Inside the mansion's main hall.
The torrential rain, mixed with rolling thunder, grew more intense, water droplets hitting the roof tiles with a violent patter that tightened Lin Yi's nerves even further.
Entering first.
Lin Yi sat directly in the main seat, turned his head and instructed, "Ailina, have the Wang family come over together."
"As you wish, My Lord."
Ailina bowed slightly and walked out, pushing open the main door, brushing past the two women she had just briefly sparred with.
"If this tavern hadn't dragged me here, greatly weakening my strength, do you think you could have beaten me?"
Lü Xiaoyou glanced sideways at Xiang Yi, her ruby-like eyes filled with unwillingness.
"Giggles."
Xiang Yi covered her mouth and chuckled, "Once your strength recovers, we can have another match."
"Hmph!"
Lü Xiaoyou retracted her gaze and found a spot at the corner of the conference table to sit down.
Her mind, however, became active with small thoughts.
Upon arriving in the territory.
The martial arts bottleneck that had puzzled her for so long showed a slight loosening.
Recalling past battles with enemies, she could instantly extrapolate and identify her shortcomings.
This convenient Lord, indeed, was quite miraculous!
"Not everyone is here yet."
Lin Yi clasped his hands on the table and calmly said, "Let's talk about other things first, such as... history."
As he spoke.
His eyes directly met the new hero across from him.
She was still in her ghostly form, her appearance vastly different from her childlike state.
Her fair, delicate face was as exquisite as a painting, and her full, red lips were as alluring as cinnabar.
Her nose bridge was high and slender.
Beneath her long, thin eyebrows, her captivating red eyes added a touch of charm.
Her chest, upon closer inspection, subtly bulged, making one wonder if it was even as big as a steamed bun.
Aside from that, she was almost flawless.
What a pity...
If only she were mute, it would be perfect.
"Lü Xiaoyou?"
Lin Yi had just called out.
The beauty across from him immediately interrupted loudly, "Old... I'm called Lǚ Yōu Chán now!"
"Lü Xiaoyou... is my childlike state."
As she spoke.
"Lǚ Yōu Chán's" lips parted slightly, and she shrunk visibly, like a deflated doll.
In the blink of an eye.
She transformed back into the loli state Lin Yi first saw her in.
The lighting inside the mansion was quite bright, and looking at her now, Lin Yi felt she bore some resemblance to an all-nighter Poppy!
"Now, I'm called Lü Xiaoyou."
"Don't get it wrong next time."
"Sometimes even I can't tell which state I'm in; I need you all to remind me."
Lü Xiaoyou fidgeted on the stool, propping her expressionless doll-like face with her palm.
As she spoke, her half-lowered eyelids darted between the two of them, asking, "What history?"
"Ah, you don't know?"
This time, it was Lin Yi's turn to be puzzled.
Logically speaking, even if Lü Xiaoyou wasn't Lü Bu's descendant, she should at least be related, right?
If he remembered correctly, earlier in the tavern.
Lin Yi simply asked directly, "Do you know Zhong Kui? And what's your relationship with Lü Bu?"
"Oh..."
Lü Xiaoyou propped herself up on the stool with her hands, shifting her bottom back against the chair, and slowly said, "That guy, well, maybe hundreds of years? Thousands of years... tens of thousands of years? Oh, never mind... who knows how many years ago he and that what's-her-name Diao Chan, after having me, left behind some inherited legacy and then their souls scattered, completely dead."
"My consciousness only awakened in the last ten or twenty years."
"As for that Zhong Kui rhyme, I heard it by chance outside once."
"It felt pretty cool to shout, is there a problem?"
Lin Yi stared, "You didn't get any educational inheritance or anything?"
"What?"
Lü Xiaoyou retorted with a look as if he were an idiot, "What's the use of that? Do you expect to drown enemies with spit during a fight?"
"Or use love to convert them?"
"A big fist is the only truth!"
"Hmph, superficial!"
Damn!
The soul-piercing retort left Lin Yi speechless.
Xiang Yi, on the other hand, had received some cultural education from her parents.
Lü Xiaoyou's lack of manners was found!
But what she said, also made some sense.
"As long as we're on the same path, it's fine."
Lin Yi waved his hand, not pressing further.
Then, suddenly, it was as if something clicked in his mind, and he realized, "Eh? Yingling Star Region! It's where the departed souls reside!"
"No way!" Lü Xiaoyou showed an exaggerated expression, pointing at Xiang Yi and saying, "We're both ghosts, didn't you hear her say it?"
"She possesses a Dao Soldier, so she must also have the protection of ancestral souls; it's impossible for key memories to be erased!"
Speaking of which.
