World Online

by Srtyi

Earth Online – a virtual MMORPG that takes place in the future year of 2190 – a game that everyone will bet their futures on. Set in a map that is ten times the size of real-world Earth, players battle for supremacy in the first game to feature personal adventure, territory construction, and grand warfare. For every death you experience in the game, your level would drop back to 0.

13. 345

Read The World Online - Chapter 345- Prefecture System and Enfeoffment System online free - Light Novel Full

Chapter 345- Prefecture System and Enfeoffment System

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Jun

Compared to Mu Guiying, Fan Lihua was a little better and was regarded as one of the four heroines.

Legend had it that Mu Guiying and Fan Lihua were both students of the Li Mountain Old Mother. Other disciples included great women such as Zhong Wuyan, Zhu Yingtai, Bai Su, and the like.

When Gaia built the in-game world, the Li Mountain Old Mother was just a small presence.

While Ouyang Shuo was taking a look at Fan Lihua's stats, a system notification sounded out by his ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Feng Qiuhuang for becoming the 2nd player in the China region to upgrade to grade 1 prefecture, rewarded 4200 merit points!""System Notification: Congratulations player Bai Hua for becoming the 3rd player in the China region to upgrade to grade 1 prefecture, rewarded 4000 merit points!"When the system notification rang out, the players in the China region were very calm.

After Feng Qiuhuang and Bai Hua were given their titles, the players had already predicted for their two territories to upgrade. If it wasn't for the Battle of Lianzhou, they probably would have been even faster.

What was interesting was that Fallen Phoenix Prefecture was actually quicker than Consonance Prefecture.

Feng Qiuhuang had her ways!

While Ouyang Shuo felt it was interesting, the four sisters felt a little depressed. They were highly confident in taking 2nd place in China, but instead they were usurped by the lone player Feng Qiuhuang.

Hence, one should never underestimate their opponents.

Feng Qiuhuang had given the four sisters such a lesson.

The prefecture grade, to an ambitious lord, was the starting point. Only after upgrading to a prefecture would it mean that your territory had taken root and started building its foundation.

Be it the raiders in the wilderness or the uprising army, to take down a prefecture was harder than climbing the heavens.

Prefecture, the start of being an overlord.

Gaia's 2nd year would also become the year of prefectures.

If at the end of the 2nd year, your territory had not upgraded to a prefecture, this would mean that you had lost your ability to rule the world.

The jump from county to prefecture was a rise in the entire substance of the territory. It not only represented the change in rank, but it represented that the territory would change from one small city to a whole prefecture.

And for the lords, while they would gain more power, it also meant that they would face greater challenges.

Talents, especially those of high rank, would become more and more important.

As the lords were basically young men, to control and lead a prefecture was highly difficult. Even people like Di Chen, without those around them helping, would not be able to manage.

This was true much more for others like Gong Chengshi and Xunlong Dianxue. They were normal people in real life and when they played the game, it was only for fun.

As for the experience and skill necessary to manage a territory, one could only slowly learn.

A grade 1 county was still manageable.

When it reached the prefecture grade, as long as you didn't pay attention, it might totally backfire.

Gaia had a good grasp in this area, accurately predicting things that would happen.

Its end goal would be to develop a batch of leaders for the real world. If a lord could last until the end, it would be 10 years of hard work. From a village to a town, to a county to a prefecture and finally setting up a country, this training would be able to make a raw diamond into a polished one.

The Shanhai Alliance members were considered lucky in such an aspect.

With such a model lord as Ouyang Shuo leading the way, they just needed to copy him and basically they wouldn't make any huge mistakes.

Of the ideas Ouyang Shuo pushed out in his territory, some he created himself but mostly they were things lords personally went through and developed in the last life.

In the end, Ouyang Shuo was just standing on the shoulders of giants.

For him to be able to last all the way until now, this was because he relied on his last life. His knowledge and mental strength far exceeded his peers. Moreover, he had a huge batch of historical people helping him.

After Shanhai Prefecture upgraded, Ouyang Shuo decisively made changes and pushed for the prefecture system, the reason was obvious.

The Battle of Lianzhou was a show of strength.

Even if Ouyang Shuo wasn't there, the commander unit had Baiqi and Du Ruhui; the various major generals were all famous generals and had the ability to think under pressure. Furthermore, they had an administrative system that ran efficiently and smoothly.

How would they lose?

Hence, the further behind one got, the more one needed to rely on teamwork.

The lord was the navigator of the ship.

In the last life, towards the strategies of running a prefecture, the lords didn't agree on a single system.

In short, there were two methods that could work.

The first would be the prefecture system that Ouyang Shuo was pushing for. It was suitable for most territories. Its positives were that it was able to raise the lord's power, but it needed large numbers of exceptional talents.

If everything was smooth, it would prosper, but if not, riots and unrest would easily occur.

The 2nd method would be the enfeoffment system that was equally popular amongst players.

In the last life when the enfeoffment system appeared, many people chose it. One type of people were the various powers represented by the Six Tyrants of Handan. They were huge, and the internal power struggles were highly complicated.

To balance out all of this, enfeoffment was an acceptable choice.

The reason why it didn't work now was because a county was too small, and enfeoffment was pointless. Hence, various large powers had reached a tacit understanding.

Before reaching prefecture grade, they would fight against outsiders.

After the prefecture grade, they would start splitting the cake. The further they went, as the territory grew bigger, more people would step out because they wanted a piece of the cake.

In the end, with this method, they would form up a huge conglomerate.

Not only that, the various big powers were also planning something in the dark.

During the Battle of Changping, how did Yanhuang Alliance pull over so many lords to their side?

Relationships and connections were only for show. Most crucially, some of these lords were just people from the big powers.

They just didn't show themselves and did not attract any attention.

With Di Chen's Handan County as an example, when Handan Village was being built, their family had sent people to acquire village creation tokens and built these territories around Handan Village.

Once Handan County became a prefecture, these territories would immediately surrender and merge with Handan Prefecture.

With this, Handan Prefecture had it so easy, being able to claim the nearby territories without doing anything. Some innocent lords even wanted to ally with some of these territories to go against Handan County.

Unexpectedly to them, some of their allies were members of the family.

As for these kind of lords, they had already fallen into a trap; they just didn't know it.

Only huge powers could use such a method.

As for commoners, they didn't even need to think about it.

Hence, when Ouyang Shuo predicted that what they showed was just the tip of the iceberg, it was a correct conjecture.

There was another group which liked the enfeoffment system. They were the various alliances that had formed up most recently.

At the start of the alliance, all of them would team up and fight those around them.

When they had cleared up all the surrounding territories and only the alliance remained, the internal war and conflict was going to start.

Internal conflict was the worst choice, as it would reduce their strength.

So, how would they solve the splitting of interests and not let the alliance fall apart?

The enfeoffment system was a good choice.

The leader was the emperor, and the other members were basically officials. The officials were all independent but were all united against outside enemies.

From a historical standpoint, the prefecture system came after the enfeoffment system. But in the game, it would just depend on the player's preference.

Going back on topic.

After Yashan Village was built, everyone started getting busy.

The first course of action was to move the camp to the village.

Although Ouyang Shuo acted as Bing'er's guardian and could manage the territory, he couldn't use his rank to allow the village to break the restrictions.

Luckily, the game was open and allowed one to build various buildings without breaking through.

Hence, apart from the already built quarry and sawmill, as well as the saltpans, farms and harbor that were being built, the other buildings were directly planned and organized according to the prefecture grade.

Ouyang Shuo had prepared all the building blueprints.

Ouyang Shuo directly ordered others to change the name from Yashan Village to Yashan City.

The overall planning of Yashan City was naturally done by Sun Xiaoyue. During this period of time, Xiaoyue had brought her planning squad to follow the Guards regiment and walk along the border of the territory.

The basic city planning had already formed.

Based on the planning, the 1st course of action was to build the city wall. The harsh surroundings of Yazhou had decided that the only way they could be safe was to build a solid city wall.

There were going to be two city walls, splitting the city into the inner city and the outer city. The wall of the inner city would be 3 kilometers long, while the outer wall would be 10 kilometers long. Its scale would follow that of Shanhai City.

As there was limited manpower, they chose to build the inner wall first.

Luckily, the 2nd batch of migrants was already on the way and would reach Yazhou soon. After this, the construction speed of Yazhou would reach new heights.

As for the specifics of the city planning, Ouyang Shuo didn't interfere in them and left them all to Sun Xiaoyue.

After Yashan City was set up, the basic level administrative personnel started to follow the set structure and started to build up and start doing their jobs.

Bai Nanpu was appointed by Ouyang Shuo as the mayor and was in charge of the early building. As for the future mayor, Ouyang Shuo was ready to choose a stronger person to take up the role.

After arranging these matters, Ouyang Shuo was ready to return to Shanhai City.

This was not only because Shanhai City had a bunch of stuff waiting for him, but the 20th day of the 2nd month was Chinese New Year's Eve, and he had to go back.

What made Ouyang Shuo worry was that Song Jia hadn't returned from Five Finger Mountain. Every day, she would report to Ouyang Shuo through the alliance channel to say that she was alright.

Based on what Song Jia had said, her martial arts were on the verge of breaking though. As a result, she temporarily couldn't return. It seemed that during this festive period, she would have to spend it in the mountains.

As for the quest Ouyang Shuo mentioned, Song Jia didn't get it.

Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 18th day.

Ouyang Shuo had arranged and planned out all the work for Yashan, and brought Bing'er and Fan Lihua back to Shanhai City through the teleportation formation.

As for the Guards regiment, they would remain in Yashan to guard it for a period of time.

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Chapter 346- God Physcian Bianque

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

When Bing'er returned to Shanhai City, the four small beasts did not follow her.

Little white and little green were training in the spirit beast hall. Blackfang wanted to protect little white, so it did not return.

What was special was Xue'er, that little fella could actually cultivate in the spirit beast hall.

Xue'er was a high-class artificial intelligence and had entered the game only to act as a pet. One would not expect the spirit beast hall to actually be so mystical.

Out of the four of them, Xue'er had the highest intelligence. Based on what she said, when she entered the spirit beast hall, a mysterious voice sounded out in her mind. The voice wanted to teach her spirit beast cultivation methods.

Ouyang Shuo nodded. Xue'er was becoming more and more like a player. Needless to say, the cultivation method she learned was probably the same as the secret manuals that could be brought back to reality.

Who would have expected Xue'er to have such luck?

As he walked out of the teleportation formation, Ouyang Shuo was amazed.

Compared to when he left, Shanhai City actually did not undergo much change. The destruction from the Battle of Lianzhou had already been repaired, and all the civilians had returned to their normal lives.

All the barricades and arrow towers outside the city had been dismantled.

In a short few days, one could not see any traces of the war anymore. Who would have known that this place was the focal point of the world and a territory that people thought would fall?

Only the west cemetery had a few thousand more graves, showing that war was cruel and heartless.

As the festive season neared, the happy atmosphere helped to lessen the pain and sorrow.

The commerce street was bustling with people seeking various New Years goodies. Compared to a year ago where Ouyang Shuo had to purchase such goodies from the market, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

The Chamber of Commerces that had invested in the territory did not just bring funds and opportunities. They also brought various goods and items that satisfied consumer needs.

The people who appeared on commerce street was not limited to the civilians of Shanhai City. Instead, there were also other merchants, as well as travelers from other houses and counties in the prefecture. There were even mountain barbarians and grassland nomads.

Shanhai City was slowly becoming the political, economical, and cultural center of Lianzhou.

At the intersection of Friendship River and Canyon River, a huge distribution center was set up. Every day, the many ships would travel to and fro through the distribution center.

The original dock was expanded, and it had now become a small sized city.

The House of east and west made use of the Friendship River and the Qiushui River, which crossed a big part of Lianzhou, to make their relationship with Shanhai City become closer and closer.

Shanhai City continued to prosper under the management of Wei Ran.

Before Ouyang Shuo returned, he did not inform anyone. As a result, no one came to greet him. Only when he returned to the Lord's Manor did he surprise everyone and cause an uproar in the big manor.

The territory had many matters that needed Ouyang Shuo to decide. It was highly inconvenient to depend on Mulan Yue to spread the message. So, when they learned that the marquis had returned, the various high ranking officials and generals all rushed over.

Ouyang Shuo shook his head in amusement, as he had expected such a situation.

Du Ruhui, Fan Zhongyan, and many more had matters to talk to him about, but Ouyang Shuo waved them off and said, "Everything will be left till after the new year!"

After they heard these words, Du Ruhui and the others were dumbfounded.

When he saw all his officials with sad faces, Ouyang Shuo frowned and teased, "If you guys are so hardworking that means your subordinates are too. If that's the case, they might be grumbling about me. One should have a few days of rest in a year, shouldn't they?"

Du Ruhui and Fan Zhongyan looked at one another and smiled, "Let's do as the Marquis says!"

"That's right, you are all the backbone of the territory, so you must care about your bodies!"

Du Ruhui's body had always been poor, so Ouyang Shuo's words also acted as a reminder to him. He had heard that Du Ruhui had worked like mad and experienced many sleepless nights.

"Thank you, Marquis, for your concern!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded and continued, "A year has ended, so there'll probably be some interesting things. With the two of you in the lead, prepare rewards for the military and the administration. Fetch the money from the Financial Department."

Fan Zhongyan laughed slightly, as he recalled what had happened during the last New Year's Eve.

That time, the Marquis personally bought his gift. The Marquis also decided the standard of the gift. As times changed, this kind of thing wasn't too high on the priority list for Ouyang Shuo.

After he gave these two officials something to do, Ouyang Shuo finally had time to return to his reading room.

As for Fan Lihua, little princess Bing'er naturally helped to show her around.

When Bing'er returned to the Lord's Manor, it naturally grew chaotic again. Everyone remembered her playfulness that made everyone love her and feel a headache too. Luckily, the four small beasts weren't here, which lessen the burden.

Although Bai Nanpu wasn't here, the secretary room still functioned.

The important letters were placed neatly on the table, as they waited for Ouyang Shuo to deal with them.

Ouyang Shuo postponed the meetings to after the new year; he wanted to use these few days to familiarize himself with everything in the territory.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo went to visit Jiang Shang and Sun Wu. Although these two heavyweights didn't participate in city matters, one couldn't underestimate them. Since Ouyang Shuo had returned, he naturally needed to visit them.

This time, Ouyang Shuo hoped to acquire their help.

For the next step of the territory, Ouyang Shuo had already made plans. But before he officially pushed them out, he hoped to garner the opinions of the two.

As time went on, Jiang Shang's feelings for Shanhai City had deepened. As a result, he warmly replied to Ouyang Shuo.

A few sentences had helped to change his opinion.

When he saw the young lord in front of him, many thoughts filled Jiang Shang. This knowledgeable young man had depth and courage. More astoundingly, he had foresight.

A few of the ideas and plans of Shanhai City were like a stroke of god from Jiang Shang's perspective.

Such a young man in such a position, not only was he not arrogant, but he was willing to ask for help!

Hard to come by!

Even when the Wu King was young, he wasn't this capable.

As the army military academy was about open, Sun Wu was busy with the teaching materials. For Ouyang Shuo's visit, his warmness was naturally overflowing.

Sun Wu was the War Saint. As expected, he managed to point out the flaws in Ouyang Shuo's plan.

The knowledge of the olden people definitely could not be underestimated.

Near the end, both of them exchanged opinions about the building of the academy. Ouyang Shuo wanted to choose the first semester students from the current military.

Sun Wu nodded in agreement, as he clearly knew the weak aspect of the Shanhai Army.

Ouyang Shuo had come to his decision after much consideration.

After he bid the War Saint farewell, Ouyang Shuo took a walk around the city before he returned.

The Shanhai City population had already broken 300 thousand. Not all of the citizens in the city recognized him. If it was not for the Guards behind him, they might have treated him as an ordinary rich man.

The next day, after his morning training, Ouyang Shuo continued to settle administrative matters. Although he had asked his officials and subordinates to rest, he did not.

Yesterday's lessons helped to clear up Ouyang Shuo's thinking. He needed to be alone to clear up everything.

Ouyang Shuo instructed the secretary room that if nothing important came up, do not disturb him.

In this room, Ouyang Shuo was alone. In the other room, Shanhai City had two very important guests.

The two of them had coincidentally met and had decided to travel together.

One of them was an old men, who looked very energized. He was dressed up like a doctor.

The other was still young, but he was paralyzed and could not walk. He sat in a wooden wheelchair, and the old man pushed him forward.

He had a unique feature on his face, from his left eye down ran a long scar. If one was familiar with punishments, this was a scar from branding.

A city guard stopped the two of them.

"Who are you?"

The old man laughed, "I'm a travelling physician. I heard this city has many expensive herbs, so I've come to visit."

The guard nodded and pointed to the man in the wheelchair, "And who is this?"

Shanhai City will have Thousands of people would enter the gates of Shanhai City every day and the Guards would not check them one by one. However, this young man was just too special.

The guard was from the military, so he could recognize the scar. Normally, to get branded, you were either a slave or you committed a huge crime.

Regardless who he was, it was enough to attract attention.

This check caused a hundred people to gather at the gate.

When they saw his appearance, everyone started to gossip. Some pitied, him while others mocked him.

The young man did not care seem to care about all the hustle around him, seemingly used to all this.

The guy raised his head; his face was extremely handsome. The scar did not spoil his appearance. Instead, it added a special kind of charm.

"I'm here to find my grandfather!"

"Grandfather? Who is your grandfather?"

The young man waved at the guard and asked him to come forward.

The guard did not suspect anything and immediately approached.

The young man softly said out a name in his ear.

"Ah, it's actually him? Is this true?"

When the guard heard this name, he called out.

The young man said, "If you don't believe me, you can follow me to see my grandfather. Just nice. I'm not familiar with the way, so can you bring me there?"

As he said these words, the guard did not bother about the civilians at the side. He simply brought the two in.

All this naturally attracted the gossips of the people. Everyone tried to guess the identity of the young man's grandfather that had managed to shock the guard.

One most know that the guard was an elite of the city protection division. He was usually very calm.

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Chapter 347- The Grandfather and Grandson Pair Meets

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

The man in the wheelchair was one of the representative figures of the philosophy of war, Sun Wu's grandson, Sun Bin.

Sun Bin came a few generations after Sun Wu. Since they both appeared at the same time in the wilderness, Gaia arranged that they were grandson and grandfather to avoid making things weird.

After he heard that his grandfather was living in Shanhai City, Sun Bin did not come straight away. Instead, he went traveling until New Year's Eve before visiting.

The old man beside him was the god physician Bianque from the Spring and Autumn period.

Bianque called himself a traveling physician, as he did not stay in one city. In history, Bianque and his disciples traveled four thousand miles around.

Under the guidance of the guard, Sun Bin managed to see his grandfather, Sun Wu.

The meeting between the two was certainly an amazing event.

When he saw that the young man was truly Sun Wu's grandson, he did not dare to disturb them and left.

After he left, the guard did not return to the city wall. Instead, he went to the Lord's Manor to report to the manager there.

When the manager received this news, he immediately went to report to the Marquis. However, the secretary stopped him.

"The marquis has orders. Unless it's something important, no one should disturb him."

The manager understood and told the secretary the information. As for how he handled it, be it immediately reporting or doing nothing, it was not the manager's problem anymore.

After the secretary heard the news, he waved the manager off and asked the latter to leave. He thought about it and decided to wait till the Marquis came out before telling him.

After all, Sun Bin came over to spend the lunar new year, so he would not be in a rush to leave.

Otherwise, it would be horrendous if he disturbed the lord and broke his train of thought.

The Lianzhou Manor did not have a specific organization to scout out news and intel about the territory. Hence, they could only rely on maidservants, guards, and the like to spread news.

As for the Military Intelligence Division, they were only in charge of military matters and would not cross the line.

Sun Wu residence.

Sun Wu's residence was not in the official residence area. Instead, he stayed in the Army Military Academy.

After the two of them met, Sun Bin introduced Bianque to his grandfather.

"Grandfather, I met this god physician on my journey. His name is Bianque. The whole way, he has taken care of me!"

After Sun Wu heard such words, he immediately said, "Thank you kind sir!"

Bianque would not dare to accept that, so he said, "I was just doing what I could. I wasn't purposely taking care of him!"

Sun Wu nodded and smiled, "Since you have come to Shanhai City, you will be able to gain a lot!"

"How so?" Bianque's eyes brightened.

"Have you heard of the book collection house?"

"I came because of that. I heard that it contains a lot of old and new books. Is that true?"

"Definitely! The medical works of various dynasties are all in there."

Bianque was delighted, so he smiled and said, "Seems like my trip will be worth it!"

"Not only that, Shanhai City has a medical department. They have olden arts and medical skills that the players brought. Especially one surgical technique, which even I have to commend."

When Bianque heard those words, he grew even happier.

"I can't wait anymore!"

Sun Wu laughed; it was pretty understandable, as he too was like that when he came here. Sun Wu waved and called for one of the servants, "Bring mister to take a look at the book collection house."

"Yes, sir!"

Bianque understood Sun Wu's intentions, so he followed the servant and left.

Firstly, he desired to read the medical works. Secondly, he also knew that the grandson and grandfather pair definitely had something to talk about.

After he sent Bianque away, the two felt much more relaxed.

Sun Wu felt a heartache when he saw his grandson's paralyzed legs.

Sun Bin was really sharp and said, "Grandfather, even though my legs are paralyzed, I can still lead thousands and ten thousands of troops." His words contained a hint of pride, and it also held a little bit of burden.

Sun Wu nodded, "God Physician Bianque also can't do anything about this?"

Sun Bin kept silent and shook his head.

Once he saw that, Sun Wu did not continue with this serious topic and smiled, "Grandson, the Sun Bin art of war that you wrote, I've read it. It made me feel really happy."

"Thank you for your praises!"

"You don't need to behave humble in front of your grandfather. However, you also can't be arrogant. During this period of time, I've read many famous works and learnt a lot. Although the books we wrote are good, they have a lot of limitations."

"Thank you for your teachings!" Sun Wu sat in the wheelchair as he said, "I came here to accompany grandfather and also to cultivate my art of war."

Sun Wu shook his head and pointed at Sun Bin. He laughed and said, "In front of your grandfather, you don't need to hide. I can feel that you want to go to the battlefield. However, you decided to make such a decision instead because of me, right?"

"Grandfather is sharp." Sun Bin was a little embarrassed, "I don't want to hide it from you, but yes, I want to enter the military and put what I learned to use."

Sun Wu nodded, "I chose to be a hermit, as I'm old. I don't want to go through that torture and pain again. Even so, the Lianzhou Marquis persuaded me to lead the Army Military Academy. You are still young, so you should go all out to learn. Be a man and head to the battlefield."

"Is the Lianzhou Lord really so amazing? He actually managed to persuade you?"

Sun Bin was surprised. Instantly, he felt eager to meet this famous lord that he had heard so much about.

Sun Wu nodded, as he thought about Ouyang Shuo's visit yesterday. Then, he said, "The foundation of Shanhai City is very thick and firm; it can definitely rule the earth. The Marquis is good at using talents. Furthermore, the generals under him are given power, and he trusts them. With the Battle of Lianzhou as an example, Baiqi commanded the entire thing."

When Sun Bin heard about this, he was so excited.

In his book, he described that a lord needed to trust his soldiers and not interfere, allowing them to handle military matters.

Ouyang Shuo's actions were the perfect example of the relationship between a general and a lord.

When he noticed Sun Bin's expression, Sun Wu reminded him, "Since you have made the choice, I have to remind you. Shanhai City not only has Baiqi, it also has historical generals like Shi Wanshui and Er'Lai. If you want to gain a solid foothold in the military, it won't be easy."

When Sun Bin heard this, he solemnly said, "Don't worry, grandfather, your grandson knows what to do!"

After they spoke about such matters, the pair started to casually converse.

As for the god physician Bianque, he only returned at night after the servant reminded him. The many medical books and scrolls in the book collection house had left this god physician very engrossed.

Ouyang Shuo similarly spent an entire day in the reading room.

Zisu even had to send lunch to his reading room for him to hurriedly eat.

After he left the reading room, the secretary immediately went up.

This whole day, the secretary had not just slacked off. He had found out everything about the identity of the two men.

"Lord, the territory has two guests. One of them is the god physician Bianque, the other is the grandson of Sun Wu, Sun Bin."

This news piqued Ouyang Shuo's interest.

In truth, after Sun Wu moved over, Ouyang Shuo had looked forward to Sun Bin's arrival.

This wait had lasted an entire two months.

To a paralyzed person like Sun Bin, although he did not join many famous battles, everyone could change the path of history. Although he was not so famous, he was still considered a great general.

Putting it another way, Sun Bin should be considered a strategist, similar to Zhang Liang, Zhuge Liang.

As for the god physician Bianque, he was a pleasant surprise.

Of course, the book collection house was great at attracting philosophers. However, even if they came to Shanhai City, that did not necessarily mean they would move in.

Ouyang Shuo said to the secretary, "Send someone to visit the War Saint Manor and tell them that tomorrow morning, I'll personally visit the two guests."

"Yes, my lord!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded and went to the back hall.

A night of total silence.

Gaia 2nd year, 2nd month 20th day, Shanhai City.

At night, it was the lunar New Year's Eve evening.

The servants in the Lord's Manor had started to get busy under Zisu's orders. Some were in charge of cleaning, while the others hung up lanterns and paintings.

The back kitchen was even busier. Early in the morning, the chefs had started preparing for the dinner. The Marquis had said that he would hold the dinner at the Lord's Manor. Additionally, all the generals and officials were invited.

The square in front of the Lord's Manor was bustling, and they had built performance platform there.

At night, the troupe would perform on the platform and share the joy with the commoners.

Even the commoners could watch the performance, not just the important generals that joined the Lord's Manor.

When Ouyang Shuo left, four Guards followed him.

He quickly went to the Army Military Academy. The construction of the academy had almost finished. He did not have any thoughts of walking around. Instead, he directly entered Sun Wu's Residence.

After they got the news yesterday, the residence had prepared to welcome him.

Even Bianque had to put down his desires for medical books to stay in the residence and wait. Based on Ouyang Shuo's current position, even if he summoned them both to the Lord's Manor, there would be nothing wrong with that.

Personally visiting them showed them the utmost respect.

Of course, Sun Wu's influence played a part in this.

In the olden times, the position of physicians was not high. However, Ouyang Shuo, as a modern person, naturally would not look down on them.

Toward Sun Bin and Bianque, he treated them equally.

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Chapter 348- Rhino Horn Poison Curing Pill

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

In his meeting with Ouyang Shuo, Sun Bin wasn't cold. Instead, he was really excited.

Since Sun Bin had the intention of coming out and joining the military, he naturally expressed his intentions.

When Ouyang heard this, he was elated.

Yesterday, he had put together Sun Wu's suggestions to reorganize the military structure. The arrival of Sun Bin helped to solve the most important component.

As the time was not right, the two did not have a deep conversation about the topic.

Ouyang Shuo asked him to come to the reading room tomorrow afternoon.

After meeting Sun Bin, Ouyang Shuo tuned to Bianque and smiled, "Mister, you came to Shanhai City, so I'll try to do my best as a lord. The medical department has a mansion that's currently empty. Would you like to live there?"

Bianque had heard of the rumors, so he naturally understood what the Lianzhou Lord wanted. The lord wanted him to settle down. In reality, the lord was inviting him to work in the medical department.

