Chapter Sixty-Six: Stepping Down

Chapter 66: Stepping Down

“Everyone, it’s a pleasure to see you all again after a year. I am truly honored to have served as the leader of our alliance these past few years. Thank you for your cooperation; with everyone’s efforts, I believe I’ve managed the role fairly well.”

Li Hongshen spoke from the shed that housed the Hong Tribe in the City of Reception. Over the past few years, the shed had undergone several expansions, eventually becoming the alliance’s meeting hall.

A meeting was underway inside, attended by students descended from this City of Reception. Over the years, all the lords had participated in the Virtual Market and joined the alliance, making the hall somewhat crowded.

Now, Li Hongshen was about to step down as leader of this small alliance and depart, for he would soon venture deep into the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains, formally entering the outskirts of the Wildlands.

“The position of alliance leader will now be handed over to Lord Stardream. I trust his Faint Star Tribe will shoulder this responsibility well. I hope everyone will continue to support the alliance and Lord Stardream. Thank you all.”

After the brief meeting and the formal handover to the new leader, Li Hongshen gracefully announced his departure from the alliance.

Though it was merely a small alliance, its usefulness was considerable—it fostered connections, provided the newcomers a space to discuss, exchange, and solve problems.

Over the past few years, Li Hongshen had managed not only his own tribe’s affairs but also coordinated alliance matters: price controls, competition over resources among lords, the division of adjacent hunting grounds, and more.

This small alliance was comprised of freshmen; some acted with a certain naivety that, in Li Hongshen’s eyes, led to avoidable conflicts.

Yet all were lords, all students from Pengcheng No. 1 High School. Even if there were disparities in their development, there was no need to blindly follow Li Hongshen’s advice.

Thus, he was required to mediate, reason with both sides, and sometimes exert authority when necessary. It was a valuable experience, though it brought him some vexation.

Now, having successfully handed over his duties, he was finally free from the alliance’s concerns, much to his relief.

Lord Stardream, who would assume leadership, had joined the alliance only in the second year but was already a formidable lord. His progress, however, lagged behind Mo Ge and Gongsun Bieli, who had joined earlier.

Yet, as those two were focused on developing their tribes and aiming to enter the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains within two years, neither wanted to lead the alliance. After much discussion and an election, Lord Stardream and his Faint Star Tribe were chosen to lead.

This meant the new leader could serve longer; he was the head of the second cohort from this Reception Point. When he entered the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains, he would pass leadership to the third cohort.

The third cohort would be the last group. Once they departed, the City of Reception would close until the next generation of students arrived.

The lords gradually left the meeting hall, bidding farewell to Li Hongshen and the others. The next time they met would be in the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains, where they might become allies or competitors.

After the lords dispersed, Li Hongshen, Li Bingbing, and Lin Shengzun made their way toward the center of the City of Reception. They needed to exchange for maps of the outskirts of the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains.

These cities acted as coordinates within the endless Wildlands. Students descended into whichever City of Reception, binding their beacon there. When transferring, they had to notify the staff in advance.

Staff would report to the school, and teachers outside the Wildlands would provide three maps—each leading to different Reception Cities for the next stage.

The distribution of resources, survival difficulty, depth of exploration, and travel distance around each Reception City varied. Students had to choose for themselves.

The Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains were roughly divided into three regions: the outskirts, the middle, and the depths. This time, Li Hongshen received only one map for the outer Reception City; the other two pointed to the middle region, with the furthest nearing the depths.

This showed the teachers had high hopes for Li Hongshen, believing he had a good chance of entering the middle region directly. Hence, they assigned him such routes.

Upon arrival at the next Reception City, students registered their beacon there, essentially settling in. If they accidentally exited the endless Wildlands, they would reappear from the new Reception City upon return.

Soon, Li Hongshen and his companions obtained three maps from the City of Reception, each choosing the Reception City that suited them best. They agreed on a time to regroup, aiming to enter the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains before summer.

Although Li Hongshen and his two friends had different maps and destinations, their paths into the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains would overlap, enabling them to travel together.

This eased the survival burden, conserved their strength, and reduced the risk of beast attacks.

For in the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains, fierce beasts formed groups under pressure—even tigers hunted in packs. For newcomers, this was particularly dangerous.

Thus, students would gather at least a hundred warriors before forming an expedition party for the mountains, both to resist beast packs and to withstand the annual beast tide that began on the outskirts.

Once they set foot in the outskirts, the beast tide came after the rainy season. Various beast packs would gorge themselves or gather food to stock up for winter.

This made many tribes their targets—a mechanism within the Wildlands. By this stage, acquiring blood crystals was no longer a major issue.

Students could pay the required fees with ease. Some, like Li Hongshen, were military orphans and didn't need to pay at all, relieving the pressure for newcomers to struggle and advance.

Thus, the authorities fostered the beast tide in this natural way, forcing all tribes to face it. Those unable to withstand it would be swept away.

Those who survived the beast tide would gain many beast carcasses, supplementing their blood crystals and providing enough pelts and meat for winter.

After leaving the Reception Point, Li Hongshen hurried back to his tribe to direct his people in making their final preparations before entering the Hundred-Thousand-Mile Mountains.

(End of chapter)