246: Chapter 246 Heavenly Punishment Order

Of course, accompanying the fame were increasingly generous "rewards" (contribution rewards) and a terrifying growth in his own strength.

Time flew by amidst this high-intensity conquest and self-improvement.

Just as Lin Tian had finished purifying a medium-sized contaminated space and was counting another decent harvest, an invisible clock in the void seemed to reach its end.

"Beep!"

A faint yet Soul-piercing hum echoed between heaven and earth, resonating in the Soul of every surviving lord.

The Regional Chat Channel was instantly flooded with messages, but it soon fell into an eerie silence.

Then, an icy, translucent Heavenly Dao prompt box popped up in front of every lord who was still "alive":

[Regional Mandatory Conquest Order (District 88), Time Limit: 30 days, has now ended.]

[Beginning settlement...]

[Detected that Lord "Lin Tian" (Lintian City) and his subordinate hero units have completed the purification/slaying tasks in excess. Rating: Perfect.]

[Detected that Lord "Lin Tian" is the unit with the highest comprehensive strength, territory scale, and task contribution in District 88.]

[Beginning execution of the "Unfinished Task" penalty mechanism and performing mandatory territory merger...]

Without giving anyone time to react, the penalty mechanism was already activated.

Standing on the watchtower of the temporary camp, Lin Tian could clearly "feel" that within a vast area centered on him, countless originally weak but independent lord core signals were extinguished all at once, like candle flames in the wind.

Immediately following that, an unimaginably massive flow of information, accompanied by ownership change notifications for countless territories, resources, and populations, surged into his lord core like a tsunami.

His territory map expanded automatically without any manual operation, and then, like an ink drop in clear water, it began to bleed and expand outward frantically!

Areas that were originally grey, representing unowned land or others' territory, were rapidly dyed with the unique mark representing "Lin Tian."

Icons for countless newly added villages, towns, resource points, and even small cities lit up densely across the map.

At the same time, Yang Xu, the administrative officer Lin Tian had appointed for Lintian City (as well as Lindi City and Linxuan City), was nearly drowned by the massive influx of territory management information, population statistics, resource lists, requests for aid, internal disputes, and more.

The stack of magic documents before him grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and fine beads of sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

"This... this is..."

Even with Yang Xu's outstanding abilities, he was somewhat stunned at this moment.

He made a rough estimate that the number of lord territories and populations forcibly merged and assigned to Lin Tian's name by the Heavenly Dao this time was likely close to ten thousand!

Although most were small territories, the management pressure brought by such a massive accumulation was unprecedented.

"My Lord... this time, we truly have become the 'Lord of Ten Thousand Cities'..."

Yang Xu wiped his sweat and reported to Lin Tian via communication with a bitter smile, his tone filled with both shock and the helplessness of being under immense pressure.

Lin Tian himself was also a bit dazed by this sudden "gift pack."

Although he had long anticipated that those who failed the tasks would be annexed, he hadn't expected the quantity to be so high and the scope so broad!

One could imagine that his actual controlled territory had now expanded to an astonishing degree, truly becoming a behemoth that no one in this region could ignore.

"Good grief... this territory is so vast it would exhaust a horse to death."

Lin Tian scratched his head, calculating how many more garrisons he would need, how many people to send for management, how many roads to build, and how many cities to construct to manage it effectively.

There was joy, but the responsibility and pressure that followed were equally heavy.

However, the Heavenly Dao's "notifications" were not yet over.

Just as Lin Tian had finished a preliminary digestion of the information regarding his ballooning territory and was preparing to call his core personnel for a meeting to discuss the headache-inducing task of governing this suddenly expanded land...

That grand, indifferent Voice of the Heavenly Dao, which seemed to echo directly within the Soul, descended once again without warning!

This time, it was not a regional announcement; its scope seemed much broader, carrying a sense of unquestionable authority directed at all "Otherworld Lords."

[Detected high-concentration, high-activity source of pollution agent — 'Karl' has entered an active peak period, posing a serious threat to current world stability.]

[Now issuing the 'Heavenly Dao Execution Order' to all 'uncontaminated' Otherworld Lords:]

[Target: Karl.]

[Task: Successfully purify/slay the target.]

[Rewards: The successful executioner will receive the following Heavenly Dao gifts:]

[1. Divine Source Matter × 1000 units.]

[2. Complete law crystals of any chosen attribute × 2000 units.]

[This order remains valid indefinitely until the target is eliminated.]

The voice slowly faded, but it left the hearts of all lords who heard this "Execution Order" in a state of upheaval.

"Karl..."

Lin Tian's eyes narrowed sharply, and his fingers unconsciously brushed against the hilt of the sword at his waist.

It was indeed him! The agent of the source of pollution!

The Heavenly Dao had finally listed him as the highest-level hunting target!

One thousand units of Divine Source! Two thousand law crystals of his choice!

Even with Lin Tian's current substantial wealth, seeing these rewards made his heart skip a beat and his throat go dry.

He knew deeply how precious Divine Source was; it was a treasure that could allow Lin Yin to undergo a fundamental transformation!

And two thousand complete law crystals of any chosen attribute... that was enough to drive any lord insane!

But at the same time, a chill crawled up his spine.

The more generous the rewards, the more dangerous the target usually was.

Lin Tian took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. His thoughts, which had been somewhat scattered by the incorporation of the ten thousand cities, quickly settled and condensed.

Expanding territory and integrating forces were necessary, but now, a clearer, more dangerous, yet Heaven-Defying ultimate goal had been placed before him.

"Karl..."

He whispered the name, his eyes showing no fear, only a sharp light mixed with extreme desire and absolute calmness.

"It seems that if I want to truly gain a foothold in this world, and even... reach the highest point, you, the toughest bone to crack, cannot be bypassed."

He turned to look at Lin Yin, who stood quietly beside him as if merging with the moonlight, then at Lin Feng and Lin Yan, who were reorganizing the army in the distance, and finally at the territory beneath his feet that had just expanded countless times over.

A new challenge had arrived in the most direct, tempting, and dangerous way possible.

The grand and icy voice of the Heavenly Dao bounty for "Karl," like ice water thrown into boiling oil, slowly dissipated after stirring up irrepressible waves in the mind of every lord.

It left behind only those heart-pounding, terrifying rewards and an even more headache-inducing question: where on earth was this "Karl"?