When Ouyang Shuo saw Bianque's expression, he let out a slight smile, "Mister, you don't need to consider it, as the medical department won't restrict your freedom. Not only that, we will prepare servants and resources for your long trips. The only requirement would be for you to recruit a few disciples to help out the department."

Ouyang Shuo knew that if he did not raise up anything, Bianque would have his doubts. In fact, he wanted Bianque to register as part of Shanhai City. Of course, if he could meet the requirements for physicians to settle in the city, that would be the best.

After Bianque heard these words, he was actually tempted. When he thought about Sun Wu's introduction, he made his mind up, "I simply cannot reject all your kindness!"

"Great!" Ouyang Shuo was on cloud nine.

When he saw Bianque, Ouyang Shuo thought of a person and said, "Mister, there's someone with a hidden disease. I have tried every common treatment, but it didn't work. Can you help diagnose him?"

"Oh? There's such a weird illness? I'm really interested to go and take a look."

To someone like him, the more complicated and challenging the condition, the better it was to helping to raise his skills.

When he saw Bianque being so eager, Ouyang Shuo bid farewell to the grandfather and grandson pair. He smiled, "Since that's the case, there's still time now, so I'll bring you there."

"Great!"

Bianque entered his room and took out his medical suitcase. Then, he followed Ouyang Shuo out.

The person Ouyang Shuo referred to was his half master—Bajiquan Master Lin Yue.

Song Jia was having problems convincing Lin Yue. Since there was a chance, Ouyang Shuo was willing to give it a shot.

Since long ago, more dojos had spread across the entire territory. But the one Lin Yue set up remained the most famous one. The dojo was now named the Baijiquan Dojo, and its location had shifted many times.

Currently, it was located in the inner city commoner area, and it took up a huge area.

The disciples had increased from less than a hundred to thousands. A large portion of the disciples would choose to enter the military after training.

The earlier batch of disciples was doing really well.

Wang Feng was the colonel of the Guards regiment; he was one of the most trusted generals. The other disciples had all reached the rank of major.

As time passed on, Bajiquan slowly became an important power in the military.

Not to mention the fact that Ouyang Shuo himself learned Bajiquan. The other disciples naturally felt honoured, as if they were born to serve Ouyang Shuo.

When Ouyang Shuo rushed to the dojo, the disciples were preparing for the festivities.

After they noticed his arrival, all of them grew excited and went forward to greet him.

"Marquis!"

"Marquis!"On the way, the sounds of greetings continued.

Ouyang Shuo waved his hand in acknowledgment. Under the guidance of a disciple, he entered the main hall.

Lin Yue rushed over upon hearing the news.

After the greetings, Ouyang Shuo asked everyone to back down. Lin Yue knew that the lord definitely had an important matter to mention.

All of a sudden, only the three of them remained in the main hall.

Ouyang Shuo introduced Bianque to Lin Yue, "This is god physician Bianque, he's here to treat you!"

When Lin Yue heard this, he felt a jolt in his heart. His disease had already become an unbearable pain in his heart, and he had felt despair after failing to find a cure for it.

If it were not for the dojo, Lin Yue would not know how to survive. To a martial artist, their art was their life.

Lin Yue looked at Bianque with a complicated expression. Although he felt eager, he also felt afraid of his hopes being crushed. His current feelings were not something anyone could understand.

Bianque was really experienced, and he had diagnosed an uncountable number of patients. Lin Yue's feeling were normal in his eyes.

Many patients with weird diseases all felt a similar way.

Bianque smiled and said, "Please sit down; I'll feel your pulse."

Lin Yue sat down like a well-behaved baby, totally different to his usual strict master demeanor.

Ouyang Shuo stood at the side and did not dare to interrupt.

The current Bianque was the main star of the hall.

In truth, the moment he entered and saw Lin Yue, the diagnosis had begun.

Chinese medicine focused on all aspects, and Bianque was a master of this art. He was especially good at looking at the patient's color to make a diagnosis. He could even infer what had happened.

The famous story of when he visited Caiheng showed his skill.

After feeling Lin Yue's pulse, Bianque had a rough idea of what had happened. Then, he asked a few more questions. Just like that, he diagnosed the problem and could cure it.

Oddly enough, after his series of questions, Bianque kept quiet, and his face looked a little ugly.

When Lin Yue saw this, his heart went all the way to his throat. One could say that Bianque was his only hope. If even the god physician could not cure him, he would lose all hope.

After a long time, Bianque opened his eyes and spoke, "There is a special ice poison in Lin Yue's body. An expert with a poisonous ice nature internal strength injected this into his body. This poison is highly venomous, and it will eat into the organs and cause organ failure."

When Lin Yue heard this, his eyelids twitched, as if he had remembered some unpleasant memories.

He raised his head and said, "As expected of a god physician. In fact, an expert who was good at Yin Ice Kungfu injured me."

Bianque nodded and continued, "If it weren't for your strong internal strength that could suppress it, you would have died. Even so, it has stayed in your body for a long time and caused much damage. If you don't cure it, you might not live past the New Year."

When Ouyang Shuo heard this, his eyes narrowed.

Lin Yue was more optimistic. He smiled; this was the same as he had predicted.

Bianque said, "I know that there's a pill that can cure your ailment."

"Is that true?"

Lin Yue could not remain as calm anymore. His eyes revealed a light of hope and delight.

Even Ouyang Shuo was feeling happy for Lin Yue. However, he was calmer as a bystander. He felt that things would not be that simple. Otherwise, Bianque would not make such a troubled expression.

As expected, Bianque nodded. But then, he shook his head, "Don't be so happy yet. There's a pill known as the Rhino Horn Poison Curing Pill."

"What's the difficulty?"

"Although I know the recipe and the pill making method, the required main ingredient is rare."

"What main ingredient?"

Lin Yue regained calm, but in his heart was a glimmer of hope.

The cause of one's desperation was not seeing the problem, but failing to see a way forward.

This was the first time Lin Yue had heard of an exact way to cure his problem. Naturally, he was delighted. He had made up his mind—whatever the ingredient was, he would find it.

"Rhino Horn!"

When Bianque spoke out, his words made one's spectacles drop to the floor.

"Rhino horn?" Lin Yue thought he had heard wrongly and asked, "Isn't that found in every herb shop?"

Bianque shook his head, "If it was a normal Rhino horn, of course, it would be easy to find. What you need is a spirit beast level Rhino horn."

Lin Yue's face turned white.

A spirit beast was incredibly rare. Furthermore, they needed to find a Rhino spirit beast.

Ouyang Shuo felt elated when he heard those words.

Everything in the world followed a cycle.

Wasn't there an iron armored beast horn in his storage bag? It was mutated from a rhino and met all the requirements.

When he saw Lin Yue's depressed state, Ouyang Shuo knew it was time for him to speak.

He took out the horn and passed it to Bianque, "Mister, this is from a mutated desolate beast. Its name is the iron armored beast. Can it be used?"

In a moment, this horn became the focus of everyone.

Out of the three of them, Lin Yue had the most complicated feelings. He was happy, emotional, and nervous.

Bianque took it. After he observed the horn, he laughed, "This beast is even better than spirit beasts; this horn is very suitable."

When Lin Yue heard this, he went before Ouyang Shuo and emotionally said, "I'll never be able to repay your good grace!"

As he said that, he wanted to kneel on the spot.

Ouyang Shuo immediately stopped him, "Brother Lin, you don't need to do that. When you came to Shanhai Village, I already said that I would cure you. Today, I've fulfilled my promise."

When Lin Yue heard these words, he was very grateful. He did not expect Ouyang Shuo to remember that promise all the way till now.

Only death could repay such a huge favor.

Ouyang Shuo heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed like he had solved the matter he promised Song Jia.

Ouyang Shuo did not stay for long. He left Bianque and returned to the Lord's Manor.

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Chapter 349- Luxurious Lineup

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Ouyang Shuo returned to the Lord's Manor and prepared himself to meet a special guest—Zhao Kuo, who they currently held in the Lord's Manor. They currently held him in a courtyard that people rarely visited, a place at a corner of the manor.

When Ouyang Shuo entered, Zhao Kuo was drinking in the patio; his beard currently in a mess.

After he experienced failure in the Battle of Lianzhou, Zhao Kuo seemed older and sadder. He did not look as handsome and as confident as before.

A hero's heart had totally fallen into the abyss.

When he saw Ouyang Shuo, Zhao Kuo held the wine flask and walked over. He was drunk, and his voice was hoarse, "Lianzhou Lord?" His voice contained a tinge of teasing and a sense of giving up.

Currently, Zhao Kuo was a man that lacked purpose and will.

"That's right!"

Ouyang Shuo did not care. He sat down on the stone seat and looked over at Zhao Kuo.

"You, you came here for what? To humiliate me? Or are you ready to behead me, behead me~" Zhao Kuo stuttered, as he vented the frustration and anger in his heart.

Zhao Kuo did not care about life and eath anymore.

More specifically, although he currently lived, it felt like a living death to him.

Ouyang Shuo shook his head, "If you want to give up on yourself, I won't stop you. But if your father learns that his son is useless, what would he think?"

His father was the famous general Zhao She, the ancestor of the Ma family.

Ouyang Shuo noticed that when he mentioned Zhao Kuo's father, the latter tightened his grip over the wine flask. Obviously, his father held a special place in his heart.

After the Battle of Changping, Zhao She had also appeared in the wilderness. Despite this, he did not go to Pill Sun County to look for Zhao Kuo. Needless to say, he did not recognize Zhao Kuo and was not willing to meet him.

This was a huge pain in Zhao Kuo's heart, as he desired his father's recognition.

Zhao Kuo's face was ashen white, as he said, "What can I do? At most, I'll just die."

"Well, you can die. Only, there are thousands of ways to die. Which one will you choose? Dying for your sins or dying from alcohol?"

"You!" Zhao Kuo's face flushed red and he shouted, "You can kill me, but don't humiliate me!"

Ouyang Shuo shook his head, "You're wrong. I'm not humiliating you. Your current actions are just throwing away the face of your father. You're just asking for ridicule."

Sometimes, one had to be harsh to solve such problems.

Zhao Kuo had already given up, so Ouyang Shuo needed to use words to ignite his spirit.

Otherwise, how would Zhao Kuo be of any help to him?

"Ah!" Zhao Kuo stood still as he raised the wine flask and took a swig. The wine that spilled out soaked his shirt, but he did not care. He was merely drowning away his sorrows.

After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Ouyang Shuo, "I'm the general of a losing army, so what can I do?"

His words contained endless feelings of bitterness and sadness.

Ouyang Shuo kept silent. After all, Zhao Kuo was also unlucky—his first opponent was Baiqi. In the end, he had lost, which left his reputation ruined.

Additionally, he would be remembered and humiliated because of the Battle of Changping.

"I have a position that can let you make a comeback."

Ouyang Shuo threw out the bait.

"Oh? Keke, is the Lianzhou Lord trying to recruit me?"

In Zhao Kuo's eyes, disbelief could be seen.

"You lost because you chose the wrong position. You are knowledgeable and know a lot about the philosophy of war. You're good at advising but not at leading troops to war. The Lianzhou Lord's Manor has the Military Affairs Department, which oversees military matters. Under it is the War Division that is in charge of war planning and coordination."

Ouyang Shuo gave Zhao Kuo a brief description of the territory's military structure.

When Zhao Kuo heard such words, his eyes brightened. However, he felt a little unhappy about Ouyang Shuo's evaluation. He felt that he had the ability to lead men to war.

Ouyang Shuo saw Zhao Kuo's hesitation, so he threw out another bomb, "The Military Affairs Department and the army aren't directly related. Instead, they depend on one another."

Once Ouyang Shuo made this point clear, someone as smart as Zhao Kuo could definitely understand his meaning. If one mentioned the enemy of Zhao Kuo, it had to be Baiqi.

The Military Affairs Department and Baiqi had a relationship where they cooperated but also acted against one another.

When Zhao Kuo heard this, he was really interested as expected.

After Ouyang Shuo stopped speaking, Zhao Kuo knew that Ouyang Shuo wanted him to express his views.

Zhao Kuo sighed and threw down the wine flask, which broke it apart. He straightened his shirt and bowed, "Losing general Zhao Kuo greets the Marquis!"

Ouyang Shuo helped him up and said, "General, go wash up and prepare for the feast tonight! Every festive season, one will think of their family. If Zhao She knew that you have picked yourself up, he would feel happy."

When Zhao Kuo heard these words, his voice choked.

Ouyang Shuo slowly left.

He let Zisu to prepare new clothes for Zhao Kuo. He also arranged two maidservants to help him wash up.

After he left the courtyard, Ouyang Shuo used the Lord's gamemode interface to check out Zhao Kuo's stats.

Name: Zhao Kuo (King Rank)

Dynasty: Warring States (Zhao)

Identity: Shanhai City General

Occupation: Advanced General

Loyalty: 70

Command: 75

Force: 45

Intelligence: 75

Politics: 58

Specialty: well-read (Raises strategy crafting efficiency by 25%)

Evaluation: Zhao Kuo has studied the philosophy of war since a young age. He loves to talk about military methods.

Gaia's evaluation of Zhao Kuo was not too high. However, he was certainly more than sufficient to lead the war division. With Zhao Kuo's assistance, Du Ruhui would carry less of a burden.

After he checked Zhao Kuo's stats, Ouyang Shuo remembered that he had not checked out Sun Bin and Bianque's stats.

Name: Sun Bin (God Rank)

Dynasty: Warring States (Qi)

Identity: Shanhai City General

Occupation: Special level General

Loyalty: 80

Command: 99

Force: 50

Intelligence: 88

Politics: 55

Specialty: Destruction is the only outcome (Raises morale by 40%). Race horse (raises movement speed by 30%). Surround Wei to save Zhao (raise defense by 20%). Adapt to the enemy (Raise damage by 25%)

Cultivation Method: Sun Bin Fist Technique

Equipment: Nil

As expected, Sun Bin was exceptional at command. His command stat was even higher than Baiqi's.

However, the aspect that surprised Ouyang Shuo was Sun Bin's possession of a self-created fist technique. No wonder that despite being paralyzed, his force stat could still reach 50.

After Baiqi, the territory had acquired one more god rank person.

Name: Bianque (God Rank)

Dynasty: Warring States

Title: One of the five huge medical physicians in olden China

Identity: Shanhai City resident

Occupation: God rank physician

Loyalty: 70

Specialty: Careful planning (Raises territory trade profits by 1%)

Evaluation: In terms of medicine, Bianque is the ancestor. His techniques were precise and accurate. Future generations followed his methods and ways.

Bianque was known as the ancestor of Chinese traditional medicine. He created the diagnosis method and also the treatment method.

The five greatest physicians of the olden times were Medical Ancestor Bianque, Medical Saint Zhang Zhongjin, God Doctor Hua Tuo, Medicine King Sun Simiao, and Medical Scientist Li Shizhen.

Of the five, Zhang Zhongjin and Sun Simiao were saints. They were listed among the twenty four saints. Sun Simiao was the medicine Saint, and Zhang Zhongjin was the Saint Doctor. The other three were god-level historical people.

The five of them were the representative figures of Chinese medical studies.

Hence, Medical Ancestor Bianque moving into Shanhai City was not enough to consider that medical studies had moved into the city. He needed either Zhang Zhongjin or Sun Simiao to move in.

After lunch, nighttime soon arrived.

The various generals and officials all rushed over to Shanhai City.

Out of the civil servants, there was Tianfeng House prefect Cui Shousi, Mulan House prefect Mulan Yue, Broken Blade House prefect Zhou Haichen, and Beihai City City mayor Gu Xiuwen.

Of course, there was also Shanhai House prefect Wei Ran.

Apart from the feast, the various houses rushed back to the Lord's Manor to talk to the lord. Especially Zhou Haichen, who had not talked to Ouyang Shuo before he took up his appointment.

There was one other civil servant invited, the Yongye County County Magistrate Shen Zhui.

This message was very clear. Anyone could guess that Shen Zhui would be put to huge use after the New Year.

Then, there were four major generals.

Apart from them, two others were invited, Daiqin and Lin Yi.

Of course, Baiqi, Du Ruhui, Sun Bin, Fan Lihua, and Zhao Kuo were naturally invited.

Daiqin being invited was also a sign. After all, when Du Ruhui persuaded Daiqin to surrender, he had promised Daiqin to put him to good use.

Then, Lin Yi's arrival was similar to Shen Zhui.

Obviously, Lin Yi was going to receive an important appointment.

The many generals did not gather here just to attend the feast.

Before the New Year, the Military Affairs Department followed Ouyang Shuo's order to make three divisions from the prisoners.

During his return, he would obviously settle the choices of the three major generals.

Hence, although the military meeting after the New Year had not even started, it had already gained a lot of attention.

Shen Zhui and Lin Yi, these two young men were naturally the focal point of attention.

If one included the specially invited Jiang Shang and Sun Wu, as well as the three heads of the civil servant system, the people who came to join this feast could be said to be of historical proportions.

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Chapter 350- New Year's Red Packet Snatching Event

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Mulan Yue teleported over to Shanhai City and gave Ouyang Shuo a present. She handed him the platinum rank accessory that Chun Shenjun had dropped when he died.

Name: Golden Qilin Seal (Platinum Rank)

Type: Accessory

Specialty: Purify Evil (Doesn't get corrupted; evil avoids you)

Evaluation: A sealed emperor seal. The essence of a country protecting Qilin is needed to unseal it. After it's totally unsealed, it can suppress a country's fortune, a priceless treasure.

Ouyang Shuo trembled; he immediately thought of something—Imperial Jade Seal.

In the last life, Di Chen's Handan City had built a country first. For a lord to establish a country, apart from his rank, he needed two other things—an imperial decree and also an imperial jade seal.

Ouyang Shuo did not expect Chun Shenjun to possess such a treasure.

The lost of the golden Qilin Seal was enough to make Chun Shenjun's heartache for a long while.

If he knew of the real use of the golden seal, he would probably just burst into tears.

Regretfully, the golden seal needed the injection of Qilin essence to unseal. The Qilin was an ancient prosperity beast. To find one and make it give up itself was harder than ascending the heavens.

The golden Qilin seal was a holy treasure, so one could not place this item into a storage bag. As such, they could only bring it around. If not, Chun Shenjun would not have lost it.

Luckily, the seal was not too large, so Ouyang Shuo could place it in a gold bag, which allowed him to conveniently hang it on his waist.

Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 20th day, New Year's Eve night.

The Shanhai City's lights shone brightly, and the atmosphere brimmed with the festive spirit

The loud explosions of fireworks filled the air.

In the main hall of the Lord's Manor, Ouyang Shuo welcomed the group of officials.

At both sides, famous figures had lined up.

As the music played and people danced, dish after dish of delicious delicacies were brought up to the tables.

Such a huge feast was something that Ouyang Shuo could not imagine a year ago.

His only regret was that Song Jia was not present. Currently, Song Jia had ventured into a mountain farmer's house. In there, she had spent an unforgettable New Year's eve night.

Not only Shanhai City, the entire China region was immersed in the Lunar New Year spirit.

This was also the first time the China region players had gathered in the game, so it naturally held a special meaning to them.

Be it the global channel or the forums, both bustled with activity.

In the originally quiet wilderness, one could see flames rise into the air and light up the night sky.

Be it adventure mode players or lord mode players, they all celebrated the New Year in their own way.

The nine system imperial cities bustled with excitement and players pretty much swarmed these places.

Following the customs of the aboriginals, they spent the New Year's Eve with their families. To players, it was truly a different experience.

The New Year's spirit and feelings had utterly awakened the memories of the players.

Some of the old men were filled with emotions and even secretly wept.

As for the children, they were even happier. All of them formed up into small groups and took small fireworks and firecrackers. They enjoyed a totally different New Year compared to the one they could experience in a modern city.

Bing'er, this little brat, ate a few mouthfuls of food and disappeared like a monkey.

To the kids, this was the happiest of times.

This was also the first time that the China region players could not look at New Year's Eve programs and performances.

Hence, after they finished their New Year's Eve dinner, the players all felt that something was not right. Something felt missing. Furthermore, they did not have any phones and could not grab red packets, so the teens all the more felt that something was off.

Luckily, be it the various large territories or the imperial cities, they all had show platforms that held performances for the people. These events allowed the people to throw away their regrets.

After the feast, the people in the Lord's Manor all walked out to the square to watch the performances.

The performing troupe did not just come from the theatre. There were also troupes that the Chamber of Commerces sponsored. On the other streets, there were also other smaller-sized performance platforms.

As the lord, Ouyang Shuo would naturally enjoy these performances with his people.

After the players had their meals with their family, they all had nothing to do. As such, they went on the forums.

All of the sudden, there were numerous bored people.

At this time, the players hoped that Gaia would hold a New Year's event.

On the New Year's Eve night, the people would naturally look forward to the Nian beast event.

The only special one was Shanhai City.

Since the Nian beasts had become their city protectors, naturally, no more Nian beasts would come.

To normal players, the Nian Beasts were too rare and not all of them would face these monsters. Some of the players went on the forums and demanded for an event where all players could participate.

In truth, Gaia had really prepared a huge surprise for the players in the China Region.

At 9 PM, a system notification punctually sounded out.

"System Notification: Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 20th day, 9 PM. The Nian Beast ascend on the wilderness. All lords, please prepare!"The Nian Beast event had officially started.

Only this time, Ouyang Shuo was a total bystander. Similar to Ouyang Shuo, a whole bunch of other players could not join the event. As such, they started a ruckus on the forums.

10 minutes later, just when the players had grown really bored, another system notification sounded.

"System Notification: Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 20th day. Today is the traditional New Year's Eve in the China region. To add to the festivities, 10 minutes later, we will open the Red Packet Snatching Event. Please look forward to it!"When the notification rang out, all the players grew excited.

Red packet snatching was such a memorable phrase, so it instantly triggered all the players' festive spirits.

Along with the system notification, the system released the Red Packet Snatching Event rules on the forums.

Ouyang Shuo scrolled through the forums, as he watched the performance. Mulan Yue, who was sitting beside him, was already on the forums. To a little girl, the performances were nothing interesting.

In truth, there was such an event in his last life. Ouyang Shuo only went online to confirm it.

The Red Packet Snatching Event was very simple.

Firstly, the players who joined must voluntarily send Gaia a red packet. The could place as much gold as they want inside, but they had to at least put in a silver.

Gaia would pile all the red packets together and randomly distribute the gold to participating players.

There were hundreds of millions of players in the China region. If everyone gave a single silver, that would result in a million gold.

If one was lucky, one could strike a jackpot. Maybe if you gave Gaia a silver, you could get a return of a thousand or even ten thousand gold.

Of course, your luck might be bad, and you might only get one copper.

This kind of game was suitable for everyone. It also had a slight gambling edge similar to buying the lottery.

Of course, some players might just decide to give Gaia one silver and take the chance that they might earn a lot. Even if they did not earn much, they would only lose a small amount.

Toward this kind of action, Gaia had taken some preventive measures.

In the rules, there was another interesting setting. If a player gave Gaia a huge red packet, they could receive a lottery ticket. The bigger the amount, the higher the chances.

Additionally, to make the players more eager, if one reached a hundred gold, they were guaranteed to receive one coupon.

If the red packet was big enough, one had the chance to gain a few lottery tickets.

Not only that, the coupons were split into ranks in a similar manner to equipment. The ranks ranged from copper to platinum. Of course, players could not receive the highest god rank, as that would break the game balance.

Gaia also described the function of the lottery ticket.

Naturally, the lottery ticket gave the chance to draw a prize.

At 10 PM sharp, a player with a ticket could participate in a lucky draw. The prizes were dazzling, and it included equipment, cultivation methods, skill books, special items, and more.

The items inside included black iron rank equipment, mysterious region scrolls, emperor rank cultivation methods, and more. They were really attractive prizes.

Some of the items had a rarity equal to those sold during the second system auction.

Gaia made it clear that the higher the grade of a lottery ticket, the higher one's chances of drawing a rarer prize.

This interesting setting had totally ignited the interest of all the rich players. It involved a complicated gamble, it was not something a calculator could compute.

Gaia's settings were really interesting and took care of all players. Those who had some money could gamble to try and win big. Maybe, they could actually win a grand prize.

One could just treat it as buying a lottery ticket.

Those with assets could even try to obtain a high grade lottery ticket.

Suddenly, all of the players in the China region were totally absorbed and attracted to this event.

From now on, players could send a red packet to Gaia. Each player would only receive one chance. After they sent the packet, they could not change the amount, and they could not send another packet either.

Each player only had one chance.

The deadline was set at 9:50 PM.

"Brother Wuyi, how much are you ready to gamble?" Mulan Yue read the specifics of the event and asked Ouyang Shuo.

Not only Mulan Yue, everyone in the China region was currently discussing this same question.

The Shanhai Alliance channel also brimmed with activity.

Some players had started to talk about this dilemma. If one gave too much and only raffled a piece of normal equipment, they would lose a lot.

If one gave too little, one would not feel good.

After all, the temptation of platinum ranked items dangled right there.

Which player would not have such a dream? Gritting your teeth and spending a hundred gold to obtain a chance of these rare items. If one really got lucky, wouldn't they become rich overnight?

The China region players were now stuck in a painful predicament. However, they were happy about it.

Not only that, Gaia also brought out another prize. Gaia opened a broadcast channel, and the channel would report the names of anyone who sent five hundred gold or more.

With that, it made the rich people even more tempted to gamble.

All of a sudden, the country channel started to refresh at a crazy speed and numerous people honorably appeared on the new channel.

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Chapter 351- 100 thousand points of pain

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

So, how popular was the Red Packet Snatching Event that Gaia pushed out?

From two details, one could probably make a good guess.

The 1st was Bing'er's reaction.

The little brat was playing a fool outside. However, when she heard the news, she immediately ran before Ouyang Shuo. Then, she opened her hands and said, "Brother, where's my red packet?"

"Baby, what would you need it for?"

Ouyang Shuo had his doubts. This little brat took everything she wanted in Shanhai City. Then, Zisu who followed her would just pay for the items. Hence, Bing'er would not need any gold.

"Snatching red packets!"

Ouyang Shuo nearly fainted on the spot.

This event really attracted people of all ages.

Helplessly, Ouyang Shuo handed Bing'er a hundred gold. As she was still young, Ouyang Shuo did not want this little brat to come into contact with too much gold.

Bing'er did not say anything. Instead, she directly handed all the money that Ouyang Shuo had passed her to sister Gaia.

As for Ouyang Shuo himself, after he considered everything, he bet 500 gold. He did not think about obtaining any big prizes; he just wanted to participate.

With his sad luck, his chances of winning the jackpot were really slim.

Mulan Yue was more casual, and she directly placed two thousand gold in. She had obtained this gold from the first huge payout from the Mulan House. As such, her wallet brimmed with money.

Another detail would be the broadcast channel that Gaia opened.

The channel had opened for less than 10 minutes. However, too many people had bet five hundred gold, so the number of players that spoke in it caused their words to just flash across the channel. One could not even see carefully.

Due to this occurrence, Gaia had no choice but to raise the cost to one thousand gold.

This was also the first time Gaia had to change the rules all of a sudden.

The strength of the China region players was really unique.

At 9.50 PM sharp, the system sounded out.

"System Notification: The New Year's Red Packet Snatching event in China has officially closed. A total of 87,503,472 red packets were obtained, and a total of 158,236,550 gold and 72 silver was amassed. All the gold will be randomly distributed to the players who have joined in. The lottery tickets will be given out at the same time!"The moment the notification rang out, the first reaction of the players was to look at their mail boxes.

