After the meeting in the India Concord ended, Mordan and the others decided to start their banquet.
They had heard about the game's tasty food and its magical effects. After hours of discussion, they wanted to refresh their minds with it.
The Concord had restaurants where puppets cooked. Players with cooking skills could open their own or work there to earn income.
The Concord also had fields for growing crops and raising livestock.
IC-AI had recommended this. It said growing their own food sources was cheaper than buying from the store. Plus, they could sell surplus food back for points.
Some players preferred human-made food over puppet-cooked meals or store-bought ones.
So Mordan had created many fields and restaurants in the Concord. He could earn more points by selling crops and prepared food.
Of course, individuals or sects could create fields in their personal lobbies. But working in Concord fields offered more benefits—higher yields, better tools, and direct guidance from agriculture experts.
It also created jobs for cooks and farmers.
Puppets weren't reliable for such delicate work. (Low-level puppets)
And the knowledge gained could be applied in the real world.
But currently, no humans were here to cook yet. Mordan didn't want to wait for puppets to prepare food.
So he simply bought it from the store.
He and the others began the banquet.
While eating, Umang thought to himself, "It can't even touch the taste of the food provided by Sir Heart at the previous game company headquarters…"
***
After finishing the banquet, everyone left to complete their tasks.
Umang went straight to make announcements on the E.A. Network and at their building in the world lobby.
The announcements informed people that the Concord construction was complete. Now everyone could enter properly and begin their work.
The building in the world lobby had been the temporary home for all Concord members. Even though it was very large, it still felt crowded—despite only prioritizing skilled people.
After the announcements were made, there was no need to invite members personally.
They had already become official Concord members the moment they signed the contract. They just couldn't access the full Concord lobby until it was built.
Now, informed and seeing the completed lobby, they immediately entered.
All players emerged at the Outer Area respawn points.
Puppets greeted them and gave clear instructions based on the contracts they had signed.
Some had decided to start their own businesses inside the game world.
Some joined government institutions and departments to work.
Most chose the military. It offered the best benefits—authority, protection, and high income.
All people who joined the Concord would receive breathing technique, military training, and full benefits—regardless of their profession.
Even a cook would receive the breathing technique. That was the main reason they had signed the contract in the first place.
While the players were entering and familiarizing themselves with the Concord, news spread rapidly across the E.A. Network and real-world media.
Xing Nation, Freedom Union, and ten other nations had officially entered Eternal Ascendancy. They had all created their own Concords.
Only Xing Nation offered a breathing technique. No other nation did.
It wasn't that they lacked one. Freedom Union and several others had bought the Xuan breathing technique from Xing Nation. But Xing Nation's strict policy forbade public sharing—they could only use it privately within their borders.
So these nations had no real offer to attract players.
Just as they were thinking they couldn't compete with India or Xing Nation, a new announcement shook everything.
A breathing technique had been put up for auction on the E.A. Network.
After confirming it was real, all nations went into a frenzy. They raced to secure it.
Even Xing Nation joined the bid. They couldn't survive long-term with just one technique—they needed more to upgrade their Xuan breathing technique.
They had heard India claimed theirs was 1000× more powerful. It wasn't confirmed yet, but an official claim meant India likely had something powerful up their sleeve.
So Xing Nation's leader, Chao Shi, decided to buy this technique and use it to strengthen their own.
But he wasn't going to waste everything on it. If they didn't win, it was fine—they already had one. They weren't desperate.
However, if India decided to bid, Xing Nation would interfere without hesitation.
They hadn't forgotten their revenge.
But when the auction time arrived, India was nowhere to be seen.
Other nations became confused. Why wasn't India participating?
Did they no longer need a new breathing technique now that they had one?
Or did they not care about upgrading?
Xing Nation leader and Freedom Union leader even mocked India on live news: "India has become arrogant. They're not seeing the future potential. Short-sighted fools. The leaders of India are doomed."
Still, they were secretly glad India didn't participate. Otherwise, they would have had to compete with one more powerful opponent.