Chapter 61: System Upgraded to Level Two! Point Mall Unlocked?

As soon as it ended, the system’s voice rang out.

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring sixty-nine thousand new citizens.]

Hearing this familiar tone, Li Muchen knew instantly that the rewards were coming.

Moments like this were always the most exciting for Li Muchen.

He wondered what kind of rewards he would get this time.

[Congratulations to the host for completing the main quest of surpassing ten thousand citizens in the nation.]

[According to previous rules, each new citizen can be exchanged for two points.]

[Now beginning the headcount. The newly welcomed citizens of the Great Tang Kingdom total sixty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety.]

[Points reward obtained: one hundred thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight points.]

[Ding——!!]

[The system has qualified to upgrade to a Level 2 system. It requires twenty thousand points to complete the upgrade.]

[Please choose whether to upgrade.]

Li Muchen didn't even hesitate for a second: "Upgrade! It must be upgraded."

What did spending twenty thousand points matter?

As long as the system was upgraded and more divine functions were unlocked, those twenty thousand points would eventually be earned back.

[Understood. Now beginning the system upgrade.]

[This system upgrade will take a quarter of an hour. Please be patient and wait, host.]

"Fine, go ahead and upgrade. I'll just wait."

Li Muchen found a place to sit down and slowly waited for the system upgrade to succeed.

Suddenly, he noticed that while the system was upgrading, the entire Great Tang Kingdom seemed to have frozen in time.

Those sixty to seventy thousand new citizens he had just brought back wore dull expressions, staying fixed in place without moving a single muscle, not even blinking their eyes.

It wasn't just this batch of newly joined citizens; even the old citizens of the Great Tang Kingdom had completely ground to a halt.

All production, labor, daily life, trade, and everything else... had completely stopped.

Even his four divine beasts—the Vermilion Bird, the Black Tortoise, the Azure Dragon, and the White Tiger—had halted all actions, standing frozen in place.

The entire world seemed to have been pressed with a pause button.

Li Muchen felt a tinge of curiosity, wondering if this only happened in the Great Tang Kingdom, or if every nation in this world was like this.

"System?"

"Can you hear me, system?"

"Hello?"

Li Muchen called out several times in succession, but the system gave not the slightest response.

Just like everything and everyone else in this country, it was as if a complete pause button had been pressed.

Li Muchen had no choice but to wait patiently. Once the system upgrade was successful, he would ask about the situation then.

Although it was only a short quarter of an hour, the feeling of the entire world being frozen with only himself surviving was truly agonizing.

He had the feeling as if he were the only living entity left between heaven and earth.

Fortunately, all of this was only temporary.

Right now, all he needed to do was wait patiently.

After Li Muchen sat and waited, tossed and turned in agony... the system upgrade finally finished.

[This system upgrade is complete.]

[The current system has successfully upgraded to a Level 2 system.]

[The Points Mall is about to open.]

[Ding——!!]

[The Points Mall has opened successfully. The host can enter the Points Mall at any time to exchange points for anything within it.]

[Ding——!!]

[System reminder: Rewards are about to be distributed.]

[Main quest completion reward distributed: 1 ultra-high-tier cultivator sect master, 3 high-tier cultivator sect elders, 3 mid-tier cultivator sect disciples, and 3 low-tier cultivator sect disciples.]

[The Great Tang Kingdom's cultivator system has been unlocked.]

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring an initial cultivator clan sect.]

[From this moment on, the Great Tang Kingdom is no longer a purely human nation, but has become a nation where humans and cultivators coexist.]

[Citizens of the Great Tang Kingdom can now undergo spiritual root testing. Those with cultivation aptitude can join the cultivator clan and become cultivators.]

Hearing the system's rewards announced, Li Muchen's eyes lit up brightly.

"What? What does this mean?"

"From now on, my Great Tang Kingdom will also have a cultivator clan and cultivator sects, just like the North Ji Kingdom?"

Li Muchen's voice carried excitement and thrill!

[That is completely correct.]

[The Great Tang Kingdom has officially entered the era of cultivators.]

[Additionally, a reminder for the host.]

[There are many elixirs in the Points Mall capable of enhancing a cultivator's cultivation base.]

[If the host wishes to elevate a specific cultivator's cultivation, points can be used to exchange for elixirs and bestow them upon that specific cultivator, allowing them to instantly break through cultivation bottlenecks and ascend.]

[Furthermore, the Points Mall also contains Immortal Bone Pills.]

[If the host wishes for a certain human to awaken their spiritual root, they can grant that human an Immortal Bone Pill, transforming their mortal shell and granting them the spiritual root required for cultivation.]

"Wow! That awesome?!"

Hearing these newly unlocked functions, Li Muchen's mouth split into a grin he couldn't rein in.

"With functions this awesome, why would I ever worry about the Great Tang Kingdom failing to flourish?!"

[Main quest rewards have been distributed.]

[Next, special rewards for the post-upgrade system will be distributed.]

Hearing that there were special rewards, Li Muchen's eyes gleamed with intense brilliance!

By now, he had developed a certain understanding of the rewards distributed by the system.

Special rewards like this carried far more weight than the rewards from main quests.

Facing this sudden special reward, Li Muchen appeared even more excited than he had for the main quest reward just moments ago.

"Hurry up, system, what are the special rewards this time?"

"I can't wait anymore!!"

Li Muchen urged the system repeatedly, commanding it to release the special rewards quickly.

[Ding——!!]

[Now issuing the special reward. There are two options for this reward, and the host may only choose one.]

[Reward Option One: The development progress of all industries in the Great Tang Kingdom can be instantly accelerated threefold.]

[Reward Option Two: The host's cultivation can instantly break through from low-tier cultivator to early mid-tier cultivator.]

[The reward options have been announced. Please select one reward from the two options as the special reward for this system upgrade.]

Li Muchen gritted his teeth as he began to ponder which of these two rewards was more worthwhile.

Both rewards were extremely tempting, and he wanted both of them!

What should he do?

"System, is there really no way... can I have both rewards?"

Li Muchen tentatively probed the system.

The system's cold, emotionless reply rang out: [Negative.]

[Please make your choice as soon as possible.]

[If the host fails to make a choice after a quarter of an hour, this special reward will become void.]

[If the host does not wish to lose this reward, a choice must be made within a quarter of an hour.]

Hearing that there was a time limit, Li Muchen instantly grew furious!

"What kind of nonsense is this? There's a time limit too?!"

Anger aside, his reason remained intact.

This time, it really was a difficult choice for him.

The first reward could increase the national power of the Great Tang Kingdom threefold.

The second reward could elevate his own cultivation to a mid-tier cultivator.

Hard to choose... It was so hard to choose...