Blue Star.
Great Xia Empire.
The two blazing suns hung high in the sky, reflecting the sparkling waters of the luxurious swimming pool.
A man in his thirties emerged from the water, crystal clear droplets rolling down his muscular body covered in gruesome scars.
Two maidservants immediately stepped forward; one used a soft towel to wipe his body, while the other stood on tiptoes to drape a blue silk bathrobe over him.
By the poolside,
a man in a suit and tie, with slicked-back hair, knelt on one knee.
He allowed the overflowing pool water to soak his trousers, his face plastered with a fawning smile.
“News from the Divine Secret Pavilion?”
The man in the bathrobe lay languidly on a beach chair, eyes closed, enjoying the scorching heat of the two suns, his tone so flat that no emotion could be discerned. “Just give me the result.”
“Reporting, King Jinyuan.”
Upon hearing this, the man in the suit immediately lowered his voice and chuckled. “The Seventh Prince, Xia Jie, had a conflict with Zhou Yi, a member of the Zhou family, in the Trial Land, and unfortunately perished.”
“The disconnected mark on his Bloodline Totem has completely extinguished.”
“Of the heirs competing with you for the throne, only the First Prince and the Sixth Prince remain!”
“Congra…”
Before he could finish his sentence,
a terrifying, pale golden palm whistled through the air and slapped him hard across the face!
Slap—
With a crisp slap, the suit-clad man's cheek deformed, and he was sent flying backward into the swimming pool, a few blood-stained teeth arcing through the air.
“You scoundrel!”
Xia Yunhao’s eyes flashed with fierce light as he warned, “That’s my younger brother! Watch your words!”
“This humble one was reckless, please forgive me, King Jinyuan.” The man in the suit covered his swollen face, swam back to the shore, and said with lingering fear.
“Hmph.”
Xia Yunhao’s lips subtly curved upward, he casually picked up a glass of orange juice, took a sip, and then asked, “Is there any news about that new Lord named Lin Yi?”
“Yes, yes!”
When Lin Yi was mentioned, the suit-clad man’s expression immediately became serious. “According to the latest news, in the prematurely activated Points Trial, he firmly occupies the top position on the leaderboard, holding a full seven thousand points, several times more than the second place! This is unprecedented in the history of Great Xia, truly unparalleled!”
“Furthermore, someone leaked the news today, and posts are already circulating online about Lin Yi single-handedly killing a World Boss, promoting his territory to a Tier 4 territory, and leading Blue Star into a Tier 2 civilization era. The sheer volume of these posts is massive, and the Network Patrol Department can no longer contain them.”
“Now, the common people are practically deifying him. If he were to be exploited by those with ulterior motives, it might threaten…”
The man in the suit lowered his head discreetly at this point.
“Interesting.”
Xia Yunhao narrowed his eyes slightly. “A commoner couldn’t suddenly possess such strength. He must be hiding unknown secrets…”
After a moment of thought, he coldly ordered, “Plant informants in all unclaimed safe zones. After the trial ends, recruit him at all costs!”
The man in the suit nodded solemnly, then tentatively asked, “What if… he’s snatched by the other two princes or other forces first…?”
“Then kill him.”
Xia Yunhao casually swirled his cup, calmly stating, “If such a person cannot be used by me, he must be nipped in the bud. Blue Star’s civilization has already completed its leap, and his mission should end.”
“Understood!” The man in the suit replied, “King Jinyuan, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave!”
“Go.”
Xia Yunhao waved his hand, watching the former depart, the shimmering reflections of the pool water mirrored in his deep pupils.
Could that short-lived fellow from the Zhou family have killed the Seventh Prince?
Regarding this news, Xia Yunhao sneered inwardly, “It seems Father King also wants to take this opportunity to deal with those restless families…”
Among the four remaining princes of the empire,
the Sixth Prince had no ambition for the throne and spent years guarding the border against foreign races.
The First Prince, who had commanded the Ministry of Defense for many years, had deep roots in the Senate and was his greatest competitor.
As for that half-brother, the Seventh Prince, his foundation and seniority were far incomparable to theirs, and his competitiveness was almost negligible.
Throughout the empire, various factions always wavered between him and the First Prince.
But…
Even so, Xia Jie was still an imperial prince. The purple crystal coins he brought with him at the beginning were enough for him to quickly establish an advantage.
Coupled with the assistance of his trusted aides, even if he couldn’t defeat Zhou Yi, he shouldn’t have perished so easily.
“However… is he really dead…?”
Xia Yunhao had just felt a hint of vigilance, then immediately shook his head, dismissing his doubts.
Heh heh, the bloodline mark has disappeared.
Even if he feigned death, he would forever lose the qualification to inherit the Great Xia Empire. Whether he was truly dead or not no longer mattered.
Instead, it was Lin Yi, who had suddenly emerged, that made him narrow his eyes slightly.
To be able to defeat a Tier 4 peak World Boss in the Trial Land…
The combat power he displayed was simply too astonishing!
It’s quite interesting to think about.
..........
In the night sky,
a man and a dragon soared over the city walls amidst the exclamations of the residents, landing steadily on the ground.
Lin Yi unfastened his safety buckle and leaped down, the barding armor covering them automatically disassembled and floated in mid-air.
“Great!”
