Chapter 538: Chapter 482: Invitation

Tap, tap, tap, tap—

Countless pieces of sand, clumps of soil, and metal emerged, swiftly morphing into columns, walls, and parts of facilities, quickly assembling together.

They joined continuously, piling higher and higher.

In less than two seconds,

A towering structure over sixty meters tall stood before the survivors.

On the wide-open gates, the words “Training Camp” seemed to possess a magical allure, capturing everyone’s gaze.

This was already the thirtieth “Training Camp” for Green Shadow, and it had been upgraded to the highest level with a total of ten floors. The lower three floors were the “General Training Areas,” floors four through eight were “Advanced Training Areas,” and floors nine and ten consisted of “Spirit Space Areas.”

The upgraded training camps, aside from occupying a larger area and housing more facilities, like a third-tier training camp, which had two thousand “Spirit Space” access rooms, also had elevated limits for various training installations.

A first-tier training camp’s punching power tester had a maximum tolerance of 10,000 kg, which was basically used for testing Awakeners below the Fifth Tier Peak, while a third-tier training camp’s was 250 tons, theoretically capable of satisfying any Awakener’s test. In reality though… the punching power of an Awakener at the Perfection level fell far short—after all, the higher the tier of the Awakener, the more their combat prowess manifested in the use of Source Power.

Like the Gravity Room, its upper limit was also raised from ten times the force of gravity to two hundred times, meeting the cultivation needs of higher-tier Awakeners.

Constructing from thin air, Tang Yu was now well-practiced at it.

With a 76.89% Fitting Degree to his Territory, he felt a sense of freedom to do as he pleased.

—Systematic constructions could also be freely crafted without being confined to the original frameworks.

He wasn’t far from the 80% upgrade requirement.

“And I’m also getting closer and closer to becoming Transcendent.”

The Transcendent Barrier, that thick mountain, had only one layer left after his repeated assaults. These days, he felt the power accumulating inside his body growing stronger and stronger, swelling as if he could shatter the bottleneck with a single punch.

Soon!

However, the thought of bamboo rat Li having broken through to Transcendence just yesterday almost gave Tang Yu a heart attack.

This isn’t mysticism!

These days, Stoneman Tylon, Winnie, and Luo Zhe had all broken through to Transcendence one after the other.

The reason for the successive breakthroughs was rooted in the “Pure Source Power Pool” they moved back some time ago. The drained Source Power Pool, after he invested resources into it, produced threads of pure Source Power, helping Luo Zhe and the others quickly assault their limits.

If ordinary individuals at the brink of Perfection trying to break the barrier was like the foolish old man moving mountains with a shovel, he and Eileen, assaulting their limits, were like using excavators, and now, with the “Pure Source Power Pool,” it was like using missiles to directly flatten mountains.

However, breaking through the final layer of the barrier still required relying on one’s own power; no external force could help, unless one became a Pseudo Transcendent.

His cultivation progress had originally been faster than that of Luo Zhe and others. However, when everyone was just one step away, they overtook him on the curve.

“Whether it’s talent or progress, I was ahead,” Tang Yu felt quite vexed but then reminded himself that Luo Zhe and the others were originally stronger than him.

Furthermore, the cost of helping them achieve rapid breakthroughs was enormous; the resources invested in the “Pure Source Power Pool” were high-purity Source Crystals.

The method couldn’t be widely applied, and he couldn’t possibly open the “Pure Source Power Pool” to others.

Forget it, forget it.

He didn’t need to be too strong in combat; he better focus on properly planning the Territory.

He picked up a statistical table from the desk. “According to predictions from the Municipal Department, among the thirty training camps, fifteen are first-tier, ten are second-tier, and five are first-tier, which is currently the most cost-effective choice.”

The costs of constructing the training camps had already been communicated to Chen Haiping, with plans devised by professionals from the Municipal Department.

However, cost-effective as they might be, they still couldn’t meet the needs of the enormous number of unofficial Awakeners in Green Shadow, especially in the “Spirit Space Areas.” He had always wanted to lower the prices, but they were in such high demand.

In Tang Yu’s ideal scenario, every individual would be able to enter the Spirit Space and fully usher in the virtual reality era.

He hoped to simplify it into portable devices; even if the Spirit Space weren’t as authentic, that would be fine.

