Chapter 115 – Establishment (Third Update Seeking Subscriptions and Votes)

Chapter 115 – Establishment (Third Update Seeking Subscriptions and Votes)

Apart from donations, there were many ways to contribute to the territory, such as completing special tasks or doing something beneficial for the territory.

Take Yu Kai, for example. Today, he led Cheng Yang to the Nirvana Divine Stone. This wasn’t part of his military duties, so it should be converted into contribution points. However, the contribution points he received were only a small portion. The soldier who discovered the Nirvana Divine Stone was the one who gained the most from this.

Of course, in terms of merit, Cheng Yang’s contribution was undoubtedly the greatest. But as the lord, he was the only one in the entire territory not bound by contribution points. After all, the entire territory belonged to him. Who did he need to contribute to?

The divine rules wouldn’t judge how many contribution points one should receive for each task. To ensure fairness, someone suggested establishing a dedicated department responsible for managing contribution points. Their main duties would be to evaluate the contribution points for assigned tasks and to assess past events to determine the appropriate contribution points.

Undoubtedly, this department would have a heavy workload and would be confined to the territory all day.

So Cheng Yang came up with a solution: select a group of combatants who disliked fighting and pair them with a few territory guards to form this department.

Cheng Yang could have chosen ordinary civilians who hadn’t yet transitioned into combat roles, but their sense of belonging to Luofeng Village was much lower. They might not fully consider things from the village’s perspective. Thus, Cheng Yang had to choose those who disliked fighting.

As for the territory guards, don’t mistake them for mere fighting machines. They were, first and foremost, people with intelligence no less than anyone else’s. Moreover, they were absolutely loyal to Cheng Yang, a trait unmatched by any other combatant. Combining these two groups ensured the fairness of the evaluations.

Cheng Yang and the others named this institution the Hall of Glory.

The name signified that entering the hall was an honor. Currently, it had ten members: five ordinary combatants and five territory guards. The overall responsibility fell to a territory guard named Yan Jun.

With these matters settled, the basic framework of the territory’s contribution point system was established. The next steps would involve refining and supplementing it. After all, no system was perfect from the start.

Afterward, Cheng Yang and the others discussed the development of Luofeng Village. However, since no one could match Cheng Yang’s grasp of the overall situation, it was mostly Cheng Yang speaking while the others listened.

After the discussion ended, Yu Kai and the others dispersed. Cheng Yang stayed behind to ask Liu Hao a few questions and received some good news.

Liu Hao had actually found the dungeon portal near Xianghe Village. It was quite well-hidden, nestled between three large trees that, from a distance, appeared as one, making it easy to overlook.

This time, Cheng Yang didn’t plan to personally secure the first clear of this dungeon. After all, Liu Hao was already a high-level apprentice, and he had four mid-level apprentices under him. If such a team couldn’t secure the first clear, they might as well find a rock to crash into.

However, Cheng Yang decided to tackle the dungeon’s hard mode the next day and also secure the first clear of the Xuanwu Island dungeon in Dongshan Village. Today was just too rushed; otherwise, he would have cleared the Xuanwu Island dungeon as well.

After giving Liu Hao some instructions, Cheng Yang went to find Liu Xiyue. It was only 9 PM, and he still needed to go out to kill monsters and gather herbs for alchemy.

In fact, Luofeng Village already had quite a few alchemists, and many people had purchased herb-gathering tools. Cheng Yang could have had others gather the herbs while he focused solely on alchemy. But doing so would severely hinder the leveling of his herb-gathering skill. Moreover, due to his strength, he often operated alone. If he encountered high-quality herbs outside but couldn’t gather them due to insufficient skill level, it would be a great regret.

Gathering herbs daily didn’t take much time, as the skill proficiency gain was capped. Only the first hundred herbs gathered each day increased proficiency, and the amount depended on the herb’s level.

Currently, Cheng Yang’s herb-gathering skill had just reached level 3, but his alchemy skill was only halfway to level 3. The bottleneck was his limited energy points, which were in short supply each day.

After sweeping the area with Liu Xiyue, Cheng Yang returned to Luofeng Village. He needed six hours of sleep daily, so he had to return to the territory early at night.

Delivering the potions to the alchemy room, Cheng Yang earned over a thousand spirit energy points. This made him sigh at how profitable a monopoly could be.

