Chapter 148 : Starsea Lord Academy! A One-Day Tour in the Starsea City-State!
Chapter 148: Starsea Lord Academy! A One-Day Tour in the Starsea City-State!
The Sacred Cang City Lord Academy, being the largest Lord Academy in the entire domain, covered an area no smaller than a human city capable of housing five to eight million people. It was one of the most important places in Sacred Cang City!
Every session, tens of thousands of Lords graduated from here.
It continuously supplied the domain with living forces to resist the Abyss.
By tradition, every new Lord returning from the Abyss had to report back and register at the academy.
This day was the Return Day of the Myriad Races of the Stars. All the instructor halls of the Starsea Academy were open. Hundreds of instructors of the latest graduating Lords wore expressions of anticipation, hoping their students could return safely.
After all, an instructor's achievement and treatment were directly linked to the survival rate and development of their students.
The Starsea Academy housed many instructors.
Xuan Qingfeng was one of them.
He had once been one of the most renowned human Lords in Sacred Cang City. After fighting in the Abyss for thirty to forty years, he had become a Tier 4 high-level Lord and was once seen as a hopeful candidate to break the peak record of human Lords in Sacred Cang City.
However—
Though Xuan Qingfeng was an outstanding Lord,
The margin for error for human Lords was simply too small.
The Abyss was a world of endless uncertainties—no Lord could avoid mistakes forever.
Due to one mistake and an unexpected incident, Xuan Qingfeng’s army, which he had painstakingly built over forty years, was utterly destroyed. He completely lost the chance to advance to Tier 5 Grand Lord, and his territory was eventually crushed under the pressure of the Abyssal forces and rival Lords.
His career as a Lord ended there!
Fortunately amidst misfortune, although he lost his territory and became a retired Lord, he retained his powerful strength and had over forty years of experience battling in the Abyss.
With such credentials—
Countless Grand Lords extended olive branches to him.
Finding a good job was not difficult.
But after suffering a devastating defeat, Xuan Qingfeng seemed unwilling to set foot in the Abyss ever again. He declined offers from all factions and instead joined the Sacred Cang City Lord Academy as an instructor.
The Land of the Myriad Stars was a strictly hierarchical, highly orderly place.
Though Xuan Qingfeng had some fame in Sacred Cang City, he was still just a retired Lord—and a human one at that. It was nearly impossible for him to recruit high-potential students. The students he could teach were mostly from lower races, especially humans.
Even among the instructors of the Starsea Academy,
Human instructors stood at the very bottom of the social ladder.
After all, in the Land of the Myriad Stars, the majority judged by race and potential.
These people believed that racial talent determined everything. Battles in the Abyss should be left to upper races and some mid-tier ones. Lower races like humans, with virtually no racial talent, existed only to assist other Lords.
In their eyes,
It was delusional for humans to try to change their fate.
Instructors like Xuan Qingfeng, a human Lord, should not even exist.
Such futile efforts were not only foolish but also a waste of the overall potential of the Myriad Races.
Despite the heavy discrimination, Xuan Qingfeng had never regretted or complained since becoming an instructor. He firmly believed that even the weakest race in terms of talent had the right and the potential to defy fate.
He himself had failed.
But he hoped to help young people with dreams.
He believed that one day, someone with more talent and luck than him would fulfill the ideals he had failed to realize!
Instructor Xuan Qingfeng had spent ten years training his first batch of students, and today was their first Return Day. His heart was full of unease. Several colleagues were also present in the same instructor hall.
Among them was a fifty-meter-tall giant shrouded in lightning, and a thirty-to-forty-meter-tall treant covered in lush leaves. The two instructors were conversing casually not far away.
The treant instructor asked, “How did your students perform this year, Instructor Lei?”
The giant instructor chuckled, “So-so, twenty-five returned. Three of my mid-to-upper race students reached Tier 2, and they even managed to clear the second map.”
The treant instructor praised, “As expected of Instructor Lei’s students—impressive!”
The giant instructor replied, “You’re not bad either, Instructor Shu!”
After a bout of mutual flattery,
Their eyes fell on the silent Xuan Qingfeng.
In their gazes, there was mockery, ridicule, and disdain.
The giant instructor asked knowingly, “Hmm? The Return Day’s already underway, how come we haven’t seen any of Instructor Xuan’s students yet?”
