Chapter 1278: Chapter 1278
1278: Chapter 1264: Homeland 1278: Chapter 1264: Homeland The initial courtyard was a piece of ruins.
The largest structure was an abandoned “sports stadium,” a relic left behind by the “arena” of the Big Cat Rule.
An island in the void, a small building, a half-destroyed rule building, even the “garden” was dug out by Lu Ping’an himself…
more specifically, by the Big Cat at his behest, and now…
It was a boundless land, and from above, a massive river wound around the entire territory, further dividing it into distinct areas.
In the very center stood the high-rise headquarters of the bank, resembling a fairytale castle, the heart of the entire scene.
Adjacent to it were the grand library, the Tower of Time, and an inn (a non-rule building), together forming the core cluster of buildings, akin to castles and towers, also serving as the living quarters and Administrative District for the permanent staff.
Inside were the Trading Hall and the Reception Room, the most vital functional areas of the courtyard.
Heading south across a mountain range, one came upon the bustling big sports stadium, which, although it was the only cluster of buildings there, had evolved into a large plaza and the place with the courtyard’s highest permanent population.
There were always people training, sparring, or even setting up stalls for private trading…
Their trades were not limited to tangible goods, as various “sparring,” “commissions,” “knowledge,” and “information” were also parts of the exchange.
This was the training area and, simultaneously, the place where professionals exchanged and traded resources for growth.
Heading north, crossing the Wishing Fountain, one would find the most rule buildings in the courtyard.
The Holy Fire Church, the new zoo, the Craftsman Workshop, the Magic Potion Workshop, and so on, whose layouts were chaos, and strange noises could always be heard.
Since explosions and weird substance leaks had become commonplace, and “food/medicine poisoning deaths” were not covered by the courtyard’s “no attacking each other” rule (considered suicide).
Naturally, although this was an important logistics area for professionals, it had few customers on regular days…
Customers preferred to pay extra taxes for safe transactions in the Trading Hall rather than face the risk of inexplicable explosions, poisonings, beast attacks, or rampaging Beastmen.
Heading west, there was the beauty of amber, the courtyard’s green space, naturally known as the “Land of Garden.”
This area, along with part of the eastern region, was the source of various Magic Plants and vegetation, the base for the Gardener research team, and the site of Lu Ping’an’s private greenhouse and lab…
due to his infrequent visits, it had previously been used by Professor Wen and others.
Now, as most of the research personnel had not yet returned, it was operating as usual.
Worth mentioning, the hardest working employees here were “Robots,” in a sense, the most luxurious farmers and laborers…
Even now, most of the care was overseen by Rule-level individuals like Fang Wen.
But after Lu Ping’an introduced some mechanical equipment, this place had achieved a modernized farmhouse life with drones fertilizing, robots sowing, and automatic vehicles harvesting, which seemed out of place with the overall style of the courtyard but brought an efficiency unreachable by human resources.
Eastward lay another living quarter, which was also where the “factories” were located.
The residential and industrial areas merged, with Fang Wen’s residence here, including the Mechanical Factory, Wood Processing Factory, and Light Industrial Workshop among the modernized “factories.” She also took on multiple roles such as Mechanic, Repair Master, and Assembly Line Designer.
Four major districts, along with four iconic “Water Sources,” were all part of the giant sky island.
The massive river made the whole world more livable, and Meow and others were contemplating whether to raise fish in it.
Where the river water flowed, dense vegetation thrived, and bizarre ancient trees became the largest spectacle, but just over a year ago, this place was nothing but a gray wasteland.
Clouds floated overhead, and in the sky, there was a sun providing light for the garden, turning into a starlit sky when night fell.
“This is a complete world…” The familiar wind brought a flurry of petals and a faint scent of flowers.
The fusion of the two fragments had transformed what was originally the “Divine Foundation” into a quite polished “Independent Secret Realm”.
Or, seen from a higher perspective, it could be viewed in some sense as an Earthly Divine Kingdom.
This was already a complete world, not just a tower in the void.
Lu Ping’an faintly realized that if it continued to evolve, he would probably not be able to easily carry it with him into Otherworldly realms…
“It’s almost restored to the Divine Boat…
I thought at the earliest, it would happen when you reached Quasi-God.”
Was this a good thing?
It should be, Lu Ping’an could feel the joy of his entire spirituality and soul with the strengthening of the courtyard.
But the integration of those two fragments brought more than just these changes…
“The biggest gain is probably the ‘Wishing Well’, the ability to transform ‘lifespan’ into ‘Life-points’…”
This seemingly ordinary “function” had always been the biggest weakness of Lu Ping’an’s courtyard.
Previously, as currency, Life-points’ production was too unstable, and most of the time the source of its output was the courtyard’s purchasing…
In a sense, it was Lu Ping’an’s stock.
The inability to print currency en masse naturally caused a significant handicap in “Finance” circulation.
Even though the main theme of his courtyard was “Trading”, there was still the reality that most participants had no resources or currency to trade with.
The singular currency of Life-points had always been somewhat overvalued, but due to the “limited production”, it was an unavoidable situation.
“A massive acquisition of Life-points?
Actually, many are the ‘remnants’ of high-dimensional power integrated into this world…
You yourself lack the ability to produce…”
But this time, from the fragment of the “Hand of Desire”, Lu Ping’an obtained the most crucial link.
The ability to revert/ refine/ evolve another’s ‘Life’ into the pure essence known as ‘Life-points’, a conceptual currency.”
This little well was, in fact, Lu Ping’an’s “mint”, the source that got the whole market circulating.
Since “Life-points” were power rather than mere currency, simply printing money was meaningless…
The advantage was that there was no need to worry about the market tending towards false prosperity and economic hollowing, but the downside was that the scarcity of currency greatly impacted normal trade.
“Not only that, these Life-points, after all, circulated within the courtyard and its subordinate factions.
Thus, all ‘currency’ could be seen as the courtyard’s accumulated wealth.
From now on, as long as someone exchanged lifespan for Life-points, it would be like continuously having outsiders investing, expanding the ‘volume’ of the entire courtyard…”
Big Cat’s statement was harsh but realistic, yet Lu Ping’an could understand.
This was equivalent to people continually “subscribing” to their “country’s” currency and debt and making “investments”, which would naturally prosper the local “total volume”.
For now, this well, due to its sinister nature, remained unused.
But Lu Ping’an knew that it wouldn’t be long before this place became the most bustling area of his courtyard.
Just as Lu Ping’an was contemplating the various impacts that “opening up to foreign investment” might bring, someone had developed a new contraption…
a method that could overturn the common sense of professionals and even the whole world!
Use the Wishing Pool…
just with the lowest denomination of copper coins, you can achieve a fundamental transformation of a Life form; it can allow a Mortal to become a professional with no risk!
Yes, you heard right, it can mass-produce professionals indefinitely!”