“Young hero in white,”
Li Chunyang raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “I already know your intentions, and… I now believe Snow Domain Heavenly Pool has the ability to protect itself. However, a teleportation array is intricately linked to many things, and it’s not something I, Li Chunyang, can simply approve with a word. In fact, I need to petition His Majesty to explain everything before construction can even begin. But before that, young hero, you need to do something to demonstrate your sincerity.”
“Oh?”
Lin Zhao smiled faintly, “What is it?”
Li Chunyang said, “Snow Domain Heavenly Pool has been outside the control of our human race for decades. During these decades, the Snow Domain Heavenly Pool area has been rampant with specters. Demons, spirits, and ghost cultivators have often appeared disguised as humans, harming many soldiers of our Great Shang Dynasty. Since you, young hero, have decided to establish yourself in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool and wish for our Great Shang to build a teleportation array for you, you should show your sincerity.”
“How can I show it?”
“It’s simple.”
Li Chunyang let out a hearty laugh and said, “In two days, the Lin Lu Army stationed in the Northern Three Prefectures will dispatch a hundred thousand cavalry to attack a small country northeast of the Fusu Great Wall. This small country is called Eastern Wu. A hundred years ago, after the human race won the Battle of Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, Eastern Wu signed a treaty with our Great Shang and became a vassal state of our Great Shang. But not long after, the demon race counterattacked, and Eastern Wu immediately sided with the demon race, even beheading the governor sent by our Great Shang to Eastern Wu and displaying his head publicly. Such fickle behavior is an abomination to both gods and men. Therefore, I request you, young hero, to lead a contingent from Snow Domain Heavenly Pool to join forces with us and attack Eastern Wu together. If you earn merit in the battle against Eastern Wu, I, Li Chunyang, will have grounds to petition His Majesty for the matter of a teleportation array. After all, at that point, our Great Shang will consider your troops as part of our human race’s army.”
“…”
Lin Zhao’s heart chilled. He knew this Li Chunyang was not simple. As expected, his request for a teleportation array was like seeking a tiger for its skin. Li Chunyang was wary of the power behind him, so he dared not outright refuse, but he also wouldn't readily agree. Asking him to lead troops to assist them in attacking a vassal state was, in a way, a test.
After a moment of thought, he made up his mind and decided to face the challenge head-on.
“I can do that.”
Lin Zhao clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, “Please inform the Great Governor of the assembly location and time. I will naturally lead five hundred cavalry to assist. Snow Domain Heavenly Pool has limited resources, and we need to reserve some troops for defense, so five hundred cavalry is almost our limit for battle.”
“Good!”
Li Chunyang nodded with a smile and said, “The hundred thousand Lin Lu Army cavalry will assemble outside the northern gate of the Fusu Great Wall in three days. At that time, my副将 (deputy general), Lord Yu Rang, will personally lead the troops to conquer Eastern Wu. Young hero, upon arrival with your contingent, you will rendezvous with Yu Rang!”
From within the crowd, an old general with snow-white hair and beard stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said with a smile, “I am Yu Rang, Deputy Commander of the Lin Lu Army. Young hero, you can find me in three days.”
Lin Zhao nodded, “Thank you!”
After all arrangements were made, Lin Zhao and Han Yetang walked out of the City Lord’s Mansion side-by-side, strolling along the grand avenue of Lanxi City.
“Are you really going to join the expedition?”
Han Yetang blinked her eyes and said with a smile, “To be honest, I think Li Chunyang is being a bit difficult, or rather… he doesn’t completely trust you. The so-called expedition to Eastern Wu is merely his way of finding out what kind of person you, Lin Zhao, are.”
“I know.”
Lin Zhao smiled, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t mind.”
