306: Chapter 307 The Holy City's Recruitment

About half an hour later.

Above the forest clearing outside the secret realm, which had just experienced a brief yet brutal slaughter, the space rippled in a peculiar way. There were no violent fluctuations, no grand commotion; it was as if a small pebble had been dropped into a calm lake.

At the center of the ripples, a slender, tall figure slowly materialized, as if stepping out of an ink wash painting.

It was a woman.

She appeared very young, seemingly in her early twenties, with smooth silver hair that looked as if it had been woven from moonlight. Her long hair reached her waist, tied simply at the ends with a dark blue ribbon. She wore a well-tailored, archaic-style white robe, with intricate patterns of stars and clouds embroidered in silver thread along the edges, lending her an air of solemnity and ethereal grace.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, possessing a cold, otherworldly elegance. Her skin was so fair it was almost translucent, and her features were as delicate as a work of art carved by a master craftsman. Her eyes were particularly striking, with rare ice-blue pupils that were clear and deep, as if they could reflect the human heart, yet they also carried a calmness and wisdom born from long ages.

Most striking of all was the aura she naturally exuded—powerful, restrained, and unfathomable. Even though she deliberately reined it in, the pressure of her life level as a level 502 powerhouse, combined with the unique rhythmic law brought by her Sub-God Rank Talent, still made the surrounding space feel somewhat heavy.

The Holy City envoy, Lucia.

Inside the secret realm, Lin Muyang saw this uninvited guest through the Eye of Creation. When he saw her level and talent, a trace of imperceptible surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Level 502... so young?" he whispered to himself. Given the difficulty of cultivation in Atlantis World, anyone reaching level 500 or above was invariably an old monster who had spent long ages in arduous training. This woman looked young, but her actual age likely far exceeded her appearance. However, to reach such heights at this age, and to possess a Sub-God Rank Talent, was proof enough that she was undoubtedly an unparalleled prodigy upon whom this world had poured countless resources and placed immense expectations—a true child of the era.

"No wonder the Holy City sent her," Lin Muyang realized. For such a figure to show up in person not only showed the Holy City's concern for this incident but also meant that she possessed sufficient strength and authority to negotiate and even make important decisions.

Because Kandas had already followed Lin Muyang's hints and transmitted some information through secret channels, Lucia currently showed no aggression or hostility. She hovered in mid-air, her ice-blue eyes scanning the slightly scorched, empty land below—the place where Virgil and his group had fallen, now cleaned up thoroughly. There was no anger in her gaze, only calm scrutiny and a trace of faint curiosity.

Subsequently, her gaze turned to the slowly rotating dark purple secret realm entrance not far away. She could sense that the visitor from another world who had caused such an uproar was inside.

Lucia landed lightly, the hem of her white robe fluttering without gathering a speck of dust. She walked forward a few steps and stopped about thirty meters from the entrance to the secret realm. This distance expressed respect while maintaining enough space for safe reaction.

She raised her right hand, placed it over her heart on the left side of her chest, and bowed slightly, performing a standard etiquette used in Atlantis World when facing honored guests or powerful figures. Her movements were elegant and fluid, carrying an ancient charm.

"Greetings, friend from a distant world." Her voice rang out, like ice springs striking stones—clear and melodious, yet carrying a natural sense of detachment and majesty. "I am an envoy of the Sky Royal Court of the Holy City. My name is Lucia."

Inside the secret realm, Lin Muyang set down his teacup and nodded at the young ladies around him, signaling them to remain calm. With a slight movement of his mind, his figure blurred, and the next instant, he appeared directly outside the secret realm entrance, facing Lucia across the distance. Alice and Gui Wanwan appeared silently on either side behind him like shadows.

"Greetings, Envoy Lucia." Lin Muyang met her gaze calmly and nodded, counting it as a greeting. He did not bow, his posture casual yet natural, as if he were simply facing an ordinary visitor. "Kandas should have already conveyed some of my intentions. Regarding me, and what happened before, what is your Holy City's stance now? What do you intend to do?"

Lin Muyang's directness caused a trace of a very subtle ripple to flash in Lucia's ice-blue eyes. She had anticipated many kinds of openings—that the other party might be tough, defensive, or try to hedge—but she hadn't expected him to be so straightforward, throwing the core of the issue right out there.

She pondered for a moment, organized her words, and her cold, clear voice sounded again: "By conventional logic, friend, you killed several important figures of Stanro City, including Lord Virgil. This is equivalent to a serious challenge to the established order of our Atlantis World. By all reason and sentiment, we should stand united against a common enemy and hold you accountable."

She shifted her tone slightly, though it remained steady: "However, the strength and potential you have displayed exceed all previous estimates of our Holy City Council. After receiving the information transmitted by Kandas and comprehensively analyzing the traces of the battles at the Howling Rift and here, we convened an emergency meeting."

