Chapter 40: Core Level Three

For the next three days, Blackstone remained busy.

The Western Road Patrol left for Green River City early the morning after their return. The injured cultivator from Red Cliff Camp went with them, his leg wrapped tightly enough for him to ride.

They took their map, the charcoal rubbing, and everything they had learned west of the broken hills.

No one knew when they would return.

Lin Yuan didn’t wait for them.

There was already enough happening in Blackstone.

The new inn had reached its second floor.

Master Zhou’s workers moved across wooden scaffolding while stacks of roof tiles waited beside the road. From the tavern entrance, Lin Yuan could finally see the shape of the finished building.

Twelve rooms.

A common area below.

Simple and practical.

More importantly, it wasn’t finished yet and people were already asking about it.

A merchant standing beside the warning board pointed toward the construction site.

"That’s the new inn?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"When does it open?"

"When Master Zhou stops hitting it with hammers."

The merchant looked toward the workers.

"So not today."

"Definitely not today."

The man sighed.

"Put me down for a room when it does."

"There isn’t a list."

"There should be."

He walked into the tavern.

Lin Yuan watched him go.

Maybe there should be.

Then he decided not to create another problem before the building even had a roof.

The western road remained open.

Caravans arriving from Green River City often stopped at Blackstone before continuing west. Some waited for other groups. Others bought supplies and asked about the latest conditions.

Travelers coming from the opposite direction brought beast materials and news.

Qiao’s shelves emptied faster than before.

Duan He had already sent one load of beast materials east and was buying again.

Wandering Cloud Tavern stayed crowded through most evenings.

Lin Yuan didn’t check the Territory Core.

He knew the Revenue was close.

Watching the number after every bowl of noodles would not make it move faster.

On the fourth morning, a caravan arrived from the west with seven cultivators and two wagons.

They stopped at Duan He’s shop first.

Bundles of hides and horns came off the wagons, followed by several sealed containers.

Duan He stepped outside.

The negotiation lasted long enough for one of the cultivators to sit on the wagon wheel and wait.

Eventually, spirit stones changed hands.

The group crossed the road toward Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Their leader entered first.

"Food."

"What kind?"

"Whatever is fastest."

"Noodles."

"Seven bowls."

Xiao Lan appeared beside Lin Yuan.

"Eight."

The leader looked at her.

"There are seven of us."

"One of you is going to order another."

A large cultivator at the end of the group raised his hand.

"She’s right."

His companions laughed.

The leader sighed.

"Eight bowls."

Lin Yuan returned to the kitchen.

Both stoves were already hot.

Water boiled.

Noodles went in.

A few minutes later, the first bowls left the kitchen.

The second batch followed.

Then tea.

Then wine.

The large cultivator finished his second bowl and ordered a third.

Xiao Lan passed the order into the kitchen without comment.

Lin Yuan looked at her.

She shrugged.

"I underestimated him."

One of the cultivators crossed to Qiao’s shop after eating and returned carrying wound medicine and several travel supplies.

Another went back to Duan He with a beast core he apparently hadn’t included in the first sale.

Business moved between the buildings without Lin Yuan arranging any of it.

He was carrying empty bowls toward the kitchen when something stirred inside his awareness.

Lin Yuan stopped.

The sensation was familiar.

But stronger than usual.

He placed the bowls on the counter.

"Su Mei."

She looked over.

"Kitchen."

"Something wrong?"

"No."

That only made her look more suspicious.

Lin Yuan was already heading toward the stairs.

"I’ll be back."

He closed the door to his room.

The Territory Core appeared immediately.

Territory Core

Owner: Lin Yuan

Territory: Blackstone Wasteland

Core State: Awakened

Core Level: 2

Spiritual Environment: Faint

Territory Revenue: 500 / 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Lin Yuan stared at the final line.

Five hundred.

The first hundred had come almost entirely through Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Back then, Blackstone had little else.

Now Qiao sold supplies across the road.

Duan He bought and sold beast materials farther down.

Travelers traded directly with each other.

An inn was rising on land that had been empty less than two weeks ago.

Blackstone’s business no longer depended on a single counter.

A new line appeared.

Core Advancement Available

Lin Yuan focused on it.

No payment was required.

Territory Revenue was a record of genuine business, not a balance waiting to be spent.

Lin Yuan confirmed the advancement.

The Core responded.

A pulse spread outward from somewhere he couldn’t locate.

It passed through the tavern.

Through the courtyard.

Then beyond.

Lin Yuan’s awareness followed it for only an instant.

The well.

The stable.

The road.

Buildings.

Open land.

Then the sensation stretched farther than he could follow and disappeared.

Lin Yuan remained still.

The room looked exactly the same.

Outside, someone shouted from the construction site.

A hammer struck wood.

Then the interface changed.

Territory Core

Owner: Lin Yuan

Territory: Blackstone Wasteland

Core State: Awakened

Core Level: 3

Spiritual Environment: Faint

Territory Revenue: 500 / 2,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Lin Yuan’s eyes moved to the new threshold.

Two thousand.

A few months ago, even five hundred would have sounded distant.

He looked at the next line.

New Enhancement Tier Unlocked

Then another appeared.

Territory Development Function Unlocked

Lin Yuan focused on it.

The response was brief.

Territory Development

Allows development effects that apply to compatible areas or functions of the territory rather than a single structure.

Lin Yuan’s attention sharpened.

Until now, the Core had improved structures one at a time.

This was different.

He tried to open it further.

A new line appeared.

Available developments depend on territory conditions, permanent structures, activity, and Core Level.

That was all.

Lin Yuan waited.

Nothing else changed.

He almost laughed.

"You unlock something and make me figure out the rest?"

The Core remained silent.

Of course it did.

Lin Yuan checked the interface once more.

Core Level Three.

A new enhancement tier.

Territory Development.

And a much larger Revenue threshold.

Enough for now.

He dismissed the interface.

There was no reason to start spending spirit stones or choosing upgrades before he even understood what Level Three could do.

When Lin Yuan returned downstairs, the caravan was still there.

The large cultivator had finished his third bowl.

Xiao Lan approached the table.

"Another?"

The man considered it seriously.

His companions stared at him.

"Don’t."

"Why?"

"We need to leave today."

"I can eat quickly."

Their leader rubbed his forehead.

Lin Yuan returned behind the counter.

Outside the open doorway, Blackstone continued as if nothing had happened.

Qiao stood in front of his shop speaking with two customers.

A pair of hunters entered Duan He’s business carrying a rolled hide between them.

Across the road, Master Zhou’s workers continued building the second floor of the inn.

Travelers stopped beside the warning board.

A wagon rolled slowly past.

None of them knew that the Territory Core had advanced.

Lin Yuan looked toward the construction site.

When he first arrived in Blackstone, the Core had given him ways to improve what little already existed.

A well.

An old tavern.

A damaged wall.

Now there were businesses the Core hadn’t built, travelers conducting their own trades, and a new inn rising from empty ground.

The Core had changed with it.

Lin Yuan turned back toward the kitchen as another order came in.

Core Level Three could wait until he had time to explore it properly.

Blackstone was already giving him enough work for today.