Ouyang Shuo made a quick calculation using the stats that Gaia provided. Around 90% of the China region players had participated in this event. Additionally, on average, everyone had sent two gold.

Such a huge amount could really give birth to two super jackpot winners.

Just as Ouyang Shuo was feeling some hope, a system notification sounded out by his ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations Player Qiyue Wuyi for obtaining a red packet and a black iron lottery ticket. Thank you for your participation, and Happy Chinese New Year!"

Ouyang Shuo bitterly smiled; he had used up five hundred gold and only obtained a black iron lottery ticket. He had such bad luck. He held no hopes for the money inside the red packet.

He sighed, as he opened it. He only saw a copper coin that quietly laid inside.

The copper coin was like a stick that directly smacked his head.

There was nothing worse than this.

His bad luck could not be this bad, could it?

Gaia! God!

Why do you have to bully me like this? You're just smacking me in the face!

Can't we just be good friends?

Ouyang Shuo really felt like crying. He felt like a hundred thousand alpacas had run across his face.

Ouyang Shuo held the pain in his heart. He was about to place the red packet into his storage bag, as he did not want someone to see it. If someone saw it, he would lose a huge amount of face.

Unfortunately, things did not happen as he wished.

Mulan Yue, that little kid, was sitting right next to him.

She had just opened her red packet and was delighted. Obviously, she had obtained something good. She turned around and saw Ouyang Shuo, just as he was about to place his packet into his storage bag. She asked, "Brother Wuyi, how much did Gaia give you? Mine had a five thousand gold ticket!"

Five thousand gold, five thousand gold, five thousand gold.

Ouyang Shuo really felt like running into a wall. How could the difference between people be so huge?

"Cough!" Ouyang Shuo tried to calm himself down and forced a smile, "Congratulations, Yueyue. I'm not as lucky, only getting a pitiful a hundred gold."

When he told this lie, Ouyang Shuo's facial expression did not show the slightest change.

"Actually, a hundred gold isn't that bad, as long as it's not one copper. Who knows which unlucky fool got one copper!"

"Cough cough!" Ouyang Shuo's face stiffened up, "Yeah, that's true."

"Unlucky fool~ Unlucky fool~"

Yueyue, ah. The unlucky fool you're referring to is sitting right next to you!

Ouyang Shuo could feel a hundred thousand points of pain.

It's the New Year's, so why did it feel so painful?

Why couldn't it be fun?

Ouyang Shuo held much resentment toward this Red Packet Snatching Event.

Mulan Yue did not realize that her current brother Wuyi was badly hurt. She happily waved her lottery ticket and continued stabbing, "And also, brother Wuyi, I got two silver tickets, and one dark gold one. What about you?"Ouyang Shuo had given up all hope. He just waved his ticket, "I only have a useless black iron ticket."Toward Ouyang Shuo's luck, Mulan Yue was stunned. She did not know how to console him, "Brother, it's okay. Maybe your black iron lottery ticket can give you a dark gold item?"

As she said these words, she did not believe in them herself.

"Haha, it's fine. What's important is participation!" At this point, Ouyang Shuo had adjusted his mindset, and he had a greater understanding of his own luck.

At this moment, another flurry of system notifications sounded out.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Tong Yan for receiving a ten thousand gold red packet!""System Notification: Congratulations Player Fengyi for receiving a twenty thousand gold red packet!"Any player who received more than ten thousand gold would receive a system notification in the country channel.

"Wa, they are the lucky ones!"

Mulan Yue also heard the notifications and exclaimed.

Just at this moment, another system notification sounded out through the China region.

"System Notification: Congratulations Player Ouyang Bing for obtaining the special prize, the two hundred thousand gold red packet!"

The moment this notification came out, the China region fell completely silent.

After a short lull, the region sprang into an uproar, as the country channel bustled with excitement.

"Oh my god, who is Ouyang Bing?"

"Super lucky girl! Why wasn't it me?"

"Two hundred thousand gold! The richest player is born!!"

"Getting rich overnight is no longer a legend!"

"Ouyang Bing, let me be your friend!"Those who knew of Ouyang Bing's real identity were also shocked.

Ouyang Shuo's first reaction—another player with the same name.

Once he thought about it, he realized that could not be right. After all, the game would not allow it.

Bing'er's overpowered luck really made others despair!

At this moment, Ouyang Shuo felt both happy and depressed.

They were siblings but their difference in luck was too vast.

That brat received such superstar treatment. It really made one unable to feel calm.

The Yazhou Territory building had actually stunned Ouyang Shuo already. He did not expect to receive such a surprise now.

If there was some luck, Bing'er would have a limitless future.

Apart from Ouyang Shuo, only a few such as little aunt, Sun Xiaoyue, and Song Jia knew of her identity. Even Bai Hua and the rest were not clear. They only knew that Ouyang Shuo's sister was called Bing'er.

Of course, Mulan Yue knew.

She was so shocked that she did not know what to say.

"Little Shuo, you gave Bing'er money to join?"

Such a huge bomb, even little aunt could not help it. So, she directly asked Ouyang Shuo through the alliance channel.

"Yeah."Suddenly, the alliance channel exploded.

Everyone was smart. They guessed that Ouyang Bing was the sister of Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo did not bother about the chaos in the channel. Right now, he needed to find Bing'er. When he thought about her holding two thousand gold, he felt terrified.

After Bing'er took her red packet, she had disappeared.

Just when Ouyang Shuo was about to look for her, she suddenly ran back.

"Brother, look at what Sister Gaia gave me!"

Ouyang Shuo looked closely, only to see two tickets in her hand.

She ran over and passed the two tickets to Ouyang Shuo.

"Brother, here, give it to you!"

Ouyang Shuo accepted it. One ticket was the two hundred thousand gold ticket, and the other was a platinum rank lottery ticket.

When he saw the lottery ticket, Ouyang Shuo already felt a little numb.

Since she received the special prize, obtaining a platinum rank lottery ticket was normal.

Mulan Yue also came over. When she saw the two tickets, she drooled. Compared to Bing'er's luck, Mulan Yue felt that her rewards were so dull.

"Bing'er, do you know you won the special prize?"

Mulan Yue carried Bing'er and pinched her cheeks, "Lucky fellow!"

Bing'er laughed," I know, Sister Gaia told me!"

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Chapter 352- Luck Hiding in an Unfortunate Situation

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

"Sister Gaia?"

Ouyang Shuo finally reacted and realized the weirdness of her words.

"Yeah!"

Bing'er had a face of doubt. She did not know what was unusual.

"Baby, you talked to Gaia, cough, sister Gaia?"

Ouyang Shuo had to carefully choose his words.

Bing'er rolled her eyes. This little brat was not as dumb as before. She pulled Ouyang Shuo to her side and sneakily said, "Sister Gaia often talks to Bing'er. However, she says I shouldn't tell anyone. Bing'er will only tell you!"

Ouyang Shuo understood and rubbed her head, "You did good!"

As the brain of Skynet, Gaia possessed a much higher intelligence than humans. The federation had already listed it as an AI, not a cold-blooded machine.

Ouyang Shuo did not know why Gaia would pick Bing'er.

He only knew that this matter would be better off if he did not know about it.

"Baby, brother will just act like he doesn't know anything. You also don't need to talk to brother about it, okay?" Ouyang Shuo instructed.

"En!"

"And also, this gold ticket. Brother will help you take care of it!"

Ouyang Shuo waved the two hundred thousand gold ticket. He was worrying about the funds for Yazhou. Now that he had this, the problem was totally solved.

There was practically no one else who could have so few responsibilities and have it so easy as a lord like Bing'er.

As the siblings continued to talk, it was already 10 PM. The Lottery event was about to begin.

"Baby! Draw your prize!"

Ouyang Shuo passed the platinum rank lottery ticket to Bing'er.

"Okay!"

Bing'er was very excited about the lottery; she looked forward to it.

A virtual spinner would appear before the players who won lottery tickets. As there were simply too many items, Gaia made a selection and only twelve items would appear in front of them.

The chances of getting a prize was actually one in twelve.

Of course, different people would have different obtainable prizes.

"Brother, Sister Gaia said that Bing'er can choose one out of the twelve!"

Bing'er had not even drawn her prize, yet she secretly revealed this information to Ouyang Shuo."Gaia was simply too good to Bing'er.

The twelve items all had different values. To players, some items were suitable for them, while others were not. Naturally, they wished to obtain a suitable item.

Bing'er, on the other hand, could just choose what she wanted.

"Baby, just choose any item that you like. You don't need to consider anything else."

This was her luck, so Ouyang Shuo naturally would not interfere.

"Yeah!"

Shortly after, Bing'er chose her prize, only to see a book appear in her hand.

Ouyang Shuo took it over for a look and was stunned. It was actually a secret manual.

Name: Wugou Heart Sutra

Rank: ??

Level: 1/18

Stat: For every level gained, bone structure increases by 4, comprehension increases by 2, and all other stats increase by 2

Specialty: Unique, cannot be dropped, cannot be traded

Evaluation: Unsullied. Heart is pure and calm. Needs to be cultivated from a young age. No impure thoughts, not tainted, pure body.

Note: This cultivation technique is a special heart sutra. It needs a pure environment to cultivate.

Ouyang Shuo was amazed, the Unsullied Heart Sutra was basically made for Bing'er.

Although one could not see its rank, but based on its stats, it was even better than Ouyang Shuo's Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique.

Ouyang Shuo estimated that only after he manage to merge the three cultivation techniques into one could he surpass the Unsullied Heart Sutra.

Before this, Ouyang Shuo was actually thinking about what cultivation method to get for Bing'er.

Now that the problem was settled, everything was good.

Ouyang Shuo returned the manual to Bing'er and said, "Baby, this book, use it when you are about to sleep."

Since Gaia had such plans, naturally, it would tell Bing'er how to cultivate this technique. As such, Ouyang Shuo did not need to worry.

When he thought about this, Ouyang Shuo removed the cooling bead that he wore and hung it around her neck.

"Brother what is this? It's so cooling."

Ouyang Shuo smiled, "This is my New Year's gift to you. Do you like it?"

"Yes!"

The little brat smiled so sweetly that her eyes formed a thin line.

Bing'er was happy not because of the cooling bead. Instead, she felt joyous because Ouyang Shuo still remembered to give her a New Year's gift.

This matter was what truly made this little brat so happy.

Ouyang Shuo pinched her nose, as he naturally knew her current thoughts.

A warm feeling built up in both their hearts.

"Oh yeah, baby. When you were drawing, what other prizes were there?" Ouyang Shuo could not control his curiosity. What other items could compare to the Wugou Heart Sutra?

Bing'er scratched her head and said, "Nine Yang Cultivation Method, Sunflower Precious Manual, etc. All such bad names. There was also some city creation token, treasure sword, and treasure bead. Oh, there was also another treasure armor. The rest I can't remember.""Baby, ah. Do you know that every one of those items are enough to drive players crazy? You even despised their names. If other people learned this, they would feel so jealous."

It seems like Bing'er drawing the Unsullied Heart Sutra was not unexpected.

As for the players with huge prizes, Gaia helped announced them to the public.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Car on Qiuming Mountain for drawing a dark gold sword, Fengye Sword!""System Notification: Congratulations player War heart Fengyan, for drawing king rank cultivation method Sancai Sword Manual!Oddly enough, the system did not announce the Unsullied Heart Sutra that Bing'er gained. Ouyang Shuo knew that Gaia was protecting her. If the system announced her prize, it would be too astounding.

At this point, Mulan Yue had finished drawing her prize.

"Brother Wuyi, look at this!"

She held a sword in her hand.

She bragged,"This is a dark gold sword known as the Shuangyue Sword."

"Not like you can use it!" Ouyang Shuo teased her.

Being worse off than Bing'er was okay, but even Yueyue teased and made fun of him.

"Hehe," Mulan Yue did not care and said," I can't use it, but I can give it to Xue Fei!"

Mulan Yue was a girl that cared a lot about friendship and brotherhood. Since Li Feixue had protected her, she was willing to give away such a precious gift so easily.

"Brother Wuyi, you haven't drawn a prize. Quickly, I want to take a look!"

Ouyang Shuo was speechless. This little girl was just mocking him.

He did not mind and really started to draw his prize. As for whatever he got, he did not hold much hope. He did not even bother to check what items were available. He just directly started to draw.

The needle in the lottery started to spin quickly before it finally stopped.

Ouyang Shuo looked and was rendered speechless.

What did you think? The place where the needle stopped was actually another rusty copper coin.

Don't tell me that Gaia is outright going against me!

This is too much!

Ouyang Shuo was simply furious!

Even if he did not expect to obtain anything good, it should not have given him a copper coin. A dirty copper coin!

Ouyang Shuo even had the urge to kill himself. Big Sister Gaia, we are siblings, so why must you treat us so differently?

When the copper coin appeared in his hand, Mulan Yue laughed out loud.

"Haha, Brother Wuyi, what is this? A copper coin? Haha~" As she laughed, she covered her stomach, "Aiyo, haha, I can't, my stomach hurts!"

Ouyang Shuo frowned, "Yueyue, big miss, please maintain your image, please."

"It's really funny!" Mulan Yue tried to keep it together, but she could not help but mock, "Brother Wuyi, what's your luck stat? How are you so unlucky?"

"5."Mulan Yue had a face of sympathy and muttered, "No wonder! Such low luck, if you walked down the hill, a rock on the mountain will probably hit you."

"Cough cough."

This little girl's thinking truly triggered Ouyang Shuo.

"Brother, Bing'er also finds this copper coin ugly. Why not throw it away?"

He did not expect for the little brat to join in the fun.

When Ouyang Shuo heard her say that, he actually wanted to throw it away.

At the last moment, he decided to just take a look at its stats.

Name: Yingyang Copper coin (Yang)

Type: Special Item

Speciality: After use, can revive without any losses

Evaluation: Yingyang Copper coin, one Ying and one Yang.

After he looked at its stats, Ouyang Shuo smirked. This copper coin actually had a special effect, the same effect as the substitute doll.

Ouyang Shuo immediately thought about the similar rusty copper coin in his red packet.

As he took it out, as expected, it was the Ying Copper coin.

The moment the two coins touched, they merged together and the rust instantly disappeared. Now, the copper coin looked mysterious.

On the surface, it had a weird grim reaper, which seemed like it was about to come alive.

There was one phrase, 'Hidden in unfortunate circumstances is some good luck.'

It was true!

This god, Gaia, seemed to have some conscience.

With the Yingyang Copper coin, Ouyang Shuo could give the substitute doll to Bing'er and keep the coin.

When they saw the changed copper coin, Mulan Yue and Bing'er mouths both gaped open.

Especially Bing'er, who had never seen such a magical scene. Her current expression was really cute.

Mulan Yue had seen more than Bing'er, so she instantly guessed that the copper coin was not ordinary. It was definitely special.

"Brother Wuyi, let me see!"

"No!"

"Hen." Suddenly, she said, "Brother Wuyi, the other copper coin was from the red packet, right?""Ha!" When she saw his expression, Mulan Yue acted like she had discovered a new continent. She shouted out loud, "It definitely is! You actually lied and said you won a hundred gold, liar!"

Ouyang Shuo instantly felt awkward and embarrassed. After she exposed him, he naturally could not retort.

"So what if it is? It proves that it isn't a normal copper coin!"Toward Ouyang Shuo's thick skin, she really had nothing to say.

Amongst the laughter, the New Year's Eve night came to an end.

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Chapter 353- Coronation

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 21st day, 1st day of the Lunar New Year.

The bustling New Year's Eve night had come to an end. A new year was about to arrive.

The thin, morning fog drifted up and down under the blow of the north wind, which created a dream-like scene. Shanhai City had slept for a night, and a thin veil of fog covered the city. The fog made the city look like a paradise.

The commerce street looked like a road in heaven under the fog's engulfment.

As the birds chirped, Shanhai City started to awaken.

As the city doors opened, the merchants that spent the night outside started to form up and enter. There were some commoners among the merchants. They had rushed here to spend the New Year.

The middle Commerce street and the one at its side woke up the earliest.

The assistants in the store riled up their spirits. Under the leadership of their employers and bosses, they opened up the doors of their shops. Then, they swept the floor, arranged the items, and got ready to welcome the first batch of customers.

From the first day of the Lunar New Year till the Lantern Festival, Shanhai City would hold a Mazu Temple temple fair for half a month. Numerous believers had once again come from across Quanzhou to join in.

Not only that, numerous civilians from the various Houses in Lianzhou Basin had all rushed over to either visit friends and family or purchase various goods.

The Mazu Temple temple fair was not limited to the worship of Mazu. Instead, it was a huge annual gathering of commoners in the Lianzhou Prefecture. It was a time for them to have fun together.

The middle commerce streets that ran along the inner city river had become the most bustling street in the city.

The peddling noises of the sellers, the greetings from familiar people, the kids playing around, and the women chatting. Together, they formed up the picture of a bustling street.

Shanhai City had slowly become a place similar to a huge city.

Worshipping activities had totally taken up Ouyang Shuo's plans in the morning.

Early in the morning, Zisu had helped him wear the lord dress that the Imperial Court handed to him. Then, he waited for his coronation.

As one said, one's clothing affected one's aura.

After he wore the coronation dress, Ouyang Shuo's entire atmosphere changed. Instantly, he emitted the aura of a lord. The effects of the Dragon Phoenix Jade Pendant and the Qilin Golden Seal, as well as the emperor prestige from the Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique added to his presence.

Ouyang Shuo's prestige had slowly climbed as a result of a change in his aura. This was the aura of an overlord. It was not something that one could neglect.

The prestige of a lord made one terrified.

Everywhere he went, all the people in the Lord's Manor would bow their heads and worship him.

If one said that previously, the fear and respect the people held for Ouyang Shuo was because of Gaia; then now, it came from their own hearts. They truly respected their lord.

In Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo needed to personally attend the sacrificial ceremonies in the Yellow Emperor Temple, the Confucius Temple, the Martial Temple, and the Mazu Temple. The Shanhai House would attend to the other temples like the Chenghuang Temple and the Earth Temple.

As the main location of worship, the Yellow Emperor Temple stood as the core of the sacrificial ceremony. Ouyang Shuo had specially invited the respectable Jiang Shang to lead the proceedings and help offer wine.

All the officials and generals in the territory attended the sacrificial ceremony.

Early in the morning, all of them gathered outside in the square before the Yellow Emperor Temple.

The officials were on the left, while the generals were on the right.

At 8 AM, Ouyang Shuo punctually appeared.

The Guards, who traveled alongside him, shouted, "The lord arrives!"

"Greetings, lord!"

All of a sudden, all of them knelt on the ground.

Ouyang Shuo proceeded forward through the path in the middle.

When he reached the temporary high platform, Ouyang Shuo slowly turned around and faced all of them, "Please rise!"

"Thank you, my lord!"

All of them stood up. When they saw Ouyang Shuo, their eyes narrowed.

Dressed in the coronation wear, he looked awe-inspiring, as he displayed might.

Fan Zhongyan felt emotional, as he stood below. He was here from the start and had witnessed the lord grow. A year had passed. Now, the once rookie teen had become a real Lianzhou Lord.

In his heart, there was only happiness.

All of them naturally wanted to see a more mature and powerful lord.

Even Jiang Shang, who stood at the side, felt emotions fill him when he looked at Ouyang Shuo. The growth of this lord was far faster than he had expected.

Jiang Shang asked himself whether or not he was the one growing older.

Zhao Kuo similarly had a complicated expression. He had accepted the mission from the lord, and he would become the deputy director of Military Affairs, as well as the Secretary of the War Division.

He held an even higher position than the director of the Combat Logistics Department, Zhu Hongliang.

For the future, Zhao Kuo felt confident.

Father, watch me. Your son will become famous and show a change in Shanhai City.

In his heart, Zhao Kuo had such thoughts.

Just at this moment, a system notification sounded out in Ouyang Shuo's ear.

"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi. After going through so much, you have finally developed the aura of a lord. Because of this, loyalty of all residents and talents increased by 10%."

Ouyang Shuo looked at all the officials and generals below him; his heart was very calm.

He wished for this to be a brand new start.

A really grand sacrificial ceremony followed.

It lasted for the entire morning. When it ended, it was already noon.

After a break, in the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo planned to meet two waves of important guests.

The first wave was the tribal chiefs of the various mountain barbarian tribes.

There were a total of twenty four mountain barbarian tribes that lived within the Lianzhou Territory, a total of seventy eight thousand. All of them were scattered around, and they formed up an important component of the Lianzhou Territory commoners.

As the New Year had just passed, the tribal chiefs all bought gifts to see the lord.

They arranged for the meeting to take place at the main hall. The administration director Fan Zhongyan was also present.

They had rushed thousands of miles to arrive at this place. Obviously, they did not just come here to give their gifts.

They also had other problems and requests.

Apart from the first settlement in the east, the other mountain barbarian tribes had missed the second grain planting season when migrating to the Lianzhou Basin.

They all faced the problem of a lack of grain.

Before that, Ouyang Shuo had promised that the territory granary would lend them grain and help them get past these times. When the first harvest arrived, they would return the grain they took.

Hence, since the start of the year, the various tribes had started to reclaim farmland. They set up irrigation systems, as they prepared for the planting after the Lunar New Year.

Alongside Friendship River and Qiushui River, there was an abundance of water and fertile soil. The territory turned most of this turned into farmland. In a short winter, hundreds of thousands of mu of farmland were reclaimed in the prefecture.

The population had started to boom. Solely from the Battle of Lianzhou, a total of 56 thousand people were added. Needless to say, after they took down the grasslands, there was an even bigger batch of people they needed to feed.

After all, didn't the grassland alliance army also attack because of a lack of grain?

The territory would have to bear this burden after taking down the grassland alliance.

The territory was similarly lacking in grain. Every month, the Financial Department had to purchase large amounts of grains through the various Chamber of Commerces.

In the end, they had allowed them to open rice shops and sell to the commoners.

Some Chamber of Commerce had directly brought large carts of rice. They entered the grasslands to do business.

The merchants used rice to exchange for furs and animals from the herders.

With this, the Business Division had no choice but to set down some laws to end such activity.

If he did not restrict the Chamber of Commerces, with their profit-driven nature, who knows what they would do.

Because of the lack of grain, Ouyang Shuo had also specifically asked to see the Agriculture Division Secretary, Sun Yannong.

He ordered the Agriculture Division to ensure that the territory could become self sufficient in the latter half of the second year. At that time, they must not need to purchase grain from the market.

To achieve this, the Financial Department had even prepared ten thousand gold as subsidy to purchase farming tools, nurture sowing cows, build irrigation facilities, and the like.

Ouyang Shuo did not even keep a single gold from the income of the first month of the year.

The tribal leaders that had rushed over all hoped that the Agriculture Division could help them out at their self-governed area.

After all, they were farming for the first time and were not familiar and good at the task.

Toward the cries for help from the tribal chiefs, Ouyang Shuo responded positively. He promised that they would provide all the seeds, tools, and sowing cows to the self-governed area.

They were all delighted to secure the promise of the lord.

"Thank you, my lord!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded. However, his facial expression did not change. Instead, he used this chance to make a small request.

"Tribal chiefs! I have a suggestion. Why don't you guys go back and think about it?"

"Please tell us!"

Since they had received the lord's help, all of them naturally gave him a friendly reply.

"To tell the truth, if you guys want to really integrate into the Lianzhou System, you have to put in more work. The tribe system has its positives and reasons, so I won't criticize it. However, it is growing more and more unsuitable for Lianzhou." The moment Ouyang Shuo spoke, it was like the sky broke.

All of them felt a tremble in their hearts, was the lord trying to make an example out of all of them?

When they faced the lord who sat above them with such prestige and intent, all of them had trouble breathing.

Ouyang Shuo smiled, as he had seen through their thoughts. He said, "You guys don't need to worry. Letting you all govern yourselves was my original promise and that won't change."

"Phew~"

All of the tribal chiefs let out huge sigh of relief.

As long as he allowed the mountain barbarians to self-rule and did not break through that bottom line, there was still room for discussion.

Ouyang Shuo naturally would not act so rashly, and he said, "I mean to separate the tribal leader, and the tribal chief."

Apart from the Gushan County, the tribal leader held the position of tribal chief in the other settlement points.

Fan Zhongyan had grumbled about it, as their system made it easy for them to group up.

Be it the tax officials or the household management officials, they would all face problems when they tried to find out the exact details of the settlements.

They either hid their population or hid their land size.

The problem was that the mountain barbarian tribes had too deep of a tribal view. They would place the interests of the tribe over the territory. When both did not match, problems would obviously arise.

Fan Zhongyan had suggested they throw out some administrative changes.

Ouyang Shuo had shelved these suggestions at the time. Ouyang Shuo clearly knew what troubles and problems he would face.

Undoubtedly, he needed to find a good timing.

Now was the best time. The tribes all had something to ask of the territory. Moreover, Ouyang Shuo's prestige and power had grown, making the tribal leaders fear him.

Furthermore, Ouyang Shuo had accepted one of their demands, giving the tribal leaders a way to back down. After all, the Lord's Manor did not force an agreement.

At least, the lord was still asking for their opinion.

Furthermore, this was not a small suggestion.

As expected, after they listened to his suggestion, the various tribal leaders all fell totally quiet. They were all the elites of their tribes, so they naturally knew the implicit meaning.

After a long while, one of the tribal leaders acted as the representative and stood up, "For the lord's suggestion, we need to return and ask our shaman. I believe we will be able to give you a good answer."

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Then I don't have anything to worry about!"

Fan Zhongyan sat at the side. When he saw the lord play such tricks, his expression was complicated. The current lord, be it prestige or ability, had grown tremendously.

And this was much needed for one to become a great leader.

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Chapter 354- Incentives and Penalties

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

After he sent away the various tribal leaders of the mountain barbarian tribes, Ouyang Shuo was ready to see his second batch of guests.

This batch had a more special identity.

They were the leaders of the various grassland tribes. Apart from Kehan Mengke, who could not personally come due to health reasons, the other seven medium-sized tribe leaders all arrived.

During New Year's Eve, the second division had 'invited' the various leaders over.

When Ouyang Shuo returned to Shanhai City, he was busy, so he did not have the time to see all of them.

"Greetings, my lord!"

As he walked into the main hall, all of them greeted him in unison.

This was a historical moment.

The various tribe leaders knelt down, an action that represented the grassland tribes' successful pledge of allegiance to Shanhai City.

Ouyang Shuo sat on the leader seat and emotionlessly said, "Please take your seats."

"Yes, my lord!"

All of them went back to their seats; most of them had exceptionally anxious expressions.

Among them, representing the Tianqi Tribe, was Mengke's oldest son, Jida. He was close to thirty years in age. Compared to the other leaders, he looked really arrogant and sat right at the front. He wore a huge gold necklace, and he had equipped himself with a gold sword.

When Ouyang Shuo saw such a scene, he could not help but frown.

The other leaders all saw what was going on, and they gloated in their hearts.

Jida was really arrogant. He did not know his place. At this point, he was still acting like he was the leader of the best tribe in the grasslands.

Compared to the warmth and friendliness he projected when he welcomed the mountain barbarians, the current Ouyang Shuo looked really cold, "Before all of you surrendered, on the grasslands, a leader named Dari Ahci also surrendered."

The moment his words sounded out, they felt a shiver run down their spines.

During the Battle of Lianzhou, Dari Ahci had tried to help the alliance army. As a result, he was sent to jail; this news had long since spread through the grasslands.

When they heard the Lianzhou Lord suddenly bring this out, the meaning could not be more obvious.

