Across the whole of Qi State, Stone Gate Prefecture was a harsh land. Though vast in area, more than half its territory was Gobi. Its produce was meager, its climate brutal.
The Eastern Domain's heartland was considered fertile, and Gobi terrain was actually uncommon. This landscape had been shaped entirely by war.
As a meritorious official in the restoration of the state, the First Marquis of City-Crushing had his pick of countless prosperous fiefs, yet he chose to guard the frontier for his country.
The harshest environment in Qi had tempered an illustrious clan like the City-Crushing Lis.
They were even nominally Qi State's foremost illustrious clan.
The First Marquis of City-Crushing's spirit tablet had always been enshrined in the foremost shrine of the Hall of Protecting the State. The Li Clan's glory and merit had never waned through the generations.
But compared to the environment of Ice Phoenix Island, even Stone Gate Prefecture could be called a Blessed Land.
This island hung alone at the northernmost edge of the Near-Sea Archipelago, desolate and bitterly cold. North winds howled year-round, frost like blades slashing at one's face.
Only through years of development had it gradually begun to take shape.
Qi State's path toward maritime power had been divided into several stages. At first, it did not directly contend with Sea Fishing Tower for control of the seas. On one hand, it built up Jueming Island, fortified the Sea Frontier's defenses, increased its investment in the Lost Realm war, and assumed more responsibility for guarding the seas. On the other, it enacted the strategy of "great clans going to sea," granting the clans within its borders the right to pioneer and allowing them to expand freely across the ocean.
As the days and months accumulated, it established an indelible influence throughout