Dragon Cypress made two trips, bringing over some Worker Ants and Blue Ants from the Desolation Plains, and transporting the Origin Force Ant Honey that had been prepared in advance for the post-war celebration.

The battlefield was cleaned up.

White Willow had also hunted enough food.

Cypress ran back to the reservoir and caught some fish to bring over.

White Rice used his Earth System abilities to create five giant stone pots, each over three meters in diameter, beneath the Divine-Given Purple Tung tree.

Spiked Cypress and Giant Cypress commanded the Blue Soldiers, using Boiling Ability to cook the soup base.

Each insect had three plates and a water cup.

The Barley Bug Warriors were watching in bewilderment.

Ink Orchid, Blue Catalpa, and Snakebark Maple enthusiastically explained.

This was set by Dragon Cypress—the highest banquet standard of the Xianglan Mountain Kingdom.

One plate for meat, one for Origin Force Ant Honey, one for delicious Origin Force Food. The water cup held fresh water mixed with tasty Ant Honey, plus fresh fruit and ice cubes…

At noon, the banquet officially began.

Everyone got to know each other, eating and drinking, chatting idly about matters outside of the Purple Tung Insect Nation.

When the mood felt right, Dragon Cypress was about to bring up serious matters when Mountain Persimmon came over, hesitantly asking, "Dragon Cypress, is the war over?"

Dragon Cypress: "..."

Dragon Cypress: "It's over."

Mountain Persimmon: "It's autumn now. On my mountain, the astringent persimmons should be ripe. If there's nothing else…"

This guy is nothing but trouble. Bring him out for a war, and he keeps going on and on about persimmons, persimmons, persimmons…

Dragon Cypress simply had to accept it, and replied calmly, "Mountain Persimmon, fill your belly, relax and rest for a day. Tomorrow morning, I'll escort you back to Silver Cypress Mountain."

"Oh—"

Mountain Persimmon mumbled, "I'm full already."

—If you're full, then just lie down and rest!

—If you're slow and don't like to talk, you can still listen to everyone chat!

Dragon Cypress stood up and walked over to the three Mountain Lords of the Barley Bug Tribe—Mountain Thorn, Magnolia Bark, and Fuzzy Flower—and said, "The restoration of the Purple Tung Insect Nation means we need to reestablish some rules. There are also other matters. Since all tribal warriors are here, let's lay everything out openly, clarify things, and settle them."

Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord: "Dragon Cypress Ant King, please speak."

Dragon Cypress raised his claw and pointed to the Divine-Given Purple Tung tree, saying, "This Divine-Given Seed is rooted in the most fertile soil, the best Origin Force environment, and has grown for over a thousand years. It is not far from reaching King-Level. By my estimate, the yearly output of Divine-Given Purple Tung Seeds is already worth 150,000 Source Stones. If it evolves to King-Level, the annual output can reach four to five hundred thousand Giants."

Dragon Cypress: "The first matter is the distribution of the Divine-Given Purple Tung Seed. My thought is, according to the original distribution system of the Purple Tung Insect Nation, all Barley Bug tribe warriors, as well as every Insect Clan Warrior present here who came to support the attack on the Termite Kingdom, will share it equally."

Dragon Cypress: "In the future, if the Purple Tung Insect Nation produces new Barley Bug Warriors or other Insect Clan Warriors, they will also get a fixed share of this yield."

Spiked Cypress immediately raised his claw and asked, "Great King, do I get some too?"

Dragon Cypress: "Of course. Spiked Cypress, Giant Cypress, Cypress—you all do."

"Yay!"

Spiked Cypress cheered.

Blue Catalpa: "Dragon Cypress Ant King is wise!"

Snakebark Maple: "Dragon Cypress Ant King is mighty!"

Blue Catalpa: "Absolutely fair distribution."

Snakebark Maple: "No one gets more than their share."

Black Rice: "No one needs to feel shortchanged."

Black Rice hung out every day with Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, learning quite a lot from them.

Dragon Cypress asked, "Mountain Thorn Mountain Lord, Magnolia Bark Mountain Lord, Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord, what do you think?"

