Chapter 36: The Territory's First Specialty

With Xiao Hu, a high-level general, by his side, Lin Mu could now clear high-level camps every day. He no longer needed Feng Zhong to defeat those generals, and the spoils of war were expected to be more bountiful.

Each day, they cleared five high-level camps. Lin Mu and Xiao Hu handled three, while Feng Zhong took care of the other two, along with the King-level Howling Moon Wolf camp. For the time being, they were still avoiding the Howling Moon Silver Wolf King.

Unfortunately, none of the high-level camps cleared today dropped any cultivation techniques, and the number of generals in his territory did not increase, which left Lin Mu feeling quite frustrated.

Being stranded in the wilderness meant he lacked the convenience of the official government system. He could not purchase general-purpose techniques or promote soldiers to generals. He suspected that some players might already be able to promote generals, but as the system had not issued any global announcements, he had no way of knowing for sure.

Within the cities of the Han Empire, various grades of basic blueprints, skills, and cultivation techniques were sold in limited quantities. Generally, primary-grade items cost 1,000 copper coins, intermediate-grade cost 10,000 copper coins, and high-grade cost 1,000 silver coins. Expert-grade items were restocked at irregular intervals and were extremely expensive, reaching 1,000 gold coins. Master-grade items and above were not sold in shops; players had to acquire them through other means. However, Lin Mu knew that one could purchase items of Master-grade and above in the divine capital of Luoyang.

As for cultivation techniques, there were three common ones: the "Mighty Bull Demon Technique," the "Mighty Tiger Demon Technique," and the "Mighty Flood Dragon Demon Technique." Both players and NPC soldiers could learn these, and there were virtually no prerequisites for doing so.

These three techniques were mandatory for soldiers of the Han Empire and were the most widely circulated methods in the world.

Cultivation techniques were ranked from low to high: Basic, Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, and Divine.

The "Mighty Bull Demon Technique" was a Basic technique. However, as long as one learned it, studied it deeply, and performed meritorious service, one could be promoted to a general, thereby transcending the status of a common soldier and embarking on the glorious path to fame and fortune.

The "Mighty Tiger Demon Technique," an advanced version of the bull technique, was a Yellow-grade technique that required the learner to be a general with established merit. Similarly, the "Mighty Flood Dragon Demon Technique" also required merit to learn, and the amount of merit required was so immense that even in his previous life, Lin Mu had never accumulated enough to learn it.

Of course, these three were merely the official techniques of the Han Empire. There were many others, such as the "Innate Technique," the "Pure Spirit Art," and the "Ghost God Canon," among countless others. The ways to obtain them were as numerous as the hairs on an ox; it all depended on one's fortune.

The Han Empire was able to promote these three techniques so widely—rather than requiring inheritance or rare opportunities like other arts—because the Empire possessed three "Cultivation Steles." These could infinitely replicate techniques, allowing soldiers across the country to study them, thereby strengthening the government's military foundation and power to deter any potential troublemakers.

Furthermore, Han Empire cities also sold other items. One of the more precious ones was the Heaven-grade Village Building Token. Yes, the system shop sold them, but they required reputation. Only those whose reputation reached the required threshold—around 100,000—had the authority to purchase one. The price was also exorbitant, reaching one million gold coins, and they were not always in stock, appearing only through random refreshes.

This led to large player factions camping in the system shops. Whenever precious items appeared, they would report to their superiors or have authorized members purchase them immediately. Thus, the system shop was essentially the domain of the wealthy, much like the "RMB players" in virtual games of the past; this was unavoidable.

One million gold coins, at the system's 1:1 exchange rate with real currency, equated to ten billion in real-world money. This was a figure that would take countless players lifetimes to earn; only major financial consortiums possessed such wealth.

