To upgrade his castle to Level 6, Chen Yu had used up almost all of his soul crystals.
But that didn't matter.
The next day.
As dawn broke, a flurry of Adventurers' death notifications came from Happy Chess and Cards.
【An Adventurer has died, soul crystal +1.】
【An Adventurer has died, soul crystal +1.】
【......】
His soul crystal reserves surged.
Not long after.
Over 10,000 soul crystals had already been credited to his account.
Chen Yu found the notifications too noisy.
He simply turned them off.
And went back to sleep.
If other Dungeon Lords knew of this action, they would probably be green with envy.
To receive over 10,000 soul crystals so early in the morning.
In the history of all new Dungeon Lords, it was truly a unique case.
It wasn't that Chen Yu's development was incredibly fast.
But rather, for others.
Adventurers needed to play through the Dungeon, outwit and outmaneuver the contents within the Dungeon, and only after an unfortunate death would their soul crystals be harvested.
However, in Great Xia Nevernight City, the process became: head to Happy Chess and Cards, enter the map, and die immediately.
After dying, they would exchange for some happy coins, and then use these happy coins to slowly participate in the Dungeon's gameplay.
It was like paying first.
And then receiving the goods.
Chen Yu's current earnings had already far exceeded the standard for the current Newbie Area.
Looking at the current situation of other Dungeon Lords.
Zhao Hailiang was still eagerly waiting for his Happy Chequers to have an Adventurer accidentally enter, earning him one or two soul crystals.
After the last incident.
He had completely given up on the original development vision for Happy Chequers.
He had changed it to require a certain number of entries.
Then he changed the content inside to instant death upon entering the map, directly harvesting the Adventurers' soul crystals.
He no longer considered any gameplay content.
He now only hoped that there would be more blind Heavenly Emperor Adventurers in this world who would mistake Happy Chequers for Great Xia Nevernight City's Happy Chess and Cards.
He would specifically earn the soul crystals of these Heavenly Emperor Adventurers.
And surprisingly...
He had indeed earned two or three soul crystals in the past few days.
To avoid a significant surge in profanity.
Zhao Hailiang wisely kept a low profile.
However, this was tough on the salesman who had helped him get onto the recommendation list; he hadn't uttered a sound these past few days, fearing being discovered and dealt with in real life.
And Zhao Hailiang's original super IP, Punishment of the God of Destruction, which he had purchased at a great price, was now unable to fill up with players.
A whole day passed.
He could only earn one or two hundred soul crystals.
In this situation.
Let alone expanding his territory.
He couldn't even build all 10 Dungeons in his own territory.
His castle level was still only three.
He had arrived full of ambition, believing his grand plans were about to unfold.
But now...
He had actually joined the ranks of struggling Dungeon Lords.
He dared not upgrade his castle.
He dared not build Dungeons.
He dared not recruit citizens.
Because all of these required soul crystals for maintenance.
Dungeon Lords also needed to consider costs and maintenance fees.
Zhao Hailiang couldn't help but wail.
His family had spent a fortune to buy him the super IP, hoping he could earn a large sum back in the Newbie Area, but so far, he hadn't even broken even.
From now on.
Even survival might be an issue.
"This Great Xia Nevernight City... whose super family's scion is it anyway?"
"Why does he have so many unheard-of Dungeon IPs? And each one is so profitable!"
"The surname Chen, which family is this from...?"
Zhao Hailiang racked his brain but couldn't figure out which super family this Chen-surnamed Great Xia Nevernight City Dungeon Lord came from.
All of this.
He could only inquire about it after he returned.
Even Zhao Hailiang, a rich second generation, was in such a state.
Let alone other Dungeon Lords.
It was simply impossible for them to develop.
The pie in the Newbie Area was only so big.
Great Xia Nevernight City took half.
Overseas Dungeons took a bit through the refresh mechanism.
And a mysterious Liar Tavern Lord also took a small portion.
Not much was left for other Dungeon Lords.
However, an interesting point was.
The rich second-generation Dungeon Lords who purchased IPs were struggling to develop, almost unable to grow.
But the overall survival rate of Dungeon Lords.
Had actually increased.
Although 80% of Dungeon Lords still died in the early stages.
And this number and proportion were even increasing.
However...
Overall, the current survival rate was higher than at any previous time.
This was actually a chain reaction brought about by the overall improvement in Tide Town's living standards after the appearance of Great Xia Nevernight City.
Most Adventurers were actually kind-hearted.
They understood the plight of those new Dungeon Lords; they themselves used to be poor and hungry.
Even if they wanted to help, they were powerless.
But now it was different.
After their living standards improved, a small number of Adventurers didn't mind spending one or two attempts to ensure a certain Dungeon Lord's survival.
After all, if they just wanted to survive.
A shield could be maintained by consuming two soul crystals a day.
As long as these commoner lords had no ambition.
And didn't expand their territory.
The maintenance costs for soul crystals would not increase.
It could be said...
These commoner Dungeon Lords also benefited from the lingering blessings of Great Xia Nevernight City.
Which greatly increased their survival rate.
Meanwhile, the rich second-generation Dungeon Lords who purchased proxy IPs, due to the impact of Great Xia Nevernight City's Dungeons, saw their profits greatly reduced and had yet to break even.
They were still in a struggling phase.
This situation.
Would only intensify as Chen Yu's castle level increased.
After turning off the soul crystal acquisition notifications.
Chen Yu still wanted to burrow back into his covers and sleep in.
And at this moment.
Li Siya's message came through again.
【They've arrived.】
Seeing this message, Chen Yu couldn't help but open his eyes.
He immediately issued an order.
First, he built an Alliance Teleportation Array within his castle.
Then, he summoned 15 Contract Adventurer.
Through the Alliance Teleportation Array, they headed to Li Siya's territory.
After doing all this.
Chen Yu closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.
As for the battle situation...
No rush, he'd deal with it after waking up.
...
As dawn broke.
A roar echoed from beyond the horizon.
Li Siya stood on the watchtower.
Her gaze swept into the distance.
Within her line of sight, a massive army appeared.