Chapter 30

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Impenetrable Fortress has expanded four times in terms of the length on each side.

Looking at the cross-sectional area, it’s akin to a sixteen-fold expansion.

Based on the overall cubic volume, it’s equivalent to a sixty-four-fold expansion.

However, I don’t need to look at these things at the moment but at the floor area in the current situation.

Twenty-four square kilometers is neither too big nor too small. At the very least, it’s sufficient for the time being.

The key is after this.

Each area expansion will be a sixteen-fold expansion.

Even though it was only five square kilometers at first, it will soon be an astronomical value when the expansion continues like this.

Moreover, if those settings from when I was designing the game still exist, more exaggerated changes may happen in the future…

Zhang Dongyun silently calculated in his heart.

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

With the first upgrade expansion successfully done, I should mull over the second upgrade expansion.

Zhang Dongyun brought up the quest system.

[Random Guarding Quest 2.1—Kill or capture the Eastern Tang Dynasty’s Great Xuanwu General Du Kun.]

[You have captured Du Kun, who entered the fortress, and completed Random Guarding Quest 2.1. Rewarded 400 Upgrade EXP.]

The first fortress upgrade and expansion required 1,000 Guarding EXP.

The second upgrade required 2,000 Guarding EXP.

Now that he had completed the quest regarding Du Kun and obtained 400 points, he still needed 1,600 points more.

The second upgrade and expansion required 2,000 Construction EXP.

He previously had 1,100 Construct EXP, but after using 1,000 points for the upgrade, he now had only 100 points.

Therefore, he was now 1,900 points away from the required Construction EXP for the second upgrade.

Zhang Dongyun was relieved.

He still had some conscience when he had made the settings.

At the very least, with each upgrade, the leftover EXP did not vanish, so he did not need to start accumulating from the beginning again.

A good deed begets another. He could enjoy this part now that the system was for his own use.

When he had been on the Blue Planet, if he had made the settings so that the leftover points would disappear automatically, nobody would have played this game. He, who was now Fortress Lord Zhang of another world, would have also ignored it…

He refreshed the list of construction quests.

After completing the quest that required a population of ten thousand, he finally got a new construction quest.

[Construction Quest 2.1—Establish your Department of State Affairs]

State affairs… Zhang Dongyun thought about it.

This was definitely not merely constructing a building just like it had been with the Fortress Lord Mansion.

The right manpower was necessary for the office.

Fortress Lord Zhang did not have the heart to deal with all sorts of case files and trivial matters all day long.

He would just leave it to his subordinates to handle.

Anyway, nobody could bully him, the Fortress Lord, in the Impenetrable Fortress.

However, he would have to carefully select capable and qualified people to handle the affairs.

While Zhang Dongyun pondered, he ordered the system to first place the Department of State Affairs building on the ground.

Before, when he used the Tang Dynasty troops as laborers to construct buildings in the fortress, he had planned a long time ago to leave a lot of space in the fortress to place the system’s building later on.

A divine light descended from the sky.

An enormous, magnificent palace compound appeared near the Great Ming Palace.

The commoners in the fortress were stupefied to see this miracle-like scene before their eyes.

Despite knowing how magical this fortress was, all of them worshipped the miracle.

The golden light dissipated, and the last bit of it condensed on the inscribed board at the entrance of the courtyard.

[Please name it.]

Upon hearing the system notification, Zhang Dongyun was somewhat hesitant.

Since I named my residence the Great Ming Palace, why don’t I use the naming format of the Three Departments and Six Ministries1 of the Tang Dynasty?

I have an impression of the Six Ministries, but what are the other two in the Three Departments apart from the Department of State Affairs?

I think it’s the Chancellery and the Secretariat?

The Department of State Affairs is the central hub, so I’ll just call it the Heavenly Pivot Hall.

With this thought, Zhang Dongyun provided the desired name on the inscribed board in the courtyard.

A golden light finally condensed into three words: Heavenly Pivot Hall.

As the commoners looked at the inscribed board, they revealed a perplexed look.

All of them looked at each other.

“Young Master Song, you’re a scholar. What does it say on there?”

“It reads Heavenly Pivot Hall, with the meaning of gathering stars and being the central hub. It’s not an imperial palace but rather a place where the court issues orders.”

The scholar explained, “But I don’t know which royal court’s capital this fortress is.”

A short, robust man beside him said casually, “Chang’an Fortress is built by the deities above. How can royal dynasties be compared to it? It must be some divine kingdom from above!”

Upon hearing that, the surrounding people nodded one after another. “That’s right, that’s right. You’re right.”

The scholar blinked, looking pensive. “That seems to make sense.”

Everyone in the fortress was talking about it.

Zhang Dongyun, who was in the Great Ming Palace, was looking at the system’s list of quests.

As expected, constructing the building alone was not enough to complete the new construction quest.

He still needed to fill manpower into the brand-new Heavenly Pivot Hall.

His sockpuppet, Mister Black Cloud, with the look of an old man in black, was nominally supposed to take charge of the entire fortress temporarily and handle miscellaneous matters on behalf of the Fortress Lord.

Right now, Zhang Dongyun could assign him to the Heavenly Pivot Hall to take charge of the overall situation.

The key would be the subordinates handling matters.

It would not do to use all people of the Cold Mountain Sect.

He was not worried about their disloyalty, but favoritism was inevitable, which would certainly lead to detrimental effects.

Punishing them after something bad happened would ultimately be trouble for Fortress Lord Zhang, so it would be better to establish the rules right from the start.

Of course, as a reward for the Cold Mountain Sect’s heavy stake and loyalty, its people would be part of the first batch to participate in the construction of the Heavenly Pivot Hall.

Both Hui Tianyu and Elder Zhao Zhi, who led a team to deliver grains, did not have outstanding talents in cultivating the Martial Dao, but they were experts in such general affairs.

Apart from considering the people of the Cold Mountain Sect, he would also select the right talents from among the vagrants.

Although most of the vagrants were impoverished farmers, there were also some knowledgeable and experienced people.

Fortress Lord Zhang did not have the heart to personally manage the basic needs of more than thirty thousand people or even more in the future.

He would just manage the shepherds well.

Zhang Dongyun seemed to have thought of something regarding manpower.

That’s right. I wonder how the Thunderclap Sect’s Wu Qiong is doing. Can he bring me some surprises?

It doesn’t matter whether he’s going to bring some manpower or an enemy to attack the fortress.

The Thunderclap Sect’s Wu Qiong, whom Fortress Lord Zhang had recalled, had yet to go out of the mountain range in Dragon Ridge.

He had tailed behind the Tang Dynasty army earlier and went into the mountains again to have a look.

Then he found out that the Great Xuanwu General Du Kun and the other troops under him had not returned.

Wu Qiong did not dare to go too close, so he could not see the exact situation.

However, he knew that Chang’an Fortress would end up winning by a landslide.

And they would even crush the other party without a doubt!

Wu Qiong no longer tried to enter Chang’an Fortress. Instead, he went down the mountains and rushed to the Thunderclap Sect in Tongzhou.

The chance for his sect to change had arrived!

Wu Qiong was determined.