Chapter 406: Rise to Fame

Qiu Luoye agreed to the reclamation, and Li Banfeng brought the people to Qiu Luoye's territory that very day.

With over a thousand people reclaiming land, things could easily get chaotic if left unchecked; even choosing plots could lead to fights.

However, Li Banfeng had already made preparations. On the way, he distributed maps to everyone, with the plots already marked. He also showed projected images to the group, giving them three days to choose their land. If multiple people chose the same plot, the first one to select it got it.

Despite having seen the maps and images, and having everything clearly explained, some people still asked to change their land upon arrival.

Could they change?

Yes, they could. They could choose any plot outside of those designated by Li Banfeng and become landowners themselves, but there would be no rewards, and they would have to cover all reclamation costs themselves.

Once the plots were selected, offerings were prepared that day. Qiu Luoye responded to each, and the trials began the next day.

These thousand-plus individuals weren't meant to reclaim a thousand-plus plots.

Some groups of three to five people worked together to reclaim a one-mile square plot, while others, numbering thirty to fifty or even a hundred, collaborated on a three-mile plot.

Any team composition was acceptable. Li Banfeng would award based on the land reclaimed, and how the money was divided afterward was up to the reclaimers themselves.

However, precautions had to be taken against those who lacked genuine skill and merely caused trouble.

Several individuals with little cultivation insisted on reclaiming a three-mile plot alone. Li Banfeng sent all such people back halfway, not having time to waste on them.

Some among them refused to leave, demanding to argue with Li Banfeng. He promptly sent such people to the Lesser Yellow Springs, providing some live sustenance for the host of lost souls.

For these trials, Qiu Luoye commanded his subordinate spirits to hold back, aiming to ensure that all these people could successfully reclaim land.

The first day went smoothly, and all reclaimers passed their trials.

By the morning of the second day, over a hundred reclaimers had failed and were forced off their plots.

Li Banfeng observed these hundred-plus individuals and noted that many were skilled reclaimers.

These skilled individuals weren't greedy; a team of five of them worked on a one-mile square plot but were defeated by a spirit in less than five minutes.

Li Banfeng summoned the leader of these five reclaimers, secretly gave him some reward money, and inquired about what had happened.

The leader, Zhao Yongtian, in his early forties, told Li Banfeng, "I have three layers of cultivation, and my team consists of one two-layer and three one-layer cultivators. Reclaiming a one-mile plot should have been more than enough for us."

"We planned to complete the task first to secure our capital. If Lord Seven valued our work, we'd then reclaim more plots to earn more."

"But unexpectedly, a jujube tree appeared this morning. It entered our plot and started swinging its branches, attacking us. None of us could withstand it."

"When I said five minutes, I was afraid you'd mock us. It took less than half a minute for it to drive us all out."

What level of cultivation did this jujube tree possess?

Surely more than four layers?

Meng Yuchun had once said that spirits with just enough cultivation to reach four layers could participate in trials on a one-mile plot, but this only happened when the local deity particularly disliked reclaimers.

Higher-level individuals were not permitted to enter plots for trials; doing so would be a breach of contract.

What was Qiu Luoye playing at? Was he deliberately inviting individuals with cultivation above four layers to participate in the trials? Did he not want this venture to succeed?

Li Banfeng frowned and went directly to find Qiu Daxiang. Upon reaching Qiu Luoye's residence at the foot of Elephant Mountain, he saw Qiu Luoye grabbing a jujube tree and cursing, surrounded by many other spirits.

"Brother Qiu, what happened?" Li Banfeng stepped forward to ask.

Qiu Luoye gritted his teeth and said, "Seventh Brother, stay out of this. I'm going to chop this bastard into pieces."

The jujube tree retorted boldly, "Come on, chop me then, Lord Qiu! I've been with you for so many years; don't go easy on me now."

As Qiu Luoye was about to act, Li Banfeng dissuaded him: "First, explain the whole situation clearly."

"No need to explain!" Qiu Luoye fumed, "This damn tree has five layers of cultivation and went to a one-mile plot for trials. Isn't that deliberately trying to undermine me?"

Li Banfeng asked the jujube tree, "Why did you do that?"

"To survive!" shouted the jujube tree. "If they take all the land, how are we supposed to live?"

Shui Yongquan, watching from the side, sighed, "Too rushed."

He wasn't wrong; this situation was indeed caused by the reclamation progressing too quickly.

If a territory was reclaimed ten times a year, the problem wouldn't be significant. A careful local deity would subtly control the number of spirits, gradually sending some to other territories, and other spirits would barely notice any change.

