Chapter 462 – Job Seekers, Speculations on Tianyuan

【Born Through Bloodshed, Taixuan’s Battle-Hardened Elite Troops!】

The official newspaper published by the Professional Association featured on its front page the parade of battle-hardened elite troops marching in formation.

One dragon-man after another spread their wings and charged forward at low altitude, as if rushing headlong into the monster tide shrouded in blood mist, fearless and resolute.

Further down, there were numerous lords and elite corps advancing with majestic momentum, heads held high.

“This is our Taixuan’s elite troops!”

“I recognize him—this is Lord Tianyuan! They say he’s only nineteen years old but has already built a city and commanded his legion to repel the monster tide multiple times!”

“Multiple times? I heard Lord Tianyuan has eradicated dozens of monster tribes and slain dozens of Legendary Realm monsters that resemble gods and demons. That’s how he earned his formidable reputation.”

“Your information is still conservative. I clearly heard that when Lord Tianyuan descended upon the Eternal World, the heavens and earth celebrated, and the Dao resonated. It’s said the monsters dispatched millions of troops and hundreds of god-demon legends to assassinate Lord Tianyuan, but he cut them all down!”

In a certain settlement city, several youths were arguing.

The older individuals did not participate in the debate, merely staring intently at the figures in the newspaper.

Powerful! Majestic! Born through bloodshed!

They were all Blue Star natives, people who once lived in the peaceful era of Blue Star.

Even though, after entering the Eternal World, each of them had randomly acquired a profession—some even obtaining ordinary three-star professions—the vast majority of them were still at Zero-Order First-Level or Second-Level.

Moreover, they lacked the courage to face monsters head-on and engage in combat with them.

They had seen monsters before—terrifying creatures.

During the Blue Star apocalypse and in the early stages of entering the Eternal World, they had witnessed bloodthirsty monsters.

These monsters had crimson eyes, strong and massive bodies, and teeth as sharp as swords and sabers, filled with blood and flesh fragments. They could easily tear, bite, and crush human bodies.

Although they themselves were professionals with a bit of supernatural power, they did not feel at all capable of confronting these dreadful monsters.

Even the military and patrol teams in the base cities and satellite towns seemed inferior to the monsters in their eyes.

“After all, this is the rear area, a safe zone, while the powerful armies are all at the frontlines.The staff at the Resettlement Bureau told them this.

They remained anxious and unsettled.

This unease stemmed from witnessing monsters kill and devour people, being forced to leave their familiar homes, experiencing the world’s apocalypse… all these accumulated fears.

Reassurances, propaganda, and the establishment of cultivation academies had not yielded significant results.

But a sky-spanning live broadcast that covered the entire Taixuan proved effective.

They had strong armies.

They were not incapable of fighting monsters.

Even when monsters gathered to form massive waves, they could still be torn apart and shattered. There were battle-hardened elite troops bathing in blood and fire, resisting the enemy and defending their homeland.

“I…”

“I also want to join the military!”

“I also want to slay monsters, I want to…”

…

“Lord, we have received over a hundred job applications in the past two days.”

At this moment.

Two days had passed since the military parade celebration.

Mu Yuan was not in Xuandu, nor had he immediately returned to his territory via the Star Gate.—Even though he was away, he could inspect the territory’s situation at any time, so he wasn’t worried about internal oversights. However, such opportunities to venture out were exceedingly rare.

He was scouting for suitable locations to establish Tianyuan Territory offices.

Tianyuan Territory now had ample personnel. After undergoing numerous trials, young commanders like Zhou Yi, Soul Loss, Deng Long, and Tina had developed the ability to take charge independently and lead their own troops.

Tianyuan Territory might not be able to match established major territories in having their people everywhere, but their reach couldn’t remain limited to just Stone Ridge City, Boulder City, and Heavenly Marsh City.

A few days earlier, he had already set up their own office in Xuandu and leased a medium-sized outpost in its outskirts, where he planned to station a permanent military unit.

This was to facilitate the various offices.

Sometimes, when merchant guilds or outposts in different locations needed reinforcements, they could call for support from the Xuandu outpost. Moreover, Xuandu’s railway network provided direct access to most cities in the Taixuan Great Domain.

This time, it was the newly established Tianyuan office that had received over a hundred job application letters.

“Over a hundred—is that a lot or a little?” the unreliable Lord asked.

Isloria sighed and said, “It’s a lot, a great many. Our office has been established for six days now. We didn’t receive any applications in the first few days, but in the two days just after the military parade celebration, we received a full hundred or more… I suspect the number has already exceeded a hundred by now.”

“Moreover, our office isn’t conspicuous. Very few people know about it, and we haven’t publicly posted any job openings. Otherwise, the number of applications would far exceed this count.”