Mountain Thorn Mountain Lord: "Thank you, Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

Magnolia Bark Mountain Lord: "This is how it should be divided."

Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord: "We have no objections."

"That's good, then. It's settled."

Dragon Cypress continued, "Now, the second issue: the question of land distribution. In this campaign against the Termite Kingdom, I raised Soldier Ants on the Desolation Plains near the Purple Tung Insect Nation, then spent enormous amounts of Source Stones and Origin Force Food to move them here. There are still over three thousand soldiers left, with nowhere to go, so they'll set up sub-nests and be stationed in the Purple Tung Insect Nation."

"Feeding the Ant Army is a big problem; I can't keep spending time and energy transporting food from other Land of Origin Force areas to here. So I need to open up and manage land in the Purple Tung Insect Nation."

Dragon Cypress paused, activated Soul-Setting Ability to sense everyone's reactions, and continued:

"Besides, I possess many high-quality plants suited for northern cultivation, and need land to promote large-scale planting and to cultivate Divine-Given Seeds. I'm not expanding my tribe here; when I evolve to King-Level, I will leave the Origin Force Star Realm. After I go, the land will be handed over to the Barley Bug Tribe, and all the high-quality plant stocks I cultivate and breed will be left to you as a gift."

"Moreover, by my estimate, the Purple Tung Insect Nation has about 600 square kilometers of land suitable for cultivating Divine-Given Seeds—a vast area indeed."

Dragon Cypress: "About allocating land, I have three proposals. Mountain Thorn Mountain Lord, Magnolia Bark Mountain Lord, Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord—you can choose."

"The first plan: Taking the Divine-Given Purple Tung Seed as the center, build a straight river canal running north to south, dividing the nation into east and west halves. Xianglan Mountain Ant Kingdom will run the eastern half, and the Barley Bug tribe warriors will manage the western half. You can organize and plan amongst yourselves, unify operations and management, and if any Divine-Given Seeds are produced, you can arrange them collectively."

"Currently, Barley Bug Warriors are scattered across every mountain to the east, south, west, and north of the Purple Tung Insect Nation. If we split it east-west, doing day-to-day tasks wouldn't really be convenient."

"So, the second option: Each current Barley Bug Warrior, with his living cave as the center, would have a 1,300-meter radius — about 5.3 square kilometers — as his own territory to manage. You can work alone, plant whatever plants you like, or team up, two or three together, to breed higher-quality plants. If a Divine-Given Seed appears on someone's territory, it belongs to whoever's land it grew on."

Dragon Cypress paused for two seconds, then went on: "There's also a third, compromise, proposal. Each Barley Bug Warrior, with his cave as the center, would keep a 1,000-meter radius area as a private territory—about 3 square kilometers. Then, from the river canal that circles the central region of the Purple Tung Insect Nation, we measure 3,000 meters outward in all directions, dig another ring-shaped canal 2 meters wide and 1 meter deep, encircling everything. The land between the two canals is the common territory for Barley Bug Warriors."

"On your private territory, you plant your own Life Seed or whatever you like—and all profits belong to that Private Bug. The tribe's communal territory is organized by the tribe, managed in cooperation, and anything produced there belongs to everyone; the tribe's warriors discuss and decide the split."

Dragon Cypress: "Each warrior's time and energy are limited; whether working as a team or solo, running two or three square kilometers is pretty much the maximum. So all three land allocation plans I'm offering are more than sufficient."

Dragon Cypress: "These three schemes are basically the three developmental models of insect tribes, ancient or modern, each with its pros and cons—hard to judge which is best. This is a major decision for your tribe's future, so you don't need to reply right now. Go home, think it through carefully, discuss it, figure out what you really want, and give me your answer in a couple days."

"Okay—"

"Alright—"

"Thank you, Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

The Barley Bug Warriors all expressed their thanks, pondering, and falling into thoughtful silence.

