Liang Ji's consciousness, within the Dragon Soul, witnessed the Vassals' latest "village-splitting" operation.
The Half-Dragonfolk Vassals had begun building a second settlement. This was undoubtedly a great achievement in their reproduction, growth, and development. It also meant his investment of more than eighty thousand Spirit Stones into his Natal Star had not been in vain.
However, during this "village-splitting" operation, Liang Ji had also noticed some shortcomings on his Natal Star.
After he had successively refined nine first-tier Spotted Snake Demon Cores into his Natal Star, its size had indeed increased severalfold, and the Half-Dragonfolk population had grown severalfold as well.
But the various Spirit Seeds and Spirit Roots he had planted on the star were still at the level they had been after the previous trial. They were clearly beginning to fall behind the rapid growth and development of both the star and the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals.
Otherwise, the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals might not have started "splitting the village" so soon. After all, the main reason for building a second settlement was that the food and resources around Dragon Soul Village were already struggling to keep up with the Vassals' consumption.
Looks like I'll have to refine some more Spirit Roots and Spirit Seeds into my Natal Star!
The thought surfaced in Liang Ji's mind.
Cultivating his Natal Star and Vassals was like throwing money into a bottomless pit. He had just spent more than eighty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, and now he needed even more to plant Spirit Roots and Spirit Seeds.
As for him, who was now "penniless," all he could do was sigh. "Looks like I'll have to wait until after the second mock exam."
The second mock exam would be a heavy task for Liang Ji. He had to do everything he could to help Peng Yue claim first place among the ten schools, while also striving for a good result himself. Otherwise, he would have no chance of receiving scholarships from the school and the City Education Bureau, and wouldn't have the money to buy those Spirit Roots and Spirit Seeds later.
"Fortunately, those eighty thousand Spirit Stones weren't wasted. With the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals' current numbers, strength, and equipment, they should be able to put on a good showing in the second mock exam."
Liang Ji's gaze followed the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals heading for the second settlement. The Hunting Team warriors protecting the migrating clansmen wore Rune Armor. They used Rune Battle Axes to clear paths through the mountains, Rune Serpent Spears to hunt beasts, and Rune Shields to defend their people.
What's more, these Rune weapons were no longer like the first ones, with a single rune barely carved onto each piece of equipment.
More than twenty days had passed in the real world, and over ten thousand years on Dragon Soul Star. After generations of inheritance and development, the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals had now nurtured dozens of Rune Masters. Their rune-crafting skills had also matured, allowing them to carve enough runes onto every tool to bring out its full potential.
The Rune Master inheritance Liang Ji had incorporated into his Vassals had been a school reward, created by Grandmaster Wu Shanhai. It was far superior to the inheritance made by ordinary Rune Masters on the market.
As a result, when the Half-Dragonfolk Rune Masters crafted Rune Artifacts, they could even combine and arrange different runes on each artifact, making them interact with one another to produce effects far beyond what the same number of identical runes could achieve.
They had already begun to resemble artifact refiners, who linked runes together to inscribe restrictions onto magical artifacts.
Although his Vassals had yet to fight or compete against those of his classmates, based on the information Liang Ji had gathered, the Rune Artifacts made by his Half-Dragonfolk Rune Masters were already more effective than those made by ordinary Rune Masters using the inheritance available to some top Star Lord students.
Combined with the effects of the Vassals' Hegemonic Body, he was sure they would shine in the second mock exam.
As Liang Ji's thoughts turned, he continued watching the Hunting Team warriors. It was clear from the way they cleared paths, guarded their people, and hunted that they had begun to coordinate in formation and employ tactics. Their efficiency in clearing routes and fighting had steadily improved.
Over the past twenty-plus days, while refining Demon Cores to cultivate his Natal Star and Vassals and practicing the Tiger Demon Bone Refining Fist to temper his body, Liang Ji had spent most of his time on the course Tactics Research.
Now, the results were already beginning to show.
After observing the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals' migration for a while, Liang Ji turned his gaze toward the various Cultivation Dharma Lands.
The Spirit Vein on his Natal Star had advanced to the first tier (12%), greatly improving the effects of the various Cultivation Dharma Lands.
The Myriad Poison Grotto could now produce the effects of a thousand poisons. The sharpness of the metal energy on the "Blade Mountain" had surpassed that of ordinary blades. The temperature in Flame Valley had climbed above a thousand degrees...and so on.
Fortunately, as the Star Spirit Vein grew stronger, the Vassals' Hegemonic Body training advanced, and the Half-Dragonfolk's physical constitution and foundations grew stronger with each generation. That allowed them to keep training and improving their Hegemonic Body in the ever more powerful Cultivation Dharma Lands.
Naturally, the Hegemonic Body cultivated by the Vassals now was far superior to the first generation's, from several generations ago. Not only did it provide more comprehensive resistance, but each individual resistance had also increased severalfold.
If today's Half-Dragonfolk Vassals had taken the first mock exam a month ago, even if Teacher Du's Spotted Serpentfolk's poison could still seep into their bodies, it would have to build up several times more and take several times longer before it could erupt inside a Half-Dragonfolk warrior.
It was even possible that not a single Half-Dragonfolk warrior would have died of poison by the end of the exam.
Liang Ji's gaze swept from one Cultivation Dharma Land to another. He watched squad after squad of Half-Dragonfolk warriors train their Hegemonic Body, enduring the cutting of blades, the scorch of fire, the corrosion of poison, the bite of ice, burial in sand, lightning strikes, Water Flood, and all manner of harm to strengthen their Hegemonic Body's resistance to different attributes.
At last, his gaze settled on the Cultivation Dharma Land known as the "Arena." It was undoubtedly the most popular and celebrated training ground among the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals. Almost every day, it was packed with warriors teaching one another skills, dueling, and honing their combat techniques.
Liang Ji had long since noticed that the Half-Dragonfolk warriors who trained their Hegemonic Body were extremely combative. The Arena was just what they needed.
In fact, as the Half-Dragonfolk population continued to grow and their numbers of warriors swelled, the Arena was gradually becoming too small for them.
The other eleven Cultivation Dharma Lands, each focused on a different attribute, could be used in shifts by separate groups of warriors, so none had become overcrowded yet.
But as the star and its Vassals continued to grow, these problems would inevitably arise. He would have to expand and upgrade the Cultivation Dharma Lands in the future.
No doubt, that would be another bottomless pit devouring Spirit Stones.
Liang Ji was increasingly aware of how crucial wealth and resources were to the path of a Star Lord.
"No wonder so many Star Lords in the Star Alliance are involved in politics or run companies..."
Behind the Shan De Lou Group, Hundred Herbs Collection, Yunting Group, and even the Li Yang Group he had encountered before, there was often one or more Star Lords.
For one thing, Star Lords needed these companies and groups to sell or otherwise deal with the spiritual items and resources cultivated on their Natal Stars. For another, they used them to earn Spirit Stones and resources to support their own progress on the Path of the Star Lord.
The higher their ranks, the more resources and spiritual items their Natal Stars produced. If they kept relying on other people's companies to handle and sell them, they would only lose more and more.
That was why most Star Lords eventually set up their own companies to manage and sell the products of their Natal Stars.
This was also the main origin of the many large and small companies and groups in the Star Alliance.
A thought crossed Liang Ji's mind as his gaze shifted to the mountains north of Dragon Soul Village. Several Medicine Mountains had already been established there, along with a Pill Room, and the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals had even trained their own alchemists.
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