Chapter 16

C16 – Stone Set Equipment

“Qiang Nantie, dinner’s ready!” Huamo announced as she stepped into the bamboo house, addressing Qiang Nantie.

“I’m famished, perfect timing. Huamo, let’s see how your culinary skills stack up,” Qiang Nantie said with a smile.

“The spiritual energy here has intensified. Our territory has expanded significantly. The transformation is truly remarkable.”

Huamo had observed the astonishing transformations of the buildings surrounding their territory when it was upgraded. Each structure was now more elegant and larger.

“Our territory will only continue to improve.”

Stepping outside, Qiang Nantie was greeted by the enticing aroma of a roasted chicken in the pot.

Upon his arrival in the territory, he had brought along a pot and some bowls and chopsticks.

Huamo had gathered wood to roast the chicken, and with the added seasonings, it smelled exceptionally appetizing.

But in the absence of a table, she had no choice but to place it inside the pot.

Qiang Nantie eagerly approached, tore off a chicken leg, and offered it to Huamo, saying, “Let’s enjoy it together.”

“If it’s not to your liking, please don’t tease me,” Huamo said, her cheeks flushing with a shy blush.

“Your cooking is bound to be tastier than anything I could make.”

Qiang Nantie began to eat. The roasted chicken was quite satisfactory, and he didn’t hesitate to shower Huamo with compliments.

Huamo was visibly delighted by the praise.

Women do enjoy being complimented, after all.

The territory had grown exponentially. Yet, aside from the buildings, the land surrounding the territory was still just bare earth, requiring stones and spirit coins to pave.

Lords had to spend spirit coins to decorate every inch of their territories.

Qiang Nantie’s territory now spanned 4,000 square meters, offering ample space. This was when the Thorny Vine Fence truly showed its worth.

Following the expansion, the fence grew autonomously, enclosing the entire territory without using any resources—an unexpected boon.

To encircle the upgraded territory, other fences would necessitate a certain expenditure of spirit coins.

This saved Qiang Nantie a considerable amount of money.

His spirit coin reserves had dwindled due to the upgrades of various buildings.

Dusk fell.

Qiang Nantie was eager to hunt monsters, but the dangers of the night were far too great.

If an accident were to happen, it would be such a waste.

If he were to die out there, he’d never get the chance to be with Huamo again.

The night belongs to the beasts, making it the most perilous time.

Qiang Nantie gathered all the chests he had collected and presented them to Huamo, saying, “Huamo, it’s your turn to let your luck shine.”

Qiang Nantie decided to open the chests at night, saving precious daylight hours.

He found he had a knack for time management.

Hundreds of chests lay buried underground.

And there was no fear of monster attacks; the Newbie Trial’s end meant the territory was safe.

This was the trial’s safeguard.

“Wow, there’s a lot.”

Huamo picked up a wooden chest and began to unlock it.

“Congratulations, you’ve earned two Soul Coins.”

“Congratulations, you’ve earned two Soul Coins.”

“Congratulations, you’ve earned two Spirit Coins.”

“Congratulations, you’ve received an item: Hare Boots.”

“Great! We’ve got some gear now.”

Huamo was just on her ninth chest and had already snagged some equipment. Her luck was truly remarkable.

The gear was supposed to boost the territory’s special item yield by 10%.

That’s why he’d brought the chests back to open them.

“Equipment: Hare Boots.”

“Quality: Ordinary.”

“Durability: 5/5.”

“Attribute: Increases agility by 0.3.”

“Equipment Requirement: None.”

The gear was basically junk, offering too little in the way of attributes.

Qiang Nantie wasn’t impressed, but during the newbie phase, any equipment was valuable and could fetch a decent number of Spirit Coins.

Certainly more than just a couple of Spirit Coins.

With over 1800 Soul Coins to his name, he pondered a moment before deciding to boost Huamo’s level by two. This would add two more points to her luck.

Territory Upgrade: “Soul Coins reduced by 300. Huamo’s level has risen from Level 2 to Level 3.”

Territory Upgrade: “Soul Coins reduced by 400. Huamo’s level has risen from Level 3 to Level 4.”

“Hero: Huamo.”

“Gender: Female.”

“Age: 18”

“Race: Human.”

“Allegiance: Lord Qiang Nantie.”

“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, enhancing recovery speed by 104% and increasing attack power by 104%.”

“Skills: Lotus Sword Technique, Holy Lotus Technique.”

“Special Attribute 1: The preeminent beauty of the Three Kingdoms, with a speed boost of 104%.”

“Special Attribute 2: One of the Four Great Beauties, all attributes get a 14% increase. When the Four Beauties join forces in battle, each additional beauty boosts all attributes by 10%. With all Four Beauties in combat, there’s a total attribute increase of 100%.”

“Special Attribute 3: Devastating Beauty, significantly raises the loyalty of territory residents.”

“Introduction: Transformed by a mysterious energy, Huamo’s basic attributes have skyrocketed tenfold. She is the unrivaled beauty of the Three Kingdoms, endowed with the Devastating Beauty skill.”

Huamo’s attributes had surged significantly. Her talents and special attributes had also seen a substantial increase, making her more formidable than ever.

“You’ve been upgraded again.” Huamo, sensing the immense power within her, turned to Qiang Nantie.

“With the upgrade, your luck has improved even further. We’ll be able to acquire more equipment,” Qiang Nantie remarked.

Huamo nodded in agreement.

Qiang Nantie decided against upgrading himself, instead opting to take his chances at the Bronze Bird Terrace.

Huamo proceeded to unlock five or six more chests, one of which contained a piece of hare leather armor that provided a 0.4 boost to defense. It was still considered junk equipment.

But Qiang Nantie knew better than to expect high-quality items from a wooden chest.

“Congratulations, you’ve earned two Soul Coins.”

“Congratulations, you’ve obtained a pair of Stone Gauntlets.”

This was a new addition to his gear. Qiang Nantie examined the gauntlets’ properties.

“Equipment: Stone Gauntlets”

“Grade: Black Iron”

“Durability: 5/5”

“Attribute: +3 Strength”

“Equipment Requirement: 1 Strength”

This pair of gauntlets could boost strength by 3 points, and they didn’t require much strength to wear.

“Nice find,” Qiang Nantie remarked.

“Keep up the good work,” he encouraged Huamo.

Upgrading Huamo had been a smart move. Still, he needed to reserve some Soul Coins for summoning heroes at the Bronze Bird Terrace.

As his territory expanded, it required more defenders. With only one Defense Tower, recruiting a new hero was essential.

“Congratulations, you’ve earned 2 Soul Coins.”

“Congratulations, you’ve earned 4 Soul Coins.”

“Congratulations, you’ve acquired a Stone Leg Guard.”

Once he had opened all the treasure chests, Qiang Nantie found himself with a hefty haul of items.

“Soul Coins: 1062”

“Spirit Coins: 387”

“Standard Equipment: 87 pieces”

“Black Iron Equipment: 12 pieces”

His Soul Coins had surged past two thousand again. Spirit coins weren’t as crucial for now.

The key was that he had amassed numerous sets of equipment. Selling them as complete sets would yield a greater profit.

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