However, in Qiu Luoye's territory, reclamation happened thousands of times a year, and now over a thousand new people had arrived. The dense population of spirits in his territory found their living space suddenly too constricted, inevitably leading to resistance.

Qiu Luoye didn't concern himself with these details; he just wanted to chop the jujube tree, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

But the other spirits didn't buy into that: "Lord Qiu, if you're going to kill him, kill us all too!"

One word led to another, and in a fit of rage, Qiu Luoye roared, "Fine! Today I'll grant your wish! I'll send all of you on your way!"

Li Banfeng once again stopped Qiu Luoye and asked, "If the entire territory is successfully reclaimed, what will happen to the spirits in it?"

This was a matter Li Banfeng had always been concerned about, as he would face the same problem in the future.

Once the entire territory was successfully reclaimed, a new land would become a proper land, and there were no spirits on proper lands.

Qiu Luoye said, "I'll arrange a place for them!"

Shui Yongquan shook his head and said, "How will you arrange it? If you divide them over a hundred or eighty years and send them out slowly, then it might be manageable."

"But you've reclaimed over thirty percent of the plots in just one year. Where can you send them? To me? I can't support them!"

Qiu Luoye spat, "Impudence! Who said I'd send them to you? I have plenty of friends; I can send them to anyone's home."

Shui Yongquan chuckled, "Try sending them then? See if anyone dares to accept them? You'd be bringing hundreds, even thousands, of subordinates into someone else's territory. Who knows what your intentions are? If the day ever comes when alliances break, who wouldn't fear your inside-outside coordination?"

Qiu Luoye twitched his nose, extremely vexed.

Whenever he got angry, his mind practically stopped working. He grabbed the jujube tree, on the verge of killing it, when Li Banfeng stepped forward and whispered a few words.

Qiu Luoye paused, surprised. "Seventh Brother, is there really such a place?"

"Yes, just leave this matter to me."

Qiu Luoye flicked his nose. "Alright, you tell them."

Li Banfeng addressed the spirits, "Everyone, listen to my advice. I will arrange a place for you, and I promise you won't be wronged! Those who wish to come with me, we will depart in three days. For those who choose not to, Brother Qiu will also ensure you are treated fairly."

This was a win-win situation for both Li Banfeng and Qiu Luoye. Li Banfeng's territory was in dire need of spirits, so he gained a significant advantage.

How the spirits would weigh their options remained to be seen.

Given Qiu Luoye's stance, he was clearly aiming for his territory to become a proper land. If these spirits planned ahead, they should choose a good place to go with Li Banfeng.

However, staying wasn't necessarily a bad option either. Although their living space was being encroached upon, there would be more opportunities for trials and more chances to gain cultivation. As long as they followed the rules, Qiu Luoye was never stingy when it came to awarding cultivation.

With at least an alternative, the spirits dispersed, returning home to consider their futures.

Two days later, the trials concluded. Over a thousand people had reclaimed more than a hundred plots. Li Banfeng immediately paid out the rewards and offered anyone willing to earn more money the chance to stay and continue reclaiming land.

Nearly twenty percent of the reclaimers left, while over eighty percent remained.

Earning money from reclamation was not easy; it was like licking blood from a blade.

But Lord Seven paid well, and since they were already there, they all wanted to earn another sum!

Qiu Luoye asked Li Banfeng, "Seventh Brother, can you handle this? Although I haven't concerned myself with worldly matters for many years, your approach will surely cost a lot of money."

"It's fine, I can handle it!" As Li Banfeng said this, his jaw trembled slightly.

This undertaking was truly a money pit! Large sums of silver dollars were being transported to the territory by the cartload. If business hadn't been booming, Li Banfeng wouldn't have dared to do this.

The remaining people continued reclamation, while Li Banfeng took over a hundred spirits to his own territory.

These spirits were accustomed to idleness and didn't want to gain cultivation through trials; they simply wanted to find a quiet place to live out their days. Therefore, they had made their decision early.

However, Li Banfeng's territory was too remote, and this group of spirits complained incessantly along the way.

"Lord Seven, where are you taking us? It's not an ownerless land, is it?"

"If it's an ownerless land, we won't go. No one grants cultivation in such places."

Li Banfeng laughed, "It has an owner! The local deity there is excellent, generous, and kind!"

Upon reaching the territory, Li Banfeng first let the spirits find places to settle.

The spirits didn't move.

"Lord Seven, where is the local deity? Please bother to invite him out so he can sign a contract with us first."

This was easy enough to agree to, but how should the contract be written?