Real-world conglomerates that monopolized industries had wealth beyond estimation. Lin Mu had heard of a Chinese company that integrated the manufacturing, production, and sales of interstellar transport ships, with a market value reaching hundreds of billions in real currency and hundreds of thousands of employees. If a single company had such wealth, one could only imagine the resources of conglomerates holding countless such companies. Truly, 20% of the people held 80% of the world's wealth.

However, earning one million gold coins in *Mythical Three Kingdoms* was possible. In his previous life, the top ten Chinese guilds all possessed such economic power.

Lin Mu’s current goal was not to join these top ten or top hundred guilds. He needed to stand at the pinnacle and challenge the heroes of the age, such as Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Sun Jian. Of course, this was a dream and a goal; there was no harm in aiming high, haha...

After many days of leveling up, Lin Mu’s own level had increased significantly. With Feng Zhong’s more than tenfold training bonus, Lin Mu had reached level 29, the peak of a Tier 2 soldier. One more step and he would reach Tier 3.

Xiao Hu, now a high-level general, leveled up much more slowly and was currently only at level 31. However, his strength was such that even if 1,000 Tier 3 soldiers surrounded him, they would be unable to do anything and would return empty-handed. Such was Xiao Hu's prowess.

Also worth mentioning was Feng Zhong, an entity that broke the balance of the game. Lin Mu had always viewed him as his "pillar of stability," though currently, this pillar was being used merely as a needle for sewing clothes—a great waste.

However, his level was rising very quickly; he was now level 36. His strength was even more monstrous. Since he currently held no title, his actual combat performance depended on his morale. His current morale was 280 points, meaning he exerted 280% of his strength. If his morale increased, his strength would grow even further.

Morale was a crucial setting in *Mythical Three Kingdoms*, determining the combat effectiveness of soldiers and generals. If morale was at 60 points, they exerted 60% of their true strength; at 100 points, they exerted their full potential.

If morale exceeded 100 points—for example, reaching 150 points—it was like a rainbow, with soldiers’ strength erupting to 150%. At such times, an army was truly terrifying.

Therefore, morale was vital for marching and warfare. Many factors influenced it, such as duels between generals. If one side won a duel, their morale would rise and combat power would soar, while the losing side's morale and combat power would drop. Additionally, some high-level generals possessed skills to boost morale, such as Feng Zhong, though these skills had time limits.

The winds and clouds of the battlefield were ever-changing; only those who grasped the subtleties could emerge victorious. The concepts of "heavenly timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony" were not just empty words.

...

The development of the territory proceeded as usual. To Lin Mu’s wild delight, the Expert-level Beast Tamer in his territory finally succeeded in domesticating the herd of Green Oxen and Colorful Chickens, and had successfully built animal pens to house them.

Upon hearing the report from his subordinate, Lin Mu left the work of leading the soldiers to Xiao Hu and ran back to the village alone. He placed great importance on the specialty Green Oxen.

The animal pens, situated in the southeast, covered an area of 1,000 acres. For now, there were two pens. One was massive, featuring flat plains and lush grass—an excellent place for raising cattle. This was the Green Oxen pen.

Lin Mu entered the pen and saw Jiang Yuan, an expert talent as rare as a panda, busy soothing and feeding the herd, with over 20 apprentice tamers assisting him.

The number of Green Oxen currently stood at 4,689, including 3,708 cows. This was the figure Jiang Yuan had reported to Lin Mu after the taming was complete.

Now that the herd was being driven into the pens, the taming mission could be considered a complete success.

Green Oxen were a rather special beast. They could be domesticated as livestock and plow animals; their stamina was far superior to common yellow cattle or water buffalo. While there were common plow animals around the territory, yellow cattle and water buffalo were docile and easily tamed. With Jiang Yuan, an expert-level talent, domesticating the Green Oxen was also quite straightforward.

Lin Mu stepped forward to help drive the oxen into the pen.

"Thank you for your help, my lord! Now it is finally time for the harvest!" Jiang Yuan said, wiping sweat from his brow and smiling.

