Blind Paragon: Soul Devourer in a Game-Like World

Ch.8 New Beginnings

The white light faded, replaced by natural sunlight filtering through a canopy of leaves.

Yun Kai stood in a forest, his sensory bubble expanding to take in his surroundings.

Trees towered around him, their trunks thick enough that three men couldn't wrap their arms around them. Undergrowth carpeted the forest floor in layers of moss and ferns. Birds sang in the distance, their calls echoing through the branches. The air smelled of fresh earth and vegetation.

A notification appeared in his mind.

[Current Location: Cloudville County, Dawnstar Province, Spiritbone Mountain]

Recognition dawned immediately. He knew this place.

This was the forest near the border between his Verdant Cloud Kingdom and the Yunlan Kingdom. The landmarks on the system map in his mind matched perfectly with his memories. He'd studied maps of regions countless times in the palace library, memorizing borders and territories.

He was at the base of Spiritbone Mountain, which acted as the first line of the border between the two kingdoms. An unclaimed land, as both kingdoms refused to give up on the territory, leading to frequent skirmishes and raids between them. No formal authority controlled this area. Just wandering cultivators, bandits, and the occasional patrol of both kingdoms' military.

Relief flooded through him. Despite the strange system and the bizarre rewards, his spawn location was exactly where he would have liked. Better than expected, actually.

Spiritbone Mountain was part of the greater Blackrock Mountain range, the main dividing line between the two kingdoms. The area was filled with forests, hidden valleys, and natural defenses. Easy to defend, hard to attack. Perfect terrain for building something from the ground up.

It was the ideal starting point.

[Please choose a name for use in the new game world.]

"Yun Kai," he said without hesitation.

There was no point in changing his real name. No reason to hide behind a false identity. He'd be recognized eventually anyway, thanks to that cursed title. Might as well stay consistent from here on.

[Ding! Please choose your occupation.]

[Options: Lord, Knight, Warlock, Life Occupation.]

"Lord," Yun Kai said immediately.

According to the information flowing through his mind, the Lord class would be a controversial occupation in the game world. Some players would call it worthless because of its dependence on high-quality village tokens. Others would call it the most powerful class in the game because of its all-around capabilities.

Everything depended on one item: the village building token.

With a token, you could establish your own territory. Build armies. Develop infrastructure. Become a true ruler with actual power.

Without a token, you were just a glorified administrator with no land to administer. Useless in a literal sense.

Fewer than ten thousand village building tokens would drop in the entire Desolate Martial World. Hundreds of billions of players would compete for those few thousand tokens in this new game world.

Many players might choose the Lord class without understanding the rarity. And when they failed to obtain tokens, there would be nothing they could do. They couldn't start over. This was a game, but still yet, not a game. People would die naturally as they always had. This game world was reality. The only way they could change their bleak future was to steal or acquire a token by destroying another player's territory.

Yun Kai knew the risks. But he also knew the rewards.

And most importantly, he already had a God-Level token sitting in his inventory.

[Occupation selected: Lord]

[Initializing player status...]

Yun Kai opened his status screen with a thought, and it appeared in his mind like words written on invisible parchment.

[Name]: Yun Kai

[Occupation]: Lord

[Title]: Harbinger of a New Era

[Official Position]: None

[Potential]: S-Rank

[Reputation]: 0

[Cultivation]: Early Qi Gathering Stage

[Four-Dimensional Attributes]:

Force: 15 (Determines attack power and physical strength)

Intelligence: 15 (Determines skill effectiveness and tactical ability)

Command: 15 (Determines the strength of group buff skills and leadership capacity)

Politics: 15 (Determines 'Player' recruitment success rate and territory prosperity)

[Skills]: Spiritual Ocean Sutra (Level 1), Heaven-Sundering Sword Scripture (Level 1), Star-Stride Blink (Level 1)

[Currency]: 100 Gold Coins

Yun Kai studied the numbers carefully. They were quite impressive compared to average, but not overly special. According to the system knowledge in his mind, most players started with S-Rank potential, and that was the only good thing about this new game world. The four-dimensional attributes were above average, the baseline was 10, but nothing overly remarkable.

Something quickly caught his attention.

"What! Why has my cultivation reduced?" he exclaimed, voice rising in surprise.

He'd been at the mid-stage of Qi Gathering just moments ago. Now it showed an early stage.

The system promptly replied in his mind.

[Due to the rules set in place, every player in the Desolate Martial World will equally start from the Qi Gathering Stage. Regardless of their previous cultivation level.]

Yun Kai stood dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open and jaw slack. He was astonished.

Then he burst out laughing.

"What!? Hahaha... This is great news!"

Yun Kai suddenly loved the system and its rules. He'd completely let go of his previous guilt-filled feelings for breaking the glass ball. This was great news, and most importantly, a fair game for everyone. Now, only the talented and determined would shine bright.

