Blue Star.
Dragon Nation.
Donghai City, Jiangnan Province.
A massive golden altar hovered above the central square.
Below the altar.
Over ten thousand novice lords stood silently, their eyes filled with tension and anticipation.
Suddenly.
Mayor An Luoxi stepped forward, her cool voice echoing through the heavens and earth.
"Everyone, the Seventh Heaven of the Battlefield of Myriad Races, Zone 666, is about to open!"
"As they say, heroes are not judged by their origins!"
"No matter the grade of your Lord's Heart, daring to battle in the Battlefield of Myriad Races makes you a hero!"
"To speak of the past, a thousand years ago, Senior Zhu Yuanzhang, with a White Common Lord's Heart and F-grade Talent [Begging], defied the divine and became one of the greatest Domain Lords of Blue Star—the Lord of the Ming Domain!"
"Would any of you be content to lag behind?"
"Lastly, may Dragon Nation prosper forever, may the Human Race prosper forever!"
All the Apprentice Lords were filled with fervor, shouting in unison:
"May Dragon Nation prosper forever, may the Human Race prosper forever!"
As soon as the words fell.
A myriad of rays of light descended from the Two Realms Altar, enveloping all the lords.
When the light dissipated.
The square was already empty.
...
[Welcome Lord Jiang Chen to the Battlefield of Myriad Races.]
[You have lost one Lord's Heart.]
[You have gained a territory.]
[Your territory is located in the Seventh Heaven, Zone 666, Blue Star Domain, Novice Town 10086.]
[You have a 2-hour novice territory protection period, during which your territory will not be attacked by monsters. If the territory upgrades, the protection will disappear.]
With a flash of light.
Jiang Chen appeared in his territory, and the voice of the Heavenly Dao echoed in his ears.
Several raggedly dressed peasants saw Jiang Chen and hurriedly knelt to the ground:
"Greetings, Lord!"
Jiang Chen waved his hand:
"Rise!"
Jiang Chen had been in this world for 18 years.
This was a world where everyone could be a lord.
Any intelligent life form, as long as they possessed a Lord's Heart, could gain a territory in the Battlefield of Myriad Races.
The grades of the Lord's Heart were: White Common, Green Fine, Blue Rare, Purple Exceptional, Orange Epic, Golden Legendary.
It was said that above Golden Legendary was Mythic Quality, but that was beyond textbook knowledge.
This was also an absolutely fair world!
As long as you had money.
Exceptional, Epic, and even Golden Legendary Lord's Hearts could be bought.
Jiang Chen was born an orphan, naturally unable to afford a Lord's Heart.
He initially planned to be a plagiarist or start an entertainment company to earn his first pot of gold.
But alas, this was a world centered around lords.
Even to shoot a web drama, it had to be on some Grand Lord's territory, otherwise, it wouldn't gain any traction.
Jiang Chen struggled for a year, earning less than his scholarship.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen excelled academically, allowing him to purchase a Lord's Heart through a campus loan.
Though it was just the most trashy F-grade entertainment talent, it at least gave him a chance to enter the Battlefield of Myriad Races.
Suddenly.
A stone emitting seven-colored radiance emerged from Jiang Chen's forehead, floating quietly before him.
Jiang Chen was overjoyed:
"Just as I thought, this Stone of Creation is related to the Battlefield of Myriad Races."
The reason he could traverse worlds was because of this Stone of Creation.
But for 18 years, the stone had remained dormant in his sea of consciousness.
Jiang Chen immediately stepped forward to check the stone's attributes.
[Stone of Creation]
[Owner]: Jiang Chen (Bound)
[Function]: Consumes a certain amount of Spirit Stones to enhance any item.
[Description]: A stone born before the opening of the Battlefield of Myriad Races. It seizes the creation of heaven and earth, invades the mysteries of the sun and moon.
[Note]: Stone activation grants three enhancements without consumption.
The definition of "item" is anything that can be placed in a backpack.
So Jiang Chen immediately opened his backpack.
Aside from necessary living supplies, there was a Hero Token and a Troop Token, both of common quality.
