Chapter 507 - 2: The Unfair Fourth Stage (Part 2)
Chapter 507: Chapter 2: The Unfair Fourth Stage (Part 2)
"If you fail in battle and lose your territory, you will naturally lose your status as an independent lord."
"You must all be wondering why so many others are attending this meeting besides yourselves. That’s because these people are all representatives of factions that have established stable territories in the Fourth Stage."
"To help all of you have a stable initial development period after entering the Fourth Stage, we have specially invited these factions to attend this meeting."
"You can choose to join one of these factions. After entering the Fourth Stage, you can use the gifted [Migration Talisman] to move to that faction’s stronghold and develop under its protection."
"Of course, some of you may think it’s too early to be talking about this."
"After all, there are still twenty years until you officially begin the Fourth Stage’s competition, and your batch’s tournament has been going on for less than three years."
Lin Yu nodded from the audience. That was indeed what he was thinking.
When he left his territory using the Interstellar Teleportation Array, he had heard a system notification.
[Time remaining until arrival at the Contested Continent: 20 years, 5 days, 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 45 seconds.]
[...44 seconds.]
This notification came from a timer the system placed in his consciousness after the Teleportation Array activated. Lin Yu found the sound annoying, so he had turned off its alert tone in the system.
However, whenever he used an Interstellar Teleportation Array, the timer would forcibly activate and sound an alert.
’Twenty years is enough time for the population of my territory to multiply several times over,’ Lin Yu thought. ’With these twenty years, my territory will definitely reach a whole new level.’
"Some of you might think that in these twenty years, you can develop rapidly with the help of the Technology Tree."
Lin Yu thought to himself, ’Isn’t that the case?’
"But I’m here to tell you that even if you develop quickly, this amount of time is nowhere near enough."
"Among all the past competitions, your interval between the Third Stage and the Fourth Stage is the second shortest."
"Most lords from other batches who advanced to the Fourth Stage had far more than twenty years to develop. The longest interval for one batch was 306 years."
Even the most experienced and knowledgeable lords in the crowd began to feel a sense of indignation.
"Why is our time so short?"
"It’s not fair—"
...
Hearing the shouts from the lords below, Levin Zack held out his hand and pressed down, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
"Not fair? That’s right! The Fourth Stage is not a fair stage!"
"You already know from the system notifications that in the Fourth Stage, you will travel to a place called the Contested Continent. Once you arrive, you will officially begin the competition for the Fourth Stage."
"This Contested Continent is very strange. Although we all know it exists within the main Cosmos, no one has ever discovered its specific location."
"It can only be entered under the guidance of the tournament organizers, by passing through the central black holes of various galaxies."
"Moreover, regardless of which black hole you enter from, you will ultimately arrive at the Contested Continent."
"The goal of the Fourth Stage’s competition is also very simple: just leave the Contested Continent with your territory intact."
"Of course, it’s fine if you don’t leave. You can also choose to develop on the Contested Continent indefinitely, until you believe you are strong enough to venture out."
"Because of this, there are many ancient territories on the Contested Continent. It’s not that they lack the strength to leave; they simply don’t want to."
"There are many specific reasons for this, which I won’t detail one by one here. If you’re interested, you can go ask them yourselves when you get to the Fourth Stage."
"Some of these territories, which entered the Fourth Stage long before you, have already completed their resource accumulation and won’t react to your arrival."
"But other territories are lacking in resources. When you arrive on the Contested Continent and your competition officially begins, they will hold a welcoming ceremony for you."
"These ’welcoming ceremonies’ are extremely ’enthusiastic.’ If you can’t withstand them, your status as a lord will very likely come to an end."
"So, do you still think you’ll have a fair competitive environment in the Fourth Stage?"
"No. Your opponents will no longer be the lords of your own batch who started on the same line, but many lords who have been developing for countless years."
"Furthermore, even for lords of the same batch, because you all enter the main Cosmos from different locations, your travel times to the nearest galaxy’s central black hole will also differ."
