Chapter 1072: Territorial Expansion

"Alright, sign the Divine Soul Contract!" Ye Liuyun was equally straightforward.

Upon hearing that, the other Elders were astonished; they hadn't expected Ye Liuyun to be serious.

"Ha ha ha!" the Clan Chief laughed instead: "You aren't going to reconsider?"

"Then, Clan Chief, do you need to reconsider?" Ye Liuyun retorted.

"Fine, sign!" the Clan Chief readily agreed.

So he and Ye Liuyun directly signed the Divine Soul Contract. Ye Liuyun also had the Grand Elder and the Elder sign together, lest they later deny it after a Clan Chief change.

The Feng Clan is so large; they couldn't replace the Clan Chief, Grand Elder, and Elder all at once because of this, could they?

Afterward, Ye Liuyun said he had matters to arrange back home and promptly took his leave.

As soon as Ye Liuyun left, the merchant Martial Cultivator immediately became smug.

"The youngster doesn't know the limits of heaven and earth, and has freely given us a hundred billion premium Spirit Stones!"

The Clan Chief Feng Yunxiao looked at him and asked, "Do you think he's joking?"

"Uh… Clan Chief, you haven't been fooled by him too, have you?" the merchant said, looking at the Clan Chief.

"You don't need to go for now; in two months, everything will become clear. Going then won't be too late!"

"Yes!" he replied, stepping back.

"What game is this kid playing, does he really have that ability?" Grand Elder asked the Elder.

"Can't say for sure! Anyway, he hasn't failed to do astonishing things." The Elder couldn't be certain, but judging by Ye Liuyun's past deeds, he often made a spectacular impact.

At this moment, the Clan Chief interjected: "Perhaps he's had these ideas for a long time! He only voiced them because he met us. Do you think someone his age could think of all this on the spot?"

With that question, the Grand Elder and the Elder both involuntarily nodded.

Then he added: "Regardless, given his boldness, we should give him a chance. Our Feng Clan has no such disciple! Moreover, this wager, win or lose, leaves us without loss!"

"Alright, then we'll wait two months and see!" the Grand Elder also approved the Clan Chief's suggestion.

After Ye Liuyun returned, he immediately communicated with Qin Peng and Du Yan using a Transmission Talisman.

He instructed Qin Peng to reorganize the army for a north‑south dual offensive, and told Du Yan to ready resources for various investments.

"Prince, such a massive move—won't you return to oversee the situation?" Qin Peng and Du Yan were both a bit worried.

"I'll be back the day after tomorrow; you both prepare in the meantime!"

Afterward, Ye Liuyun sought out the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince was currently on his way back to the capital. After the last kidnapping incident, he hadn't returned to the academy, but kept hurrying toward the capital.

The succession contest is about to begin, and he should return to prepare.

"I plan to expand the territory, needing to take, in both the north and south of Moyu, an area as large as Moyu itself."

Ye Liuyun didn't hold back and directly told the Fourth Prince his intention.

"What are you up to now?" the Fourth Prince was startled.

"I need a sufficiently large sphere of influence to do business with the Feng Clan," Ye Liuyun admitted.

"North is possible; that area is the Triangular Chaos Region, full of bandits—you'll have to fight them yourself. South you can rely on Lord Ning's base to expand outward. I'll first find out which princes are in that area, then get back to you!"

"Fine!" Ye Liuyun replied, then waited quietly for his response.

"The Triangular Chaos Region, isn't that Lan Ruo Bing's territory? Then perhaps we don't need to send troops at all!"

Ye Liuyun began contemplating each step, considering what resources were needed.

Not long after, Ye Liuyun received the Fourth Prince's reply.

"There are several princes; if you're willing to pay a moving fee, they can be relocated. The ones I know can be handled for you. You've already eliminated many princes, so there are plenty of vacant spots. There are two I'm not familiar with; you'll have to deal with them yourself…"

On Zhongyang Dalu the situation differs from the outside realms; the princes are numerous and relatively dense, but most hold little real power.

The two princes the Fourth Prince couldn't speak of belong to the Seventh Prince's faction. Ye Liuyun immediately promised the Seventh Prince a sum to have those two transferred.

In this way, Ye Liuyun only spent some Spirit Stones and secured the region.

Afterward, Ye Liuyun asked the Fourth Prince for a map to understand the area's situation.

This area, located in the northern part of Zhongyang Dalu, is only a small patch but serves as the gateway to the northern outside realms.

The area is not only strategically vital but also a major commercial hub.

After reviewing the map, Ye Liuyun sent it to Qin Peng, ordering him to station troops at several key points.

"Prince, with such a vast territory, we may need to reinforce our forces again!" Qin Peng said anxiously.

"Then you should recruit locally!" Ye Liuyun agreed without hesitation.

He couldn't halt the grand plan just because of recruitment costs.

Fortunately, Qin Peng had just captured several princes, yielding plenty of spoils, and ordinary soldiers' supplies were abundant.

During this period, Ye Liuyun had also hoarded some funds, so there was no pressing need for large capital.

Du Yan's side had also calculated the capital required for investing in those large bases.

"The infrastructure funds are sufficient, but we lack money for purchasing medicinal herbs and ferocious beasts."

Ye Liuyun thought, "That's fine! I have plenty of herb resources. As for ferocious beasts, we can capture some ourselves. The rest, we'll wait for Feng Clan's investment!"

"Alright! But what about trade in the newly opened area? We can't give everything to Feng Clan, and I can't manage that many; manpower is also insufficient!"

They then discussed the trade issues of the newly expanded region.

Ye Liuyun immediately got in touch with Liang Xue.

"Xue'er, I've recently secured a sizable region and need to set up my own trade houses and intelligence network. I'm short on manpower. You previously managed a guild; can you come help me?"

"Alright!" Liang Xue replied without hesitation.

"I can handle the guild affairs. But I don't know about intelligence networks; why don't you ask Wu Qingcheng to set one up?" Liang Xue suggested bringing Wu Qingcheng to build the network.

"Qingcheng was a killer, but that doesn't guarantee she knows intelligence gathering, and they're too far from me; I have no time to go!" Ye Liuyun said helplessly. He's now most lacking time.

And as his sphere of influence grows, he's increasingly short of personnel, especially highly reliable ones.