The treant instructor chuckled, “Instructor Xuan Qingfeng is always eager to help, but unfortunately, most humans have poor talent—nothing but rotten wood that can’t be carved. Being chosen as Lords by the stars is already a miracle. They probably couldn’t even get decent investment, let alone build a teleportation station.”
The giant instructor gloated, “I heard Instructor Xuan had a human student with decent overall ability, but he descended into the Eternal Night Layer of the Abyssal Plane. Isn’t that just suicide?”
The treant instructor said, “A human? In the Eternal Night Layer? Hahaha! If he comes back alive, I’ll eat expired goblin dung every day!”
Their voices were loud enough for all to hear.
Xuan Qingfeng heard every word.
The student they spoke of was Hang Yu—his most talented human student from this cohort.
Although a human, Hang Yu had the best overall qualities among his class.
Even if becoming a Legendary Lord was impossible for a human, with his talent, it was fully possible for him to match Xuan Qingfeng's past self—perhaps even surpass it, if luck was on his side!
Unfortunately—
Hang Yu had terrible luck.
His territory extended all the way into the Eternal Night Layer.
Human Lords already had minimal room for error. A mistake could undo decades of effort.
The Eternal Night Layer was deeply twisted and corrupted, crawling with Evil God forces. The higher the map level, the more terrifying and bizarre it became. How could a lower race survive there?
Even Xuan Qingfeng had stopped supporting Hang Yu’s path as a Lord.
Being a producer would’ve been better than walking into certain death in the Eternal Night Layer.
But the young man was too stubborn.
This matter had already spread through the academy, even drawing the attention of Headmaster Long. No one believed he would survive, yet he still chose to enter the Abyss—without any investment.
Xuan Qingfeng now felt regret.
He should’ve tried harder to stop him.
Even though he encouraged the young to pursue dreams,
He never encouraged such suicidal, moth-to-flame behavior.
“You’re both instructors at Starsea Academy. Isn’t it a bit disgraceful to freeload food and drink in public?”
Hang Yu had already arrived at the instructor hall with his four retainers via teleportation. Having just heard the instructors’ ridicule, he retorted without any politeness.
He was an academy graduate.
But now, he was also a Lord.
Naturally, he wouldn’t allow himself to be looked down upon.
“Hang Yu?!”
“You actually came back?!”
“What? That’s Hang Yu?!”
“He’s the human who went to the Eternal Night Abyss?!”
“Wasn’t this guy supposed to be dead?! He came back alive?!”
At that moment, many instructors and student Lords in the hall turned their eyes to Hang Yu. Their expressions were nothing short of dramatic—as if they had seen a ghost.
Hang Yu had not only returned alive,
But all four of his retainers had reached Tier 2 as well.
How was that even possible? He was just a human! And it had only been a bit over twenty days since he descended into the Abyss!
Ye Limeng, Little Bell, Black-Eyed Sharp Bro, and Toasting-at-the-Moon—each of them held gifts in hand. Facing the stares of numerous Lords and instructors, they stood tall, brimming with pride.
Hang Yu felt like he had become something of a meme at the academy during this time.
But he didn’t bother arguing with these people. He believed that it wouldn’t be long before the entire Starsea Academy realized—
All the mockery and schadenfreude would eventually turn into slaps on their own faces.
“Hang Yu, you’re…”
Xuan Qingfeng personally rose to greet him.
When he sensed the transformation in Hang Yu—like a complete rebirth—Xuan Qingfeng was deeply shaken.
Xuan Qingfeng had once been the most outstanding human Lord in Sacred Cang City, and he knew better than anyone just how difficult the path of a human Lord was. He could hardly believe that someone had achieved such a level in such a short amount of time.
“Unbelievable!”
“Absolutely unbelievable!”
“What on earth happened to you?”
“You actually reached Tier 2 in less than a month!”
Xuan Qingfeng looked Hang Yu up and down, his face full of excitement and joy.
“I had some fortuitous encounters.” Hang Yu had already concealed most of his aura.
Even so, Hang Yu’s return still caused a stir at the academy. After all, even for Xuan Qingfeng himself, it had taken five full years to reach Tier 2—and that was already considered fast among human Lords.
As for what exactly happened—
Hang Yu didn’t reveal it, merely summed it up as fortuitous encounters.
After all, the Abyss was a place of chaos and opportunity. It was entirely normal for a Lord to make leaps and bounds from a stroke of fortune. No one would dig too deep into such matters, since everyone had their own secrets.
