Chapter 296. To Hainan Island (1)

Shandong, Gold Will Merchants.

Clang, clang, clang.

Rumble.

Strange sounds were occasionally heard from within the Shandong branch of Gold Will Merchants.

Sometimes it sounded like a blacksmith striking an anvil, and other times, the ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

"You mean that sound at night, right?"

"Yeah. What in the world is it?"

"Isn't it just that moneybug—ah, I mean, the Merchant King—biting his gold every night to check if it's real?"

"What the hell are you.... Well, now that you say it like that, that might be true."

Fortunately, the sound didn't keep people up at night. While a few sensitive people complained to the imperial government offices, their concerns were conveniently ignored, thanks to Li Yicai's bribes.

Clang, clang, clang.

Rumble.

As time passed, people got used to the sounds and shaking. The only thing that remained was strange rumors of ghosts.

"Oh, Captain Zhou."

As soon as he passed through the main gate of the Shandong branch, Zhou Xuchuan was greeted by a familiar face.

"Chu Lian."

Chu Lian, the only female member of the Ten Gale Swordsmen and the strongest of them after Wang Yi, approached him with a smile.

"Have you been well?" Zhou Xuchuan asked.

"Hahaha, would I have any reason not to be? I’ve just been working hard, earning money alongside the little one and the Head Merchant."

"And your children?"

"They're so healthy it’s almost a problem. With the doctors from the Benevolence Clinic checking on them regularly, they don’t even have a chance to get sick."

Chu Lian smiled brightly at the mention of her children.

"Now, let's keep moving."

Zhou Xuchuan followed Chu Lian’s lead as they made their way to Zhuge Shengji’s expansive workshop.

"Wow, you really have made a lot of things while I wasn't here."

The workshop was filled with pieces of various mechanisms, including objects he had never seen before. Though curious enough to touch them, he hesitated, remembering who had made them.

"Wait a minute."

Chu Lian walked over to a bookshelf in the corner of the workshop and tilted several books at an angle.

Clunk!

Clink, clink, clink.

The floor in front of the bookshelf split open, revealing a staircase leading to the basement. The two then went down the stairs.

Torches, spaced intermittently along the wall, cast flickering light on their path.

"Let's see..."

Chu Lian touched a part of the wall on the way down.

Click!

"Ah, there it is."

Bricks crumbled away, and the wall split apart, creating an opening just wide enough for a single person to pass through.

With a gesture, Chu Lian beckoned Zhou Xuchuan forward. He followed, glancing around with admiration.

After walking for about an hour, they arrived at a stone chamber large enough to accommodate several dozen people.

The stone chamber was filled with people, or rather, Phantoms moving busily.

"That's not supposed to be on that side!"

Amidst the chaos, Zhuge Shengji gestured wildly, shouting orders. At his command, dozens of Phantoms moved with their materials.

These supposedly greatest assassins of the

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were working like miners, something that would make the Three-Eyed Godly Thief lament in the afterlife.

"Take that over there... huh?"

Zhuge Shengji’s eyes widened as he noticed Zhou Xuchuan.

"Hyungnim!"

Zhou Xuchuan smiled and raised his hand in greeting.

"Yeah."

The basement of the Shandong branch of Gold Will Merchants.

This stone chamber was none other than a giant mechanism.

To be precise, it wasn’t just this stone chamber—the entire underground space, from the entrance to the deepest halls, was one massive mechanism and trap.

Zhou Xuchuan had prepared several things in preparation for the head-on confrontation with the Dark Heavens Association. The most significant part of that preparation was these mechanisms.

In order to fight the Dark Heavens Association on a grand scale, one had to pay attention not only to offense but also defense. While Zhou Xuchuan and the Mount Hua Sect were more than capable of holding their own, the same couldn’t be said for those around them. The Gold Will Merchants, for instance, were vulnerable.

Even though the Coruscant Realm Master, the Sword Demon, was standing guard, it was impossible for him to defend everything alone. Even with the Gold Will Sword Sect, it felt inadequate.

To protect the Gold Will Merchants' property, it was decided to install large-scale mechanisms at the Shandong Branch and fortify the premises.

And it wasn’t just here.

While other locations didn’t require the same level of reinforcement, traps were being installed throughout the

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in preparation for the future.

As for the building materials, they were covered since the Merchant King had a lot of money.

However, the issue was the shortage of manpower. The work had to remain a secret, which meant they couldn’t hire just anyone.

In the end, they chose the best possible workforce—far superior to any other. Not only could they keep the project a secret, but they were also far stronger than ordinary laborers.

The Phantoms.

