Chapter One: A New Mission

After returning to the statistical space from the inner world, Li Mingxing saw his mentor Raymond smiling at him. Li Mingxing glanced up, noticing that his performance this time was another dazzling D grade, but his other achievements surpassed his previous ones by a wide margin. He had brought back a considerable amount of spirit coins as a reward, and most importantly, he now possessed seventy-one units of gemstones.

Furthermore, he had left behind a projection of his city in the inner world, which meant he had established a coordinate of his own there. As long as he had the capability, he could freely travel between the real world and that coordinate in the inner world using this anchor.

Among the group of apprentice heroes, his accomplishments were quite impressive. Raymond, upon seeing Li Mingxing, excitedly patted his shoulder and said, “I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. I believe it won’t be long before you shed the apprentice label.”

Li Mingxing, however, wasn’t overly proud. He picked out the worst element belt from those he had brought back and handed it to Raymond.

Raymond didn’t comment on Li Mingxing’s little gesture, instead handing him a blue light orb and explaining that if he wanted someone to learn the skill of Order Magic at level O, he only needed to press the orb to that person’s head.

Li Mingxing accepted the orb and discussed the elemental war in the inner world with Raymond. Raymond had a deeper understanding; in his view, these so-called elemental wars were just battles between inner worlds, common legends which he had encountered frequently on his own planet.

However, cases like the desert tribes, who actively sought out and successfully located the correct inner world, were rare. Such fortune either required exceptional luck or that the inner world’s technology had reached a precise level at that time.

Raymond grew curious about this inner world, but since it wasn’t their planet, he had no right to claim it, regardless of his status as Li Mingxing’s mentor.

He merely shared his thoughts, advising Li Mingxing to pay attention. If he discovered such advanced technology in the inner world, he must share it with him.

Li Mingxing naturally agreed to his mentor’s request. After settling this matter, Raymond helped Li Mingxing create a projection map. This map differed from the ones Yin Haitao had studied—it represented the area controlled by Li Mingxing’s city projection.

At the current level of his city projection, the map covered only a thirty-kilometer diameter, but Li Mingxing could use it to remotely direct the construction and expansion of his projected city.

After these matters, Raymond discussed new tasks with Li Mingxing. This time, the tasks were not semi-mandatory; Raymond presented two inner world missions and two real world missions for Li Mingxing to choose from.

Li Mingxing considered his city’s incomplete construction. If he went to the inner world again, he’d lag behind others in city development, regardless of his previous advantages. Moreover, he had completed the market blueprint quest while in the inner world and gained a large number of gemstones. Now was his best opportunity to fully focus on city construction.

Therefore, Li Mingxing immediately dismissed the inner world missions and focused on the two real world tasks.

Upon seeing the rewards for these tasks, Li Mingxing understood they were specifically chosen by Raymond. One reward was a stable for training mounts and transport beasts, and the other was a warehouse attached to the marketplace.

But Li Mingxing shook his head. “Mentor, I remember you once mentioned a type of construction that can train heroes and troops, enhancing their combat power.”

“You mean the training ground and arena? Yes, such things exist, but those are intermediate tasks, and you don’t need them yet,” Raymond replied, glancing at him.

“No, I believe that is exactly what I need now,” Li Mingxing said firmly. “After experiencing battles in the inner world, I realized my strength isn’t as great as I thought. I can die in the inner world, and I don’t want to miss this opportunity. I must survive and gain greater power.”

“So that’s it.” Raymond laughed wryly. “Just like when I desperately wanted my own magic tower. It’s normal, though, and given your situation, even if you waste some time, others may not catch up. Fine, take the task.”

He handed Li Mingxing a task scroll. The intermediate task required Li Mingxing to capture twenty ferocious beasts or humans alone.

The task specified that the beasts must at least match the man-eating lions of the African savannah—stray dogs on street corners wouldn’t suffice. As for humans, they had to be at least capable of fighting in underground boxing rings.

Seeing Li Mingxing’s surprise, Raymond explained the reason: it wasn’t that he wanted to use those people for anything nefarious, but that the training ground he prepared was unlike the Light faction’s, which used dead objects as training equipment.

Instead, it would use the twenty captured humans or beasts as training resources, involving some necromancy. Raymond assured him all matters would be handled properly.

Li Mingxing felt no discomfort about using humans or animals as training tools, and instead asked, “What if I capture more than twenty?”

“They can be used to expand the training ground, increase its training capacity, or saved for future construction of the arena,” Raymond replied, then added, “By the way, all must be real world creatures; those from the inner world don’t count.”

“I understand,” Li Mingxing answered casually, already planning how to find such powerful beasts and humans.

After Raymond left, Li Mingxing lingered for a while before returning to the mysterious bar. Upon entering, he saw Yin Haitao and Midalin sitting in a corner, drinking.

Since returning from the inner world, Midalin’s adorable blue skin had faded to a pale yellow, though she still wore Arab-style clothing, her face veiled and her navel exposed.

When she saw Li Mingxing, she hesitated for a long moment before suddenly throwing herself into his arms, whispering in his ear, “So you can transform—I thought I’d have to spend my whole life with a beast.”

Li Mingxing’s expression grew bitter. “So you had such thoughts?”

“What’s wrong with that? Can’t I plan for my future?” Midalin shot him a look.

Li Mingxing didn’t pursue the matter further; instead, he pointed to several apprentice heroes selling goods at the bar’s edge. “Your job from now on is to buy and sell from them, increase our income, and, when I need something, you must get it for me at any cost.”

Midalin glanced at the apprentice heroes and asked, “Is it safe to trade here?”

“We’ll soon build our first market. Then your role will be merchant, and trading will be safer. Sometimes you’ll need to deliver items to the Lamp Genie and collect goods from there.” Li Mingxing thought aloud, “Also, you should see if you can control the economy of the real world. Although money eventually becomes useless for us heroes, it’s always helpful to have it.”

Midalin’s eyes gleamed with excitement at the mention of business and economics. It was clear she possessed not only astonishing talent but also enormous enthusiasm for these matters.

Seeing her like this, Li Mingxing was pleased. He reserved some spirit coins for himself to use skills, then handed all the coins and treasures from this journey to Midalin for her to manage.

After settling everything, Li Mingxing gave Yin Haitao several gemstones, instructing him to sell them through underworld channels, exchange them for cash, and purchase a few safe houses for Midalin to stay in.

As for Li Mingxing, his next steps were to complete his tasks, collect the rewards, return to his city, and build a marketplace for trading.

But after sending his two followers away, Li Mingxing was approached by the beautiful bartender, who gave him an astonishing side quest. The reward for this side quest was a construction blueprint—for a mercenary encampment. This was enough to make him consider abandoning the task Raymond had given him.