Li Banfeng had never written one before and, fearing he would expose his lack of knowledge, went to Meng Yuchun's home to learn.

The content of the contract was indeed quite complex. The first part detailed the background: on a certain date, someone arrived in this territory for a particular reason.

The second part outlined the spirits' obligations, mainly two points: first, to abide by the rules on the plots and not to leave them freely during normal times; second, to obey the local deity's commands and fight for the local deity when needed.

The third part described the spirits' rights, specifying under what circumstances cultivation could be distributed to them.

Among the contracts Meng Yuchun had written for other spirits, Li Banfeng noticed a clause: "Those skilled in combat before the mirror shall be heavily rewarded."

Li Banfeng asked Meng Yuchun, "What does 'skilled in combat before the mirror' mean?"

Meng Yuchun shook his head and said, "You don't need to write that."

Li Banfeng wrote a contract following the example, then returned home and asked everyone to help transcribe it.

Hong Ying was blind, but her calligraphy was exceptionally good. His wife read aloud while Hong Ying wielded the brush, quickly writing a dozen sheets. Her characters were strong and elegant, truly a pleasure to behold.

The Glove also wrote quickly; although the handwriting was a bit messy, it could produce thirty to fifty sheets in the blink of an eye.

Li Banfeng was eager to see the Judge's Brush's calligraphy, and the Judge's Brush was also keen to show it off.

It struggled to stand up, flew to the table, spread out a contract paper, dipped its tip in ink, and just as it was about to write, The Glove and Hong Ying had already finished writing all the contracts.

Li Banfeng looked at the Judge's Brush and said, "Don't rush, you can write slowly."

"Humph," the Judge's Brush wiped the ink from its body and went to rest.

Li Banfeng couldn't let it rest; he still needed to meet his new subordinates.

First, he used the projector to set the scene, a task the projector was very familiar with.

Then, he borrowed some prestige from Hong Ying; as long as it was arranged beforehand, Hong Ying had no problem with it.

Li Banfeng first notified a group of spirits to wait at a designated location.

Leveraging his advantage as a traveling cultivator, he arrived at the designated spot ahead of them, concealed himself, and had the Wine Gourd slowly spray wine, creating a ball of green fire to serve as the image of the local deity.

With everything ready, Li Banfeng gave the Judge's Brush an order: "Fly."

Half an hour later, Li Banfeng finally managed to fly, less than a foot off the ground.

Flying close to the group, Li Banfeng remained silent, as speaking too much might reveal his apprehension.

He took a contract from his pocket and accurately threw it to the troublesome jujube tree. Within five meters, he never missed; this contract was thrown with exceptional precision.

After distributing all the contracts in this manner, no one else objected, except for a bull-headed man who shook his head and said, "This contract is wrong; it's not like Lord Qiu's!"

Li Banfeng hadn't intended to speak, but he happened upon such a disruptive individual.

Isn't it normal for contracts to have slight variations? Why did this person have to be so pedantic?

Li Banfeng asked the bull-headed man in a low, husky voice, "What do you mean 'different'?"

"The quality is too far off!" The bull-headed man pulled a contract from his pocket; it was one that Qiu Luoye had given back to him.

Li Banfeng took the contract. It was a scroll, made with exquisite materials and very finely crafted.

It was surprising that the rough-hewn Qiu Luoye was so meticulous with his contracts; their content must also be much richer than what Li Banfeng had written.

Li Banfeng unrolled the scroll and saw only eight large characters written on it: "From now on, follow your servant Qiu Luoye!"

Beneath the eight large characters was the bull-headed man's blood hoof print.

The bull-headed man exclaimed, "On Lord Qiu's contract, I recognize the character for 'Ye', but on your contract, I don't recognize a single character! The quality of your contract is clearly subpar. You're not trying to trick us, are you?"

Is recognizing just one character something to be so proud of?

Li Banfeng looked at the jujube tree and asked, "Are there any others among you who can read?"

The jujube tree snorted coldly, "Old Ox is indeed impressive in that regard. I don't recognize the character for 'Ye'."

Everyone nodded repeatedly, praising Old Ox's cleverness.

Resigned, Li Banfeng read the contract aloud.

Once all contracts were signed, Li Banfeng took them back to his Traveling Abode.

His wife looked at the contracts and said to Li Banfeng, "My dear husband, these spirits who have signed contracts are both the popularity and the fighting strength of this territory. When we reach the clouds, they will be your foundation. But over a hundred is far too few, husband; you must find more."

Find more?

That could work!

In any case, Qiu Luoye had nowhere to settle them, so he might as well take them all.