?”

“Oh, I’ll give you a small chance—you may even fight in a relay. As long as you can defeat the general beside me, I, the Yellow Sand Lord, will leave immediately.”

The Golden Grand Duke’s expression darkened.

Duels of Champions were typically used to settle disputes over treasures or recruitment rights for Unit Buildings.

In a case like Great Master Xie Yi’s, mutual consent was essential.

But…

Duels were also the most common method for resolving conflicts among lords.

By invoking the Duel of Champions, the Yellow Sand Lord had played his hand. If they refused, they would indeed lose face and have no grounds to remain.

Yet if they accepted…

Beside the Yellow Sand Lord, a Sand Elemental over three meters tall, wearing a crown and holding a golden scepter, drifted forward.

—The Sand Elemental Lord!

This was the signature powerhouse under the Yellow Sand Lord’s command, an epic Hero who had reached the Peak of the world.

It was precisely because the Yellow Sand Lord was so formidable—a lord from a small neighboring kingdom in a nearby Great Domain—that his reputation had reached even the people of the Shenluo Great Domain.

The Golden Grand Duke reflected that within his own duchy, no strong individual could match the Sand Elemental Lord.

However…

They represented the honor of the West Coast region.

A general beside him stepped forward from the crowd.

…

Defeated in three moves.

The heavens and earth hummed, and yellow sand filled the sky.

Endless Sand Elementals saturated the area, forcing all other elements into the corners.

In such an environment, Legendary Realm experts could wield only a fraction—one or two-tenths—of the world’s mighty power.

Even Peak-level strength was no match, let alone when they couldn’t even unleash their full power.

The Gem Grand Duke’s general, a Sacred Knight, took action but lasted only four moves before being defeated.

Around them, there were several other Legendary Lords and Legendary generals.

But no one dared to step forward anymore.

If the two powerful generals of the Golden Grand Duke and the Gem Grand Duke couldn’t even drain the Sand Elemental Lord’s strength, what hope did their other generals have?

‘Wait, we mustn’t fall for the Yellow Sand Lord’s trick. Why don’t we join forces? We have numbers on our side! The Yellow Sand Lord’s methods are unethical to begin with—we don’t need to adhere to any principles with him. Even if this gets out, we won’t be in the wrong!’

‘But even if all of us here fought together, I still feel we wouldn’t be a match for the Yellow Sand Lord and his companions.’

‘The Sand Elemental Lord is too powerful, and the Legendary Realm experts the Yellow Sand Lord brought are all Sand-element specialists.’

‘But if we don’t fight, what if the Yellow Sand Lord forcibly takes Great Master Xie Yi away?’

Several lords exchanged glances, their expressions grim.

At that moment, Master Gunsmith Xie Yi picked up his weapon.

His Domain began to spread.Around him, flashes of red light emerged, and in the blink of an eye, over a dozen Positron Floating Cannons materialized.

Their barrels glowed with crimson energy, dark and menacing as they aimed at the distant Sand Elemental Lord.

An intangible aura of deterrence spread through the air.

All around, whether it was the Sand Elemental Lord facing the cannons head-on or the other Legendary Realm powerhouses present, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

Master Gunsmith Xie Yi…

Was powerful!

Far beyond imagination!

As expected, Xie Yi’s Domain spanned only a little over a thousand meters.

He wasn’t a newly advanced Legendary, but as a wild Legendary lacking cultivation resources and environments, it was naturally difficult for his Domain to expand.

Before this, what the various Lords valued was Xie Yi’s potential.

Many of the powerhouses present had Domains measuring three thousand meters, some even four thousand meters.

They had believed themselves superior to Great Master Xie Yi in combat prowess.

Before.

Now, their instincts warned them that they might not withstand a full-powered bombardment from Great Master Xie Yi.

“Is the Master Gunsmith this powerful?”

“No, it’s Great Master Xie Yi who’s formidable. A wandering Hero who broke through to the Legendary Realm entirely through his own strength—how could we underestimate him! We’ve looked down on him.”

But even with his extraordinary methods, Xie Yi was ultimately just an ‘ordinary Legendary.’

There was a chasm-like Rank difference between him and the Sand Elemental Lord, whose Domain covered over eight thousand meters and resonated with heaven and earth.

Several figures approached from the side of Ironstone Mountain.

