Today, Xia is the Xia tribe, and has become the Xia of the Xia tribe...

The team heading to the mountain habitat successfully arrived in the mountains.

The Xia clan's mountain habitat is located in a valley between two mountains, with some buildings built on the gentle slopes of the mountains.

Now that the snow season has arrived, most of the working orcs have returned to their clans, with only a few remaining in the mountain range. However, the area is still bustling with activity, thanks to the large number of orcs residing there, even during the wintering season for the beasts.

A wooden cart from afar drove into this place.

The orc driving the cart habitually descended to the ground the moment they entered the habitat, took the reins of the beasts, and led them toward the central building.

The team that arrived at the mountain habitat this time carried few supplies; the vehicles were sparsely stocked, and all that could be seen were humanoid beastmen sitting inside. Beast-like beastmen stood guard on both sides of the convoy, their eyes fixed straight ahead. Little Chirp and his few beastmen walked at the very front of the group.

The entire team looked well-organized and exuded a solemn aura.

In the first vehicle at the front of the procession, Jiang Yunlan leaned against the wooden cart, resting her hand on the edge of the cart and propping her face up as she looked around, breaking the solemn atmosphere that had deterred the orcs from approaching.

Gracie and Dawn, to her left, were also leaning against the wooden cart, their hands supporting their faces, as if they were copying her pose.

The three little ones' curious eyes followed the items they hadn't seen on their last visit.

Greysien and Dawn, who had followed her to the mountains, were still cubs and should have been studying in the academy instead of wandering around like this. However, their situation was special, as they were orcs with natural powers. After some hesitation, Jiang Yunlan finally decided to take them with her and teach them herself.

Special circumstances require special treatment.

The two little ones, unaware that they had almost been sent to school, huddled together, seemingly having a conversation.

Greysia raised a paw and pointed to the building in the distance, saying to the sunrise beside her, "The tower on the hillside wasn't there when we came last time. It must have been newly built."

Upon hearing this, Chaoxia looked up along his claws and gazed at the tower.

The tower's body is a slender cylinder with an umbrella-shaped top, and in the middle of the two parts is a cylindrical platform that is wider than the body.

"It looks a lot like a watchtower on the grassland. But there are only two, so it must not be finished yet." Chaoxia said thoughtfully, looking at the tower. He was too far away from the tower to see the telescope inside the platform, and of course, he could not notice that the orcs standing guard there had ropes tied around their waists.

The telescope base in the watchtower has always been integrated with the watchtower, and the rope protecting the orcs is connected to the telescope, so there will no longer be any orcs in the tower being blown out of the tower by the strong wind.

"Before, the mountain habitat was used for building hotels, developing agriculture, raising animals, constructing roads for the tribe... and highways leading to the grasslands. There wasn't time to build structures like watchtowers until the fruit season started." Jiang Yunlan lowered her hands that were supporting her face and turned her head to look at them.

With a smile in her eyes, she said to the two little ones who were looking at her, "Looking at it this way, doesn't it feel like the mountain habitat has been built very quickly?"

Gracie, comparing the memories left by her mother and Sunn, quite agreed with this statement.

Most dragons prefer to live in beast-like forms and primarily reside in mines. Therefore, Dragon Island contains almost no houses that have ever appeared in the Xia clan.

However, even for dragons to dig out their own dwellings, it would take many sunrises and sunsets, or even several seasons. In comparison, the orcs of Xia did indeed build their habitats very quickly.

“When I first came to the grasslands from the mountains, the clan’s grassland habitats were not as developed as they are here,” Greysien said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yunlan's smile widened, and she said in a light voice, "Because Xia has already accumulated experience in a habitat. Now that this experience is being applied here, the start here will naturally be much faster than when Xia knew nothing."

This is the advantage of intelligent life: thinking.

"The knowledge I gained in my hometown can save Xia Shao from many detours," she said proudly. She was someone who stood on the shoulders of giants.

The beastmen all knew that Lan's expression would change when he talked about his hometown. However, Lan couldn't go back to his hometown, and they were always worried that he would become sad when he thought of it. But they never expected that Lan's eyes would be bright and he would look spirited at this moment.

Lan was proud. The beastmen who saw her reaction all realized this.

Her hometown evokes not only the sadness of not being able to return, but also the knowledge that accompanied her along the way, and the memories she cherishes.

Now, Jiang Yunlan no longer grieves for not being able to return to China. She wants to stay here, right here.

China is her birthplace. But Xia is her home, and also her second home. She will miss China and want to go back to see how her old friends are doing, but she doesn't want to stay in China forever.

She didn't want to leave Xia.

Now she wants to stay with the beastmen and her people.

"Lan".

Jiang Yunlan heard her tribesmen calling her name and looked in the direction of the voice towards the orc who was calling her.

In front of the central building, Morong, Tara, and a group of orcs from the mountain habitats had surrounded the halted procession at some point.

"Welcome back." Mo Rong looked up and met Lan's gaze in the car, her composure inexplicably reminiscent of Hui Mi.

He was an orc trained by Grey Honey, and after growing up, he became even more like Grey Honey. This might be because he regarded Grey Honey as the standard of adulthood and would use Grey Honey's words and actions to judge himself.

Jiang Yunlan gripped the car's guardrail, stood up, and leaped to the ground. She was a squirrel-like beastman, incredibly light and agile, and quite adept at jumping; she didn't care at all about the car's height above the ground.

Moreover, she is already a semi-adult orc, no longer a cub.

She strode towards Mo Rong and the others, smiling as she replied, "I'm back. How's the habitat lately?"

