For many commoners, the founding of a new Immortal City was a rare chance to change their fate. In Great Yi, if you wanted to get married, you needed to have permanent residency and your own property within an Immortal City. Only then would you be granted priority rights. All else being equal, a man with permanent residence had a clear edge in courting a woman. After all, marriage is about building a stable life together.
Such housing and permanent residency represented security and a foundation for the future.
This wasn't just some idealistic fantasy. It was cold, hard reality.
Who would truly fall in love with a beggar and choose to wander and starve for life? Maybe a few—but they were the rare exceptions.
In the past, no one had such opportunities. Great Yi had not expanded for twenty years. No new Immortal Cities had been constructed. But everyone knew expansion was inevitable. And once it started—opportunity would come.
"When I get to the new city, I'm joining the Bounty Hunter Hall. I'll explore the wilderness around the city, search for surviving humans, and hunt fierce beasts.I'll even stream it live—wilderness survival! To all my old fans—make sure to support me with tips!"
Some had chosen the path of livestreamers, promoting themselves all over the Star Web.
Ever since livestreaming became available, modern survivors had brought elements of their old world into Great Yi. Not all of it was adopted, but much of it was accepted. Once people realized the Celestial Wristwatch could livestream, it triggered a boom.
People began streaming all sorts of things:
Spirit herb planting, alchemy, talisman crafting, exploration, beast hunting...You name it—it existed.
These livestreams had become extremely popular on the Star Web.
Now, with Great Yi expanding and building new cities, these streamers saw golden opportunities—treasures ripe for the taking.
"Great Yi uses Immortal Cities to suppress the wilderness. Within a radius of a thousand li, the Immortal City reigns supreme.The military only deals with hostile foreign tribes. But to truly stabilize the city, it's up to us settlers.The Emperor said: 'In Great Yi, everyone is a dragon. When the people are strong, the nation is strong.'We are all cultivators. Are we supposed to fear mere barbarians?Within a thousand li of the city, humanity shall reign!"
The people of Great Yi were filled with unyielding spirit. They did not fear war.
They dared to conquer.
They dared to claim new land.
As each Immortal City opened for migration signups, crowds flooded in to apply.
As the morning court ended, the once-hidden Iron-Blooded Great Wall suddenly manifested from the void.
The wall stood 81 zhang high—hundreds of meters tall—like a towering colossus. Its weight and scale emitted a natural aura of invincibility.
Upon its surface were countless names—those of fallen soldiers and citizens who had been interred into the wall.
In Great Yi, a tradition had formed over the decades:Those who reached the end of their life or perished in the wild would request to be buried in the Iron-Blooded Great Wall.Burial in the earth was just decay. But becoming part of the Wall meant your will would live on, eternally defending Great Yi.Even your remains would be a contribution to the Empire.
It was considered an honor, embraced by the people.
Once interred, a name would appear on the bricks—sometimes even a brief life record.
Each year, there were special days to sacrifice to the Wall—not with incense, but with fierce beast corpses and blood.
Blood sacrifice—a way to show ultimate reverence.
Now, the Wall had appeared again—half-real, half-illusory, stretching across the borders, emanating vast pressure.
"It's the Iron-Blooded Great Wall—it's appearing again!"
"Quick! Send the message back to the clan. Great Yi's about to expand!"
"Not good. Great Yi is moving again. Chaos is coming."
Countless spies and informants outside the borders had long watched the Wall. Its appearance was always a signal.
Bordering tribes—no matter their race or culture—treated this moment with the utmost seriousness.
After all, Great Yi had earned its terrifying reputation on the Divine-Demon Battlefield, even invading the Eternal Night Battlefield, bringing humanity's merit ranking to the top. An almost unbelievable feat. Its strength was beyond imagination.
Now that expansion was imminent, the threat was massive.
Within moments, intelligence was racing in all directions, spreading the news like wildfire.
Because everything Great Yi did was watched closely.
Around Great Yi, all kinds of nonhuman tribes gathered:
The Flesh-Eater Tribe, Elves, Ogres, Goblins, Beastmen, Scorpion People, even aquatic races from the sea.
None of them could afford to ignore Great Yi's actions.
Near the Great Yi border was a vast landmass, not smaller than Yi Prefecture, called the Green Source Continent, named Green Source Prefecture in Great Yi's plans.
The land was dominated by grassy plains—gentle hills covered in emerald green, waves of grass rippling in the breeze.It was breathtakingly beautiful, almost healing to look upon.
This land was home to nomadic peoples, led by the Xianbei. They had formed a powerful polity: the Great Shi Royal Court, ruled by Tán Shíhuái.
This man was a historic figure of tremendous ambition. In history, he had risen young, leading his tribe as khan, establishing a royal court in the mountains of Gaoliu, plundering southern counties, resisting the Dingling in the north, repelling Buyeo in the east, and pushing into Wusun in the west. He had reclaimed old Xiongnu lands—his territory spanning 14,000 li east–west, 7,000 li north–south.
In this timeline, his Great Shi Royal Court was even stronger than in history, boasting a population of tens of billions.Though still dwarfed by Great Yi, it was a force not to be underestimated.
The danger of nomads lay in their innate aggression.Raised on horseback, trained in archery and mobility, they were all natural warriors.With a single command, the entire population could become an army of billions.
Tán Shíhuái was a warlord of great ambition.To fight back against wild beasts and foreign raids, he promoted the "Mighty Dragon-Elephant Art (大力龙象功)", a body-tempering technique.
This technique was crude but easy to learn.Even the least talented could master its first level within three months. But advancement became exponentially harder:
Level 2: Three years
Level 3: Nine years
Level 4: Required external tempering—dragon blood, mammoth blood
Level 5 and beyond: True dragon blood required
Few could progress beyond Level 3, but even at that stage, one was a powerful body cultivator, a living war machine.
These mass-trained warriors gave the Great Shi Royal Court horrifying combat power.
At this moment, on Green Source Continent, atop a high mountain stood a mighty nomadic-style royal city called Pegasus City (天马城).
Its name embodied a wish:
That the Great Shi Royal Court could soar like a heavenly steed, undefeated and unconstrained.
Inside the palace, the armored Tán Shíhuái narrowed his eyes and slammed a report to the ground.
"The Iron-Blooded Great Wall of Great Yi has manifested—they're preparing to expand.But others may fear Great Yi—I do not."
"Pass my command:In three days, we will hold the Ascension Ceremony.The Great Shi Royal Court shall rise as the Great Shi Imperial Court."