"Haha, it is I who should thank you, Xian De. With you here, the domestication of beasts in our territory has progressed by leaps and bounds with gratifying results!"

"I owe you a bow!" Lin Mu said gratefully. Indeed, having a beast-taming expert like Jiang Yuan early on was a massive boon to the territory's development. If it had been an ordinary tamer, it would have taken an unknown amount of time to tame these 5,000 or so Green Oxen.

"My lord is too kind! This is what we ought to do. We are all part of True Dragon Village; it is our duty to contribute to the territory," Jiang Yuan said happily.

"Haha, indeed! We are all family, so no need for such formalities!" Lin Mu said.

"Very well. Now that the herd is all settled, my lord can come to the animal pen hall to check the attributes of the pens and the status of the herd," Jiang Yuan invited.

"Right!" Led by Jiang Yuan, Lin Mu walked to the management hall located just to the right of the pen entrance.

Upon entering the hall, Lin Mu summoned the attribute panel for the pens to check the information:

Name: [Green Oxen Pen]
Grade: Primary
Trait: Specialty-grade Livestock Pen
Attributes: Cows: 3,708; Bulls: 901; Calves: 80
Description: A special pen built under the careful guidance of an expert-level beast tamer. Extremely precious, capable of domesticating the special livestock [Green Oxen]. Currently, due to system, territory, and talent attribute bonuses, the breeding cycle has been changed to one month, meaning cows can produce offspring once a month.

As Lin Mu checked the attributes, a pleasant system notification sounded:

"Ding!"
"—System Notification: Lord Lin Mu, congratulations on creating the world’s first Specialty-grade animal pen. The system specifically rewards: [Green Oxen Pen] upgraded to Advanced Animal Pen. The pen gains a special attribute for one year: [Beast God’s Gift]: A special pen buff attribute. Pens with this property increase the number of offspring obtained in each growth cycle by 100%."

Lin Mu was ecstatic. He never expected such a system reward for being the first player to build an animal pen. He had truly learned something new. In his previous life, he had been filled with envy and jealousy over "specialties," never having the fortune to obtain one. Now, having obtained such a specialty in the early stages, his territory's development would accelerate even further. It was like the sun rising at midday.

Before he could recover from the surprise of the system reward, another notification sounded:

"—System Notification: Congratulations, Lord Lin Mu. Because your territory has produced a specialty, the territory's Public Sentiment has increased by 10 points (maximum 100 points)."

Haha, seeing the current Public Sentiment at 96 points, this exceptionally high number meant the people were truly of one mind!

Then, another system notification came:

"Ding!"
"—System Notification: Lord Lin Mu, because your territory's Public Sentiment has exceeded 95 points, the territory gains a special territory buff: [Unity of the People]. [Unity of the People]: A special territory attribute. Territory efficiency for craftsmanship, military training, and other activities increases by 100%. This attribute requires Public Sentiment to be above 95 points; if Public Sentiment drops, the attribute disappears until it exceeds 95 points again."

Haha, the first specialty of the territory had appeared! And with Public Sentiment exceeding 95 points, the special territorial buff was triggered! This was too powerful!

Although the [Green Oxen] specialty did not provide an immediate increase in the territory's wealth, once the number of oxen grew, agricultural development would flourish, food production would increase, and selling the surplus would yield massive profits.

With the one-year [Beast God’s Gift] effect, the number of Green Oxen would double every month. In an ideal scenario, without other bonuses, 3,708 cows could produce 3,708 calves each month. In a year, that would be 44,496 calves. With the territory's attribute bonuses, the [Beast God’s Gift] effect, and the expert beast tamer's bonus, they could add approximately 150,000 oxen this year, which was more than enough to meet the territory's plowing needs.

With these oxen, the farmers would be able to finish clearing and planting all the arable land in the Yinglong Valley this year.

Lin Mu's worries about agricultural development were completely resolved. A huge weight had finally been lifted from his heart.