Chapter 518 – Wholesale Recruitment Orders, Core of the Advancement Trial

“The content of the advancement trial varies for different Lords. My trial involved exterminating monsters—different types and stages of monsters—until reaching the limit.”

As Han Yue spoke, her gaze suddenly shifted and locked onto him.

“Your combat skills are quite good. That’s excellent, that’s how it should be.” She paused briefly before continuing, “Your generals may be strong and capable of holding their own, but I still want to say this: don’t rely too much on the strength of your subordinates. Only when you yourself are powerful enough can you protect everything and avoid loss.”

Her eyes were sharp, her tone leaving no room for argument.

After speaking, she suddenly shook her head with a sigh. “I’ve said too much. Just pretend you didn’t hear the latter part of what I said. But you need to be careful. The location of your Tianyuan City makes it possible for it to be attacked by Law Realm monsters. You’re not weak now, but such strength is far from sufficient when facing Law Realm powerhouses.”

Mu Yuan nodded deeply in agreement. “Yes, I’m still too weak, without enough power.”

Han Yue had intended to praise him, but…

You’re just not qualified to contend with the Law Realm yet; how can that be called ‘too weak’?

How long have you been in the Eternal World?

But perhaps it’s precisely this attitude—always viewing oneself as ‘weak’—that allows Tianyuan to repeatedly shatter the limits of people’s imagination and achieve progress speeds that can be called miraculous.

If I had maintained such an attitude from the very beginning, perhaps some outcomes would have been…

Tianyuan is right.

Han Yue fell into deep thought.

The Heartfelt City Lord glanced left and right, then began questioning her own life philosophy as well.

Are these two in front of me abnormal, or have I fallen behind the times?

She decided to stop overthinking it and, after a moment, looked at Tianyuan and said, “Sister Yue just unleashed her full power, but battles with Law Realm powerhouses aren’t limited to just that. Besides direct confrontations, Law Realm experts often possess various additional methods.”

Mu Yuan asked, “Does the Heartfelt City Lord mean epic carriers?”

She snapped her fingers: “You seem quite knowledgeable. Epic Treasures can not only carry conceptual power—some Epic Treasures possess abilities that are even more unpredictable and hard to defend against.”

“Let me give you an example.”

In the blink of an eye, she produced an object: a silver-white knight’s spear over three meters long. The large spear flowed with a profound purple glow, and the aura it diffusely emitted was more intense than any Epic Treasure Mu Yuan had ever seen.

「Absolute Hit Spear (Epic)」

「Description: Lock onto a target and throw; this spear will traverse space to directly hit the enemy, with an absolute hit effect. Simultaneously, the Absolute Hit Spear’s attack carries two types of conceptual damage: penetration and tearing. After hitting the enemy, the Absolute Spear will automatically disappear and return to the user’s hand, making it impossible to seize.」

「When the user activates the Absolute Spear with similar conceptual power, this treasure can unleash even greater destructive force.」

This ability is utterly outrageous!

Mu Yuan had never seen such a powerful Epic Treasure before, one that inherently possessed conceptual killing power.

This Absolute Hit Spear might not be particularly effective against large-sized monsters, but if used against human powerhouses—especially unprepared ones—it might very well achieve a one-hit kill.The Heartfelt City Lord possesses such treasures, but that doesn’t mean monstrous powerhouses don’t have them either.

If enemies were to produce such treasures, how should he deal with them?

“Indeed, I am still too weak.”

The Heartfelt City Lord: “…”

She gave an awkward laugh, “We call such treasures Upper-Tier Epics, and they are extremely rare. You don’t need to worry too much.”

Which means moderate worry is still necessary, right?

Mu Yuan understood.

He thought for a moment and asked the Cold Moon City Lord, “Just now, during the final stage, was that conceptual power entering the second stage?”

“Second stage?”

The Heartfelt City Lord was puzzled.

Mu Yuan said, “Conceptual stage one, stage two, stage three. I’ve heard that by the third stage, conceptual power can imprint upon the world.”

Han Yue: “Yes, that’s correct.”

The Heartfelt City Lord said, “That’s not quite right. According to this classification standard, wouldn’t that mean most of our conceptual powers are still at the first stage, possibly even at the early or middle phase of the first stage!”

This made them seem rather incompetent!

Han Yue nodded in deep agreement, “That’s how it is.”

She continued, “I didn’t expect you to already know so much. Then again, you’ve already grasped conceptual power ahead of time. However, the leap from the first stage to the second stage of conceptual power is enormous, let alone the third stage. What I used earlier was indeed second-stage conceptual power.

“I applied the concept to a region of heaven and earth, and with a single thought, I could influence the entire area. Powerful Law Realm experts can easily influence an entire island domain—this relies on the extension of conceptual power.”

“Hmm…” she pondered, “At this stage, concepts can use heaven and earth as a bridge.”

She pointed a finger.

The elemental forces of heaven and earth showed no ripples, and no energy surged from the Cold Moon City Lord’s fingertip.

