Lingxin patted Bai Xiaodu's shoulder to comfort him.
“Don't worry too much. She probably just used you to achieve some goal. It's a good thing she isn't coming for you right now.”
“It means she has at least completed one phase and is planning to lie low for a while.”
Lingxin patted her chest and said confidently, “I'm currently at the Transcendent Peak, and my preparations for ascending to Domain Lord are almost complete. Just wait a little longer. If she ever tries to cross you, I'll personally protect you.”
“Sister Lingxin is the best!”
Back to the main topic.
Lingxin and Bai Xiaodu discussed the territory that the academy had suddenly designated for him.
Ultimately, they decided:
They were going!
The reason was simple: the 【Domination】 Pathway was a positive path to 【Emperor】.
There was no reason for Aurelia to harm Bai Xiaodu. It was far more likely that she had recognized his talent and wanted to recruit him.
Furthermore, the instructing teacher had to be ready at all times to handle any sudden emergencies within the student's territory that they couldn't resolve on their own.
Therefore, by convention, Lingxin needed to choose a residence within the student's territory to facilitate immediate support.
Lingxin naturally chose to stay with Bai Xiaodu.
Besides, if there was a scheme that even she couldn't resolve, there would be no point in Bai Xiaodu struggling anyway.
A Transcendent fighting a Domain Lord was nothing but a pipe dream.
“We'll take it one step at a time. But one thing is for sure: even if Aurelia is plotting something against you, she's doing it out in the open.”
Lingxin said resentfully, “She won't be as insidious and despicable as that Director-General Shen!”
“Yeah, that Director-General Shen is way too wicked, damn her.”
Bai Xiaodu couldn't help but chime in with a few curses of his own, which dispelled a lot of the gloom in his heart.
Seeing him like this, Lingxin couldn't help but feel a secret thrill, a slight smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Yes, exactly like this.
It was enough as long as she was the one by Bai Xiaodu's side.
Anyone else trying to get close to him must have bad intentions!
As if she didn't know what those other women were after!
“Xiaobai, you're so cute that you'll definitely be targeted by a lot of bad people. If you ever feel like something is off, you must tell me immediately.”
“I got it!”
Only after squeezing and cuddling him some more did Lingxin finally let Bai Xiaodu go. She then began to introduce his assigned territory.
“Gaoxi Ravine, as the name suggests, features a terrain of high mountains and deep valleys, except for the lord's manor area, which was artificially flattened.”
“The primary residents are lizardmen, Winged humans, and a small number of humans. The cranial indexes of the first two are between 70% and 90%.
They have lived there for generations, and their primary work is mining the silver crystal clusters on the cliff walls, which are formed by energy leaking from the Secret Realm.”
“As for the locals... they're a bit fierce.”
Shrugging helplessly, Lingxin explained to him, “Because there were previous issues with falsified production values and embezzlement of public funds, the previous Transcendent stationed there was furious.”
“He tried to audit the books, but the people he sent either went missing or committed suicide, so it ended up going nowhere. Furious, he went there in person.
In the end, before he could even lay eyes on the ledgers, the entire warehouse was set on fire.”
“The fire burned two children to death, which triggered a massive protest in the territory, demonstrating against the lord's tyranny.”
“He couldn't take it anymore. In a fit of rage, he took action and forcibly suppressed the protest, resulting in over a hundred deaths.”
“But even if they were just ordinary people, that many deaths is a major incident, and it made the academy look very bad. That Transcendent was heavily penalized and is currently serving hard labor for rehabilitation.”
What a 'peaceful and friendly' folk.
Bai Xiaodu couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
At the same time, he gained an understanding of the United Federation's boundaries.
Transcendent individuals could kill ordinary people, but they had to do it secretly and must provide sufficient justification.
They couldn't get caught, and they absolutely couldn't let it be posted online to embarrass the Federal Government.
Forcibly clashing with a protesting crowd and causing over a hundred casualties was truly the stupidest way to handle things.
Bai Xiaodu thought for a moment.
“Well, my rank is what it is anyway, so they can't kill me.”
“If I have to yield some profits, so be it. I'll just wait to collect the cultivation resources sent by the school.”
Bai Xiaodu absolutely loved the idea of getting paid to do nothing.