The Yellow Sand Lord narrowed his eyes, “Oh, so you wish to engage in a duel as well? This Lord welcomes all challengers.”

Mu Yuan spoke up, “No, what I mean is, I’ve got Great Master Xie Yi’s back.”

Tianyuan City Lord!

The Golden Grand Duke’s eyes lit up, “Tianyuan is here. This battle is secured.”

Tianyuan City Lord?

The Gem Grand Duke squinted, “Why does Golden have such extraordinary confidence in Tianyuan? Is there something going on between them?”

The other Lords exchanged glances: Where did this overbearing dragon from across the river come from? A face they didn’t recognize.

Someone looked toward the Golden Grand Duke, “Golden, what’s the deal with this one? He doesn’t seem intimidated by the Yellow Sand Lord.”

The Golden Grand Duke curled his lips slightly, “Hah, the Yellow Sand Lord? What a joke.”

This is the ruthless individual who even slaughtered a Calamity Beast!

Do you understand the weight of being a Calamity Beast Slayer?!

A nearby Lord widened his eyes as if Golden had lost his mind.

He was about to probe further when he suddenly sensed the change in the elements around him.

The previously resonating heaven and earth fell silent.

The sand elements blowing all around, like a fading blueprint, were wiped away inch by inch.

The Blue-haired Girl beside Tianyuan Lord stepped forward.

She lightly pointed with her fingertip.

Instantly, the world fell into complete silence.

The elements quieted, the wind and sand vanished, everything returned to nothingness.

Only that fingertip remained, as if containing and devouring the entire world.

The Sand Elemental Lord glared furiously, his energy surging but unable to stir even a wisp of wind or sand. Even the grains composing his body began to crumble and disappear bit by bit.

As if this world could not tolerate even a speck of dust.

Mu Yuan continued, “I’ve said my piece. Who agrees? Who opposes?”

Ironstone Mountain fell into absolute silence.

The Yellow Sand Lord’s throat moved twice, “I… I… I wholeheartedly agree with Your Excellency’s proposal. All order on Ironstone Mountain shall be under your command.”

He tried to summon yellow sand but failed, then slunk away with his subordinates in disgrace.

Only after reaching the foot of the mountain could he finally muster enough sand to carry his group and fly off into the distance.”I admit defeat, I admit defeat! Just where did this dragon crossing the river come from!”

…

Ironstone Mountain gradually began to bustle with activity again.

The legendary figures still couldn’t figure out what exactly had happened during the previous battle.

They simply couldn’t comprehend it.

All they saw was the Blue-haired Girl pointing lightly, which dismantled all of the Sand Elemental Lord’s arrangements and left him unable to struggle.

What kind of method was this!

“Fortunately, this powerful individual isn’t as tyrannical as the Yellow Sand Lord, otherwise, we truly wouldn’t have been able to stop anything at all.”

Even if they called for reinforcements, could they really summon anyone stronger than this Blue-haired Girl?

But since this Lord didn’t seem to care and only wanted to maintain order on Ironstone Mountain, didn’t that mean they still had a chance to recruit Great Master Xie Yi?

At that moment, Great Master Xie Yi in the distance said,

“Thank you for your assistance, Your Excellency.” He paused, “…Would Your Excellency be willing to take in all of us brothers here on the mountain?”

He had come to understand.

Unless he fled to some isolated place far from the world, his very existence would cause conflicts.

Without the Yellow Sand Lord, there would still be White Sand or Green Sand Lords.

If he really had to choose a place to settle and a Lord to pledge allegiance to…

This one was the most suitable.

“Of course.”

Any sane person wouldn’t refuse a legendary powerhouse and a Hero.

Mu Yuan said, “Our Tianyuan City welcomes your joining.””

The nearby Lords: “???”

They had just begun to entertain some hopeful thoughts.

Golden Grand Duke: If it’s Tianyuan, then it makes sense… Damn it! What a tragic loss of a General, such sorrow!

Gem Grand Duke: Let it be, let it be as fate wills.

“Ding!”

“Notification: You have recruited the Hero unit ‘Master Gunsmith · Xie Yi (Epic)’.”

——

“Xie Yi (Hero)”

“Rank: Legendary Heaven-Earth Realm”

“Skills: Mechanical Modification (Great Master), …”

“Abilities: Unlimited Firepower, Mechanical Folding, Overload Burst, …”

(End of Chapter)