Yet, a blizzard suddenly arose in a location ten thousand miles away. In the blink of an eye, the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow.

“If one masters certain types of conceptual power, they can even strike an enemy’s true body through their descending incarnation from afar. So, having an incarnation travel outside is no longer absolutely safe at this stage.”

“As for the third stage of conceptual power, it can be seen as using the world as a bridge, but that’s still quite distant.”

Mu Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

The Dao of concepts is indeed profoundly mysterious.

Even Deadbone is currently stuck at the peak of the first stage, unable to make a breakthrough.

So profoundly mysterious.

…

After leaving the arena, Mu Yuan went to the Taixuan Covenant exchange point in the capital city, traded for a batch of items and blueprints, then returned to Tianyuan City via the Star Gate.

At this time, dusk had not yet fallen.

“The method of teleportation is truly convenient.”

“Even if Isloria only had this teleportation ability, her significance would already be enough to qualify her as a legendary lifeform.”

In Taixuan, only the capital city, a few official major cities, and frontline warzones have teleportation arrays.

The Cold Moon City Lord likely traveled back and forth via teleportation array this time.

However, Taixuan’s teleportation arrays are not only scarce in number and incapable of large-scale transport, but they also consume enormous energy when activated. Except for emergencies, teleportation arrays are only opened on specific days.

They’re nowhere near as convenient as Isloria’s Star Gate, which can be opened and closed at will.However, the Star Gate also shares a common drawback—or perhaps it shouldn’t be called a drawback, but rather a characteristic—of teleportation arrays: the more personnel and items teleported, the greater the energy consumption and the higher the load on the teleportation array.

Therefore, Mu Yuan only brought back a few tools and blueprints.

The large quantities of supplies he purchased using Contribution Points and Soul Crystals had to be transported batch by batch via the steel train route to Stone Ridge City. From there, the Tianyuan merchant caravan stationed in Stone Ridge City would ship the supplies back to Tianyuan City.

“Boom—”

“Boom—”

Outside Tianyuan City, rumbling sounds echoed intermittently—this was Dolai relocating mineral veins.

It had already moved twenty to thirty mineral veins—Soul Sand Mines, Black Iron Ore, Red Copper Ore, and other deposits—with immense power to the outskirts of Tianyuan City.

Through this grand relocation, the number of mineral deposits under Tianyuan City’s jurisdiction had actually increased rather than decreased.

These mineral veins were located outside the city, spanning distances of 100 to 200 kilometers. Since they were not within Tianyuan City itself, they still required warriors to be stationed for defense. However, now that the mines were much closer to the urban area, any external attacks could be swiftly countered by Tianyuan Experts, significantly reducing the defensive pressure.

“Mineral veins need to maintain a certain distance from one another.”

“Different types of mineral veins are more likely to interfere with each other. How to arrange these veins is a profound field of study.”

Isloria had no experience in this area.

Mu Yuan had brought back some reference books, though most only offered superficial explanations. But… Isloria was so capable that she would surely manage without issue.

He thought.

Thus, the mineral veins could not be placed too close together.

“If the Tianyuan Territory could expand its land area to several hundred kilometers away, a fully integrated defense system could be established.”

That was still a distant goal.

But raising the territory’s Rank and expanding its land area were not far off.

This was what Mu Yuan planned to do.

He took out the tools he had exchanged for with a large amount of Contribution Points, one by one.

「Refugee Recruitment Order (Excellent)」

「Description: Based on the territory’s level of development and the number of Guiding Beacons, using this recruitment order can attract 200 to 2,000 units of refugees.」

「This recruitment order has no side effects.」

「Note: The number of refugees recruited may also be related to the current world situation.」

Previously, Mu Yuan had used a Refugee Recruitment Scroll with side effects.

After Tianyuan City advanced to Rank 5, its population had stagnated for a long time.

Even now, the entire population (residents) of Tianyuan City was only slightly over 50,000, and this was despite his continuous efforts to establish Guiding Beacons.

“Advancing to a Rank 6 territory requires 80,000 residents.”

“Advancing to a Rank 7 territory requires 300,000 residents.”

Apart from the resident count, he had already met all other stringent conditions. The only shortfall was the number of residents, which required time to accumulate.

Relying solely on naturally attracting refugees had its limits.

So, he resorted to using tools.

Such Refugee Recruitment Orders were not hot-selling items, so their exchange price was only 10,000 Contribution Points, and the stock was relatively abundant.

But Mu Yuan exchanged a full 220 of them.

He essentially cleared out the inventory.

During the exchange, the person in charge repeatedly asked, “Are you sure you want to exchange for so many Refugee Recruitment Orders?”

Even Commander Mu, who had just received a large sum of Contribution Points, wouldn’t dare spend so recklessly.

Spending so much on population in this way was not cost-effective.

No, it was highly inefficient.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many Refugee Recruitment Orders available for exchange on the platform.Some lords even worry that their territories have too large a population to support.

