390: Chapter 390 You Too Can Become "Virtuous"

Kidd rubbed his thick, short fingers, and the tiny pocket wings on his back came to a halt.

"You are a man of quick words, Sir." Kidd gave a dry laugh and shifted his plump body, trying to make himself look a bit more formal.

"To be honest, your feat in Cangxing City has already spread among the circles of City Lords in our various major cities."

Chen You's eyelid twitched; he had a bad premonition.

"In a mere two and a half hours, you spent tens of thousands of gold coins to forcibly create a miracle city with off-the-charts prosperity!" Kidd grew more excited as he spoke, spittle flying everywhere.

"Especially that 'Voice of Star Source' talent show—it was an absolute stroke of genius! Now the entire Source Realm is discussing it."

Chen You leaned back against his chair, looking at Kidd's squashed-up face.

This shorty was laying it on thick; surely he wasn't looking for a sponsorship?

"And so?" Chen You's tone turned cold. "Do you think your Chuxin City also needs a cyberpunk-level infrastructure upgrade?"

Kidd's eyes lit up.

"Don't even think about it." Chen You raised a hand to cut him off. "I don't do charity for the poor."

What a joke.

Upgrading the infrastructure for a Novice Village? Did he really think the national treasury was a charitable foundation?

The smile on Kidd's face froze, and his half-extended hand stopped awkwardly in mid-air.

"You misunderstand, Sir!" Kidd quickly pulled his hand back and waved it repeatedly in dismissal.

"Chuxin City's main selling point is its raw, natural state—it's a breeding ground for novices to gain experience. It doesn't need those fancy buildings."

"I definitely didn't seek you out for money!"

Hearing it wasn't about money, Chen You's expression softened considerably.

"Then what are you after?" Chen You asked.

Kidd lowered his voice and leaned in mysteriously.

"Sir, you are now the 'honorary city lord' of Cangxing City," Kidd said. "Do you not know what this title signifies in the Source Realm?"

Chen You frowned.

At the time, the quest reward had been a mythological-grade architectural blueprint and the title of honorary city lord. He had felt that the honorary title was quite useless.

"What does it signify?" Chen You asked.

"It seems that muscle-brained fellow James Sander didn't tell you at all." Kidd sighed, looking pained.

"True, I heard he spends all day in the City Lord's Manor wearing overalls and practicing some 'Iron Mountain Lean.' He doesn't even care about government affairs anymore, so how could he attend to this?"

Chen You coughed dryly and looked away.

He was entirely responsible for Sander turning out like that.

"honorary city lord is not just an empty title." Kidd's expression became serious.

"In the Source Realm, a City Lord represents the supreme will of a territory. Since you have gained Sander's recognition, it is equivalent to receiving the protection of Cangxing City's providence."

"Get to the point," Chen You said, tapping on the table.

"The point is, as an honorary city lord, you are qualified to touch that ancient domain." Kidd took a deep breath and said word by word, "To activate a new title, in the name of 'De'!"

Chen You was stunned for a moment.

Kidd had explained earlier that 'De' was a title for lords and rulers.

"You mean I can change my name to Chen You De?" Chen You's mouth twitched.

That sounded way too stupid.

"No, no, no, that's just the commoner's way of saying it." Kidd shook his head repeatedly.

"'De' represents the recognition of the rules."

"Once you complete the trial, you will obtain one of the oldest and most powerful titles in the Source Realm."

"The attribute bonuses and special permissions brought by such a title are incomparable to any equipment."

Chen You's heart stirred.

That actually sounded pretty good.

But... something felt off.

"Why are you telling me about such a good thing?" Chen You stared at Kidd.

If the other party had such a great opportunity to give him, why was he acting so humble?

It didn't make sense.

Kidd rubbed his hands and chuckled.

"You are wise, Sir. Opening this trial requires extremely harsh conditions," Kidd explained.

"And once you successfully open and complete the trial, as the guide who set you on this path—that is, me—Chuxin City will also receive a massive prosperity reward from the system."

"My City Lord's Manor can also be upgraded along with it."

So it was for prosperity.

Chen You understood.

As a Novice Village, Chuxin City had terrible innate conditions; trying to increase prosperity was harder than climbing to heaven.

Kidd wanted to use Chen You's hand to leech rewards from the system.

Each getting what they needed—that felt reasonable.

"How do I open the trial?" Chen You asked.

Kidd fumbled around in his wide robe sleeves for a long time before pulling out a dusty scroll.

He carefully unfurled the scroll on the wooden table.

It was a piece of cloth made from the skin of some unknown creature, its surface showing the marks of time, with a complex hexagram array drawn on it.

Around the array, seven blank circular slots were evenly distributed.

The moment the cloth was unfurled, a translucent system notification box popped up in Chen You's vision.

[Ding! Triggered Unique Hidden Quest: Ancient Title]

[Quest Description: In the long river of the Source Realm's history, legends of 'De' have been passed down. Only by obtaining the recognition of enough lords can the sleeping power be awakened.]

[Quest Requirement: Hold the 'contract silk' and collect the marks of at least seven current City Lords on it.]

[Quest Reward: Open the exclusive trial for 'Ancient Title'.]

[Accept?]

Chen You looked at the information on the panel.

Collect the marks of seven City Lords?

He was familiar with this routine.

Wasn't this just like collecting stamps at tourist attractions in the past?

Or to put it another way, collecting the seven Dragon Balls to summon the dragon.

"Is it that simple?" Chen You clicked the [Accept] button.

"Simple?" Kidd's eyes widened, and the wings on his back flapped wildly.

"Sir, this is not simple at all! The City Lords of the Source Realm are all arrogant and have eccentric tempers."

"To make them willing to leave a mark on the contract silk is harder than climbing to heaven!"

Kidd pointed at the slots on the cloth. "Some City Lords are even extremely xenophobic; they won't even meet outsiders."

Chen You didn't care.

Arrogant? Eccentric tempers?

That was just because the money wasn't enough.

As long as they had a health bar, or as long as they had material desires, there was no NPC Chen You couldn't handle.

"Fine, I got it." Chen You rolled up the cloth, preparing to put it in his backpack.

"Wait! Sir!" Kidd quickly pressed down on a corner of the cloth.

"What? Want to back out?" Chen You glanced at him.

"No, no." Kidd was all smiles as he fumbled a dark gold seal from his bosom. "Since I am the guide who led you to open the quest, this first mark should naturally be stamped by me."

Kidd pressed the seal heavily onto the first slot of the cloth.

A faint green light flashed.

A pattern of a winged dwarf helmet emerged within the slot.

[Current Progress: 1/7]

Chen You looked at that pattern and couldn't help but feel that this old fellow Kidd was taking advantage of him.