Two days later, Spiritrock Village had undergone great changes.
The first was the change in population. The number of people in the village had exploded from more than thirty to over one hundred. The growth was almost exponential.
Sometimes refugees would find the village but not stay immediately. Instead, they'd scout it out, confirm the situation, then return with their families. Word of mouth spread gradually. A safe place with low taxes and plenty of food? That was rare in these troubled times.
In fact, young and middle-aged people only accounted for part of the village's population. Women, old people, and children made up another significant portion. These were not very useful labor forces, at least not for heavy work.
At the beginning of the game, it was such a rule. Only by relying on young people to reclaim land and build infrastructure could a village develop properly.
Now, Butler Jiang Lao had organized the young men into work groups. Some cut down trees, clearing land for future farmland. Another group served as hunters, venturing into the mountains and forests to hunt Mortal Rank demonic beasts for meat and materials.
In this way, all the productive labor force basically went to work. Only a few were selected by Léi Shén to train as militia. Their average cultivation level was mid-stage Qi Gathering Realm. The village's Land of Choice bonus played a major part in that by increasing their potential one level and cultivation one sub-stage automatically.
The militia comprised different occupation classes and lines. Those available for now were:
Warrior Line (Frontline Soldiers): Basic Militia
Swordsman Line (Agility Combatants): Trainee
Spear Line (Formation Combatants): Pikeman
Archer Line (Ranged Support): Bowman
Guard Line (Defense Specialists): Watchman, Guard
When the village became a large village, there might be attacks by bandits or even rival player territories. At that time, it would be necessary to have trained soldiers ready.
The training cycle in the game world wasn't very long. Especially for the most basic militia. Plus with the leadership of a famous general like Léi Shén, it would take only three days to produce an acceptable militia.
It would take at least a week to become a basic militia if the qualification allowed. But the gap between acceptable and basic wasn't small. Basic militia were significantly more capable in this early stages.
At present, the exact number of people in the village was 131. Of those, 27 were children and elderly with no useful qualifications for combat or labor.
Among the people whose qualifications could be assessed, after the village's passive blessing upgraded them, there were five people with D-Rank potential, fifty people with C-Rank potential, thirty-four people with B-Rank potential, thirty people with A-Rank potential, and two people with S-Rank potential.
As long as a person's talent reached D-Rank, they could be trained as an acceptable militia or upgraded to a basic militia with time. However, higher levels of troops required higher potential.
Because Léi Shén's own standards were very high, he looked down on the lower-ranked talents. So at least half of the villagers with A-Rank talent had been brought to training by him. The rest were assigned to general labor.
What surprised Yun Kai most was that the two villagers with S-Rank potential already had their own occupations. One was an Apprentice Alchemist of the Alchemist Line, focused on production and support. The other was an Apprentice Tailor of the Tailor Line.
These two professions could eventually manage the alchemy shop and tailor shop that hadn't been built yet. Other specialized talents would have to wait until they were gradually refreshed by the system or recruited from elsewhere.
Now even Yun Kai was struggling with talent shortages. Other territories had it far worse. Basically, these specialized talents were extremely scarce. There were even some wealthy players who went to county cities to hire people at high prices.
Naturally, Yun Kai didn't want to spend that kind of money. He'd wait for the system to refresh refugees naturally. Eventually, the right people would come.
The most important thing right now was clearing land and stockpiling food.
According to rumors, after the upcoming drought, bandits would really rise. Countless people would starve, their clothes in tatters, easily driven to desperation. Some would even resort to cannibalism.
Before all that came, this was the accumulation period. When they had enough food stored, they could weather any crisis and continue development.
After enough timber was collected, Yun Kai prioritized building a training ground. This was the place to train militia and soldiers. He had to improve military strength as soon as possible.
According to the system, a month later, when the number of villages in the world reached ten thousand, a thousand players power ranking would appear. As long as you got on that list, there would be substantial rewards. He couldn't let that opportunity slip by.
Then there was land reclamation. In the early game, these agricultural tasks were placed at the front of all priorities.
Currently, the grain supply in the village could only last for one week. Although hunters brought back meat, it didn't help much. At most, the timeline was delayed to about two weeks.
But the most pressing issue was that the village population was still growing rapidly. So the first batch of crops must be harvested within a week, otherwise the village would fall into a food shortage crisis.
As a result of the influx of a large number of refugees, the degree of social stability had also decreased. Once a food shortage occurred, most of them would probably leave.
The village's popular support was still around seventy percent, while average loyalty hovered around sixty percent. This wasn't good news.
Looking at these data points in his village interface, Yun Kai felt a headache coming on. Although he could hand most things over to Jiang Lao, he still worried.
