The enormous stone figure extended its right hand, and Li Fan flew into its palm.

Afterward, the stone figure held him up, presenting him before the crowd.

Li Fan surveyed the vast number of cultivators gathered, his expression solemn, and said, "Not long ago, I was honored by a senior and entrusted with the position of acting Island Lord, tasked with rebuilding Congyun Immortal City."

"I am naturally inclined toward a carefree life, but this sudden heavy responsibility has left me feeling overwhelmed."

"However, I dare not betray the trust of the Immortal Alliance and the senior. Thus, I made a military pledge before Lord Jinglun to rebuild the Immortal City within six months."

"The time is short, and the task is heavy. But I believe that with the collective efforts of us cultivators in Congyun Sea, we can certainly complete this mission successfully."

"To have an Immortal City of an entire region captured is truly unheard of!"

Li Fan pointed to the massive empty pit below and said, "As long as this ruin remains, it is a mark of shame on the faces of us Congyun Sea cultivators!"

"I hope all of you will join me in washing away this disgrace!"

After speaking, Li Fan bowed deeply to the crowd.

The cultivators were visibly moved. Whether out of genuine respect or forced courtesy, they returned the gesture.

"When the rebuilding of the Immortal City is complete, I will be here again, to reward merit and punish wrongdoing, and to celebrate with you all!"

Li Fan stood up straight and spoke aloud.

His voice echoed far and wide, lingering in the air for a long time.

The crowd gazed at Li Fan, their expressions varied.

"Gao yuan!"

After a moment of silence, Li Fan suddenly called out.

"Here I am!" Gao yuan, his face flushed with excitement, flew out.

"Announce the personnel orders for the reconstruction of the Immortal City," Li Fan instructed.

"Yes!"

Gao yuan proudly glanced around, cleared his throat, and took out a scroll from his storage ring, imbuing his voice with spiritual power to read aloud:

"Liuli Island's Warden He Zhenghao is appointed Chief Inspector, overseeing all matters related to material allocation and consumption in the rebuilding of the Immortal City."

"Haitong Island's Warden Pei Tuo is appointed Chief Commander, responsible for all security matters during the rebuilding of the Immortal City."

"Tai'an Island's Warden Zhou Qing'ang is appointed Chief Coordinator, handling communication between various departments during the reconstruction."

...

As the personnel orders were read one after another, the expressions of the cultivators present subtly changed.

They realized that the individuals named were precisely the group of people who had just stood up to greet Li Fan.

Everyone suddenly understood.

So, these people already knew that Li Fan had been appointed as acting Island Lord, and had pledged their allegiance early on?

And Li Fan was being blatantly biased in his appointments, not even trying to hide it!

Look at He Zhenghao, Pei Tuo, and Zhou Qing'ang—at best, they are only at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

Their status is even higher than some Nascent Soul cultivators—does that seem right?

Though many were silently grumbling, they couldn't help but feel a sense of regret for not acting more shrewdly and earlier.

After the announcements were complete, Gao yuan returned to the crowd, and Li Fan smiled and said, "Rebuilding the Immortal City is an enormous undertaking. I am sure I have overlooked many things."

"Moreover, Congyun Sea is rich with talent, and some may have been missed. Therefore, I appoint Gao yuan as the Chief Attendant. Anyone willing to volunteer and contribute to the reconstruction can seek him out."

With these words, the cultivators, who had been somewhat displeased with missing out on the earlier opportunities, suddenly became eager again.

"Everyone!" Li Fan concluded.

"The Five Elders Association's raid has dealt a devastating blow to us in Congyun Sea."

"The Island’s Administrative Hall, Formation Hall, Martial Hall..."

"Almost everything was wiped out! This has left numerous positions vacant, and we can't even handle our regular affairs properly."

At this point, Li Fan paused briefly.

He sighed and scanned the crowd, speaking with hopeful anticipation, "I look forward to seeing all of you work hard to restore the former glory of Congyun Sea!"

The cultivators weren't sure if Congyun Sea had any "glory" to restore, but Li Fan's meaning was crystal clear:

Due to the Five Elders Association's attack, there are many vacant positions on the island! I only have about a hundred people under me, and they can't fill all the gaps! If you have the ability, now is your chance! Don’t wait—once the Immortal City is rebuilt in six months, it’ll be too late!

Everyone had a moment of realization.

Indeed, the current positions are nothing more than temporary "titles" created for the sake of rebuilding the city.

What’s a Chief Commander or Chief Inspector? They sound impressive, but their authority is granted solely by Li Fan, the acting Island Lord.

When the Immortal City is rebuilt, these positions will lose all significance.

It’s Li Fan’s talk of "rewarding merit and punishing wrongdoing" that’s the real deal.

If one can make a notable contribution during the reconstruction process and secure a position within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's formal structure...

At this thought, many cultivators felt their hearts race with excitement.

The entrance exams for the Alliance are notoriously difficult, and once in, advancing through the ranks is even harder.

Island Lord Li is right! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Many cultivators quietly turned their gaze toward Gao yuan, already calculating how to curry favor with this close confidant of Li Fan.

After some more words of encouragement to the crowd, Li Fan announced the end of the ceremony and that the official rebuilding of the Immortal City would commence the next day.

Tantai Can, who was aboard the flying boat, saw this and left without waiting for the crowd to disperse or even saying goodbye to Li Fan, flying away directly.

Judging by his expression, he seemed quite upset.

However, most cultivators were too engrossed in their ambitions to notice.

Li Fan watched Tantai Can’s figure disappear into the distance and sneered inwardly.

The cultivators present had guessed right—Shen yuzi, Jing Xuan, Guang Wu, and Huangfu Song had all been invited by Li Fan through his contributions.

As for this rising star from the Tantai clan, Li Fan had no personal relationship with him, and there was even some hidden animosity. He certainly couldn’t be swayed by mere contributions.

The only reason Tantai Can had come to celebrate Li Fan today was because of a contract he was forced to sign with Jiao Xiuyuan during the recent Samantabhadra True Leaf incident.

The contract required him to agree to three requests within his ability.

So, even though Tantai Can tried to hinder Li Fan behind the scenes, he had no choice but to show up and offer his congratulations.

For someone as proud as him, this must have been humiliating.

Naturally, he wouldn’t tell anyone about it.

Thus, in the eyes of certain people, Tantai Can’s actions seemed quite contradictory and strange.

As for his deteriorating relationship with Tantai Can, Li Fan didn’t care at all.

After all, he would have to abandon his identity as a cultivator of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect sooner or later. One more grudge wouldn’t matter.

What mattered now was the successful rebuilding of Congyun Immortal City.

Although he had managed to use influence to gather support and resolve the issue of having no one to rely on...

There was still a pressing problem, one that could prove fatal.

Li Fan recalled Jiao Xiuyuan’s words: "The materials on the list are sufficient to successfully construct a floating Immortal City."

"But..."

"That's assuming everything goes perfectly, with no mistakes."

"In reality, the construction process almost always involves some material losses due to errors."

"Some materials are easy to deal with; I can sell them to you through certain channels at a lower price."

"But some special materials are strictly controlled by the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance and can’t be bought, even with contribution points."