Chapter 77 – Contribution Points

Chapter 77 – Contribution Points

The hiring process cost Cheng Yang a total of 15,000 spirit energy points, reducing his total spirit energy to below 100,000.

Cheng Yang assigned the twenty-five territory guards to Chen Yun and the other four leaders, instructing them to organize their respective teams based on professions. The first guard hired for each profession would serve as the team leader. After all, they had the best aptitudes.

Once the territory guards were properly organized, Cheng Yang approached the territory altar and accessed the lord-exclusive abilities section, selecting “Divine Grace.”

A wisp of energy flowed from the altar, instantly merging into Cheng Yang’s body. Within moments, an unprecedented sense of power surged through him. He had now become a true peak Apprentice-level expert, undoubtedly the strongest human on Earth.

Simultaneously, the thirty territory guards of Falling Phoenix Village also leveled up, reaching new heights of power. While Chen Yun and the other two special guards were already formidable, the remaining twenty-seven guards all advanced to late-stage first rank, significantly boosting the village’s defensive capabilities.

With such a powerful team, Cheng Yang was confident in clearing the Bloody Church dungeon’s hard mode five times daily. Even if the dungeon leveled up, he believed they could still manage it. Having so many experts at his disposal was indeed a luxury.

But that wasn’t all. With Cheng Yang’s peak Apprentice-level strength and Chen Yun’s trio of equally powerful guards, Falling Phoenix Village now had the capability to attempt the nightmare mode of the Bloody Church dungeon. The thought of potentially obtaining silver-grade equipment from the nightmare mode made Cheng Yang’s eyes gleam with anticipation.

Moreover, fully utilizing the Bloody Church dungeon would yield a substantial daily spirit energy harvest for the village. Cheng Yang calculated that the dungeon had been cleared 49 times. One more clear would meet the level-up condition, increasing the village’s daily spirit energy gain to around 8,000 points.

Cheng Yang immediately dispatched the territory guards to tackle the hard mode dungeon. With such a strong team, there was no need for him to personally participate.

While waiting, Cheng Yang opened the territory management panel and noticed a new option: “Enable Citizen Donations.” Once activated, all citizens could donate spirit energy or materials through their personal panels, earning contribution points in return. Roughly, 1 spirit energy point equaled 1 contribution point.

Contribution points were crucial. As the lord, Cheng Yang could set thresholds for certain privileges, such as requiring a level 1 contribution to access housing. Although Falling Phoenix Village currently offered limited benefits, as the territory developed, contribution points would become highly sought after.

In essence, contribution points were a vital tool for managing the territory. Cheng Yang activated the donation system and immediately saw the contribution status of all citizens, a feature previously limited to a few officials.

Meanwhile, the team of three high-level Apprentice guards completed the dungeon in under twenty minutes. The entrance to the Bloody Church dungeon showed no visible changes, but Cheng Yang knew from past experience that it required fifty clears to level up.

After the dungeon leveled up, the daily clear limit increased to ten. Cheng Yang sent five more teams into the dungeon, leaving the newly unlocked normal mode for the five major combat teams to gear up.

The remaining combatants were tasked with hunting demonic beasts outside the territory. Territory guards, while exempt from daily cultivation, still needed rest. After all, humans weren’t machines, and prolonged exertion could be fatal.

With these arrangements in place, Cheng Yang opened the territory upgrade panel and upgraded his residence. In an instant, the only level 2 house in the territory transformed into a small courtyard.

The courtyard featured a wooden fence and a two-story wooden building with over ten rooms. However, according to divine rules, it could only effectively accommodate five people.

Cheng Yang entered the courtyard and selected a room for himself. While he longed for a private courtyard, it was still too extravagant at this stage.

The upgraded bedroom was a significant improvement, resembling a high-end hotel suite. The outer area had a tea table, followed by a partition, and then the bedroom.

Sitting on the bed, Cheng Yang opened his personal status panel:

Cheng Yang’s enhanced stats made him a veritable boss-level entity among ordinary combatants. Even standing still, he could withstand attacks without significant damage.

His doubled mana pool granted him exceptional endurance. Facing a thousand early-stage first-rank demonic beasts no longer fazed him. With his Ice Spikes skill and formidable attack power, he could obliterate swathes of low-level beasts.

Cheng Yang waited patiently for his spirit energy to surpass 100,000 before beginning his cultivation. Within twenty minutes, his spirit energy increased by nearly 2,500 points, thanks to the five dungeon-clearing teams.

Cheng Yang commenced his nightly cultivation. With a 100,000 spirit energy cap, 8x cultivation speed, level 3 housing, and his innate talents, his cultivation speed reached a staggering 9.26x. Yet, even with this boost, his progress only increased by 2.3%, further confirming that his talents applied to the final multiplier.

The night’s cultivation consumed exactly 1,920 spirit energy points, depleting Cheng Yang’s remaining balance. The 8x cultivation efficiency was indeed not for the faint of heart.

Exiting his room the next morning, Cheng Yang found Liu Hao and others gathered in the courtyard. Besides Yu Kai, who had already started his daily cultivation, the other four captains were present, along with four unexpected guests: Pang Shan, Liu Xiyue, Wang Lu, and Zhou Jie.

Seeing Liu Xiyue and the others reminded Cheng Yang that he hadn’t made proper arrangements for them after bringing them back last night. But what was Li Wanshan doing here? Surely the campus belle Liu Xiyue wasn’t his reason for visiting.

“Lord, this house is quite nice. Do we each get a room?” Yu Kai asked with a smile.

“Go ahead and pick one. There’s only room for five,” Cheng Yang replied.

Niu Bing suddenly spoke up, “Um… Lord, would it be possible for me not to stay here?”

Cheng Yang glanced at him and then at Pang Shan beside him, grinning mischievously. “Why wouldn’t you want to stay here?”

Niu Bing blushed, stammering, “It’s… inconvenient for several men to live together.”

The group burst into laughter. Cheng Yang waved it off, “Fine, I won’t press you. If you want to live separately, that’s fine. But I can’t give you too much of a discount. You’ll need to purchase the wood yourself, and I’ll build the house for you. The level of the house will depend on how much material you buy.”