As for whether someone would try anything malicious?
Hang Yu had never been concerned.
Because the Law of the Stars was not just for show.
“Sorry, I was delayed on the way back, so I returned a bit late!”
After teleporting from the outer harbor to the Starsea Academy, Hang Yu first took the four players around the area to sightsee—once again opening their eyes to a new world. Along the way, they bought some gifts for meeting the instructor, spending about five hundred Magic Crystals. The gifts weren’t cheap, but not overly extravagant either.
He waved his hand.
The four players immediately stepped forward.
They presented the gifts before Xuan Qingfeng.
“You’re my best student. Just coming back is the biggest surprise. You should’ve spent all your resources on developing your territory!”
That’s what he said—
But since the gifts had already been bought,
Xuan Qingfeng could only accept them.
This human Lord instructor was filled with a strong sense of accomplishment at this moment.
He felt that his ten years of effort and persistence had finally paid off.
The fact that Hang Yu returned alive from the Eternal Night Layer would surely spread throughout the Starsea Academy soon. It was enough to make him a minor celebrity at the academy.
Next—
The two sat down and talked for an hour or two.
Little Bell, Ye Limeng, Black-Eyed Sharp Bro, and Toasting-at-the-Moon stood in punishment the entire time. Hang Yu had used the Heavenly Dao Cube to restrict them from speaking or moving.
If it were any other game, this kind of experience would’ve made players rage.
But the four of them not only didn’t feel upset—they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Because ever since arriving in the Land of the Myriad Stars, Sacred Cang City, every single moment had exceeded their imagination. Every corner of this miraculous city, every NPC in this place, was bursting with hidden information.
Xuan Qingfeng inquired about the situation in the Abyssal Three Kingdoms.
But Hang Yu gave only a general description, without revealing any specific details.
Xuan Qingfeng, understanding the unspoken rules of Lords' privacy, didn’t press the matter further. As a former high-tier Lord, he simply marveled at the danger of the Eternal Night Layer of the Abyss.
“Although you’ve unlocked the second map, you're still in the early stages of Abyss exploration.”
Xuan Qingfeng spoke solemnly, his tone filled with concern: “As your personal strength and your territory grow, and as the number of areas you explore increases, the regions you encounter will become more twisted and insane. The Lord Wars you trigger will become increasingly grueling and tangled!”
“So never let your guard down—always have fallback plans!”
“Although you’re my most outstanding student, conquering the Abyssal Plane with a human body is unrealistic—especially the Eternal Night Layer, full of Evil Gods and taboos. I recommend you stop expanding new areas for now. Focus on cultivating your own strength and producing resources.”
“With your current power, you’ve already shut up all the doubters. As long as you proceed steadily and don’t act too aggressively, even if you eventually retire from being a Lord, you can still find a very respectable job in Sacred Cang City!”
“……”
In the end—
He still didn’t believe Hang Yu could stay in the Abyss long-term.
From Xuan Qingfeng’s perspective, his advice was sound.
But with the Fourth Calamity in his hands, Hang Yu had no fear of the Abyssal Plane. Even if danger lay ahead, he would never back down.
Xuan Qingfeng said, “Although I’m no longer a Lord, I still have plenty of experience and connections. If you need any help, don’t hesitate—just let me know anytime.”
Since he said that—
Hang Yu didn’t hold back.
“My territory is currently developing well, and I haven’t run into any major problems. But there is one small matter—I hope Instructor can help with it.”
“Speak!”
“I was able to gain a foothold in the Abyss thanks in no small part to Headmaster Long. If possible, I’d like to visit her in person, express my gratitude, and present a small token of thanks.”
To be honest—
When Hang Yu faced massive withdrawal of investment from all parties,
Xuan Qingfeng hadn’t stepped in to help, since he had opposed Hang Yu entering the Abyss in the first place.
Who would've thought Hang Yu would be so stubborn? He actually wrote to Headmaster Long and applied for a symbolic loan—and what’s more shocking, he really succeeded in establishing a foothold in the Abyss with just that little bit of funding!
“Alright, I’ll help you relay your request to visit. But the Headmaster is a Legendary Lord and extremely busy—she may not have time to meet you personally.”
“Understood.”
Hang Yu was well aware.
A Legendary Lord and the head of the Starsea Lord Academy—
Figures of that level didn’t have time to casually meet a newbie Lord.
Hang Yu only made the request because Headmaster Long had helped him before. Perhaps it was just a casual favor for her—but for someone like him, it was a life-changing grace. It didn’t matter if she remembered him—what mattered was showing the proper attitude and sincerity to a senior who had lifted him up in his most critical moment.
Whether they met or not—
Wasn’t actually that important.
Headmaster Long was a very busy dragon. Even if she refused to meet, it would be totally understandable.
Hang Yu would ask Instructor Xuan to pass along the gift. That way, he could consider the favor repaid.
Not long after—
Xuan Qingfeng returned with news.
“Headmaster Long is still busy, but she can spare some time in ten hours to meet with you.”
He paused, then added, “It seems she’s quite interested in you. Make sure you present yourself well when you meet her—connections with a Legendary Lord are incredibly valuable.”
A meeting in ten hours?
Hang Yu realized time had passed quickly.
It had already been almost ten hours since he returned to the Land of the Myriad Stars.
But even ten more hours later, there would still be time left on Return Day—enough for a brief meeting with Headmaster Long. After that, he could return to the Abyss and wrap up this short trip back to the stars.
Time was limited.
No point lingering further.
After all, returning once wasn’t easy.
Hang Yu planned to make every second count—doing something meaningful and worthwhile.
However, since he wasn’t yet famous, he couldn’t join many high-value Lord activities. Nor did he have enough time. He couldn’t even register in time for newbie Lord exchange events.
Time was too tight!
If only he could be like those Grand Lords—come and go freely, stay as long as they wanted—that would make both life and gathering resources and intel much more convenient.
Oh well.
Might as well stroll through the Sacred Cang City Lord Marketplace.
A place like that could provide all sorts of intel and offer goods and services. There was even a chance to find rare treasures among the junk.
As for why he had to shop in the Land of the Myriad Stars—
Instead of just using the trading halls?
Because the trading halls almost never offered high-level or truly rare items.
Even setting aside the transaction quality limitations tied to building levels, the more than ten thousand Lords in the hall were all Human Lords. Among them, the vast majority were at Tier 1 or Tier 2. Tier 3 Lords were extremely rare, and Tier 4 Lords were practically nonexistent. Naturally, the items they could offer for trade were limited.
The Territory Trade Hall was mainly used for trading basic resources, standard equipment, and regular blueprints.
If one wanted to try their luck and find truly rare goods—
They had to come to the Starsea to treasure-hunt.
…………
Not long after, the four—Ye Limeng and the others—followed the Lord out of a small-scale Teleportation Station, and were met with a bustling commercial district brimming with vitality and fantastical imagination.
Even though they had witnessed many wonders of Sacred Cang City along the way, the flourishing scene before their eyes still came as a surprise.
Sacred Cang City was vibrant and full of life.
This vitality didn't just come from the massive population, the ever-busy streets, the grand and imposing buildings, and the mind-boggling spectacles.
There was no doubt—
Sacred Cang City was massive.
Far beyond human imagination.
Some games or comics featured similarly grand scene designs, but they often felt hollow—grand for grandeur’s sake, majestic for the sake of majesty—lacking any soul.
Sacred Cang City was different.
It was not only vast and magnificent—
But also teeming with humanistic atmosphere and endless intricate details.
The city’s primary mode of transportation was teleportation. Mounts were merely used for short-distance travel. The various Teleportation Stations were as common as bus stops in human society.
Be it the flickering real-time holographic advertisements near the stations, the floating giant ships bristling with flags and loaded with cargo, the various family crests and commercial symbols, or even every individual’s clothing and style—
Everything was filled with logic and spirit.
The architecture, sculptures, streets, greenery, and all manner of wonders, both in function and design, exuded an unspeakable sense of creativity and harmony. There was no showboating, no unnecessary flair. The entire city felt like a naturally formed piece of art.
Not a single detail could be removed—
Not the slightest addition could be made.
So majestic, yet so refined.
The four players arrived like country bumpkins entering a grand city.
Every moment brought them wave after wave of shock and mental bombardment.
Among them, Little Bell, Ye Limeng, and Black-Eyed Sharp Bro simply saw everything as part of an ultra-realistic and perfect game environment.
But Raise-A-Cup-to-the-Moon had a completely different mindset. From the very beginning, he had been trying to find flaws—desperately attempting to prove that all this was just a virtual world.
But it was completely in vain!