Han Yetang pouted. Truthfully, Lin Zhao might not mind, but she, Han Yetang, couldn’t help but care. After all, Lin Zhao was someone she had recommended. The fact that Li Chunyang was being so uncooperative… had he become arrogant after decades as the Great Governor? However, Han Yetang was helpless. Li Chunyang had seniority and high prestige in the army, while she… although she commanded the Vermillion Bird Camp and Shanhai Pass, she was still just an eleventh-realm sword cultivator at the age of twenty-eight. Her realm was high, but her seniority was insufficient.
…
After bidding farewell to Han Yetang, Lin Zhao returned to Tianji City. A binding demon rope had been damaged, so it needed repair. Late at night, he crept into Mo Family’s shop, Baibaoge. As soon as he entered the shop, he saw an indigo figure approaching. It was Xu Qingyi. Xu Qingyi was also pleasantly surprised to see Lin Zhao, “Young Master Baiyi, it’s been a while!”
“Yes, it has!”
Lin Zhao felt a little guilty. He stepped forward and clasped his hands, “I’m a bit tight on funds lately, so I won’t be buying anything today. However, Miss Xu… a binding demon rope has been damaged, and I’d like to ask you to repair it.”
As he spoke, he produced the binding demon rope that had been slashed by Fu Sheng’s sharp claws.
“…”
Xu Qingyi was stunned.
Beside her, the shopkeeper surnamed Ding was also dumbfounded, exclaiming in shock, “How could this have happened? The ropes of the binding demon rope are forged from the toughest materials in the world, and they are reinforced with the inscriptions of our Mo Family’s immortal. Even the sword energy of an eleventh-realm sword immortal cannot break it. Young Master, how did you manage this?”
Lin Zhao scratched his head and said, “I apologize. The opponent I fought yesterday was too strong. This binding demon rope was ripped by the sharp claws of a thirteenth-realm great demon. I didn’t expect it to be so powerful.”
“…”
Xu Qingyi’s eyes widened in disbelief. After a few seconds, she finally regained her senses. As her beautiful eyes looked at Lin Zhao again, there was a hint of admiration. Remarkable, truly remarkable. What does it mean to be a promising young talent? This is it. At such a young age, a mere fifth-realm sword cultivator, dares to wrestle with a thirteenth-realm great demon. The patron I, Xu Qingyi, appreciate is indeed extraordinary!
She picked up the binding demon rope and said, “Uncle Ding, go to the back hall and have someone repair it. And do it quickly.”
“Yes, Young Lady!”
Uncle Ding took the binding demon rope and simultaneously received a telepathic message from the young lady: “It’s so damaged, it can’t be repaired. Just replace it with a new one for him.”
“…”
Uncle Ding felt his heart collapse. That scruffy fifth-realm sword cultivator was truly eloquent and silver-tongued, even better than that Old Xu the Second from the Mo Family Ancestral Hall. He dared to say he fought a thirteenth-realm great demon. Why didn’t he say he rode on the head of the Demon Ancestor and defecated? He was extremely distressed. My dear young lady, you are too young. You believe whatever that boy says? No, no, this way, my young lady is easily tricked by bad boys from the outside, losing both money and honor. How will I explain to the master in the future?
He shook his head repeatedly, wishing he could return to the Military Family Ancestral Hall immediately to report this.
Shortly after, a brand-new binding demon rope appeared before Lin Zhao. He frowned. It was repaired so quickly. Are there such skilled artisans in the world? Impossible. Lin Zhao was not stupid and vaguely guessed what had happened, so he lowered his voice and said, “Miss Xu… did you replace it with a new one for me?”
“Ah?!”
Xu Qingyi’s pretty face blushed. She had been seen through? She had no choice but to bite her red lips and say, “You are an old patron, so I’ll make an exception this once and directly exchange the old for a new one. Aren’t you happy?”
Lin Zhao scratched his head and said, “I am not a greedy person, but… I am indeed short on funds lately, and there are expenses everywhere. I dare not spend too much on precious artifacts, but I appreciate Miss Xu’s kindness. When there’s an opportunity in the future, I will definitely compensate you.”
