Chapter 1

Since the Great Cataclysm and the establishment of the Lord Trials, there have only been seven recorded instances of reaching Level 10 territory.

Most people barely reached Level 6 by the end of the trial.

The Lord Hall was the core of the territory.

After entering, Chen Ping found that this initial Lord Hall resembled nothing more than an ordinary civilian house.

Just past the entrance was an office area, with a small partitioned room beside it serving as the lord’s resting place.

On the other side was a bathroom for washing and sanitation.

Though small, it had everything one needed.

At this moment, a box sat on the desk in the office—every lord’s initial supplies upon starting.

Without hesitation, Chen Ping stepped forward and opened it.

[Opening Lord Initial Resource Pack]

[Due to doubts over your performance in the Academy Trial Assessment, suspected cheating; originally scheduled Level 1 supplies downgraded to Level 3]

[If your results are later verified without issue, resources will be replenished; verification period: three months]

[Level 3 Supplies Contents:]

Food Pack ×10 units, Grain Seeds ×10 units, Livestock Pack ×2 units.

Laborers ×10, Militia ×5, Farming Tools Pack ×5, Equipment Pack ×5.

Wooden tablets appeared one by one inside the box.

Seeing the resource details, a cold smile surfaced on Chen Ping’s face.

He had known all along that the Wang family wouldn’t let him off easily.

Among this year’s top graduates, everyone else had been recruited by noble families—only he stood alone.

As a transmigrator, Chen Ping wasn’t here to become someone’s dog.

Winning first place was meant to launch his own path as a lord.

The Level 3 reward contained at least five times less than the Level 1 reward.

In the past, this might have caused Chen Ping trouble, but now he could finally test the power of his talent.

Picking up the wooden tablets, Chen Ping left the Lord Hall immediately.

First, summon the laborers and militia.

These were projections formed from the power of the highest dimension.

Entirely different from recruited individuals, their base attributes and loyalty were both maxed out.

[Laborer: Health 20, Physique 10, Attack 5, Defense 5; Specialty: Farming Technique LV1]

[Militia: Health 25, Physique 15, Attack 8, Defense 8; Specialty: Basic Combat Skill LV1]

Fifteen simple-looking laborers and militia appeared before Chen Ping.

Their attributes were mediocre, completely unremarkable.

Farming Technique Level 1 increased efficiency by 10%; Basic Combat Skill offered only slight improvements in attack and defense—barely worth mentioning.

Chen Ping then opened the tools and equipment packs, equipping them to the laborers.

He assigned them to begin clearing the wasteland near the Lord Hall, while the militia began training on-site.

Due to insufficient tool packs, the five laborers who didn’t receive any were instead assigned to stack supplies.

Chen Ping focused on the tattoo formed from his Lord Badge, causing the Territory Panel to appear.

[Chaos Sea Territory #07, Level LV1]

[Lord: Chen Ping, Level LV1]

[Lord Attributes: Health 100, Physique 20, Attack 10, Defense 8, Soul 100, Leadership 100]

[Territory Attributes: Area 20 km², Wasteland 40%, Farmland 30%, Water Source 20%]

[Territory Resources: Population 15/50, Wood 0/100, Ore 0/100, Stone 0/100, Food 10/100, Livestock 2/100]

[Territory Special Building: Lord Hall LV1]

[Territory Rank: 0/4000, Ranking Trial begins in three months]

The starting territory was utterly destitute.

Chen Ping steadied his mind.

The real threat from the Wang family still lay three years ahead; right now, the biggest issue was the semi-annual joint trials.

All Lord Trials of the Human Alliance took place in the Chaos Sea—a void region located at the edge of the world.

Under the influence of the highest-dimensional power,

A territory would form upon the Chaos Sea, becoming the trial ground for apprentice lords.

Once the three-year trial was passed, this territory would merge directly into the existing human world.

Effectively expanding humanity’s living space.

The Human Alliance consisted of five major regions, each containing five to ten sub-regions, with one hundred participants per sub-region.

Altogether, this made four thousand people—four thousand territories.

And each time, only about three hundred new territories were typically added to the human world.

A pass rate of less than 10%—the competition was extremely fierce.

Chen Ping returned to the Lord Hall, opened the map, and began contemplating his next steps.

In the initial stage, the map only provided vague information, requiring each lord to explore it themselves.

This was known as “map-revealing.”

Although all territories were uniformly generated by the highest-dimensional power, each territory’s conditions varied.

Some were barren yet rich in ore; others suitable for farming but frequently plagued by floods.

Half a day passed like this.

Suddenly, a notification rang out in Chen Ping's mind.

[Farmer ×5 have cultivated farmland, harvested Level 1 Farmland ×5. Heaven's Dao rewards diligence. Farming Technique upgraded to LV2]

[Farmer ×5 explored the territory, obtained complete territory information. Heaven's Dao rewards diligence. Exploration Technique acquired at LV1]

[Militia ×5 have trained, all attributes +1. Heaven's Dao rewards diligence. Basic Combat Art upgraded to LV2]

"!!!"

Chen Ping gaped—just from simple activities, the units under his command had actually leveled up?

And even their skills had upgraded?

03: Territory Upgrade Requirements

Chen Ping left the Lord's Hall and recalled all the population of the territory.

The fifteen people lined up neatly before him, each looking extremely joyful.

Their eyes toward Chen Ping were filled with awe.

Chen Ping inspected them one by one and found that their attributes and skills had indeed increased.

The five militiamen appeared much more robust than before.

Heaven's Dao rewards diligence—seemingly ordinary, yet truly a divine-tier talent!

The ten laborers and militiamen he had exchanged for possessed maxed individual attributes, yet could still have their attributes enhanced further.

What delighted him even more was the skill upgrades.

Skills, aside from using skill books, normally required massive repetitive practice to level up.

Chen Ping tried activating his talent, using its power to examine the individuals.

[Laborer]

Health: 20, Physique: 10, Attack: 5, Defense: 5 (perform corresponding training ten times to increase one attribute point).

Specialty: Farming Technique LV2 (upgrade upon completing five farming tasks).

[Militiaman]

Health: 25+1, Physique: 15+1, Attack: 8+1, Defense: 8+1 (train twice to increase one attribute point).

Specialty: Basic Combat Art LV2 (upgrade upon completing five combat training sessions).

Sure enough, now things were much clearer.

Under the effect of Heaven's Dao rewards diligence, how many times an activity or training must be performed to improve certain abilities

was now crystal clear.

Chen Ping felt his heart surge with excitement.