Chapter 120: Grand Opening

Chapter 120: Opening

On the day Li Hongshen’s exhibition booth officially opened, a large number of guests arrived. Among them were several lords themselves, including seniors from Pengcheng No.1 High School, Li Fuqiang, and some of his friends.

This was almost an unspoken rule within the gathering point: whenever a newcomer set up a booth, fellow alumni and friends would personally come to show support, essentially endorsing the new lord.

As for those lords who were less familiar with Li Hongshen and couldn’t attend in person, they sent their own subjects to represent them, offering congratulations, establishing a rapport, gathering information, and purchasing some goods.

This served two purposes: first, to give the new lord some face and help them achieve a strong start; second, to learn more about the newcomer’s background and assess their strength by observing the goods they offered, thereby exploring potential future collaborations.

Li Hongshen’s opening caused quite a stir. Not only did his booth attract attention at this gathering point, but even the senior gathering points saw Li Fugui and the Young King send gifts and purchase items. They also sent word and support to Li Hongshen, clearly demonstrating that he had powerful backing.

On the second day of the opening, Li Hongshen humbly visited the first booth to buy some items himself and made his way through to the last shop, familiarizing himself with every lord’s booth at the gathering point and recording much information about the products.

Such gestures earned him a good reputation instantly. His seniors quickly remembered this young junior who had just arrived.

Others had, of course, reciprocated before, but usually only close acquaintances would visit in person; strangers typically sent their subjects to buy something, as it was normal to judge favors based on relationships.

This time, however, Li Hongshen took a different approach, openly displaying his attitude. Whether it was genuine or feigned, it conveyed goodwill, earning him a favorable first impression among the seniors.

After several rounds of communication and exchange, Li Hongshen secured numerous orders: contracts for electrical lighting projects, long-term orders for arrows, and several purchase agreements for Witch Script weapons. These all brought him tangible returns.

Li Hongshen was confident that as long as he completed these orders with high quality, he could establish his reputation and prestige, encouraging cautious seniors to entrust him with more business.

His electrical lighting project was particularly unique. Using mature lighting technology, he transformed the lords’ castles, replacing the old fire lamps with environmentally friendly, energy-saving electric lights—a highly attractive proposition for the lords.

As for the arrows, their demand was even greater. Within the Inner Domain, no lord would complain about having too many arrows; they preferred to have as many as possible.

Joining the gathering point didn’t guarantee complete safety. It merely allowed lords to avoid daily disturbances. When the beast tide came, everyone needed to disperse and face the onslaught independently. Concentrating too many lords in one place would attract larger beast hordes and exponentially increase difficulty, potentially leading to the destruction of the entire gathering point.

Besides facing beast tides, some lords actively hunted or seized resource islands to gather and trade resources.

After visiting all his seniors, Li Hongshen compared his notes with the shop directory given by the gathering point staff and then met with his territory’s leadership for discussion.

Finally, he brought an order list to the fifth booth at the gathering point. Looking at the modest booth before him, Li Hongshen sighed softly.

The building was two stories: the ground floor, like Li Hongshen’s own, had floor-to-ceiling windows and simple counters inside. The second floor was fully enclosed, presumably a conference room for discussions and negotiations.

Outside hung a prominent number five and a flag representing the tribe, inscribed with the characters “Yinji.”

The booth numbers were not fixed but followed certain rules. Whenever a senior lord left the Endless Wilderness or ascended to a higher level, the booth numbers would shift forward accordingly.

Though such changes were not frequent, adjustments happened roughly every few decades, sometimes removing newcomers or seeing lords voluntarily withdraw or ascend automatically under the Inner Domain’s rules.

Each time, staff had to renumber and revise the directory manually—a massive task since there was no database or browser for easy updates.

Everything relied on manual organization and printed directories distributed to every member, all of whom were lords.

These lords were exceptional individuals who demanded high-quality, attentive service, summarized by the “three musts” principle: must be exquisite, must be thorough, must be in place.

Those providing such services were typically the leaders of each gathering point, which explained why brothers Li Fugui and Li Fuqiang were reluctant to compete for these positions—it was too troublesome.

When Li Hongshen arrived at the gathering point, a senior lord had just vanished due to some dispute, leaving the No. 404 booth vacant. To reduce workload, with the leader’s approval, the staff promptly assigned this spot to Li Hongshen. Quite the coincidence.

Although the internal rankings often fluctuated, the top hundred remained relatively stable, especially the top ten lords who had not left for over a century.

These lords were well-established and faced no risks that could easily displace them from the Endless Wilderness. They had no urgent questions for external teachers and were quietly building strength, aiming to break into the prestigious Lord University.

The fifth booth in this gathering point was well-known. Its lord, Tian Qi, was a striking beauty—a standout female lord.

The tribe’s name “Yinji” revealed its uniqueness: “Yin” referring to jade, and “Ji” indicating a tribe by the water with rocky terrain.

The goods inside the booth lived up to this name, offering spiritual stones, spiritual gold, silver, copper, iron, and a variety of weapons, arrows, and armor.

Li Hongshen felt no particular reaction outside, but upon entering and seeing the gleaming spiritual ores, his breath quickened.

Though he had witnessed such riches before and understood the meaning of truly “having mines at home,” sitting on billions worth of minerals, coming here again stirred a renewed sense of awe.

[Additional update: I’ll be going out to check on the water heater and will continue updating tonight.]

(End of chapter)