10: Chapter 10 Shop Update

The Ancestor's oracle-like announcement exploded in the depths of every player's soul like a thunderclap from the nine heavens.

After a brief moment of dead silence, a volcanic eruption of frenzy followed.

"Holy crap! A version update! The Ancestor personally issued an announcement!"

"Scripture Pavilion? hundred refinements furnace? Those names sound freaking awesome! Cultivation techniques! It's cultivation techniques, brothers!"

"Equipment enhancement! My broadsword has long been thirsty for battle! Come on, let my weapon become a +13 legendary artifact!"

"And family construction? My god, the freedom in this game is way too high! I graduated with a degree in architecture, this is right up my alley!"

The players, who had just finished dividing the spoils of war, instantly threw the question of how to spend their contribution points to the back of their minds.

A new system meant new pursuits, new monetization points—no, new directions for "bargaining one's life" and "liver-grinding"!

The open space in front of the ancestral hall was a cacophony of noise, like a pot of boiling water.

"Quiet down, everyone! Listen to me!" "Demolition Office Director" once again stepped into his role as a leader-type player. He jumped onto a giant rock hauled back from the Black Wind Stockade and raised his arms to shout, "The Ancestor's decree is very clear! We need to build a Scripture Pavilion and a hundred refinements furnace! We don't even have a decent house right now, how are we supposed to build them?"

His words were like a bucket of cold water, causing the fanatical players to calm down slightly.

Indeed, the system functions were unlocked, but the "buildings" to house these functions did not yet exist.

"Exactly!" "Infrastructure Maniac" excitedly pushed up his non-existent glasses, his eyes gleaming with the light of someone planning a blueprint. "The Ancestor has opened the Home System! The first step must be resource integration and functional zoning! The wood, stone, and iron ingots we brought back from Black Wind Stockade are piled everywhere; we must build a warehouse first!"

"And a blacksmith shop!" a player holding a hammer shouted. "Old Grandpa Li's blacksmith shop is too dilapidated, just one broken bellows and a crappy anvil. We need to upgrade it! The hundred refinements furnace must be placed in the blacksmith shop!"

"An Pill Refining Room is a must too!" Skillful Hands Mending, representing the lifestyle players, stepped forward. She was followed by a group of female players, holding jars and herbs scavenged from the Black Wind Stockade warehouse. "We found many medicinal materials and several alchemy recipe fragments; we must have a dedicated place to study them!"

"And talismans! I found cinnabar and yellow paper for making talismans!"

Discussions rose and fell, but they were no longer chaotic roars; instead, they were filled with constructive and planning-oriented enthusiasm.

Under the coordination of the "Demolition Office Director" and the technical guidance of the "Infrastructure Maniac," a grand renovation of the Family Territory began.

The players' execution power was terrifying.

They were tireless and without complaint, performing the tedious manual labor of moving bricks, logging, and laying foundations with great fervor.

Because in their vision, every swing of a tool could trigger a prompt: [Building Proficiency +1];

Every step completed earned them solid family contribution points.

In just half a day, several buildings with crude styles but solid structures rose from the ground around the ancestral hall.

A huge warehouse was built first. All the materials seized from Black Wind Stockade were categorized and neatly stacked. The lifestyle players led by "Skillful Hands Mending" were responsible for registering and storing them, forming a rudimentary logistics department.

Old Grandpa Li's blacksmith shop was expanded threefold, and the more professional forging equipment from Black Wind Stockade was moved over in its entirety and installed in the newly built workshop.

The old blacksmith looked at this group of vibrant and energetic "Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren," his cloudy old eyes filled with excitement and relief.

He never imagined in his life that his family's blacksmith shop could reach such a scale.

The frames for the Pill Refining Room and Talisman Room were also set up; though simple, they at least had dedicated spaces.

The players even used salvaged flagpoles and stone tablets at the entrance of the ancestral hall to formally erect a "sect gate," upon which four large characters were flamboyantly carved—"Filial Piety Moves Heaven."