Today’s spirit energy income was relatively lower, as much of his time was spent killing the white-headed eagle. Even so, Cheng Yang still earned eleven thousand spirit energy points today.

A night of cultivation consumed nearly three thousand spirit energy points, a rate that ordinary people couldn’t sustain. Even Yuan Jianze, who controlled a city of hundreds of thousands, would be stunned by this number.

But the results were gratifying—very gratifying. Cheng Yang’s progress was undoubtedly rapid.

Next was the daily routine of clearing dungeons. This time, luck was poor, as not a single silver-tier equipment dropped, much to Cheng Yang’s frustration.

After exiting the dungeon, Cheng Yang sent Chen Yun and the others away and then upgraded the second attribute of the four main profession statues in the territory.

Cheng Yang then prepared to head to Xianghe Village, where a hard-mode dungeon awaited his first clear. He was quite looking forward to the rewards.

But today was not Cheng Yang’s lucky day. Before he could leave, someone rushed in through the gate.

“Wu Kong, why are you back? Did you find the main city’s team?” Cheng Yang frowned. He was very familiar with the newcomer, as he was the one Cheng Yang had sent to stake out the dungeon portal in the Death Spirit Valley yesterday.

Wu Kong didn’t waste words. “Yes, Lord. About half an hour ago, a team of around two hundred people arrived near the dungeon portal. I didn’t see them discover the portal, but given its location, it’s only a matter of time. So I rushed back to inform you.”

Cheng Yang nodded. “You did well. Once they’re there, they’ll definitely find the portal. Alright, rejoin your team. Today is a big day for the territory as we formally establish the armies.”

“What about this matter?” Wu Kong hesitated slightly.

Cheng Yang smiled. “Don’t worry, I have it under control. Inform Yu Kai to bring his team here after they finish forming the army.”

“Yes, Lord!” Wu Kong acknowledged and left.

Liu Xiyue, standing beside Cheng Yang, asked, “Lord, what should we do now?”

Cheng Yang sighed. “It seems we’ll have to postpone the first clear. Let’s deal with Yuan Jianze first.”

Liu Xiyue had no objections. In her eyes, Cheng Yang’s strength meant there was no problem he couldn’t solve.

The two then changed direction and headed straight for the southern passage of Xiang City.

When Cheng Yang arrived near the Death Spirit Valley portal, a large group of people was already there. Without a doubt, they were all combatants. In the Xiang City region, apart from Luofeng Village, only the main city had combatants. Their identities were clear.

“Halt! Who are you?” a voice shouted.

Cheng Yang and Liu Xiyue hadn’t tried to hide their approach, so they were spotted immediately.

Cheng Yang chuckled. “What does it matter who I am? Can’t I come here?”

The man wore leather armor, making it hard to tell his pre-apocalypse identity. But Cheng Yang was certain they weren’t military.

Although Yuan Jianze’s forces had purchased some equipment, they were far from fully outfitted. Some still wore military boots or pants. But among these seventy to eighty people, even those without full gear wore casual clothes, clearly not military.

“Huh?” The man made a surprised sound, his gaze falling on Liu Xiyue. “It’s you?”

Cheng Yang was momentarily stunned, then turned to Liu Xiyue. “You know him?”

Liu Xiyue’s eyes flickered with a strange light, but she nodded. “Yes, he’s a captain in the Second Militia. He rescued me from the ruins but then forcibly took me to their leader, Lu Gaofeng. If you hadn’t saved me the next day, I might have died.”

Liu Xiyue’s feelings were complicated. She didn’t know whether to be grateful or resentful. After all, the man had saved her from the ruins, but what followed left her with no gratitude.

Cheng Yang nodded, his gaze turning cold as he looked at the man.

Zhao Xun’s heart was filled with unease. He knew Liu Xiyue’s background and how she had left Xiang City’s main city.

When Cheng Yang had taken Liu Xiyue and the others away, Zhao Xun hadn’t been in the city, but he later heard about it. His only thought then was to never see Liu Xiyue again.

PS: Everyone, the growth in monthly votes is too sluggish! I hope for more motivation to bring more updates! I hope to stay up late… (To be continued. Please search for Piao Tian Literature for faster updates!)