And to fully implement digital payments, create a digital currency, and gather the Source Crystals from the hands of the Awakeners, rather than the current cumbersome point and merit systems.

…

The news that Green Shadow was about to build its city spread rapidly.

The survivors were overjoyed, for no other reason than that the Municipal Department had announced that during the city’s founding in half a month, they would hold a grand banquet where people could taste the delicious meat of the Mutant Beasts. The Awakeners were equally excited because, on that day, whether it was rune equipment, spells, or combat skills for sale, all would be offered at a discount.

Moreover, every year thereafter, on the anniversary of the city’s founding, the same promotional activities would take place.

Upon hearing this news, the survivors began to hustle, each putting in extra effort to undertake commissions and complete tasks to ensure they had enough funds to splurge on the day the city was built.

At the same time, Green Shadow was vigorously forging a unified defense circle.

With Green Shadow as the core and Lindong, Heng City, Shuo Lake, and Huiyang as the secondary cores—four major Sanctuaries—plus several Satellite Cities, transfer stations, and outposts, the defense circle was also planned to be initially formed on the founding day of the city.

In the months of cooperation, Lindong and the other major Sanctuaries had already become inseparable from Green Shadow. This city-building and defense circle construction also signified formal integration,

becoming an official part of Green Shadow.

Everything fell into place so naturally.

Ever since the rise of Green Shadow, everyone had witnessed the changes in the living conditions and overall strength of the surrounding Sanctuaries. Even the stubborn ones, such as a senior official from Lindong who had once planned to rely on Yan Dingtian to seize Green Shadow, his grave… with the current speed of plant growth, would more than likely have grown into a forest by now.

Of course, each of the four major Sanctuaries had a considerable degree of autonomy. Aside from collaborating in construction and scientific research, matters inside the Sanctuaries were managed by the original senior officials.

Tang Yu needed not have these people be completely loyal; that was impossible. But as long as their interests aligned and he controlled the greatest military deterrence, he could turn the defense circle into a real wall of bronze and iron.

…

Amidst the busyness, one invitation after another was sent out to various places.

The first to receive them were other Sanctuaries within the Tiannan Province, such as Jing City, Yang City, and so on.

The leaders of the eight major forces in charge of the Jing City Sanctuary gathered together, with the exquisite invitation placed in front of them on the table.

Their expressions were complex.

“Green Shadow has indeed become an unimaginable behemoth.”

They had already anticipated the day they would be far surpassed by Green Shadow, ever since they were shocked by the military force and saw the level of rune technology and martial ability of Green Shadow.

They, who owned the provincial capital and were major clans and corporations with countless industries underneath, at the start of the apocalypse relied on manpower and weapons and were far ahead of the average Awakener. However, they never expected that a Sanctuary built by a few freelance Awakeners in Green Shadow would develop so fast in just a few short months that they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of its shadow anymore.

To say they were not envious or jealous would be a lie.

So many thoughts and emotions swirled together.

“What do you all think?”

This question carried many implications.

Attending was definitely on the agenda. Jing City depended on Green Shadow’s rune equipment, and was not far from the behemoth that was Green Shadow. What needed to be considered was the scale of the delegation to be sent and the gifts befitting such a celebration.

There was also another concern: places like Lindong and other Sanctuaries would be fully integrated into Green Shadow.

They worried that one day, the same would happen to Jing City.

The Wu Family Patriarch let out a self-deprecating laugh, “It’s just needless worry. Do we have any choice about future matters? Besides, that man in charge of Green Shadow doesn’t have strong controlling desires. Our families’ businesses have not suffered but have grown stronger instead. Just look at Lindong and Heng City; their overall strength is already about to surpass Jing City.

Even if that day does come, it might not be a bad thing.”

And after all, they were able to govern Jing City because they had the backing of Green Shadow’s generosity.

He picked up the invitation and examined it closely, “This invitation is no small matter either. Made entirely of Source Crystals, it contains a large amount of Source Power and is sealed with a terrifying spell.”

The front was inscribed with runes inviting them to attend the city-building ceremony, while the back was full of mysterious runes.

It symbolized a powerful combination spell.

Incorporating defense, area of effect attacks, and escape.

Even faced with a Catastrophe Level demonized beast, it could smear one in its face.

Just this one invitation alone was indicative of Green Shadow’s strength and wealth,

miles beyond reach for them.