Xu Qingyi pursed her lips and smiled, “Okay, then I’ll wait for your compensation.”
“En!”
…
Clutching the brand-new binding demon rope, Lin Zhao teleported to Shanhai Pass again and then headed straight for the Fusu Great Wall. It was already past two in the morning. He calculated the time. A day and a night in the game was equivalent to 6 hours in reality. Li Chunyang said they would set off in two days, which meant 12 hours. The time it would take him to walk back to Snow Domain Heavenly Pool was too long, and it would also take time for the cavalry from Snow Domain Heavenly Pool to arrive. Would it be too late? Moreover, he couldn’t stay up all night traveling. How would he complete his quests the next day?
Therefore, upon entering the Fusu Great Wall, Lin Zhao had to seek help from Lin Wanhua.
He looked around the streets of Fusu Great Wall, pondering who to ask for Lin Wanhua’s address. Just then, a figure in snow-white attire descended behind him. It was Lin Wanhua.
“Looking for me?”
Lin Wanhua smiled with a hint of dimples.
“En.”
Lin Zhao felt a bit awkward and said, “I need your help with something.”
“Speak.”
“Could you send a message to Xu Zhi in Snow Domain Heavenly Pool, telling her to order Chu Yu to lead 500 cavalry across the Xi Jian River and wait for me outside the north gate of the Fusu Great Wall in two days?”
“Yes, I can.”
Lin Wanhua nodded, “Anything else?”
“No.”
“Oh, then I’ll go do it.”
“Good, thank you!”
Lin Zhao clasped his hands in a salute towards Lin Wanhua’s retreating back and then summoned the system spirit to log off and rest.
Lin Wanhua, with her back to Lin Zhao, gently clenched her fist. Both her and Lin Zhao’s personalities were rather reticent. Once the matter was stated, there were no unnecessary words. She also hated herself for not chatting a bit longer, but she genuinely didn’t know what to talk about or how to initiate the conversation. She let out a sigh. This damned reserve! At this moment, she was extremely disappointed with herself. Her years of cultivating Sword Heart Clarity were almost shaken.
Lin Zhao quickly logged off. In truth, as long as Lin Wanhua didn’t draw her sword and attack him, everything would be fine.
After logging off, the entire studio was quiet. Everyone was asleep, so he ate a little and went to bed immediately. He needed to adjust his biological clock and couldn’t stay up like this every day.
…
The next morning, the garden was resplendent.
Lin Zhao ate a hearty breakfast of spicy soup, fried dough sticks, and sesame seed cakes.
Beside him, Chen Xue was preparing a daily report: “Yesterday, in 24 hours, one S-class gem mine plus one A-class gem mine produced 13,000 gold coins every 10 minutes. So, the guild treasury received a total of 1.872 million gold coins. Currently, the gold coin exchange rate is 1:13, so yesterday we converted a total of over 24 million common currency. Half of this was distributed as welfare. Currently, our Crimson Moon Knights have a total of 10,225 members, and each person received 2,380 common currency as guild dividends.”
As she spoke, she smiled and looked at Lin Zhao, “Currently, the average monthly salary in Sucheng is 5,472 common currency.”
“Good, good.”
Lin Zhao frowned as he bit into the hard sesame seed cake, “Keep up the good work, and let’s achieve common prosperity!”
Chen Xue and Shen Xingchen both rolled their eyes.
Beside them, Roman and Mo Chenxue had finished breakfast. The two of them leaned on the edge of the table, only their beautiful heads peeking out, both looking at Lin Zhao. Roman asked, “What has Brother been busy with in the game these past few days?”
Lin Zhao said solemnly, “Conquering new lands, breaking formations and advancing first, besieging cities and capturing fortresses, holding the seals and commanding the troops, and subjugating the four directions!”
Roman smiled with dimples and clapped her hands, “Wow, I don’t understand what you’re saying, but it sounds so damn amazing!”
Lin Zhao: “~~~”