299: New Territory

Baron Van knelt there, not in body, but in Soul.

His worldview, a solid fortress built upon oppression, withering, and absolute order, was dismantled by a single glance from Li Dong, leaving not a single tile intact.

Fear was no longer a cold pair of iron pincers, but scorching magma, melting his reason from within.

He kowtowed, his forehead striking the stone floor with a dull thud, screaming with all his might.

“I choose one! I choose one! Please... please, Divine One... give me a chance at a new life!”

Li Dong looked down at him, his eyes devoid of pity or disgust, like a craftsman observing a rough stone waiting to be carved.

“Remember your choice.”

As the words fell, Li Dong's finger gently tapped on Van Er's forehead.

There was no pain, no rush of energy.

Van Er only felt his Soul being connected to a vast, boundless starry sky, seeing how the wheat waves rolled, how the waterwheels turned, seeing children's smiling faces, seeing the bustling markets... Everything followed a kind of “ceaseless vitality” that he could not understand, yet yearned for immensely.

Dynamic Equilibrium.

This term was no longer just a concept, but the only truth branded into the deepest part of his Soul.

When he came to his senses, Li Dong had long since disappeared.

Van Er collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. The old malice and cruelty in his eyes faded, replaced by the emptiness of a total format, and... a flicker of newborn fire.

He knew that he and this territory would both undergo a complete subversion.

And he would be the most loyal executor of this subversion.

...

Meanwhile, Li Dong appeared above the territory.

His gaze pierced through matter, seeing the level of Law.

Beneath this land was a collection of concepts like necrotic nerves.

That was the source of the “Withering Order” whose connection he had severed.

It had lost its connection to the world's underlying rules and was slowly dissipating, but its residual “Death Qi” attribute still polluted this land like a toxin.

“If we are to have a new life, it must be thorough.”

Li Dong reached out, palm facing down.

He was not extracting energy, but performing a “surgery” at the conceptual level.

He clenched his fingers, and the invisible “Withering Source” beneath the land was forcibly stripped from reality by an irresistible force, condensing in his palm into a fist-sized crystal emitting grey Death Qi.

Inside the crystal, countless runes representing “stillness,” “decay,” and “end” were wailing and flickering.

Li Dong didn't even look at it, flicking his finger.

This “Withering Core” was flicked into the endless Void Realm, where it would be completely annihilated in a dimension far from this world.

After finishing all this, he took out the World Seed he had obtained in the temple, which contained the pure “Concept of Life”.

The seed was not large, but it seemed to carry the weight of a Universe.

He did not plant it in the soil.

Instead, he pressed it into the conceptual void left behind after stripping out the “Withering Source”!

“With ‘Variable’ as the root, with ‘Dynamic’ as the stem, with ‘Equilibrium’ as the leaves.”

“Bloom and bear fruit, ceaseless vitality.”

Hum—

The whole world trembled slightly.

If someone could observe from outside the dimension, they would see a bright green spot of light ignite on this barren, earth-yellow continent, and then, countless golden veins, invisible to the naked eye, would spread wildly in all directions with this spot as the center!

Beneath the dead riverbeds, dried-up water veins began to pulse again.

Deep in the salinized land, a brand-new vitality was decomposing those toxins, converting them into the purest nutrients.

The gray-white of the sky was washed away bit by bit, revealing the azure blue it should have had.

The wind was no longer a wail carrying grit, but mixed with the freshness of vegetation.

This land had come alive.

...

One month later.

The former baron's territory had been renamed “Newborn Town”.

Baron Van became the mayor, diligently implementing the few simple yet profound Laws left by Li Dong every day: distribution according to work, more work, more gain; public storage of one-tenth for lean years; encouraging innovation, and rewarding skilled craftsmen.

He no longer had his past prestige; he would greet every villager politely, and even go into the fields himself, clumsily learning how to distinguish wheat seedlings from weeds.

People's fear of him gradually turned into a strange kind of respect.

And the greater change came from the land.

The “Golden Spike Wheat” cultivated by Li Dong had been harvested for its first season, with a yield more than ten times that of the past. The grains were plump, and the flour ground from them carried a natural sweetness, which could even strengthen the body with long-term consumption.

The “Spring of Life” gushing from the dry well was diverted into canals, irrigating every inch of land, and allowing the townspeople to completely bid farewell to illness.

Mo Chen became the most popular person.

He no longer painted those lofty starry skies; his paintings depicted scenes of the harvest season, with people carrying heavy wheat ears, sweat dripping from their faces, yet full of smiles.

It was in the blacksmith shop, with young A Mu shirtless, using the new method taught by Li Dong, focusing as he forged a piece of ordinary iron into a blade that could cut hair.

It was in the school, where children, in their childish voices, followed the old village chief, chanting the resounding words, “As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should unceasingly strive for self-improvement.”

Every one of his paintings contained a power called “Hope”.

The news spread like the wind.

Surrounding villages still struggling under the oppression of lords began to see refugees bringing their families, trekking over with trepidation in their hearts.

At first, the old people in the town were still a bit resistant, worried that there wouldn't be enough food to share.

But Stone, once the most impulsive young man, took the initiative to stand up, leading people to open up new farmland outside the town according to the “expansion” blueprint left by Li Dong, building houses for the newcomers.

His reason was very simple.

“Lord Li Dong said that when the water is full, the pool must be expanded, otherwise the water will become foul.”

“Only when there are more people can we build the town bigger! And put all those damn lords to shame!”

Labor in exchange for food and shelter.

Contribution in exchange for status and respect.

A brand-new order was growing wildly and sturdily on this land.

The territory of Newborn Town had expanded more than three times in just one month.

It was like a green heart, pulsing powerfully on this withered continent.

On this day, Li Dong stood under the miraculous plant that had grown into a towering tree at the entrance of the village, watching another long line of refugees coming for help on the horizon.

Mo Chen was beside him, having finished a new painting, “Migration”.

On the painting, light flowed and vitality abounded.

But Li Dong suddenly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the firmament, looking at the endless sea of dimensions.

He could feel it.

The gaze cast by that grand will that set the chessboard had changed.

It was no longer the “interest” with a hint of playfulness as before.

But a kind of... scrutiny.

Just like a chess player discovering that a pawn on the board had not only come alive itself, but was also frantically infecting and converting other chess pieces.

This was no longer a “Variable”.

This was... creating a new chessboard.

In the “scrutiny” of the grand will, there was a hint of cold “judgment”.

New chess pieces were about to be placed on the board.