Unlike Shansang City—
Sacred Cang's scale and population were ten thousand, no—millions of times greater!
None of Sacred Cang's design elements had even a hint of imitation. Every detail, function, structure, and artistic style of the entire city existed independently of Earth.
Most importantly, everyone in this place could interact, could communicate, and possessed intelligence—at least, as far as he had observed so far.
This wasn't a virtual world!
This was a real world!
Sacred Cang was merely one city within the Tianyuan Domain, and within that domain alone, there were at least three more cities of this scale, with countless other cities of various sizes. The total population was more than ten times that of all humanity on Earth!
And the Starsea Sanctuary corresponded to the Abyssal Plane.
Just as there was surely more than one Abyssal Plane—
There was surely more than one Domain.
Raise-A-Cup-to-the-Moon had no doubt that all the Starsea City-States, all the Starsea Sanctuaries, truly existed. Even if players couldn’t see them with the naked eye, even if they had never been there—everything within was developing and operating.
This Twisted Three Kingdoms Game was not a game!
What players had entered was a real world!
A world whose hidden worldview was unimaginably vast!
Beyond his shock, Raise-A-Cup-to-the-Moon also broke a sweat for the Special Task Force. When the settings of Sacred Cang City and the Starsea were exposed to the players, how would the Task Force explain the existence of all this?
And all of this—
How would it go on to affect the real world?
As for what the players thought—Hang Yu couldn’t care less.
It was his shopping time now.
The Lord Market had many shops, each backed by a major Lord or a powerful Lord family.
【520-Year Anniversary Super Sale! Legendary Forging Grandmaster On-Site! Custom Forging Services at Century-Low Prices!】
【Tianyun Magic Crystal Bank! Ultra-Low Interest Loans for Newbie Lords! Borrow with joy, repay with ease!】
【Tier 4 Blueprints! Starting from 100,000 Magic Crystals!】
【High Quality & Low Price! Business Zone for Newbie Lords! Come discuss cooperation with us!】
【……】
Every kind of shop and service could be found here.
Naturally, this included the common forging and alchemy services.
Many Lords whose own territories had poor production levels would return to the Starsea specifically to order custom equipment or potions.
Among them, the top-tier Forging Workshops and high-end custom Forging Shops—so long as one had enough Magic Crystals—could even get a Legendary Forging Grandmaster to craft equipment personally.
Hang Yu casually picked up a flyer.
【Blueprint: Sacred Dragon Hatchery】, Tier 5 Blueprint, 2,000,000 Magic Crystals!
【Blueprint: Multi-Function Matrix Teleportation Gate】, Tier 4 Blueprint, 1,000,000 Magic Crystals!
【Blueprint: Super Troop Fusion Enhancement Testing Grounds】, Tier 4 Blueprint, 800,000 Magic Crystals!
【……】
“Hiss!”
“Good lord!”
“This really doesn’t seem like the place I should be!”
Hang Yu looked at the luxurious, radiant shops enveloped in holy light, then turned his gaze to the nearby temporary stall area—and finally walked over to the temporary stalls. It was all about being grounded.
Black-Eyed Sharp Bro: “Looks like our Lord isn’t rich either!”
Ye Limeng: “No kidding. The Lord’s never taxed us. The territory’s financial level is obviously low. We should suggest to the devs to impose transaction taxes and commercial taxes on the territory.”
Little Bell nodded: “Supporting territory development is everyone’s responsibility. Seeing the Lord can only browse street stalls instead of shopping at the counters really breaks my heart!”
These players were truly understanding!
Actually suggesting ways to have themselves milked!
Hang Yu browsed the temporary stall area briefly.
Soon enough, he found something of interest at one Lord’s temporary stall.
【Revelation Divine Stone】, blue-grade rare consumable... When used on an unexplored map region, reveals the name of that area. Remaining quantity: 3.
Hang Yu saw this—
And his eyes lit up.
Coming to treasure-hunt in the Starsea had indeed been the right decision!
He had already come across something that couldn’t be found in the trading market!
At Hang Yu’s current stage, the trading market didn’t even support transactions of blue-grade items. Rare consumables like this could only be reliably found in the markets of the Starsea.
The function of the Revelation Divine Stone was simple—
It revealed information on unexplored maps.
Hang Yu was about to open the Fourth Map next, and with the assistance of this item, he could potentially draw a map of significantly higher value.
For the development of the territory—
It was of vital importance!
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