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After what seemed like an eternity, Bai Zemin finally regained control over himself.

Slowly, he put his hands on the small shoulders of the woman who clung to him tenderly and gently pushed her back.

Wu Yijun was shocked and for an instant felt like crying as she felt that her confession had just been rejected even though she had not said a single word; which was not necessary, as it was difficult to be more direct than she was being.

Fortunately or not, just as Wu Yijun felt as if everything was crumbling before her and within herself, Bai Zemin's words pacified her.

"We should go inside. We have a lot of work to delegate. We'll have time for warm moments, it's just that this isn't a good time."

His voice was calm and his eyes were as relaxed as a lake that had been silent for countless years as he looked at everyone. Even the way he looked at Wu Yijun was not awkward at all despite what had just happened.

"Y-Yes." Wu Yijun hurriedly nodded as she looked into his eyes with a slight blush on her baby face. "With so many survivors joining the base, the change in the overall structure will be huge. Besides, a lot of things also happened during this time that needs urgent checking."

Seeing the woman in front of him leave it at that, Bai Zemin was secretly relieved. He would already find time in the near future to settle this matter, it was just that currently, it was not the right time.

Shangguan Bing Xue also nodded and before Chen He could say what he had in mind she entered the vehicle from which she had exited a moment ago. Then, from the outside, her image could be seen beyond the front glass of the vehicle as she gave orders to the several leaders waiting in the caravan.

Chen He secretly smiled bitterly and forced a smile as he watched this. In the end, he also shook his head and walked towards the military jeep after greeting Bai Zemin and the rest.

...

The union of approximately five thousand survivors was not a simple task for the Beginning Village. Things could be much simpler if these five thousand joined gradually and slowly, but when they all joined at the same time everything became a little too complicated.

The new survivors needed houses according to their different statuses within the faction, the spaces where relief food was distributed on a daily basis needed to expand, those who had power and prestige in the North Camp needed to adapt to the change as they slowly began to get to know the upper echelons of the Beginning Village, etc.

There were too many things that required time and it was not something that could be taken care of in just one or two days.

Fortunately, Bai Zemin had the help of people like Cai Jingyi, who not only led a powerful army of soul evolvers but also possessed great authority when it came to politics.

With Cai Jingyi, Lu XIaoyao, Wu Yijun, and several other people working as a team, everything slowly began to take shape. The only thing Bai Zemin had to do was to delegate orders from behind the scenes and make slight changes to some things that had been dealt with in a manner not too appealing to him.

* * *

Another four days passed in an instant and the Beginning Village was extremely noisy.

Bai Zemin walked through the streets of his establishment and as he observed the situation around him, a feeling of pride was naturally born in his heart.

During his absence, the other leaders were not slacking off as although the process of conquests had slowed down, the number of lands controlled and surviving under his faction had been steadily increasing.At this point, Bai Zemin's faction had over 8000 survivors, which meant that in the span of his absence Beginning Village had received the arrival of approximately 2000 more survivors.

However, the person who had worked the hardest while he conquered the North Camp was undoubtedly Wu Yijun. Thanks to her, many things had changed for the better.

"Big brother, I want to eat that!"

A cute and sweet voice reached Bai Zemin's ears, pulling him out of his inner thoughts for an instant.

Bai Zemin's body was dragged away and when he looked beside him he saw the pretty Luo Ning pulling his hand in the direction of a stand where a woman was selling some candied fruits.

Thanks to Wu Yijun, who invested not only a lot of time but also part of her own resources obtained to boost trade, the various survivors began to cheer up and try to start a new life in this new world.

Mankind needed to start adapting and moving forward. They could not stay stagnant forever.

While it was temporarily impossible to implement a new currency, a simpler method of payment had been created where there were different colored tickets that represented a certain amount of food of different types. With this type of method, employees in different types of jobs began to receive tickets in the form of payment that they could use to buy whatever they wanted instead of receiving a fixed rate of food.

In addition, these colored tickets had been created using a special paper that only grew from a mutant plant that Wu Yijun was sure no normal person could have since she could only cultivate it thanks to her own skill as well as a huge amount of luck.

There were even some soul evolvers who started hunting wild beasts and then selling the meat or setting up their own businesses. After all, while every soul evolver was in some way or another tied to the army, in their free time they were free to hunt and do whatever they wanted with their spoils of war.

Bai Zemin looked at the woman on the other side of the candied fruit stand and then asked, "Little Ning, choose whatever you want."

"Mhm!" Luo Ning nodded with a big smile and then began to look at the products with sparkling eyes.

The current Luo Ning had already reached level 24 and was a powerful warrior despite her young age. Even if she was young and small, the pay she received was very high to the point where she could be considered a rich young miss within the Bai Zemin faction, making her the major supporter of her home and surpassing her elder brother Luo Cheng with ease.