As expected, Ouyang Shuo had a face full of rage and said, "We have never treated him badly. I didn't expect him to act so ambitious and try to betray us. Toward such a person, I won't give him any other chances. The Procuratorate Division has already decided to execute him tomorrow on the streets."

The various tribe leaders were all ashen white with fear, as they trembled, "Wise decision, lord!"

This feeling was really a mixed one.

"I won't hide anything from all of you. Some of my officials told me in the past that Dari Ahci was the role model of the grasslands. To the grassland tribes, I should show no mercy and rip out their roots to make them loyal."

Ouyang Shuo was emotionless, but the words that dripped from his mouth were cruel and bloody.

"What do you all think?"

Ouyang Shuo's words did not only intend to scare them.

The official that he mentioned was the internal affairs director, Tian Wenjing.

The Internal Affairs Department had handled the whole case of Dari Ahci. After Tian Wenjing reported the situation to Ouyang Shuo, he suggested that they wipe out the leaders and roots of the grassland tribes.

At that time, Ouyang Shuo did not think much about it and shelved the proposal.

Compared to killing them, Ouyang Shuo was more inclined toward more peaceful methods to prevent the build up of resentment. He did not want to kill all the noble families of the tribes.

After all, Dari Ahci was just one example.

The current grassland tribes could not go against him even if they tried.

Most crucially, since Ouyang Shuo wanted the grassland tribes to support him, he had to treat these noble families well.

If not, many many side effects would build up.

Ouyang Shuo did not want to see the grassland tribes creating unrest under his rule. His goal was to rule the entire Lianzhou Basin and make it like an iron fortress.

Putting it another way, if he really slaughtered the noble grassland families, not only would it affect the grassland tribe, it would also affect the mountain barbarians.

The various tribe leaders looked at one another, as their faces grew whiter and whiter.

As they watched the situation grow more and more against them, the leaders could not sit still. They all stood out and pledged their allegiance.

"Lord! Lord!" One of them directly laid face down on the floor and cried out. They did not have the dignity and pride of a leader, "Lord, Dari Ahci can't represent us all. We are all sincere, and we don't have any other intentions!"

"Please, my lord!"

Out of all of them, only Jida did not plead. He despised them and even scoffed at the attitude of the other leaders.

His actions instantly made him stand out. Even if he did not want to attract attention, he already had.

"Prince Jida seems to have another opinion?"

Ouyang Shuo looked calm, but his words contained anger and provocation.

When Jida heard this, he replied, "Ever since the world started, the loser dies. As such, Dari Ahci deserves it. It won't happen to me, as the Tianqi tribe doesn't have such losers."

Ouyang Shuo's eyes brightened. Jida's words contained a hint of hardness in his soft reply.

He showed his stance. At the same time, he also maintained his arrogance and dignity.

A short sentence actually had so much depth.

As a result, Ouyang Shuo had a totally new evaluation and opinion of this person.

It seems like Mengke had brought up a good son.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Good, well said."

He looked around, his voice was slow but powerful, "As a lord, I have a responsibility to my territory, but I'm magnanimous. I know when to give mercy. However, if one of you tries to disrupt law and order, I wouldn't mind letting blood flow!"

His strength and prestige filled up the entire hall.

He emitted an unblockable killing intent and pride.

All of the leaders knelt down, even Jida did the same.

All of them kept silent. No one dared to make a sound; the hall instantly fell quiet.

When he faced their terrified faces, Ouyang Shuo was delighted. All of the men in front of him were top-level people. They represented the peak of the grassland tribes.

Now, they were all under his feet and did not dare to speak up.

This was the charm of power.

No wonder from the past till now, numerous heroes had charged into battle because of this.

That afternoon, Ouyang Shuo made a promise.

He allowed the leaders and the noble families to take their assets and move into Shanhai City.

Shanhai City would set aside a region in the outer city and build a street for them to live in.

On normal days, the noble families could not walk out of their houses. They could not make contact with the other tribesmen.

The moment they were found committing such an act, they would be heavily punished.

Apart from that, their punishment would drag down their tribe.

The light punishment was the confiscation of assets, while the harsh punishment would involve the forced performance of hard labor.

If one tried to stir unrest, his whole tribe would be slaughtered.

2nd month 22th day, second day of the New Year.

On this day, Ouyang Shuo threw down all of his matters on hand and met the various prefects and city magistrates in his reading room.

The four prefects and one city magistrate took turns to be dispatched by him.

Ouyang Shuo met them one by one and discussed their objectives. The main person he wanted to meet was naturally Broken Blade House prefect, Zhou Haichen.

Although Ba Dao had a weak army, he had left behind a very strong base.

Based on his report, Broken Blade County had a total of 210 thousand people, similar to two max population grade 3 counties.

Broken Blade House became the most highly populated area in the territory after Shanhai House.

Even Mulan House had much less.

Such a huge population would take an unknown amount of time for Shanhai City to build up. Broken Blade House was the most successful example after Ouyang Shuo used the poison insect project.

Apart from that, the greatest wealth of the House was the gold mine.

Similar to the Langshan Mine Fields, it was called the Beishan Mine Fields. The gold mine was really huge, and Ba Dao had only opened a small part of it.

Ouyang Shuo immediately promised to place the mine into the control of the Broken Blade House. He hoped that they could use it to improve their financial situation.

When Ba Dao was in charge, he used 90% and above of the finance for military. Public and residential spending was nearly zero.

Broken Blade House desperately needed to recover itself.

Of course, the Beishan Mines was under Broken Blade House. The Lord's Manor would not care about it. They only needed to hand over a set ratio of the income.

Ouyang Shuo also ordered Langshan Mine Fields to send experts over to teach the Beishan Mine Fields, which would raise the skill levels and efficiency.

In the end, Ouyang Shuo raised three requirements with Zhou Haichen.

Firstly, Broken Blade House needed to build the Xila Lake Sailor unit to clear out the water bandits around the lake. Be it obtaining water products or producing pearls, they needed to start early.

Secondly, the various counties under the House, especially the tier two subsidiary territories, needed to be removed. Their populations would all move to the main city.

Thirdly, the plan for the outer wall must proceed quickly. Before the spring planting season, they had to finish building it. If they failed, they would have to postpone it till after the spring planting season before continuing.

Apart from that, Ouyang Shuo had sent instructions to the Military Affairs Department to take charge of building the Broken Blade City city protection regiment.

Compared to Gushan County, Broken Blade City was even closer to a hundred thousand mountain.

The future city would act as the frontline of the defense against Chiyou.

After Ouyang Shuo described their roles, the prefects set forth for their governed areas the next day.

Spring was the most important part of the year. As prefects, they simply did not have enough time to laze around. Even Cui Shousi only had a simple meeting with Cui Yingyu before leaving.

Before Zhou Haichen left, Ouyang Shuo handed him a token. It was the village creation token Ouyang Shuo had used the merger token on. This token would revive Broken Blade City.

After he gave out this token, Ouyang Shuo now had three such tokens remaining in his storage bag.

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Chapter 355- Shenjuan Moving Forward

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Gaia 2nd year 2nd month 23 day, 3rd day of the Lunar New Year.

On the third day of the New Year, Ouyang Shuo had a totally packed schedule.

In the morning, Ouyang Shuo had arranged to meet the three directors, as well as the Yongye County County Magistrate, Shen Zhui.

After the grassland tribes submitted, Shanhai needed to build a city in the grasslands to strengthen their rule over the area. Fortunately, Friendship County had three tier 2 subsidiary territories that had not been used.

Ouyang Shuo planned to build Shenjuan City beside the Shenjuan Lake. Additionally, he would also build two cities on the east and the west.

With three cities as the base, they would build Shenjuan House.

In the future, Shenjuan House would become the largest House in the entire Lianzhou Prefecture.

Ouyang Shuo's choice for prefect was naturally Shen Zhui.

Ouyang Shuo always held high hopes for Shen Zhui. Since he had trained in the Material Reserves Department and had taken the role of County Magistrate, he had enough in terms of both skill and experience to become the prefect of Shenjuan House.

In contrast to the other Houses, Shenjuan House would practically start from scratch.

Early in the morning, Ouyang Shuo and the three directors started to make a four point planning of Shenjuan House.

Firstly, all of the grassland tribes would move into the three cities.

On the grassland, including the Tianfeng Tribe, there were a total of one large-scale tribe and eight medium-sized tribes. Their total population was about 130 thousand men. After the Battle of Lianzhou, excluding the dead soldiers and the cavalry that were reorganized, they had less than a hundred thousand people remaining.

The Shenjuan House had a vast amount of land but a small population. Husbandry was their livelihood. They gathered the herders into the city with the intentions of ending their current scattered state. They wanted to change to building large-scale farms and ranches.

Secondly, the building of city walls.

The future Shenjuan House would be a place where the various grassland tribes and other people coexisted. The prerequisite of building a city would be the construction of a solid city wall.

Only with that could they attract agriculture experts to merge into the nomad culture.

There were no wooden resources on the grasslands and no stone resources either. Hence, it was a huge test to build a city wall here. Luckily, the grasslands had plenty of red dirt that could be used to make large bricks.

Shenjuan House's city wall would mainly be formed from dirt, while the outer layer would be composed of green brick.

The inner city buildings would mainly consist of brick. It would include the various specialties of the grassland tribes. One could consider making a special region in the inner city to allow the nomads to build yurts.

The crossing of two different cultures would be a future specialty of Shenjuan House.

Similarly, this would also be a huge test for Shen Zhui.

Ouyang Shuo even suggested to choose talents to take up roles in the House and County.

Even the noble grassland families who lived in Shanhai City, if they possessed great ability, they could also be placed at high positions.

The workings of the Shenjuan House would still be closely linked to the various tribes.

This job needed Shen Zhui to work together with the Administration Department and the Internal Affairs Department to complete.

Of course, the people they chose had to move to Xinan University to undergo three months or even half a year of training. After graduating, they would receive appointment and roles.

Thirdly, the development of the industries in the grassland.

Husbandry was the core of the grassland, but it was not enough to support the economy of Shenjuan House. As the Battle of Lianzhou had ended, various Chamber of Commerces had started to turn their eyes to the vast grasslands.

The merchants purchased the fur and animals that the herders had spent so much on at low prices.

Ouyang Shuo naturally would not allow this to continue.

Adding work and different industries was the only way for the grasslands to prosper.

Be it leather, goat fur, milk, goat milk, they all needed processing. Goat fur could be made into carpets, leather could be made into coats or boots.

Even milk could be made into cheese and other dairy products.

Fourthly, the protection of the natural environment. They also needed to ensure that Qingfu Horses could still grow and prosper.

The future Shenjuan House's greatest contribution to the territory would be the Qingfu Horses. Ouyang Shuo would utilize the nurturing and development of the Qingfu Horses on a strategic level.

Shen Zhui needed to gather up all the Qingfu Horses and build a large-scale horse breeding farm.

The Shenjuan Lake breeding farm would be farm bigger than the Jifeng Valley Horse stables.

To ensure the number of Qingfu Horses, they needed to protect their growing environment. The development and building of the Shenjuan House was done without hurting the environment.

After setting the development direction of Shenjuan House, Ouyang Shou would not interfere with the remaining members, resources, and financial distribution. Shen Zhui had to coordinate with the departments himself.

Before he left, Ouyang Shuo gave him the three black-iron village creation tokens.

A merger token had not been used on the three tokens. It was directly obtained from the Friendship City Stone Steele.

At this point, the nine tier 2 subsidiary territory city building tokens were all accounted for.

The Beihai City ones were used on Tianfeng City, Yishui County, and Broken Blade City. The ones from Friendship City were used on Shenjuan House, while the ones from Qiushui City were still lying in Ouyang Shuo's bag.

After settling all these matters, it was already noon.

Ouyang Shuo left the reading room and went to the back hall to eat his lunch.

"Brother, you're back!"

Bing'er was waiting to start the meal. After cultivating the Unsullied Heart Sutra, there were no observable differences, other than her appetite increasing.

Ouyang Shuo knew nothing about the heart sutra.

He could only observe the changes quietly.

Based on Zisu's words, apart from three meals a day, Bing'er also often ate cakes. Sometimes, before meal time, she would grumble that she was hungry.

However, she also wanted to wait till Ouyang Shuo returned before eating together.

Ouyang Shuo was helpless; he could only end work on time.

After the meal, Ouyang Shuo went back to his room for a little nap.

In the afternoon, he still had an important meeting that needed him to be well-rested for.

2 PM, main hall.

Three departments, twelve divisions, a total of fifteen main officials had all gathered.

Ouyang Shuo sat at the lord's seat and helped hold the first administrative meeting after the Lunar New Year.

It was unknown when meeting was changed to administrative meeting.

The difference of one word changed the entire meaning.

Administrative denoted the fact that civil servants were now proper. They had status and power, becoming totally separate from military affairs.

At the same time, it also announced that the power and prestige of the lord was growing.

It represented that Ouyang Shuo had split his position as the lord and the civil servant group into two different levels.

As compared to the meetings from before, these administrative meetings were totally different.

Firstly, the number of things that the divisions and departments needed to work together on had increased. As the territory grew bigger, some things were beyond what a single department or division could handle.

For example, the building of the Lianzhou Prefecture road network. It involved the Building Division, the Auditing Division, and the Four Seas Bank.

The Building Division was in charge of planning, the Auditing Division calculated costs, and the Four Seas Bank obtained the funds and paid for the operation.

Apart from that, many other divisions were dragged in. For example, the building of relays along the roads would draw in the Law and Order Division and the Culture and Education Division.

Needless to say, there would be numerous settlements along the way. Which the road intersected and which settlements it didn't wasn't something done simple by calculations.

The matters involved were highly complicated, and it was not something that one could imagine during the town or county stages.

While it was a test for the various officials, it was also a huge test to the three directors.

As the matters were highly complicated, there was a huge amount of concern regarding the interests involved.

During the administrative meeting, Ouyang Shuo would take the role of listener most of the time. He would not express his views.

This stance was also the second change.

Ouyang Shuo had slowly changed his role.

From a participant to a pure strategist.

Unless it was a huge strategic decision, under normal circumstances, Ouyang Shuo would let the directors and the secretaries decide. He would not interfere in their work.

With that, the power of the three directors climbed quickly.

Their positions also faced a huge change.

Before the meeting, Ouyang Shuo normally made all decisions. The directors just performed their roles and followed his decisions.

Ouyang Shuo totally overshadowed their shine and glow.

Now, they finally had the ability to make decisions and show their skills.

To Fan Zhongyan and Tian Wenjing, the chances to show their skills had finally occurred.

In the future, as both of them each led a department, what kind of great achievements could they bring about?

Only time would tell.

To the various secretaries, life was about to become a little tougher.

Power and trust could never coexist.

While Ouyang Shuo gave them more power, they also had larger responsibilities. If they failed and cost the territory profits, they naturally would have to answer for it.

Those mistakes that were not so serious would result in a lower grade in the year end evaluation. Serious situations might even lead to their removal from their position.

Out of the twelve secretaries, three to four were not very stable. They all had a common point—they grew up in the wilds and had limited capabilities. Naturally, they faced problems and challenges.

The current Household Registration secretary, Chang Duquan, tax secretary Qian Lifei, and Business Division secretary Du Xiaolan had the most shaky positions.

As long as the time was right, Ouyang Shuo would shift them under some Houses.

As for the Meritorious Services secretary Qin Shijian, Agriculture secretary Sun Nongyan, and Construction secretary Hao Jiancheng, these three were still under evaluation.

As for the other six, be it ability or experience, they were the standouts. Temporarily, they were fine.

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Chapter 356- General Picture

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

2nd month 24th day, 4th day of the New Year, sunny.

It was another tiring day for Ouyang Shuo.

Yesterday, he had held the administrative meeting. Additionally, he would the military meeting today in the morning.

The location was similarly the main hall.

Compared to the civil servants, the generals looked more like a star-studded group.

Du Ruhui led the Military Affairs Department. The department also had Zhao Kuo, Zhu Hongliang, and Song San. Baiqi and the other four major generals led the army. Apart from them, there was Sun Bin, Fan Lihua, Daiqin, and Lin Yi. There was also guards regiment colonel Wang Feng, who had teleported over from Yashan City.

Out of all of the stars, only one person felt uneasy and out of place.

He was the secretary of Military Intelligence, Song San.

If one said that Zhu Hongliang had a bit of skill and thus the confidence to sit behind Du Ruhui, then Song San felt a sense of low esteem when he faced the generals of legends.

Furthermore, the Military Intelligence Division was one of the most important divisions in the department.

All of a sudden, Song San felt like he was sitting on needles.

If it was possible, Song San even wanted to resign from his position and return to the army. Based on his experience, he could easily become a colonel, and the position would be far more relaxed.

Even Lin Yi and Wang Feng, these two high potential generals, were really serious. They did not dare to take this meeting lightly.

In this year, Lin Yi had participated in numerous battles. Now, he was at the brink of breaking through to advanced general. He would become the first to upgrade to advanced general amongst the home grown soldiers.

As for Wang Feng and Zhao Sihu, they were still a distance away from becoming advanced generals.

As for the other generals, it was even harder.

Some generals could not even see the hope of breaking through.

The difficulty of upgrading to an advanced general was evident from this fact.

In Ouyang Shuo's last life, some territories had to compromise because of a lack of advanced generals. The divisions that they built could not find a proper major general. Either the lord himself took up the role, or handed someone the role of deputy major general. In these cases, the deputy would perform the duties of the actual major.

It was similar to the situation with the city protection division deputy major general Zhao Sihu.

As a city protection force general, Zhao Sihu did not have the rights to participate in this military meeting.

Out of all the generals, Zhao Kuo, Sun Bin, Fan Lihua, and Daiqin were here for the first time.

Hence, before the meeting started, Ouyang Shuo decided to arrive half an hour late.

He intended to leave some time for them to get to know one another.

Out of the four of them, Zhao Kuo could be considered somewhat familiar. During the Battle of Changping, many of the generals in the Shanhai Army had crossed swords with Zhao Kuo's forces.

During that time, he was an ambitious young commander.

Now, he had willing decided to work in the Military Affairs Department.

Among the generals, Baiqi was the one most familiar with Zhao Kuo.

Although they were familiar with one another, they could not be considered friends. When they met, it often felt awkward.

Of course, this was only because of Zhao Kuo's overthinking.

To Baiqi, be it the battle map or the main world, he considered Zhao Kuo a small general. Although he had huge potential, he was far from being Baiqi's opponent.

As for the lord placing Zhao Kuo at the helm of the War Division, Baiqi thought that this move was a master stroke.

With Zhao Kuo's ability, the War Division was most suitable for him.

As for the rivalry between him and the Military Affairs Department, Baiqi could keep calm and notice that. As long as the lord trusted him and his methods, then there was no need to object to any of the plans and arrangements.

Only a lack of their lord's trust could make a general afraid

Restricting him, on the other hand, proves that the lord trusted him a lot.

Out of the four of them, although Sun Bin was a stranger, he could be considered a famous person.

Apart from Er'Lai, many of the generals were around during Sun Bin's period.

Most importantly, as a general, who wouldn't have read Sun Bin's art of war?

Sui Bin created the chariot circle formation that Zhao Kuo used during the Battle of Changping.

Be it Baiqi or Shi Wanshui, they all worshipped Sun Bin.

Hence, the moment this teen who sat on a wheelchair entered Shanhai City, although he had not done anything, he had established prestige and power amongst the generals.

As for prestige in the military, it could only be built up during real battles.

Since he possessed such fame, Sun Bin had the highest number of generals looking for him for a chat in the main hall.

As for Sun Bin himself, he also felt shocked when he saw all these famous generals.

At this point, he realized what his grandfather was talking about.

And his blood started to boil at the same time.

Thinking about it, with so many famous generals, his dream had a chance of coming true.

His grandfather was right. Shanhai City was the best place for him to take up a role.

Although it was his first time joining the military meeting, he knew some matters concerning the Shanhai City army.

After their first meeting, Ouyang Shuo had met with Sun Bin for a deep conversation.

No one else knew about the specific details of their conversation.

Most crucially, it had something to do with the military meeting today.

When they were talking, Sun Bin had still lacked confidence. But today, after he learned of all the generals in the main hall, Sun Bin's heart had grown calmer and calmer.

Soon, he would lead a huge army.

Of the four, only the female general Fan Lihua appeared a little awkward.

A few days was enough to let Fan Lihua realize the relationship between her princess and the Lianzhou Lord. Hence, Fan Lihua was very self-aware and integrated herself into the Shanhai City system.

Of course, in her heart, she felt a little closer to Ouyang Bing, her little princess.

Bing'er was a natural diplomat.

As long as one came into contact with her, there would not dislike her.

During these few days, Bing'er did not just play around. Her main mission was to bring her sister around Shanhai City.

It made Fan Lihua realize the prosperity of the city.

Of course, as a commander, Fan Lihua had seen the world. Although Shanhai City was prosperous, it was far from Chang An city.

Fan Lihua was not nervous. However, she did not know anyone, which made her seem a little cold.

Only one other general talked to her.

She was also one of the four heroines in Chinese history - Mu Guiying.

Based on the legends, they were both disciples of the same master.

When she saw Fan Lihua keeping quiet and not talking, as an old general in the territory, Mu Guiying took the initiative to look for her.

It was only then that the two golden flowers of the Shanhai City army officially met.

Between the two of them, there were many similarities.

They were both daughter-in-laws of famous generals. Both of their husbands were captured in battle, which made them widows. However, they both managed to win a huge battle and received the reward of the imperial court, making them famous generals.

Similar situations would naturally make them feel close to one another.

The two of them, although meeting for the first time, felt like they were sisters.

Fan Lihua was just feeling awkward. In comparison, the last person out of the four, Daiqin was more similar to Song San. Daiqin felt really uneasy.

At this point, after sitting in the main hall, Daiqin finally had a new understanding of the Shanhai City army. To think that he was actually confident when he attacked. Now, he felt embarrassed.

It was obvious that the Shanhai City army did not even treat the grassland alliance army as an actual opponent. They only defended against the Yanhuang Alliance.

Daiqin had stayed in Shanhai City for a period of time.

As for the arrangements the lord had for the grasslands, he had heard about them. To say the truth, for the grassland alliance to end up in such a state, he held the responsibility as the commander of the army.

However, deep down in his heart, he did not feel that submitting to Shanhai City was a bad thing.

It was only bad if you were a member of the noble families.

If you were a normal farmer or herder, you could count yourself lucky.

When he saw the prosperity of Shanhai City and how advanced it was, Daiqin realize the backward living standards of the grasslands.

Even though he thought in such a way, it did not mean the grassland people would trust him.

To them, they would only believe in what they could see.

In truth, they had trusted Daiqin and sent their sons and husbands to the military. What returned were ice cold corpses.

Daiqin also heard that on the grasslands, many unfavoring rumors had spread about him.

Some said that he was a total novice and he cost the grasslands.

Some said that he was greedy for glory and had submitted to the enemy. As such, he was not fit to be honored by the grassland people.

Ever since he surrendered, Daiqin had not seen Mengke even once.

That was probably for the best.

Daiqin did not even want to imagine what it would be like if he met Mengke Kehan.

Although he did not feel any guilt in his heart, he could not hide the sadness.

All in all, the grasslands had already become a knot in his heart that could not be untied.

Daiqin only wanted to lead an army to fight wars outside and leave this sad place.

In truth, Ouyang Shuo was full of praises for Daiqin.

Since returning to Shanhai City, when he chatted with Baiqi or Du Ruhui, all of them gave high praises to Daiqin. All of them said that he was an amazing general.

None of the homegrown generals could compare to him.

Even the Tianqi tribe general Lakeshen was nothing compared to him.

As he possessed a deep hatred for Ouyang Shuo, after the alliance army surrendered, Lakeshen did not join the army. Instead, he decided to return to the grasslands.

To Lakeshen, it was better if he became a normal herder for the rest of his life.

Everyone had their own ambitions. Ouyang Shuo did not try to keep Lakshen. Nor did he do anything to him. Afterall, Ouyang Shuo had caused the events that happened to Lakeshen.

Amongst the uproar, Ouyang Shuo finally arrived!

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Chapter 357- Glory is my life

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Ouyang Shuo's arrival into the main hall represented the start of the military meeting.

The main topic of the military meeting was very clear to—discuss the arrangements of the three divisions.

Appointing the three major generals was one topic.

Most importantly, the territory would now add three more divisions to the current four. Now, they had the ability to build a higher level military legion.

Based on the organization, four divisions would form one legion. A legion differed from a division because it did not have a subordinate unit. Only the general themselves would get a guards unit.

If one said that a division was the main pillar of an army, then the legion represented a real military force. Apart from an army corp, this represented the highest unit in an army.

Based on normal circumstances, a military would only form up an army corp from several legions during wars.

Hence, a legion would normally be the highest unit in common day military operations.

Normally, one legion would be enough to control and dictate a war.

To build such a huge and important piece, they naturally needed to be very careful.

One could even say that the establishment of a legion was a historical moment for the military.

As for how to build the legion, Ouyang Shuo already had his plans.

Before the meeting started, Ouyang Shuo had decided to keep it a secret and not directly announce it.

Amongst the military, there was a special unit that would always remain the highest level. The units position could never be shaken—they were the guards of the lord.

The guards were the tools to protect a country.

In his last life, some lords described this unit as such, 'The guards are the sharp sword in the lord's hand, spreading their name and honor.'

"Honor is my life." This phrase drove the guards on.

The current guards regiment was close to being like them.

If one did not include the city protection forces, the territory had close to a hundred thousand troops. For such a huge army to only have a small and sad guards regiment, it was not right.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo needed to reshape the guards structure.

The first item on his agenda was the guards regiment.

Ouyang Shuo ordered the renaming of the guards regiment to palace guards. Now, they would be based on the structure of three thousand palace guards. Their leader would be appointed as the palace general. They would hold a position on the same level as a major general.

Wang Feng was the first palace general appointed.

No one in the military had any objections to this appointment.

Since the building of the guards, from the guards unit to the regiment, Wang Feng had played the role of Ouyang Shuo's bodyguard.

The palace general role naturally belonged to him.

The place guards were Ouyang Shuo's personal guards.

During peacetime, they took charge of guarding the Lord's Manor.

During war time, they were his personal army. Wherever Ouyang Shuo went, they would follow.

The structure of the place guards was not just a simple change of name.

Ouyang Shuo had set down several requirements—all the members must be trained like special forces, and they must pass several tests.

The palace guards would be the special forces of the army.

If the current guards regiment soldiers were eliminated in the tests, they could not enter the palace guards. Apart from special forces training, Ouyang Shuo had two strict requirements.

Firstly, the set of a minimum rank—rank 10 war elite soldier.

Secondly, their potential could not be lower than B.

With such high standards, it set up the prestige and honor of the palace guards.

Toward the formation of the palace guards, Ouyang Shuo also set really strict restrictions.

In the near future, the palace guards would have three thousand people. Others could only join it if current members were injured and needed replacement.

Ouyang Shuo's goal was to not only let the palace guards possess the same status as a division. He even wanted their strength to be around the same level.

The requirement would be for every palace guard to be able of handle four men on their own.

A day ago, the second batch of migrants had reached Yazhou.

The members of the guards regiment would return with the Beihai Naval Fleet to Shanhai City for their trial.

Their main mission would be to complete their special forces training.

So where would the eliminated members go?

This would be the second level guards in Ouyang Shuo's structure.

Ouyang Shuo ordered them to build a guards division.

The guards division would be under Ouyang Shuo's direct command. Usually, they would be in charge of defending the imperial city—Shanhai City. They would form the last line of defense.