She looked directly into Lin Muyang's eyes, as if trying to see through those calm orbs into the soul behind them: "The result of the meeting is that we are willing to adopt part of the approach in Kandas's proposal. If you are willing, the Holy City can recognize your legitimate right to rule Stanro City and appoint you as the new City Lord of Stanro City. At the same time, a seat can be reserved for you in the Holy City Council, which symbolizes the highest power in Atlantis. In exchange, the Holy City will open some high-level resource channels to you and provide corresponding convenience and support."

Lin Muyang listened quietly, his face unreadable. Become a City Lord, join the highest council? The conditions sounded quite generous, almost instantly elevating him to the pinnacle of power in this world. But there was no such thing as a free lunch, especially when the other party had just lost important figures.

"Conditions?" Lin Muyang was concise.

"You need to fulfill some obligations as a member of the Holy City Council and a City Lord," Lucia said. "Mainly, this involves assisting in completing tasks assigned by the Council."

"Tasks?" Lin Muyang's brows furrowed imperceptibly. He came to Atlantis to obtain resources to accelerate his growth, not to work for others. Back on Blue Star, not even the Xia country military would issue him any mandatory tasks, and it was even less possible here.

Seeming to notice Lin Muyang's displeasure, Lucia added: "Rest assured, for you, these tasks are very simple. They will not take up too much of your time, nor will they force you to complete things beyond your ability or that violate your principles."

She paused, and a trace of heavy anticipation belonging to this world flowed in her ice-blue eyes: "The most important task is to regularly go to the surface and clear out a certain number of high-rank monster tribes. This is both fulfilling the duty of protecting the human race, and for you, hunting monsters to obtain experience and loot is itself a kind of improvement, isn't it?"

So that was it. Lin Muyang realized. Clearing surface monsters was indeed the long-cherished wish of Atlantis humanity for hundreds of years, and it was also their biggest current predicament. They had set their sights on his ability to fight above his level and his efficient monster-clearing capability, wanting to use him as the sharpest blade to cut down those thorns on the surface that were giving them such headaches.

Lin Muyang thought for a moment. This request itself was not excessive; it even partially overlapped with his goal of gaining experience.

"I can help clear surface monsters," Lin Muyang said slowly, his tone carrying an indisputable indifference. "But I do not accept designated quantities or fixed frequencies. When I have time and interest, I will naturally go. As for how much I specifically clear, that depends on my mood and needs."

This answer was clearly different from the regular, fixed-quota mission execution expected by Lucia and the Holy City Council. Her delicate, dark eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a trace of difficulty flashed in her ice-blue eyes.

She was very clear about the deeper meaning behind the Holy City proposing this condition. Countless powerful monster tribes were entrenched in the Atlantis surface world, among which legendary-grade, mythic grade, and occasionally appearing sky-opening grade tribes were like stubborn tumors, firmly rooted in the earth, and were the biggest obstacles to humanity returning to their homeland.

These tribes had a wide distribution of levels; many were not extremely high level, but they often possessed strange talents, massive numbers, or special environmental advantages, leaving the local powerhouses of Atlantis helpless. High-level powerhouses were restricted by secret realm rules and could not enter low-level areas for effective clearing, while teams with appropriate levels were often lacking in strength, suffering heavy casualties.

Lin Muyang's appearance was like a sharp, versatile key capable of ignoring some conventional rules. The fact that he could enter high-level secret realms as a low-level individual itself indicated that he might have mastered some method to circumvent or deceive the world's rules, which might also be applicable to countering the special restrictions of certain surface monsters. The terrifying ability to fight above his level and his efficient field-clearing capability that he displayed were the ultimate solutions the Holy City dreamed of for resolving surface threats.

Precisely because of this, at that tense emergency meeting of the Holy City Council, although there were hardliners who insisted on holding Lin Muyang accountable for killing Virgil and others, believing that visitors from other worlds could not be trusted, that his powerful strength was a huge threat to the locals, and that he might even harbor malicious intent; there were also pragmatists who strongly advocated for winning him over, believing that such talent and strength were better turned into friends than enemies, transforming him into an asset for humanity.

Ultimately, considering the terrifying potential represented by Lin Muyang's incredible combat record, as well as the unimaginable price that might be paid for forcibly opposing him, the mainstream opinion of the Council eventually tilted toward cooperation.

But the premise of cooperation was that Lin Muyang needed to make substantial contributions to Atlantis humanity, and clearing surface monsters was the most urgent and suitable area for him to contribute with his abilities. The Holy City hoped to bring this powerful force into a controllable and sustainable track.

Lin Muyang's attitude of "depending on mood and needs," while seemingly making a promise to help, completely kept the initiative in his own hands. For the Holy City, which hoped to establish a stable cooperation model, this was clearly not ideal.

Lucia was silent for a moment, looking deeply at Lin Muyang with her ice-blue eyes, as if weighing and evaluating. She could feel that this seemingly peaceful youth before her had an unquestionable pride and strength in his bones. He was willing to talk, willing to cooperate to a certain extent, but he was absolutely unwilling to be bound or driven.