Chapter 55 – The Frost Mage

Cheng Yang stored the Frost Spirit and returned to the group. Some members were still recovering their health, so he sat down to wait.

“Boss, what goodies did you get this time?” Yu Kai and the other two eagerly approached.

Cheng Yang didn’t hide anything, taking out the Frost Spirit and handing it over. “Take a look for yourselves.”

Yu Kai snatched it first, his eyes widening in amazement. “A special class? Must be super powerful, right?”

Cheng Yang shrugged. “Can’t say for sure until I actually change classes. But since it’s a special class, it should be stronger than regular ones.”

The others nodded in agreement, though none harbored any envy. After all, Cheng Yang had earned it, and none of them were mages anyway.

Once everyone had recovered, Cheng Yang led the group out of the dungeon. Back in the main world, they continued north. The dungeon battle had been perilous but rewarding – nearly 1,000 spirit energy points collectively, with the Frost Spirit being Cheng Yang’s most prized find.

“Lord, are we coming back to this dungeon tomorrow?” Liu Hao asked eagerly. The rapid spirit energy gains and controlled monster spawns made it an attractive option.

Cheng Yang nodded. “We haven’t finished exploring the northern rescue points, so we’ll definitely return. For now, you’re not ready to tackle this dungeon alone. You’ll need either mid-level apprentice strength or five high-level apprentices.”

Liu Hao was content with Cheng Yang’s leadership. Without his Transfer skill, they would have perished in the dungeon.

By 4 PM, they had searched seven or eight northern rescue points, but only found two warriors’ families. One family was confirmed dead – a tragic reminder of their harsh reality.

That evening, the group of thousands returned to Falling Phoenix Village. The population had swelled to 15,000 – a large town by pre-apocalypse standards, but still only a level 2 village.

The original village was already overcrowded, and the additional 3,000 people made space even tighter. Cheng Yang had anticipated this and didn’t bring them directly into the village. Instead, he first upgraded to a level 2 wall.

As he initiated the upgrade, a radiant light enveloped the village. Moments later, a sturdy wooden wall encircled the area, now covering nine square kilometers – nine times larger than before.

The new wall wasn’t just bigger; its defense had doubled, with 5,000 durability points. Even a horde of mid-tier demonic beasts couldn’t breach it.

The spectacle awed the villagers. While they’d seen buildings constructed before, nothing compared to the wall’s divine manifestation.

The wall consumed over 500 cubic meters of wood, leaving none for other construction. But with this major project complete, only a few shops remained before the village could level up. The 20,000 spirit energy requirement still loomed large, however.

Currently, the village’s spirit energy reserves were depleted. Today’s earnings and repayments from newly promoted warriors had been immediately consumed by the 600+ new promotions, each requiring 10 points.

Without spirit energy, Cheng Yang couldn’t upgrade the village statue. However, he noticed the priest statue’s magic defense enhancement was already progressing. By tomorrow morning, after upgrading physical defense, it would reach level 3.

Though priests seemed redundant with healing potions available, their value would grow with higher levels and more skills, like the current Angel’s Inspiration.

After discussion with Yu Kai, Cheng Yang decided to house all non-combatants in the outer village area between the two walls. In this harsh world, absolute fairness was impossible, but he strived for relative equity.

Relocating over 10,000 people, even with minimal possessions, was time-consuming. Cheng Yang delegated such tasks, focusing instead on spirit energy acquisition.

After today’s battles, his personal spirit energy reached 5,521 points – 2,000 from yesterday, 3,000 from today’s earnings and lumberjack repayments. Including the 4,000 he’d lent out, he was close to 10,000 points – the threshold for sixfold cultivation speed.

At the mage statue, Cheng Yang activated the Frost Spirit. A brilliant blue light erupted, drawing everyone’s attention, though none dared interrupt.

Moments later, the spirit vanished, and Cheng Yang checked the statue’s properties. A new special class option appeared: Frost Mage (1). This was an additional slot, separate from regular class allocations.

Unable to access detailed information without changing classes, Cheng Yang didn’t hesitate. A blue energy sphere emerged from the statue, merging with his body. An icy transformation began, chilling him to the core.

When the process completed, Cheng Yang’s stats had dramatically changed:

His new abilities included:

Equipped with various magical artifacts, Cheng Yang now stood as a formidable Frost Mage, ready to lead Falling Phoenix Village to greater heights.