During war, they were the main force.

All the replacements of the palace guards would be chosen from the guards division. The members of the guards division would be chosen in the same manner as the previous guards regiment. The members will be selected from the various divisions.

The selection standards would be the exact same as the ones for the guards regiment.

If one said that the palace guards were Ouyang Shuo's bodyguards, then the guards division was his personal army.

The two of them added together would form his strong and resolute guards force.

In truth, the planned structure of the guards system had two more levels.

Only the current territory did not meet the requirements to set up the two levels. He could only wait till the time was right

For the major general, Ouyang Shuo unexpectedly chose Lin Yi.

Undoubtedly, among all the divisions, the guards division was the most eye-catching one.

Some people could not understand why Ouyang Shuo appointed someone who was not even an advanced general.

The moment his words landed, the main hall sparked into a heated discussion.

The generals didn't have any objections towards the formation of the guards force. However, they did not understand the choice of the major general.

After all, everyone would want this position.

Even special generals like Shi Wanshui and Er'Lai were interested, especially Er'Lai.

However, in the eyes of Baiqi and Du Ruhui, this seemed pretty normal.

Since it was the guards force, then be it the place guards or the major general of the guards division, they would only be in charge of the daily management of the force.

During war time, the lord would directly lead it.

Hence, although these two positions looked great, they lacked chances to show off. Arranging a young general to it was totally expected.

Not only would it strengthen the lord's control over the guards force, it also acted as a chance to train a young general.

This was killing two birds with one stone, so why not?

In truth, Ouyang Shuo wanted to choose Luo Shixin.

Not only was he fearless in war, he also had high morals, making him the perfect choice.

Regretfully, they had already passed the division trial. Hence, Luo Shixin couldn't leave the division or else everything would go to waste.

Balancing everything, Ouyang Shuo decided to choose Lin Yi.

After he received such an appointment, he felt delighted but also anxious.

The eyes of the surrounding generals made Lin Yi feel really uneasy.

Even so, Lin Yi still wanted to thank the lord for his trust. As for the doubts of his comrades, the only way to prove himself was through battle.

The military was a place where one spoke with strength.

After forming the guards division, in truth, only two divisions were left.

As for these two divisions, Ouyang Shuo already had plans.

Ouyang Shuo announced that the first, second, third, and fourth divisions would form the dragon legion.

The dragon legion would represent the first legion of Shanhai City.

Future legions would be based on leopard, tiger, eagle, phoenix, and the like when established.

The Shanhai City army would also break away from the numbers and each legion would be given an unique name.

After the legion trial, each legion would also have their unique flag.

As expected, he appointed Baiqi as the general of the dragon legion. As for the four major generals, they all remained unchanged.

At this point, Baiqi could be considered to be holding the most power in the army.

The name of the General was really showing itself.

The dragon legion itself would be based in the Mulan Stronghold.

The dragon legion would have two roles. They would be in charge of guarding the Lianzhou Prefecture, and they would face the challenges from the Taiping Country and Chiyou City.

As Lianzhou Prefecture grew more and more peaceful, the future dragon legion would focus more on the north.

This was also the main reason why Ouyang Shuo housed them in the Mulan Stronghold.

The Mulan Stronghold was the frontline separating the north from the main camp.

After he appointed Baiqi, the Military Affairs Department would undergo a new change in the defensive regions of the four divisions.

Amongst these changes, the third and fourth division would camp in the stronghold. The third division was a pure infantry division, so it was a good choice to defend the stronghold.

The first division that Shi Wanshui led would take over the third division and defend the east.

The first division was a mix of light armored infantry and cavalry, so they had high mobility. They were enough to defend both the east and the west. Their main objective was the a hundred thousand mountain on the east.

Based on the plan, the first division cavalry regiment would be in charge of patrolling the west. The remaining four regiments would be arranged along the a hundred thousand mountain range.

As for the second division, they would be housed in the grasslands temporarily. Only after it stabilizes would they move based on the needs and status of the north battlefield to assist the Mulan Stronghold.

As for the defense of Shanhai City itself, the city protection division protected the outside and the guards division protected the inside.

This included the outer wall, which was due for completion in one or two months.

The main camp had no more worries!

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Chapter 358- Tiger Legion

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Apart from forming the dragon legion, Ouyang Shuo also built the second legion—the tiger legion.

Ouyang Shuo gave the order and appointed Sun Bin as the General. He was now only second in power to Baiqi.

Sun Bin was the second person after Baiqi to be granted a title. Baiqi was titled as the commander-in-chief, while Sun Bin was titled the great general.

Currently, the tiger legion would only have two divisions.

The first division would have Fan Lihua as the major general. The main troops would be the prisoners from the Yanhuang Alliance—mainly a mix of cavalry and infantry.

The second division would have Daiqin as the major general, with the grassland alliance army as the main force—a pure cavalry division.

These two divisions were the same as the first and second division of the dragon legion.

The Military Affairs Department would be in charge of reorganizing the prisoners of war. Apart from soldiers, there were also some middle level generals. Out of them, there were some generals from the alliance army and some from the grassland alliance.

Ouyang Shuo had his own plans for this bunch.

The overall principle would be for them to take up roles on the opposite force.

For example, the second division colonels Sun Tengjiao and Heiqi would be shifted to the position of colonels in the second division of the tiger legion.

Of the seven generals of the grassland army, one died, one was badly hurt, and one was unsuitable for the role of colonel.

Of the remaining four, three were arranged to the second division of the dragon legion, while the last one was sent to the tiger legion to work under Daiqin.

The remaining two colonels of the tiger legion would be chosen from the surrendered generals of the alliance army.

Similarly, the first division of the dragon legion and the tiger legion would swap generals. Zhao Zhan and Li Mingliang would be moved to the tiger legion.

The generals who surrendered or chosen majors would fill up the remaining positions. The three Guards unit majors Guoliang, Suwang, and Liaokai were all promoted.

Promoting old generals ensured Ouyang Shuo's control over the two legions.

The main base of the tiger legion would not be in the Lianzhou Prefecture. Instead, it would locate itself in Yashan City.

When the Beihai naval fleet returned, the tiger legion would follow the third batch of migrants to Yashan City.

Qiongzhou island would be their battlefield.

Sun Bin and Daiqin wanted to conquer Yazhou; it was also where Fan Lihua belonged.

Such a plan was a masterstroke.

Shortly after its inception, Yashan City had two strong divisions.

Ouyang Shuo believed that a normal aboriginal tribe would not dare to face Yashan City. When the tiger legion reached the city, the city would enter a booming development phase.

At this point, the reorganization of the military came to an end.

After Ouyang Shuo finished appointing people and setting up the structure, he handed the remaining matters to the Military Affairs Department.

In the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo gave himself a break.

From the first day of the New Year till now, he had been busy all the way. He did not have any time to rest.

Now, he finally managed to find half a day!

Tomorrow, he still had many matters to attend to, as the members of Shanhai Alliance would gather in Shanhai City for an annual feast.

Apart from the lords, Ouyang Shuo invited guilds like the War-Snow Rose mercenary guild, Qingfeng Pavillion, Tingyu Floor, and Rattlesnake Mercenary Group.

Tingyu Floor was the guild that was working together with Feng Qiuhuang in secret.

After Fallen Phoenix City upgraded, Feng Qiuhuang announced her relationship with the guild leader, Jianqi Leiyin. Only by relying on the strength of Tingyu Floor could Feng Qiuhuang upgrade quicker than Bao Hua.

Before the Feng Family broke up, Feng Qiuhuang had started funding them in secret.

Because of animosity with the Jianqi Zongheng sect leader Yijian Xilai, Jianqi Leiyin had left and set up Qingfeng Pavilion to go against them.

When she started the guild, it was hard for Jianqi Leiyin as a girl. Feng Qiuhuang was smart. Although it was her first time playing, she had a huge investment foresight.

Feng Qiuhuang had gone to find Jianqi Leiyin. Then, she said that she could support the development of the Qingfeng Pavillion.

This was how the two of them started working together.

Even after the Feng Family broke up, Jianqi Leiyin did not give up on their cooperation.

The two of them had stood the test of time, and their relationship had grown more solid.

Feng Qiuhuang looked for her for the same reason she looked for Ouyang Shuo—to break away from her family control and to amass strength.

Time had proved that her decision was highly successful.

One had to say that her manipulation of the whole field was really great. In Ouyang Shou's last life, for her to be named the TOP beauty was definitely not just for her looks.In the back garden, Ouyang Shuo casually sat in a pavilion.

On the grass patch outside, Bing'er was playing catch with a bunch of kids.

Some of these kids were aboriginals, while others were children of players.

The world of kids was totally different from the adults.

To them, they were no different to the aboriginals; they were all friends.

If some kids did not bother and looked down on them, it would be the result of their parents' teachings.

When he saw that Bing'er could make friends, Ouyang Shuo was really happy.

As he was free in the afternoon, Ouyang Shuo let Bing'er bring her friends to the back garden and play there. In the back garden, apart from the beautiful scenery, Zisu had also prepared various fruits and cakes.

To the kids, it was a happy thing to be able to play in the Lord's Manor.

Normally, the back garden was a restricted area.

"Brother!"

Bing'er ran over; her head covered in sweat, while her cheeks blushed red.

"Baby, you must be tired!"

Ouyang Shuo passed her a towel and helped her wipe her sweat.

"No!"

She took the towel, wiped a bit, and ran off again.

Such a monkey!

Ouyang a Shuo laughed in amusement, stopping her, "Playing for so long, why not ask your friends to have a rest here? Sister Zisu has prepared some food for you!"

"Ok!"

The little brat ran back to the grass patch to call her friends.

All of a sudden, over ten kids ran over.

The oldest kid was only ten, and the youngest was around six to seven. As they ran to the pavilion, they did not forget to greet Ouyang Shuo.

The greetings came in a huge variety.

"Uncle!"

"Brother!"

"Lord!"The ones who called him lord were mainly the aboriginal kids.

When their parents learned that the princess invited their kids to the Lord's Manor, they were so honoured they spread the news to all the neighbors.

Before leaving, they had reminded their kids to greet the lord.

Ouyang Shuo nodded and greeted them one by one.

At Bing'er's age, a person's view of the world started to form. Ouyang Shuo would naturally allow her to mix with her friends. If he did not, it might be bad for her or even annoy her.

As expected, when she saw her brother welcome her friends, she laughed sweetly at the side.

There was one little girl who was only six. She had round cheeks and huge eyes. Along with her long eyelashes, she looked really cute. When Ouyang Shuo saw her, he could not help but carry her up.

This little fellow was not afraid of strangers; she continued laughing.

Her crisp laughter made him instantly energetic; it wiped away all his tiredness.

When a person saw these cute kids, any problems and worries would fade away.

Just as they were happily playing , Zisu walked over.

"Lord, Lin Yue requests to see you!"

"Oh?" Ouyang Shuo thought about it and guessed the reason. When he thought about the time, Bianque had probably made the pill and gave it to Lin Yue for consumption.

The reason he came was most probably because Bianque had cured his illness, so he had come to thank Ouyang Shuo.

"Lead him in!"

Ouyang Shuo did not want to return to the reading room. He would rather just see him in the garden.

"Yes, my lord!"

A short while later, Lin Yue entered the back garden.

When he saw the lord playing along with a bunch of children, Lin Yue felt shocked. In his eyes, the lord was mysterious. It was truly rare to see his lively side.

"Brother Lin, come over!"

When Lin Yue heard that, he sat down anxiously, only taking up half of the seat. With the status of the lord, not many people could sit opposite him. Lin Yue asked himself and knew that he was not on the same level.

Although Bing'er was playful, she was also very well-behaved.

The little brat brought her friends to another pavilion to play.

"The little princess is really smart!"

Lin Yue could not help but praise.

Ouyang Shuo shook his head and smiled, "She only knows how to play; I cannot handle her!"

Lin Yue did not reply, he just stood up and kneeled onto the ground.

"Thank you lord, for your kindness."

When Ouyang Shuo saw these actions, he helped Lin Yue up, "Brother Lin, you do not have to."

Lin Yue bowed, "Luckily, Bianque managed to cured me. The lord has basically saved my life."

"This is a good thing, we must celebrate. Men, bring the wine!"

"Yes, my lord!"

A while later, a small spread was prepared.

Ouyang Shuo raised the wine glass, "Come, Brother Lin. Congratulations on your illness being cured!"

When Lin Yue saw the lord's actions, he grew very emotional and trembled, as he raised the wine glass. Although he was a man, his voice had gotten a little hoarse at this point. His voice contained his gratefulness, and also his joy of curing his illness, "Thank you, lord!"

As he finished these words, he emptied the wine glass in his hand.

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Chapter 359- Meeting of Nineteen

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

"Brother Lin's illness has passed, so have your skills recovered?" Ouyang Shuo asked with concern.

Lin Yue had already controlled his emotions and said, "For the ice to freeze three inches, it is not chased away by a day of winter. Although the poison has been removed, but body has suffered damages. Luckily, Bianque has given me some prescriptions. As such, after a month or two, I can totally recover."

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "The Lord's Manor also has some nourishing medicines. I'll get someone to send some to you."

Some of these precious herbs were given by the mountain barbarians, others by the Chamber of Commerces.

When he noticed that Lin Yue wanted to reject once more, Ouyang Shuo jumped in, "Brother does not need to reject. Take it as my kind intentions. It is also a waste to just leave these medicines in the manor, so just use them."

He had already made matters so clear, so Lin Yue had no way to reject.

"Thank you, lord!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded and picked up the teacup on the table.

Lin Yue understood and left.

From start till the end, neither discussed the matter of the Bajiquan Dojo moving into the Dongli Sword Sect. Lin Yue was a smart person. Ouyang Shuo believed that when he recovers, he would naturally give Ouyang Shuo a pleasing answer.

After Lin Yue left, Ouyang Shuo observed that Bing'er was having fun. As such, he did not disturb them and just headed for the horse stables.

Ouyang Shuo's personal horse stables were located at a corner of the Lord's Manor.

Black tornado and the current elite Qingfu Horse were inside.

Apart from them, there was also a really handsome and majestic horse. It was also a Qingfu Horse, but it was bigger than the elite Qingfu Horse besides it. Overall, it looked really mysterious.

When the heads of the grassland tribes visited Ouyang Shuo on the 1st day of the New Year, they naturally all brought gifts.

Amongst these gift, the one from the Tianqi tribe was really valuable.

Their gift was the Qingfu Horse King.

The Qingfu Horse King was the leader of all the Qingfu Horses in the grasslands and Mengke Kehan had kept it. To protect his other assets, he had to bear the pain and hand this horse to Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo was delighted. On the spot, Ouyang Shuo appointed Mengke's Son Jida at Shenjuan House. Jida did not need to move to Shanhai City.

When Jida heard this, he felt emotional and knew that he had made the right bet.

Reality proved that the charm of the Qingfu Horse King was very lethal to a general.

Ouyang Shuo instantly named the horse Qingdian the moment he got a hold of it.

Name: Qingfu Horse King (spirit beast)

Alias: Qingdian

Weight: 200kg

Speed: 120 kilometres/day

Consumption: 10 units of grain/day

Skill: Sentient (creature is sentient), Lightning Quick(increases movement speed by 50%, lasts for half an hour.)

Evaluation: Legends have it that the Qingfu Horse was the child of the ancient god Qingfu and a wild horse. Hence, it inherited the God will of Qingfu and became the most elite warhorse.

Ouyang Shuo paid a lot of attention to Qingdian. No matter how busy he was, he would spend time to personally feed Qingdian to get close to the latter.

Undoubtedly, Qingdian was really arrogant.

Before this Mengke had fed him. In response to this sudden change in new environment, he did not bother about Ouyang Shuo.

These few days, Ouyang Shuo did not even have a chance to ride it.

If Ouyang Shuo did not use the taming technique on this horse, Qingdian would probably not even eat a mouthful of food that Ouyang Shuo fed it. Instead, it would rather just die.

This time, Ouyang Shuo came to the stables.

Be it black tornado or the elite Qingfu Horse, both were delighted.

Only Qingdian stared at Ouyang Shuo. It snorted and went back to dealing with its own mane.

What an arrogant fellow.

Ouyang Shuo did not mind, as he continue to feed the three as usual. After he fed them, he helped Qingdian comb its mane to deepen their relationship. In around half an hour, he left the stables.

When he returned once again to the back garden, it was already 5 PM.

Coincidentally, it was getting dark and the little kids were getting ready to say goodbye.

When Ouyang Shuo saw this, he told the guards to escort them home.

The law and order in Shanhai City was naturally great. Ouyang Shuo gave this order to give Bing'er some face. When eating dinner, her excitement revealed how much that meant to her.

2nd month 25th day, 5th day of the Lunar New Year.

Before 9 AM, Ouyang Shuo brought Mulan Yue to stand besides the teleportation formation to welcome their allies.

This Shanhai Alliance meeting could be considered their first meeting to discuss cooperation within the alliance. Hence, this matter was between players, so their historical people did not come along.

On the side of Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo did not arrange for Fan Zhongyan to come along either.

The four flowers had all gathered in Consonance City, looking exceptionally beautiful. Especially Zi Luolan, who stunned everyone the moment she appeared. Compared to her, Mulan Yue was like a little girl.

On the forums, Zi Luolan had a bunch of loyal fans that called her the purple enchantress.

Along with them was also Bai Hua's brother, the sect leader of Qingfeng Pavillion, moon shines over the river.

Although he was older than her by only two years, he looked really old. If one looked at him, one would think that he was a middle-aged man. However, he had a bold personality.

They heard Zi Luolan's gossip. Moon shines over the river was chasing Hong Ying, making one drop their spectacles in shock.

Logically speaking, the one closest to the moon would get it.

With his sister Bai Hua covering, if moon shines over the river chose to chase the purple enchantress Zi Luolan or the pure, cute, and flat-chested Tsing Yi, he would have an absolute advantage.

Who knew that he would actually fall for the fake little kid Hong Ying?

Who would have thought that Hong Ying, who announced that she would not have a boyfriend, would silently accepted his courtship?

After Bai Hua, Feng Qiuhuang brought Qing Luan. The sect leader of Tingyu Floor, Jianqi Leiyin, had also come along.

The three beauties all had different personalities.

Feng Qiuhuang had a rich feel to her, Qing Luan was small and cute, while Jianqi Leiyin was really cold.

Rumors had it that Jianqi Leiyin was a real beauty, and she was really famous for this reason.

Unfortunately, ever since the change with Yijian Xilai, her personality had warped. She started to become more like a person who would end the world.

Even in such an environment, she emitted an icy aura that no one would not dare to approach.

Rumors had it that Jianqi Leiyin had once openly announced that every man was bad.

A woman who had been hurt was extremely terrifying.

A strong women who was hurt was even more terrifying; they could even destroy the world.

From Xunlong County and Stone County, Xunlong Dianxue and Wufu both came along. From their interactions, the two had started to grow close and had become close friends.

Black Lion County, Gong Chengshi brought his good friend Fat Tiger.

If one said that Gong Chengshi was on the road to seeking death, then Fat Tiger was a living baby.

These two, who knows how they got together.

Rumors had spread that Black Lion City was being turned into chaos due to this pair.

Jushou had to clean up after them everyday. As a result, this old man that always did as he was instructed without grumbling finally lost it. He announce, "I cannot take it anymore, I want to leave!"

These words scared the small heart of Gong Chengshi. He begged and also swore to the heavens.

Jushou handled all big and small matters in the Black Lion County be it military or administrative. The moment Jushou left, Black Lion City would be on the verge of collapse.

Gong Chengshi swore to the heavens. Only then could he convince Jushou and appease his anger and desire to leave.

After Jushou gave him such a scare, Gong Chengshi became more well-behaved and honest. As for how long this medicine could last for, only Gong Chengshi himself could tell you that.

From Tianshuang County, Song Wen and Song Wu came along.

Compared to the calmness of Song Wen, Song Wu was more active. Luckily, he was really talented at leading troops. He led the newly built city protection division.

As for the Snow-War rose Mercenary Group, Xie Siyun and Lin Jing naturally came over.

As adventure gamemode players started to pop up, the status of the two of them started to rise. Their reputations were even being compared to Bai Hua and Feng Qiuhuang.

Not only the two of them, Jianqi Leiyin and the sect leader of Thread Qing Sikou similarly had their popularities rise. They were listed as the four heroines of the adventure gamemode players.

Out of the four of them, Lin Jing was the most famous.

Not because of any other reason, but because she possessed one of the ten famous swords.

After she obtained the god weapon, her combat strength exploded. In a short two months, she successfully challenged many experts of the underworld. All of a sudden, even the top player Blood Romance was challenged.

Luckily, at the crucial moment, Blood Romance led the elites of the Blood Evil mercenary guild to successfully pass the mysterious region. He had opened this area with the mysterious region exploration scroll that he obtained from the auction.

This was also the first mysterious region that players had passed through.

In the region, Blood Romance had obtained many rewards. Not only did he get the sect teachings of the blood knife sect, the emperor rank cultivation method blood knife art, he also gained a platinum rank blood knife.

Combining the two, Blood Romance's power boomed, and he successfully kept his position as the best adventure gamemode player.

Along with the rise of Lin Jing, Snow-War Rose also benefited. A bunch of female players chased her fame and moved to Jianye from the other imperial cities to join them.

In a short two months, they had opened two more branch guilds and were growing quickly.

Lastly, the specially invited rattlesnake mercenary guild arrived. The guild leader, Black Mamba was as low profile as usual. He visited Shanhai alone.

In addition to Ouyang Shuo and Mulan Yue, it was a total of nineteen people.

The nineteen of them were the most core members of the Shanhai Alliance.

After all of them arrived, Ouyang Shuo called this the 'Meeting of Nineteen.'

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Chapter 360- Trading Cooperation

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

As this was not an official meeting, Ouyang Shuo specially chose the back garden as the alliance meeting location.

There was a little pond at the southwest corner of the back garden.

The area contained many white doves and koi fishes that played around in the water.

Three pavilions arranged in a triangular formation stood besides it.

Curved drains surrounded the pavilions, and a really clear water slowly flowed through it.

This place was built according to the olden phrase of Qushui Liushang, which meant for one to drink water from a canal to wash away ominousness. Such a place was the best location to gather friends and spend a good time together.

"Qushui Liushang, Brother Wuyi is really elegant!"

Even Wufu could not help but commend him.

Although Wufu was a man of few words, he was well-read and very well brought up in regards to Chinese culture. Hence, he was very pleased with Ouyang Shuo's arrangements.

Ouyang Shuo smiled, "Please sit!"

The three pavilions all had teas, fruits, and cakes on the tables.

After Ouyang Shuo gave his instructions, the servants started to place Three Flower wine cups at the start of the stream. As it flowed down and went past the pavilions, whoever it stopped in front of would take it and drink.

Ouyang Shuo invited Song Wen, moon shines over the river, Black Mamba, Xie Siyun, Bai Hua, and Feng Qiuhuang to sit together.

Mulan Yue, who could be considered half a master, invited Lin Jing, Jianqi Leiyin, Qingluan, Zi Luolan, Hong Ying, and Tsing Yi. These seven girls sat together.

Xunlong Dianxue, Wufu, Fat Tiger, Gong Chengshi, and Song Wu sat at the last pavilion.

Out of the three tables, Ouyang Shuo's table was where the most important people sat.

Song Wen was only invited because he was the brother of Song Jia.

Of course, once the feast began, everyone would walk around and not just stick to one spot.

Such an arrangement let Bai Hua and the others feel like VIPs.

During the morning, they pretty much only had casual conversations.

Some of them took the chance to have conversations about cooperation. There were some in groups and others one on one.

Ouyang Shuo took the chance to discuss with Feng Qiuhuang regarding the coal cooperation.

The large-scale steel mill that Liu Mo led had pretty much been built. It was located at the end of the canyon river, opposite the harbour and located in the Qiushui City region.

They chose such a spot because it had a water source and wooden resources. Before they obtained coal, they could only use wood to make charcoal and use it as their main fuel.

Apart from that, building it besides the river would make transporting the steel much easier.

As a large order had appeared in front of her, Feng Qiuhuang naturally did not object.

Just as Ouyang Shuo had predicted, the Fallen Pheonix Prefecture was filled with coal sources. It was just arranging some coal workers to her. After upgrading Fallen Phoenix City, she had worried about how to raise money.

Based on Liu Mo's estimations, from next month onward, Shanhai City would purchase no less than 1500 gold worth of coal.

"Wuyi, you're the god of fortune!"

After signing the electronic contract, Feng Qiuhuang giggled as she spoke.

Bai Hua, who was sitting at the side, decided to butt in when she saw them discuss serious matters, "Fengwu, do not get cheated by him!"

"Ah?" Feng Qiuhuang did not understand.

Bai Hua shook her head, "What's the point of Wuyi investing in the steel mill?" Without waiting for Feng Qiuhuang's reply, Bai Hua continued, "Isn't it to make better steel for better weapons?"

After she said that, if Feng Qiuhuang still did not understand, then she really was not Feng Qiuhuang.

That's right, the equipment Shanhai City made would be sold back to them.

In the end, they would all foot the cost of the steel mill.

They were also unable to reject the equipment that Shanhai City sold.

This meant that she was being a free coal worker for Ouyang Shuo.

After she understood that, Feng Qiuhuang's expression grew a little depressed.

Ouyang Shuo bitterly smiled. With two smart partners, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Fengwu, do not listen to Bai Hua. No matter what, as long as you earn, isn't it good?"

Feng Qiuhuang shook her head and sighed, "I can only think of it that way."

"Talking about equipment, Wuyi, where is the equipment you promised us?" Bai Hua took the chance to lead the topic back to arms trading.

Feng Qiuhuang also paid a lot of attention to this problem.

In the alliance, apart from Shanhai City, the strengths of Consonance City and Fallen Phoenix City were the most important.

Although they were not like the basically self-sufficient Shanhai City, who were building warships, bows, tang blades, horse lance, buren armor, and mingguang armor, they both had their killing points.

Consonance City was good at siege weapons and shields.

Fallen Phoenix City was good at Iron Futie Armor and heavy swords.

These four things were all things that Shanhai City needed.

Siege weapons did not need to be mentioned, as Ouyang Shuo was very interested about the trebuchet.

During the Battle of Lianzhou, the Yanhuang Alliance had brought many trebuchets. As a result, they managed to badly damage Shanhai City.

The shields that Consonance City made through the technical manual were definitely better than the ones built in the factories of Shanhai City.

Although the Iron Tiefu Armor was similar to the Mingguang Armor, Shanhai City still need it. As the Mingguang Armor was too expensive and cost too much to make, it was not suitable for arming a huge army.

The heavy sword was the weapon that Baiqi specialized in. Additionally, his original units used heavy swords.

After he became the General of the dragon legion, Baiqi could build a guards unit.

Based on his intentions, he wanted to train another Iron eagle swordsmen unit.

Unfortunately, compared to the tang blades and the horse lances, crafting heavy swords was totally different.

The only way was to buy these heavy swords from Fallen Phoenix City.

As they specialized in one area each, both cities had the ability to sell their goods.

Although two months had passed since Bai Hu had obtained the siege weapon making technical manual, siege weapons had blueprints, which made it easier to make. Secondly, siege weapons did not need any large-scale production.

As for Fallen Phoenix City, their own strength restricted them. The requirements of the Iron Tiefu Armor to war horses was something that the Mingguang Armor could not catch up to.

Fallen Phoenix City could not compare to Shanhai City, who could build two to three cavalry divisions.

