Chapter 24 – Titles

Chapter 24 – Titles

Cheng Yang checked the upgrade progress of several profession statues. At noon, he had chosen to upgrade certain attributes. Now, apart from the Archer statue which still had two attribute categories left to upgrade, the Warrior, Mage, and Summoner statues only had one remaining. The territory upgrade was drawing closer.

The Priest statue, however, was a different story. With six upgrade categories, only one had been upgraded so far. It would take another day or two to reach Level 2. Fortunately, the Priest statue wasn’t a main profession statue of the territory, so it wouldn’t affect the territory upgrade.

Although most of today’s battles had taken place beyond a kilometer radius of Phoenix Village, there were still plenty of monsters spawning nearby. These had been dealt with by the group led by Yu Kai. As a result, the village’s spiritual energy reserves had accumulated over a hundred points. This number could have been higher, but the noon upgrade had consumed 400 points, and the recent batch of new recruits’ job changes had cost another 500, leaving insufficient energy for a comprehensive upgrade of all profession statue attributes.

Cheng Yang chose to upgrade the Archer statue’s Mana Enhancement attribute.

At this moment, Li Wanshan approached Cheng Yang. Seeing no one else around, he whispered, “Village Chief, why didn’t you let me deal with Hu Bing earlier? That guy used to be the mayor of Huimin Town. He’s silver-tongued. If he starts spreading rumors behind our backs, it could cause us serious trouble.”

Cheng Yang smiled, “Old Li, you don’t understand what’s coming. You think sparing him is an act of mercy. But in this apocalypse, living without power is worse than death – though many lack the courage to die. As for Hu Bing, I plan to keep him in Phoenix Village but never let him change jobs. To me, he’s a perfect negative example. As long as he lives here, he’ll serve as a warning to others.”

Li Wanshan was momentarily stunned, then nodded in understanding, “You’re right, Village Chief. As long as Hu Bing suffers miserably in Phoenix Village, others will naturally take heed.”

Cheng Yang continued, “Good that you understand. Keep an eye on him. He probably still has some friends and relatives among the group, including his brother Hu Yang. For now, we won’t allow job changes for him or his close associates. Let’s see how long they can last.”

“Understood, Village Chief,” Li Wanshan replied promptly.

Cheng Yang then said, “Old Li, stop calling me Village Chief. It sounds awkward.”

Li Wanshan straightened up, “That won’t do. Without rules, there’s no order. If you want to achieve great things in this apocalypse, you must pay attention to details. Though my position is low, I know my responsibilities. I agree ‘Village Chief’ isn’t the best title, but since you’re the owner of Phoenix Village, it’s appropriate for now. When Phoenix Village upgrades to a town or city as you said, we can change the title then.”

This conversation made Cheng Yang think of the future. Half a year into the apocalypse, human society had regressed to ancient times. Except for territories controlled by former government forces where official titles were maintained, most territories adopted ancient titles like Lord, City Lord, or General. Some lords even implemented ancient noble systems in their territories.

After some thought, Cheng Yang said, “You make a good point. But changing titles repeatedly is troublesome. From now on, address me as Lord. My attribute panel already lists me as Lord of Phoenix Village. I believe this title will become widespread in the future.”

Li Wanshan didn’t object, feeling pleased that his suggestion had been accepted.

“Old Li,” Cheng Yang continued, “Yu Kai and I are young. Though I know more about what’s coming, I’m still lacking in handling interpersonal relationships. I’ll need your help with Phoenix Village’s affairs. As long as your heart remains with Phoenix Village, I won’t let you suffer.”

Li Wanshan nodded, “Thank you for your trust, Lord. I know what to do.”

Cheng Yang sighed inwardly. In his previous life, Li Wanshan had probably died early in the apocalypse. Otherwise, such an adaptable person would surely have made a name for himself. Since he was also from Xiangcheng City, Cheng Yang would have heard of him if he had survived.

To quickly accumulate enough spiritual energy for the territory upgrade, Cheng Yang left the village walls after dinner. According to his plan, each of the five teams would take turns patrolling for two hours at night. Since it was still early in the apocalypse, no mid-tier monsters would appear. With sixteen combatants per team, they could handle any threat.

