Comprehensive Upgrade of the Territory

The next day, Haotian woke up early, enjoying breakfast served by his maid, Sally. Once the little maid departed with a group of Royal Griffon Knights for a hunting expedition, Haotian stepped out of the **Town Hall**, ready to upgrade his territory.

After yesterday's battle, Haotian's stockpile of lord's gold coins had reached 600,000. As for wood and stone, he had ample supplies. He also had over 100,000 units of fine iron, more than enough for the Town Hall upgrade requirements.

Soon, a brilliant golden light emerged from the void, resembling a beautiful aurora that enveloped the entire Golden Oasis. The ground trembled as countless towering trees sprouted, and vibrant flowers covered the oasis like a magnificent carpet. The Golden Oasis expanded rapidly, consuming vast dunes and giving rise to even more greenery and woodlands.

At the same time, Sapphire Lake's surface area also increased. The silver-tailed fish within leapt joyfully, creating a shimmering spectacle of silver lines.

---

Shortly after, the golden light faded. The territory had successfully upgraded to a **Mid-Level Town**, consuming 100,000 units each of gold, wood, and stone, along with 10,000 units of fine iron. Haotian then checked the requirements for upgrading to a **High-Level Town**: 300,000 units each of gold, wood, and stone, plus 50,000 units of fine iron.

"Continue!" Haotian commanded, and countless resources vanished into thin air. The Golden Oasis, which had just settled, began another round of tremors.

After some time, the upgrade was complete. The territory was now a **High-Level Town**. The next level required significantly more resources.

With the promotion to a **High-Level Town**, the Golden Oasis expanded further. Its narrowest point was now over fifteen kilometers wide, and its widest point exceeded twenty kilometers. The salt lake where the sand people worked was now within the territory, becoming a resource mine. The salt lake, transformed by the system, now functioned like a mineral mine, providing edible salt directly without the need for drying and purification.

---

"Gold coins remaining: 200,000," Haotian calculated. "Short on fine iron, but plenty of wood and stone. Once we settle the profits with Sophia in the next few days, we'll have enough to upgrade the Town Hall."

Upgrading to a **City Hall** would complete the main quest, earning him a new lord talent. Lord talents were crucial for both him and the entire territory.

Thinking about the lord talent, Haotian checked the progress of **Light Saint**. Overnight, the undead kills had reached over 3.7 million, thanks primarily to the Zombie Dragon King and the spectral dragon, Charles.

"By tonight, we should reach the five million mark," Haotian mused. "Then, my lord talent will upgrade to epic, significantly increasing damage against undead!"

Feeling optimistic, Haotian went to the western side of Sapphire Lake, home to the Royal Griffon Knights. With the recent influx of sand people and abundant wood resources, he had built a thousand residences for the Royal Knights, upgrading all to mid-level. Each mid-level residence housed twenty residents, accommodating twenty thousand Royal Knights in total. Their griffon mounts were either stored in their spatial mounts or kept at the **Pasture** on the other side of Sapphire Lake.

---

"After last night's recruitment, my Royal Griffon Knights number 31,000. More residences are needed."

With the territory's expansion, Haotian now had more space. He planned to build another thousand mid-level residences, bringing the total to 2,000, enough for 40,000 Royal Knights. When their numbers exceeded 40,000, he would upgrade all 2,000 residences to high-level, allowing for even more knights.

Acting on his plan, Haotian built another thousand mid-level residences, consuming 300,000 units of wood. The uniform residences were neatly arranged, forming a spectacular sight.

---

Haotian then upgraded the territory's walls to high-level. The high-level walls, nearly sixty meters tall and over twenty meters wide, were more like fortifications. As the territory expanded, the walls grew to encircle the larger Golden Oasis, without being swallowed by the expanding oasis.

Next, Haotian added more high-level arrow towers and fortresses along the expanded walls, significantly boosting the territory's defenses. Inside the territory, he built another layer of walls with numerous towers and fortresses, designating it the **Inner City Ring**. This ring would separate the inner and outer cities.

Haotian planned to eventually relocate the sand people to the outer city, where they could interact with traders and adventurers in the **Market**, boosting the territory's economy and tax revenue. Future residents, unless under special circumstances, would also settle in the outer city, making the market even more bustling and attracting more adventurers and intelligent races.

"I need to complete the magical defense shield for the inner city," Haotian thought. The shield must be strong enough to withstand attacks from demigods before he could confidently open the Golden Oasis to the world.