Chapter 228: Big Uncle Requests a Meeting
“Hurry up! Hurry up! You’ll each get a gold ingot if we finish it before the deadline!”
On top of the peak next to Kunwu Training Camp, Li Lin shouted.
Wang Chong’s purchase of the mountain had already caught the royal court’s attention, and when they finally acted on it, a ban on all construction of any kind in an area of a dozen li would definitely be imposed.
Thus, they had to complete the construction as soon as possible.
Wang Chong had already emphasized this in his letter.
‘Even demons can be driven with money.’ Wang Chong’s immense financial power was showing its prowess. Spending eighty thousand gold taels in one go might be an immense burden to most clans, but not to him. To Wang Chong, the concept of cost and liquidity didn’t matter; he could afford taking out such a huge sum for his plans.
If it was anyone else, even if they had the same intentions, they would be unable to do it so fast. Just gathering the required currency would take up a significant period of time.
With the incentive of a gold ingot hung before them, the bricklayers on the mountain peak were filled with drive. In just ten days, they had already created the foundations required. By the twentieth day, the rough outline of the manor could already be seen.
This was no simple manor.
Wang Chong intended to build a grand manor with a courtyard that could handle at least several hundred people simultaneously. Gardens, gazebos, pavilions, corridors, guest rooms, training grounds, tea rooms… Everything that was needed could be found here.
Of course, the cost was also staggering. Ordinary scions of the Three Great Training Camps wouldn’t even dream of bearing such a cost. Several hundred experienced bricklayers had been brought onto the mountain for the construction, and from afar, their busy figures were reminiscent to the diligent ants.
With the ample manpower, it took only a month for the structure of the entire manor to be completed.
And a magnificent structure it was. With its beautifully arched roof, the word refined couldn’t be any more apt to describe it. All that was lacking was a bit of paint and a set of wooden furniture.
Uncle Li Lin didn’t hold back on the manor at all. As soon as the primary construction was completed, he dispatched a group of experts to guard the area. These experts mainly came from Big Uncle Wang Gen.
Understanding Wang Chong’s needs, Wang Gen mobilized the guards from his residence without any hesitation to protect both the manor and Wang Chong.
The night assault had alarmed him as well. Wang Chong coming to harm was something Wang Gen hoped to avoid at all costs!
This was how highly the Wang Clan valued Wang Chong now.
Naturally, when the Wang Clan guards were stationed on the mountain peak, the ‘mystery’ behind the residence was uncovered.
“Guards of the Wang Clan! Those people are the guards of the Wang Clan!”
The recruits on White Tiger Peak watched the emotionless guards standing sentry at the entrance of the manor with shocked faces.
The emblems of large clans in the capital were well-known. There was almost no one in the capital who hadn’t heard of the Wang Clan, and currently, there was only one child of the Wang Clan in Kunwu Training Camp.
Thus, everyone nearby turned their gazes to Zhao Jingdian.
“Don’t ask me. I’ve no idea what’s going on as well. It’s impossible for anyone to fathom gongzi‘s thoughts.”
Understanding the intentions behind those questioning gazes, Zhao Jingdian hurriedly shook his head. After several days of interaction, the crowd also knew that he wasn’t a person who would lie.
In any case, this event was truly an eye-opener to Xu Qi, Gao Feng, Nie Yan, and a few others who came from humble backgrounds.
The Three Great Training Camps were an initiative from the Sage Emperor, and building something in one’s vicinity was no easy task. This was the first time they were catching a glimpse of the extent of Wang Chong’s financial means and political influence.
“Hahaha, as expected of my brother! I’ll have a share of the manor in the future as well!”
Unlike the reactions of most, upon hearing the news, Wei Hao burst into laughter, and excitement gleamed in his eyes.
“Isn’t this kid… being a little too high-profile?”
On Vermilion Bird Peak, Marchioness Yi, along with a group of her powerful female compatriots, also noticed the sudden appearance of the manor.
“What’s that Wang Chong trying to do?”
On Azure Dragon Peak, Abutong and a few other Hu recruits also noticed the conspicuous residence and its guard complement. Under Abusi’s instructions, they had been focusing primarily on Wang Chong’s movements, so they were among the last to realize that the new manor opposite to Kunwu Training Camp actually belonged to him.
Abutong didn’t believe that Wang Chong would do something meaningless. Thus, a deep frown appeared on his forehead.
“Isn’t that Wang lad acting a little too fast? Is he planning to expand his influence quickly by building a base here?”
On the same peak, Zheng Xuan also noticed the huge commotion.
Hualala! A moment later, two pigeons flew from Azure Dragon Peak into the distance. One was headed for King Qi while the other was headed for Zhou Jue.
…
Despite all the uproar, the person in question, Wang Chong, was oblivious to these events.