"To think we would use experts of the

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like laborers..."

At the very least, all Phantoms were at the First Class Realm, and some had even reached the Transcendent Realm.

This was an outrageous waste of talent.

Ordinary cultivators would have called it dishonorable, but Phantoms? Phantoms didn’t complain.

Thus, they decided to use the Phantoms, ensuring they worked in shifts and took adequate rest to prevent exhaustion.

The strange noises echoing through Shandong? They were simply the sounds of these mechanisms being constructed.

"Is there any problem with the work progressing?"

"There is."

"Good, since you're in charge, it... huh? What did you say?"

Zhou Xuchuan doubted his ears.

"Problem? You?"

They weren’t talking about just anything—these were mechanisms. And the person responsible for creating and installing them was Zhuge Shengji.

Both the Treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief and the Tomb of the Ominous Demon were useless before him. There had been no problems at all.

Even the weapons that would later be banned in the

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were crafted by his hands.

It was hard to believe such words had come from a genius who had reached the pinnacle of the art of mechanisms, unmatched by anyone.

"It hurts my pride, but... the metallurgy is beyond my scope."

"Metallurgy? What's the problem?"

"I need to forge a door made of Cold Iron, but it's beyond my skill level."

Zhuge Shengji was a genius, but mechanisms were more complex than they seemed.

Starting from their basic design, it required everything from stonemasonry to metallurgy. Since the mechanisms themselves also had to be manufactured, it was only natural.

Zhuge Shengji also knew the basics, but aside from the basic fundamentals such as design, structural understanding, layout, and mechanisms, he wouldn't be on par with other genius craftsmen of those particular fields.

A typical example of this difference in skill was the issue at hand, the smelting of Cold Iron, which was the strongest metal outside of the legendary material, Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron.

In the past, the elixirs that Zhou Xuchuan had fed him were enough to compensate his physical strength and stamina, which allowed him to forcefully refine the metals he needed, but in this case, that alone wouldn't be enough.

"Then what about using Hundred Refinements Spirit Steel or Profound Iron instead of Cold Iron?"

Neither Hundred Refinements Spirit Steel nor Profound Iron were bad. It was just that Cold Iron was too exceptional.

"What do you think you're saying?!"

Zhuge Shengji glared at him, asking how he could say that. Zhou Xuchuan could almost sense murderous intent in his eyes.

"Since we're going through all this trouble to make it, we should make it properly! It would be better not to make it at all if we're going to make it incomplete!"

Ha...

Zhou Xuchuan sighed as if there was no stopping him.

"If you really tell me to replace it with something else, then I won't be able to continue!"

Zhuge Shengji dropped down to the ground as if ready to slit his own stomach.

"Really?"

Zhou Xuchuan clenched his fists.

"...!"

Zhuge Shengji's face turned pale.

He thought for a moment, then nodded anyway.

"R-r-r-r-r-r-really!"

Although his voice trembled violently, Zhuge Shengji stubbornly refused. It was just like him.

"Ha..."

Zhou Xuchuan put down his fist and sighed.

He owed Zhuge Shengji a lot.

Besides, hadn’t the boy been denied the chance to pursue his passions before?

He wouldn’t take that from him again.

Even if tried to force him to do it, Zhuge Shengji would never accept it. If something like that was feasible, he would have studied formation arts at the Zhuge Family long ago.

So we need a skilled blacksmith, but...

Finding one who could handle Cold Iron wouldn’t be easy.

Moreover, Zhou Xuchuan didn't know much about blacksmithing.

Even if he searched his memories from before his regression, he couldn’t recall anyone.

Hmph!

While he seemed to remember a few people, he couldn't remember them well.

It had been over a decade since his regression.

As he surpassed the realm of ascension, he had gained enlightenment and his memories and other qualities improved. However, there were limits.[1]

There were too many things to remember even if the trivial memories were excluded. He racked his brain but couldn't remember anything.

In the end, since he couldn't remember anything, Zhou Xuchuan and Zhuge Shengji went to Li Yicai for help.

"Are you asking about a blacksmith?"

Putting aside the money he was counting for a moment, Li Yicai tilted his head.

"Hmm..."

"We came to you because we trust that you, a merchant who does business in various fields, would know someone."

The Gold Will Merchants was truly the best merchant company in the Central Plains.

The small merchant company that had started with selling rice had grown into an empire that dominated the commercial markets. Their wealth could even summon ghosts.

"If you're looking for a blacksmith capable of working with Cold Iron, I do know a few..."

"Just handling it is not enough," Zhuge Shengji said with a sense of hope.

Just like a genius, his standards were quite high.