Currently, the fastest way to gain spiritual energy was through the Bloody Church dungeon. At its current level, even though the normal difficulty could only be attempted five times daily, it could provide over a thousand points of spiritual energy. However, besides the late-tier monster, there were two mid-tier demonic creatures in the dungeon. Without a mid-tier apprentice leading the team, it would be difficult to complete without losses.

It would take considerable time before Phoenix Village produced another mid-tier apprentice. However, Cheng Yang had a plan. Once the newly recruited priests mastered their skills, they could join teams to tackle the Bloody Church dungeon. With priests providing support, five combatants could handle a mid-tier demonic creature.

Tonight’s patrols were partly intended to train these priests.

By midnight, Phoenix Village’s spiritual energy reserves had reached over 500 points, nearly half of which came from new recruits repaying their job change debts. Without hesitation, Cheng Yang upgraded all combatant statue attributes except for the Priest statue. These were the final attributes needed for the statues to reach Level 2.

By tomorrow morning, Phoenix Village’s four main profession statues would reach Level 2, increasing the number of available job changes and meeting the population requirement for territory upgrade.

Cheng Yang’s combat power had also improved. After a day and night of battles, his Magic Missile had reached Level 2, significantly boosting his effectiveness.

Though only a 10% damage increase, it was equivalent to equipping an additional Withered Staff.

At dawn, Cheng Yang’s four-hour cultivation session ended, consuming 80 spiritual energy points and bringing his mid-tier magic apprentice progress to 5.4%. He still had 882 spiritual energy points left, inching closer to the 1000-point target.

The new recruits had gained basic mastery of their skills and combat styles through the night’s battles, though their cultivation results were less impressive. Since all their earned spiritual energy went to repaying the territory, they missed out on double cultivation bonuses.

Yu Kai and others, having worked hard all day, had earned enough spiritual energy for four hours of double cultivation with some to spare.

Checking the profession statues’ upgrade progress, Cheng Yang found there was still an hour left. Deciding to make use of the time, he prepared to lead another run through the Bloody Church dungeon. With monster spawn rates decreasing outside – only 1500 points gained yesterday compared to over 1000 points the first night – the dungeon had become a priority.

Having already completed the dungeon’s first clear, Cheng Yang no longer needed to be cautious. He led his original team through, this time explaining team composition and tactics in detail when facing the three high-level monsters, especially the final Inferior Demon Leader. Hesitation could mean instant death.

Yu Kai and others knew this might be Cheng Yang’s last time leading them through the normal difficulty dungeon. Next time, they would have to lead their own teams, so they paid close attention for their own safety.

Actually, having Yu Kai and others lead dungeon runs now still carried risks. While the final boss was manageable, the two mid-tier monsters in earlier stages were the real challenge.

Fortunately, mid-tier monsters’ attacks weren’t strong enough to break through dungeon room doors. With a priest supporting two warriors, they could hold their ground.

This run took just over half an hour. The rewards were less impressive than the first time – no Priest statue mold, and lower quality equipment. Three high-level monsters only dropped three common items, prompting complaints from Yu Kai and others about the dungeon’s stinginess.

Cheng Yang was satisfied. The dungeon’s average drop rate was two common items per run. Getting three was already lucky. Finding black iron equipment would be pure chance.

Cheng Yang only took one item – a hat increasing mana by 8 points. Thankfully, it looked normal. If it had been green, he might have hesitated to wear it.

The other two items were a pair of boots increasing leg defense and a hunting bow, both adding just 1 point to their respective stats. The boots went to Li Wanshan, while Yu Kai naturally took the bow.

Their gains weren’t limited to equipment. After this battle, Cheng Yang’s spiritual energy finally broke into four digits, reaching 1005 points. This meant he could now use quadruple cultivation speed, something most combatants could only dream of at this stage.

PS: Seeking collections and recommendations, brothers. Can’t we even reach 100 collections today? Give me some motivation…