In fact, Yun Kai was probably the least worried person in the world, comparatively speaking. After all, he had so many bonuses that other villages were truly struggling. They had to buy resources from other players with silver and gold coins just to survive the first two weeks.
Now the village could be regarded as having its first proper foundation. There were still lots of things to handle, but as the weather gradually grew late and the sun set, he wasn't in a hurry to deal with everything tonight.
After returning to the village hall, he made his way to his bedroom on the third floor.
The bedroom looked pretty decent, at least compared to refugee housing. There was a bed, a table, a chair, and a small chest for storage. Basic but functional. Yun Kai could at least sleep comfortably here.
But he didn't want to spend the night sleeping. He had more important business.
He sat down on the bed cross-legged, then pulled up the cultivation technique stored in his mind. The Spiritual Ocean Sutra. He'd been putting this off, but tonight was the time to begin proper cultivation.
The Spiritual Ocean Sutra was a True Heaven-Grade Cultivation Manual that strengthened the user's soul consciousness, spiritual sense, and allowed the absorption of souls from defeated enemies.
At the beginning, the introduction of the Spiritual Ocean Sutra explained that there were twelve layers in total. Each layer mastered would increase the player's Force value by two points and Intelligence value by one point permanently.
Moreover, it also contained supplementary techniques, though he'd focus on the main cultivation method first.
Although it sounded like two points of Force and one point of Intelligence was very little, in reality, it wasn't. When he reached the next cultivation realm, the bonuses would stack multiplicatively with his base attributes.
In the future, every breakthrough to a new cultivation realm would compound these gains. If he broke through to a high enough realm and mastered all twelve layers, the Force value increase would be ninety points and the Intelligence value would be seventy-eight points total.
As long as Yun Kai could master this technique completely, it meant the power he gained would exceed Léi Shén's natural strength at the same cultivation stage. An incredible advantage.
Although as a lord he didn't necessarily have to fight on the front lines, in the early stage of the game, he still had to take the lead sometimes. Otherwise, with insufficient population, who else would defend the village?
Yun Kai closed his already 'closed' eyes behind his blindfold and began practicing according to the meridian circulation chart embedded in his consciousness.
The technique was complex. Energy pathways wound through his body in patterns he'd never attempted before. The Spiritual Ocean Sutra focused on the mind, on consciousness, on the soul itself.
He breathed slowly, deeply, drawing Qi from the surrounding air into his body. Then he guided it along the prescribed routes, through channels both familiar and strange.
After practicing for about an hour, he felt a gurgling sensation. Internal force surged through his meridians like a river finding new paths. The energy was different from normal cultivation. Cooler, more refined, focusing in his head rather than his dantian.
His sensory bubble, which had been static at one meter for so long, suddenly rippled. It expanded slightly, then contracted, then expanded again. Just like breathing.
The change was subtle but noticeable. His awareness sharpened. Details became clearer.
Yun Kai continued practicing through the night, not stopping even as hours passed. He didn't feel tired. Instead, his whole body felt light, energized, as if he could run for miles without rest.
By the time dawn light began filtering through the window, something had changed fundamentally.
A notification appeared in his mind.
[Ding! You have successfully cultivated the Spiritual Ocean Sutra to Layer 1.]
[Force +2, Intelligence +1]
[Your sensory perception has increased. Current radius: 1.2 meters]
Yun Kai opened his eyes beneath his blindfold, breathing out slowly. He felt different. Stronger, yes, but also clearer. Like fog had lifted from his mind.
He felt something else that filled him with joy. The barrier he'd been pushing against for days, the wall between cultivation realms, had cracked.
Energy surged through his body. His meridians widened. Blood pulsed faster, carrying Qi to every part of his being. The transformation was violent but controlled, his body reshaping itself on a fundamental level.
When it ended, Yun Kai sat perfectly still for a long moment.
Then he checked his status.
[Cultivation]: Early Blood Condensation Realm
He'd broken through. In a single night of focused cultivation, he'd crossed from late Qi Gathering to early Blood Condensation.
The Blood Condensation Realm. The second of the six Mortal Foundation Stages. Where cultivators refined their blood, strengthening their bodies and preparing for the Tendon Transformation that would come next.
Yun Kai flexed his fingers. His body felt heavier and denser. His sensory bubble had expanded to 1.2 meters, a twenty percent increase that might not sound like much but made a significant difference in practice.
He stood up from the bed, testing his movements. Everything felt smoother, more responsive. His cultivation breakthrough had been successful.
"One step at a time," he muttered to himself. "Just keep moving forward."
He walked to the window, sensing the village below through his expanded perception. People were already stirring, starting their daily routines. Jiang Lao was organizing work groups. Léi Shén was drilling the militia.
He smiled beneath his blindfold.
"Let's see what today brings."