"Then there would be about four of them."

"Oh, there are more than I thought."

"However, there is a problem."

Li Yicai groaned as if he had a headache.

"A problem?"

"Yes. Two of them are in the imperial palace."

"...ha. Please leave those people out."

It was common sense that requesting a blacksmith from the imperial palace was impossible. No amount of money would change that.

"One of the other two is the least skilled of the four, but he’s still a renowned master throughout the Central Plains. Commissioning him would take too long. Moreover, he has a bad drinking habit, so I can’t guarantee he’d keep things confidential... Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend him."

Li Yicai's eye for people was unquestionable. It was with that eye that he had raised the Gold Will Merchants to the top merchant company in the world.

"Then there's only one person left... Is there another problem?" Zhou Xuchuan asked, noticing Li Yicai’s bitter smile.

"Well... he's located at Hainan Island."

"Hainan Island? That's pretty far."

Hainan Island was the southernmost part of the Central Plains, or rather, it was actually beyond it.

Since one had to cross the sea to reach it, it was difficult to consider it part of the Central Plains, though it still fell under the jurisdiction of the imperial government.

At the same time, since it was so remote, the imperial government's influence didn't reach that far.

It was also infamous as a place of exile.

"Is he, by chance, a member of the Hainan Sword Sect?"

The Hainan Sword Sect wasn't quite as renowned as the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Ancient Families, but it was still a prestigious sect.

However, if one asked if it was part of the Righteous Path, Evil Path, or even the Demonic Path, it wouldn't be easy to answer.

The techniques of the Hainan Sword Sect differed from the usual swordsmanship of the Righteous Path, with their swords moving like an insidious poison. They were well-known for their sword techniques, which guaranteed that every strike would leave wounds on their opponent's body.

However, since their ideology was close to the Righteous Faction's, they belonged to the Righteous Faction for the time being.

"That, well, I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

"I'm certain that he's on Hainan Island. However, as you know, Hainan Island is a very remote place."

Hainan Island’s unpredictable weather made travel there difficult.

Given Li Yicai's personality, he likely hadn’t seen any reason to do business there or establish influence.

"What should we do? As expected, we should look for another..."

"No. We'll go to Hainan Island."

"Pardon? Are you sure?"

"The skill isn't what's important. This is better than having someone say the wrong thing and leak the information to Blessed Existence."

Zhou Xuchuan wasn't too pleased either.

He would have to cross the South Sea. It was far away, and it most likely would take quite some time.

Meanwhile, he worried about what the Dark Heavens Association might do in his absence.

"Have a safe trip, Hyungnim."

"What are you talking about? You're going too."

"Huh? You're lying, right?"

Zhuge Shengji laughed, thinking Zhou Xuchuan was messing with him.

"The South Sea is generally difficult to invade from the outside. It's likely that it's protected by a Nature Formation or a mechanism, like the mysterious Putuo Gate (普陀門)."[2]

"Mechanisms?"

"Yes."

"Hainan Island is my second home."

Zhuge Shengji's eyes sparkled.

"I'll prepare you a ship. Please stay safe and have a good trip, both of you." Li Yicai said, patting his stomach with a gentle smile.

"What are you talking about? You're going too."

"Huh?"

"If the blacksmith refuses to cooperate, things will get complicated. Since we’re doing this, we might as well do it properly. We’ll need your skills, Head Merchant, to win him over."

"TheGreatestUndertheHeavensMostHandsomeSwordGod Great Hero Zhou Xuchuan, you really are joking too much. I have to take care of the company from he—"[3]

"I already know that you've chosen trustworthy people from each branch and raised them to become your successors. Stop talking nonsense and follow me."

"Hahaha. What a funny joke."

Li Yicai’s expression turned serious.

"If you don't like it, then I guess Shengji and I are going to have to withdraw our shares of the company."

"Merchant companies of the South Sea, wait for me! The Merchant King is coming!" Li Yicai cried, tears streaming down his face.

Zhou Xuchuan of the Mount Hua Sect.

Zhuge Shengji of the Zhuge Family.

Li Yicai of the Gold Will Merchants.

The three gathered again.

1. Wanted to mention this earlier, but the author has started to blur the line between ascension to godhood and the "ascension stage/realm that is the beginning of transcending humanity (or the Harmony Realm +) I don't know how to distinguish this yet, but keep in mind that Ascension and realm of ascension are two different things. ☜

2. A secretive Buddhist Sect founded on Mount Putuo. Modeled after the Puji Temple, for some reason, it became a woman-only buddhist martial sect in Wuxia, like the Emei Sect. ☜

3. Yes, that's just one word. ☜