As Xuandu was one of the most important external strongholds for Tianyuan Territory, Isloria currently had an incarnation stationed there to oversee operations.

Leaving everything entirely in the hands of inexperienced elites was something she couldn’t rest easy about.

Mu Yuan couldn’t rest easy either, which was why Isloria had to bear the burden as his right-hand woman.

He noticed that Isloria was feigning a sigh, but her mood didn’t seem bad.

“What, are the qualifications of these hundred-plus applicants quite good?” he asked.

Isloria nodded: “Indeed, they’re quite good. Among them, there are even some Third-Order Warlord Tier experts.”

Third-Order Warlords were nothing remarkable to Tianyuan Territory by now.

However, for commoner-born professionals to cultivate themselves to the Third-Order Warlord Tier was proof enough of their exceptional personal capabilities. At the very least, they were likely extraordinary.

It was much like the old Blue Star.

People from Blue Star were adept at judging others by their educational background. Yet, it was undeniable that those with higher education did tend to excel in learning ability, patience, and willpower.

In the Eternal World, the climb upward was even more arduous for ordinary people.

Isloria said, “We’re establishing or planning to establish offices in various cities and regions. These offices have sufficient martial strength, but we’re severely lacking in clerical personnel to handle affairs.”

“Many of these applicants meet our requirements, some even outstandingly so. Of course, this is also closely related to our territory’s shortage of clerical staff.”

It was already quite an achievement for elites to awaken self-awareness, possess common life knowledge, and learn basic literacy and arithmetic.

One couldn’t expect elites who had awakened self-awareness less than two years ago to master handling reports, data statistics, and information management.

Most of Tianyuan Territory’s residents weren’t up to the task either. The residents were mostly refugees or down-and-out individuals, the vast majority of whom were illiterate, so one couldn’t set the bar too high for them.The job seekers from the Taixuan elites are different.

These are high-quality workers!

Isloria, Tianyuan’s top worker, found this quite appealing.

“By recruiting a batch of high-quality elites to join our workforce, our various branch offices will no longer be short-handed. We can assign some sharp-witted elites to work alongside these employees, ensuring basic security measures are in place.”

“However, our territory’s external foundation is still too small. We can’t take too big a step too quickly, or else hiring a large number of external employees could easily create vulnerabilities for potential enemies to exploit.”

“After all, what you desire most, Lord, is sufficient stability, isn’t it?”

…

“The latest intelligence on the Tianyuan Territory has been compiled.”

Within the Taixuan Territory.

At a hidden base of the Eye of Divine Radiance, a high-ranking general adorned with a golden eye emblem on his uniform was reporting to headquarters via an encrypted channel.

“We also dispatched several Grade A agents who have been undercover in Xuandu to submit job applications to the Tianyuan Territory’s office in Xuandu. If they can secure positions there, we might obtain more information about the Tianyuan Territory.”

“However…”

The Eye of Divine Radiance general shook his head slightly, “Even if our agents manage to infiltrate, it would be difficult to obtain classified intelligence in a short time. The Tianyuan Lord has stationed his own trusted elites in the offices at Xuandu, Boulder City, and Tianze City.”

“Based on the Tianyuan Legion’s performance during the military parade, I can’t help but reasonably speculate that the Tianyuan Lord commands numerous true battle-hardened soldiers who have already awakened their self-awareness.”

“Otherwise, how could an independent lord of common origins like the Tianyuan Lord have so many loyal personnel at his disposal? He should have been thoroughly infiltrated long ago.”

This speculation defied conventional logic.

In the Eternal World, there were no shortage of methods to force rapid growth—cultivating a batch of Fourth-Order Commander Tier soldiers within a year or two was not beyond their capabilities.

However, such forcibly cultivated Fourth-Order Commanders would not only struggle to compete for even a sliver of legendary opportunities in the future but would also find it difficult to awaken their self-awareness.

Awakening self-awareness is related to grade and rank.

High-tier military units and Fourth-Order Experts inevitably awaken self-awareness, but this requires a lengthy process, taking at least several years.

It’s reasonable for a few generals receiving focused training to awaken their consciousness within a year or two.

But dozens or hundreds of elites all awakening their consciousness? That seems rather unreasonable.

Yet, on the Eternal Continent, conventional logic always takes a backseat to opportunity.

“This is merely my speculation; the Tianyuan Legion might not be as powerful as they appear. We need more authentic and concrete intelligence.”

“But I believe that as the Tianyuan Lord truly steps onto the world stage, such intelligence will soon become available.”

“Then we’ll be able to determine whether this brightest star among the younger generation of Taixuan is a Flood Dragon, a Horned Dragon, or a true Dragon.”

…

On a certain shattered Island Domain.

A massive stone pillar stood towering over the land, countless crimson patterns creeping upward from its base all the way to the summit.