After a year of quick development, the factories and workshops in Shanhai City had the ability to sell their items.

The three of them clicked. After some discussion, they decided to trade their items.

Ouyang Shuo used twelve thousand Tang Blades to exchange for ten thousand shields. He wanted to use these shields to equip the two heavy armored mountain barbarian infantry regiments of the third division. Each soldier would have two shields.

He used eight hundred Buren Armor to exchange for two hundred trebuchets.

He used fifteen thousand Tang Blades to exchange for one thousand heavy swords. Baiqi would use these to build his iron eagle swordsmen. Similarly, each of them would have two heavy swords.

He also used seven thousand strong bows to exchange for three thousand Iron Tiefu Armor.

A heavy armored cavalry regiment would equip this armor.

Between Bai Hua and Feng Qiuhuang, they similarly came to an agreement.

The three of them agreed that trading to one another would be the priority. Until they completed their deal, they could not sell to others.

A cooperation that involved equipment did not look like much. However, in reality, it actually tied together the three territories. Other territories wanting to shake them faced a near impossible task.

They had no choice. Who asked the other territories to not have any equipment making technical manuals?

Ouyang Shuo also hoped for all the other members to obtain one or two killing blows.

After all, the strength of one territory was limited.

Even Shanhai City could not complete the building of all types of equipment.

When she saw the three heads come to an agreement, Xie Siyun could not remain calm at the side.

The equipment the territory produced was something that even guild leaders would feel highly tempted by.

Out of all the types of equipment, players loved shields, heavy swords, and strong bows. As for full body armor, not many players worshipped this type of thing, as they were too cumbersome.

Only General occupation type players would own mounts and would use such heavy armor.

Similarly, the Tang Blad, belonged to the cold weapons era in the eyes of players. As such, it was suitable for the battlefield.

Adventure mode players loved swords the most.

When territories crafted such equipment, it was split into soldier, sergeant, and general ranks, similar to gold, dark gold, and platinum ranks.

After a year, gold equipment was not rare anymore. Most of the high-end players would own one or two gold rank items.

As for dark gold equipment, it was still rare and only the really high-classed players would own it.

As for platinum equipment, they were the pinnacle.

Hence, to use the territory made equipment to equip the elite forces was highly suitable.

Compared to the lords, the guild leaders did not lack money.

In fact, they were even richer than lords in terms of income.

As the treasury system grew more and more perfect, the guild leader could receive a lot more funds.

During the second system auction, this allowed the various guild leaders to take out so much money.

The thirteen thousand gold that Lin Jing borrowed from Ouyang Shuo during the auction was returned in a short two months. As for the ten thousand gold that Bai Hua had borrowed, she had not returned it even now.

If one compared the two, one could see the advantages of a guild.

It was not that a lord did not have money. However, the income of the territory had to be spent on buildings and military expenses.

After Consonance County upgraded, it required a huge spike in funds.

Not talking about money, if Bai Hua did not continue borrowing funds through the Four Seas Bank, it was already great. This was the benefit of having the support of the Qingfeng Pavillion.

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Chapter 361- Military Industry Coordination System

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

When Xie Siyun brought up purchasing a set of strong bows, shields, and heavy swords from Shanhai City and the other two territories, Ouyang Shuo realized the need for a military industry coordination system.

With Xie Siyun joining in, Moon Shines Over the River, Black Mamba, and Song Wen all entered the fray. It was not hard to imagine that Jianqi Leiyin, who was not in the pavilion, would also have such a request.

As the leader of the alliance, Ouyang Shuo needed to balance everything out.

The overall rule would be a prioritisation of trading over selling. Additionally, small orders would be completed before large ones. If one faced similarly large orders, they would need to break them into small orders to complete on a monthly basis.

Ouyang Shuo announced his ideas and plans to all of them.

"I agree!"

Feng Qiuhuang was the first to express her opinion. The heavy swords and Iron Futu Armor that Fallen Phoenix City produced was popular amongst both lords and guild leaders. They were the second biggest military industry in the alliance.

One could predict that just relying on these two items, the financial situation of Fallen Phoenix City would slowly improve and they would eventually escape their current financial predicament.

"I also agree!"

Bai Hua followed. The territories and guilds sorely needed the siege weapons and shields that Consonance City produced. However, they only required a limited amount, so there basically would not be the issues in coordinating supply.

With the siege weapons as an example, apart from during a large-scale war, one could not use it.

On the other hand, Consonance City was a huge importer of military arms, so setting up the coordination system was greatly beneficial to them.

Of course, everything would change in the future, and no one knew what kind of technical manuals they would receive next. Hence, it was best to build the system right now.

When he saw the two of them express their agreement, Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Since that's the case, we must appoint a contact in charge of the specifics and for communication. Do you all have a suitable choice?"

Feng Qiuhuang shook her head, "I cannot. I only have Qingluan as an assistant."

When both Ouyang Shuo and Feng Qiuhuang looked at her, Bai Hua laughed in amusement, she thought about it and said, "Then let's let Zi Luolan act as the contact. She has been in charge of this aspect for the territory."

"Great, Zi Luolan is a good choice."

Ouyang Shuo nodded in agreement.

"Who's calling me?"

Coincidentally, at the exact same moment, Zi Luolan walked over with a wine glass in her hand.

Ouyang Shuo was calm. After facing beauties such as Song Jia and Mulan Yue everyday, he had already grown immune. As a rich man, Song Wen was also used to seeing beautiful ladies.

Black Mamba was a mercenary; wine and girls were his medicine after a mission. Meanwhile, the middle-aged uncle Moon Shines Over the River only had Hong Ying in his mind.

After she saw the four males having no reaction toward her, Zi Luolan felt that her action were performed to a wall. She rolled her eyes. Deep inside, she felt somewhat sad.

Bai Hua looked over in amusement. It was not often that she saw Zi Luolan's dejected face.

"Come over, we've something to discuss!"

Bai Hua gave a short introduction and description of the military industry coordination system.

After the briefing, Zi Luolan rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Great lord Wuyi, this must be your idea, right? You treat me as a coolie, so you should take something out to show your sincerity, right?"

Ouyang Shuo was not going to fall for that and calmly said, "Bai Hua recommended you. If you want benefits, look for her!"

"You!" Zi Luolan raged, "I don't care; if there are no benefits I won't do it!"

It seems like she was determined to obtain what she wanted!

A beauty doing that, even a god could not stop it, so Ouyang Shuo could only ask Bai Hua for help.

Bai Hua acted like she did not see it. She picked up her tea cup and took a sip; her actions possessed an elegant flair.

Despicable Wuyi, he actually wanted to use her as a shield, and now he wants her help? No way!

As for the others, they were there to enjoy the show.

Song Wen and the other guys sat on alert, afraid of drawing the fire to themselves.

Ouyang Shuo knew that he could not escape this.

Since she wanted a reward, a normal present was not enough.

After he thought about it, Ouyang Shuo took out a small wooden box from his storage bag and passed it to Zi Luolan.

"What is this? You better not take out a stupid cheap present and think that's enough!"

This was the real personality of Zi Luolan; her words had grown more direct and bold. As for the purple enchantress in the fan's eyes, it was all their wishful thinking.

"Won't you find out when you open it?"

When Zi Luolan opened the wooden box, a gentle white light shone from within. Focusing on the contents, one could see a piece of beautiful yellow silk as the base of the box. A string of twenty four pearls sat on top. Each one was the size of a thumb, luscious and filled. The rare factor of these pearls were their uniform size.

"Wa, so beautiful!"

Feng Qiuhuang exclaimed, as awe flickered through her eyes.

Girls naturally did not have the ability to resist pearls.

If placed in the real world, this pearl necklace would also be a priceless treasure.

"This, are you really giving this to me?" Zi Luolan's words were not as clear anymore. She asked for benefits just to disturb and tease Ouyang Shuo; she did not expect to get such a huge surprise.

"Of course it's for you. Are you satisfied with it?"

These pearls were from Xila Lake and were the highest quality ones collected from the artificial pearl field. After Cui Shousi returned to Shanhai City to find Ouyang Shuo, he presented it to Ouyang Shuo.

Originally, Ouyang Shuo planned to give this to Song Jia.

Thinking about it, Zi Luolan becoming the military industry contact, she was pretty much a volunteer. As the leader of the alliance, he needed to reward her. Hence, he decided to give the pearls to her.

Anyways, as long as the pearl field remained, he did not need to worry about a lack of pearls to give Song Jia.

"This, this reward is too valuable. I can't accept it."

Zi Luolan was a little embarrassed, and she tried to return the wooden box to Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo waved her off and laughed, "Accept it! Since you've accepted this reward, you must do a good job!"

The reason Ouyang Shuo said these words was to ensure that Zi Luolan would not feel awkward.

Zi Luolan was also an old girl. When she heard this, she accepted the pearls happily.

After accepting the present, Zi Luolan was highly motivated. She immediately left the pavilion to look for Jianqi Leiyin and Xunlong Dianxue to discuss military equipment needs and matters.

After Zi Luolan left, Feng Qiuhuang snuck up besides Ouyang Shuo and said, "Wuyi, do you still have more of those? Give me one!"

Even Bai Hua, although she did not ask directly, she still intentionally or unintentionally looked over at Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo instantly felt a headache. He did not expect a string of pearls to cause such a huge problem.

"I won't hide it from all of you. That string of pearls was the pearl field's three months of effort. If you are not afraid of waiting, within a year, there should be no problem!"

"So long!" Feng Qiuhuang was a little disappointed.

"Those are the highest quality pearls. Do you think they are cabbage?"

"Ok, I'll wait, but you better keep them for me!"Ouyang Shuo did not expect Feng Qiuhuang to be so stubborn when it came to pearls.After the small side track, the pavilion bustled again.

While casually conversing, Black Mamba suddenly said, "Do you guys remember the mysterious players that bought out the item during the system auction?"

"How can we not?"

"It's so fresh in our memories!"

"Do you have some insider news?"

"That's right. Based on my news, this player is called Xingzhe Zichen. He's a descendant of an aristocratic family. Two days ago, he appeared in Jingdou as a Chi cultivator. He set up a guild known as Star Alliance."

"Is there really such a thing as hidden aristocratic families?" Moon Shines Over the River did not believe that.

"Yes." Feng Qiuhuang came out to bear witness.

"These aristocrats, why do they need to act so sneaky?"

Feng Qiuhuang was born in a huge family, so she knew a lot about such news. This news was something that even rich people like Song Wen did not have the right to know.

She laughed and said, "Actually, since the start, the outer world has a misunderstanding about hidden aristocratic families. They are not definitely strong families."

Everyone were silent.

That was the truth. Their mysteriousness came from the rumors that people spread about them.

"The current hidden aristocratic families are all descendants of officials and generals from the past. Some were tribes from previous dynasties, others were families that escaped abroad during war and came back. Of course, some famous aristocratic families do in fact have some remaining legacy."

Feng Qiuhuang helped unveil the mysterious mask that covered the hidden aristocratic families.

"They have two special points. Firstly, their family dates back to long ago. So, they still keep some of the traditions of an olden aristocratic family. Secondly, they are very low profile. To maintain their traditions for hundreds of years means that they cannot be too involved in a dynasty. If not, they might incur punishment and the death of their family."

"Out of all of them, there are some that have huge resources and great relationships due to their extended period of existence. As a result, their network of friends is highly complicated. However, there are others who met chaos. Due to other reasons, they are barely surviving. Some hidden aristocratic families are left with just one branch, and three generations only having one kid. The only thing that proves their past glory were family books and stories."

This news amazed all of them.

"Then that's weird." Moon Shining Over the River still did not understand, "Since Xingze Zichen is a hidden aristocratic family member, shouldn't he be low profile and mysterious?"

"That I do not know."

Black Mamba had unexpectedly obtained such intel during his investigations.

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Chapter 362- Guild Alliance

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

"The weirder matter is that no matter how we look at it, it still feels so awkward."

Moon Shining Over the River still did not understand, "Since he wants to build a guild, with his identity as a Chi cultivator and his stunning appearance in the auctions, as long as he did a simple advertisement, he could definitely attract players. Why must he be so low profile when building the guild? If you did not tell us this, we would not have known about him."

"Is this the unique passion or tendency of aristocratic children?"

Song Wen and Feng Qiuhuang both fidgeted.

"Brother, I do not have such a tendency!"

"Ah, haha! I'm wrong, I'm wrong~"

Moon Shining Over the River was also stunned, as he realized he had mispoken.

Bai Hua, who was at the side, felt speechless when she saw her brother fail to control his mouth.

Ouyang Shuo was silent. He guessed that perhaps the family behind Xingzhe Zichen was still split on whether to reveal themselves. This would explain his weird behavior and contradictory actions.

"There's something more interesting!"

Although Black Mamba did not know the reason, he had more insider news to leak.

"What?"

"Have a guess. When Star alliance was formed, Di Chen personally went there to congratulate them."

The pavilion fell totally silent.

This intel that Black Mamba revealed made all of them curious.

Did Di Chen and the others plan to team up with the hidden aristocratic families? After their failure in the Battle of Lianzhou, the Yanhuang Alliance had fallen totally silent, Internally, they were hurting from it.

If they could recruit some hidden aristocratic families, it would definitely be a good move for them.

"Let's not bother about anything else; let's just do our things well."

Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and smiled.

Based on the strength and influence of the modern day Shanhai Alliance, they had the power to challenge anyone.

"Wuyi is right. In the end, we speak with our strength."

Everyone present had been through so much. The small actions of the Yanhuang Alliance were nothing to them. Without mentioning Ouyang Shuo, even Bai Hua and Feng Qiuhuang had benefited a lot in this round of territory war.

The Yanhuang Alliance's biggest weakness was also their merit points.

If Di Chen and the others did not increase their rank to Marquis, their territories would be unable to stand out.

"Talking about the Star Alliance, I have a thought."

Xie Siyun suddenly said, "Among the top ten guilds, our alliance has taken up three of them. Additionally, there is the Rattlesnake Mercenary Group. Why don't we build a guild alliance? This way, we can attack and defend together in some guild operations."

"I agree with this idea!" Moon Shining Over the River assented, "I won't hide it from the rest of you. Actually, I had thought of this long ago, just that I did not have enough power to raise the idea."

"I also agree!" Black Mamba said.

"Since that's the case, call Jianqi Leiyin over. Let's discuss this together."

"I'll go call her!"

Feng Qiuhuang turned and left.

Toward Xie Siyun building the guild alliance, Ouyang Shuo did not interfere, as he was really optimistic about the idea.

Before this, the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group and the other guilds could only be considered a part of Shanhai Alliance. However due to system restrictions, guilds and territories could not become allies.

The cooperation between the two did not have the insurance of a contract.

Hence, the guilds relationships with Shanhai Alliance could not be considered tight.

Apart from that, some of the cooperations within the alliance was just limited to a one on one cooperation between territory and guild. For example, War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group and Shanhai City, Qingfeng Pavilion and Consonance City, Tingyu Floor and Fallen Phoenix City.

Between the guilds, there was no actual cooperation.

If one could build a guild alliance under the structure of the Shanhai Alliance, everything could change.

Xie Siyun's idea of building a guild alliance also had a huge background.

As adventure gamemode players started to pop up, between guilds, especially between guilds in the same imperial city, friction would increase and small-scale guild wars would break out.

After territory wars, guild wars would also start to grow common.

Talking about this, one had to go over the settings of the imperial cities.

The nine imperial cities were just one by one separate lonely cities, but they were a complete living environment.

The outer environment of the imperial city could be split into three circles.

The closest area to the imperial city was called the village region—an area closely packed with NPC villages.

Their main function was to provide food and vegetables for the commoners and adventure mode players living in either the wilderness or the city.

To the adventure mode players, the NPC villages were like newbie villages.

In the villages, they could obtain some quests like hunting or collecting items.

The middle-aged players and the old players were the main groups of casual players. If they did not like the life in the imperial city, they could choose to live in the NPC village and spend their life farming.

The second region was the location of resources.

These resources included large-scale farms, pastures, tea gardens, fruit farms, forests and mine fields.

Undoubtedly, these resources were meant for the artisans in the imperial cities.

These spots were also locations that work occupation players loved. Players were hired to work there, and they would earn small amounts of salary while training their skills.

The third region was the main battlefield for the adventure gamemode players.

The forests, grasslands, deserts, cemeteries, mountains, and lakes.

Various land forms had different high-level monsters for players to level up against.

The deeper they went in, the higher the level of the monsters.

At the same time, this was where rare materials were collected.

After the work occupation players upgraded to intermediate rank, they needed rare resources to train their skills. If they just spent time in the second region, it was hard for them to make it.

Outside the third region was the true wilderness, and the territory of the lord gamemode players.

The various guilds would all focus and fight for the third region.

They would compete for leveling spots and rare resources areas.

The guilds basically held up all the good places.

It was really difficult for solo players to survive in the third region. Hence, adventure mode players, even those that really hated groups, would form up small adventuring squads when they ventured there.

Previously, when their levels were still low, and they did not have good equipment, they could only survive in the first and second regions. Now, with the elite groups of the various guilds, they could survive in the third region.

A year had passed, and the situation had changed.

A huge amount of players now had the ability to explore the third region.

Naturally, fights for resources would follow.

Hence, the battle between the guilds had just started to heat up.

War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group was the second largest guild in China region. In Jianye, there temporarily was not any other guild that could shake their position.

Even so, Xie Siyun had to prepare for the future.

If there were enough ants, they could bite an elephant to death.

If faced with millions of players, the strength of a single guild was limited.

Similar to territory wars, guild wars were a total possibility.

Within guilds, the strength of an elite force was highly terrifying, and it could totally change the direction of a war.

Through building a guild alliance, one could help one another.

As they knew one another, the setting up of the guild alliance happened really smoothly.

The four guilds officially formed an alliance. The moment it was formed, they became a huge powerhouse in the China region.

The guild alliance stated that members needed to look out for one another and share intel.

The alliance sent was as simple as just adding a few allies.

With Qingfeng Pavillion as an example, after joining the alliance and having it as a shield, it would have more strength and power to expand in Dali.

For the guilds in Dali to group up and retaliate, they would need to consider to reinforcements.

When he saw the completion of the alliance, Ouyang Shuo threw out the matter regarding Yazhou.

To adventure gamemode players, Yazhou was highly attractive.

Ouyang Shuo wanted to invite the guilds to send their elites to explore Five Finger Mountain.

After they heard his description of Yazhou, the four guild leader's eyes widened. The mysterious Five Finger Mountain and the South Mountain mysterious region was really tempting.

"Little Shuo, you have done a good job keeping this secret!"

This was the first time Ouyang Shuo revealed Yazhou to his allies. Even during the Battle of Lianzhou, Bai Hua and the others did not know where he had gone.

Ouyang Shuo laughed, but he did not reply.

After forming up the tiger legion, Yazhou now had the strength to welcome visitors.

Ouyang Shuo knew that the eyes of other powers would exist in their guilds. So, the moment he invited the guilds, Yazhou would be exposed to the world.

Without the legion's protection, Ouyang Shuo definitely would not do that.

Ouyang Shuo also hoped to make use of the power of adventure mode players to clear out the wild beasts. Similarly, they would also help develop the economy.

Hence, this was a win win-cooperation. Both sides would obtain what they needed.

The two hundred thousand gold that Bing'er obtained seemed like a lot. But to a city, it was definitely not enough to spend.

Not talking about others, just the enormous grain needed was already a huge sum.

The price of grain on the market was set at twelve copper per a unit.

The tiger legion had twenty seven thousand men. In addition to their horses, they would use a hundred thousand units of grain every day.

In theory, Qiongzhou could have three rice planting seasons a year due to its weather. Unfortunately, due to technological limitations, it temporarily could not be done.

Hence, there were still three months till the first harvest in the 6th month.

As a result, he needed to prepare at least ten million units of grain. Calculating other uses of grain, he needed to spend fifteen thousand gold.

Military grain only accounted for a small portion. The other territory projects and military salary formed the bulk.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo would spend every moment thinking about how to make money.

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Chapter 363- Warlords

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Based on the agreement, on the 3rd month, 1st day, the three guilds would each send an elite force and teleport to Yazhou.

Each elite force would have five hundred men. Since the rattlesnake mercenary group only had six hundred men, they could not participate in this.

After their discussion about Yazhou, it was close to noon. Ouyang Shuo held a feast in the back garden.

After the feast, it was free time for everyone.

Everyone grouped up to either tour Shanhai City or find spots to discuss projects with one another.

Who knows what Zi Luolan was thinking. She actually persuaded Mulan Yue to bring the girls over to Beihai Bay for a swim. At this time, the seawater was really chilly, and it was not suitable for swimming.

Luckily, players had special bodies, so they were able to enter the waters.

Ouyang Shuo had totally underestimated the attraction of the beach and ocean to the girls. Not only Zi Luolan, out of the ten, only Hong Ying did not want to go.

Hong Ying not going was probably because moon shining over the river had booked her.

Gong Chengshi, Fat Lion, as well as the other males wanted to follow along but were cruelly rejected.

"Despicable!"

Zi Luolan rejected them like that.Their attempts died in this simple manner.

Gong Chengshi dragged his good friend and went to the brothel. He even shamelessly said that he was trying to learn from the entertainment industry of Shanhai City.

Song Wu followed them there.

Compared to the pure and clean Song Wen, Song Wu's private life was totally rotten. He was a typical playboy, and he would change girlfriends at least once a month.

Song Wen, on the other hand, followed Xunlong Dianxue and Wufu to tour the city.

As a living example of territory building, Shanhai City had so many things for them to learn from and copy. Many details of city building could only be learned when lords personally experienced these factors and observed them.

Meanwhile, Ouyang Shuo called Black Mamba over to his reading room.

Ouyang Shuo personally brewed a cup of hot tea and pushed it in front of Black Mamba, "Brother, in regards to Blood Blade, have you found anything?"

Since he handed over investigations to rattlesnake, Ouyang Shuo had not checked up on it. This time, he invited Black Mamba over to the Shanhai Alliance meeting to help him expand his connections. He also wanted to ask about the investigations.

Rattlesnake Mercenary group had investigated them for two months, and it was time to stop. If they dragged on any longer, it would be useless. After all, Blood Blade would soon wipe clean all clues.

"This matter is more serious than we thought." Black Mamba was really solemn, and he rarely had this kind of expression. This clearly showed how good the Blood Blade were.

Ouyang Shuo did not speak and just took a sip of tea.

The current him would not feel anxious over anything. It was thanks to his martial arts cultivation.

"Based on the clues you gave us, we actually located the meeting place of Blood Blade in Jingdu. Unfortunately, we were late. When we reached there, everyone was gone."

Black Mamba was a little depressed. Just chasing this clue had used up a lot of resources, to think that it was all for nothing.

Ouyang Shuo nodded. Blood Blade knew that after their assassination attempt had failed, Ouyang Shuo would seek revenge. Hence, they gave up their meeting spot in Jingdu.

It was a huge headache to face such a well-trained opponent.

"Apart from this, was there any other news?"

Black Mamba froze and gave an awkward smile, "We found out by chance that they have stopped their killing order regarding you."

As they had easily received this intel, Black Mamba was wondering whether or not Blood Blade intended for them to find out.

This was really interesting!

Ouyang Shuo frowned, "They probably intentionally released this news. When did your men get this intel?"

Black Mamba said with certainty, "Ten days ago."

"Ten days ago?" Ouyang Shuo smirked, "Ten days ago? When the Battle of Lianzhou ended? Blood Blade seems to have fast intel sources."

"Oh? Your meaning is?"

Ouyang Shuo nodded and did not explain.

With how it went, Ouyang Shuo could roughly guess that the strength Shanhai City displayed during the Battle of Lianzhou had stunned the higher ups of Blood Blade.

Probably, amongst the alliance army, there were some spies from Blood Blade.

Facing such an opponent, Blood Blade naturally needed to weigh up the pros and cons. If they went up against Shanhai City and wanted to assassinate him, even if they succeeded, they would gain nothing.

In addition to the secret investigations of the rattlesnake mercenary group, Blood Blade could feel the strength and influence of Shanhai City. They could tell that it was not limited to Shanhai City's own territory.

Even in the grey regions, Shanhai City had connections and help.

Going against such a Shanhai City was totally not worth it.

Hence, they would release this news; this explained their intentions.

Ouyang Shuo thought about it, "How about this? Brother, can you help me leave a word for Blood Blade."

"Please speak!"

During the Battle of Lianzhou, Blood Blade was not the only one shocked. Even Black Mamba, who was working closely with them, felt astonished when he heard the news.

From an outsider point of view, the Yanhuang Alliance was a huge behemoth.

Even such a power that planned so much and went all out lost.

Maybe Ouyang Shuo himself did not know how much outsiders feared Shanhai City.

Hence, Black Mamba worshipped and respected Ouyang Shuo more and more.

Ouyang Shuo could feel it and did not say anything. He continued, "Tell them that I want to see Chun Shenjun assassinated in public. Once it is done, everything is forgiven."

Toward Blood Blade, Ouyang Shuo did not want to continue having problems with them.

Who knows, maybe there would be a time when he needed them. Since they wanted to make up with him, Ouyang Shuo did not mind gaining one more friend.

However, Ouyang Shuo could not forgive Chun Shenjun.

Although, Chen Shenjun had died during the Battle of Lianzhou and even dropped the Qilin Gold Seal, Ouyang Shuo could only bury this anger if assassinated was Chen Shenjun.

When Black Mamba heard these words, he laughed,"This idea is great! You are really evil!"

Ouyang Shuo wanted Blood Blade to kill Chun Shenjun. This obviously told them that he knew who had hired them in the first place.

At the same time, he was telling Chun Shenjun that he had seen through his little parlor tricks.

As for how they chose to act, it depended on their sincerity.

It seems like when their higher ups receive Ouyang Shuo's message, their faces would be very interesting.

"Let's not talk about them." Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and continued,"Brother, have you thought about my suggestion?"

Ouyang Shuo had suggested for Cobra and Viper to take up roles in Shanhai City. Cobra as the secretary of military intelligence, and Viper as the overall examiner of the special forces training base.

During this period of time, Ouyang Shuo had talked to both of them. Both of them were willing to take up the respective roles. After all, the positions that Ouyang Shuo had arranged for them were all high and really crucial.

Especially for Cobra, the position of secretary of military intelligence was really tempting.

On the other hand, both of them were very sentimental and could not bear to leave their war buddies.

Black Mamba kept his smile, he felt very conflicted internally.

In the mercenary group, apart from himself, there were five other core members, Cobra and Viper being two of them.

The moment the two left, it would have a huge impact on the group.

Black Mamba was also worried that the moment this precedence was opened, it would make the guild harder to run in the future.

This was fatal.

When Ouyang Shuo saw Black Mamba's expression, he understood.

He naturally knew that if he could not come up with a solution, this dream would fail and it would even affect the cooperation between the two.

After all, the moment doubts were raised, it would become impossible to continue working closely together.

Ouyang Shuo thought about it and decided to throw out his trump card.

Just like Black Mamba had worried about, Ouyang Shuo actually wanted to start taking one or two members from the group, eating up the entire group.

Thinking about it, his original plan lacked some thinking.

Even so, Ouyang Shuo wanted to try and see if he could totally solve the problem with one step.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your end goal with the rattlesnake mercenary group?" Ouyang Shuo threw out a fatal question.

When Black Mamba heard this, he formed a bitter smile.

"We actually haven't thought about it. You also know that we are a bunch of militants. Apart from war, we don't know anything. Be it in the real life or in the game, we can only accept jobs and earn money. Use the money to drink and get girls, that's our goal."