As the mastermind behind all this, Lu Bei (The Ancestor) leisurely "sat" on the ancestral tablet, watching the thriving scene before him with satisfaction.

The massive amount of malevolent aura and incense absorbed from raking Black Wind Stockade had given his soul power a qualitative leap.

The originally illusory "system panel" had now become incredibly clear and complex in his mind.

With a thought, he opened the newly unlocked [Family Building Sequence].

[Basic Warehouse: Completed. Effect: Resource storage limit +500%, resources are less likely to spoil.]

[Basic Blacksmith Shop: Completed. Effect: Unlocks 'hundred refinements furnace' function, allows equipment enhancement (Basic), weapon forging efficiency +10%.]

[Pill Refining Room (Rudimentary): Under construction. Effect: Unlocks 'Alchemy' function (Not activated), herbalism research efficiency +5%.]

[Talisman Room (Rudimentary): Under construction. Effect: Unlocks 'Talisman Making' function (Not activated), talisman drawing success rate +5%.]

Excellent, everything was progressing in the direction he had envisioned.

He focused his mind on the two core functions: "Scripture Pavilion" and "hundred refinements furnace."

The Scripture Pavilion was currently just a virtual exchange list, while the hundred refinements furnace was already bound to the newly built blacksmith shop.

It was time to inject the strongest dose of stimulant into this group of hyperactive players.

...

"Look! The contribution store has been updated!"

A startled cry caused the players who were sweating profusely on the construction site to instantly stop their work and open their "system interfaces."

The exchange store, which previously only had a few items like food and crude weapons, now suddenly featured two brand-new tabs—[Scripture Pavilion] and [hundred refinements furnace].

Everyone's breathing became heavy in an instant as they immediately clicked on the [Scripture Pavilion].

In the list, there was only one solitary item.

[Cultivation Technique: Black Wind Saber Technique (Incomplete Scroll)]

[Quality: Unranked (Mortal Grade)]

[Description: A saber technique summarized and modified by three generations of the Black Wind Stockade. The moves are fierce and broad, easy to learn, but lack subsequent mental methods, making it difficult to reach a high level of mastery.]

[Effect: Upon learning, master basic saber techniques and slightly increase arm strength and constitution.]

[Exchange Requirement: 1000 Family contribution points.]

One thousand points!

Seeing this number, all the players sucked in a breath of cold air.

One must know that fighting a bloody battle to kill the Black Wind Stockade's Chief, Wang Two Tiger, only rewarded 200 contribution points.

After demolishing the entire Black Wind Stockade and working themselves to death, most people only received a few dozen points.

One thousand points was an astronomical figure for the players at this stage.

However, this high price did not deter them; instead, it acted like a magnet, firmly gripping everyone's ambition.

"My god... is this a cultivation technique? True supernatural power!"

"Even if it's just an unranked incomplete scroll, it's a breakthrough from zero to one! Once we learn it, we won't be ordinary people who just rely on physical stats and weapons to fight!"

"One thousand points... Grind! I must grind to the death! No one can stop me from cultivating immortality!"

From a purely equipment-driven era to the dual-core era of "Cultivation Technique + Equipment," this moment officially marked the beginning.

On the other side, the [hundred refinements furnace] tab was even more crowded.

"War God Number One," surrounded by the crowd, walked with his head held high to the newly built blacksmith shop.

As the first man on the server to own a "Fine" grade weapon, he naturally became the first to try it out.

"Today, I'm going to show you what 'money power' looks like... wait, I mean what the strength of a Liver Emperor looks like!"

He opened the [hundred refinements furnace] interface, and an ancient, phantom furnace appeared before him.

There were two slots on the interface: [Insert Equipment] and [Insert Materials], with a large [Start Enhancement] button below.

He took a deep breath and placed that glinting fine steel broadsword into it.

