Chapter 42 Population Explosion, Tradition!

Filled with anticipation, Lin Mu soon arrived at his destination.

Standing outside the advanced rebel camp, Lin Mu walked around to inspect the perimeter and found no rebel patrols. He likely wouldn't encounter any surprise attacks.

Lin Mu stood still, expressionless yet boiling with excitement inside, and activated the ancient art of persuasion. Suddenly, an intangible aura of majesty surged from the depths of his heart, soaring into the heavens like the divine might of heaven and earth. It felt as though a trace of his divine strategy power had been drained, shrouding the entire camp. For a fleeting second, it seemed as though a gigantic hand in the sky had wiped out a portion of the rebel soldiers inside the camp.

"Ding!"

"—System prompt: Player Lin Mu, you have successfully activated the Ancient Persuasion Art, gaining 600 level-30 rebel soldiers. The soldiers have automatically spawned in the refugee camp within your territory. Please check them!"

The advanced rebel camp contained 20,000 level-30 rebel soldiers. Three percent of that meant 600 soldiers. Haha, these persuaded individuals would now become citizens of his own territory!

A sudden increase of 600 population was truly tyrannical beyond compare.

If this were used in a large mountain stronghold like Azure Dragon Stronghold, with its population of over 100,000, a 3% conversion rate would be even more exhilarating. Lin Mu had already decided to conquer Azure Dragon Stronghold; it had been several months since he accepted that quest.

With the Ancient Persuasion Art, the world was his! Haha... Seeing the system prompt confirming his successful persuasion of 600 people, Lin Mu calculated that the daily population growth of his territory would now increase to 760 people. Coupled with the divine-grade attribute bonuses, the aptitude of his subjects would be even better. Quantitative change leads to qualitative change—this was the wisdom of the ancients!

Hehe, the art of persuasion was truly awesome!

Without entering the rebel camp to grind for levels, Lin Mu turned back toward the village to check out the aptitude of these 600 people.

NPCs capable of class advancement into soldiers generally didn't have terrible aptitudes. Ordinary soldiers were typically around Tier 3 or Tier 4, while elites might be Tier 5 or Tier 6.

If all 600 of these people possessed Tier 5 aptitude, the bonus would elevate them to Tier 6 aptitude, directly granting him a large batch of high-aptitude soldiers! They would all be drafted into the military!

Hurry and scurry, Lin Mu rapidly made his way to the refugee camp.

Chang Yin was already aware that something special had happened at the refugee camp and was handling the situation. These system-spawned rebels, once persuaded by him, seemed to have acquired flesh, blood, and souls.

According to past practice, Chang Yin would always have the villagers spawned from the refugee camps served a bowl of hot porridge, a hot meal, and a bowl of warm clear soup.

These were tasks Lin Mu had specifically instructed Chang Yin to carry out. It was a welfare benefit given to these people before they became his subjects, and also a tactic to win over the hearts of the people.

Such practices had won the approval of many subjects. After all, when they emerged from the refugee or vagrant camps, their stomachs were empty, and if the weather was cold, they would be shivering all over.

Suddenly being able to consume a bowl of hot porridge, a hot meal, and a warm soup brought them meticulous care and made them immensely grateful. Perhaps this territory would be their home from now on, and with such measures, the Lord must be a benevolent and virtuous ruler who loved his people.

Through these small gestures, Lin Mu left a profound and far-reaching initial impression on these newly arrived subjects!

Within his territory, Lin Mu needed to establish fine traditions that would become the distinctive features of his domain. Even if they weren't unique, doing them well would let his subjects know that their homeland would never shortchange them!

Establishing a food camp in front of the refugee camp to ensure newly spawned subjects could fill their stomachs would henceforth become a tradition of the territory!

As for offering condolences to fallen martyrs, professional personnel needed to be assigned to comfort each family door-to-door, doing their utmost materially, emotionally, and spiritually. This was also a territory tradition. Lin Mu placed great emphasis on these traditions because they would later become the most powerful actions of benevolence toward his subjects.

He believed that when the territory developed to be larger, stronger, and more prosperous in the future, his subjects would praise from the bottoms of their hearts: "Child, look, that is the tradition personally established by the Lord—benefiting and favoring the people!"

Tradition was a form of power; respect tradition, carry on tradition!

...

The 600 rebel soldiers wore tattered leather armor, straw sandals or worn-out cloth shoes on their feet, and carried wooden clubs, iron sabers, or iron spears in their hands. Their equipment was extremely shabby and unsightly—far inferior to the equipment of the rebels who had previously been spawned by the rules of heaven and earth to attack his territory.

It seemed the conditions of the persuaded rebel soldiers were also extremely harsh.

However, what Lin Mu valued was not their equipment, but the people themselves. Human resources were the scarcest commodity in his territory.

Though not quite skin and bones, judging by their complexions, these 600 people hadn't been living very well. Lin Mu knew the reality of rebel camps: their background was that of bandits rebelling against the imperial court, subjected only to simple military training, poorly equipped, and possessing low-tier skills and specialties. Yet, those selected to be soldiers still possessed decent aptitudes.