Those powerful old monsters at Innate Awakening Realm or Core Formation Realm? Reset. The genius young masters at Bone Forging Realm? Reset. Everyone back to square one.

The playing field was level. For the first time in his life, Yun Kai wasn't starting at a disadvantage. Well..., he still was cause he was blind, yet again.

He sobered slightly, checking his attributes again. He'd hoped the system rewards might have boosted his base stats to a perversely high level. But apparently not.

At least the rewards themselves were still in his inventory. They were, right?

Panic flashed through him briefly. He checked quickly for confirmation as that thought crossed his mind.

Fortunately, the God-Level village token glowed golden in his storage space. The Divine Warrior Pavilion blueprint sat beside it, rolled up and waiting. And the three Heavenly Art manuals were integrated into his skill list, though each showed as "Level 1."

According to the system, each manual had thirteen levels total. He was at the very beginning of their potential.

Everything was there. Perfectly intact. He wasn't hallucinating after all.

Yun Kai closed the status screen with a thought. Standing around wouldn't accomplish anything. He needed to act, to move forward.

But first, he needed to understand what came next.

[Ding! New Quest Available]

[Preliminary Quest: Claim Your Territory]

[Description: To establish a village, you must first claim land rights. Explore the surrounding area and find suitable territory within a 5-kilometer radius. Once found, plant your territory marker to claim the land.]

[Reward: Territory Claim Rights, 50 Reputation Points.]

[Time Limit: 24 Hours]

Yun Kai read the notification carefully. So building a village required two things: a village token and, most importantly, land to build on. You couldn't just drop a token anywhere. You needed proper claim rights first.

That made sense. Otherwise, players could just plop down villages in the middle of existing cities or inside palace grounds.

Five-kilometer radius. Twenty-four hours to find suitable land.

He could work with that.

Yun Kai's sensory bubble expanded again, probing his immediate surroundings. His sensory bubble was the same, it didn't increase. There were no threats nearby, or demonic beasts in his detection range.

Good.

He chose a direction at random and started walking. His bare feet padded softly against the forest floor, making almost no sound. Years of moving through the palace unseen had made him naturally stealthy.

The forest was peaceful. Too peaceful, almost. The system's reset must have affected the demonic beasts as well. They were probably all back at lower ranks, less aggressive than before.

That would change soon enough. Once beasts started cultivating again, the danger would return.

But for now, Yun Kai had time. Time to explore, time to plan, and time to build.

He walked for roughly ten minutes, mapping the terrain in his mind through his sensory bubble. The ground gradually sloped upward, indicating he was climbing toward a higher elevation. Trees thinned slightly, allowing more sunlight through the canopy.

Then his senses brushed against something different.

A clearing appeared in front of him. It was large, maybe fifty meters across. Relatively flat ground. And more importantly, there were sounds of running water nearby.

Yun Kai's pace quickened. He pushed through a final line of trees and entered the clearing.

His sensory bubble painted the scene. An open space with grass covering most of the ground. A stream running along the eastern edge, its water was clear and fresh. Rock formations were on the western side, providing natural shelter. Trees surrounded the clearing on all sides, creating a natural barrier.

"This is it. Perfect."

The most important thing was the defensible position with natural barriers and a fresh water source. There was enough flat ground to build structures, and it would be hidden from the main roads but accessible enough for future expansion.

Yun Kai smiled beneath his blindfold.

"This will do nicely."

He reached into his inventory, pulling out the territory marker the system had provided. It materialized in his hand, a wooden stake about a meter long, carved with intricate symbols.

He walked to the center of the clearing, found solid ground, and drove the stake deep into the earth.

[Ding! Territory Marker Planted]

[Analyzing location...]

[Location approved! Territory claim successful!]

[Quest Complete: Claim Your Territory]

[Rewards: Territory Claim Rights, 10 Reputation Points]

[Current Reputation: 50]

Golden light burst from the territory marker, spreading outward in a perfect circle. It washed over the clearing, the stream, and the surrounding trees. The light faded after a few seconds, but Yun Kai could feel the change.

This land was his now. Recognized by the system as his territory.

A new notification appeared.

[Ding! You may now use your Village Building Token to establish your settlement.]

[Warning: Once placed, your village location cannot be changed. Choose carefully.]

Yun Kai didn't hesitate. He'd already made his choice. This clearing was perfect for his needs.

He pulled the God-Level Village Building Token from his inventory. It materialized in his palm, warm and heavy. Golden light pulsed from its surface, the intricate patterns glowing with power.

For a moment, he just held it like a kid holding an expensive toy. Feeling its weight and understanding what it represented.

This wasn't just a token. This was the foundation of everything he would build. His kingdom. His power. His future.

Yun Kai took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing."

He placed the token on the ground and activated it.

The world exploded in golden light.