Ye Yun was unaware of the events in the Demon Realm. He trusted that Hei Yi’s strength was more than enough to handle it. After all, Hei Yi’s constant absorption of demonic energy meant his power grew by leaps and bounds in the Demon Realm, far surpassing Zhang Boduan.
This time, Ye Yun did not follow his usual routine of drinking fine wine from the Sky Pot and Earth Cup in reality before leaving Emperor’s View Garden. He observed all the Dragon Palace members diligently at their tasks within the estate. Without disturbing anyone, he vanished and reappeared above Mili Island.
The first batch of residents on Mili Island consisted of the Dragon Palace's official members. The logistics department would follow as the second batch, and the reserve members in the top ten echelons. Those beyond the tenth echelon would remain in the magic capital, awaiting a vacancy to be promoted into the top ten echelons.
The competition for the reserve team was currently far fiercer than for the official members. Not only was the sheer number of players larger, but the Dragon Palace’s selection criteria for the top ten echelons were particularly stringent. They considered not only player level but also comprehensive factors like stats, talent, talent skills, and class.
Beyond these qualifications, there were also political reviews, interviews, and medical examinations. In essence, becoming an official member of the Dragon Palace required more rigorous standards and scrutiny than even public service examinations.
However, once an individual became an official member, their potential for growth could increase a hundredfold, a thousandfold, or even ten thousandfold. Thus, despite over a hundred thousand reserve members, few actually quit. The reserve team itself offered decent benefits.
At the center of Mili Island, a cylindrical building spanning nearly five hundred mu rose from the ground, resembling a colossal steel rod piercing the heavens, planted between the earth and sky. Six enormous silver dragons coiled around the exterior of the building, their heads converging at the apex to guard a sphere with a radius of one hundred meters.
This was the newly constructed Dragon Palace Headquarters! Standing over eight hundred meters tall, it comprised 199 floors! The sphere contained a self-contained space, entirely made of special one-way glass, serving as Ye Yun’s personal residence.
At this very moment, a graceful figure stood within Ye Yun’s future abode, gazing up at him hovering a thousand meters in the sky, her face alight with surprise and joy.
*Whoosh…*
Ye Yun materialized directly before her.
“Sister Ding Yi, it’s been a while! Fancy an embrace?” Ye Yun quipped, looking at Ding Yi, who was dressed in a sharp, professional attire.
To his astonishment, Ding Yi actually stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Ye Yun, who had never even held a girl’s hand, stiffened instantly. *This is just a joke! I have no idea about love!*
“No, Sister Ding Yi, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you?” Under Ye Yun’s divine sense, Ding Yi’s eyes shimmered with emotion.
“No, I’m just happy to see you after so long.” Ye Yun’s words seemed to bring Ding Yi back to reality. With an embarrassed smile, she released him.
“Ha, I thought something was wrong. We’ve only been apart for about a month, right? Come on, show me around our Dragon Palace base. I haven’t been here since construction began.” Ye Yun chuckled at Ding Yi’s explanation.
“Little Ye, I think you and this Dragon Palace Headquarters are a perfect match,” Ding Yi said, looking at Ye Yun with an expression that hinted at longing.
“Naturally, who do you think designed it?” Ye Yun noticed a subtle change in Ding Yi’s demeanor towards him.
“Yes, it suits you perfectly. Steel-like and straightforward. Let’s go, I’ll help you get acquainted with the environment here.”
Although Ye Yun could have easily familiarized himself with the entire Mili Island using his divine sense, he indulged in the rare moment of leisure and followed Ding Yi, beginning his tour of his domain.
Within the sphere, besides Ye Yun’s bedroom, there was an unusually large swimming pool. It was already filled with nutrient solution, some of which had overflowed into the surrounding troughs.
The nutrient solution in the troughs would be channeled through hidden pipes to fill the thousand-square-meter pools on each floor, intended for future Dragon Palace members to manifest their combat strength.
The distribution and usage of the nutrient solution were strictly tiered based on status and strength, flowing downwards.
However, the advent of the辟谷丹 (Bigu Pill) might disrupt this established hierarchy. This could allow more individuals to manifest their combat strength, breaking the confinement to the mid and upper echelons.
More than three months had passed since Ye Yun’s rebirth. In this short span, Ye Yun had accomplished feats that the entire Blue Star had failed to achieve in three years prior to his rebirth.
Yet, as Ye Yun’s strength grew and his understanding of the Heavenly Dao deepened, a sense of urgency intensified within him.
Consequently, both in the real and game worlds, his daily dose of fine wine from the Sky Pot and Earth Cup was indispensable, as was the case for Wang Xiao Tong and a host of Dragon Palace’s high-ranking officials.
The surroundings of the Dragon Palace Headquarters resembled an eight-trigram formation, with commercial buildings and mid to high-rise structures radiating outwards.
Ye Yun lost patience after barely half an hour. After all, the facilities here were far from complete, and many areas were still under construction.
“Sister Ding Yi, you’ve been so busy with matters here lately. Your game level has fallen behind quite a bit,” Ye Yun said, feeling bored as he kicked at the surrounding loess, reminding Ding Yi that it was time to return to gaming.
Since arriving here, Ding Yi had rarely logged into the game, her level still stuck at 22. However, her talent, like Zhou Ning Dong and others, had improved significantly.
In terms of talent alone, with just a level or two more, Ding Yi would be among the top combatants on the Blue Star.
“Yes, once everyone arrives, I can play together with them,” Ding Yi replied, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Ye Yun, as if she had something to say but hesitated.
“Master, Department Head Ding.” Just as Ye Yun was about to retreat to his residence for some rest, Mi Ya Luo approached and bowed to Ye Yun and Ding Yi.
This first captain of the Mi Kingdom now served as Ding Yi’s secretary. She and Taigerse had both manifested 20% of their combat strength. Taigerse had been dispatched by Ye Yun to Delburg to expand their business.
“Master?” Ding Yi looked at Ye Yun, a hint of confusion in her voice.
“If there’s nothing else, you two carry on. I’ll be taking my leave now.” With that, Ye Yun vanished in a flash before them.
“Department Head Ding, how did it go? Did you try what I suggested…? I’m telling you, even the most steel-like and straightforward man can’t resist the heat of the flame…”