The 600 people were largely bewildered, having no idea what had happened.

However, upon seeing people at the entrance distributing steaming hot food and bowls of soup with a delicate fragrance, the soldiers involuntarily swallowed their saliva, their stomachs rumbling as they stared fixedly.

Back at the rebel camp, they had seemingly heard a celestial god speaking inside their minds, instructing them to pledge allegiance to True Dragon Village, to pledge allegiance to this future homeland! Only then would they have food and clothing, peace and comfort, and live and work in contentment. If they worked diligently and sincerely, their future prospects would be boundless!

Then, abruptly, a flash of light crossed their vision, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared in this place—a place better and warmer than the camp. Was this their future home?!

The soldiers began accepting the hot food distributed by Chang Yin, lining up orderly to receive their meals with strict discipline. This was the hallmark of soldiers, quite different from the chaotic mobs of refugees.

Even without Chang Yin maintaining order, it wouldn't cause any chaos. The medium-sized refugee camp covering threemu of land was surging with heads; 600 people were truly a significant number.

For now, Chang Yin managed the place. Later on, once junior scholars and civil officials of the territory were cultivated or spawned, he wouldn't need to handle everything personally.

There were only two guards stationed at the entrance of the refugee camp for simple surveillance. If these rebel soldiers were to suddenly mutiny, they wouldn't be able to effectively resist, which really could cause massive losses to the territory. However, thanks to the formidable Persuasion Art, their loyalty was locked at 60 points. As long as it didn't drop below 50, they wouldn't mutiny without cause. Furthermore, with hot food in their bellies, tears of gratitude streaming down their faces, and heads buried in their meals, they wouldn't stir up trouble casually. They remained very quiet, seemingly having accepted their fate.

Lin Mu asked Chang Yin to register these 600 people into the census and also wanted to check their aptitudes.

Registration was extremely simple for Chang Yin. Soon, Lin Mu learned the breakdown of these 600 individuals:

15 people possessed Tier 6 aptitude, 38 people possessed Tier 5 aptitude, 365 people possessed Tier 4 aptitude, and 182 possessed Tier 3 aptitude.

Following census registration and the divine-grade attribute bonus, aptitudes increased by 1 tier. Lin Mu thus gained 15 individuals with Tier 7 aptitude, 38 with Tier 6 aptitude, 365 with Tier 5 aptitude, and 182 with Tier 4 aptitude.

The aptitudes of these 600 people were even better than the villagers spawned from the refugee camps. True to their background as enlisted soldiers, their aptitudes were top-notch! Instantly acquiring so many high-aptitude individuals filled Lin Mu's heart with wild joy!

The 38 individuals could be recruited into the village army to be trained by Feng Zhong, while the rest of the persuaded personnel laid down their arms and were assigned to production affairs within the territory.

Talents with Tier 7 aptitude possessed master-level potential. If properly nurtured, they would become master-level talents in the future! They couldn't be haphazardly assigned as ordinary soldiers. As for those with other aptitudes who didn't fit military guidelines, well, for now, they would all go contribute to building up the territory.

With 600 such soldiers entering his ranks every day, why worry about a lack of talent? Haha!

Finally, aside from the population spawned by the refugee camps, he once again had a source for acquiring population. However, this skill belonged exclusively to Lin Mu, and depending on circumstances, he couldn't use it every single day—which could be considered a limitation.

Lin Mu finally stepped out of the slight sorrow caused by the dozen or so soldiers who had fallen in battle. Soldiers with Tier 6 aptitude were the backbone of the territory, and Lin Mu attached great importance to them.

It seemed he should find time every day to cast this skill; pulling it off more often kept him healthy!

"Yuanjian, when our territory defeated the King Beast Searing Moon Silver Wolf King, we received a reward from the Great Deity—a manual of the Ancient Persuasion Art. It allows us to persuade enemies once a day. From now on, our territory's population growth will experience a massive explosion compared to before. I'll have to trouble you to oversee the related work!" Lin Mu said cheerfully to Chang Yin after the latter finished his busywork.

"Haha, congratulations to the lord for acquiring such a divine art! I once heard elders speak of this marvelous art, but it is extremely difficult to obtain. It seems the lord is truly blessed with profound fortune, encircled by dragon luck, and accompanied by auspicious omens!" Chang Yin said happily. Earlier, he had been wondering why so many refugees had suddenly spawned in the refugee camp today; it turned out the Lord had obtained a miraculous art, meaning the territory's population would grow even larger in the future.

"Lord, this subordinate suggests that you scout and persuade camps with higher aptitudes every day. We have five advanced rebel camps in our territory, and the aptitudes of the soldiers within them should vary. It's best to try multiple times and then consistently target the superior camps for persuasion. This will maximize its effect, and coupled with our divine territory's attribute bonuses, it can multiply and enhance our territory's potential!" Chang Yin suggested.

