C16 Stone Set!

"Zhou Yan, dinner's ready!" Diaochan announced as she entered the bamboo house, addressing Zhou Yan.

"Perfect timing—I'm starving. Chan, let's see how your culinary skills stack up," Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"The spiritual energy here has intensified, and our territory has expanded significantly. It's quite the transformation."

Diaochan had noticed the dramatic changes to the surrounding structures when the territory leveled up. Each building was now more elegant and substantially larger.

"Our territory will only continue to improve," she mused.

Stepping outside, Zhou Yan was greeted by the sight of a succulent roasted chicken in the pot. He had brought the pot along with some bowls and chopsticks when he first arrived at the territory. Diaochan had gathered wood to roast the chicken, and with the added seasonings, it emitted an irresistible aroma. Lacking a table, she had no choice but to place it inside the pot.

Zhou Yan quickly grabbed a chicken leg and offered it to Diaochan, suggesting, "Let's eat together."

"If it's not tasty, please don't tease me," Diaochan said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Your cooking is bound to be better than anything I could make," Zhou Yan reassured her.

He began to eat, finding the roasted chicken quite satisfactory, and he didn't hesitate to shower Diaochan with compliments, much to her delight.

Women do enjoy being praised, after all.

The territory had grown several times over, yet apart from the buildings, the land was still just bare mud, requiring stones and spirit coins for proper flooring. Lords had to spend spirit coins to decorate every inch of their domain.

Zhou Yan's territory now spanned 4000 square meters, offering ample space. The Thorny Vine Fence's benefits became apparent as the territory expanded. The fence grew autonomously, encircling the entire area without consuming any resources—an unexpected boon.

Other fences would have required a significant amount of spirit coins to enclose the upgraded territory, but the Thorny Vine saved Zhou Yan a considerable expense. After all, his spirit coin reserves had dwindled due to upgrading the buildings.

As dusk fell, Zhou Yan longed to hunt monsters, but nighttime was far too perilous. An accident would be too costly, and dying in the wilderness meant never seeing Diaochan again. The night belonged to the beasts and was fraught with danger.

Zhou Yan retrieved all the collected chests and handed them to Diaochan, saying, "Chan, it's your lucky moment once again."

He preferred opening treasure chests at night to save time during the day. He prided himself on his time management skills.

Hundreds of chests lay underground, safe from monster attacks thanks to the Newbie Trial's protective mechanism.

"Wow, there are so many," Diaochan exclaimed as she began opening a wooden chest.

"Congratulations, you've obtained two Soul Coins."

"Congratulations, you've obtained two Soul Coins."

"Congratulations, you've obtained two Spirit Coins."

"Congratulations, you've obtained an item: Hare Boots."

"Excellent! We've got some equipment now."

Diaochan's luck was apparent; she had found equipment after opening just nine chests. The Hare Boots were said to boost the territory's special item yield by 10%, which was precisely why Zhou Yan had brought the chests back to open.

"Equipment: Hare Boots"

"Quality: Ordinary"

"Durability: 5/5"

"Attributes: Agility increased by 0.3"

"Equipment Requirement: None"

The boots were hardly impressive, offering minimal attribute enhancement. Zhou Yan wasn't interested, but in the early stages, even such modest equipment could fetch a decent number of spirit coins.

With over 1800 Soul Coins to his name, Zhou Yan decided to upgrade Diaochan by two levels, thus increasing her luck by two points.

Territory Upgrade: "Soul Coins reduced by 300. Diaochan's level has been raised from Level 2 to Level 3."

Territory Upgrade: "Soul Coins decreased by 400. Diaochan's level has been raised from Level 3 to Level 4."

"Hero: Diaochan"

"Gender: Female"

"Age: 18"

"Race: Human Clan"

"Lord: Zhou Yan"

"Quality: RRR"

"Loyalty: 100"

"Level: 4"

"Charm: 58 (Base 5)"

"Luck: 18 (Base 1)"

"Strength: 14 (Base 0.6)"

"Physique: 15 (Base 0.7)"

"Agility: 14 (Base 0.8)"

"Spirit: 21 (Base 1.5)"

"Talent: Lotus Saint Body, recovery speed and attack power increased by 104%."

"Skills: Lotus Sword Technique, Holy Lotus Technique."

"Special Attribute 1: Number one beauty of the Three Kingdoms, speed increased by 104%."

"Special Attribute 2: One of the Four Beauties, all attributes increased by 14%. For each additional Beauty in battle, all attributes increase by 10%. With all Four Beauties in battle, all attributes increase by 100%."

"Special Attribute Three: Devastating Beauty – significantly boosts the loyalty of the territory's residents."

"Profile: Transformed by enigmatic spiritual energy, Diaochan's base attributes have increased tenfold. Renowned as the foremost beauty in the Three Kingdoms, she possesses the Devastating Beauty skill."

Diaochan's attributes had surged impressively. Her various talents and special attributes had all seen a boost. She was growing stronger by the moment.

"You've upgraded me again," Diaochan remarked, sensing the formidable power within her, and turned to Zhou Yan.

"With the upgrade, your luck has improved too. We'll be able to acquire more equipment," Zhou Yan explained.

Diaochan gave a nod of acknowledgment.

Zhou Yan hadn't upgraded himself; instead, he pondered a visit to the Bronze Bird Terrace to test his fortune.

Chan cracked open five or six more chests, one of which contained a piece of hare leather armor that added a mere 0.4 to defense – another piece of junk equipment.

But from a wooden chest, Zhou Yan knew better than to expect treasures.

"Congratulations, you've earned two Soul Coins."

"Congratulations, you've acquired a pair of Stone Gauntlets."

Zhou Yan examined the new gear.

"Equipment: Stone Gauntlets"

"Quality: Black Iron"

"Durability: 5/5"

"Attributes: +3 Strength"

"Equipment Requirement: Strength 1"

These gauntlets offered a solid boost of three strength points and had minimal requirements for use.

"Nice find," Zhou Yan remarked.

"Keep up the good work," he encouraged Diaochan.

Upgrading Diaochan had been a wise choice. Yet, he needed to conserve some Soul Coins for summoning heroes at the Bronze Bird Terrace.

With the expansion of the territory, defense became paramount. Currently, with only one Defense Tower, recruiting a new hero was essential.

"Congratulations, you've received two Soul Coins."

"Congrats, you've earned four Soul Coins."

"Congratulations, you've obtained a Stone Leg Guard."

After opening all the chests, Zhou Yan amassed a considerable haul.

"Soul Coins: 1062"

"Spirit Coins: 387"

"Common Equipment: 87 pieces"

"Black Iron Equipment: 12 pieces"

His Soul Coins had once again topped two thousand. For now, Spirit Coins took a back seat.

The key was the sets of equipment he had compiled. Selling them as complete sets would yield a higher profit.

He had also completed a set of Black Iron Equipment, comprising a Stone Helmet, Stone Gauntlets, Stone Armor, Stone Leg Guard, and Stone Boots.