Chapter 111: Conquering the World

Li Ren had originally intended for Fan Yunshan to remain as the Lord of Yuxiao City, but he was flatly refused. According to Fan, he detested the atmosphere there and found the environment of Luoyun City far more comfortable. Furthermore, as he was still suffering from severe injuries, he required a suitable place to recuperate.

Even the role of Vice Lord seemed unappealing to him. Li Ren found himself at a loss; a super-city like Yuxiao still required management. Luoyun City, while developing, demanded even more of his attention, and he neither understood how to manage a city nor particularly wanted to. Moreover, residing in Yuxiao City meant he could no longer stay hidden behind closed doors as he did in Luoyun. With his current appearance, he couldn't wear the Ring of Deception forever, especially since he still needed to hunt monsters to level up.

After much deliberation, he decided to have the Queen reluctantly take charge of garrisoning the city. Given the methods she had inadvertently displayed in Luoyun City, governing such a place would be well within her capabilities. He glanced at Landis, who stood by the entrance of the grand hall. Though he could not decipher her inner thoughts, Li Ren vaguely sensed that she was fully aware of the matters concerning the Underworld. Among them, he was likely the only one kept in the dark. It was highly probable that they were all original factions from the Underworld, though he knew not why they had come to his side.

Perhaps there were other circumstances at play. Li Ren offered a self-deprecating smile. He had nothing to lose, and these people suited his temperament well. If they wished to be together, then so be it. It was just a game; surely they couldn't harbor any grand conspiracies against him. He was, after all, just an ordinary person.

Having arranged these matters, Li Ren rose and walked outside. Following behind him, Fan Yunshan gazed at the snow-white skeletal frame before him, a hint of expectation flickering in his eyes—an expression that vanished as quickly as it appeared, remaining entirely unnoticed by the man walking ahead.

"System Announcement: The Luoyun City faction has successfully captured Yuxiao City. Yuxiao City's attributes have been changed to neutral. The teleportation array will open in three days, and Yuxiao City will enter a three-month protection period."

Li Ren smiled slightly upon hearing the announcement. Regardless, his objective had been achieved, and an increase in power was, by any measure, a good thing.

Leaving Landis in Yuxiao City to oversee all affairs, Li Ren entered the teleportation array and returned to Luoyun City. He paid no mind to the astonishment of the players within the city, walking brazenly toward the Lord's Mansion. Now that he knew this place was originally the Underworld, there was no need to keep up pretenses; he truly did not care about these players anymore. They had already been shocked once by the sea of white bones that appeared during their mobilization; that the Lord himself was a skeleton was hardly surprising. Thus, amidst the stares of surprise, curiosity, and admiration from the surrounding players, Li Ren returned to the main hall of the mansion.

After granting some permissions to Fan Yunshan, Li Ren retreated alone to the room behind the hall. He lay on the bed, staring at the cold ceiling, his heart filled with confusion.

The world of players was in an uproar. The shock brought by the system announcement spread instantly. Everyone had assumed the Peerless Legion would take the city without incident, yet this had happened instead. Every player who had joined the Peerless Legion's assault had their level forcibly reduced by half, and many lost rare, high-quality equipment—a case of losing the battle and the bride as well.

This delighted those who were previously disgruntled by the rapid rise of the Peerless Legion. As long as the Peerless Legion didn't profit, they were satisfied. In their eyes, Luoyun City was merely an NPC faction and posed no real threat to them. Even if it meant the NPCs benefited, they preferred it over Zoro getting his way—that was the prevailing sentiment.

At the Peerless Legion's base, Zoro glared in the direction of Yuxiao City, his face dark and gloomy. "Luoyun City," he muttered, his voice cold, "to think you possessed that place. I truly underestimated you. But I won't let you get off easily!" His expression twisted with malice, his tightly clenched fists betraying the turmoil within.

"Tian Xie? The Underworld? What does any of this have to do with me?" Li Ren kept asking himself, but he could never find an answer. If this were simply a game, there would be no issue, but now it involved another realm. He seemed destined to fight for that place, yet he felt no sense of belonging. Caught in this inner conflict, Li Ren was deeply troubled.

Perhaps he was subconsciously avoiding these truths, a force within his heart resisting—whether he was aware of it or not.

Sitting in the hall, Fan Yunshan looked out at the blue sky, unable to stop himself from whispering, "I wonder what has become of that lord now." He sighed. The appearance of Tian Xie had thoroughly disrupted the game world, causing significant ripples in places inaccessible to ordinary players—Zoro being a prime example.

Just as Fan Yunshan was deep in thought, another system message rang out, stunning every player—every single one.

"System Announcement: As Luoyun City and Yuxiao City belong to the same faction, the minimum threshold has been met. A new chapter of the Land of Gods has begun. The era of conquest is here. Establishing a guild no longer requires a Guild Creation Token. City-level factions are now enabled."

As soon as the announcement ended, Fan Yunshan stared at the blue sky, unable to stop himself from cursing, "What exactly is that lord doing! Initiating the final settings so early when these people are still at such a low level!"

His confusion met with no response. Li Ren, lying on his bed, sat up once more.

"No more Guild Creation Tokens needed?" he muttered. "This will cause all player factions to develop rapidly. For me, that might not be a good thing at all."

Indeed, the moment the announcement concluded, the players were left speechless by the sudden windfall. As expected, an NPC appeared in every major city, specifically to manage the creation of guilds. Following the successful establishment of the first guild, various others began to appear in a frenzy, ending the era where the three great guilds held absolute dominance.