I alone have my own laws; I start by fabricating myths and legends of mountains and seas.

Chapter 43 Factions in the Mountain and Sea Realm

"There is a story in our civilization that when a king was down on his luck, he was treated with courtesy by another king. In return, he promised to back down if the two armies went to war. Later, when the two armies went to war, he indeed ordered his army to retreat ninety miles.

To express my sincerity, I hereby promise that although I, like Lord Yingzhao, sell the Love-Gathering Gourd to newcomers, you will always be the one to speak first. I hope our friendship will be like that of those two kings.” Chen Yang felt a surge of inexplicable passion, as if he were about to inherit the legacy of his ancestors.

Yingzhao didn't respond, but Zhang Siqi started talking to Yingzhao about his thoughts on the trial.

After all, as the winner of the last trial, his suggestions and ideas are still very valuable.

Zhang Siqi, on the other hand, claimed that the trial grounds could be designed so that if one passed, one could obtain an Emotion Crystal.

Su Fan's current view on the Mountain and Sea Realm Trial is that it's an interview to screen workers, so if he has a good idea, he won't be stingy with a mere Emotion Crystal.

Of course, if there are exceptionally talented workers, they can also manipulate things behind the scenes and force a predetermined fate by directly awarding them a divine beast inheritance.

After all, the inheritance of divine beasts was originally just a product of experimentation. There is no essential difference between the inheritors of divine beasts and those who obtain the identity of islanders in the Mountain and Sea Realm through trials.

It was simply a product of a special time when the inheritor of the divine beast knew Su Fan a little earlier.

Su Fan from the Mountain and Sea Realm hopes to become a company that helps collect emotional crystals, recruiting workers through a process that is ostensibly a trial but actually an interview.

Jiang He, Su Fan, Wang Jianguo, and Chen Yang watched the trial with great interest, since they had nothing else to do and had already explored Qingyu Island.

Going to other floating islands requires spending emotional crystals. Before that, they only regarded the Mountain and Sea Realm as a dream meeting place. Each time, it was like chatting with a group of old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time. Entering the Mountain and Sea Realm was not only to pay back the money, but also a team building activity for the whole small group.

The existence of trials now somewhat compensates for the lack of recreational activities in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The trial ended quickly, and Yingzhao's face darkened.

Chen Yang didn't know whether he should cry or laugh. Crying would seem too fake, and laughing would seem a bit impolite.

The reason is simple: Chen Yang had previously placed a bet of one hundred emotion crystals with Ying Zhao, and the person he casually bet on actually became the number one in this trial.

Chen Yang didn't expect to have such incredible luck when he first placed his bet; he was just trying to reciprocate Ying Zhao's kindness. But he actually won.

Fate played a cruel joke on him. When Zhang Siqi was undergoing the trial, Chen Yang placed his bet hoping to win but failed. This time, Chen Yang didn't expect to win, but he did.

"Well, I guess I'm pretty lucky!" Chen Yang said, sounding a little embarrassed.

Ying Zhao opened his mouth and spat out a thousand emotional crystals. Although his expression was not good, he still said, "I'm not so bad as to renege on my debt!"

In the end, only a white man remained after this trial, and he agreed to Yingzhao's deal.

Within the realm of mountains and seas, circles naturally formed. Jiang He, Su Fan, Wang Jianguo, and Chen Yang were among those who shared common experiences. Zhang Siqi and Chen Yang, on the other hand, were not only involved in trade but also belonged to the same country, sharing the same culture and similar experiences.

Naturally, some people are isolated, which increases their sense of belonging to the group.

After that, things were calm and orderly. They entered the Mountain and Sea Realm every two days, and each time they entered, there was always a large group of people participating in the trial.

……

【Mountain and Sea Realm (Group Chat)】

Du Yu (Jiang He): "The realm of mountains and seas is influencing our world."

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Sister Jiang, let me say something new. The Mountain and Sea Realm is certainly influencing us, and we will influence the world!"

Du Yu (Jiang He): "What I mean is that as Shan Hai Jie continues to recruit more people recently, there are now small-scale discussions about Shan Hai Jie on external forums."

Bixi (Wang Jianguo): "Let them discuss it! In the end, it won't affect us at all."

Bai Ze (Su Fan): "Speaking of which, there are more and more people in the Mountain and Sea Realm now, and everyone is spontaneously forming various groups."

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "In the real world, people don't all come from the same country, and even within the same country, there is regional discrimination. Does that mean that once we enter the Mountain and Sea Realm, all kinds of conflicts about race, ethnicity, and culture will instantly disappear?"

In fact, as the trials were held more often, the number of workers in the Mountain and Sea Realm was slowly increasing, and various factions emerged at the same time.

Prejudice and differences are hard to erase. For example, Zhang Siqi's simple national identity allows her to integrate into Chen Yang's circle relatively easily.

For example, Wang Jianguo would find it difficult to integrate into other circles, since even language communication is an obstacle. Although the Heavenly Dao has extracted a lot of human knowledge through the Soul Searching Technique, it is not difficult to instill language.

In theory, spending some emotional crystals to exchange for language proficiency on the Mountain and Sea Wonders Ranking means that language barriers are not insurmountable.

However, the participants bring in concepts, prejudices, historical memories, and identities that have been ingrained in reality for decades.

Moreover, having witnessed the dazzling array of goods on the Mountain and Sea Wonders List, participants were clearly unwilling to waste their emotional crystallizations on exchanging for something as simple as language, which can be learned on one's own.

They prefer to pay off their debts first before exchanging them for all sorts of fantastical artifacts, bloodlines, and powers.

If it weren't for the need to counteract mental fatigue and maintain the efficiency of collecting emotional crystals, Su Fan suspected that these people wouldn't even be willing to use an emotional crystal on themselves.

Of course, there are also significant differences in the efficiency of collecting emotional crystals. Generally speaking, people in areas with underdeveloped entertainment industries are less efficient than people in areas with developed entertainment industries.

Su Fan noticed the emerging factions and rifts among the workers in the Mountain and Sea Realm, but he didn't care much about them. At most, he was concerned about whether they would affect his collection of emotional crystals.

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "So, I think those mutual aid societies probably don't have much of a future. Yesterday I even saw two groups arguing and almost coming to blows, all because of this stupid thing called faith. It's exactly the same as arguing online in real life, just in a different place."

Bixi (Wang Jianguo): "It's really necessary to stick together. Look at us, aren't we a small group?"

Du Yu (Jiang He): "The very existence of the Mountain and Sea Realm is a huge variable. It introduces a power system and resource system that are completely independent of the existing social rules. When people from different backgrounds, with different demands and values, interact, compete, and cooperate under this new system, the resulting chemical reactions are unpredictable. So perhaps we should also band together."

Ya Zi (Chen Yang): "Sister Jiang, what do you mean by this? Haven't we always been a group? We are the inheritors of divine beasts, and we are different from them. I am definitely the protagonist, Sister Jiang, you are definitely the captain or leader, Brother Su, you are definitely the sage, and Uncle Wang, you are definitely the witness who will witness me on my way to becoming a king."