73: New features of the Technology Research Institute LV3

Mo Yan opened the Lord's panel and looked at the Lord Rank section.

[Territory Upgrade (Lv3 -> Lv4)]

[Required Resources: food x 6000, wood x 6000, stone x 16000, iron ore x 4000, gold coins x 4000]

[Upgrade Time: 4 hours]

"Confirm Upgrade."

Mo Yan silently thought.

Buzz—

A light much stronger than during previous building upgrades suddenly rose from the center of the territory and rapidly spread outwards.

The entire territory was once again enveloped in a hazy, sacred glow.

Mo Yan looked at the countdown on the panel and calculated the time.

"Four hours, it'll be around seven in the evening."

By then, his other buildings would also be able to reach Rank 4.

He stood up and stretched his limbs; after Cultivating for a few hours, he felt full of energy.

Then, he skillfully brought up the territory panel and began operating it.

He selected all the Rank 2 buildings, like the Academy, to upgrade to Rank 3.

At the same time, he also upgraded the newly constructed buildings from Rank 1 to Rank 2.

As for the Tavern, it required quite a lot of resources to upgrade, so he decided to save it for now and prioritize upgrading core buildings.

[Hint: Upgrading Yu Shan Workshop (Lv2 -> Lv3), consuming...]

[Hint: Upgrading Spirit Field (Lv2 -> Lv3), consuming...]

[Hint: Upgrading Frost Arrow Tower (Lv1 -> Lv2) x 6, consuming...]

[Hint: Upgrading Textile Workshop (Lv1 -> Lv2), consuming...]

...

A series of resource deduction prompts flashed before his eyes.

wood, stone, iron ore, gold coins, and even some Yuan stones, were consumed like flowing water.

Fortunately, he had just made a windfall, otherwise, he really couldn't have afforded such an expenditure.

This round of upgrades consumed nearly 13,000 wood, 10,000 stone, over 6,000 iron ore, nearly 7,000 gold coins, and over 100 Yuan stones.

Mo Yan's eyelids didn't even twitch as he watched the rapidly decreasing resource numbers.

Resources were meant to be converted into strength.

Then, he turned his attention to the Technology Research Institute, which had already been upgraded to Rank 3.

He clicked open the interface.

[Technology Research Institute]

Rank: 3

Type: Special Building

Current Functions: Military, Development, Economy, System

Special Functions: No. 1 Research Slot (Unused), No. 1 Waiting Queue (Unused)

Upgrade Requirement (Lv3 -> Lv4): wood x 15200, stone x 6400, iron ore x 800, Yuan stone x 100

Prosperity: +20

Description: Added No. 1 Waiting Queue. When the project in No. 1 Research Slot is completed, the project in the waiting queue will automatically move in and begin research automatically.

"Waiting queue?" He murmured softly.

This function was good.

It meant he could pre-arrange the research order, without having to wait for one project to finish before manually adding the next.

It undoubtedly greatly improved efficiency and saved him a lot of effort.

"It's getting more and more convenient," Mo Yan nodded slightly, very satisfied with this new function.

His gaze returned to the researchable technology projects.

Currently, the researchable technology tree was not complicated, mainly revolving around improving the territory's basic capabilities.

After a brief thought, he selected two technologies that were urgently needed at this stage.

[Elementary Strength Training I]

Research Requirement: food x 300, wood x 100, gold coins x 100

Research Time: 1 hour

Effect: All Soldiers' strength increased by 1%.

[Elementary Body Refining Technique I]

Research Requirement: wood x 150, stone x 150, gold coins x 600, Yuan stone x 6

Research Time: 3 hours

Effect: Master Elementary Body Refining methods, increasing physical strength, stamina, and resistance to blows by 1%.

(Lord can learn directly, residents need to learn through the Academy)

One of them could directly enhance the combat power of his Soldiers.

Although a 1% increase seemed small, this was a basic attribute, and accumulation would make the effect increasingly noticeable.

The sand worm battle from the day before yesterday was still vivid in his mind; at that time, they barely won by relying on equipment and numbers, but the Soldiers' weakness in attack power was fully exposed, and they still struggled against the thick-skinned sand worms.

The upcoming battles would likely involve direct confrontations with more Lords.

The Soldiers of those hostile Lords, whether in terms of equipment or training, would certainly far surpass the exotic beasts encountered before.

Improving the Soldiers' hard power was an urgent matter.

The other technology, on the other hand, was to improve physical foundation and enhance survival ability.

Most importantly, this Body Refining technique could be learned by both him and the territory's residents.

He reached out his finger and tapped on the light screen.

"First, research Strength Training."

[Hint: Estimated Remaining Time: 59:59]

On the light screen, the No. 1 Research Slot lit up, displaying the name of the research project and a countdown, slowly beginning to operate.

Immediately after, Mo Yan moved his finger to another project.

"Add Body Refining Technique to the waiting queue."

[Hint: Elementary Body Refining Technique I has been added to No. 1 Waiting Queue.]

The waiting queue icon also lit up, showing a "waiting" status.

Technology research proceeded methodically; once Strength Training was completed, Body Refining Technique would automatically follow, without him needing to worry further.

Calculating the time, that kid Xie Yufeng should be arriving soon.

He walked to the entrance of the Ice Crystal Cabin and looked at the snow-covered road outside the territory.

He wondered if that kid could find the place smoothly.

...

The biting cold wind swirled with snowflakes, slapping against his face.

Xie Yufeng pulled his neck in, tightening the beast hide coat around him.

He led three trusted Soldiers, carefully advancing in the direction of the coordinates Mo Yan had given him.

"Keep your spirits up!" He lowered his voice, ordering the three Soldiers behind him, "Don't make too much noise, and keep a close eye on your surroundings!"

"Yes, my Lord!" The Soldiers were equally nervous, gripping their weapons tightly and warily scanning the vast white snowfield around them.

This was west of the Ice Source; they should not be far from the territory of that mysterious big shot, Mo Yan.

Xie Yufeng's heart was aflutter with anxiety.

In the regional channel, news of that earth-shattering battle had already spread like wildfire.

A coalition of over five hundred people, led by several powerful Lords from Eagle Country and Wa Country, had actually fallen here so silently.

That big shot Mo Yan's strength was simply unbelievable.

But precisely because of this, he had to seize this opportunity even more, using the alliance token in his hand to exchange for the big shot's friendship and the resources his territory urgently needed.

"It's just... isn't this big shot a bit too confident?" Xie Yufeng couldn't help but mutter, "The coordinates have already been shouted out by those idiots; now, there must be many people like me, trying to sneak over here."

If they ran into those lunatics who wanted to take advantage of the chaos or seek revenge, his few people probably wouldn't even be enough to fill their teeth.

The risk was great, but the reward was equally enticing.

As long as he could connect with Mo Yan, his future would definitely be extraordinary.

"My Lord, look, there seems to be something ahead!" A sharp-eyed Soldier suddenly pointed forward.