The Lord's Path

Soon, the sixteen outstanding newcomers followed the staff to the award ceremony.

There were not many spectators, but the venue was still arranged in a grand and solemn manner.

Mu Yuan understood perfectly. Since the Xuan Kingdom had gone to such lengths to support newcomers and present them with awards, it was only natural to make the ceremony somewhat formal. It made perfect sense.

He was not impatient in the slightest.

Some rich second-generation players, however, felt that the occasion was too small. They were unused to having so few spectators and no one praising them.

As the ceremony began, some of the newcomers reluctantly put away their phones and turned their gazes toward the stands.

"...Next, let us invite the vice president of our Bai Jiang Association to give a brief speech."

A burly figure strode over, his intensely imposing gaze sweeping across the entire venue.

Mu Yuan's eyes widened.

Wasn't this the burly man who had served as his examiner earlier? He was actually the vice president of the Baijiang City Association.

Jiang Cheng!

He was a genuine player bigshot!

Well, Mu Yuan did not actually know him at all, but to serve as vice president of an important department like the Bai Jiang Association, he had to be one of the most influential figures in all of Baijiang, right?

Vice President Jiang Cheng did not take a microphone. A simple, light cough was enough to spread through the venue like a wave, reaching every corner.

Mu Yuan felt his spirits rise.

The Liver Emperor beside him, whose dark circles made him look as if he were about to ascend to heaven, suddenly looked like a lively young man, as though he had returned to life.

But that was not merely an illusion. The Liver Emperor had genuinely recovered. The vice president had used an auxiliary aura ability. With a single light cough, he had swept away the physical and mental fatigue from the players.

Jiang Cheng paused before speaking. "First, congratulations to all of you for passing the assessment. Once you pass the trial, you will become true lords."

"But... becoming a lord is only the beginning. Once you become lords, you will possess power and be able to enjoy life, but it also means that you will face greater dangers and shoulder more responsibilities."

"It is still a little early to tell you these things. You will understand them gradually. Just don't forget that you are citizens of the Xuan Kingdom."

"As long as you are lords of the Xuan Kingdom, the Xuan Kingdom will always be your backing."

As a player bigshot, Jiang Cheng naturally acted swiftly and decisively. He had no habit of talking for three hours after saying three sentences.

But not only the Liver Emperor and the others—even those rich second-generation and Game Second Generation players sat obediently, listening to Vice President Jiang's teachings without the slightest trace of arrogance or unruliness.

Game Second Generation players? Even their elder brothers and elders were weaklings before Vice President Jiang. Precisely because they knew how lofty his status was, they all behaved as meekly as kittens. If President Jiang took a liking to them, they would rise swiftly through the ranks.

Unfortunately, President Jiang's gaze did not linger on them at all. He merely said a few words before striding away.

That made sense. How could figures of such stature show favor so easily?

After Vice President Jiang Cheng left, staff members at the venue began presenting the players with their assessment certificates.

This certificate was not merely a formality. It was also a credential. Using the verification code on it, players could obtain a higher level of clearance and gain access to advanced information related to lords.

When handing over the credentials, the staff also reminded them not to share the information with outsiders.

At the same time, the staff gave an introduction on-site, explaining some relatively basic points. Their main audience was the confused Civilian Players.

"Lord players possess lofty status and wield great authority, but building a territory is not easy... In fact, it is not something an individual can accomplish through personal strength alone."

"Troops are ultimately responsible only for battle, while a territory has countless matters to deal with beyond combat. Management, finances, logistics, production... Once you begin managing a territory, one problem after another will appear before you. Without making preparations in advance, you will be left scrambling."

"Therefore, lords can generally be divided into three types."

Official lords;

Group Lords;

Personal Lords;

The first, as the name suggested, were lords who accepted official investment to develop their territories together with the government, similar to state-owned enterprises.

The Safe City to which the rescue team had previously delivered the newcomer players was an official lord's city.

"Although official lords possess somewhat less authority, they have the advantage of an easier and safer path. First, official lord cities have stronger defenses, so there is no need to worry about monster tides. Second, the government establishes important facilities within the city, such as player associations and resource transfer stations. In other words, official cities are practically the central areas of their surrounding regions, making it easier for them to prosper."

"And as lords, all of you can continue growing stronger as your territories advance. That is the advantage of being an officially appointed lord."

Group Lords were lords supported by great nobles and funded by major financial conglomerates.

Sometimes, Civilian Players and ordinary Game Second Generation players lacked the resources to develop their territories, so they accepted investments from large groups, similar to joint-stock enterprises.

But groups were not philanthropists. Some groups with good reputations merely sought investment returns and did not interfere with a player's internal affairs. Other groups, however, not only interfered but even tried every possible method to render inexperienced Civilian Lords powerless.