However, Luo Ning still loved to make others buy sweets to her as during these four days she took advantage of any instance when Bai Zemin was free to drag him around with her to the different stands, using her "charm" to force him to buy delicious delicacies to her.

While waiting for Luo Ning to make her decision, Bai Zemin felt a gentle tug on his left sleeve and looking beside him saw another little loli looking at him with spoiled kitten eyes.

"Xiang Feng, is there anything you like? Big brother will buy it for you." He said with a small smile.

Xiang Feng's eyes sparkled at these words and then she did not hesitate as she pointed to a caramel apple.

Although she was a year older than Luo Ning, Xiang Feng was just an ordinary girl who would shortly start her schooling again. Still, Bai Zemin did not push her away just because of this and when the girl wanted to and he had time, he would also take her out for a walk.

Soon, Luo Ning had also made her decision. She had chosen a banana with chocolate.

"Aunt, how much for these two?"

"I see you have two cute little sisters here." The woman at the stand smiled gently as she took what Bai Zemin asked for.

The thought of him being a pervert never crossed the woman's mind as everyone in the establishment was fully aware that the high command punished such behavior with death regardless of who the offender was.

Bai Zemin did not know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing this. If not fo

If not for the fact that he was waiting for some people to arrive, where could he be here wasting his time?

"Two chocolate bananas and two caramel apples. A red ticket will do it." The woman finally handed the candy to the girls with a smile, not worried that they wouldn't pay her at all since not far away there were several officers patrolling the area.

This was another proof that security was considerably good in Beginning Village; another reason why the eyes of the survivors no longer looked hollow and lifeless.

A red ticket was equivalent to 200 grams in food and was the ticket whose value was the smallest of the seven food tickets introduced. While this was not a good measure, at least it was better than nothing until a new currency was intruded, a currency that the survivors would not be afraid to use for fear that the faction would fall; but that would take more time, power, and gaining everyone's trust.

Bai Zemin took out a bundle of papers of various colors and the woman's expression changed noticeably when she noticed several violet tickets.

The violet colored ticket was the most precious and a single one was equivalent to 100,000 kilograms worth of food! The person in front of her had several of them!

Who is this person? The woman almost died of shock and could barely calm down a bit when she finally realized that fortunately she did not disrespect the young man in front of her in any way or she could get into big troubles.

Someone with such wealth definitely could not be someone common! When this thought popped into the woman's mind, she didn't dare to act as casual as before and immediately said in a trembling voice, "This.... You don't need to pay..."

Although this was her livelihood, she knew that she could not offend people with great power or even if the rules were strict for everyone some people might find ways to make her life miserable.

Bai Zemin was confused at first, but soon realized his mistake and could not help but smile bitterly.

These tickets were handed to him by Wu Yijun a couple of days ago while he, she, and some other people were having dinner together. As Bai Zemin was the highest leader of the establishment, naturally he could basically do as he pleased so these tickets were just useless paper in his eyes. However, in other people's eyes, these tickets were symbolic of status and power, something he had unconsciously overlooked.

"Aunt, that's not how it works." Bai Zemin shook his head and placed a red ticket on the counter. "You work and therefore you will receive your payment accordingly. Those are the rules and everyone must follow them."

"This..." The woman looked at the red ticket and hesitated.

However, before she could say anything else the young man in front of her had already turned and carried the two little girls away, disappearing into the crowd in an instant.

...

Bai Zemin spent approximately two hours together with Luo Ning and Xiang Feng before the relaxation hour was over. Xiang Feng was handed over to her mother by Bai Zemin while Luo Ning clung to him as they were heading to the same place.

While holding the girl's hand, Ba Zemin made his way to the building where the important meetings were being held, moving further and further away from the masses. By the time he reached the area near the building, except for a few armed troops no survivors could be seen roaming around, after all, this was a private area and only a few were allowed access.

Inside the building, in the meeting room, approximately one hundred people were gathered in small teams, muttering quietly to each other.

If it were in the past, it would be impossible for so many people to fit into just one room. However, a few days earlier, several walls of the building had been knocked down and the hall had been enlarged, so now even if the number of people doubled compared to today, there would still be enough space to accommodate them all.

Shangguan Bing Xue, Chen He, Wu Yijun, Cai Jingyi, Fu Xue

Xuefeng, Zhong De, Xiao Ming, Yan Tu, Lu Xiaoyao, Lu Yan, Luo Cheng, Gu Tao, Old Zhi, and many more. Each and every one of them was either powerful soul evolvers, leaders of a team of at least 50 armed men, or were in high positions among the pyramid of power.

