The next day, in the early morning.
It was a rare good weather, suitable for starting work. On a flat ground on the southwest side of Xueyu Tianchi, hundreds of Mohist disciples completed the procedures of measuring and surveying, and then personally dug the ground to bury the talisman stones, formation stones, inscribed spirit stones, etc., required for the teleportation array. The complexity of a teleportation array far exceeded imagination. After laying each layer of formation stones, they covered it with soil, then laid another layer, progressing layer by layer, and finally erected the extremely fast formation core talisman stones on the surface. The process was tedious and time-consuming.
Fortunately, all the supplies and craftsman fees were borne by the Great Shang Dynasty, otherwise Xueyu Tianchi would have gone bankrupt on the spot.
Work also began at the Shanjun Temple. Liu Xingshu dispatched as many as 150 craftsmen. Some stone masons were already quarrying stone in the back mountain, while others were dismantling the dilapidated roof and exterior walls of the Shanjun Temple. In fact, almost everything except the pillar stones inside the Shanjun Temple would need to be replaced. After all, a hundred years of wind and rain, and frequent battles between the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Realms here, had caused the Shanjun Temple built by Chu Huaixi to no longer be able to withstand it.
Lin Zhao seconded dozens of cooks and cavalrymen from the entire Xueyu Army. Some cooked for the Mohist disciples, and some cooked for the craftsmen repairing the Shanjun Temple. He even sent people to catch fish from Baiyu Stream. For lunch, the craftsmen not only had flatbread and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, but also hot Baiyu fish soup.
In addition, Lin Zhao also sent a lot of pork and rice and flour to the 5,000 Vermilion Bird Cavalry responsible for guarding, led by Mu Gua. To ensure that the people of the Great Shang Dynasty ate well, Lin Zhao had taken out the entire reserve of the Xueyu Army. Seeing whole wild boars being sent away, Mu Gua stamped his feet in anger and heartache.
At noon, beside the construction site of the Shanjun Temple, Lin Zhao, Su Shanjun, and Liu Xingshu sat on the ground. Han Buyu, a Tenth Realm Cloud Master, was also present. The meal was simple, consisting of flatbread, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a pot of Baiyu fish soup. Wu Zhi frowned, feeling that these "big figures" from Xueyu Tianchi were too shabby. So she secretly ordered a cook to prepare an extra dish of fragrant braised pork for the adults. Immediately, Lin Zhao, Su Shanjun, and others smiled broadly. Old Sword Immortal Han even gave Wu Zhi a thumbs-up, praising, "Third Manager, the young girl beside you is truly remarkable!"
Lin Zhao glared and said, "She is an Eleventh Realm Sword Immortal, what young girl? Old Sword Immortal, I won't be responsible if you get hacked later!"
"Hahahaha, alright, alright."
From then on, the Old Sword Immortal treated Wu Zhi with great respect when speaking to her.
...
After the meal and some drinks, Lin Zhao was slightly tipsy, and Liu Xingshu, a Confucian official, clearly had a poor tolerance for alcohol and was flushed. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, he said he wanted to see the scenery of Xueyu Tianchi and overlook the place where Lin Baiyi once slew the Thirteenth Realm great demon Bai Lan. So, Lin Zhao rode his horse and walked alongside Liu Xingshu to a cliff on the north side. From a distance, they could see Jiuzhang Plain.
"Jiuzhang Plain."
Lin Zhao pointed into the distance and said with a smile, "This is where Lin Baiyi died, and where he slew the Thirteenth Realm peak Bai Lan with the Dragon Slaying Sword. It's a bit north of that crooked neck tree. Originally, there was a small hill there, but Lin Baiyi's self-detonation of his War God Gallbladder flattened it when he died."
"Oh, is that so..."
Liu Xingshu's eyes were hazy with drink, but he still tried his best to open them wide to see that area clearly. After a long time, his expression became somewhat desolate, and he said, "Brother Bai, do you know? Strictly speaking, I should still call Lin Baiyi my junior uncle..."
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao was stunned. "How so?"
Liu Xingshu's expression was somewhat dejected. "Back then, the news reached the Confucian Academy that before Lin Zhao died, he apprenticed himself to Confucian Sage Qin Suihan. And my master is Master Zi Huai, who was the senior brother of Gu Zixi, who died in Xueyu Tianchi. Therefore, my master is Qin Gongzi's grand-disciple, and Lin Zhao is of the same generation as my master. He is also the last disciple of Qin Gongzi's generation. If he's not my junior uncle, then what is he?"
Lin Zhao couldn't help but chuckle. "So that's how it is..."
When he looked at Liu Xingshu again, he did so with the eyes of an elder. The young man was decent. Although he wore the fifth-rank official uniform of the Great Shang Dynasty, he was upright in his heart.
Liu Xingshu frowned and said, "My junior uncle is a hero to the entire world, a model for scholars. At the age of sixteen, he slew a Thirteenth Realm peak great demon with his sword, set up a heavenly furnace strategy to defeat millions of elite troops from the four northern tribes, and extended the fortune of my human race for a hundred years. What a monumental achievement! I, Liu Xingshu, as the grand-disciple of my junior uncle, despite being so much older, am ashamed... I spend all day immersed in the officialdom of the Great Shang, writing and categorizing books for the illiterate royals. It's polite to call me the Secretary Supervisor, but to put it bluntly, aren't I just a court scholar kept by the Great Shang royal family?"
He felt a bit discouraged and frowned. "If I had a choice, I would a million times rather die on the battlefield like my junior uncle. Scholars should act like scholars, right?"
