“How is this possible… How did you do that Dong’er? Is this part of the Golden Dragon legacy you have received?”

“Something like that but more importantly have some herb masters start cultivating the soil here, it's very rich with spiritual energy and should be a lot better for growing special herbs with vast amounts of holy energy in them.”

Zhang Jin looked at one of the elders that were walking with them. The man just clasped his hands and quickly started running as he had heard what Zhang Dong had stated. It was a nice sight to behold, he didn’t even need to lift a finger and everything would be arranged. What he only needed to do was to restore these facilities and point his sect members towards them.

‘This area isn’t only meant for herbs, it can be used to grow fruits that should be rich in nutrients required for body refinement.’

For the time being, creating more recovery items would be more important but later it would be beneficial if this flying fortress was self-sufficient. The teleportation arrays used up a lot of energy that needed to be conserved during a long battle. While it was stationed here it wasn’t a problem but when it became operational it wouldn’t be optimal to have to constantly rely on outside sources.

‘Besides fruits and vegetables that can be grown here, people also require meat…’

Luckily this place had it all, in another location there was a wide-open area that was meant for animals to live in. With the help of the herbs being rapidly grown at this greenhouse farm animals like spirit chickens could be brought up rapidly. They would fully mature within a few weeks before being able to be eaten.

‘It is a bit strange that a palace meant for an emperor would have facilities like this…’

The Azure Palace of Zhang Dong’s brother didn’t seem to possess these types of rooms. Livestock was kept outside in one of the city districts meant for farming. All the high-quality food was also made there while the rest was imported from spots below this flying fortress. In a sense, the Azure Palace was more reliant on outside sources for survival but would probably still be able to sustain a large population of cultivators even if they lost all the lands outside.

‘At least, in theory, they could have hidden spatial treasures that I’m not aware of like my medallion…’

What the Golden Palace lacked could be constructed inside of the Dimensional Regalia. Yet the facilities here could be created much faster as they were connected to the system. Zhang Dong imagined that in the future the Golden Palace could be used by inner and core disciples while the outer disciples remained in the Dimensional Regalia.

‘I could probably fit the entire Spirit Spring City in there but bringing it there will be the biggest problem, also the citizens might not want to come either…’

While his sect controlled the city their numbers were vastly inferior to the whole population. They were below five percent of the population but held all of the power. Even if he could order everyone to get into the spatial treasure they needed to decide themselves if they wanted to stick around. Living in a pocket dimension might not have been something that everyone wanted.

If they decided to relocate they would not be able to easily leave without the sect’s approval. The world inside was vast but compared to the whole empire it was like a grain of sand. While the regalia was an immortal grade treasure this didn’t mean that it couldn’t be destroyed either. During such an event whoever was inside this dimension would surely lose their life.

‘After getting the necessities in order I should start repairing the battlements…’

First, he needed the Palace to be able to house the minimal amount of people it required to run. There were many facilities that needed cultivators to run them. This place could not work automatically; it actually needed people to run most of the equipment. It seemed that it was created with a large force in mind and not one person using it from the throne room.

The Palace was huge, if there weren’t enough people manning the cannons there would be many blindspots through which the place could be invaded. Only if he managed to restore all of the defensive features could this fortress be operated. It was far too large to evade cannon fire from fast-moving battleships. Its only protection would be the protective barrier and its own cannons which needed to be used by a team of trained marksmen.

Thus for now Zhang Dong headed to the second location to repair it. The stunned sect members quickly followed after him as they were curious about what their leader would do this time. After arriving at another empty large room the whole area was lit up once again but this time around some of the elders kept their eyes open even if it pained them.

They were rewarded by finally being able to identify what was happening. Even then they couldn’t wrap their heads around what they were seeing. Floor tiles appeared out of nowhere along with various pieces of tools. Everything was just materializing out of some kind of spiritual energy without it making sense to them. This only furthered the gap in their understanding of this world and of their Patriarch that seemed like some kind of god.

After going through the large castle various rooms that would allow more sect members to migrate here became available. With them now working over he could prepare for the battle facilities that would be then manned by the people living there.

“This will probably take some time but prepare to move a large part of our sect members here, they can live in the barracks section for now but then will be moved to a special location…”

This whole place was created with spatial items in mind. This allowed them to create more rooms in a special space. These smaller rooms were similar to cultivation caves that were popular in the other sects. By spending more spirit points and materials Zhang Dong would be able to create a long corridor through which certain core disciples would be handed their rooms. There was a limit on the size but together with the wider barracks, it would have enough space for everyone to live in.

‘This whole place feels like it's some kind of strategy-building game, the only thing that is missing is waves of monsters attacking the palace at set intervals…’

It all felt like a game, the more he renovated the place the more spirit points he received. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if he would get more resources after this place became operational and started going against the invaders. Yet for the first attack, he would not be able to use it but perhaps after stripping the vampire fortress for resources, he could fix that.

…

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes, we need to prepare everyone.”

“Dong’er are you sure that we should be rushing? If we just wait some more…”

“If we wait, then it will be far too late, time is not something that we have…”

Zhang Jin and Zhang Dong were having a private conversation after he had spent most of his remaining points on renovating the palace. His grandfather knew about the intended attack on the demi-humans that would be taking place soon and was against it. From his perspective, there was no reason to rush into enemy territory. Their position was secured and the invaders couldn’t get past their new borders.

“Is this Wang Long truly such a difficult opponent?”

“I don’t know yet but the more time we give him, the more people will die in the future. If we let him develop his skills to the fullest then even if we survive this war our lives will be forfeit.”

Zhang Dong feared Wang Long for one reason only, he had the original version of the overpowered system. There was no telling what he would be up against when this person appeared before him once more. One thing was certain, Wang Long considered all of this a game and had no reservation in using human lives to reach his goal. If he somehow was able to reach the immortal realm or even step foot in it, then it would all be over for them.

“Is he really such a monster?”

Zhang Dong nodded while his grandfather just gave out a sig.

“If it is so, then I will fully support your decision but not like you need my support, the other Elders won’t speak out either.”

Normally even though he was the sect Patriarch he would need to at least convince some of the Elders to follow his orders. In other sects, the difference in power between the leader and the ones below him wasn’t that large. Here on the other hand he was considered a true dictator that no one could go against. The only person that could realistically go against him was Huo Qiang but the man would be the first to jump into the battle.

“We have been winning most of the skirmishes so those old bastards might actually be itching for a fight this time around!”

“Let’s hope so as we will need most of our elders to move out this time around, if we can secure that location then we will be able to sway this invasion in our favor.”

He was convinced that controlling the area by the bridge was the first step in achieving victory. The plan was to secure that location first before turning their eyes towards the north. His main enemies were the demi-humans and after they were gone he would have access to the lands of the demonic cultivators in the north.

Regretfully he would not be able to do anything to help the people on the east side of the empire. The focus was still on Wang Long, only when he was dealt with could he start thinking of reclaiming the other areas.

“If only the Azure Emperor would see reason, do you think that he would aid us in this battle?”

“Long Qing would probably… not help me, it’s better if we keep this a secret from him for now.”

“Is that so?”

Zhang Jin could feel that there was something between these two brothers that he could not ask for. Clearly, his grandson had some reservations about the Azure Emperor. But was it something more on a personal level or was there a darker reason?

“It’s no time for that gramps, I need you to come with me for the time being, help me gather all of our forces.”

Zhang Dong was not a strategic genius and required someone trustworthy like his grandfather for aid. After assessing their forces they needed to come up with a good enough assault plan that included the magic knights. It was finally time to bring the battle to the enemy's doorstep.