"Can we crack these chests in bulk?" Zhou Yan wonders aloud. Stacked to 99, they'd save hours.
He checks the Divine Forge's upgraded stats:
[Building: Divine Forge]
[Level: 20]
[Upgrade Requirements: 20,000 spirit coins, 300 three-star stone, 100 three-star wood]
[Quality: SS (0/2)]
[Quality Upgrade: 2 refining workshops]
[Defense: 20,000/20,000]
[Special Attribute 1: 20% chance for extra attributes when forging gear.]
[Special Attribute 2: Synthesis—merge two same-quality items for a higher-tier piece (10% success; failure destroys one).]
[Introduction: Forges supreme divine weapons.]
Synthesis tempts, but 10% odds sting—leveling the forge might help, a tall order. "No blueprints anyway," he sighs. Forging needs them, unless a refining prodigy crafts anew.
He heads to the Mystery Store, eager for today's haul. Five items gleam—all bronze Demon Swords:
[Equipment: Demon Sword]
[Quality: Bronze]
[Durability: 50/50]
[Attribute 1: Strength +5, Sharpness +5]
[Attribute 2: Bloodthirsty Slash (Absorbs enemy vitality; at 100, unleashes slash)]
[Requirements: Strength 8, Spirit 8]
[Introduction: A sinister blade—weak minds risk bloodlust.]
[Price: 5,000 spirit coins]
Five cost 25,000 spirit coins—ideal for the vine demons, once leveled to meet the specs. He refreshes the store.
First: a mundane Pig-Killing Knife, fit only for slaughter. Second: a gem.
[Item: Soul Coin Doubler]
[Quality: B]
[Introduction: For one hour post-use, monster kills yield bonus soul coins, scaling with foe strength and quality.]
[Price: 1 million spirit coins]
"Score!" Zhou Yan grins. Worth millions post-trial at auction, it's a steal now—but wasteful here. No hordes to farm. He'll save it for peak strength.
[Territory Prompt: "Consumed 1 million spirit coins. Purchased Soul Coin Doubler."]
Third: a Simmons bed, E-tier, +2 sleep comfort for 500 spirit coins. Goodbye, stone slab.
[Territory Prompt: "Consumed 500 spirit coins. Purchased Simmons."]
The last two—priced over 10 million—are pipe dreams. "Poverty's a plague," he mutters. Cure needed.
Outside, Diao Chan's team hauls in the chests. Zhou Yan levels Si Teng to 10, sparing Diao Chan and Zhen Mi—already overkill.
[Soul Coins -70. Demon Si Teng rises from level 3 to 4.]
…
[Name: Si Teng]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Demon]
[Owner: Zhou Yan]
[Quality: SSS]
[Loyalty: 100]
[Level: 10]
[Upgrade Requirement: 150 soul coins]
[Charm: 30 (Base 3)]
[Luck: 5 (Base 0.5)]
[Strength: 26 (Base 0.6)]
[Physique: 26 (Base 0.6)]
[Agility: 12 (Base 0.2)]
[Spirit: 12 (Base 0.2)]
[Talent: Transformation (Vinewood Incarnate)]
[Skill 1: Vine Whip (Lashes foes with vines)]
[Skill 2: Vine Thorn (Sprouts thorns to strike)]
[Introduction: Mysterious evolution boosts stats tenfold. A vine seed turned demon by chance.]
He hands Demon Swords to Si Teng's crew. "South fog—let's roll," he orders.
"Yes!" they reply. Twelve strong—himself included—their future gleams.
In the southern fog, they blaze through. More hands speed the sweep; peripheral mobs—level 1 snakes, level 3 rabbits—fall to Si Teng's team before Zhou Yan's trio lifts a finger. Corpses pile into the Treasure Room.
[Killed level 1 black-scaled snake. +2 soul coins.]
[Killed level 3 purple rabbit. +2 soul coins.]
[Killed level 5 elite fox hunter. +10 soul coins.]
[Killed level 8 Bibo frog. +4 spirit coins.]
…
A new foe looms:
[Monster: Piranha]
[Quality: Elite]
[Level: 10]
[Special: Poison Powder]
[Introduction: Beware their toxic spray—poison awaits.]
Level 10 elites promise double mob rewards, but the powder worries Zhou Yan.
"Lord, I'll handle them," Zhen Mi offers, sensing his pause.