"What a strange place..."
Lin Yu shook his slightly dizzy head and opened his eyes. He found himself lying in a small, enclosed room. It was completely empty, with yellow lights blinking on the walls.
"This isn't my home... Why wasn't I teleported back to my house?"
Before entering the tournament, Lin Yu had been lying on his large bed at home. He had assumed that after exiting the Lord Tournament, he would return straight to his bed. He never expected to be teleported to this unknown place.
Once his dizziness faded, Lin Yu got up, intending to inspect his surroundings to see if he had transmigrated yet again.
Just as he stood up, the yellow lights on the walls turned green. This sudden change instantly put Lin Yu on high alert.
"DING-DONG."
"Hello, sir!" a gentle female voice echoed from the walls. "Welcome back. May I ask what services you require?"
"Uh... where is this place?" Lin Yu asked in resignation, glancing around the room. Having found nothing resembling a door, he figured he was trapped.
"This is the Cuiwei City Lord Tournament Service Center—the Teleportation Service Center to be exact. All participants from Cuiwei Star are teleported here upon completing the phase matches.
"Sir, are you part of this year's batch of participants for the Lord Tournament?"
"Yes!"
"To ensure your safety, we will issue you an identification bracelet shortly. Please wait a moment!"
A minute later, a massive cylindrical device rose from the floor, nearly shoving Lin Yu, who was standing in the center of the room, into the ceiling.
The gentle female voice spoke again.
"Mr. Lin, please step into the scanner. We will scan your physical data to create a profile for you."
In just the blink of an eye, the owner of the voice already knew Lin Yu's basic information.
Lin Yu did as he was told and stepped inside. The overall environment of Cuiwei Star was quite good. The Governor's Mansion was compassionate toward the public, valued the law, and frequently cracked down on law-breaking second-generation rich kids. Compared to other planets, the wealthy youth of Cuiwei Star were exceptionally friendly.
Because of this, Lin Yu had a fair amount of trust in official institutions.
After Lin Yu entered, the scanner emitted a faint HUM.
Once the humming stopped, the device's doors slid open.
A screen extended in front of Lin Yu.
"Please confirm if the scanned information is correct, and choose whether to fill in the remaining details."
[Name]: Lin Yu
[Gender]: Male
[Birthdate]: August 6, Year 404 of the New Calendar
[Birthplace]: Longhu City, Five Lakes Province, Cuiwei Star...
[Physique]: F-Rank
[Spirit]: D-Rank
[Talent]: Please provide details (Optional)
[Territory Core]: Please provide details (Optional)
"Could you explain the physique and spirit rankings to me?" Lin Yu asked, looking down at his information.
"Of course. You may ask me any questions you have; it is my honor to answer them for you. Physique and spirit are graded based on their intensity.
"F-Rank is the lowest, but it is also the maximum limit that most ordinary humans can reach.
"Following that, the ranks are E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and so on.
"Your spirit has reached D-Rank because your soul has already linked with your Territory Core. As your Territory Core levels up, your spirit will gradually increase as well.
"Mr. Lin, your Territory Core must be incredibly strong. Most people only reach an E-Rank spirit after passing the first phase," the voice complimented.
"Thanks. I was just lucky enough to draw a decent Territory Core, it's nothing worth mentioning. Then... how do I increase my physique attributes?" Lin Yu responded modestly.
"Mr. Lin, your Points Mall should already be unlocked. You can use points to redeem class-change items in the mall. After changing classes, you will gain the means to enhance your physical attributes."
"Is there any difference whether I fill in the optional talent and Territory Core information or not?"
"Mr. Lin, if you choose to provide the detailed information, you will receive a blind box containing a Random Item.
"If you do not fill in the details, you will not receive the reward."
"It's that simple? Aren't you worried people will just write in nonsense?" Lin Yu was somewhat skeptical.
"Mr. Lin, please do not underestimate the financial power of the government."
The implication was clear: the Imperial Government wasn't afraid of people providing false information. Even if someone did, they didn't care; they simply viewed it as a form of support for newcomers.
Since they put it that way, what reason did Lin Yu have to hesitate?
He took the screen in his hands and started typing.
[Talent]: Luck Enhancement, Effect — Slightly increases the luck stat.
[Territory Core]: Big Tree, Plant-type Territory Core, Trait — Continuously generates natural energy within the territory.
Technically, it wasn't complete nonsense. After all, his current attribute was indeed [Luck Enhancement]. His Territory Core was the World Tree, and a world represented something massive. Therefore, World Tree equaled Big Tree—perfect logic. Moreover, his territory genuinely did continuously generate natural energy.
After filling it out, he tapped submit, and the screen automatically retracted back into the wall.
A few minutes later, a bracelet and a blind box were delivered in front of Lin Yu.
Tossing the blind box into his personal inventory, Lin Yu put on the bracelet. Immediately, its operating instructions floated into his field of vision.
Looking at the virtual screen before him, Lin Yu was deeply shocked.
In his previous life, such technology only existed in science fiction.
In this life, he had always stayed on this remote agricultural planet, rarely seeing high-tech items. Even though he knew the Empire spanned across dozens of star systems and its technology was undoubtedly advanced, he never expected that a mere wristband could achieve retinal information projection.
After experimenting with the bracelet's various functions, Lin Yu walked toward one of the walls.
As he approached, the wall automatically retracted to both sides, opening up a doorway.
The door only appeared because the bracelet held relevant data and interacted with the wall's system. Without the bracelet, the door would never appear, no matter what one did.
Stepping out of the room, he was greeted by a highly futuristic circular corridor. In the center lay a Teleportation Array.
Only a few people were walking in the corridor. Most of them were in a hurry, quickly taking the Teleportation Array and leaving.
Along the pristine white corridor, blue patterned lights embedded in the walls provided illumination while exuding a profound sense of mystery.
Countless rooms lined both sides of the corridor, each with a blinking yellow or green light outside its door. Various devices that Lin Yu didn't recognize were also placed throughout the hallway.
Lin Yu felt just like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden—his eyes were completely opened to a dazzling new world.
He touched this and poked that, looking left and right, all while using his bracelet to look up the descriptions of the corresponding items.
This Teleportation Service Center was an enclosed circular facility. Aside from special circumstances requiring staff intervention, the only people who would appear here were lords teleported out of the Lord Tournament. Because of this, Lin Yu wasn't afraid of embarrassing himself in front of others.
After quite a while, Lin Yu finally satisfied his curiosity and prepared to take the Teleportation Array to leave.
Just then, a yellow light outside one of the rooms suddenly turned red.
A piercing alarm resounded throughout the corridor.