"Right, and wrong."
Lin Zhao smiled and said, "Liu Xingshu, you are not really a court scholar of the Great Shang royal family. After all, you are in charge of the books, and you are also continuing the knowledge for scholars all over the world, aren't you? Where in the world can you find books as rich and complete as the collection of the Great Shang royal family? By doing your job as Secretary Supervisor well, you are preserving the hard work of scholars all over the world. So don't belittle yourself. You and Lin Zhao are both indispensable people in this world, and in essence, you are the same."
Liu Xingshu's eyes turned red. "Brother Bai, I once had pride. I once thought that scholars should not bow down for a meager salary, but what about now? When meeting superiors, I, Liu Xingshu, also have to bow. The banquets in Baidi City are held every day. You know what I am when entertaining officials from the capital or nobles who have returned from their posts?"
He said with disappointment, "I can only show off my literary skills in front of the powerful, writing a poem or two to please them. If I please them well enough, I can keep my position as Secretary Supervisor. If I don't please them enough, I might get drunk and throw up all over myself by the city wall every day. At that time, I started to wonder, after ten years of hard study and passing the imperial examination to become a Zhuangyuan of the Great Shang Dynasty, is this what I am meant to do?"
At this moment, Lin Zhao felt a little sorry for him and said with a smile, "This question is too big, and I probably can't answer it for you. You need to find someone more capable to ask about this."
"Who can I ask?"
Liu Xingshu frowned and said, "It's just that my own state of mind is too narrow. I am still a Nascent Soul realm cultivator who is beyond help... Among my entire sect, I have the highest official position but the lowest cultivation. My senior brother is already in his early twenties and at the Twelfth Realm, with profound knowledge. Compared to my senior brother, I, Liu Xingshu, am worthless."
"Don't belittle yourself, and don't always compare yourself to others."
Lin Zhao said, "There will always be someone better than you in the world. You, Liu Xingshu, should think about comparing yourself to yesterday's self. Is your state of mind better today? Has your knowledge increased? My knowledge is shallow, so I can only offer you this common saying as advice."
"Hahaha~~~"
Liu Xingshu gave a bitter smile, sobering up a lot. "Thank you, Brother Bai!"
"You're welcome!"
Lin Zhao clasped his fists and smiled. "You, Liu Xingshu, came to Xueyu Tianchi without embezzling supplies or wages like other officials. Instead, you have wholeheartedly supervised the construction of the teleportation array and the Shanjun Temple. I should be thanking you!"
Liu Xingshu smiled and said, "Actually, I took stock of the supplies this morning, and there are still quite a few left. If you need anything else, such as building an inn on Xueyu Tianchi, building a few rows of barracks, or repairing a few bridges, it can all be done. After all, these craftsmen are paid by the Ministry of Household, and the construction period is long. We can do a little more afterward."
"Okay..."
Lin Zhao couldn't help but chuckle. "Build a few more stone bridges over Baiyu Stream, build some houses in the town, and also build some warehouses for the Xueyu Army to store grain, fodder, and equipment. Moreover, as Xueyu Tianchi becomes more prosperous in the future, there should be inns, shops, bookstores, and schools. Anyway, build as you see fit, I trust your judgment."
"Hmm!"
...
While the two were chatting, there was movement from the north. The Ninth Army Tent of the demon race, which was originally stationed on Jiuzhang Plain, slowly retreated northward, vacating the entire Jiuzhang Plain.
"Wu Zhi."
After Lin Zhao's call, Wu Zhi descended with the wind and said, "Yes."
"What's going on at Jiuzhang Plain?"
"The Ninth Army Tent has retreated, but not entirely."
Wu Zhi narrowed her beautiful eyes, seeing through everything happening behind the snow forest, and her expression became solemn. "It seems... the demon race has sent another army tent's worth of troops, and quite a few reserves have appeared, to make up for the previous losses of the Ninth Army Tent. My lord, if nothing unexpected happens, in the near future, we will face the forces of two army tents, totaling 400,000 demon troops."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao nodded. It seemed that the previous reinforcements of Lin Xingchu and Lin Wanhua to Xueyu Tianchi, who had crippled the great demon Lu Hai, injured the great demon Fu Sheng, and driven away two Thirteenth Realm cultivators, had greatly shaken the demon race's ancestral mountain. As for the troops sent from the two army tents, Lin Zhao was not worried. Without great demons overseeing them, they would not dare to attack the mountain. In front of Wu Zhi, Mu Gua, Chu Yu, and others, these demon troops attacking the mountain would be seeking death, especially Wu Zhi, an Eleventh Realm Sword Immortal with nine demon soul swords, who was extremely efficient at killing monsters.
"Wu Zhi."
Lin Zhao looked at her and asked, "Has the tenth demon soul sword begun to be re-tempered?"
"Hmm!"
Wu Zhi raised her left hand, and a blood-red sword embryo appeared before Lin Zhao. She smiled faintly and said, "Although it is still quite weak now, if we kill a few more mid-fifth and upper-fifth realm demon races and use their demon cores to temper it, it will soon take shape."
"Hmm!"
...
At the same time.
In the apricot forest in the back mountain, a middle-aged man wearing a dark green python robe descended from the sky. He was Yue Ling, an Eleventh Realm Rain Master. He opened his five fingers and smiled at a patch of apricot trees, "This is your last chance. Hand over that military commander's brush, or else... you will die!"
In the apricot forest, one of the trees trembled.