Inside the airship, as it flew toward Torch Dragon Territory, Zhang Tie and a large group of people gathered in a spacious, luxurious lounge at the top of the vessel. Some stood, some sat; they sipped wine and chatted as they studied the map spread across a long table, exchanging their views.
The map had been personally delivered by the Deputy Director of Agriculture of the Northeast Protectorate when the airship was about to leave Golden Crow City that day. Along with it came a large stack of ownership documents and contracts—proof of Zhang Tie's territorial holdings and land ownership in You Province.
This time, the officials had worked with remarkable efficiency. Once they confirmed that Zhang Tie was Cui Li, they completed all the procedures in less than a week and personally delivered everything to him.
Zhang Tie's land in You Province was divided into four parts. The first was Torch Dragon Territory, the Great Xia reward he had earned for his merits in the Earth Element Realm. The second was the Swallow Return Mountains, which the Guan Family had given him after he won his wager with Guan Qianzhong. The third was the Zanggu Plateau in northern You Province, which he had purchased long ago. The fourth was the two million square kilometers of land that Golden Power Way had presented to him at the Wheel-Turning Ceremony.
On the map, Torch Dragon Territory and the Swallow Return Mountains were naturally connected, while the Zanggu Plateau lay north of the Swallow Return Mountains, separated from them by nearly two thousand kilometers—a true exclave. Yet the land Golden Power Way had given him lay precisely between the Swallow Return Mountains and the Zanggu Plateau, connecting all of Zhang Tie's land in You Province into one continuous expanse.
From this alone,