"It looks like the King will make some changes." Xiao Ming spoke quietly to Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng nodded and muttered, "From what I understand, he finally thought of a power scale to differentiate us all. I heard Miss Wu Yijun say that the structure of the army will change now that our troop's number is close to 2000."So far, the casual army structure that Bai Zemin had set up with Chen He's help had no problems, and launching small-scale attacks on some surrounding villages or forming teams to go in search of supplies or survivors was not a drawback. However, a couple of days ago, Fu Qigang, who was an experienced ex-military man, raised problems that Bai Zemin had not realized before.

After all, Bai Zemin was just an ordinary young man before the apocalypse. Regardless of how powerful he had become after constantly evolving by absorbing Soul Power, things like establishing an army or organizing troops were not something he was experienced in.

Even with the passive skill Special Forces Soldier, all Bai Zemin gained was the combat experience and weapons knowledge of humanity's best soldiers before the apocalypse. As far as army organization was concerned, he was basically a blank slate.

One of the problems with the current situation of the army was that the highest level the men could reach so far was the position of team leader; with this kind of crude setup, it would be extremely difficult for others to rise through the ranks and therefore it would be difficult for everyone to give their best. No one would try too hard if, at the end of the day, there were no juicy rewards waiting behind all that effort.

Only people like Fu Xuefeng, Kang Lan, and a few others had different positions comparable to those of a Commander or Captain, but even then these positions were not very clear as the teams were too dispersed which made it difficult to mobilize the troops in times of urgency, needing too much time to respond in times of crisis.

After discussing the matter with Fu Qigang for almost an hour, Bai Zemin finally realized that he had to make some changes. Even more so after Wu Yijun informed him that the Baiquan Camp and the team led by Zhong De had some differences of opinion that although they did not lead to fatalities, several evolvers from both sides were injured.

The Baiquan Camp and Bai Zemin's faction were destined to be enemies. After all, Bai Zemin needed to rule China's mankind in less than a year's time, so, such great powers with the ability to oppose his rule could not be allowed to stand. In addition, he needed to pass through the area covered by the Baiquan Camp if he wanted to reach the neighboring district where his family was located.

According to Wu Yijun, some people from the Baiquan Camp came to request their surrender and hand over all power, or else they would be branded as traitors of the country and the people. Of course, Wu Yijun simply scoffed at this and sent them back where they came from.

What a joke! She was the granddaughter of the second most politically powerful person in all of China but a small mayor and a platoon commander armed with a few tanks wanted to brand her and the faction she had worked hard to slowly shape together with many trusted friends as traitors... Wu Yijun barely restrained the urge to laugh in the face of Camp Baiquan's envoy at that time.

However, that encounter basically sealed any possible friendship. Unless something big happened, Bai Zemin could not imagine how his faction and the enemy camp could come together on good terms.

In the end, Wu Yijun, Chen He, Shangguan Bing Xue, and Fu Qigang along with Bai Zemin worked for almost a full day to form a very simple but extremely useful new scale of military power. Although the positions to be filled were not many because the current army was only around 2000 men, in the future many would have the opportunity for advancement and a goal to fight for.

Four days after Bai Zemin's return to Beginning Village and after the survivors of the North Camp began to adapt to their new lives, Bai Zemin had called each team leader to the government and military building.

A huge table had been set up along with several chairs. As more than a hundred people chatted with each other, the status of the past did not matter at all. Before the arrival of the Soul Record on Earth, some were mechanics, others were farmers, businessmen, soldiers, police officers, students, and so on. Although the past of each of them was different, due to the change of the world they were forced to fight to survive and adapt, finally being gathered under the command of a young man.

"Leader Xiao Ming, you have been following the King from the beginning. I am sure you will get a good position." Said a soldier named Rong Tao.

Xiao Ming shook his head and while looking at a couple of people, he pointed out, "That's not necessarily so. Zhong De, Fu Xuefeng, Kang Lan, Cai Jingyi, and several others have followed the King even before me... Even Luo Cheng, despite not being a soul evolver, his little sister Luo Ning is a brave and fierce little tigress whom His Majesty holds in high esteem. I'm afraid the competition is not easy at all."

The same kind of conversation but with minor differences could be heard everywhere.

Just at that moment, Bai Zemin walked into the room wearing casual clothes next to little Luo Ning, who was clinging to his hand while looking at the surroundings of the great hall with curious eyes.

As soon as Bai Zemin made his appearance, the gaze of all the team leaders focused on him. They all looked at him with glittering eyes and the murmurs and whispers disappeared practically in an instant.

Bai Zemin walked to the main seat and calmly sat down before taking a calm look at the faces of those present.

Although there were many people inside the hall, some of whom were from the Beginning Village and others who had come from the North Camp as was the case with Lu Yan, Bai Zemin could recognize each and every one of them. After all, these people were chosen by him or recommended by his trusted men to occupy the position they were currently in.

