Chapter 133 – A Risky Venture

Chapter 133 – A Risky Venture

Cheng Yang and Liu Xiyue spent the day sweeping through the area east of Luofeng Village, returning around 10 PM. Liu Xiyue had gained nearly 900 spiritual energy points, while Cheng Yang had accumulated close to 7,000 points.

Cheng Yang’s total spiritual energy now stood at 1.22 million points. This substantial amount was due to his earlier trip back to Luofeng Village, where he had sold the remaining 100 teleportation stones for 100,000 points and delivered them to the tavern.

With all the teleportation stones auctioned off, Cheng Yang’s assets had multiplied elevenfold. He felt like shouting, “Let the profits rain down harder!”

However, Cheng Yang knew that while selling teleportation stones would remain profitable, the windfall he experienced today wouldn’t be repeated. He transferred 100,000 points to Liu Xiyue for her cultivation tonight. As the sole member of his personal guard, she received special treatment.

After Liu Xiyue left to cultivate, Cheng Yang began brewing potions, a daily ritual. His focus wasn’t on the spiritual energy gained from selling to Zhao Yi, but rather on leveling up his Alchemy skill. He was close to reaching level 3, which would allow him to craft True Demon Potions – something he eagerly anticipated.

As he finished his potion-making, Li Wanshan returned with his team. “Old Li, how did it go?” Cheng Yang asked.

“Not bad,” Li Wanshan replied. “There are no powerful demon beast hordes within a couple of kilometers. Maybe they’re afraid of the Bone-devouring Ants. Zhao Chuan has taken over the area, and we’ll relieve him tomorrow at noon.”

Cheng Yang nodded. “Good. Go cultivate now. Wait, I’ll lend you 100,000 points to activate 8x cultivation speed. Consider it a benefit for leadership positions. But you’ll need to cover your own cultivation costs – don’t deduct from this 100,000.”

Li Wanshan was thrilled. With 8x speed, he only needed about 50 points daily, which was manageable. “What about Captain Liu and the others?” he asked.

“Don’t worry,” Cheng Yang smiled. “They’ll each get 100,000 points tomorrow. How you use or share them is up to you. But act quickly – I suspect this method of boosting cultivation speed will soon be restricted.”

Li Wanshan looked surprised. “But this is within the rules set by the gods, isn’t it?”

Cheng Yang chuckled wryly. “If the gods made the rules, can’t they change them? Recent adjustments in the main city have left many people crying. It seems the gods are watching this world closely. They might overlook minor actions, but do you think we’re the only ones who’ve thought of this cultivation speed trick?”

Li Wanshan stopped arguing. After transferring the points, Cheng Yang sent him away and delivered his potions to the alchemy shop.

That night, Cheng Yang activated 10x cultivation speed with his million points. The feeling was incredible. Now, his breakthrough from peak Apprentice to initial Warrior level would take less time than an ordinary person’s normal cultivation. However, most people would soon activate 4x speed, reducing his relative advantage as higher multipliers became harder to achieve.

The next day, Cheng Yang finally cleared the Nightmare-level dungeon, obtaining a silver-grade ring that boosted his magic attack by 4 points. His total magic attack now reached 77 points, allowing his Ice Sphere spell to deal over 100 damage and his Ice Spike to deal 40+ damage – enough to one-shot most early-stage first-tier demon beasts.

After the dungeon, Cheng Yang visited the class statues. Having previously upgraded the magic enhancement of the four main class statues, he now chose to upgrade physical defense. Once completed, the statues would reach level 5, allowing him to start recruiting mercenaries.

While waiting for Liu Xiyue and Niu Bing, Cheng Yang bought two new teleportation stones from the general store, keeping one in his storage ring.

When Niu Bing arrived, Cheng Yang instructed, “Have your deputies lead your team today. You’re coming with me.”

“Where are we going, Lord?” Liu Xiyue asked curiously, noting the unusual inclusion of Niu Bing.

Cheng Yang simply replied, “You’ll see.”

After traveling over ten kilometers south, Niu Bing asked, “Are we clearing new territory? My team could handle that.”

Cheng Yang smiled. “It’s similar, but beyond your team’s capabilities.”

Pointing south, Cheng Yang asked, “Do you know what’s that way?”

“That’s Yicheng,” Niu Bing replied. “But I don’t know what’s there now after the earthquake.”

Cheng Yang explained, “There’s been no news from Yicheng, suggesting either no main city appeared there, or humans couldn’t enter it. Either way, the survivors must be struggling.”

Niu Bing caught on. “You’re planning to rescue Yicheng’s people? Just the three of us?”

“Exactly,” Cheng Yang confirmed.

Liu Xiyue protested, “How can we protect people over dozens of kilometers? Even with you, Lord, we can’t guard against constant demon beast attacks.”

Cheng Yang clarified, “I’m not planning to bring them back. If Yicheng has a main city, we’ll help clear the demon beasts so they can become adventurers. If not, we’ll look for wild settlements to occupy and let some people become adventurers there.”

While Liu Xiyue and Niu Bing found this plan more reasonable, they didn’t know Cheng Yang’s true motives. He knew Yicheng had no main city but two wild settlements nearby – his real targets.

Cheng Yang had previously considered this venture too risky, but yesterday’s Bone-devouring Ant incident had changed his perspective. As a reincarnator from one year post-apocalypse, he realized he couldn’t rely solely on past knowledge. The world was changing, and he needed to strengthen his forces quickly to secure his future.

PS: Thanks to An and Mo Li for their generous donations. Tomorrow’s update will be an extra chapter, and with 60 monthly votes, another bonus chapter will be added. The next two days will feature 3,000-word chapters. Thank you all for your support… (To be continued)