Chapter 2: A Semi-Compulsory Task—Building a Castle

Raymond’s words piqued Li Mingxing’s curiosity even further. He kept questioning Raymond, eager to understand exactly what he had missed by letting the apprentice hero of the Light faction slip away. Annoyed by Li Mingxing’s persistence, Raymond finally explained the rewards for killing enemy heroes. In the Alliance of Light and Darkness, every hero—whether an apprentice or an emperor—was meticulously recorded, and in enemy territories, such records served as wanted notices.

If you killed a hero, you could claim rewards from the Alliance based on those notices. The one Li Mingxing let escape, though only an apprentice, was considered a prodigy among the hundred apprentice heroes of the Light Alliance. Had Li Mingxing managed to kill him, he might have earned several blueprints and a skill as reward.

Realizing he had let such a valuable target slip away, Li Mingxing was filled with regret. But lamenting was pointless now; Raymond had new tasks for him.

“This time, leave your troops in my city for now, but you must quickly build your own city. So this mission is semi-mandatory. You must find and fully control a suitable place to build your castle. Remember to consider your attributes, the safety, and secrecy of the location.”

“Castle?” Li Mingxing considered the money he’d earned so far. The gap between a few hundred thousand and the cost of a castle was vast; he doubted his money could buy even a single brick.

“It’s necessary,” Raymond said sternly, seeing Li Mingxing’s hesitation. “Each hero has only one chance in their life to build a castle. All the other castles in the inner world are merely projections or extensions of that one. If you’re not prepared to build your castle, you needn’t bother with future missions.”

With that, Raymond handed Li Mingxing a torch carved with intricate patterns. “This is your quest item. Once you’ve found the place, plant it in the ground. If black flames ignite, you’ve succeeded; otherwise, you’ve failed. This time it’s free, but in the future, you’ll need to infuse five hundred experience for each attempt.”

Li Mingxing took the torch, gritting his teeth, and asked, “What kind of place would suit me best?”

“You’re of the darkness element. You need a place heavy with the aura of slaughter and intrigue. Only such a place will suit you.”

Li Mingxing wanted to ask more, but Raymond made it clear the conversation was over.

After Raymond left, Li Mingxing stepped forward and found himself in a mysterious bar.

His follower was waiting for him inside. Seeing Li Mingxing emerge, he hurried forward. “My lord, we now…”

“There’s no need to say anything. Let’s rest for now. Once I’ve handled a few matters, we have other tasks to attend to.” Li Mingxing replied, settling at the bar counter.

He placed two incandescent stones on the counter and waited for the beautiful bartender’s reaction. She glanced at him and smiled, “You’re the first I’ve seen on Earth who doesn’t come here to drink or hand in missions, but tries to exchange incandescent stones for black magic stones.”

“That can’t be. When I entered the inner world, Raymond said many apprentice heroes had already died. Surely some of their followers must have been killed?” Li Mingxing asked, puzzled.

“Don’t you know? These stones can enhance your followers’ power or be traded with other heroes. Only you would exchange them for black magic gems.”

Li Mingxing was stunned. He hadn’t realized the incandescent stones were so valuable. Yet something felt off—both the incandescent stones and black magic gems were used by apprentice heroes to recruit followers. Surely the Light faction’s items weren’t inherently better?

He voiced his doubts, and the bartender laughed. “Don’t you know? Rarity is what makes things valuable. If you give your followers incandescent stones, they might gain light attributes, or even affinity with Light faction troops.”

Li Mingxing paused, tempted to take back the stones, but he shook his head firmly. “Though I’m tempted, it’s better to keep things pure. Please exchange them for me. By the way, you mentioned there are missions to hand in—could I see what tasks are available?”

Without replying, the bartender took the two stones and placed two blood-red gems of identical size on the counter.

“The information your mentor gave you, and my earlier words, were merely a trap. If you had kept the incandescent stones, you’d never see them again. But your luck is good—these two are blood soul crystals, exchanged for incandescent stones. They’re worth two black magic gems.”

Li Mingxing picked up the blood soul crystals but had no idea what they were for. He tried to ask, but the bartender slid a mission sheet before him, effectively silencing him.

Li Mingxing took the sheet, resigned, and his face darkened as he read. Most of the missions were intermediate or advanced, and even the basic ones were mostly inner world tasks.

The few missions he could attempt in the real world were nearly impossible, such as gaining the loyalty of five hundred people or acquiring leadership of a region.

Such feats were beyond someone without power or wealth. After much searching, Li Mingxing managed to pick out only three inconspicuous minor missions.

After signing the mission contract with the bartender, Li Mingxing asked, “What exactly is this semi-mandatory mission? How should I complete it? Am I really supposed to find a place to build my castle?”

“The task is simple. Castles aren’t as large as you think. The biggest I’ve seen was only the size of a head. Your mentor won’t have you conjure a castle out of thin air—they’ll send you on all sorts of missions to earn the materials and blueprints needed for construction.” The bartender laughed.

“No need to worry about this mission. In fact, it’s your mentor’s unit that gave it to you, forcing you to choose it. Remember, your troops are still stationed with your mentor, who’s responsible for their training and food. If you take too long, he’ll become unhappy.”

Relieved by this explanation, Li Mingxing didn’t linger. He left the mysterious bar with Yin Haitao.

Back in the real world, Li Mingxing found himself in the apartment Yin Haitao had rented. Li Mingxing thought for a moment, then handed Yin Haitao ten thousand yuan, asking him to buy more poisons. He wanted to prepare additional toxins for future battles.

After Yin Haitao departed, Li Mingxing pondered alone, then made his way to his former residence.

He wasn’t sure how many days had passed since the previous events, but no one was guarding his old home.

Still, Li Mingxing entered cautiously. Inside, he found a beautiful woman, around twenty-three or twenty-four, sitting on his bed.

She wore a stylish short haircut and subtle makeup that lent her features a hint of boldness and allure. Her professional attire accentuated her perfect figure and made her appear even more capable.

Seeing Li Mingxing, she exclaimed, “Li Mingxing, what’s the meaning of this? You disappeared for two whole days. Do you know I pleaded with our boss for ages just to get you an interview? You didn’t even reply to my message!”

Li Mingxing could only shake his head helplessly. Her boisterous gestures were all for his sake.

After she finished, he replied, “Senior Zheng, you don’t have to worry about me anymore. I have my own plans.”

She jumped off the bed. “You brat, how dare you? I care about you and you complain? What, you want a beating? Wait—something’s different about you now, your aura… You look so handsome! Ah Xing, you don’t have a girlfriend, do you? Maybe I’ll just let you have me…”

Watching his senior’s eyes grow increasingly hazy, Li Mingxing realized something was wrong. He wasn’t sure whether it was his imperial aura or his innate dragon physique, but somehow he had unintentionally charmed her.