The next day, early in the morning.
Today was the sixth day since Yang Ming arrived at the Myriad Races Battlefield.
【Ding-dong!】
At six in the morning, Yang Ming, who was still asleep, was awakened by the system's mechanical voice.
【Respected Lord Yang Ming, your territory has been successfully upgraded.】
Yang Ming woke up instantly, turned over, and sprang out of bed.
He hurried out of the Lord's Manor to inspect the situation outside.
A faint light curtain covered the sky above the territory.
The territory, which had originally covered one million square meters, gradually expanded to five million square meters.
At the same time, several tall dormitory buildings rose from the ground.
The surrounding fences were reinforced all the way around.
Yang Ming's Lord's Manor had also become more attractive.
【Your territory has been upgraded to an advanced territory. More privileges have been unlocked, and you have additionally been granted a residential district and ten six-story dormitory buildings.】
After the successful upgrade, Yang Ming's territory took on an entirely new appearance.
“Check the territory information,” Yang Ming said impatiently.
【Name】: Huaxia City.
【Lord's manor level】: advanced grade.
【Owner】: Yang Ming.
【Location】: parallel universe 14, Server 404, Blue Star Domain 996, novice zone 10086.
【Area】: Five million square meters.
【Population】: 376 people（Only human race natives are included in the statistics; the 9,400 summoned warriors and 102 members of the dwarf race are excluded.）
【Buildings】: 0 barracks, 2 Granaries, 2 warehouses, 10 dormitory buildings, 1 farmland, 1 fishpond, 2 blacksmith shops...
【Wealth】: 0.
【National fortune points】: 215.
Yang Ming went through everything from beginning to end and suddenly discovered a problem: there were simply too few buildings.
The number and levels of buildings were also among the important conditions for territory advancement.
The conditions required to upgrade the territory from advanced grade to special grade were as follows:
【Timber】: 10,500 units.
【Stone blocks】: 9,500 units.
【White crystal core】: 10 pieces.
【Population】: 1,000 people（Limited to human race natives only）
【National fortune points】: 700.
【Buildings】: No fewer than 5 level-three buildings and no fewer than 25 level-two buildings.
【Resource fields】: At least 2 level-three resource fields and 7 level-two resource fields must be occupied.
“The difficulty of this upgrade has practically tripled,” Yang Ming remarked.
If he had not awakened an SSS-grade talent, Yang Ming would probably still be worrying about how to advance to an intermediate territory.
“There’s no use thinking about it too much. I’ll go see Cocolite first.” Yang Ming shook his raven-black hair and walked toward the residential district.
With Yang Ming's current strength, attacking a level-three resource field would undoubtedly be courting death.
That was because the monsters guarding level-three resource fields were basically excellent grade.
If he forcibly attacked one, Yang Ming would probably have to summon hundreds of thousands of warriors and overwhelm it with the most straightforward human-wave tactic.
But that would not be worth it.
That was why Cocolite's importance was revealed at this moment.
Cocolite could forge excellent-grade weapons. As long as she successfully forged one, Yang Ming's chances of successfully attacking a level-three resource field would increase greatly.
“Greetings, lord.”
“I pay my respects to lord.”
Everywhere Yang Ming went, the people sleeping by the roadside immediately stood up and bowed to him.
At present, Residential buildings and dormitory buildings had yet to be constructed on a large scale, so most people could only sleep on the ground.
When Yang Ming arrived in front of Cocolite, the white-haired girl, who was only 1.4 meters tall, appeared unusually nervous.
Cocolite had originally been sleeping beside a pile of grass. When she saw Yang Ming, she immediately crawled up from the ground, clutching the hem of her clothes with both small hands as she spoke:
“Good morning, lord.”
Yang Ming furrowed his brows and asked:
“Did you sleep here last night?”
Cocolite nodded, her expression extremely restrained. Even her speech became stammering:
“Mm-hmm, yes, lord.”
“Come with me.” Yang Ming did not ask anything else and turned to leave.
It was his oversight. He had forgotten to arrange a place for Cocolite to stay last night.
“Oh, all right, all right.” Cocolite hurriedly started walking and followed Yang Ming.
Yang Ming led her to a blacksmith shop.
The territory currently had only two blacksmith shops. Yang Ming planned to let Cocolite manage one by herself so that she could forge excellent-grade weapons.
Cocolite had great potential and was worth investing in.