"We will officially begin the meeting. Wu Yijun, please." Bai Zemin said in a deep voice, releasing just a hint of his extremely pure Soul Power.

The reverence in the gaze of most grew while others were greatly shocked. Among them, Chen He seemed to be looking at a ghost as it was hard for him to imagine how someone's Soul Power could become as impressive and heavy as Bai Zemin's as even though he clearly wasn't aiming to hurt anyone, Chen He felt his soul shudder for a split second.

Wu Yijun slowly stood up and everyone's gaze instantly changed focus, focusing on her immediately.

The current Wu Yijun had a small smile at the corner of her lips, and it was obvious that this smile was not only a professional smile but it was a smile of real happiness. The twinkle in her eyes when her gaze met Bai Zemin's caused so

some people to start whispering quietly for a moment before the room fell silent again.

Her entire body seemed to radiate an aura of confidence that while it was always there now seemed to have increased in several folds. This confidence did not come from her strength, nor from her intelligence, much less was it the result of her high birth; it was confidence born from her existence as a woman.

During the last few days, although Bai Zemin had not given her a clear answer and none of them had mentioned what had happened before, Wu Yijun had noticed that he did not reject her in any way and the days when they were working as a team she sometimes noticed that he was deep in his own thoughts while looking at her. At the very least, Wu Yijun knew that Bai Zemin was no longer completely indifferent to her, and that was a big step from her point of view.

Shangguan Bing Xue, who was sitting just to the right of Bai Zemin, noticed this change in her friend. Her blue eyes shifted between the two's faces and a peculiar glint in her gaze masked her inner thoughts.

"We will now announce the appointments settled by His Majesty. Effective from today, the military teams formed before are completely dissolved and the governmental positions will cease to exist. Two different columns of power were created, being one for the fighters and one for those who are part of the tactical team supporting the front lines from the back." Wu Yijun took some documents and began to slowly announce in a clear voice.

"From now on, regardless of whether you are military, soul evolver, or logistics personnel; everyone will stop receiving food as a pay basis and will be paid with different colored food tickets depending on each person's rank."

"I will begin by first explaining the power distributions." Wu Yijun paused and looked at Bai Zemin.

Seeing him nod, she continued:

"As had been mentioned several weeks ago, a nobility system will be implemented and will begin to go into immediate effect. However, there have been some changes compared to the past. Starting from today, our faction will be called Transcendents and the government will be divided into 7 noble levels. Level 7 Nobles the lowest of the echelons within the nobility and Level 1 Nobles the highest."

"As far as the army is concerned, the division will remain the same regardless of the future number of troops. However, in the future, as our faction's army grows, the scale will increase."

"Now, I will announce the army structure chosen by His Majesty. From largest to smallest, the division will be; Legion, Brigade, Battalion, Team."

"At present, the total number of armed troops our Transcendent faction possesses leaving aside the soul evolvers is 1597 soldiers. Each Team will be composed by 100 soldiers, each Battalion will be composed by 2 Teams, each Brigade will be composed by 2 Battalions, and finally, each Legion will be composed by 2 Brigades."

Wu Yijun paused for a moment to look at the report in her hands and could not help but feel proud of Bai Zemin, unconsciously also feeling proud of herself as if he was her man.

With the arrival of the North Camp and the unification of both factions after his conquest, the number of troops shot up by more than 100% and that number was continuing to grow with the applications of survivors to join the army.

"At the present time, due to the limited number of armed troops, only two Legions of armed troops will be formed; but this number will grow in the future.... However, there will be a third Legion composed exclusively by soul evolvers." Wu Yijun announced calmly and ignoring everyone's stare, she continued.

"Our Transcendent faction currently has 712 soul evolvers, which will be immediately integrated into the third Legion whose name will be Blood Spear Legion. This third Legion will be under the direct command of a single person, His Majesty. Except when His Majesty is not present and the situation warrants it, no one will be able to comman

command or mobilize the troops of the Blood Spear Legion."

Wu Yijun paused and looked at the faces of the people in the room, causing everyone to hold their breath.

Now that the new structure had been announced, it was clear that there was only one thing left to do.

"Now, I will announce who will be the leaders of each Team, Battalion, Brigade, and Legion. Along with this, the person designated will also be given a level of nobility consistent with their position, and from that point on, the person who will manage their respective position will go on to receive a monthly payment in accordance with that position within the faction."

Everyone's breathing stagnated for a moment and many could not help but clench their fists; especially those with the greatest chance of obtaining high positions. After all, this was a crucial moment as many would rise and others would fall.

No one wanted to fall. No one wanted to be overtaken by those in a position similar to theirs. However, in times of change, it was impossible to avoid such things.