Chapter One: The Lord’s Trial

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Chapter 1: The Lord’s Trial

Today marks the tenth year since Li Hongshen crossed into this world, and it is also the day he must face the Lord’s Trial.

Ten years ago, Li Hongshen arrived quietly in this era where everyone was destined to become a lord, reborn as a six-year-old child.

Upon arrival, he was handed a notice of his parents’ simultaneous passing and escorted by government officials to the Origin Orphanage for care.

His parents’ inheritance, along with three subsidies from the nation, the League, and the Legion, were placed under government trusteeship. Each month, Li Hongshen received a living allowance, with the remainder to be fully transferred to him after completing the Lord’s Trial.

Of course, some of his parents’ old comrades wished to adopt him, but Li Hongshen ultimately declined, choosing instead to remain at the orphanage while maintaining regular video calls with these uncles and aunts to keep up his relationships.

What made Li Hongshen most proud, however, was that he had won over a childhood friend—a true beauty with both wealth and charm. He was certain that he would never have to worry about finding a wife in this life.

In this era, every person undergoes a free Lord’s Trial organized by the government around the age of sixteen. The outcome of this trial determines the path of their life.

Those who succeed become lords, pioneers of their own territories in the Void, creators of their own miniature worlds. They advance to Lord High School, strive for Lord University, join the Lord Legion, and become part of the League, fighting for the glory of civilization.

Those who fail need not despair. There are other paths besides becoming a lord. The well-off can use Source Points to pay for a second or third attempt at the trial, or choose to become professionals—studying and training in conquered subsidiary worlds, eventually swearing loyalty to a lord, expanding his territory, and waging war in other realms.

One could also choose a simpler life in the main world, living quietly and contributing to society and population growth.

Every day, one could enjoy live streams, discuss the Professional League tournaments, watch the University Lords’ competitions, or gossip about celebrity lords’ scandals.

Lords can build their territories, cultivate their people, explore myriad realms, wage cross-world wars, and blend diverse technologies and civilizations.

The stronger the territory, the stronger the lord; the stronger the lord, the more powerful the civilization. There are even thousand-year-old elders who have survived since the dawn of the Lord Era.

In such an environment, all education in the main world revolves around the profession of lord. Beyond the necessary cultural courses, there are classes in physical training, agriculture, civil engineering, and specialized lord studies.

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Everything is aimed at enabling students to pass the Lord’s Trial. This exam-oriented, intensive education has indeed greatly improved the birthrate of new lords.

Relying on memories from his previous life, and well aware of the importance of study in this world, Li Hongshen had always excelled academically, thanks to his enhanced mental and physical abilities after crossing over. He consistently ranked among the top three in his grade, making him a favored candidate to pass the trial and become a lord.

“Students of First High School, please enter,” came the announcement.

On a vast square of white jade, students gathered for the trial. Under the guidance of staff, Li Hongshen and his classmates entered the plaza.

Previously, Li Hongshen had already signed an agreement: if he died during the trial, his assets would be confiscated.

Indeed, the Lord’s Trial is not without danger. Though anyone can end the trial at any time, each year some students still perish, unable to return in time.

Everyone knows the risks, but this is merely the first hurdle to becoming a lord. If one cannot face life and death, it’s better to give up pursuing the path of lord or professional and live as an ordinary member of civilization.

A pillar of light soared from the white jade plaza. Li Hongshen, along with the other candidates, was transported to the trial space.

When Li Hongshen regained his senses, he found himself suspended in midair, gazing down at a large island. He knew he had entered the trial grounds and hurried to memorize the island’s general layout and resource distribution.

The civilization of lords has developed for over a thousand years, and the trial’s process is now well understood.

At the start, everyone is teleported into the trial space—random maps, random weather, random population, random resources. As the elders say, luck is a form of strength in the Lord’s Trial.

At the beginning, candidates’ consciousness descends from the sky, and it’s crucial to memorize the surroundings and resource locations.

This helps them later secure a good base camp and analyze how best to survive the trial.

As Li Hongshen’s gaze descended, a variety of landscapes unfolded before him, resources of all types appearing in turn.

Near the center of the island to the east was a valley—a wonder of nature—filled with phoenix trees and bamboo groves, and home to some birdlife. A spring bubbled deep within.

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To the west lay cliffs, down which waterfalls cascaded. At the base were open-air iron mines, though near the bay lurked a group of saltwater crocodiles.

The south was a crescent-shaped bay, while the north and the island’s center were covered in forests—rubber trees, cedars, teak, and rosewood.

The island itself was trapezoidal: narrow in the west, broad in the east, long from north to south, high in the north and low in the south, covering more than a hundred square kilometers.

From the island’s environment and resources, Li Hongshen deduced that it lay in a subtropical region, and he had a rough idea of the challenges he would face.

As the scenery flickered rapidly before his eyes, he finally saw a group of humans clad in animal skins and grass skirts—exactly one hundred people, fifty men and fifty women.

Li Hongshen understood that these were his initial subjects. Resource-rich as the start was, having one hundred mouths to feed meant a challenging opening.

According to the history of civilization, a thousand years ago, everything in the Lord’s Trial was random at the start.

Some were sent to plains, others to mountains, and some unlucky souls found themselves in deserts.

You might start with a dragon as your first subject, only to be devoured because you couldn’t provide enough food.

Or you might end up with hundreds of slimes and abandon the trial because you couldn’t use them in battle.

With the development of civilization and the emergence of legendary lords, adjustments were made: the chances of deserts and swamps appearing were reduced, and the initial subjects were limited to humans, elves, beastkin, and dwarves. Other races could be acquired later with Source Points or by conquering other worlds.

Now, Li Hongshen’s task was to lead these hundred people to survive on this island for one year and thus complete the Lord’s Trial.

“Ding! System now active. Lord’s Trial site discovered. Check-in and attendance now available.”

(End of chapter)