The Crimson Mist permeated the air, the sky no longer visible through the haze, as the vibrant earth was gradually eroded inch by inch.

Beneath the crystalline pillar, the vanguard from Dragon’s Slumber Valley scanned the restless figures and spoke slowly:

“Wait a little longer. Restrain your respective minions.””The Grand Duke has decreed that we must wait until all subsequent forces have fully arrived, then concentrate our strength to deliver a heavy blow to the Taixuan Alliance, devour the Taixuan Territory, and transform the land and all living beings here into our blood sustenance.”

“Until then, we must wait, wait! Remember this well!”

The thunderous roar echoed throughout the Red Mist Region.

Bloodthirst, ominousness, and brutality filled every corner of this space.

Outside the Land of Red Mist, the red mist threads in the world became visibly more abundant, drifting strand by strand.

Roots of Filth suddenly formed, taking root and eroding the earth.

Monsters also emerged from the crimson mist, gathering in increasing numbers, roaring as they surged outward.

…

Several days passed in a flash.

Outside a small city in the Boulder City area of the Twilight Great Domain.

“Boom—”

The ground trembled slightly, and a dark line appeared at the horizon. Small black dots emerged in the sky, threatening to blot out the bright sun.

On the watchtower, unintelligent soldier types stood guard mechanically, their eyes moving back and forth along fixed trajectories, completely ignoring the tremors in the earth.

But there was also a hired professional patroller who woke up groggily in the watchpost bed. Seeing the numerous black dots in the sky, he jolted awake instantly, all drowsiness swept away.

Scrambling up to the highest point of the watchpost, he saw the continuous black tide rolling in from the distance.

“Monsters!”

“It’s a Monster Tide!”

The sentry sounded the alarm.

The piercing, urgent alarm soon echoed above the city.

This city, located in a remote area but not at the outermost edge of the Taixuan Territory, sounded its highest-level alarm in ten years.

After all, even during the most intense period of the Red Moon Disaster, this place had never encountered such a tide.

“Request reinforcements! Quickly request reinforcements!”

The monsters’ roars almost drowned out the alarm sounds.

…

Mu Yuan had already returned to the Twilight Great Domain.

Of the two hundred elite veterans who had accompanied him, only about one hundred and forty remained.

More than seventy elites had stayed behind at the Tianyuan Territory outposts established along the way—before returning from Xuandu, he had transferred over a dozen ‘administrative soldier types’ from his territory, including Starlight Scholars and Night Crow Servants, to be stationed abroad together.

“We’ve established our own outposts in six cities in total.”

“Although only six, they already cover various transportation hubs. In the future, whether it’s information gathering and transmission, or the transit and exchange of supplies, everything will be much easier and more convenient for our territory.”

Each outpost had been personally selected and established by him.

For the commanders and deputy commanders stationed at these posts, he had left behind Mind Seeds to ensure cross-domain communication anytime, anywhere. This was the advantage of the Tianyuan Territory.

Just looking at how his communications with other lords relied on one-to-one communication artifacts that didn’t work over long distances made it clear how enormous this advantage was.

If not for the significant burden that condensing Mind Seeds placed on him, Lord Mu, he would have loved to equip every elite with a ‘Mind Seed walkie-talkie.’

“The Taixuan Alliance’s sphere of influence in the Twilight Great Domain is quite small compared to the Taixuan Region, with only three core major cities where we’ve already established outposts… Let’s head back now.”

He had just thought this when suddenly he received one—no, several emergency transmissions.

From the outposts in Boulder City, Stone Ridge City, and Red Maple City.”Boulder City has issued an urgent call for aid? Claiming that Red Mountain City at the westernmost edge has encountered a Monster Tide, with even legendary monsters sighted?”

“Dolai, the map!”

Mu Yuan rummaged through the ‘bag of everything’ that Dolai carried along and pulled out a map of the Twilight Great Domain’s Taixuan Alliance.

It showed Red Mountain City located at the westernmost edge.

This wasn’t the outermost border of the territory, but it wasn’t far from the edge of the Great Domain.

However, the edge of the Great Domain was empty, a Shattered Land, where monster tides typically wouldn’t appear.

…

The defense of Red Mountain City had been ongoing for half a day.

Fortunately, a powerful Lord happened to be in the nearby area, turning the tide and preventing Red Mountain City from falling instantly.

Unfortunately, Red Mountain City was quite distant from Boulder City, and there were no strong garrisons in the surrounding area.

Against such a massive tide, the support from ordinary Lords was like trying to extinguish a fire with a cup of water.

Red Mountain City remained in imminent danger.

“Hold on! A strong reinforcement is on its way, they’ll be here soon.”

“It’s the Tianyuan Lord leading the relief forces!”

(End of Chapter)