Don't Kill, Make It a Win-Win

"Well... A-Xu, every developed Spirit Realm territory has its own network of interests, and these Lineage intermarry and help each other. They're not pushovers..." Elder Jiang gently cautioned, "Even the lords wouldn't dare underestimate this force."

Compared to the few lords, there are far more local forces that seize territory in the Spirit Realm by relying on their large numbers and strength, and become local tyrants.

"I understand what you mean, but I don't intend to drive them to their deaths. The Spirit Realm is a harsh environment, teeming with monsters. Small Lineage and teams simply cannot guarantee their safety, let alone grow and thrive."

Lin Xu explained earnestly, "The conditions for upgrading buildings in the Spirit Realm are very demanding. Many territories cannot gather enough resources for the upgrade. They are not true Spirit Realm Lord and cannot mobilize Source Fire to upgrade their territories, which is a huge waste."

These Lineage can join my territory, and I'll help them upgrade their buildings and territories, and also solve their security problems. They can just focus on production and development.

"This way I can gain more territory, and they can also achieve security and development. Isn't this a win-win situation?"

Elder Jiang stroked his beard, speechless.

Mother Lin frowned. The Spirit Realm was so dangerous; countless people wanted to curry favor with the lord but couldn't find one. She simply advised, "Talk as much as you can, but don't kill indiscriminately."

"Mom, you're right! After all, human resources are the most important resource. Killing is a waste; subduing the enemy without fighting is the true way!" Lin Xu smiled. "The territory's military strength is still too small. When we negotiate, we'll bring a large army to the border, surround the village with several thousand soldiers, and the other side will definitely agree to my idea!"

In the Spirit Realm, a purely righteous path won't get you anywhere.

Mother Lin was taken aback. So that's what I was thinking?

"Hehe~" Jiang Wanqing couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"..." Elder Jiang was silent for a moment, then shook his head with a sigh, "A-Xu, seeing that you have such good ideas, I'm relieved."

He turned to Mother Lin and advised, "The rules of the Spirit Realm are different from those of reality. Everything here is based on force. Without strength, even survival is difficult, so don't try to apply real-world laws and morals to the Spirit Realm."

As they spoke, Tengyun had already arrived above the territory. Beneath his feet were rows of orc buildings, leather, animal bones, Shitou, blood-smeared totems, and large beast skulls that were nothing but bare white bones. Everything looked like a wild, primitive tribe.

"This is the tribal hall, the heart of the territory~" Lin Xu looked at the building that covered hundreds of square meters, supported by several thick tree trunks. The rough beastmen hadn't even peeled off the bark.

A massive, pointed tent made of numerous animal hides forms the main structure of the hall, the mottled marks on the hides bearing witness to the history of the orcs.

"How do lords conquer territories?" Elder Jiang looked at him curiously. "I remember when I conquered a territory, all I had was the right to recruit people. I couldn't even upgrade buildings, and I couldn't use many other functions either."

Lin Xu understood; it turned out that he wasn't a formal lord and couldn't even upgrade buildings.

"The most important thing is upgrading the territory and buildings," he said, opening the territory tab to view the relevant data.

Name: Orc Tribe Level: 4 Village (Upgradeable)

Territory Scope: 12 li in radius. Attached Buildings: Hide Hut (525), Cattle Farm (15), Sheep Farm (15), Watchtower (35), Totem Pole, Arena, Bonfire Square, Bone Weapon Workshop, Leather Workshop, Blacksmith Shop, Salt Well. Attached Population: 1433 Orc Slaves, 21 Orc Warriors. Stored Resources: 66,000 catties of dried meat, 13,000 catties of cheese, coarse salt, animal hides, animal bones, horn, leatherworking...

Resource output: Jerky, cheese, coarse salt, animal hides, animal bones, keratin, leatherworking. Recruiting: 96 Orc Slaves (8 Orc Slaves/Month)

Evaluation: Rugged resilience, savage vitality. "Level 4 territory, it seems this is the level it spawned at." Lin Xu looked at the data panel. There was no recruitment right for orc warriors and orc shamans. Either this tribe didn't have any buildings for recruiting warriors and shamans, and the warriors and shamans in the tribe were all trained through professional training, or it was due to racial permissions. He was more inclined to the second reason, because the orc slaves in the recruitment section were grayed out, meaning they could only be viewed but not recruited.

Just then, a new option appeared on the data panel:

[New territory discovered, Bond level met, occupy? Note: Alien territories will automatically convert to the main civilization after being merged, consuming 2000 Source Fire points]

"Occupy!" Lin Xu confirmed without hesitation.

"Phew~"

An invisible Source Fire slowly spread outwards from the tribal hall, and amidst the distorted flames, the originally rough and savage architecture gradually transformed into a pavilion palace with blue bricks and gray tiles.

Mother Lin and Jiang Wanqing stared wide-eyed. They couldn't see the Source Fire, but they could see the entire tribal hall gradually changing outwards from the central point.

The transformation from the rough animal hide architecture to the familiar ancient Oriental-style palace took about ten seconds.

The transformation of the tribal hall was just the beginning. As the Source Fire spread, all the orc buildings in the center of the territory were being reshaped.

"Click~"

Lin Xu looked over at the sound and saw a stone totem pole cracking and collapsing under the burning of the Source Fire in the bonfire square opposite the tribal hall.

"Can't buildings representing spiritual beliefs be transformed?" He realized that things involving the core of a civilization's spirit cannot be transformed by external forces.

Elder Jiang stared in astonishment at this earth-shattering scene. "This is what a lord is! Indeed, only by becoming a lord can one obtain a ticket to the Spirit Realm!"

The entire conversion process lasted about 5 minutes, with the speed increasing. Once the buildings in the center of the territory had been converted, the numerous pastures on the edges were swept past, revealing a completely new village to everyone.

Lin Xu opened the territory attribute panel again. The data hadn't changed much; it seemed to be just a change in the building's appearance, except that the recruits had changed from orcs to humans.

He waited expectantly for a moment, then withdrew his gaze in disappointment. "Looks like it still won't work..."

"What's wrong?" Jiang Wanqing asked, looking at him with concern.

"Territory fusion... Xuanwei Monastery and Azure Cloud Mountain completed the fusion before, but it won't work this time." He shook his head regretfully. "It seems we have to wait for the territories to upgrade before we can fuse them."

The authority over this orc territory has not been consolidated; strictly speaking, he is merely the acting lord.

But at that moment, Lin Xu's vision blurred, and a new option popped up.