In the Shennong Land, the firelight flickered.
Long Tao, bare-chested, was drenched in sweat, even in the chilly night, his dark, plump skin glistening with beads of perspiration.
His feet were planted in the muddy field, his pant legs rolled high above his knees.
The cold will prompt was like a merciless mockery, ridiculing him, the ambitious reborn one.
It was as if telling him that no matter how the world line shifted, he, Long Tao, was just a roadside nobody.
Immortal-tier Hero Tavern.
And blueprints for a military base that could accelerate territory expansion.
That figure was moving away at a speed he couldn't match, becoming increasingly out of reach.
A giant rock seemed to be pressing on his chest, the suffocating pressure making it almost impossible for Long Tao to breathe.
"Why..."
"Why, ah?"
"Liu Yi, why must I, Long Tao, still be trampled underfoot by Lin Yi?"
Liu Yi, holding a bundle of seedlings, had pale lips, and a chill spread through his heart as he looked at the large, gloomy face that was almost pressed against his own.
He instinctively wanted to retreat, but his neck was firmly gripped by that muddy hand.
For some reason.
He felt as if his Lord was on the verge of a breakdown.
If this continued, he might truly go mad!
Suddenly!
A large light bulb lit up in Liu Yi's head!
"My Lord!"
"Are the people you want to deal with getting stronger and stronger?"
"I have a plan that might work!"
Long Tao snorted coldly, saying dismissively, "Speak."
He didn't hold out much hope.
This villager in front of him, though he had a name, had mediocre talent.
Playing dead.
Surviving among corpses was not bad.
But plotting strategies? Forget about it!
"We'll work hard to help him farm in the rear!!!" Liu Yi blurted out.
"You goddamned!!!"
Long Tao reacted instantly, raising his palm to strike.
"Let me finish!!!"
Liu Yi hastily added, "We can poison him from the rear!"
"Poison?" Long Tao's eyes lit up, and he released his gripping hand.
"That's right!"
Liu Yi rubbed his sore neck and said fawningly, "Look, our territory is now exceptionally fertile due to divine power! The yield from planting provisions far surpasses other territories."
"My Lord, you only need to become the opponent's logistical granary, occupying enough share."
"When the time is ripe, we'll poison him! Not only can it take his old life at a crucial moment, but we can also earn his money!"
Hiss...
Long Tao's eyes grew brighter, his face excited, and he slapped the other's shoulder twice, "Pulling the rug from under him, smart! Good plan! Let's do it!!!"
That's right!
Now, with his Shennong Land's special characteristic bonus, who on Blue Star could have a higher yield than him?
In his previous life, he only accounted for 2% of Lin Yi's total military provisions.
This time, if he worked harder, not to mention more, as long as he occupied 30%!
When the Godly Legion descended, and Lin Yi dispatched his army to engage them, he would secretly poison them.
At that time, Lin Yi's army would surely suffer heavy losses!
Even if it didn't poison Lin Yi himself to death, as long as his legion lost its combat effectiveness at a critical moment, he could still achieve his goal!
A Lord might guard against provisions supplied by outsiders, but the army's vigilance could never be foolproof!
Unless Lin Yi's army was immune to all poisons!
Is that possible?
This plan will surely succeed!
"It's truly intriguing."
Long Tao opened the Hero Leaderboard and licked his lips, "To possess heroes with Universal or higher aptitudes."
"It seems your territory's characteristic this time is no longer Epic..."
On the surface.
He and Lin Yi hadn't yet fallen out; they were still good buddies.
Given Lin Yi's usual behavior, he shouldn't be too wary of him.
But....
Thinking of today's alien merchant caravan, he subconsciously tightened his grip on his hook.
"I need to test him..."
After his mood calmed.
He checked the time and ordered, "All villagers and slaves, stop your work and gather. Prepare to seize Trial Points."
After speaking.
Long Tao was full of confidence.
This time, he would surely claim the top spot in Trial Points and become the Newcomer King of Blue Star!
