Chapter 14: The Score

Li Hongshen shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memory that brimmed with embarrassment. After passing through security, he arrived at a unique machine. Following the instructions, he placed the Heart of the Lord on it, and soon after, the Heart of the Lord was enclosed within a sealed box.

This was the registration process for a territory. The special box would record the pheromones of the Heart of the Lord, then upload the data to the Ministry of Education and the Bureau of Time and Space Management. Within this civilization, no two Hearts of the Lord were identical, just as there were no two identical people—each lord’s pheromones were unique.

After a short wait, the Heart of the Lord emerged from the box, now encircled by a golden ring. This was a protective measure, as well as a form of surveillance, granted by the Ministry of Education and the Time and Space Management Bureau.

Following the directions, Li Hongshen arrived at an office door.
“Hello, I am Li Hongshen.”
“Come in.”

Pushing the door open, he found three experts inside, each sporting the hairstyle of a formidable individual. These experts were lords themselves, at least high-ranking Diamond-tier lords. They consisted of a local evaluator from Peng City, an evaluator from another region, and an official from the Ministry of Education.

These experts were employed by the Ministry of Education to assess the territories of new lords. Upon their appointment, they had to swear an oath to the World Consciousness with their own Hearts of the Lord, ensuring the fairness of the evaluation.

“Come here and sign this document. Shortly, under the supervision of the World Consciousness, we will enter your territory and assess it.”

The expert wasted no words, tossing over a document that shimmered with silvery patterns at the edges—a sign that it was witnessed by the World Consciousness.

Such a document was called a Lord’s Contract, created with special paper formed from source points. It was widely used in transactions between lords—resource supply, special construction projects, citizen training, consulting for territory management systems, the hiring and allegiance of professionals, and more.

As Li Hongshen took the document, its contents flowed automatically into his mind. After confirming it matched the version released on the official website, he pressed the Heart of the Lord onto the contract, thus finalizing the oath.

With the contract established, his Heart of the Lord unfurled, opening a spatial gate. The three experts, along with Li Hongshen, stepped inside.

Upon entering, Li Hongshen noticed the space seemed suspended in time. In his small world, there were originally wind and waves, but now the waves were frozen in midair. The inhabitants, who once moved freely, now stood as motionless as statues.

“What’s going on...?”

“Relax and observe closely. The space isn’t paused—just slowed down. Our office employs time-dilation technology this year, so it’s simply a relative difference in time,” one of the experts explained, easing Li Hongshen’s anxiety.

There had been no mention of this online. The sudden scene unsettled him, but he calmed down after the explanation.

“This is excellent—the area of your small world has reached one hundred and six square kilometers.”

The leading expert floated midair, surveying the small world and voicing his approval, though his face remained expressionless.

Unable to discern the expert’s true thoughts, Li Hongshen could only respond with a shy smile and quietly follow the three evaluators.

The experts then brought Li Hongshen to the land, having him lead them to every resource point, including the cave where he stored supplies. These were all ordinary items, nothing of great value—worth only a few source points.

Currently, the most valuable asset in his territory was the unique Fengqi Valley, a special natural landmark, but under the watchful eye of World Consciousness, he had no fear.

After inspecting the resource points, they proceeded to the camp to observe the citizens. As they went, Li Hongshen introduced them: the initial hundred citizens, the additional ones he gained after clearing the people’s trial, and even the small bay crocodiles and sea eagles.

The experts listened without comment, trusting more in their own observations. At the camp square, they found Li Li leading the citizens in drills, all frozen like sculptures.

One expert examined Li Li’s arm and leg, then checked several other citizens; the three exchanged nods.

“That’s sufficient. Let’s return. The score will be published shortly. Head to the waiting area to report in, and once your score is out, you can register for high school.”

“Thank you!”

Leaving the office, Li Hongshen realized barely a minute had passed. Glancing back, he marveled at the advanced use of time-dilation technology in an office simply for evaluation—a testament to their prowess.

“How is this student? He must be the best new lord in this testing site, perhaps even the best in Peng City this year.”

“Whether he’s the strongest newcomer, I can’t say—but I know he’s truly lucky. He began with a five-star natural landmark, and it’s a resource-enhancing type. I can’t help but feel a twinge of envy. If only I’d had something like that back in my day…”

“Alright, he’s decent. The territory is large, the construction is well done, and the citizens are well trained. He’s a promising candidate.”

“You call that just decent? We’ve known each other for years; we all know how you are, Old Wang. That deadpan act of yours only fools the newcomers.

Last year’s best was only one hundred and three square kilometers, with fewer people and a society still in the Stone Age.

This Li kid has already advanced to the Iron Age. If I remember right, you were nowhere near this level when you first passed the Lord’s Trial.”

“I’m just curious what his lordly talent is. There’s nothing overt in the territory, so I suspect it’s rule-based.”

“Or perhaps something in the arcane class. Either way, it won’t be anything mediocre—he did outstandingly in the trial.”

…

Li Hongshen walked through the corridor and entered a grand hall filled with other new lords who had passed the evaluation. Some sat quietly, others gathered to discuss their scores.

Each year, Peng City had over a million eligible examinees for the Lord’s Trial, with several hundred thousand passing at the very least. For ease of management and registration checks, all city lords coordinated with the Prime Plane’s consciousness to generate teleportation arrays at designated locations. No one could undertake the Lord’s Trial without entering these arrays.

Scanning the hall, Li Hongshen saw no familiar faces; Fu Lei was probably still being evaluated. So, he found a quiet corner, sat down, and began reviewing the registration offices and brochures for the various high schools for lords.

Peng City had twelve lord high schools, each with its own admissions office here. Yet Li Hongshen’s sights were always set on the top schools, of which only three met his standards: Peng City First High, Sixth High, and the Experimental School.

He soon took out the brochure for Peng City First High. The opening page read:

(End of Chapter)