Opening the Way

Zhang Yu led a force that quickly dealt with the minor powers in the two towns. After merging them, he established Pioneer Village.

The entire region was integrated around the need to support the front line, and preparations for war began on a large scale. This region itself was not the objective, but merely the prelude to their campaign to open up the Five Lotus Mountain Range.

They widened the roads, built bridges and paved paths, broke through rocks, and carved open the mountains.

Liu Xiulin was now the head of the Liu Keng Liu Family and its second-strongest expert. After Liu Yun successfully broke through to the Void Returning Realm, she rarely concerned herself with affairs anymore.

Liu Xiulin had also begun handing authority to other family members and devoted herself more fully to cultivation. Especially after the family became affiliated with the Zhang Family, Zhang Mingshu's side handled all specific command over battles.

Since the Zhang Family had not deliberately set traps for the Liu Family, and had made the same contributions as everyone else, the Liu Family's losses were no greater than those of the other families. Thus, managing the Liu Family over the years had been quite effortless.

The atmosphere within the family also increasingly encouraged everyone to cultivate, and the resources they could provide gradually grew more plentiful.

The Liu Family could now deploy twice as many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

When Liu Xiulin arrived at Pioneer Village, the large stronghold had only just begun to take shape.

This region had originally consisted of two small towns jointly controlled by two closely allied minor families that had intermarried with each other. It actually resembled the two towns of Upper Zhang Town and Lower Zhang Town, which had been deliberately divided apart—their central town districts were