A Lord of Astonishing Wealth!

"Lord..."

"What exactly will the selection you mentioned look like?"

"You have only just acquired this territory, my lord. There are not many subjects to begin with, and the foundation is still shallow. If the selection process is too intense and cruel, I fear it may damage our vitality and even trigger unrest. I hope you will consider this carefully..."

Venina lowered her head slightly. The large white tail behind her curled in unconsciously as well, making her look somewhat nervous. She was afraid of angering this new lord.

Wang Yu took in her reaction and could not help but laugh.

He could roughly guess what Venina was worried about. She feared that he intended to make hundreds of millions of people slaughter one another, accepting only the tiny handful who remained alive after such a bloody selection.

Such things were not uncommon in the universe. If one could capture an entire planet's population and sell them as slaves, making them kill one another was hardly much worse. No one would care.

Yet she had still dared to steel herself and offer him a word of advice. Venina was quite kind-hearted.

"You are overthinking it." He smiled and shook his head.

"Since I intend to build this place into my foundation, why would I do something as foolish as draining the pond to catch the fish? The selection I mentioned is absolutely not the bloody, brutal elimination you imagined."

"What I value most is nurturing talent. I have already decided to invest vast resources into developing this territory, and talent is the foundation of all development!"

"What I want is steady, long-term management. That sort of bloody, parasite-breeding selection is both inefficient and cruel. It is not my style!"

Hearing this, Venina visibly relaxed. A trace of surprise and admiration flashed through her eyes.

Lords this merciful were not often seen!

Since the lord she followed was not cruel, life in the future should not be too difficult!

"Lord, you are kind-hearted! Venina misunderstood you. Please forgive me!" She bowed respectfully, her tone noticeably lighter.

"It is nothing. You have only just begun following me and do not know me well, so misunderstandings are inevitable. They are minor matters. Given time, you will naturally understand how I do things." Wang Yu waved a hand.

"By the way, Venina, do you have a space ring?"

"A space ring?" Venina froze for a moment before answering somewhat awkwardly.

"In reply to my lord, I do, but..."

"But what?"

"It is only the smallest type of space ring. Its internal space is just ten cubic meters..." Venina said softly.

Space rings were very expensive. Even the smallest type, with only ten cubic meters of space, was still beyond the means of an ordinary Star-level person like her. This one had only been issued to her by the Empire for use, as she was a lord's steward and needed to maintain appearances. It was not even her personal property.

"Too small." Wang Yu shook his head slightly, took out an elegantly designed silver ring, and casually tossed it to Venina.

"As my steward, your belongings cannot be too shabby. Otherwise, it is my reputation that suffers." As he spoke, he casually threw the ring down to Venina below.

"This... Lord, this is too precious. I cannot accept it..." Venina was at a loss.

A space ring!

Even the smallest type was worth as much as a C-class universe spacecraft. Since the lord had specifically bestowed one upon her, it clearly could not still be the smallest type.

This reward was simply too valuable to her!

"So you mean you want to wear the smallest space ring and go around looking shabby, disgracing me?" Wang Yu looked down at her casually.

"I would not dare!" After Wang Yu put it that way, how could Venina refuse again? She hurriedly held the space ring in both hands, so excited that her large tail trembled slightly.

"Thank you for your reward, Lord! I... I will certainly serve you with all my heart and never bring you disgrace!"

"Enough. It is only a space ring. It is a small matter." Wang Yu looked unconcerned.

"Back to business. Regarding the selection of talented individuals, my requirements are simple."

"I do not care what methods you use, nor do I care how you handle it. I only want results."

As he spoke, Wang Yu snapped his fingers.

A massive dark-blue crystal immediately appeared out of thin air beside Venina.

Within the dark-blue crystal flowed strands of silvery-white radiance, as though a miniature starry sky had been sealed inside. The light slowly shifted and flowed, giving off a dreamlike, beautiful glow that made one want to lose oneself in it after a single glance.

The moment Venina saw it, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she could not help drawing a sharp breath!

"Gasp! Th-this is... a Universe Crystal!?" Her voice trembled slightly.

This Universe Crystal was enormous, likely ten cubic meters in volume!

Each cubic meter of Universe Crystal could be divided into one thousand Universe Coins. Ten cubic meters meant ten thousand Universe Coins!

One hundred Universe Coins could buy a C5-class universe spacecraft made of alloy.

Yet what stood before her was actually ten thousand Universe Coins!?

"Ten thousand Universe Coins. This is the budget for this selection event." Wang Yu sat on his throne as though he had merely taken out ten thousand Blue Silver Coins.

"Venina, remember this: my time is precious. I have no time to slowly fuss over trivial matters."

"I am placing this matter entirely in your hands. I have only one requirement."

"Get this done for me as quickly as possible!"

"If there is not enough money, I can add more. If there are not enough people, recruit them. If you encounter any difficulties, tell me directly!"

"I want to see the talents you select for me in the shortest possible time!"

"Yes, Lord!" Venina answered respectfully.

Wang Yu dismissed her. Venina branded the space ring with her spiritual mark and stored away the ten cubic meters of Universe Crystal.

Only then did she discover that the ring's internal dimensions were ten meters long, ten meters wide, and ten meters high—a large space ring with a total volume of one thousand cubic meters!

This discovery shocked her once more!

To buy a ten-cubic-meter space ring, she would have needed to spend her entire income for a hundred years without any other expenses whatsoever.

Yet she would certainly need resources for cultivation and other uses, so let alone a hundred years, she would not be able to save enough money for a space ring even in a thousand years.

And that was only for the smallest ten-cubic-meter model. What about this large one-thousand-cubic-meter space ring?

The greater the internal space, the harder it was to manufacture. Though it was only one hundred times larger, its price was over a thousand times higher!

Only talented members of major factions or children of prominent families could possess such a large space ring at the Star-level!

A Universe-level lord was naturally qualified to own one, yet he had casually bestowed it upon her...

And for a single talent selection, he had taken out ten thousand Universe Coins as the budget...

"It seems the lord I follow possesses astonishing wealth, far richer than an ordinary Universe-level being!" Venina was thrilled.

Being wealthy was good! Who wanted the lord they followed to be a pauper?

Lord Wang Yu was so wealthy that even a casual reward from him was more wealth than she could earn in a lifetime!