Ouyang Shuo nodded. Although his words were crude, it made sense.

"Since that's the case, why don't you let me be the sore hirer of the rattlesnake mercenary group?"

"How so?"

He knew that for Ouyang Shuo to say those words, he definitely had plans.

"It's easy." Ouyang Shuo did not brag about anything, "All of you move to Shanhai City and work for me. I'll double your total income."

"How about that?"

Black Mamba had to admit that Ouyang Shuo had totally stunned him.

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Chapter 364- Black Snake Guards

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Even though Ouyang Shuo had proposed such a high offer, Black Mamba still had many doubts.

"Money is only one aspect." Black Mamba paused for a while, "Most crucially, we are used to going around. We might not be used to staying in one spot."

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Brother doesn't need to reject me so quickly. You can hear my plans first before deciding."

"Please speak!"

"Upon joining Shanhai City, you can choose from four jobs. Firstly, be a spy for the Military Intelligence Division. Secondly, be a teacher at the special operations base. Thirdly, enter the military and become a captain or a major. Becoming a colonel is also possible."

The position of colonel was where Ouyang Shuo drew a line. Only a NPC could take up the role of major general. No matter how much he trusted a person, he would not dare to hand a ten thousand man army to one player.

Ouyang Shuo's first three points had already tempted him, especially the third.

Black Mamba knew that the current Shanhai city military did not contain a single player in it. To pull them in, Ouyang Shuo was willing to break that precedence.

His sincerity was there for everyone to see.

Most importantly, there were three different jobs that covered the three types of people. This would allow them to live happily and find a suitable position for themselves.

Even so, Black mamba did not express anything.

After all, although the first three were tempting, they all needed them to stay in the territory. As such, it failed to solve the crucial problem.

As mercenaries, their members liked scouting for news and going around. They did not want to just stay at one spot.

"The last one has something to do with you."

Ouyang Shuo looked at Black Mamba and smiled.

"It has something to do with me?"

Instantly, Black Mamba was really interested.

The reason for Black Mamba's hesitation, apart from the fact that the members were scattered, was that he subconsciously also rejected the idea.

A big part of it was a lack of anything for him. As the leader, he could not accept suddenly losing all his power.

"That's right." Ouyang Shuo nodded, "You should know that Shanhai City has built an office in all nine imperial cities. On the surface, it is just a contact point. In actuality, it's an intel reporting station."

Black Mamba understood; such an arrangement was all too common. In real life, embassies often acted the same way and carried the same responsibilities.

"Building the intelligence reporting station is a good idea, but it is hard to execute. Their work has been unsatisfying. They have not given us any important intel."

As he said that, Ouyang Shuo could only shake his head and sigh. If the various intel stations worked harder to investigate some matters, would he even need to ask Rattlesnake Mercenary Group?

"You mean you want me to lead these intel stations?"

Black Mamba felt a little annoyed. A small intel reporting station manager was nothing compared to the secretary of military intelligence.

He could not be worst off than Cobra, right?

Ouyang Shuo laughed, "naturally I wouldn't belittle brother like this. I want to create an organization known as the black snake guards. With the 9 intel stations as the core, to go across the china region to do intel gathering and analysis. Will you be interested in building up and leading them?"

When Black Mamba heard that, his eyes brightened up.

Based on his description, the power of the Black Snake guards was huge. They were similar to the American CIA and were in charge of foreign intel.

In Ouyang Shuo's planning, the military intelligence division, black snake guards and the not yet built safety division will be the future 3 important intelligence organizations.

The intelligence division will be in charge of military intel, the black snake guards will only work outside of the territory.

The safety division will monitor any activity inside the territory. It's position was higher than even the military intelligence division and black snake guards, the most core organization.

With the monitoring work of the safety division, only then would Ouyang Shuo be able to relax and allow Black Mamba to build the black snake guards.

The reason why the safety division was not yet built was because Ouyang Shuo couldn't find a suitable candidate to lead it.

Undoubtably, the one in charge must be someone that Ouyang Shuo trusts the most.

At the same time, since it must monitor the military intelligence division and black snake guards, his skills must be much superior. For the current NPCs, to hold up the military intelligence division was already difficult, how would they be able to do such a task.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo could only push back his plans.

As the military intelligence division and black snake guards slowly built up, building the safety division was becoming a priority.

The promise that Ouyang Shuo made had a lot of sincerity.

After weighing all pros and cons, Black Mamba accepted it.

Following which, he got up and bowed towards Ouyang Shuo, "Black Mamba greets the lord!"

Ouyang Shuo accepted it.

Black Snake, officially became Black Mamba's code name in the black snake guards.

Following which, the two discussed some specifics.

Firstly was to quit the newly formed guild alliance and disband.

The 500 members will choose where to go based on their preference.

From today on, the rattlesnake mercenary group will seize to exist and become a name in history.

Secondly, every member will get 200 gold to settle them down. The 5 core members will obtain a one time off amount of 1 thousand gold.

As for Black Mamba, he will get 5 thousand.

The families of the members will all be moved to Shanhai City. Each family will be given a free courtyard along with a set of living necessities.

Just this used up a total of 120 thousand gold.

Towards Ouyang Shuo's free spending and huge gesture, Black Mamba had nothing to say.

To Ouyang Shuo, to use only 120 thousand gold to achieve all that was worth it. One can see that their entry into Shanhai City would bring an all round upgrade.

Not talking about others, just intelligence gathering, it would improve by leaps and bounds.

As the territory continued to expend and the outside environment started to get more and more complicated, intel will be of crucial importance.

Of course, Ouyang Shuo wasn't a fool, there was definitely a need to sign a contract.

500 members will each sign a employee contact and a confidentiality agreement, the cost of breaking it was huge.

With that, he could largely prevent betrayals from occurring.

For Black Mamba, this was equally an important test.

Handing the black snake guards over to him, he had to ensure the loyalty of the members.

Thirdly was regarding the spending of the black snake guards.

Ouyang Shuo promised that every month this year they would get 3 thousand gold.

The next year costs will be determined by their performance. The overall principle would be that the expenditure of the next year wouldn't be lesser than this year's.

Apart from that, Ouyang Shuo also prepared 10 thousand gold as funds for the black snake guards.

With that, the spending he planned was truly shocking.

Helplessly, Ouyang Shuo could only make use of the 200 thousand gold coupon that Bing'er had gotten.

Luckily he had the 2nd month profits and also the cooperation with the other guild members that Ouyang Shuo planned, in a short time, he could earn a large amount of funds.

When he had a cash flow, Ouyang Shuo would be able to fill up his cash that he used. The 200 thousand from Bing'er was used to build Yashan City so Ouyang Shuo wouldn't use it recklessly.

After discussing everything, Black Mamba didn't stay and instantly returned to Jianye. The disbanding of the mercenary group and the move to Shanhai City will be orchestrated by Black Mamba.

After he left, Ouyang Shuo looked for Wufu.

Wufu's Stone County was located in Jingdu Region.

Ouyang Shuo wanted to understand Di Chen's latest movements through Wufu.

Based on what he said, after the battle of Lianzhou, Di Chen suddenly quickened his act against neighbouring territories.

In less than 2 months, in the Basin that Handan County was located in, all other lords were wiped out. They either submitted or were destroyed.

Although Handan County didn't upgrade to a prefecture, but it had achieved the same strategic goal as Shanhai City.

When Ouyang Shuo heard it, he frowned.

As expected, the ability and foundation of the large powers weren't to be underestimated.

Probably ever since choosing the starting location, Di Chen's family had been planning for this.

The actions that they had done today were just them reaping their rewards a little earlier.

Di Chen probably noticed that under the circumstances that he couldn't upgrade to a prefecture, to prevent being tossed far back by Shanhai City, this was the only way.

Of course, if Di Chen didn't have a merger token and continued such a strategy, it would breed problems. For example, his population numbers will take a hit.

To Di Chen, to solidify his position, such a small problem could be accepted.

After all, these large powers had great recruitment and attraction so at most they would just get players to enter their territory.

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Chapter 365- What's Happening in Lingnan

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Compared to Ouyang Shuo, Di Chen had a higher degree of control over the player population.

The various large families had a really skilled system used to control players. In truth, their families and teams all contained management geniuses. As a result, shifting those skills into the game was not difficult at all.

Hence, Di Chen did not need to behave like Ouyang Shuo and act so wary toward players. Di Chen did not need to fear betrayal and could just allow them to do whatever they wanted.

With Di Chen's actions, it was not hard to predict the future course that Zhan Lang and the others would take. The Yanhuang Alliance had taken a hit during the Battle of Lianzhou. Naturally, they would try to find some way to make it up.

Following the multiple failures of the Yanhuang Alliance, the depth of their foundations and roots were slowly revealed.

For Ouyang Shuo, an unknown and mysterious Yanhuang Alliance was the scariest. Moreover, Ouyang Shuo did not know the number of trump cards the current Yanhuang Alliance possessed.

To acquire all of this intel, he would have to rely on the Black Snake Guards to investigate and find out.

As his position slowly rose, his views of the world was also changing. When facing player groups, Ouyang Shuo had grown more and more confident.

Naturally, Ouyang Shuo was wary and careful with the Lianzhou Prefecture being the main area of his territory. However, in regards to Qiongzhou Island, Ouyang Shuo could behave more open and daring.

Leading the three big guilds into Yazhou was the first step.

In the future, Ouyang Shuo would attract more players to live in Yazhou.

After all, it was not enough to develop Yazhou quickly if he only depended on migrants from Shanhai City. Yashan City was limited in growth. Additionally, due to Bing'er's rank, the number of refugees they had were limited.

Outside of Yazhou, the vast land was waiting for Ouyang Shuo to reclaim and use.

Precious riches filled the land.

After talking to Wufu, Ouyang Shuo went to look for Song Wen.

Tianshuang County was located in Lingnan.

Ouyang Shuo had made some plan in regards to Lingnan. Hence, he needed to set up the traps beforehand.

Tianshuang County was undoubtedly a good choice.

After all, they all had similar interests and had familial connections. As a result, both sides had the basic trust.

"What thoughts does big brother have toward Lingnan?"

As a heavy economic province, Lingnan's importance could not be underestimated. However, the four financial groups that the Song and Yuan Family represented were only strong in the financial field. The real people with power were not them.

With the Taiping Country temporarily fooling around in Guangxi, Lingnan had benefited greatly. Making use of this time, the lords in Lingnan had already started to form alliances.

Ouyang Shuo was not clear about the specific details.

He only remembered that in his last life, the four big financial groups did not have much fame in Lingnan. Instead, it was a guild known as South Alliance. Their leader was called Hefo, and he hailed from an aristocratic family.

Hearing Ouyang Shuo ask about Lingnan, Song Wen was shocked. At that moment, many thoughts flashed across his mind, and he was wondering why Ouyang Shuo asked that.

On the surface, he was calm and said, "I do have some knowledge about the situation in Lingnan."

"Please tell!"

"The four financial groups are now split into two. The Zhou family is closer to us, while the Zhao Family is close to the Yuan family."

Ouyang Shuo realized that the splitting up of the four financial groups had to do with him. Without his presence, the marriage plan between the Yuan and the Song family would have gone ahead. Now, however, the two parties had become enemies.

"The most scary point is not that. In Lingnan, there's an alliance known as the South Alliance. To go against our Song Family, Yuan Ping has joined the South Alliance."

As he spoke till this point, Song Wen's heart was filled with sorrow.

It was apparent that their situation in Lingnan was not good. Because they belonged to the Shanhai Alliance, everyone would naturally gang up and go against them.

When Ouyang Shuo heard this, he laughed.

It seems like Yuan Ping still had not accepted defeat. He thought that joining the South Alliance would give him the ability to go against Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo did not care much about this.

However, the current situation of Tianshuang County caused Ouyang Shuo to frown. His brother-in-law could be said to be cultured and well brought up, but he lacked the spirit of an overlord.

The current state of Tianshuang County had all to do with Song Wen not taking the initiative to attack.

Ouyang Shuo had several conversations with the Song Family. According to his impressions, they were very calculative and lacked humanity.

They treated the territory like a company, so how could it actually prosper?

This was also the reason why Di Chen could suppress Chun Shenjun.

Although Di Chen had made a series of errors that affected his prestige, he could still pick himself back up.

Chun Shenjun, on the other hand, could not. After the Battle of Lianzhou, it seems like he would need a long time before he could recover.

The identity of being part of the Shanhai Alliance should not make others target you.

Instead, you should use it like a weapon.

In this aspect, Feng Qiuhuang had undoubtedly used the advantage of the alliance to its maximum. She created a territory alliance under the wing of the Shanhai Alliance known as the Shanhai Alliance—Phoenix Alliance.

With that, Fallen Phoenix City would shelter anyone who joined the Phoenix Alliance; this was the same as receiving the Shanhai Alliance's protection.

Ouyang Shuo was highly supportive of her actions.

Ouyang Shuo hoped that while the members maintained the honor and strength of the Shanhai Alliance, they could build up influence in their own regions.

With their territory as a core, they would radiate their influence on the entire China region.

Only then could they build a solid base, planting deep roots and forming a huge network. Then, they could earnestly go up against the Yanhuang Alliance.

Compared to Feng Qiuhuang, Song Wen was disastrous.

Ouyang Shuo told Song Wen about Feng Qiuhuang's actions and said, "Big brother does not have to worry. I do not believe that the territories are so dumb that they do not know how to choose between the Shanhai Alliance and the South Alliance."

Ouyang Shuo made it very indirect, but in truth, he was reminding Song Wen that if he continued to lag behind, they would be isolated. Even their current ally, the Zhou Family, would go join the South Alliance.

When Song Wen heard this, he made an uncomfortable expression.

"Do not worry, I know what to do!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded. After all, he was his elder brother-in-law. Ouyang Shuo could not lecture him.

Of course, Ouyang Shuo definitely would not just leave Tianshuang County to die.

He promised that Shanhai City would support the development of Tianshuang County through the Four Seas Bank.

Ouyang Shuo wished for Song Wen to step up and shine the name of the Shanhai Alliance, attracting players to go against the South Alliance.

He did not wish for Lingnan to fall under the control of other forces.

If the circumstances permitted, after stabilizing Yazhou, Shanhai City would employ their troops to assist Tianshuang County if Taiping Country did not attack Mulan Stronghold.

Their goal would be to take over the Leizhou area opposite that of Qiongzhou.

Ouyang Shuo already saw Qiongzhou Island as a restricted territory, and he did not wish for other lords to use Leizhou as a stepping board to enter Qiongzhou.

After talking with Song Wen, Ouyang Shuo did not look for any other members to talk to.

At 5 PM, all the girls returned from Beihai City.

At night, Ouyang Shuo held a feast in the Lord's Manor. During the feast, he arranged dancing and singing performances.

After dinner, he invited everyone to return to the back garden to join a campfire party.

His plan was to bring everyone closer. He hoped that everyone would not be just business partners but brothers and sisters. Not only would they look out for one another in the game, but also in the future planet Hope.

Out of all the members, especially for the lords, it was easy to grow depressed if they only talked to NPCs in the long-term. People like Bai Hua and Feng Qiuhuang that had friends around them were still okay.

People like Wufu and Xunlong Dianxue were very lonely. Hence, the two of them got close really quickly and became friends.

For a lord to reach the current level, they had to endure a huge amount of pressure.

Becoming a lord was not as glorious as outsiders thought.

The pressure they were under was something that adventure gamemode players could not imagine.

Even Gong Chengshi, who looked pretty useless, was actually just trying to release the stress in his heart. If not, Jushou would not have done what he did to set an example.

As a result, Ouyang Shuo emphasized communication between members. Only relying on the alliance channel was not enough to aid his plan.

After all, the alliance channel was a public channel, so one could not talk about private stuff in it.

The moon hung high above; the night air felt warm and pure.

In the garden, a campfire was set up.

Nineteen teens sat in a circle, drinking and talking casually.

As she grew excited, Zi Luolan even started dancing olden dances over the campfire. One could not help but admire her sexy dance moves.

The charm of the purple enchantress was released and no one could block it.

Everyone cheered out.

"Great!"

"Sister Zi, your dancing is so good!"

"Beautiful!"

Gong Chengshi and Fat Lion, these two gross freaks, started to blow wolf whistles and roar out loudly.

Thanks to the actions of Zi Luolan, the atmosphere of the campfire party got warmer and warmer.

Making use of the chance, the only couple present naturally became the focus of everyone. Moon shining over the river, under the coaxing of everyone, invited Hong Ying to dance.

She was also bold girl; she was not embarrassed and outright accepted his invitation.

With that, the atmosphere reached its climax.

A bunch of young people surrounded the campfire, singing and dancing.

At that moment, they were not lords or guild leaders, they were just young teens chasing their dreams.

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Chapter 366- Touring Lianzhou

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

The next day, the members of the alliance left Shanhai City one by one.

Before they left, Ouyang Shuo prepared a small gift for each of them.

Ouyang Shuo hoped that such an alliance gathering would become a yearly occurrence. Moreover, he wished for the gathering next year to take place in other territories, not just in Shanhai City.

The members would take turns to hold it.

After most of the members left, only Xie Siyun and Lin Jing stayed. Shanhai Alliance and War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group still had a big business deal to complete.

As the Dragon and Tiger Legions were formed, the military had eliminated another huge batch of equipment. Including the equipment that they cleared out from the battlefield of the Battle of Lianzhou, they pretty much had a mountain of equipment.

The Combat Logistics Department calculated that they had over a hundred thousand weapons and ninety thousand sets of armor.

If they sold these equipment for a gold a piece, they could pocket two hundred thousand gold. Needless to say, amongst all the items, there were still a few elite items.

A rough estimation would place the value of this batch of equipment at three hundred thousand gold.

As the main sales merchant of Shanhai City, the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group would naturally make a killing. As the sum was too enormous, they only took half of the profits.

With that, through selling this set of equipment alone, Ouyang Shuo could earn back three hundred thousand gold. In truth, this sum was similar to the profits the four military workshops earned.

They needed to replace the eliminated equipment with better ones, and the elite ones did not appear from thin air. The four workshops needed to make them.

The military industry started to shine and become one of the most profitable industries in the territory.

This base of cash was the sole reason he possessed the confidence of acquiring the Rattlesnake Mercenary Group.

For the financial income of the second month, Ouyang Shuo had instructed the Financial Department to not keep a single gold and transfer it all into the territory.

As the Lianzhou Prefecture was being built, many large-scale projects began at the same time.

The Construction Division considered the building of the outer city of Shanhai City, the construction of the Mulan Stronghold, the roadworks and the building of Shenjuan City the four big projects.

Each project cost no less that 230 thousand gold.

Amongst these projects, the construction of the outer city formed a bottomless pit. According to Wei Ran, this historical megacity would take an entire year just to form its structure.

According to estimations, the completed Shanhai City could hold more than five million people.

The Shanhai House would mainly spend their gold on basic public facilities like roads, ports, distribution centers, bridges, parks, temples, drum towers, schools and more.

Based on this alone, the construction costs would reach more than two hundred thousand gold.

Out of this sum, the Lord's Manor would subsidise a portion, while Shanhai House paid for the rest.

In order to raise funds, Wei Ran sold land!

Wei Ran inspired Shenjuan House prefect Shen Zhui to use a similar method to raise funds when building Shenjuan City. Shenjuan City was split into inner and outer city.

The House Office would build all of the inner city, while the outer city would be mostly sold.

The Lord's Manor would pay for the Mulan Stronghold and the road networks.

Needless to say, the roads belonged to public facilities of the Lianzhou Prefecture. The Mulan Stronghold was purely a military stronghold, so it would not allow commoners to invest and involve themselves.

Based on the estimation, the road network needed half a year to be built, and it would cost a hundred thousand gold. The Mulan Stronghold would take three more months, and the cost of production would be seventy thousand gold.

Basically, the future half year or more of financial income from the Lianzhou Prefecture would be invested into construction projects.

If he added the other medium-scale protects, as well as the huge military expenditure, then Ouyang Shuo would not be able to keep a single cent from the income in the 2nd year of Gaia.

Who knows, Ouyang Shuo would probably need to think of a way to raise money to make up for financial deficits.

Gaia 2nd year would become the most crucial year in the construction of Lianzhou Prefecture.

Ouyang Shuo was looking forward to Lianzhou Prefecture's economy flourishing and becoming a stable and strong shield. At the same time, it would become a reliable backbone of the territory.

That afternoon, Ouyang Shuo was in the reading room. He personally met Du Ruhui, Cobra, and Viper, as well as the three heads of the Military Intelligence Division.

Songsan would be removed from his position and appointed as deputy secretary. At the same time, he would still be the leader of the special operations team.

Cobra would leave the special forces training camp and officially take up the role of secretary.

The reason Ouyang Shuo planned it this way was to control and restrict Cobra. The three team leaders in the division were all people he highly trusted.

For Cobra to do anything funny in the Military Intelligence Division was near impossible.

Even in the future, when rattlesnake members joined the division, their positions would still be lower than the three team leaders.

Ouyang Shuo personally oversaw the organization of the Military Intelligence Division. Temporarily, it would only have three teams; this would not change in the short term.

In this time, Ouyang Shuo hoped that Songsan, Lengqian, and Lei Xun could quickly grow under Cobra's leadership.

With that, the Military Intelligence Division still remained under his control.

Furthermore, the four divisions under the Military Affairs Department, apart from the Military Law Division, were pretty much completed.

Temporarily, the position of secretary could only be given to Du Ruhui.

Be it Zhao Kuo, who led the War Division, Zhu Hongliang, who led the Combat Logistics Department, or Cobra who the led Military Intelligence Division, they had all earned Ouyang Shuo's trust through their ability.

Ever since Du Ruhui's appointment, the scale of the Military Affairs Department had expanded four times. Now, it had become the most important department.

Apart from Cobra, Viper would officially become the main teacher at the special forces training base. He held a position similar to a colonel. There would be five deputies under him, their positions similar to that of an army major.

The special forces training base would become a normal organization in the military. They would be placed under the control of the Military Affairs Department, helping to produce scouts and special forces members.

27th day, 7th day of the Lunar New Year.

Black Mamba led the Rattlesnake Mercenary Group and all their family members to move to Shanhai City.

On that day, all 550 of them chose where they wanted to go.

The final tabulated results was that 113 entered the Military Intelligence Division as spies, while forty-five entered the special forces training camp as teachers.

Seven entered the division and became the captains of the scouting squadron, fifteen entered the military and became majors. Amongst the five core members, Ouyang Shuo appointed one known as Collar Snake as colonel, he entered the Dragon Legion.

The remaining 370 odd people all entered the Black Snake Guards to form its backbone.

In two days, Black Mamba had formed the basic structure of the Black Snake Guards and reported back to Ouyang Shuo.

The headquarters of the Black Snake Guards would be built in a small courtyard in the official residence area. It would mainly be in charge of consolidating intel, intel analysis, and target selection.

Black Mamba would personally remain in the headquarters and help coordinate with the various intel stations.

The intel stations in all nine imperial cities would all have one conductor who would be in charge of that area.

The Black Snake Guards would all use Code Names, apart from the leader Black Mamba, the Nine Conductors would be called Red Snake, Orange Snake, Yellow Snake, Green snake, Blue Snake, Purple Snake, White Snake, Ink Snake, and Jade Snake.

The other members would be split into black guards and snake guards.

The black guards would mainly use force to capture and interrogate, similar to the special operations team in the Military Intelligence Division. The snake guards would infiltrate and obtain intel in secret, similar to the first and second teams of the Military Intelligence Division.

Both teams would have a leader and he would be called Black Guard One and Snake Guard One, the rest would all follow this naming system and be numbered downward.

The two choices for leader were the remaining two from the five core members.

The Black Guards leader was called Bai Meifu, the Snake Guards leader was called Zhu Yeqing.

To Ouyang Shuo's surprise, Zhu Yeqing was actually a girl. Moreover, she was a girl that looked really delicate and pretty. However, the eyes of all the other members only contained fear when they looked at her.

One could see how skilled she was. Weak and delicate was just her appearance.

The two leader positions were below Black Mamba, but higher than the Nine Conductors.

Ouyang Shuo was very pleased with Black Mamba's efficiency.

That afternoon, Ouyang Shuo handed over all the funds set aside for the Black Snake Guards.

The Black Snake Guards started to officially kick into gear.

In the territory, apart from Ouyang Shuo, only the four directors knew of the existence of the Black Snake Guards.

This mysterious organization did not receive any unveiling ceremony, and even their headquarters did not have a sign. There was only an Ash Tree in their front yard.

In the future, this small courtyard would terrify the world with its name—Ash Courtyard.

2nd month 28th day, 8th day of the New Year.

The handling of the eliminated equipment had temporarily come to an end. Next, the members of the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group would need to use their storage bags to transport all these items back to Jianye to sell.

Just like that, Xie Siyun and Lin Jing left Shanhai City.

After sending them off, Ouyang Shuo started to tour Lianzhou Prefecture.

He brought a Guards squad. Going out from the west, he passed by Yongye County and Guangshui County. Then, he headed to Tianfeng City, turning toward the north to Mulan House and Mulan Stronghold. After his departure, he went down south to Broken Blade City, Yishui County, and Gushan County before he returned to Shanhai City.

The whole tour needed a full twenty five days. As a result, when the elite groups of the three guilds arrived in Yazhou, he would still be on his tour.

Ouyang Shuo had sent Sun Xiaoyue a letter, asking her to represent him to welcome them.

Apart from returning on New Year's Eve for the dinner, she spent the rest of her time in Yazhou to lead the construction works.

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Chapter 367- Staying Dormant

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

When Shanhai Alliance held their alliance gathering, Yanhuang Alliance had not sat around while doing nothing.

Jingdu Region, Handan County.

"Second brother's appetite is really big!"

Di Chen stood by the window, his body straight, and his facial expression really complicated.

Outside the window, the white snow covered the earth.

The huge snow storm last night had covered the dirt of mankind.

"You promised him?"

Fenghua Juedai was wearing a white coat. She held a cup of hot tea in her hands. The steam from it slowly rose into the air, forming a thin fog.

"I promised him? Impossible!" Di Chen coldly smiled, "Handan County is what I built up. However, this second brother, who watched on from the sidelines, wants to snatch it over now that we have problems."

After he vented his frustration, he gave out a long sigh, "Grandpa is very disappointed in me!"

Di Chen's words led Fenghua Juedai to think of that merciful-looking old man. Her calm demeanor could not help but shiver and cramp up, as she thought about some unhappy experience.

"Actually it's not only second brother! For us to so smoothly rule the basin this time, if one said that there was nothing done behind the back, I would not believe it."

Di Chen saw the entire situation very clearly. He was very certain about his brothers and sisters.

His words left Fenghua Juedai stunned, "What are you preparing to do?"

"Heh!" Di Chen laughed coldly, "They think that they are sneaky, but they do not know that I'm just playing along. When the time comes, they are definitely going to cry."

Fenghua Juedai raised her eyebrows but did not reply.

The current Di Chen had grown more and more mysterious. Even Fenghua Juedai could not understand his thoughts some of the time.

Di Chen raised his head and looked at the sky, "Qiyue Wuyi, wait for me. Our war is far from over."

Xiangyang Region, Pill Sun County.

Different from Di Chen and his brothers and sisters, Chun Shenjun was the sole heir to his family. Moreover, his operation to sweep up Jingzhou went very smoothly.

Even so, he was not happy.

Due to the family tradition, those running the surrounding territories were all branch family members or the weaker ones in his family.