[System Prompt: Do you choose to enhance 'fine steel broadsword'?]

[Materials required for the first enhancement (+1): Family contribution points x50, Iron Ingot x20, Coal x10.]

[Success Rate: 100%]

"Good, good, the first time is a 100% success. The Ancestor is merciful!" War God Number One breathed a sigh of relief and paid for the materials without hesitation.

In the center of the blacksmith shop, the huge forging furnace moved from Black Wind Stockade gave a "humming" sound, and the furnace fire suddenly surged three feet high, a wave of scorching heat hitting them in the face.

The phantom of the fine steel broadsword placed in the virtual slot was instantly cast into the physical forging furnace.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Incredibly clear hammering sounds echoed from within the furnace, as if an invisible master blacksmith was performing a hundred refinements inside.

Every strike made the furnace fire jump, sending out dazzling sparks.

All the spectating players held their breath, staring fixedly at the furnace, more nervous than if their own wives were giving birth.

"I Love Exploiting Loopholes" analyzed in a low voice from the side: "See that? This enhancement process isn't completed instantly; it has an animation effect and is linked to the physical blacksmith shop. This shows that enhancement isn't just a change in data; it might actually be changing the essence of the item!"

After about half a minute, the hammering sounds faded, and the furnace fire slowly calmed down.

[Ding! Enhancement successful!]

War God Number One waved his hand and retrieved his precious broadsword from his backpack.

"Hum——"

A clear, resonant ring of the blade.

On the blade, which was originally just cold and sharp, a layer of faint white light now flowed, as if moonlight had condensed upon it.

At the end of the hilt, an ancient and clear seal script character appeared—"+1."

[fine steel broadsword +1]

[Quality: Fine (Mortal Grade)]

[Attack Power: 25-40 (+5)]

[Durability: 120/120 (+20)]

[Special Effect: Armor Piercing (Slightly increases damage against leather and wooden armor)]

[Enhancement Effect (+1): Sharpness (Attack Power +5)]

"Holy shit!"

When War God Number One posted the screenshot of the enhanced attributes in the temporarily established "Family Channel," the entire player base completely boiled over.

"It really added 5 points of attack! This is a bigger boost than switching to a new weapon!"

"And the durability increased too! It won't be as easy to chip the blade when hacking people in the future!"

"This is only +1. If it were +10 or +13, wouldn't it be heaven-defying?"

"Hahaha! Awesome!" War God Number One felt the more solid and sharp sense of power coming from the broadsword in his hand and let out a long roar toward the sky.

He casually swung at a nearby giant rock used for testing. With a "crack," the hard stone was actually sliced off at a corner by him!

This shocking scene completely ignited the enhancement enthusiasm of all the players.

"Can my crappy iron sword be enhanced? I want +1 too!"

"Materials! Iron ingots! Who has extra iron ingots? I'll trade contribution points for them!"

"Quick, quick, go to the back mountain to mine! The stock from Black Wind Stockade isn't nearly enough for so many of us to enhance!"

New productivity was greatly stimulated, and the players' enthusiasm quickly shifted from "demolishing houses" and "fighting" to "grinding production" and "earning contribution points to improve themselves."

A virtuous cycle centered on "bringing honor to the ancestors (becoming stronger)" was thus formed.

Inside the ancestral hall, Lu Bei felt the rising incense of faith from the players and the vigorous atmosphere of development, showing a gratified smile.

The first step was perfectly achieved.

With this group of tireless, death-defying, and oddly-thinking "bug" players as his foundation, in this danger-filled world of immortal cultivation, he, this fake ancestor, finally had his first capital to strive for world dominance.

His gaze passed over the noisy territory and cast toward the distant, continuous mountain ranges.

Black Wind Stockade was just the first small mob in the beginner village.

Next, the real challenges—those immortal cultivators hidden in the deep mountains and great marshes—would probably soon notice their "unreasonable" neighbor.