Chapter 93 – Frost Shield

Among the 120 newly-transformed individuals in Xianghe Village, not a single one possessed an S-grade talent, let alone a special talent. From this perspective, Cheng Yang’s luck in finding Liu Xiyue and bringing her back was truly remarkable. Although Liu Xiyue’s talents couldn’t be graded, her unique ability alone overshadowed any S-grade talent.

After these transformations, Xianghe Village met the conditions for an upgrade, and Liu Hao immediately chose to elevate the territory. The upgraded village gained several new constructible buildings, but the lack of timber hindered their construction. Fortunately, Xianghe Village wasn’t far from Luofeng Village, and the newly transformed individuals could easily travel there for secondary professions or supplies.

…

When Cheng Yang emerged from his room, Liu Xiyue had just completed her first night of cultivation. Compared to others, Liu Xiyue was exceptionally fortunate. From her very first day, she enjoyed a sixfold cultivation speed boost. Combined with the effects of a level 3 residence and Cheng Yang’s talent, her cultivation speed reached seven times the normal rate. In just one night, her progress increased by over 14%.

This meant Liu Xiyue needed only eight days to advance to an intermediate priest apprentice.

“Liu Xiyue, you look well. How was your cultivation? Many people can barely stand after their first session,” Cheng Yang asked with a smile.

After yesterday’s interactions, Cheng Yang noticed Liu Xiyue still seemed somewhat reserved around him. This wasn’t the relationship he hoped for with his first personal guard. While he didn’t expect complete intimacy, he didn’t want their relationship to be too distant either.

Liu Xiyue herself wasn’t sure about her current state of mind. Perhaps the tumultuous events of the past ten days had made her more guarded around others.

“Thank you for your concern, Lord. I find cultivation quite enjoyable. Right now, countless people worldwide probably wish they could cultivate but lack the means. In that sense, I’m truly fortunate,” Liu Xiyue replied.

Cheng Yang smiled, “It’s good that you maintain such a positive attitude. Today, we’ll be heading to Xiangcheng City again. Go freshen up and have something to eat, then we’ll set out together.”

“Yes, Lord,” Liu Xiyue acknowledged before leaving the courtyard.

Freshening up simply meant washing her face and rinsing her mouth at the small stream running through the territory. Since the gods’ transformation of the world, water quality had improved dramatically. Even the once-polluted stream now ran crystal clear, though the absence of fish made it seem somewhat lifeless.

Cheng Yang approached the altar and noticed that all four profession statues had completed their final attribute upgrades, reaching level 4.

Though not his first time seeing level 4 statue attributes, the 2000 Spirit Energy requirement still struck Cheng Yang. This was four times the previous amount, a significant burden for any territory.

Now, upgrading a single attribute took three days. Even with sufficient Spirit Energy, completing all upgrades for one statue would take fifteen days. This demonstrated the gods’ design: the higher the level, the more difficult the upgrades. If profession statues were this challenging, territory upgrades would be even more demanding.

In his previous life, some speculated that higher-level statue upgrades might require more than just Spirit Energy. Otherwise, with territories reaching level 3 and accepting donations, statue levels could become absurdly high. For instance, Luofeng Village’s nearly thousand combatants donating 100 Spirit Energy each would yield nearly 100,000 points. With tens of thousands of combatants, the numbers would be astronomical.

However, this remained speculation. Even after a year into the apocalypse, no territory had gained deeper insights into statue upgrades.

After reviewing all four statues, Cheng Yang noted they each had 530 transformation slots, totaling 2120 slots. In the coming days, Luofeng Village’s combatant numbers would experience explosive growth.

Cheng Yang planned to incorporate these new combatants into the military. While mercenaries offered flexibility, they lacked the control he needed over his territory. Though mercenaries would be essential for future prosperity, they weren’t a priority now.

Next, Cheng Yang opened the Ice Mage profession panel, which now displayed a new learnable skill.

This skill was superior to the standard Magic Shield, though its learning requirement was higher at 1000 Spirit Energy. For Cheng Yang, this amount was trivial, as his daily cultivation consumed twice that amount.

Without hesitation, Cheng Yang learned the skill, completing his apprentice-level magic repertoire. For most mages, apprentice skills consisted of one attack, one control, and one defense skill. However, as a special class, Cheng Yang had an additional area-of-effect skill.

The Frost Shield was particularly potent for Cheng Yang. With his current attack power at 74 points, the shield effectively added 3 points of defense across his entire body, surpassing the protection offered by defensive equipment.

Though the statues had been upgraded, territory advancement remained distant. The requirement for a low-level warrior-class combatant was stringent. In all of Luofeng Village, only Cheng Yang had the potential to break through to warrior class, and even he needed at least forty more days.

Cheng Yang proceeded to upgrade the statues’ attributes, this time prioritizing attack attributes over mana. Upgrading one attribute across all four main profession statues consumed 8000 Spirit Energy. Fortunately, the recent upgrade of the Bloody Church dungeon had significantly boosted the territory’s Spirit Energy income, accumulating over 15,000 points. Otherwise, such extensive upgrades would have been impossible.

After handling the statue upgrades, Cheng Yang sent a guard to find Niu Bing. The guard returned shortly with Niu Bing in tow.

“Lord, you wanted to see me?” Niu Bing asked with his usual grin.

Cheng Yang glared at him, “Where were you yesterday? From afternoon till night, you were nowhere to be found.”

Niu Bing’s eyes darted around as he replied, “Oh, you know… just hunting demonized beasts. I guess I wandered a bit too far.”

Cheng Yang couldn’t help but laugh, “When you lie, could you at least try not to let your eyes wander? It’s obvious you’re hiding something. Spit it out!”

Niu Bing’s face fell, “I can’t tell you! Last time I shared something, Haozi and the others gave me an earful. If I spill again, they’ll skin me alive!”

Cheng Yang’s interest was piqued. He remembered how Niu Bing’s last tip had led them to the random teleportation gate, saving them from the headache of gathering Spirit Energy for the level 3 territory upgrade. Could Niu Bing have stumbled upon another discovery? Another random event? While such events weren’t extremely rare, it seemed unlikely for one person to encounter so many.

“Last time turned out well, didn’t it? It greatly benefited our territory. If you’re hiding something important now, you’ll be in big trouble if we miss out,” Cheng Yang pressed, employing both carrot and stick.

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections…