103 Village Upgrade

Zhan Xiaobai clutched the blueprint he had obtained from the NPC Village Chief Jiang Huai, his heart racing with excitement. Once he confirmed it was indeed a blueprint for upgrading to a medium-sized village, he did not linger at Jiang Village for even a moment. After offering a quick word of thanks, he mounted his horse and galloped back to Xiaobai Village without pause.

The four great elders—Jian Ba, Qiushui, Chunqiu Shaoxia, and A Fei—along with Li Asan, Wutong, and others, had been waiting impatiently in the administrative office. Since before dawn, when Zhan Xiaobai had set off with the horse bandits to trade for the upgrade blueprint, they had been unable to focus on anything else, choosing instead to wait here for his return.

Seeing Zhan Xiaobai walk in, they stood up from their seats, looking at him with eager anticipation. "How did it go?"

Zhan Xiaobai stepped into the hall, his face beaming with joy. "The blueprint is in hand."

"Yeah!" The group burst into cheers.

The NPC Li Asan wept with joy; the small village was finally about to take a major step forward. It had not been easy. He remembered how he had spent his days managing village affairs and his nights brewing medicine and crafting supplies, pouring his heart and soul into supporting his lord. Now, it had finally paid off. Once the village upgraded, the glory would be unimaginable.

Jian Ba, naturally composed, could not suppress a smile. With the village upgrading so smoothly, he was one step closer to his dream of personally building a magnificent city. As long as he was in Xiaobai Village, he would never allow anyone to interfere with this process.

Qiushui watched the radiant Zhan Xiaobai with a quiet smile. The village was finally upgrading. She recalled the beginning of the game, when she had accidentally met a few ordinary players in the wilderness—him, Chunqiu Shaoxia, A Fei, and Jian Ba. He had seemed the most unremarkable of them all. In terms of individual ability, he ranked among the middle of the five. If not for the blueprint he held, she doubted these five strangers would have ever come together.

Admittedly, she hadn't initially believed he had the ability to lead a village; she felt the title of "First Village Under Heaven" was 90% luck. She had stayed only because she was too lazy to look for another team. Obtaining the blueprint was a coincidence, their meeting was a coincidence, and her being entrusted with responsibility was also a coincidence. Yet, she realized that if not for this series of coincidences, she would never have known that a miracle created by an ordinary player could leave her so deeply moved.

Almost from the very beginning, he—the most ordinary of the five—had silently taken control of the village, driving its rapid advancement. Unconsciously, the other four had found their roles, cooperating with him in perfect harmony, developing step by step. Gradually, Xiaobai Village’s comprehensive strength soared to become the pride of Xiliang, and the title of "First Village Under Heaven" became well-deserved, accepted by the majority of players. The conspiracies and internal instability seen in other villages never had a chance to take root in Xiaobai Village; they were extinguished before they could even sprout.

In just one month, she no longer dared to underestimate him. He was not outstanding in any single way, yet he possessed a quality that made everyone around him feel admiration and respect, a quality that made people willing to follow him. At the very least, she was willing to continue following him, acting as his right hand and one of the commanders of Xiaobai Village.

Chunqiu Shaoxia grinned, stroking the rough iron sword at his waist. This day had come fast. He hadn't even had his fill of the small village life yet. The old days—when they had no good equipment, relied on junk weapons, and fought for territory alongside brothers who shared the same spirit—would likely never return. With this upgrade, all kinds of weapons and gear would emerge, regulations would multiply, and warfare would become more formalized. It was a happy kind of trouble.

Wutong, an ally and guest elder of Xiaobai Village, was a pure-hearted man who was genuinely happy for Xiaobai. Since he lacked the ability to conquer the world himself, he felt that joining a player who could was a wise choice. Moreover, he found Xiaobai to be a decent person who had treated him well. When Zhan Xiaobai had gone to Wuwei, he had remembered to bring back a costly bandit-suppression ebony token for him; a person who didn't care wouldn't have done that.

A Fei was the most excited. He let out a few enthusiastic shouts and urged, "Big Brother, let's upgrade the village immediately! No other village has upgraded yet; we must grab the title of the first medium-sized village in the world. Don't let anyone else beat us to it!"

Zhan Xiaobai surveyed the group with a smile. Every person present had played a vital role in bringing Xiaobai Village to where it was today.

He sat down in the center of the hall and raised a hand to quiet everyone. "Don't be impatient. I currently have 29 points of prestige, and I am still short 1 point. Who has an idea on how to get that last point?"

This was a task for the Deputy Village Chief, Li Asan, who was most familiar with the rules.

Li Asan suggested, "My Lord, there are many ways to gain prestige, but they all take time. Given the urgency, I fear complications may arise. I have a method to immediately force an increase of 1 point."

Zhan Xiaobai quickly asked, "Tell me!"

Li Asan replied, "Simply announce a 5% tax exemption for the villagers. This will immediately boost public sentiment and increase your prestige by 1. However, once taxes are reinstated, public sentiment will decline, and your prestige will decrease by 1. Therefore, this is only a temporary measure. Once you gain prestige from other sources, you can cancel this policy."

"Good! Immediately exempt the villagers from all taxes!"

Li Asan received the order and went to execute it, setting all taxes to zero.

Public sentiment throughout the village soared. The NPC craftsmen and farmers cheered, and morale hit an all-time high.

*Ding-dong.* Zhan Xiaobai’s prestige increased by 1, reaching 30 points.

Zhan Xiaobai led everyone outside the administrative office. He held the Village Blueprint in his hand and activated it.

A system voice broadcasted across all channels:

"China Region System Announcement: Player 'Xiaobai' has officially upgraded his village—Xiaobai Village. The first medium-sized village in the China region has been born. Location: Xiliang. This is hereby announced to the world, and the title of 'First Village Under Heaven' is hereby conferred upon Xiaobai Village."

All online players were stunned. What? Xiaobai Village upgraded?

The players of Xiaobai Village erupted into cheers. "It upgraded! The village upgraded! My god, how is it so fast? I wasn't ready for this grand moment! No, I have to go bathe and change to celebrate!" "Damn, Xiaobai is too cold! Such big news and he didn't even give a heads-up. He's going to give us heart attacks."

Most village chiefs in the China region and their subordinates looked at each other in confusion. How did Xiaobai Village do it? Where did he get an upgrade blueprint? Apparently, the system store sells them... but they are said to be incredibly expensive!

But then, another system announcement made all the players’ jaws drop.

Less than three minutes later:

"China Region System Announcement: Player 'Silent Sword' has officially upgraded his village—Silent Village. The second medium-sized village in the China region has been born. Location: Central Plains. This is hereby announced to the world, and the title of 'Second Village Under Heaven' is hereby conferred upon Silent Village."

...

At Silent Village, Village Chief Silent Sword had just completed a quest to obtain an upgrade blueprint. He was ecstatic and was galloping back to his village. But just three miles outside the village, he heard the system announcement about Xiaobai Village. He was so shocked he nearly fell off his horse.

He was only half a step away from being the first in the world. He closed his eyes, looked up at the sky, and sighed, "If the heavens created me, why did they also create Xiaobai!"

Three minutes later, Silent Village upgraded.

...

The forums were in an uproar over the coincidence.

When they first built their villages, Silent Village had been beaten by three seconds and forced to take second place. Now, for the village upgrade, they had been beaten by three minutes and were forced into second place again. It was unbelievably coincidental.

Threads about Xiliang's Xiaobai Village and the Central Plains' Silent Village flooded the major forums. Supporters of both villages attacked and mocked each other with an intensity that rivaled a real war. Countless trolls joined the fray, hoping to stir up chaos. The speed of the posts was faster than a live chat, with thousands of comments appearing in the blink of an eye.

Neutral players watched in a cold sweat. Two villages separated by ten thousand miles were sparking such a fierce rivalry, which was beyond everyone's expectations. Xiaobai Village and Silent Village were now locked in a standoff. Without a definitive winner, it seemed neither side would ever be satisfied.