What if he killed a Level 4 boss!
Not only did he have the Slave Trading Token, but the number of villagers he recruited had also multiplied several times.
His territory's population had now reached the 1000 mark!
His efficiency in harvesting points was unmatched!
With civilization's leap, the Newcomer King's reward was unlike anything before; he was determined to get it!
"The Trial Land has created a butterfly effect."
"But Blue Star itself hasn't changed, right!"
Having found his direction again, Long Tao was full of vigor, recalling the few resource secret realms on Blue Star that were only developed later.
...
"Hiss... Old Blood, this isn't right, is it? Are Lin Yi and we really the same batch of Trial Newcomers??"
Inside the tent, Xia Jie's lips moved, and he voiced his doubts.
Up until now.
He always had a strange sense of déjà vu.
Lin Yi's "style" seemed to be on a completely different level from everyone else's!
Could he be a spy from a high-level alien race who snuck in?
"There is indeed a problem."
Old Blood's hoarse voice came from his mind, "However, you just do your part! Once you complete the Dragon Hunt and advance to a Tier 3 territory, choose to worship the great Lord of Darkness... Once you leave the Trial Land, he will never be your opponent."
"On the contrary, you should plan how to seize the Hunter's Badge in his hand to assist in lighting the divine flame in the future."
"Shouldn't it be Slaughter, or the God of Flesh and Blood?" The never-before-heard deity made Xia Jie frown slightly.
"We serve in darkness, and walk in darkness."
Old Blood's voice suddenly became fanatical, like a devout believer reciting a holy scripture, "Without light, darkness will eventually devour all things!"
Devour... all things.
Xia Jie's heart stirred slightly; Old Blood was so excited, it must be very powerful, right?
Thinking of this, he glanced at the Hero Leaderboard and couldn't help but ask, "Old Blood, what level of existence were you before? Lin Yi has heroes beyond the Immortal tier, and his legion's strength is probably ridiculously strong! Can I really kill him?"
"Hmph!" Old Blood's rather proud reply came from his mind, "I, Alex, was once a true god of the Primordial Divine Land! Universal? Paragon? What are those things! As long as you light the divine flame and sacrifice enough faith power, you can have all of these!!"
"Remember—territory characteristics are the key to determining the upper limit of all tribal lords! You must at least raise your characteristic to 'Immortal-tier' to control a third-class authority, otherwise, your future achievements will at most stop at a Mid-level God! A god without authority in the Primordial Divine Land... is no different from a rat."
Xia Jie gasped, "Doesn't that mean there are heroes with even higher aptitudes than Paragon? Are there races naturally superior to Paragon?"
"Nonsense!"
"Individual aptitude only represents the starting point; having racial talent advantages, higher-tier aptitudes condense more and faster faith power, and are more likely to transform into saints! But under the action of divine power, even rats can complete a leap in life level! It's just that the number is slightly smaller."
"Lin Yi and you are both Blue Star humans. His possession of those heroes might be due to some kind of fortuitous encounter; in the long run, there's no need to care."
"The strength of higher civilizations stems not only from racial advantages but also because they possess 'Universal' or 'Paragon' tier territory characteristics—only these two can bear second-class or even first-class authority!"
"For you, understanding authority now is not beneficial... As for life forms higher than Paragon races?"
Alex seemed to fall into thought, and after a long while, he replied, "Life forms that surpass Paragon races... existed tens of thousands of years ago, but that is already history."
Xia Jie breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Once he lit the divine flame, would the human race's genetic disadvantage be erased?
He glanced at the leaderboard and then casually asked, "By the way, what race are Half-Angels? Why has Blue Star never heard of them?"
"Hmm? Old Blood?"
After waiting for a long time, Xia Jie was somewhat puzzled when the other party didn't answer.
"You... What did you say?!!!"
Alex's voice suddenly became sharp, clearly trembling, almost roaring, "Where did you see the Angel race!! How could Blue Star have angels under that running dog!!!"