Lin Yi stretched his limbs, patting Big White’s neck, and chuckled, “Go play, but don’t wander too far.”
“Oh.” Big White rumbled in a deep, childish voice, “My tummy’s a bit hungry. I’ll eat something and then go to sleep…”
“Alright.”
Watching Big White fly towards Crystal Mountain, Lin Yi looked around and saw Wang Fugui anxiously jogging towards him.
“My Lord!”
“If you leave the territory next time, it’s best to bring some warriors with you!”
Wang Fugui saw Lin Yi return safely, and the stone in his heart dropped heavily. “Ailina is still looking for you everywhere outside.”
“Isn’t this too exciting? It won’t happen again.” Lin Yi chuckled, then raised an eyebrow and asked, “Only Ailina was looking for me? What about Xiang Yi? What about the others?”
“General Lu also rode Freke to the south, saying he wanted to find some monsters to have some fun… but it’s probably also to look for you.”
Wang Fugui scratched his itchy back and continued, “General Xiang seems to have gained some insight after returning and has been meditating in the training grounds.”
“Is she about to break through…?” Lin Yi stroked his chin, feeling a little anticipation.
Xiang Yi’s current strength was already extraordinary. If her talent advanced another level, what changes would occur?
However,
his sudden departure on a whim had caused a lot of trouble for those under him.
This was indeed not right!
“How is the Rift Generator construction coming along?” Lin Yi asked casually.
“It’s ready!”
Upon hearing this, Wang Fugui brightened up. “That thing is really easy to use! Come with me to the Cleansing Pool to see!”
“Let’s go.”
Lin Yi put his barding armor into his storage ring, passed through the residential area where the residents lived, and soon arrived at the location of the hot spring in the center of the territory.
However,
the once clean, transparent pool, emanating misty vapors, was gone.
In its place was a seemingly ordinary hot spring pool, simply dug out of the ground.
There were still a few unpurified villagers inside.
Those mysterious, solemn angel statues were gone.
At a glance, it looked just like an ordinary bathhouse…
“This…” Lin Yi’s heart tightened. He couldn’t even feel the pure light energy of the Cleansing Pool anymore!
His subconscious reaction was—my huge Angelic building is gone?
“Please walk further!” Wang Fugui reminded him.
Lin Yi quickly stepped forward.
As Lin Yi stepped within fifty meters, the scene before his eyes suddenly changed!
Pure white steps emerged, the eighteen-winged angel statues reappeared in the pool, four sword-wielding angels stood silently, and a sacred aura rushed forth.
The Cleansing Pool had returned to its original appearance.
“The illusion effect is this good?” Lin Yi exclaimed, his gaze immediately drawn to a pitch-black pillar about 10 meters high and as thick as a bucket in the distance.
The pillar was entirely made of meteor ore, its surface carved with irregular patterns that flickered like breathing.
“With this building, our territory’s concealment has been greatly enhanced!” Wang Fugui introduced its function to Lin Yi.
“I just tested it for a while. The illusion can not only cover the entire territory but also simulate energy signatures! No need to worry about being discovered by foreign races!”
Lin Yi, however, frowned slightly upon hearing this. “Then… what’s the cost?”
“Expensive…” Wang Fugui’s mouth twitched slightly. “Given our territory’s current size, it will consume 10,000 purple crystal coins daily after complete coverage.”
“Still acceptable…” Lin Yi nodded.
Without knowing the strength of the foreign race’s divine believers, it was undoubtedly a wise choice to keep himself hidden in the dark.
But besides the purple crystal coin consumption, what worried Lin Yi most was another point…
Would the illusion affect the Pure Land’s inherent effect of attracting high-level Light creatures?
Having just taken in Liye and Liha, those two little ones, he was extremely concerned about this effect of the characteristic!
Ailina, as a half-angel, her divine spells were already terrifyingly powerful.
Then…
If it could attract true angels to descend…
Lin Yi’s gaze swept towards the eighteen-winged angel statue in the pool, his heart filled with anticipation.
“Oh, right.”
Wang Fugui bowed slightly and continued to report, “The Heritage Temple has also been completed, Li Dachui has already inherited the Dawn Blacksmith imprint, and Iron Pillar’s Dawn Guards will be ready soon! Quite a few young men have already entered the temple to try and comprehend professions.”
“The Temple…”
Lin Yi suddenly thought of Big White having just come out of the Temple, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, “Ailina’s Holy Blessing charge has been stored these past two days. When she comes back, find two villagers to use it.”
“Also, buy another eight thousand Niu Ma, and recruit some residents with prestige. Just keep enough prestige for the construction of the military base and the Immortal Tavern.”
“Yes!” Wang Fugui nodded, then hesitated slightly, “However, while this will indeed increase the territory’s military strength… relying solely on beast meat for experience can’t keep up with Dazhuang’s training consumption rate.”
“That’s true…” Lin Yi nodded gently.
However—
Just as the two were discussing this,
a nimble will prompt, very cleverly, sounded in their minds.
After reading the message content,
the two exchanged glances, revealing knowing smiles in unison.
“Ding! Notification: Undead Lord—Klara White has declared war on you. Due to the opponent possessing a fabricated strong claim—Historical Conflict! Upon victory, you will gain all profits from your territory!”