[Common Hero Token] (+): Use to summon a common hero.
[Common Troop Token] (+): Use to summon a squad (12 members) of common units.
Compared to before, all items now had a "+" at the end.
With anticipation, Jiang Chen clicked the plus sign behind the Hero Token.
The enhancement list instantly popped up.
[Enhancement Option ①]: Fine Hero Token, consumes 1,000 Spirit Stones.
[Enhancement Option ②]: Rare Hero Token, consumes 10,000 Spirit Stones.
[Enhancement Option ③]: Exceptional Hero Token, consumes 100,000 Spirit Stones.
[Enhancement Option ④]: Epic Hero Token, consumes 1 million Spirit Stones.
[Enhancement Option ⑤]: Legendary Hero Token, consumes 10 million Spirit Stones.
[Enhancements without consumption]: 3
"Golden Legendary?!!"
"A Common Hero Token can actually be directly enhanced to Golden Legendary!"
Even with Jiang Chen's temperament from two lifetimes, his heart was pounding at this moment.
"Even the direct descendants of the Ying Family of Immortal Qin, Li Family of Flourishing Tang, and Zhu Family of Great Ming in the Undying Domain couldn't possibly start with a Golden Legendary!"
"Is 10 million Spirit Stones a lot?"
"Of course not!"
"If one could obtain a Legendary Hero Token, not to mention 10 million Spirit Stones, even 100 million Spirit Stones, every major power would fight tooth and nail for it!"
Fortunately, the Stone of Creation had three enhancements without consumption.
Without hesitation.
"Use one enhancement without consumption, choose the Legendary Hero Token!"
Boom—
The emergence of a legend was earth-shattering.
Centered on Jiang Chen, golden light soared into the sky, enveloping the entire territory in a sea of gold.
The immense pressure caused the few peasants who had just stood up to tremble all over again, kneeling and exclaiming "miracle."
When the golden light faded, Jiang Chen toyed with the Hero Token in his hand.
The originally gray-white Hero Token now appeared as if forged from gold, covered in intricate patterns barely discernible to the naked eye.
[Golden Hero Token]: Use to summon a Legendary Hero (requires a Tavern).
"Requires a Tavern, huh..."
The Level 0 Lord's Manor occupied about 100 square meters, looking somewhat shabby and dilapidated.
Jiang Chen opened the Lord's Manor interface to check the territory attributes.
[Lord's Manor] (Level 0)
Lord: Jiang Chen
Area: 1,000 square meters.
Territory Residents: 10/100
Buildings: Exchange (0)*1, Warehouse (0)*1, Residence (0)*5, Fence (0)*128
Buildable Structures: Residence, Warehouse, Barracks, Quarry, Lumber Mill...expand
Food: 1,000
Resources: Common Wood*1,000, Common Stone*1,000 (Bound)
Energy: 1,000 (Bound)
Spirit Stones: 300
Territory Upgrade Requirements: Fine Stone 0/100, Common Stone 1,000/500, Fine Wood 0/50, Common Wood 1,000/500, Energy 500/1,000 (Upgrade conditions not met)
[Green Mountains and Clear Waters] (F-grade): Territory environment improved by 10%.
...
"Not bad! A good environment means a good mood!"
Looking at his talent [Green Mountains and Clear Waters], Jiang Chen could only console himself.
"The Lord's Manor must reach Level 1 before I can build a Tavern!"
"And based on past experience, the first hundred lords to upgrade their territories receive rewards from the Heavenly Dao."
"So, let's upgrade to Tier 1 first."
Jiang Chen acted immediately, heading straight to the warehouse.
Upgrading to Tier 1 required Fine quality stone and wood.
But the initial resources of the territory were only Common quality.
Normally, a lord's development sequence is: first establish a barracks, then go out to find resource points, establish a mine and a lumber mill, and gather enough resources before upgrading.
Counting the mining time, even the strongest novice lord would take several hours to think about upgrading to Tier 1.
Unfortunately...
In the lord's world, there's a saying: Geniuses fear spendthrifts, and spendthrifts fear cheaters!
Jiang Chen was that cheater.