3: God-level talent? Territory expansion

"World Bead, activate..."

As Su Jin's words fell, a dazzling flash of light swept past.

When the light faded and he opened his eyes again, Su Jin found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, with sunlight filtering through the gaps in the branches and leaves, forming scattered spots of light.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of mixed soil and leaves, and a few crisp bird calls echoed in his ears.

But, with all these huge trees, how am I supposed to build a territory? Do I have to become a lumberjack?

Su Jin gazed at the surrounding giant trees that would take three or four people just to wrap their arms around.

Then he looked at his own just-adult "small frame," his mouth twitching involuntarily. He wondered if the territory generation could conveniently chop down the trees...

Collecting himself, Su Jin began to communicate with the World Bead in his Sea of Consciousness, following the method he learned in the academy's basic course.

He slowly closed his eyes, held his breath, and focused his mind, sinking his entire consciousness deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

The external sounds of bird calls, wind, and rustling leaves gradually faded and blurred...

Finally, his consciousness sank into a boundless darkness...

After an unknown amount of time, a faint glimmer of light appeared in the darkness, growing brighter and brighter until the entire world transformed into a pure Void Realm.

In the Void Realm, a bead with flowing rainbow colors floated quietly—that was the World Bead.

It rotated slowly, emitting a soft halo, bobbing up and down with a mysterious rhythm.

This is the World Bead! The starting point of everything!

Su Jin tried to mobilize his Mental Energy, cautiously touching the World Bead.

There was no resistance as he imagined; it even felt welcoming.

The moment his Mental Energy made contact with the World Bead, a translucent pale blue light screen popped up out of nowhere, hovering in front of Su Jin's consciousness.

The light screen clearly displayed two concise options:

[Personal Info] (Touch with consciousness to expand) [Territory Info] (Touch with consciousness to expand)

Su Jin tried to simulate "clicking" on [Personal Info] in his mind.

As soon as the thought arose, the pale blue light screen rippled. The original options disappeared, replaced by a detailed list of personal attributes.

"Name: Su Jin."

"Age: 18"

"Occupation: Lord"

"Rank: First Tier"

"Race: Blue Star Human (Bronze Upper Bloodline)"

"Talent: Sublimation (∞) "

(Sublimation: Consume 'Evolution Points' to infinitely enhance the potential and perform Rank leaps for territory units, buildings, etc.!)

"Cultivation Technique: None"

"Skills: None"

"Equipment: None"

...

"So poor..."

"And this talent... looks like I hit the SSR jackpot..."

He clearly remembered the academy's erudite mentor when discussing 'talents.'

The mentor's eyes flickered with a mix of extreme desire, envy, and a hint of indescribable melancholy and regret.

"...Talent, in a sense, is an innate 'privilege'! A gift from fate!"

"It surpasses most Acquired efforts and is a 'super ticket' that only a few lucky ones can possess..."

"Remember, among a million people, there might not be a single talent bearer! So, if you're fortunate enough to meet such a person in the future..."

"Seize the opportunity firmly. Perhaps one day, they'll soar to heights you can only look up to, becoming a Legendary existence!"

'Sublimation (∞)'... infinite potential enhancement and leaps?

But what are Evolution Points, and how do I get them? I've searched and scanned for a long time but haven't seen any Evolution Point indicator on the Personal Info page.

"Maybe it's in the Territory Info?" Su Jin muttered, then switched to the [Territory Info] page.

[Lord]: Su Jin

[Territory]: Unnamed (Touch with consciousness to name) (Not Deployed)

[Level]: Level 1

[Buildings]: None

[Resources]: Wood (0), Stone (0), Iron Ore (0), Soul Coins (0)

[Subjects]: 0

[Exclusive Troop Type]: None

[Reputation]: 0

[Evolution Points]: 0 (Exclusive)

...

He found it, but this series of "0s" reminded him of those cards Wan Yun gave him.

This damn place doesn't look safe at all. I need to establish the territory quickly, recruit soldiers, before some monster shows up and kills me—that would be a real injustice.

Thinking this, he hesitated no longer.

Immediately following the territory deployment ritual taught at the academy, he concentrated his consciousness and gently "clicked" on the invisible button representing "Deploy Territory" on the World Bead's body in his Sea of Consciousness.

Hum—!

An invisible wave suddenly spread out from Su Jin as the center!

The ground beneath his feet instantly lit up with brilliant light. A complex and profound six-pointed star magic circle appeared from the Void Realm, began to rotate slowly, and spread outward with undeniable force.

Wherever the magic circle's radiance passed, the ground seemed instantly plowed flat and compacted by an invisible force.

Originally uneven soil, tangled grass roots, scattered stones...

All debris vanished without a trace in the soft light, turning into the smoothest land.

And those towering ancient trees that took several people to embrace, the moment they touched the edge of the magic circle,

They only trembled slightly. There was no earth-shattering crash of collapse, no messy scene of flying wood chips.

They disappeared silently, as if gently erased from a painting with an eraser, not even leaving a stump behind.

"This... the cleanup function is really powerful!" Su Jin watched, dumbfounded.

Then, not far in front of Su Jin, the ground twisted as if a stone had been thrown into water, creating ripples.

Immediately after, a golden light screen flashed, and a simple, ancient building appeared completely in front of Su Jin.

Su Jin walked to the front of the building and saw three large characters carved flamboyantly above the lintel—[Lords Manor].

"Looks like this will be my home in this otherworld from now on." Su Jin felt a stir in his heart. Looking around, the territory's changes continued. Accompanied by flashes and falls of various colored light screens, buildings appeared one after another.

Among them were three uniformly styled barracks: Infantry Barracks, Cavalry Barracks, and Archer Barracks.

These three barracks were standard for all novice lords, with an initial potential of Black Iron Upper Tier, and the highest Rank of soldiers they could recruit was only up to the third tier.

For lords who had passed the novice period and seen a broader world, they were usually used as basic patrol and law enforcement forces for the territory.

Besides the barracks, there was also a stone [Wall] about five meters high and two meters thick, completely isolating the entire initial territory from the perilous wilderness.

At each of the four corners of the wall stood a [Watchtower], which would become an [Arrow Tower] with automatic attack capabilities upon reaching level 2.

Additionally, there was a uniquely shaped [Engineering Corps]. Its function was miraculous—it could directly impart basic architectural knowledge and skills to ordinary subjects.

It was said that even a complete novice with no knowledge of construction could become a skilled construction worker after entering the Engineering Corps and receiving one "knowledge transmission."

Almost all non-System or blueprint-generated buildings in the territory's future would rely on them for construction.

Next to the Engineering Corps was a [Warehouse] with a special spatial mark.

This warehouse had a huge internal storage space and featured intelligent automatic classification and access functions, making it efficient and convenient, saving effort and worry.

Home, I have. But danger is not far away!