"Nothing major has happened in the mountains recently. The tribesmen who were sent to escort the working orcs back to their clans have all returned to their habitats. Starting next flower season, we will be able to deliver messages and supplies to the working orcs every season, just as we agreed before." Mo Rong calmly told Lan what she wanted to know and led her into the central room.

He is the current village chief of the village of Mountain Habitat, and he knows everything about it, making him the most suitable orc to introduce the place to Lan.

Xia had long since become a tribe, developing towards the goal of becoming a kingdom.

However, when Xia was called a tribe, Lan was not with the tribe, so the beastmen never changed their name for Xia. Now that Lan has returned to the tribe, the beastmen have gradually started to call Xia "tribe".

After discussing matters with Mo Rong and the other orcs, Jiang Yunlan left the central building and, as usual, wandered around her habitat. She wore a 022 badge on her head, had two elves in her pocket, and was accompanied by Hei Tu and other orcs.

When she strolled around, more orcs followed her, just like when more guards appeared at her door when she slept.

Ever since the Xia orcs learned of the existence of the plundering of nature, they had been very worried about her safety. Black Soil suggested adding a guard for her, and she agreed. Although she felt that having someone watch over her all day was a bit excessive and a waste of combat power.

However, she had no way to refuse the beastmen and had to allow Black Soil to make the arrangements.

Jiang Yunlan wandered aimlessly for a while, hearing many orcs still calling Xia "Xia Clan," but also hearing some orcs call Xia "Xia Tribe."

The orcs are currently using both names interchangeably to refer to Xia, but soon they will all get used to calling Xia the Xia Tribe.

When Xia's territory expands to cover the entire plains and radiates to the surrounding mountains, Xia should then be a kingdom. Jiang Yunlan sighed, gradually falling into deep thought.

Xia can be called the Xia Kingdom, but Xia is not a country ruled by a single beastman who holds absolute power. Even if that beastman is her, it cannot be. Xia should be a country jointly governed by a group of beastmen, except that among that group of beastmen "steering," one beastman is the leader of them.

Before she can train a group of orcs who can manage the summer with her, she needs to think carefully about what she should call them.

Those orcs who led Xia into the future.

Jiang Yunlan was preoccupied with choosing a name, completely unaware that, unseen by her, the original beastmen of Xia quietly passed on the title of "King" to every new beastman who joined Xia.

The orcs remembered her words: before Xia became the Xia Kingdom, they never addressed her as "King" openly, only occasionally using it in private. Because in their eyes, "King" was synonymous with "Lan," making it the most desirable title.

That's why Jiang Yunlan never imagined that her people, her citizens, would give her such a huge surprise in the future.

It was her second day at the Mountain Habitat, and she was standing in the feeding area with Little Chick, Dawn, and other beastmen. Green-Branched Crow and Cloud-Walking Feathered Sparrow were feathered beastmen who, like Ze Lan, could understand the reactions of birds in most situations, and had come along as well.

The beastman in charge of the animal husbandry area was a mountain deer beastman. Curious about Lan's plans, she directly asked, "Lan, you must have something to do by selecting these beasts, right?"

They selected several creatures that could fly and run, including small, medium, and large beasts. She really couldn't figure out what Lan was planning to do next.

"This is to select companions who can fight alongside the warriors. The five beasts that came here with us yesterday have already received basic training. They will continue to train together with the newly selected beasts and eventually become partners of the warriors of the Mountain Habitat," Jiang Yunlan explained.

The mountain deer-like beastman understood. She was the longest-serving keeper in the enclosure and knew the animals she cared for quite well, so she spoke again, "Lan, let me tell you about their personalities."

Upon hearing her voice, Jiang Yunlan turned her gaze to the beastmen and Xiao Qiu, who were happily selecting their animals, and suddenly fell silent.

She was puzzled and subconsciously followed Lan's movement to look over.

They were all familiar with the habits of the tribe's animals and were examining the beasts before them in their own ways. Dawn, who could talk to the birds, accompanied Little Chirp as they selected birds and beasts, while two winged beastmen chatted amongst themselves from time to time beside them.

It seemed like there was no room for her to shine in this scene.

"Looks like I don't need to give an introduction." The mountain deer beastman sighed, silently biting her handkerchief. How come the people from the grasslands know everything? Now, she has no chance to show off her abilities in front of Lan.

Jiang Yunlan noticed the sadness in her voice, turned to look at her, and chuckled softly, "It's still necessary. After they've made their selections, we'll need you to tell us about their habits."

The mountain deer beastman instantly sprang to attention, intently watching which beast the beastman who had followed Lan approached.

The six-tailed Ayamon, which excels at attacking with its tail? While not particularly strong in combat, it is agile and nimble, and being a medium-sized beast, it's well-suited to support smaller beastmen.

A slow-moving, exceptionally resilient Stonegate Beast? Isn't that the kind of beast that's often slaughtered and eaten in its habitat? It doesn't have many advantages, its only one being its durability, making it suitable as a mobile shield.

And there are also land-scaled beasts...

The mountain deer-like beastman followed their movements, looking at each one one by one, her mind constantly flashing with information related to beasts. She had prepared her thoughts beforehand, and when she formally explained them to Lan, her demeanor was even more confident.

Jiang Yunlan listened to the mountain deer beastman's analysis and nodded in agreement. Actually, when she saw Xiao Qiu leading a group of beasts to fight, an idea popped into her head.

Perhaps, she could have Xiao Qiu form a team consisting only of beasts.