“But for me, upgrading the territory from LV5 to LV7 holds more value than obtaining one or two Epic Treasures.”

“After the territory levels up, not only does the territorial range expand and the territory’s power strengthen, but various Miracle Buildings also receive a certain degree of enhancement.”

In comparison, the Epic Treasures that could be exchanged for 2.2 million contribution points were ordinary, and he no longer found them appealing.

It had been over half a year since Tianyuan City advanced to LV5, the small city tier.

Now, Tianyuan City covered a vast area, with residential districts built one after another. The newly constructed residential areas could accommodate nearly a hundred thousand people.

Compared to the rush during the LV5 upgrade, Tianyuan City now had a more organized approach to settling refugees.

However, it would still take a considerable amount of time to fully absorb all 220 Refugee Recruitment Orders.

“Well then, this honorable task shall be entrusted to…”

…

After assigning suitable tasks to his capable subordinates, Mu Yuan went straight to the Lord Altar and took out the Trial Key.

He entered the lord’s perspective, overlooking his domain.

Tianyuan City remained peaceful and harmonious, with only sporadic wave assaults outside Dragon Head Mountain Fortress.

However, such tranquility could be shattered at any moment.

“It’s time.”

“Let me see what secrets this trial, which requires a special item to unlock, holds.”

Ding!

“Prompt: You have used the special item ‘Trial Key.’ The Secret Realm Gate to the Trial Realm has opened. Please enter promptly.”

“Prompt: This Secret Realm has ‘1’ challenge attempt. You may exit at any time, and the evaluation will be settled based on your performance at the time of exit.”

Mu Yuan passed through the golden vortex gate and stepped into an indescribably profound place where time and space seemed nonexistent.

To draw an analogy, it somewhat resembled the Land of Origin!

Ding!

“Prompt: Advancement Trial begins.”

“Prompt: No troops can be dispatched in this trial. The use of equipment and items above Epic grade is prohibited.”

The world began to change.

Time gradually flowed, space was no longer frozen, and light and darkness emerged.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings transformed into a valley filled with raging winds.

Azure winds gathered, forming a line of large characters in the sky.

“Analyze the wind, perceive the wind, find the valley’s exit and walk out to proceed to the next stage.”

“Whoosh~!”

The gales howled like sharp sabers.

The saber-like winds struck the ground and mountain walls, producing metallic clangs.

Mu Yuan saw countless scratches on the surrounding cliffs—marks left by the relentless winds.

“These wind blades are incredibly powerful; any single one carries the force of a full-power strike from a Fourth-Order Commander Tier.”

And before him, there were not just tens or hundreds, but thousands of such wind blades roaring through the air.

A Fourth-Order expert at their limit would perish here quickly; only those in the Legendary Realm could survive for an extended period.

“Find the valley’s exit?”

Behind him was a dead end.

Ahead, the valley forked, and likely, there were more forks within those branches.

He needed to find the way out while enduring the slashing winds.

“Is that all?”

“No, there’s more.”

Mu Yuan closed his eyes. Through the concept of wind in the world, he could clearly sense that the winds within the valley were gradually intensifying.

At this moment, perhaps only those in the Heaven-Earth Realm could withstand it.In a while, only those at the Peak of the Heaven-Earth Realm, the Soul Realm, or the Peak of the Soul Realm would be able to endure.

His time was limited.

The longer he delayed, the stronger the storm would become, and the more difficult his progress would be.

“Exiting the valley within the time limit is the rule.”

“It’s only reasonable that powerful challengers can resist stronger storms and have more time.”

So how should he proceed?

Method one: Break through by force.

The storm and wind blades were all manifestations of wind. As long as he could use overwhelmingly powerful attacks to tear through the storm, or deploy a flawless Domain to forcibly suppress it, he could naturally proceed unimpeded and quickly find the exit.

However,

“I might be able to break through by force in this trial, but what about the next one, or the one after that?”

“To go further, I need to understand the rules of the advanced trials and follow their flow.”

Advancement here meant advancing the Lord Power.

The trial had also hinted at the need to analyze the wind and perceive it.

Mu Yuan closed his eyes.

Yet the wind was violent. The wind elemental particles in the world were like irritable old-timers, moving erratically.

Trying to deconstruct this wind was no easy task.

So, he stopped trying!

“Loading Asun module.”

Asun possessed three epic abilities: Wind Imprint, Soaring Nine Heavens, and Wind God’s Sigh.

Mu Yuan felt as if he had transformed into the Wind King’s Wings.

The winds of the world became docile before him. The storm no longer appeared chaotic and disordered in his eyes—they now had distinct traces and trajectories.

No storm could hinder the flight of the Wind King’s Wings!

They were the darlings of the Wind God, the kings of the wind.

Mu Yuan rode the wind, hands in his pockets, moving with the breeze. In the blink of an eye, he stood at the mouth of the valley.

(End of Chapter)