Golden Griffin Nest

Haotian made another trip to the Ranch. He had just used up the Animal Growth Potion in Sapphire Lake, but now the bottle had miraculously refilled, ready for use again. The ranch housed nearly eight hundred desert coyotes and over six hundred moose. With the help of the Animal Growth Potion, the changes in both the moose and coyotes were extraordinary.

First, their bodies rapidly grew larger. Many young moose and coyotes quickly reached maturity. Some female wolves and moose even appeared to be pregnant already, their bellies noticeably swollen. Additionally, most of the adult desert coyotes experienced level breakthroughs, with many advancing to level three, and even seven elite coyotes reaching level five. This rate of progression was faster than hunting monsters.

However, the moose did not exhibit any level increases, as they were ordinary animals, whereas the desert coyotes were magical beasts.

"Spontaneous pregnancies and rapid level-ups," Haotian marveled. "Incredible! If I get a magical beast-type unit building in the future, I might be able to raise them in the ranch for further enhancement..."

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, a prompt from the Lord System appeared in his mind: [Units recruited cannot be raised in the ranch. Only native magical beasts or animals from the Sacred Continent can be raised.]

Haotian rolled his eyes. The quick response clearly indicated the system did not want him exploiting any loopholes. But it didn't matter. He could always capture more native magical beasts, especially from the nearby Forest of Life, known to be a haven for magical creatures, including dragons. He could seize the opportunity to capture a group of pure-blooded, high-potential magical beasts for concentrated breeding, eventually forming a massive magical beast army.

The loyalty of these magical beasts wouldn't be an issue. The ranch ensured they would be fiercely loyal, much like the desert coyotes, who now treated Haotian as their master, following his every command.

Back at the Town Hall

Haotian returned to the town hall, where the young maid Sally had prepared dinner. The meal was abundant, featuring new dishes of moose meat and fruit wine. During dinner, Sally happily informed Haotian that she had successfully formed a magical vortex within her body, officially becoming a practitioner.

This was excellent news for Haotian. However, his Royal Knight Corps had yet to find any skill books. Not a single magic skill book, whether lightning or frost, nor any other type of skill book had been discovered. Skill books were special items with extremely low drop rates, much rarer than Lord Coins, entirely dependent on luck.

Haotian pondered and then asked the Lord System, "Are there any other ways to obtain skill books?"

The system quickly responded: [The Lord can construct a territory building called the Profession Tower, where your subjects can learn and master various professional skills.]

"Profession Tower, huh?" Haotian mused, then added, "Show me a quest to reward a blueprint for it!"

This time, the system was silent for a long while before responding: [As per the Lord's request, a special task to reward the Profession Tower blueprint has been activated...]

[Task Details: Have a population of ten thousand, excluding recruited units.]

[Task Reward: One Profession Tower blueprint.]

"Really?" Haotian was astonished. He had expected the system to reject his request. Instead, it had provided him with a task.

"Having ten thousand subjects, huh? Not too difficult, yet not too easy, especially in the sparsely populated Kalar Desert. I'll have to expand the hunting range of the Royal Knight Corps and see if they can find other sandmen settlements."

Haotian had previously asked the three sandmen leaders if they knew of any other sandmen. They had all uniformly shaken their heads. Since being dominated by the Black Wind Tribe, they had lost contact with other sandmen settlements. The only known place was Vastian City, the largest sandmen gathering within a two-hundred-kilometer radius.

Regarding other sandmen settlements around the Golden Oasis, they had no information. Thus, Haotian placed his hopes on the Royal Knight Corps, who would continue hunting and possibly discover new settlements.

He turned to the maid Sally and said, "Until we obtain skill books, you should continue practicing at home. Drink plenty of Elven Spring Water—it can increase the magic within you."

"Yes, young master!" Sally nodded obediently. She had no interest in hunting or leveling up her practitioner status. Her greatest joy was staying in the territory, taking care of her young master's daily needs.

Late Night

Haotian was too restless to sleep. He eagerly awaited midnight, hoping his refreshed Godlike Lord Talent would grant him a powerful new unit. He wasn't expecting a divine-tier unit, but even a crowned unit would be satisfactory.

The wait felt endless. His keen maid, Sally, sensing his impatience, accompanied him on a walk by Sapphire Lake. Moonlight danced on the water's surface, casting golden ripples. Schools of silver-tail fish swam gracefully, tracing silver lines through the lake. The lakebed seemed to glisten with scattered pearls or gemstones under the moonlight, adding to the Golden Oasis's nocturnal beauty.

Out of the blue, Sally asked, "Young master, do you still remember Miss Annie?"

"Of course," Haotian replied. "Annie is a kind-hearted noble girl."

Sally giggled. "Miss Annie liked you very much. If not for her family's affairs, you two would be together by now."

"Not necessarily," Haotian smiled. "I was more interested in Annie's sister, Angie. Her beautiful singing at that party left all the nobles in awe."

Sally teased, "Young master must have been captivated by Miss Angie's figure—her voluptuous curves are like those of a mermaid, what man wouldn't be attracted?"

Haotian laughed heartily. Angie and Annie, a pair of beautiful, intelligent twin sisters—he would not see them for a long time.

"Finally, the time has come!"

Just past midnight, Haotian's Godlike Lord Talent entered its weekly cooldown. Almost simultaneously, a prompt from the Lord System appeared in his mind: [Congratulations, Lord, your talent, Beloved of All Races, has refreshed.]

[You have acquired a unit building—Golden Griffin Nest.]

[Would you like to construct it?]

[Construction requirements: None.]