Yesterday, Yang Ming had already sent people to clean this blacksmith shop. It was also equipped with a bathroom and a room.
Yang Ming glanced back at Cocolite. The girl was still wearing a yellowed, tattered cloth garment and appeared not to have washed it in a long time.
Yang Ming turned around and said to Cocolite:
“Go inside, take a bath, and put on some new clothes before coming out to see me.”
Cocolite did not dare disobey. She entered the blacksmith shop and looked around before finding the built-in bathroom?
However, less than a minute after entering the bathroom, she ran out again.
Cocolite seemed somewhat excited. Clutching a light-blue dress in her hands, she came before Yang Ming and asked:
“Lord, are these beautiful clothes for me? Can I really wear such pretty clothes?”
Yang Ming was stunned by her question.
Actually, the dress was very ordinary. It was simply a blue, youthful-style dress, and its quality was hardly better than the cheap street-market clothes sold online for nine yuan and ninety fen with free shipping in the real world.
However, in this world, Cocolite had only ever worn black and gray fabrics. Without a doubt, this was an extraordinarily beautiful new outfit to her.
“Yes, they’re prepared for you. Put them on,” Yang Ming said with a nod.
Cocolite became even more excited. A blush appeared on her dirty little face as she repeatedly bowed to Yang Ming in thanks:
“Thank you. Thank you, lord.”
Yang Ming waved his hand and urged her:
“Hurry up and wash. I still have a task to give you.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll go right away.” Cocolite immediately carried the clothes into the bathroom.
Before long, rustling sounds came from inside the bathroom.
Yang Ming was in no hurry. It was only six o’clock, and dawn had not yet broken, so waiting a while was no problem.
Ten minutes later, Cocolite walked out wearing the light-blue dress.
The girl's cheeks were thin and gaunt. After washing herself clean, several scars could be seen. Her youthful features revealed a touch of innocence, and perhaps because she had received a new outfit, her large, pure-white eyes were filled with exceptional joy.
“Thank you for the clothes, lord.” Cocolite came before Yang Ming and performed a bow according to the highest etiquette of the dwarf race.
Yang Ming unconsciously looked her over before asking:
“There’s no need to thank me. Didn’t you say before that you could forge excellent-grade weapons?”
“Yes.” Cocolite nodded.
Yang Ming pointed at the blacksmith shop and stated his purpose:
“Starting today, you’ll manage this blacksmith shop. You can live here, and you can also choose a single-person dormitory in the dormitory building.
In short, do your utmost to forge an excellent-grade weapon for me.
Of course, I’ll also send people to protect you. I’ll do my best to provide you with daily necessities such as food and clothing. If there’s anything you want, feel free to ask.”
Hearing the tempting conditions Yang Ming offered, Cocolite's heart fluttered. However, she spoke with an embarrassed expression:
“But, lord, without an excellent-grade forging blueprint, I only have a one-in-a-thousand chance of forging an excellent-grade weapon.”
Yang Ming was stunned, then asked:
“One in a thousand? What does that mean? Even without an excellent-grade forging blueprint, you can still forge an excellent-grade weapon?”
Cocolite nodded and said softly:
“My talent gives me a certain probability of advancing a forged weapon to the next quality tier, but the probability is very low. At present, it is only one in a thousand.”
This unexpected pleasant surprise left Yang Ming somewhat bewildered.
It seemed that he had still underestimated Cocolite's potential. No wonder the system had rated her as four-star.
Yang Ming could not help smiling as he said warmly:
“It’s fine. Try forging a fine-grade weapon first. I happen to have a Tang Hengdao Forging Blueprint here, so take it for now. As for an excellent-grade forging blueprint, I’ll think of another way to obtain one.”
After saying that, Yang Ming handed Cocolite the Tang Hengdao Forging Blueprint.
“Understood, lord.” Cocolite accepted the blueprint.
Afterward, Yang Ming summoned two warriors, each with a combat power of around 30, and had them guard the entrance to the blacksmith shop to protect Cocolite.
Yang Ming pointed at the two people guarding the entrance and said to Cocolite:
“If you have any needs, require any materials, or lack manpower, you can tell them. Understood?”
“Understood.” Cocolite nodded.
“Then I won’t disturb you. Start working.” After saying that, Yang Ming left the blacksmith shop.
Watching Yang Ming's departing figure, Cocolite clenched her little fists and secretly swore in her heart:
“I must work hard and repay lord for this kindness.”
✦✦✦