"Well, Brother Su and everyone else, I'll see you all again soon," Ram said with a casual wave. Without waiting for much of a response, he opened the Lord's panel and selected the return option to head back to his territory.
Su Xing and the others called out, urging him to stay a bit longer to celebrate their victory with a small party. Ram politely declined with a faint smile.
"Maybe next time," he said, though his real reason was twofold: he felt he hadn't contributed enough to join in the celebrations, and he couldn't stand seeing Su Xing's smug face for even a second longer.
The next moment, his body shimmered and vanished, reappearing inside his Housing Plant, next to the Sylvan Soul Tree.
The familiar, calming presence of the Housing plant enveloped him as he took a deep breath. Around him, the vibrant greenery and warm glow of the surrounding spiritual trees seemed to welcome him back.
Compared to the barren landscape when Ram first unlocked his territory, the area had transformed dramatically.
Although there was no sun over his space, but there is still strong sunlight passing through the space barrier over the top, these towering trees stretched hundreds of meters into the sky, their thick canopies providing ample shade and shelter.
These massive trees had grown from the stumps left behind from the broken stumps he found when he unlocked the territory, regrown fueled by Ram's careful use of Life Energy.
Among the roots of these trees were numerous bulbous plants, their shape resembling oversized onions, housing thousands of cavemen.
If one were to look down from above, they would see the unmistakable signs of structured life: groups of cavemen diligently farming under the guidance of Half-Drows.
The fields were neatly divided, and the Half-Drows, using their inherited memories and newfound roles as overseers, ensured that everything was running efficiently.
The cavemen themselves were no longer the dull-eyed, frail beings they had once been. Now, each one moved with purpose, their eyes gleaming with vitality.
Their once-thin frames had filled out, and their stronger, more resilient bodies were a testament to the effects of the vitality mushrooms and spirit mushrooms Ram had generously distributed among them.
For Ram, creating those mushrooms was almost effortless. Just a single point of Life Energy was enough to grow hundreds of Tier 1 spiritual plants like these.
When he realized the potential of housing plans to generate source power, from cavemen—he had decided to invest some Life Energy to grow and share them to increase the efficiency by improving their spirit attribute.
The results had been immediate and remarkable. Upon consuming the mushrooms for the first time, each caveman experienced a noticeable improvement in both their physique and spirit attributes.
However, he knew their transformation wasn't complete. "Even with their spirits improved," Ram muttered, "they still lack knowledge. Strength alone won't make them useful in the long run."
This was where the Half-Drows that evolved from cavemen played a critical role. Using their inherited memories, they taught the cavemen essential skills—everything from planting crops to understanding simple defensive tactics.
This symbiotic relationship not only improved the efficiency of resource collection but also created a more cohesive and productive community.
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Most of these souls were from Tier 2 and Tier 3 creatures, their strength evident in the density of their glow.
Among the countless small lights, however, 17 stood out. Slightly larger and brighter, they pulsed with a stronger presence—likely belonging to Tier 4 creatures.
Examining them closely, Ram could identify their shapes more clearly: 11 of them were Murlocs, 4 Goat-kin, and two Lizard-men.
In their faint, spectral forms, each soul seemingly more potent than the others scattered around them.
"Hmm..." Ram muttered, focusing on the glowing orbs. "Tier 4 Murlocs... Their combat abilities weren't particularly impressive, but their resilience and water-based affinity could be useful."
"Huh?" Observing those souls closely, he found that all of these murlocs seemed damaged to various degrees, not as complete as the other souls of Lizardmen and Goat-kin.
"Interesting, is this due to being already corrupted, thankfully the absorbed souls didn't bring any unknown energy with them." Ram murmured.
"Perhaps I can utilize these Tier 4 souls in a more direct way. Either for creating new spirit creatures or for strengthening the ones I already have." As his thoughts lingered, a subtle ripple of energy radiated from the tree, as though it was reacting to his interest.
"I previously used the same ability on some cavemen to fortify their souls with Ignara's soul power, which in turn converted them into complete Half Drows; it should be feasible," he said, his gaze briefly returning to the grand, radiant light of Ignara's remnant.
Compared to the smaller souls, Ignara's essence was many times overwhelming in both size and intensity. But the only problem now is how to combine or whether to use more cavemen as experiments.
"Well, there is always plenty of cavemen he can use to verify the possibilities. One thing at a time," Ram decided, leaving the issue for when he was about to use the Sylvan Spirit Rebirth next time, he shifted his consciousness back to his own body and thought about other issues.
"Most of those Lords, are ahead of their own soldiers. Each of their own personal strength makes a massive difference in a battle." Through careful observation, he also found some of his shortcomings in his own approach.
"I can't just sit back and let my troops fight for me like I imagined before." He clenched his fists, recalling the fierce combat prowess displayed by some of the Lords. "It's clear now: this isn't just a game of who has the strongest army. The Lord's own strength is critical."
Su Xing was the exception, of course. He had wealth and powerful parents to back him up, allowing him to lean on his overpowered subordinates and artifacts. "But not everyone can afford to rely on luxuries like that," Ram muttered, shaking his head.
Su Xing's casual mention of skill proficiency levels beyond perfection (Level 5) had been an eye-opener, which prompted him to reconsider many of his existing plans.
According to Su Xing, there were some techniques that can allow users to tap into a stronger power, reaching such a level required extraordinary dedication, hours of practice, and, most importantly, a strong comprehension ability.
"No wonder those Lords seemed so fluid in battle," Ram realized. "They've probably honed their techniques far beyond what I thought was possible. I need to step up my game."
And reaching this step seemed to be one of the important perquisites to successfully breakthrough to Tier 5.
"Well, it might be a huge problem for others to improve their proficiency, but for me it's just spending more spiritual power..." He quickly opened his own skill panel to check them again carefully, mostly the immortal techniques he learned, but there was no change on it.
Ram became confused as he checked it further, not finding any clues, he simply shook his head, "Well it might need some special conditions or requirements that I might not know yet."