These people were staff from various companies, and even some company bosses came in person.
"Zhou Yan, it really is you!"
A girl exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Zhou Yan, utterly astonished.
She was Zhou Yan's classmate, though she hadn't awakened her Lord's Heart. She had accompanied her father to observe and never expected to see her classmate here.
"Hello."
Zhou Yan offered a polite greeting.
He wasn't particularly close to anyone in his class; they were just ordinary classmates. He showed neither excessive warmth nor distance, just a simple greeting.
The girl managed a wry smile. While she wanted to approach him, sensing his casual and somewhat indifferent greeting, she decided against making an obvious effort to connect.
Her father had been urging her to leverage their classmate relationship to secure contracts, even suggesting the possibility of fostering a romantic connection.
However, the girl was clearly displeased. Did she have to be a mere tool for her father's ambitions?
Deeply unhappy with her father's actions, she left abruptly, causing her father's expression to darken.
"One by one."
Zhou Yan instructed them to queue up to receive goods. After verifying the quantities, he promptly transferred the payments and then stored everything from the vehicles into his territory.
He outright refused any other companies' proposals for cooperation, giving them no hope.
The surrounding residents were dumbfounded!
They could never have imagined that so many supplies belonged to this young man, Zhou Yan.
"I recognize this young man. He seems to have grown up around here. I didn't expect him not only to have awakened his Lord's Heart but also to have so much money to purchase so many supplies. Could he have received funding from a large corporation?"
"Isn't that Zhou Yan? He actually awakened his Lord's Heart!"
"Quick, look at today's newspaper and the city news! There's information about Zhou Yan in them!"
"What? He's even on TV? Let me see..."
"Heavens! He scored 750 points, ranking 900th nationally! That's definitely Four Great Lord Academies material!"
"I never expected our neighborhood to produce such a genius!"
"This child has truly overcome adversity. His parents, though also lords, died when he was very young. Who would have thought... He's a good kid, and very self-reliant and determined..."
...
After receiving all the supplies, Zhou Yan politely sent the representatives from the companies away. They naturally wouldn't offend a newcomer lord with such a promising future and had no choice but to leave.
Then, under the admiration of countless residents, Zhou Yan approached several familiar neighbors and presented them with precious gifts from his territory. "Grandpa Niu, thank you for looking after me all these years. I don't have much to give, but please accept these."
"Good, good, good! Grandpa Niu is so happy to see your achievements today."
"Aunt Zhang, thank you for often bringing me delicious food."
"It's nothing, dear. Auntie has always seen you as her own son since you were little, heh heh."
...
...
Everyone was thrilled with Zhou Yan's current success. Seeing his achievements and status made them genuinely happy; some were even moved to tears.
They had watched Zhou Yan grow up, and although they weren't related by blood, they felt like family.
"Brother Zhou Yan, I want to be an outstanding lord like you when I grow up."
A five or six-year-old boy approached Zhou Yan with a serious expression.
Zhou Yan smiled, picked him up, and said, "Then you can't always be picky about your food, and you can't eat too many snacks, or you won't be able to awaken your Lord's Heart when you grow up."
A roar of laughter erupted around them, filling the entire neighborhood with a joyful atmosphere.
Many neighbors began to organize a celebration for Zhou Yan. This was something his parents would have done, but since Zhou Yan had no family, they treated him as their own junior.
Zhou Yan did not refuse. These neighbors had cared for him dearly since he was a child. After a hearty meal, he returned home.
Outside the neighborhood, fireworks lit up the sky. Many considered it a cause for celebration that their community had produced a prodigy destined for one of the Four Great Academies, and they began to rejoice.
Zhou Yan smiled and teleported back into his territory.
His territory felt somewhat desolate.
The inhabitants were either in the Heritage Hall to undergo their class advancement or in the Myriad Realms Virtual Mall to purchase items.
He could constantly observe changes in the territory's funds and inventory.
Even so, the territory's funds maintained a steady upward trend. If outsiders knew how fast he was earning money, they would likely be stunned.
In a short period, his Spirit Coin balance reached five billion, and it continued to increase at an astonishing rate. It was unclear how much it would grow by the end of the day.
With twenty-four people purchasing the cheapest items in their respective worlds and selling the most needed goods, it was almost impossible not to make money.
This method of wealth generation was unique to him.
The thrill of such earning was an experience few others could comprehend.
He was overjoyed. The more Spirit Coins he possessed, the faster his territory would develop.
There were still some people within the territory, after all, as only twenty-four individuals could currently access the Myriad Realms Virtual Mall.
As the territory expanded, it required more personnel, and there was still a significant shortage of people.
His territory still had many matters requiring his attention.
He took out his hover vehicle and stood on it, beginning to move.
The hover vehicle was incredibly fast, far surpassing walking speed.
Combined with the acceleration function of the floor tiles, it saved the people in the territory a great deal of travel time.
He first went to the Three Lives Stone to sign in, then visited the Mysterious Shop to purchase its current stock.
The Mysterious Shop had refreshed to display Class Advancement Scrolls again today.
Both refreshes yielded Class Advancement Scrolls, a total of ten. One of them was an S-grade scroll called 'Shadow Assassin'.
The rest were lower-quality scrolls.
He already had a considerable number of these scrolls and would deal with them when he had free time.
Although there were countless tasks to be done in the territory, he had to tackle them one by one.
He proceeded to the Bronze Sparrow Terrace.
The territory still lacked manpower, and it was crucial to summon more heroes.
Even without summoning heroes, the palace maids and servant girls were quite valuable.
The Bronze Sparrow Terrace was currently level twenty-five. He had already acquired some upgrade materials and began to level it up.
Territory Notification: "Consumed 80,000 Spirit Coins and 60 one-star Energy Spirit Stones. The Bronze Sparrow Terrace has been upgraded to level 26."
Territory Notification: "Consumed 90,000 Spirit Coins and 70 one-star Energy Spirit Stones. The Bronze Sparrow Terrace has been upgraded to level 27."
Territory Notification: "Consumed 100,000 Spirit Coins and 80 one-star Energy Spirit Stones. The Bronze Sparrow Terrace has been upgraded to level 28."
...
[Building: Bronze Sparrow Terrace]
[Level: 40]
[Upgrade Required: 700,000 Spirit Coins, 200 four-star Energy Spirit Stones]
[Quality: RRR]
[Defense: 200,000/200,000]
[Function: Summon]
[Special Attribute One: Female Heroes]
[Special Attribute Two: Summon Hero Success Rate +40%]
[Special Attribute Three: Summon Special Item Success Rate +20%]
[Special Attribute Four: Chance of High-Quality Item Appearance +10%]
[Description: Resides many female heroes from other worlds, each possessing immense power. Basic Summon costs 100 Soul Coins, Intermediate Summon costs 500 Soul Coins, Advanced Summon costs 1000 Soul Coins, Super Summon costs 10,000 Soul Coins per use. Note: The more you spend, the higher the chance of summoning a hero!]
After upgrading the Bronze Sparrow Terrace to level 40, he ran out of materials.
He didn't have many four-star Energy Spirit Stones.
However, for his current needs, it was sufficient.