"Therefore, the time you ultimately begin the Fourth Stage’s competition will not be the same for everyone."
"So, the length of this interval is still very important."
"A short interval is definitely not enough for you to develop to the point where you can fend off their welcoming ceremonies."
"But a long interval doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to defeat those old lords of the Contested Continent."
"The batch that had an interval of over 300 years didn’t gain much of an advantage in the battles that followed either."
"Many lords still suffered heavy losses during the welcoming ceremonies, and quite a few lost their status as independent lords."
"So, you can imagine, with only twenty years to develop, what kind of difficulties you will face when you enter the Fourth Stage!"
"For your own good, it’s best to join a faction. After I’m done speaking, you all can go and consult with them yourselves."
’So, this meeting is basically a job fair for us?’
’They’re explaining the cruel reality that awaits us, while also letting us find a backer, join a faction, work for them, and exchange our labor for protection?’
From the Legion Commander’s repeated words, Lin Yu understood the true nature of this meeting.
"Next, I will continue to explain the important points regarding the Fourth Stage..."
On stage, Levin Zack was still speaking, but down below, Lin Yu’s attention was no longer on him. Although Levin’s voice still echoed in his ears, his consciousness had already shifted to his clone.
Lin Yu looked at his territory, pondering how he could develop it enough in twenty years to stand against those old-generation lords.
...
"Boss Lin! Boss Lin!"
Lin Yu faintly heard Li Hua’s voice in his ear. He shifted his focus and steadied his swaying body.
Then he shook off Li Hua’s hand, which was constantly shaking him. "Hey, hey, hey! Just calling my name is fine, no need for all the pulling and shoving. Guys shouldn’t be so hands-y with each other!"
"Boss Lin, I was starting to worry about you! You weren’t responding no matter how I called, so I had no choice but to do this."
"What is it?"
"The speech part of the meeting is over. Everyone’s started picking their factions now."
"What’s the rush? We can take our time. It’s still early!"
"Ahem~" Li Hua pointed behind Lin Yu.
"Hm?"
Lin Yu turned his head, and a large head abruptly appeared right in front of him. On reflex, he channeled his Spiritual Energy and chopped at it with his palm.
"Heh~ Little Brother Lin Yu, that’s not a very nice way to say hello. You could hurt someone!"
A hand suddenly appeared and blocked Lin Yu’s strike. Only then did Lin Yu see clearly that the person before him was the Legion Commander—Levin Zack.
"My apologies, Lord Legion Commander! It was a reflex! A reflex!"
"Little Brother Lin Yu, your strength is quite impressive. I’m afraid you’ve already reached the Excellence Grade, haven’t you?"
"You’re amazing, sir. You figured it out that easily."
"I’d say you’re probably the strongest of your batch, right? Not only are you powerful, but your territory is also huge!"
"Not at all, not at all. My territory’s size is alright, but as for strength, you should really be looking at Yun Qihao and Li Hua. One is a Sword Immortal who combines both offense and casting, and the other is a Divine Warrior under the command of the Goddess. They’re both stronger than me."
Hearing Lin Yu say this, Li Hua, who was standing nearby, widened his eyes and stared at him in disbelief.
He wasn’t blind. He still vividly remembered how Lin Yu had effortlessly one-shotted his Legendary-Grade Sword Immortal subordinate during their spar.
However, Lin Yu was actually telling the truth at this moment. The members of his territory who could respond to his summons were far away within his domain, well beyond the Emperor’s judgment range.
Right now, Lin Yu only had his own Excellence-Grade attributes, which were nowhere near the level of the temporary attributes he had received from the Emperor’s buff during the Third Stage.
"Hahaha, Brother Lin Yu, you’re quite humble!"
Levin Zack chuckled, then stared into Lin Yu’s eyes and asked, "I see you’re just standing here spacing out. Is it because you don’t want to join any of the other factions?"