Qiu Luoye agreed to the pioneering task, and Li Banfeng brought people to Qiu Luoye’s territory that very day.
With over a thousand people clearing land, if left unchecked, chaos would ensue; fights could even break out over the selection of plots alone.
But Li Banfeng had a plan. On the way, he distributed maps to everyone with the plots already marked out. He had also shown everyone images with a projector and given them three days to choose their plots. If selections overlapped, it was first come, first served.
They had examined the maps and seen the images, and everything that needed to be explained had been clarified. Yet, when they arrived at the territory, some people still came forward wanting to exchange their lots.
Yes. They could choose a patch of land outside the plots Li Banfeng had demarcated, stake their claim as a landlord, forgo the reward money, and bear the initial costs of clearing the land themselves.
Once the plots were selected, offerings were prepared that same day. Qiu Luoye responded to each one, and the assessments began the following day.
This group of over a thousand people wouldn’t necessarily clear over a thousand plots of land.
Some groups of three to five would clear a plot about one square mile in size, while others, comprising thirty to fifty or even over a hundred people, would clear plots spanning three square miles.
They were allowed to team up however they wished. Li Banfeng rewarded them based on the land they cleared. How the Pioneers chose to divide the money among themselves afterward was their own affair.
However, precautions were needed against those who, lacking genuine abilities, came only to cause trouble.
A few individuals with negligible cultivation levels insisted on clearing three square miles each. Li Banfeng sent these people back halfway, having no time to waste on them.
Among them, some refused to leave, insisting on arguing their case with Li Banfeng. He directly sent these troublemakers to the Little Yellow River to provide some live food for a host of Lost Souls.
For this assessment, Qiu Luoye had ordered his Strange Monsters to restrain themselves as much as possible, striving to ensure all the Pioneers succeeded in their clearing efforts.
The first day went smoothly, with the Pioneers passing their tests without trouble.
By the morning of the second day, however, over a hundred people had failed at pioneering and were forced off their plots.
Li Banfeng had observed these hundred-plus individuals, among whom were some adept Pioneers.
These skilled individuals had not been greedy. One team of five such adepts, attempting to clear a one-square-mile plot, was driven out by a Strange Monster in less than five minutes.
Li Banfeng called over the leader of these five Pioneers, discreetly gave him some reward money, and asked what had happened.
The leader, a man named Zhao Yongtian in his early forties, told Li Banfeng, "I have Third Layer cultivation level, with one teammate at the Second Layer and three at the First Layer. Clearing a one-square-mile plot was well within our means.
"We intended to secure our initial investment first, ensuring a basic return. If Seventh Master took notice of us, we would have tried to clear more land and earn more.
"But then this morning, a Jujube Tree came into our plot. It thrashed around with its branches, and we couldn’t withstand it at all.
"I said five minutes because I was afraid you’d laugh at us; we were all driven out in less than half a minute."
Meng Yuchun had once said that Strange Monsters just managing to reach the Fourth Layer could go to a one-square-mile plot for assessment, but only if the Local Deity was particularly hostile towards the Pioneers.
No entities of a higher level should enter the plots for assessments; otherwise, it would be a breach of the contract.
Li Banfeng furrowed his brow and went directly to find Qiu Daxiang. When he arrived at Qiu Luoye’s residence at the foot of Elephant Mountain, he saw Qiu Luoye gripping a Jujube Tree and cursing, surrounded by many Strange Monsters.
"Big Brother Qiu, what’s the problem?" Li Banfeng approached and asked.
Qiu Luoye gritted his teeth. "Old Qi, don’t meddle in this. I’m going to chop up this son of a bitch."
The Jujube Tree defiantly replied, "Go on then, chop away, Master Qiu! I’ve been with you for so many years; don’t go easy on me."
As Qiu Luoye was about to act, Li Banfeng managed to dissuade him. "First, explain what happened."
"No need to explain!" Qiu Luoye snapped. "This damned tree has Fifth Layer cultivation level! It went to a one-square-mile plot to conduct assessments. Isn’t it deliberately trying to sabotage me?"
Li Banfeng asked the Jujube Tree, "Why did you do this?"
"To survive!" the Jujube Tree shouted. "If all the land is given to them, how are we supposed to live?"
Shui Yongquan, who was watching the commotion, sighed. "Too hasty."
He wasn’t wrong. The issue indeed stemmed from excessively rapid territory development.
Suppose land on a territory was cleared only ten times a year. The problem would be minimal. An attentive Local Deity would subtly control the number of Strange Monsters, gradually relocating some to other territories, and the remaining ones would hardly notice any change.
But on Qiu Luoye’s territory, land was cleared thousands of times a year. The Strange Monster population there was already dense, and this new wave of over a thousand people suddenly squeezed their living space far too much, leading to an inevitable rebellion.
Qiu Luoye hadn’t considered all this; he was intent on chopping down the Jujube Tree to make an example of it.
But the other Strange Monsters wouldn’t stand for it. "Master Qiu, if you want to kill him, you might as well kill us all!"
One word led to another, and in the heat of the moment, Qiu Luoye bellowed, "Fine! Today, I’ll grant your wish! I’ll send all of you to your deaths!"
Li Banfeng intervened once more, asking Qiu Luoye, "If the entire territory is successfully developed, what will happen to the Strange Monsters living here?"
Qiu Luoye replied, "I’ll arrange a place for them!"
Shui Yongquan shook his head. "How will you arrange it? If it were spread over eighty or a hundred years, gradually relocating them, then it wouldn’t be a huge issue.
"But you cleared over a third of the territory in a single year. Where can you send them? To my place? I can’t sustain them!"
Qiu Luoye spat. "The nerve! Who said I’d send them to you? I have plenty of friends; there are many places I could send them."