"Haha, well said! As expected of my right-hand man, your suggestion is excellent. I was so overjoyed by the aptitude of the soldiers persuaded this time that I hadn't thought it through so thoroughly. Let's do as you advise!" Lin Mu humbly accepted Chang Yin's suggestion and nodded.

The camps Lin Mu visited for persuasion hadn't been cleared by the army yet, so their numbers were at maximum capacity—hence the 600 people.

"It seems in the future, I must arrive before the soldiers clearing the camps and activate the Persuasion Art so they can enter the cleaned-out camps afterwards. I need to mention this to Feng Zhong," Lin Mu thought to himself.

Chang Yin and Lin Mu exchanged views on several affairs of the territory, and Lin Mu assigned some tasks to Chang Yin before heading out to grind for levels.

Currently, Lin Mu was at level 31, approaching a bottleneck. Every 10 levels constituted a tier; levels 10 to 19 were Tier 1, and level 31 made him a Tier 3 foot soldier!

Lin Mu had yet to learn internal energy arts and had not advanced to a martial general. Recently, he felt a faint premonition that he was destined for an extraordinary encounter, and that he would learn extraordinary cultivation techniques. Both Chang Yin and Feng Zhong had also mysteriously suggested that he wander around the Dragon Temple. Clueless, Lin Mu often visited the Dragon Temple, but it remained as enigmatic and unfathomable as ever, revealing nothing... leading him to mistakenly think Chang Yin and others were pulling his leg.

Moreover, as the supreme boss of the territory, his cultivation technique had to be the best, his skills the top tier, his specialties top-notch, and his women the most beautiful... Haha... How could he casually learn those generic cultivation techniques? With the entire territory's resources supporting him, he refused to believe earth-tier or heaven-tier techniques didn't exist.

Lin Mu checked the territory's population: 21,689 / 10,000. He was extremely satisfied. Only four months had passed since the game's launch, yet his territory's pure native population had reached over 20,000, and their aptitudes were high. All industries were developing vigorously, and the copper coins in Lin Mu's pocket had reached over 500 million. At current black-market currency exchange rates, converting that into over 1 billion RMB would be completely unproblematic.

However, the development of his territory also required the circulation of copper coins, so he couldn't exchange them casually. He had already converted 1 million RMB previously, which was enough for a while.

Furthermore, large-scale conversions might attract the prying eyes of others. For the time being, he was wary of malicious actors discovering his information; being kidnapped or eliminated would be tragic.

Lin Mu was thoroughly satisfied with the development of his territory. With the assistance of Chang Yin and Feng Zhong, he could rest easy.

Lin Mu summoned his attribute panel to check the system announcement information. Counting carefully, there were currently 37 territories in the China region, basically representing forces backed by major financial consortia and large guilds.

37 territories—not far from the milestone of 100. Considering the difficulty of obtaining village-building tokens in the early stages of *Mythical World*, having this many in the China region was considered quite substantial, thanks largely to Lin Mu's frantic weapon sales.

Since the system announcements for established territories in the China region did not disclose their specific locations, Lin Mu didn't know how many territories existed in Yangzhou. However, based on experience from his past life, barring accidents, Yangzhou should only have a territory established by [Alluring], one of the top ten guilds.

Lin Mu's territory was established in Yangzhou. If he intended to contend for hegemony over the world in the future, he would undoubtedly need to control Yangzhou, which meant he would inevitably clash with the [Alluring] guild.

The guild leader of [Alluring] was Beitang Xue.

Beitang Xue was the dream lover of many geeks and social elites, as well as the leader of the top ten guild [Alluring] in the China region. Her martial arts prowess was also extremely formidable, ranking 18th on the battle-net [Tianlong Ranking]. A heroine among women, surpassing countless men, she was known as the [Beitang Female Valkyrie]. Countless commercial endorsements featured her, her net worth reached the billions, and she commanded a million guild members. With a single command, millions would respond without hesitation. Rumors also held that she was the heiress of the Beitang family within the [Dongcheng Consortium].

Stunning figure, peerless appearance, illustrious family background, and glorious achievements—she possessed an overwhelming aura, acting just like the protagonist of a novel.

Such a person seemed favored by the universe, and many men felt a sense of self-deprecation when standing before her.

A true wealthy, beautiful socialite! Aristocratic nobility.

Additionally, Beitang Xue was also the campus belle of Xinghai University, ranking number one as the top scholar!

Xinghai University was the school Lin Mu attended.

In his past life, Lin Mu had seen Beitang Xue in person. She was rarely seen on campus, and whenever he encountered her, it was only from afar because the moment she appeared, a pack of wolves would swarm around, blocking her completely.

As for within the game, he had only caught a glimpse of her during a high-end lord gathering. Given his status as a nobody, he had no opportunity or standing to converse with her.

Now, he possessed the capital and confidence to stand on the same level as these favored children of heaven; perhaps he was even more outstanding!

Looking at the bustling and prosperous territory, a magnificent momentum capable of swallowing mountains and rivers stirred within Lin Mu's heart, and he began to look forward to crossing paths with those geniuses and prodigies.

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