Lü Xiaoyou's mouth suddenly drooped, her eyes filled with despair, and she said hopelessly, "My Dao Soldier, the Halberd of the Heavenly Fang, was lost when I was a child, and I still haven't found its physical form!! How could I fall for your trick and become a hero to condense a physical body."
"And it's a mythical-grade tavern!"
"Being dragged here, it forcibly suppressed my aptitude and talent to that of a roadside weed!"
"The talent level I painstakingly broke through, just gone."
"What's the point of living anymore..."
"Why don't I just die..."
"Life is so hard..."
"..."
Lü Xiaoyou suddenly fell into an emo state, her tiny, delicate body slumped on the stool, muttering to herself.
"My Lord... I thought you knew about the Yingling Star Region!"
Xiang Yi's face was tense, wanting to explain.
"It's okay, that's not the point!"
Lin Yi shook his head, his heart pounding faster, his breathing becoming somewhat rapid.
He had originally thought that Xiang Yi was a real historical figure, unrecorded in history.
But, according to Lü Xiaoyou's words.
It was highly possible that a large number of Yingling, or rather souls, from Earth existed in the Yingling Star Region a long time ago.
Lin Yi felt like a lonely child wandering far from home, suddenly finding the direction back.
His emotions were inevitably a little agitated.
"Garbage textbooks, misleading people."
He recalled the information recorded in the textbooks he had acquired earlier.
The Yingling Star Region belonged to a special world.
After an individual creature contracts with a Lord, as their strength grows and the Lord's influence expands, they can provide feedback to their kin in the Yingling Star Region.
This setting, whether true or not.
At least its value was far less than what Lü Xiaoyou described.
"Historical traces covered by darkness..."
Lin Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, recalling the prophecy spoken by Archangel Sephiroth.
Could it be that he was meant to enter the Yingling Star Region?
Thump thump thump—
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in."
The main door opened.
The howling storm drifted into the room.
The few members of the Wang family meticulously cleaned the mud off themselves under the eaves of the door before following Ailina to the conference table.
"Sit down, everyone, you're all family, no need to be too formal."
Lin Yi gently pressed his hand down, pointing at the still-emo loli and briefly introducing her, "This is... she is Lü Xiaoyou now, the newly recruited cavalry commander... Hmm, her personality is a bit... straightforward, you'll get used to her later."
Everyone looked at the dazed Lü Xiaoyou, feeling a bit curious.
How could someone so small be a cavalry commander?
Fortunately, no one asked that question.
"This time, I've gathered everyone."
"To discuss a matter of life and death for the territory!"
Lin Yi's expression became serious as he got to the point.
"We are currently being targeted by a group of powerful... gods."
"The path ahead will be full of thorns and hardships!"
"The territory must enter a phase of rapid development!"
"Elder Wang, starting today, dispatch Niu Ma slaves to rigorously guard the territory within a 50-kilometer radius, constantly monitoring the intelligence module to prevent surprise attacks."
"You can provide the Niu Ma with one meal a day to ensure they have ample physical strength!"
"For the political information explored and collected by villagers, warriors can be dispatched to search for corresponding items as prompted."
"Don't miss any opportunity to enhance the territory's strength!"
"Finally, money!"
Lin Yi's gaze was firm as he spoke word by word, "We need a lot of money! Our current economic income is not enough for us to leap in strength!"
"You should understand!"
Wang Fugui heard this, remained silent for a moment, then looked up and said heavily, "My Lord, I will stake my old life to fulfill your trust!"
"Good!"
Lin Yi nodded, not doubting the former's ability in the slightest, then looked at everyone else one by one and continued, "Qianqian, you're already very familiar with the southern basin environment; find the location of the Nether Ghost Tribe's stronghold! Ascertain their overall strength."
"Qiuer, your task is to recruit people! If possible, sleep 8 hours a day! Recruit people! And strengthen your control over the Dream Network!"
"Dazhuang, aside from the rotating teams always on standby for battle, during training, if the warriors are too tired to practice formations, make them run! If they can't run, make them crawl! If they can't even crawl, make them pant heavily! Get their lung capacity up! Even Xiang Yi, Ailina, and Lü Xiaoyou must join your training regimen!"
"And those giant dragons, they must also be included in training after their first dormancy ends."
"Tiezhu, your task is the most crucial! Improve your strength at all costs, level up!! Xiang Yi and the others are commanders of armies..."
"And you! In an army of thousands, you must take the head of the opposing commander!!"
"..."
Lin Yi assigned corresponding tasks to everyone, one by one.
For a moment.
Everyone felt the heavy burden on their shoulders!
Finally, Lin Yi exhaled.
"First step, get the territory to Level 4!"
"Hunt Tier 3 magical beasts!"