He had been spending all of his time cultivating the Art of Life Massacre in the training chambers of Kunwu Training Camp for the past month. During this period of time, he rarely returned back to his room, and Zhao Jingdian and the others found it hard to even meet him.
The past month’s hard work didn’t pale to Su Hanshan’s training efforts in the slightest.
“Almost there. I should be able to grasp the technique soon.”
Seated cross-legged in the dark chamber, Wang Chong thought.
In the past month of training, Wang Chong’s mastery of fundamental swordsmanship had improved by leaps and bounds. On a wooden block divided into thousands of segments, he could accurately strike any wooden block he was aiming for now.
Recently, he had been getting a feeling that he was about to reach Minor Accomplishment in the Art of Life Massacre—the successful cultivation of sword qi.
Chi!
As swift as lightning, Wang Chong drew his sword and slashed. With this slash, a small silver thread-like Origin Energy flew out.
Half of this Origin Energy emission carried a sharp disposition and was both hot and glaring. On the other hand, the other half remained translucent and without tension. The two surges intertwined with one another as they charged straight toward the eyes of a wooden dummy standing ten zhang away.
(~33m)
After a month of hard work, Wang Chong’s swordsmanship had reached the level that he could even accurately pierce the vitals of a wooden dummy whilst standing amidst the darkness… In fact, he could even easily impale a tiny ant in the lightless chamber with his sword if he so wished.
He was confident that once this sword energy strikes the dummy, it will impale its eye, leaving behind a finger-sized clean slit.
Peng!
Despite Wang Chong’s immense expectations, the sight he was anticipating didn’t occur. Three to four zhang before reaching the dummy, the surge of Origin Energy suddenly warped. The two different energies clashed in midair and eventually, with a loud buzz, dissipated.
“Seems like it’s still a failure!”
Wang Chong sighed as the light in his eyes faded. Su Zhengchen’s Art of Life Massacre was much more difficult to cultivate than he’d thought.
This ultimate art seemed to have a far greater requirement on one’s talents.
“… Half sword qi and half Origin Energy, I can manage this, but it’s still not working right. Sword qi is simply too domineering and is unable to tolerate energy of differing nature from it. My swordsmanship will stay weak as long as the situation persists. What is going on? … Am I still lacking somewhere?”
Wang Chong pondered the issue. This was already his eleventh failure, and he was starting to think that something had gone wrong in his cultivation of the technique.
“I’ll just have to put it aside for now!”
Sighing, Wang Chong stood up when suddenly ‘kachacha‘, the sound of bones cracking echoed from his body. Compared to before, his aura also seemed to have grown a little stronger.
Practicing with the sword could cultivate one’s character too, ultimately altering one’s entire disposition. A month of cultivating the Art of Life Massacre had caused Wang Chong to take on a slightly sharp aura, reminiscent of a sharp sword being drawn from the sheath. It was both composed and majestic, inducing both respect and fear.
On top of that, during this period of time, Wang Chong had consumed the hundred-year-old ginseng that Chai Zhiyi gave him. Even though he didn’t go through the additional effort of cultivating his internal energy, it still grew significantly.
He hadn’t made the breakthrough to Origin Energy Tier 8 yet, but his fighting prowess had grown tremendously.
“Seems like everyone has been working hard over the past month as well!”
Upon emerging from the training chamber, Wang Chong saw many figures running around busily.
After the attack, everyone in the training camp seemed to be putting their life on the line to train their martial arts. Even sparing they treated it like an actual battle.
Be it the archers, cavalry, or infantry, they seemed to be charging ahead with all their might, and diligence always pays off. The atmosphere in the training camp felt totally different from its inception, with the overall strength of the recruits increasing at an amazing pace.
Qiu!
As Wang Chong was walking around the main peak, a crisp and sharp sound suddenly echoed above his head. Lifting his gaze, he saw several carrier pigeons dancing in the sky above him, and there were several more headed here from the capital.
The recruits that came from the ordinary citizenry were unlikely to bear much responsibility. So, Wang Chong immediately guessed that those were headed for the noble scions in the training camp.
Qiu!
Wang Chong chuckled at the sight, but then a different sounding chirp echoed from the distance. Looking upward, he saw a carrier pigeon flying directly down toward him. Before he could finish guessing who the pigeon was here for, he suddenly realized that it was here for him.
“Hmm?”
He frowned as his eyes fell on the carrier pigeon.
“This is… a letter from big uncle?”
Spotting the gold ring on the left leg of the pigeon, bewilderment flashed across Wang Chong’s eyes.
This carrier pigeon was indeed raised by Big Uncle Wang Gen and nothing was unusual there. What had him in shock was actually the gold ring. In the Wang Clan, this gold ring held great significance and would only be used to announce extremely important matters. Otherwise, it would never make an appearance.
“Big uncle wishes to meet me?”
After browsing through the content of the letter, Wang Chong’s eyebrows shot up.