Dragon Cypress: "Now, the third matter. I've taken over the central region formerly divided by the Termite Kingdom. In a few years, I plan to transplant a wild Divine-Grade Night Fragrance Divine-Given Seed here to take root…"

Fuzzy Flower Mountain Lord twitched his tentacles, slowly raised his claw, and hesitantly asked, "Dragon Cypress Ant King, what is a Divine-Grade Divine-Given Seed…?"

Dragon Cypress: "This is a quality tier unknown to inherited memory—Insect Clan Warriors split Divine-Given Seeds into quality classes. Divine-Grade Seeds all share one thing: extremely long blossom-fruit cycles and very low yield, but every fruit is packed with tremendous Primordial Energy, granting huge boosts or bestowing miraculous abilities."

Dragon Cypress: "The White Poplar Divine Seed is Divine-Grade. The Night Fragrance Divine-Given Seed and Huagi Mountain's Quandong Divine Tree are even older Divine-Grades that have survived since the last Origin Force Era—intelligent Divine Trees."

Dragon Cypress: "Huagi Mountain used to be the largest clan on Cloud Trace Continent. Huagi Mountain still has other Divine-Grade Divine-Given Seeds. I will try talking with them. There's a real chance I might be able to invite one or two Divine Trees to take root here."

Dragon Cypress added, "When Divine-Grade fruits mature, they require an immense amount of Origin Force. A rich natural Origin Force environment can greatly reduce the cost in Source Stones, and thus indirectly increase profits."

"Take Huagi Mountain's Quandong Divine Tree as an example: rooted in Huagi Mountain, it produces 3 fruits per cycle. When the fruit is nearly ripe, each one needs to consume at least 800,000 Source Stones. But if rooted here, the consumption would at least be halved, saving at least 1.2 million Source Stones per 3 fruits."

Not only were the Barley Bug Warriors stunned—even the other Insect Clan Warriors who campaigned with Dragon Cypress were all left speechless.

Spiked Cypress raised his claw and asked, "Great King, how many Divine-Grade Divine-Given Seeds does Huagi Mountain have?"

Dragon Cypress: "Two."

Spiked Cypress was confused: "Three Divine Trees?"

Dragon Cypress: "The Banner Divine Tree is not Divine-Grade."

Spiked Cypress was even more confused, "If it's not Divine-Grade, why is it called a Divine Tree?"

"You think you're clever? So many questions? Be quiet! Let's stick to business."

Dragon Cypress softened his tone, and at last succinctly summed up: "This land with such a high Origin Force concentration—I intend to use it to maximize its yield."

Dragon Cypress: "Of course, by establishing sub-nests here, I'll bring benefits for everyone too."

"First, I'll open a trading post. Each year, every tribe's harvest of Origin Force Food—keep what you need for yourselves, and sell the surplus. At the same time, you can buy Origin Force Food from me for your own evolution and growth."

"Second benefit is I'll often come to stay in the Purple Tung Insect Nation. When you break through a Great Rank, for example, when an intermediate warrior evolves into a high-level warrior, or a high-level warrior evolves to Mountain Lord-Level Warrior, you can come find me and borrow the Dominating Throne for assistance. I can't guarantee 100% success, but your odds to succeed will definitely increase substantially."

Mountain Thorn: "Much thanks, Dragon Cypress Ant King."

Magnolia Bark: "Ordinary Insect Clan Warriors don't even need such high Origin Force concentrations."

Fuzzy Flower: "High-quality land should be rooted by the best Divine-Grade Divine-Given Seeds."

The other Barley Bug Warriors all chimed in agreement.

Dragon Cypress paused a moment, then continued: "Third benefit, I'll work with the Flame Spider Roving Merchants, and also search myself, to collect more plant species suited to northern cultivation. This will enrich the Premier Plants of the Purple Tung Insect Nation, so that in the future everyone's Life Seed Plants will have more and better options."

The Barley Bug Warriors expressed their thanks once again.

"Good! Then, all important matters are settled for now."

Having finished all he wanted to say, Dragon Cypress waved his tentacles and called out: "Everyone keep eating. If there's not enough Origin Force Ant Honey, go find Cypress…"

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