If he could slack off, he would. When the time came, he could get in touch with the local powerful figures, occasionally head out of the city to clear out bandits, and ask for some service fees, resource fees, and public security management fees.
Everyone splits the money—wouldn't that be wonderful?
The more Bai Xiaodu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. After sharing his thoughts with Lingxin, he stood with his hands on his hips.
“Even though I'm not great at management, I can just send people to manage it for me. Heheh, once the code is running, I don't have to worry about it anymore.”
“I will definitely be a good lord, don't worry.”
Lingxin agreed with his idea.
“That's feasible.”
Bai Xiaodu was already imagining his wonderful future life.
He was so used to serving others every day that he hadn't expected to become a master himself.
He was actually a little unaccustomed to it.
Once he completed his rounds of the territory, he would focus on raising his Affection with Lingxin and Xin Hai'an.
Selecting his name on the computer, Bai Xiaodu left the office.
The next task was to recruit some 'Pokémon' from the school.
According to the regulations of Tiannan Star Military University...
...any Transcendent student heading out to serve as a lord had to bring at least two apprentice-rank classmates with them.
They would act as deputies to assist in handling affairs within the territory.
This rule was meant to share the burden, and also to give these apprentices a clear understanding of how to manage a territory once they ascended to Transcendent.
After a brief thought, Bai Xiaodu went to find Lott.
After all, Lott was the only one he really knew, and since the guy had been around Tiannan Star for so long, he was bound to be much more experienced.
Bai Xiaodu didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
“Do you want to be my deputy?”
Lott's orange cat tail wagged excitedly.
“Yes! I'd love to!”
The scene of Bai Xiaodu saving him from the fire dragon was still fresh in his mind. Lott looked at him with eyes full of adoration.
It made Bai Xiaodu feel a bit embarrassed.
Lott, however, acted completely natural.
“Now that you've recruited me, are you still short of one person? I can call someone else over.”
“Brother Bai, do you know that the video of you defeating the fire dragon at the opening ceremony has gone completely viral? That silver figure falling from the sky was insanely cool! A ton of people have been asking for your contact info. You definitely won't run out of volunteers.”
Bai Xiaodu stroked his chin.
“I know anyone would hopelessly fall in love with me, but Lott, as you know, keeping a low profile has always been my style.”
Lott gave him a thumbs-up.
“Brother Bai, you're awesome.”
Then, he happily trotted off to find someone.
Bai Xiaodu hummed a little tune as he returned to his private dorm to pack his clothes.
Hehehe, he was about to become an honest, upright master!
He would live in a grand mansion, have a massive flock of servants, eat and drink the finest things, and live as happily as an immortal~
Then, his phone rang.
Bai Xiaodu asked cheerfully, “Who is it?”
The person on the other end cleared their throat twice and introduced himself as a teacher from the Administration Office, responsible for taking students into their territories for the handover.
“Oh, hello, Teacher. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Well, Student Bai Xiaodu, once you arrive at the territory... there's been a bit of an issue with the small villa that was originally allocated to you. You'll have to make do with staying in a hotel for now.”
Bai Xiaodu raised an eyebrow.
What did they mean by “an issue with the small villa allocated to me”?
Damn it, is this world actively targeting me?
Naturally, he wasn't someone who could be fooled so easily, so he pressed further, “Could you explain in more detail? I believe that as the new lord who is about to head there, I have the right to know the truth.”
The teacher from the Administration Office answered truthfully, “It was burned down.”
Bai Xiaodu's face was filled with astonishment.
“Burned down? What do you mean my small villa was burned down? Who burned it?”
The voice on the other end replied, “You know about the situation in that territory, right? There was another protest. It got really out of hand. Your small villa, as well as the government office where you were supposed to work, were both burned down.”
“But don't be angry just yet. The school knows your situation is special and is currently planning to rebuild it for you. In the meantime, you'll just have to bear with staying in a hotel.”
The Administration Office teacher also knew this was quite unfair, so he rubbed his nose awkwardly, bracing himself for Bai Xiaodu's other demands.
But then, a furious roar erupted from the other end of the line!
Bai Xiaodu was practically screaming!
“Those fucking peasants! How dare they rebel against me?!”
Rate on N.U.