Such incidents had occurred throughout history.

"If you wish to accept group investment, be sure to keep your eyes open and investigate the group's reputation carefully."

Personal Lords, naturally, were lords who accepted no external investment and retained complete autonomy.

They appeared to be the freest, but they also had the hardest path.

There were not many lords like this. They were either extremely weak or extremely strong.

The staff member continued, "Of course, whether they are Group Lords, Personal Lords, or the various merchants' associations and organizations, they are all part of our Xuan Kingdom. They are all indispensable components of our Xuan Kingdom's 'Tai Xuan Alliance' in the Eternal World."

"For this reason, the Xuan Kingdom launched the 'Tai Xuan Covenant' platform. Personal Lords and Group Lords can accept missions issued by the government, earn Contribution Points, and exchange them for all kinds of precious resources that are difficult to purchase elsewhere."

It was essentially a system for cooperative lords of the Xuan Kingdom.

Individuals retained autonomy over their territories, but they also had to follow the Tai Xuan Alliance's overall strategic direction.

The alliance would not demand unconditional cooperation from its lords, but at critical moments, there was no way to avoid it.

In this world, absolute freedom did not exist.

Moreover, newcomer territories were all located in the outer regions of the Tai Xuan Alliance. When they encountered monster sieges, the lords of every region still counted on official reinforcements.

Therefore, from the government's perspective, lord players were actually more reliable than Ranger Players.

Their territories and foundations were all on the side of Tai Xuan.

That was also one of the reasons the government was willing to invest vast resources in developing newcomer territories.

"I heard that the Tai Xuan Covenant also has support programs for outstanding Personal Lords. As long as they perform well enough, they can obtain all kinds of resource rewards?"

"At times, they may even need to represent the new generation of lords in competitions against young foreign lords, securing benefits for the Tai Xuan Alliance?"

It seemed to involve the distribution of some important resource sites.

Participation was voluntary, but if they could win resources for the Xuan Kingdom, new lords could receive generous rewards. Extremely generous ones!

Generally speaking, Personal Lords had to compete more fiercely. If they did not fight for opportunities, how could they support such enormous territories?

"Most newcomers want to follow the path of Personal Lords, but after walking it for a while, they discover that the road is filled with thorns and eventually have no choice but to submit to reality."

"If you truly want to follow the path of Personal Lords, you cannot afford to miss those precious opportunities."

"Being cautious is certainly not wrong, but when the time comes to compete, you must act decisively."

That was what Vice President Jiang had said after the ceremony ended, when Mu Yuan went to collect the additional newcomer benefits.

In the vice president's office, Jiang Cheng stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the groups of players gradually leaving.

"I hope this batch will produce a few more newcomer lords who accomplish something."

He murmured to himself.

Orange-red rays of sunlight fell across his body, illuminating muscles with sharp contours that resembled granite. His eyes gleamed brilliantly, making him look like a fire deity bathing in blazing sunlight.

He thought of the young man in the examination arena who had already established an overwhelming advantage yet still used a "cowardly" tactic to defeat two Great Goblins.

Very steady.

He lacked the rashness, pride, and arrogance of some young geniuses.

When Jiang Cheng taught younger players, he always told them to be more cautious than cautious. Taking one wrong step might not result in death, but it could still lead to devastating losses.

That was why he valued this young man, and not merely because of his strength.

Only through cautious and steady management could one laugh last in the perilous Eternal World.

However,

Jiang Cheng felt that this young man might be too steady.

The formation of ten Skeleton Soldiers was already quite impressive for a newcomer player from a civilian background, yet he inexplicably had the intuition that it still did not represent the boy's full strength.

It was not simply a matter of having a few more Skeleton Soldiers.

During an assessment, leaving several troops behind to guard one's home was the proper move.

Jiang Cheng merely felt that Mu Yuan had not only kept some troops in reserve, but had also held back a Trump Card.

"Could it be that this kid has already recruited a Rare Troop?"

Was that possible?

Thinking of Mu Yuan's performance, Jiang Cheng vaguely felt... that it really might be possible!

He shook his head and laughed. "Whether it is true or not, the new lord competitions are still too far away for him. Let's first see how far this kid can go. Perhaps he can climb the Trial Rankings as a Civilian Player and achieve a decent position?"

Jiang Cheng looked forward to it.

Compared with rich second-generation and Game Second Generation players, he was more eager to see a civilian newcomer stand out. It was not only because he himself had once been an ordinary person. More importantly:

"Mu Yuan came from a civilian background and was an orphan. Everything he has today comes from his own efforts. Only people like that can go far, and only they have even the slightest chance of climbing to the absolute summit."