With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Ye had been in Yun County for five days.

In the past few days, in addition to visiting various places in the county town to learn about the urban construction and people's livelihood in Yun County, he also took the opportunity to spar with several third-rate martial artists from the Chen family.

After several exchanges, he was virtually invincible against all the third-rate martial artists in the Chen family.

Perhaps the other party intended to be courteous, but it cannot be denied that Lin Ye's strength has firmly reached the peak of the third tier, and he is only one step away from breaking through to the second tier.

It is worth mentioning that Chen Cheng, the head of the Chen family, is a second-rate martial artist, and he once sparred with Wang Qing.

Both players stopped short of defeat, and neither was able to gain the upper hand.

After all, one is the lord of Yun County and the other is a true disciple of the Qingyuan Sword Sect. Regardless of who wins or loses, it is easy to generate unnecessary speculation if word gets out. It is better to leave it as a draw.

On this day, an even larger convoy appeared at the gate of Yun County.

Most of the people in the group were ordinary citizens with their families; they were all people from Xiang County who had been displaced here.

Three days ago, notices were posted in various parts of Yun County, stating that anyone who wished to return to Xiang County would no longer be obstructed.

This group of people decided to return to their hometown with the Lin family's caravan after hearing the news around the county town.

With a convoy escorting us, the journey was much safer.

As for the fellow villagers scattered in various towns, the convoy will pick them up along the way, but the rest will have to find their own way back in the future.

However, everyone understood that in about a year, the situation in Xiang County would stabilize, and the road would be safe.

Considering the large number of people, Lin Ye also asked Chen Cheng to dispatch a group of soldiers from Yun County to accompany and protect them.

Unlike the Lin family's guard, the Chen family has been operating for over fifty years and has long established its own territorial army in Yun County.

The soldiers were dressed in uniform armor, their ranks were neat and their discipline was strict. At first glance, they appeared more professional and composed than the Lin family's guards.

After waving goodbye to Chen Cheng, who was standing on the city wall, Lin Ye climbed into the carriage. The caravan slowly started moving, the long procession resembling a dragon, with guards on both sides.

Back in the carriage, Lin Ye looked at the three wooden crates in front of him, each containing twelve eggs neatly stacked inside—these were the main targets of this trip: the Dao Soldier Crocodile Armor Stealth Guard.

The urgent task at hand is to decide who to assign the contracts to.

These eggs are just embryos; they won't hatch without a contract, and therefore won't serve any purpose.

This is different from unclaimed nests, where eggs hatched in unclaimed nests immediately generate Taoist soldiers to directly protect the nest.

Dao soldier eggs bred in a master's nest must be personally contracted by a martial artist of the corresponding rank before a Dao soldier will be born.

Third-rate Dao soldiers can only be contracted by third-rate martial artists, and a third-rate martial artist can only possess a maximum of three at a time in their lifetime. They must wait until one of them dies before they can contract a new one.

We now have twelve Dao soldiers at our disposal. Who should we distribute them to?

Lin Qiang, Lin Yi, and Lin Tie, the three core members of the Lin family, definitely need to be included, but it's enough to give each of them one for now.

The Crocodile Armor Stealth Guards have a limited range of uses, so leaving two slots open for them will allow for the contracting of more suitable Daoist soldiers in the future.

Sun Qian could also get one, as a trusted confidant, who could step up in crucial moments.

There's also Captain Zhou Wu, who led from the front and performed outstandingly when breaking through Lone Wolf Village. He deserves a reward, which not only recognizes his merits but also motivates the guard team.

Currently, the third-rate team leaders mostly receive spiritual plants, which have limited appeal. Real Dao soldiers are more likely to inspire their fighting spirit.

Zhao Sanpao? He's not a third-rate martial artist yet, so a contract can't be formed for now; we'll have to wait until later.

Let's divide them like this for now. Five are settled. With the help of the martial artists, they'll be more than enough to deal with the Azure Poisonous Python. The rest can be kept as rewards for later.

So, during a rest stop along the way, Lin Ye called Zhou Wu over, read out the reward decision in front of everyone, explained the reasons, and then handed him a Dao Soldier Egg.

Zhou Wu immediately signed the contract.

Everyone stared at the egg, and saw the shell slowly crack open, revealing a crocodile-armored lurking guard. Its size rapidly increased, and its scales gleamed coldly in the sunlight, emitting a deep and powerful breathing sound.

A cheer of envy immediately erupted from all around.

Lin Ye's gaze swept across the faces of the other guard captains, and he could clearly see the strange movements and desires in their eyes.

He nodded to himself: there still needs to be a real reward to motivate his subordinates to work harder.

From then on, Zhou Wu became the most handsome guy in the team.

Despite being a Taoist soldier who resembled a crocodile in the water, when he was on land, he refused to ride a horse. Instead, he endured the bumpy ride and rode on the back of the Crocodile Armor Guard, strolling back and forth in the ranks as if showing off his "exclusive vehicle".

When it came time to cross the river, he became even more flamboyant—standing directly on the back of the crocodile-armored guards and darting around the fleet, attracting many stares. It wasn't until Lin Ye couldn't bear the embarrassment any longer that he finally told him to stop.

Tian Han noticed all of these details.

Ever since he returned to Linjiawu with Lin Ye, Tian Han had persuaded his uncle, the Tian family, to submit to the Lin family and become their vassals, which indeed helped Lin Ye a lot.

But once Lin Ye officially became a lord, he had more subordinates, including more than a dozen third-rate martial artists. As a second-rate martial artist, his role in the team became increasingly limited, and he gradually faded from Lin Ye's sight.

After all, the value he could contribute was negligible compared to those martial artists and stewards.

Some time ago, Tian Han's uncle had talked to him about how the Tian family would have their own town in the future, and how everyone would work together to build it up.

If I find a wife who is a good match for me, I'll be set for life, a life I never dared to dream of before.

Tian Han was quite tempted when he heard this—such stability and status were something he had never dared to dream of in the past.

He came to Yun County with his uncle to participate in contact with officials from various places, broaden his horizons, and learn how to do business.

But after a few days, he found that he still preferred martial arts and had no interest in the petty squabbles among businessmen.

On the one hand, following his uncle in building the town would grant him a status he never dared to dream of before;

On the other hand, the uncertain future of continuing to practice martial arts made him feel lost about life.

Just two days ago, when Lin Ye publicly rewarded Zhou Wu with the Crocodile Armor Submarine Guard, Tian Han was suddenly touched by Zhou Wu's smug look.

He immediately made up his mind: he would still practice martial arts. Firstly, it was something he genuinely loved, and secondly, the territory urgently needed a large number of martial artists to protect the people and ensure their safety. The rewards of practicing martial arts would definitely not be worse than doing business.

So, while others were envying Zhou Wu's glory these past two days, Tian Han would go to challenge the guards whenever he had a break, pushing himself to the limit time and time again, squeezing out his potential through high-intensity sparring.

Lin Ye saw it all, but said nothing.

This old friend can only rely on himself to move forward—after all, Lin Ye has been supplying him with spiritual plants, and he can't help with anything else.