The real elite family members were hidden in the various imperial cities. They used the funds and resources of the family to open up Chamber of Commerces.

Each Chamber of Commerce would hand over 30% of their profits to Pill Sun County to support the development of the county, which was also another reason why Chun Shenjun held so much funds.

However, with the end of the Battle of Lianzhou, his prestige was badly damaged and his ability was questioned by all of his family.

Under the instructions of their head of families, some of the Chamber of Commerces started to fake accounts to reduce the amount of money they had to hand over.

"They are just striking us when we are down!"

When Chun Shenjun heard the report, he was furious and shattered the tea cup in his hand.

During the Battle of Lianzhou, Pill Sun County had lost many troops and generals. As a result, he currently needed large amounts of gold for rebuilding purposes. However, his brothers and sisters wanted to reduce the amount of gold. How could he be happy about that?

"Lord, do not be angry!"

The butler quickly asked servants to clean up.

Chun Shenjun looked really cold and scheming, as he gritted his teeth, "Since they do not treat me as family, I won't either!"

"What's your plan?"

"I'm going to find my father to expose them." His biggest backing was the absolute support of his father, "I'm also going to send auditors to check their books."

The butler added at the right time, "It's best if we can station auditors there to keep watch!"

With that, the various Chamber of Commerces would have no chance to fake their books.

"Not bad, that's a good idea!"

Chun Shenjun looked at the butler with praise in his heart. He felt that he was still not vicious enough, that he was still too nice to his brothers and sisters.

"Lord, even if the Chamber of Commerces pay what they are suppose to, we still have a lack of funds. If we want to recover in a short time, it will be difficult."

Although this butler was a lap dog, he was one with some skills. If not, Chun Shenjun would not trust him so much.

Chun Shenjun frowned, "How much?"

The butler raised his palm and said, "At least fifty thousand gold."

"Fifty thousand? Are you sure you did not calculate wrongly!" Chun Shenjun freaked out.

"Definitely, I've done the maths several times."

The butler definitely would not tell Chun Shenjun that he would secretly take a portion of the sum that the Chamber of Commerce handed over.

"I know, you can leave!"

Chun Shenjun waved him away, his expression looking exceedingly serious.

"Yes, my lord!" He got up and left.

Chun Shenjun was left alone in the reading room. In his heart, he was weighing if it was possible to raise the percentage of profits handed over to 40%.

Although his father fully supported him, he could not underestimate the presence of the other uncles.

However, such a huge lack of money was something that Chun Shenjun had to take the risk for.

"I do not care anymore!"

A look of viciousness flashed across his face, as he left the reading room.

"Brothers and sisters, this time, I'll make all of you cry. And you Qiyue Wuyi, this hatred and debt will be paid!"

Jianye Region, Blood Red County.

If one said that during the Battle of Lianzhou, which lord lost the most face, it had to be Zhan Lang.

The lost of Chun Shenjun, although it looked ugly, the one who really planned everything was Zhan Lang. As a result, he needed to take responsibility.

At the last moment, if Di Chen did not save him, he would probably end up like Sha Pojun. His general Zhao Zhuang would also probably be reunited with Zhao Kuo.

After the battle, Zhan Lang locked himself in his reading room and did not come out.

Even when his army was sweeping and clearing Qinghe, Xue Lang, Er Lang, and Gui Lang performed the task.

Baiqi had given the generals alongside Zhan Lang a good lesson.

How should war in the cold weapons era be played?

The defeat of the alliance army was because they were too arrogant. Moreover, they had underestimated their enemy.

If they had worked together with the grassland alliance army from the start and directly attacked Shanhai City, they would probably have a greater chance of victory.

The result was that they watched the grassland alliance army be eaten up before slowly entering the fray.

They split their troops into two, but neither could obtain any success.

Sometimes, if your appetite and ambitions were too much, it was not a good thing.

They were arrogant and underestimated their enemy.

They looked down on the investigation and monitoring abilities of Shanhai City in Lianzhou Basin, and the spies had spotted their routes.

They looked down on the fighting strength of the elite forces of Shanhai City.

During the battle at Gushan County, they showed the alliance army what a true elite army was like.

All of this made Zhan Lang feel ashamed of himself.

Only after the New Year did Zhan Lang walk out of this dark shadow.

When one faced defeat, one would grow smarter.

The Battle of Lianzhou was probably a good thing for Zhan Lang.

The current Zhan Lang had chosen to enter hibernation and train a truly elite army before the next fight.

The elite division would all be equipped with the Suozi Armor, and they would be entirely formed from retired military personnel who had class changed to generals.

The name of the army would be Red Blood.

Quanzhou Region, King County

During the Battle of Lianzhou, Xiong Ba was able to leave.

Apart from losing some basic soldiers, their strength was not depleted by much. They had already recovered, probably even improved.

Similarly, they had also completed their unification of Quzhou.

Everything had its pros and cons.

To do anything, a price had to be payed.

The price Xiong Ba paid was that the Yanhuang Alliance now doubted him.

Before this, he had a very close relationship with Chun Shenjun. Now, it was non-existent.

During the alliance meeting, Chun Shenjun had directly ignored him.

Their relationship had reached a freezing point.

Xiong Ba did not care much about this, as he too was an arrogant person.

Taking the chance when the Yanhuang Alliance was not making moves, Xiong Ba allied with Wondering Magic, who similarly did not suffer any losses. In this way, they became the third part of the alliance.

Xiong Ba had officially gotten out of Chun Shenjun's shadow and had started to have a greater influence.

His battle with Di Chen was starting to heat up.

If one said that only doubt existed between Xiong Ba and Chun Shenjun; then he and Di Chen were sworn enemies.

This did not only stem from the two of them but also from their families.

This was also why during the Battle of Lianzhou, although Xiong Ba had lost, his position in the family had actually risen, as they saw a chance of winning in the fight against the Di Family.

The other members kept their silence.

Sha Pojun had lost a lot and now he had animosity with Wandering Magic.

What a coincidence that their territories both belonged to Xiangyang Region.

The last member, Feng Tianlie, was still building up. Currently, he did not amount to much.

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Chapter 368- A Quiet 3rd Month

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Gaia 2nd year 3rd month 1st day, Yashan City.

War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group, Qingfeng Pavillion, and Tingyu Floor, the three elite forces from these three guilds, a total of 1500 players, arrived in Yashan City.

After the three of them had formed a guild alliance, they formed a great understanding among one another. Lin Jing led the elite force of the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group, while the captains of the respective guilds led the other two groups.

Such an arrangement was pretty much admitting that War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group would act as the leader.

Sun Xiaoyue went out to welcome the three.

They would rent a living area to act as their base and supply site.

For the elite forces, there were two places they wanted to explore.

Firstly, the South Mountain mysterious region—their main goal.

Although the South Mountain Cave could be explored numerous times, the first time would grant one extra rewards. The system would also report it. Hence, it was a great advertisement opportunity.

As there was only one cave and three guilds, they needed to take turns.

Lin Jing came out and gathered the two captains for a discussion. The result was that the three guilds would explore in the order of War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group, Qingfeng Pavillion, and Tingyu Floor.

Whoever ended up taking down the reward would be based on their skill and luck.

Although the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group was first to explore, they did not gain any advantages.

Based on what the Blood Evil Mercenary Group revealed, if players died inside, they could revive without any penalties. However, there was one restriction. After they revived, they could not re-enter right away; they needed to wait for the next chance.

Gaia also made the rule that one player could only revive three times without penalties in the same mysterious region. After these three chances, the player would really face penalties, and their level would drop back to zero.

Gaia's arrangements were not a result of mercy. Instead, it because the mysterious region was really too difficult.

To explore and pass through the first time was pretty much impossible.

When the Blood Evil Mercenary Group explored the region, they had spent one and a half months and changed five waves of people. Over two thousand people had died before they successfully passed.

The bigger the reward, the greater the risk.

Reality proved that the rewards that they earned were enough to cover for the losses they incurred.

Different mysterious regions would also have different upper limits set.

The upper limit of the South Mountain Cave was a hundred players.

Hence, an elite group could be split into five and take turns to explore.

Based on the type of mysterious region, they also had different settings on how many times it could be opened.

Adventure mysterious regions could only be explored once. Regardless of the result, they would disappear.

Scroll mysterious regions could be explored once a day until it is passed.

Public mysterious regions would be opened twice a day and would never disappear.

The South Mountain mysterious region was a public mysterious region. As such, it would open twice a day.

Three elite forces, fifteen teams. It would pretty much take them a week for all of them to go once.

Even so, there would be a team that would not have a chance to enter.

Hence, while they were not exploring the mysterious region, they would explore the Five Finger Mountains.

Their goal was not the normal beasts but instead the desolate beasts.

With that, not only could they level up, they could also acquire high grade resources. If they were lucky, maybe they would obtain an inner pellet too.

Apart from that, players could use contract scrolls to form contracts with the desolate beasts and make them pets or mounts.

Hence, Yazhou was pretty much a heaven to all of them.

After the elite force finished their preparations, they were ready to start their first exploration of the South Mountain Cave.

A day before the elite forces arrived, the third batch of migrants had set off from Beihai Harbor.

The main force of migrants were the ten thousand farmers taken from around Lianzhou Prefecture.

Their mission was to go and reclaim land. Yashan City needed to rush to complete the reclamation job before the Qingming Festival.

Following them was The Tiger Legion.

Apart from that, there were a hundred merchant ships.

The building of Yashan City was undoubtedly a huge chance for all the Chamber of Commerces. Especially when they heard that Lianzhou Lord wanted to send two elite divisions over, the Chamber of Commerces were more at ease.

The natural resources of Yazhou triggered their sensitive senses and made all of them eager to join in.

Various Chamber of Commerces bought huge quantities of land in Yashan City to build shops and workshops. At the same time, they also rented large amounts of land to reclaim and form farms.

Hence, the fleet of merchants, apart from carrying resources, also brought along a large amount of workers they hired from the imperial cities.

Of course, based on Ouyang Shuo's requirements, these workers would become members of Yashan City.

With that, the development of Yashan City would start to progress on the fast track.

Due to the restriction of Bing'er's rank, the strategy Ouyang Shuo employed was to attract more migrants. However, taking them from Lianzhou Prefecture was like taking a piece of a wall to fix another part of the wall.

The third batch of migrants would be the last batch of support from Lianzhou Prefecture to Yashan City.

The future population would come from other methods, such as attracting the Chamber of Commerces to move in and bring along workers with them. They could also attract adventure gamemode players, or aim for the natives on Qiongzhou Island.

All in all, Ouyang Shuo would not allow Yashan to develop as its current rate. With the support of Lianzhou Prefecture, Yashan City was destined to progress at a far faster speed.

During the 3rd month, Ouyang Shuo was still touring Lianzhou Prefecture, while Yashan City was slowly developing.

During the 3rd month, all the other lord gamemode players were unusually quiet.

After the Battle of Lianzhou, the Yanhuang Alliance had gone silent to prepare their strength.

After the Shanhai Alliance reached their goals, they sheathed their swords and started to collect the fruits of their labor.

The China region territory war that had started with the Battle of Lianzhou had stopped, and the wilderness had become calm once more.

As for the other lord gamemode players, they were consolidating their alliances.

Hence, the wilderness seemed really quiet.

Of course, the four uprising armies were growing and expanding as usual. They were like a plague, spreading through the wilderness.

Among all the lack of action, the only sky breaking news was the assassination of Chun Shenjun in Pill Sun County.

A lord being killed in his own territory. Undoubtedly, that was some great news.

After this event, many lords started to strengthen their personal guards, and they did not dare to relax even in their own territories.

Being assasinated in front of your subordinates and commoners, it would result in a huge hit to your prestige.

The weirder part was that the assassin did not even try to hide his identity.

Ten minutes after the assassination, Blood Blade announced on the forums that they were the ones who performed the act.

Using this chance, they started to take up missions from players.

The death of Chun Shenjun had totally boosted their reputation.

Compared to lord gamemode players, the adventure gamemode players were the ones currently making the moves.

The friction between guilds continued to rise.

Small-scale guild wars continuously occurred in the wilderness.

As the guilds started to use their powers, it was harder and harder for small groups of players to survive.

Because of the strict death penalty, the moment a solo player died, not only was their level back to zero, they would also lose their earned equipment.

They were not like a group operation like guilds, who could have members help to take their equipment when they died.

As for their levels, the guild would also arrange people to help boost them back up.

For solo players, this was impossible. The moment they died, it was pretty much over.

The direct consequence was that solo players that died would feel depressed. They would just change occupation and become a work occupation player.

Based on Gaia's settings, when players died, they had a chance to choose their occupation again.

Of course, there was only one chance. The next time they revived, they could not change their occupation.

A large portion of players who died would immediately join guilds after they revived. Hence, guilds could continuously attract fresh blood. As a result, conflicts brewed.

Murder and slaughter started to fill the underworld.

Blood had started to spread amongst the player groups.

As a result of these events, out of the ten biggest guilds, one had started to face problems.

It was Thread.

As a pure work occupation guild, its combat strength was pretty much zero. As the skill levels of the players increased, their need for higher-level resources also increased.

And these resources were held by all the other strong guilds.

The result was that Thread was stuck in a really awkward situation.

Of course, Thread also held a lot of charm and attraction.

Be it lords or guilds, they were all interested in their work occupation players. Some guilds even used high grade resources as a threat. They wanted Thread to merge with them.

Amongst these parties, the one who took up the hardest stance was Jianqi Zongheng, which was also in Jingdu.

Rumors had it that under the forceful actions of Jianqi Zongheng, Thread had started to lose members.

At this very moment, a theatrical change occurred.

Star Alliance, who placed their base in Jingdu, suddenly announced their presence.

Rumors had it that Star Alliance was interested in Thread.

The weird thing was that seeing the Star Alliance make a move, Jianqi Zongheng started to back off.

If one said that there was nothing funny going on, no one would believe it.

Ouyang Shuo knew that this must have resulted from Di Chen's interference.

All of a sudden, the influence of Star Alliance started to climb.

Star Alliance also started to openly recruit members. Probably, their hidden aristocratic family, after much deliberation and argument, decided that it was time for them to announce themselves to the world.

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Chapter 369- Land of the Military Strategists

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Thread was not the only thing that Star Alliance was interested in.

Rumors had it was that Xingzhe Zichen was chasing after Qing Sikou.

As rumors spread, this matter started to gain more and more attention.

All of a sudden, a lot of attention was paid to Jingdu.

Toward Thread, Ouyang Shuo had a similar idea.

Before this, Ouyang Shuo had been recruiting work occupation players through War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group. Thread was exactly what he wanted.

Currently, Ouyang Shuo was waiting for the right chance to strike.

He had already instructed Black Mamba to use the Black Snake Guards to closely follow this development.

Ouyang Shuo remembered that in his last life, Jianqi Zongheng had pressured Thread into merging with them. Weirdly, their guild leader Qing Sikou did not join them and just disappeared.

Where she went was a total mystery.

Rumors had it that she had given up and just became a casual player.

As the 3rd month came to an end, the footsteps of spring started to arrive.

Along with it, life started to awaken, and the wilderness started to become full of life.

Spring was a crucial point of the year.

To the lords, the spring planting season had begun.

After the grain crisis, none of the lords dared to be careless. They started to personally order the spring planting such that they could get at least half a year of grain from it.

3rd month 25th day, Ouyang Shuo ended his tour and returned to Shanhai City.

The moment he returned, the Four Seas Bank treasurer Meng Zhida came to find him.

After a few months of preparation, the first batch of bank notes were finally ready.

He came to allow Ouyang Shuo to inspect the finished products.

Ouyang Shuo took over the hundred gold bank note and started to scrutinize it.

In ancient printing, there were only two colors—black and white.

The banknote in front of him was bigger than one in real life. It had a picture of the Lianzhou Basin on it, taken from the map.

On the front, it used the symbol on the lord's flag.

Before this, Meng Zhida wanted to use Ouyang Shuo's face, but he had rejected the idea.

When using bank notes, apart from good-quality printing, the key was how to prevent forgery.

As they currently had a limited level of technology, Meng Zhida could only use a laborious process—stamping the Lianzhou Lord's stamp onto every note.

The Lianzhou Lord seal was the symbol of the lord; it could not be forged or replicated.

Whoever tried to do so, nine generations of their family would be wiped.

After receiving Ouyang Shuo's support, the bank notes would be rolled out in the 4th month.

Coincidentally, the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group had just finished its equipment sale; they had sold all of it.

In the end, Ouyang Shuo received 286,700 gold. Thirteen thousand gold was used to make up for the costs of building the Black Snake Guards.

Ouyang Shuo kept fifty thousand gold for backup funds. He sent the remaining gold to the Four Seas Bank to support the launch of the bank notes.

The timing was nice. At this moment, Ouyang Shuo also needed to increase his support of the Tianshuang County through the Four Seas Bank.

Although his brother-in-law Song Wen lacked style, he was very by the books when he did things. Under Ouyang Shuo's support, he built the Shanhai Alliance-Tianshuang Alliance to fight with the South Alliance.

All of a sudden, the lords of Lingnan had a decision to make.

Of course, the leader of the South Alliance Hefo was not an easy person to deal with.

Their battle had just began.

Ouyang Shuo naturally sat in. He waited and watched on as a storm brewed in Lingnan.

The next day, under the company of Du Ruhui, Ouyang Shuo attended the Army Military Academy unveiling ceremony.

Actually, a month ago, they had already completed the academy construction. However, they could only push back the unveiling ceremony because they had to wait for their lord-cum-principal to return.

After the unveiling, a system notification spread across the China region.

"System Notification: Representative Figure for Military Strategists Sun Wu has moved into Shanhai City to manage the Army Military Academy and accept disciples. At the same time, the three requirements for one of the hundred philosophy branches—Philosophy of War, to move in has been met.""System Notification: Military Strategists have moved into Shanhai City, given the title Home of the Military Strategists as a reward. Congratulations, player Qiyue Wuyi!"The unveiling of the Army Military Academy meant that military strategists had a place to share their thoughts in Shanhai City.

There was a total of a hundred people for the first semester, and they were split into two classes, A and B. All of the students were current soldiers that the divisions recommended. In a pleasant coincidence, they met the third requirement.

With that, the philosophers of war could naturally move into Shanhai City.

The moment the notification sounded, the China region was sent into an uproar.

When the news that War Saint Sun Wu was living in Shanhai City spread out, players could already foresee this happening. As a result, they were not too shocked.

What people felt was just envy.

With that, the Army Military Academy had officially announced itself in the China region.

Ouyang Shuo felt regretful that military strategists did not belong to the ten mains schools. Hence, it could not help him complete the quest.

The Ten Schools of Thoughts referred to Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Logician School of thought, Yin Yang School of Thought, the Miscellaneous School, School of Diplomacy, as well as the School of Minor-talks, Legalism, and the School of Agriculture. As the school of minor-talks referred to arts, it was not considered a stream of thought.

The Art of War appeared later, during the Spring and Autumn Period. During the philosophy debate, the Art of War was not a power yet. Hence, it was not listed as one of the Nine Streams of Thoughts.

Ouyang Shuo consoled himself while checking the stats of the title.

Land of Military Strategists: Soldiers rank up speed increased by 10%, chance of generals breaking through increased by 10%, soldiers quality increased by 15%, morale increased by 10%.

After he checked the stats, Ouyang Shuo's regret all disappeared. This title was an all round upgrade for the military.

One could see that with the help of the buff, the military would welcome a new batch of intermediate generals. Even advanced ones were not a dream.

Compared to this, the quest was nothing.

Of course, completing it and obtaining the title would grant him a whole bunch of more terrifying stats.

3rd month 27th day, Shanhai City.

After the Beihai Naval Fleet sent the third batch of migrants over, they returned to Beihai Harbor.

They had already cleared out the pirates around Qiongzhou Island. As they had formed a stable foundation in Yazhou, they did not need the protection of the Beihai Naval Fleet anymore.

Even if they needed a fleet, they would just build their own in Yazhou.

The duty of the Beihai Naval Fleet was to protect Beihai City and guard the waters of Lianzhou Prefecture.

Hence, strictly speaking, they were better at close sea combat.

As the Dragon and Tiger Legions were built, the development of the navy seemed to have fallen behind. Firstly, it took time to build the turreted ships. Secondly, they lacked navy generals.

If one said that the building of ships could be solved with time; then the lack of generals was fatal and could not be solved.

Pei Donglai was only an intermediate general. Be it in terms of skill or experience, he could not hold the flag of the navy.

When Ouyang Shuo went to visit Beihai City, Pei Donglai had raised a few points about navy development, which gave Ouyang Shuo a lot of ideas.

During this period of time, Ouyang Shuo took a look at the books during the Qing and Ming dynasties and gained a clearer understanding of how to build a navy.

Hence, he specially invited Pei Donglai and Du Ruhui to discuss this problem.

The three of them spent a whole day in his reading room before confirming the future plans and also the current organizations of the sailors.

Based on the plan, the future navy would be split into fleets, squadrons, divisions, and units. A fleet was similar to an army corp, a squadron similar to a legion, and a division was a division.

They would set up the Nanyang Navy to be in charge of the water battles around the South Pacific; it would have one admiral position. The Nanyang Navy would have several squadrons based on the situation.

Beihai Naval Fleet would be renamed the Beihai Bay Squadron. They would mainly be in charge of the battles around Beihai Bay. There would be one fleet admiral in charge, and his position would be the same as a general.

The Beihai Bay Squadron would be under the Nanyang Navy. At the same time, they would build the Yashan Squadron in Yazhou. They differed from the Beihai Bay Squadron in that they would mainly be in charge of the long distance battles in the South Pacific.

The Beihai Bay Squadron and the Yashan Squadron would be the two main squadrons under the Nanyang Navy.

Under the Beihai Bay Squadron, there would be four divisions.

The current Beihai Naval Fleet would be the 1st division of the Beihai Bay Squadron, and there would be one chief general, who would hold the same power as a major general. The sailor units under the division would each have a major.

The difference between the army and the navy was the lack of a regiment.

Pei Donglai was officially named the chief general of the first division.

The position of admiral and fleet admiral were both left empty.

At the same time, the war ship arrangement was also planned.

The basic arrangement was that a sailor unit would have a turreted boat and four Mengchong Warships as the main combat force, along with twelve cima boats as scouts.

Apart from cima boats, each warship would have one captain, chief officer, second officer, and third officer. Since the cima boats were small and only in charge of scouting, they would only have one captain.

With this, the Shanhai City navy had finally gotten onto the right track.

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Chapter 370- Intel Network

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

The completion of the changes in the Beihai Bay Squadron was only the first step.

Next, they needed to find a navy general.

The top ten navy generals in China included the Three Kingdoms Era Zhou Yu, Tang Dynasty Liu Rengui, South Song Era Li Bao and Zhang Hongfan, Yuan Dynasty Yu Tonghai, Ming Dynasty Zheng He, Deng Zilong, Yu Dayou, and Zheng Chenggong, and the last was Shi Lang from the Qing Dynasty. Near the end of the Qing Dynasty, when Deng Shichang was a general, they already had iron warships.

Out of all these generals, the earliest Zhou Yu appeared during the Three Kingdoms Era.

After the Battle of Changping, the next was the Battle of Julu. The end of the Battle of Julu would mark the start of the Qin Dynasty. It was an entire time period before the The Kingdoms Era.

Hence, it was impossible to achieve this through normal recruiting methods.

There were only two ways: either through the recruitment hall, or the summoning token.

The recruitment hall needed a year of cooldown time. As for the summoning token, without mentioning the difficulty of obtaining one, even if they had one, they must be lucky enough to summon a navy general.

Toward this matter, Ouyang Shuo really had no ideas.

He was so far away from achieving his target of setting up a strong navy.

He could only amass various warships, especially turreted ships. At the same time, he ordered Pei Donglai to continue training sailors for future expansion.

The large-scale storage of ships posed a problem. If sailors were not using them, it would result in a waste of resources.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo could only take it step by step.

3rd month 28th day.

Black Mamba found Ouyang Shuo and reported the results of a month's work done by the Black Snake Guards.

After a month of preparation, the Black Snake Guards had started operating in the nine imperial cities.

The Black Snake Guards had 370 odd mercenary group members as the core. Along with the NPCs, they had a total of five hundred men.

Apart from that, the conductor of the various intel stations spent large amounts of cash to purchase eyes all around. This included the likes of merchants, beggars, coolies, brothel girls, and more.

Although they did not look like much, they could bring in a lot of intel for the Black Snake Guards.

The next step was to take down the maidservants of the royals and the nobles, as well as the imperial city guilds.

With that, they would basically have a complete intel network in the imperial city.

Of course, as resources were limited, be it the targets or the normal folk, the intel needed time to be obtained.

After they bought over these eyes and ears, the Black Snake Guards needed to help them rise in power. After all, these people could not obtain much intel yet due to their low positions.

For example, for the chosen beggar, they needed to make him the head of the beggars of a region. For a brothel girl, they needed to make her famous. For a coolie, they needed to help make him successful.

All in all, nurturing intel sources was a long and complicated process. It could not be rushed.

Only by nurturing their sources step by step would they be loyal and reliable.

For players, they were mainly gathered in guilds and territories.

Guilds were broken in through bribing or infiltrating. They probably would not learn much, just the rough direction the guild was moving in.

Similarly, if they got promoted to a position of power, their value would grow greater. If they were able to become a core member, then they would have really succeeded.

Different from NPCs, the player's loyalty was a problem.

Hence, for some guilds, the snake guards themselves had to go undercover to personally obtain intel.

Basically, all the guilds in the TOP 10 had undercover snake guards, including those in the alliance.

For territories, they had formed hidden contact points.

Then, the manager of that contact point would build a network in the territory.

As the territories were special, they decided for the managers of these contact points to be NPCs. If players took up these roles, it was easy to raise the doubts of the lords.

Hence, the Black Snake Guards were training the various NPCs in the intel stations, forming an elite batch of spies.

As they were still training the NPCs, the infiltration of territories had not begun.

Lastly, the Black Snake Guards took over the eyes and ears the Rattlesnake Mercenary Group had placed down. At this point, their intel network was barely staying afloat.

When Ouyang Shuo heard all of this news, his mouth was agape.

If they could really follow Black Mamba's plan, that would be amazing. The future China region, be it the imperial cities, guilds, or territories, these groups could not escape their eyes.

Of course, a plan was just a plan. For it to work, time and effort were needed.

Even with a bunch of professionals and huge financial support, it would take a year or more to build such an intel network.

When he saw this, Ouyang Shuo took out twenty thousand gold from his backup funds and passed it to Black Mamba.

Toward Ouyang Shuo's support, Black Mamba was naturally really excited. What he was currently doing was far more interesting than what he did in the Rattlesnake Mercenary Group.

Black Mamba could feel the cold blood inside him start to boil once again.

The reason Ouyang Shuo supported the Black Snake Guards was also because he felt some danger in what they described. If they could build such an intel network, couldn't Di Chen and the others do so too?

Maybe, a territory was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of their powers.

The large powers probably could not compare with Ouyang Shuo in running a territory or knowledge of the game. But in other areas, they far surpassed him.

Building an intel network was naturally something they were good at.

He was too careless!

During the Battle of Lianzhou, three territories betraying him was already a sign. The intel network of Di Chen had in fact already seeped into the Lianzhou Basin.

However, Ouyang Shuo had not known.

When he thought about it, he felt a shiver run down his spine, and he told his thoughts to Black Mamba.

When Black Mamba heard this, he kept silent.

After a long while, he calmly said, "Do not worry, lord. I'll personally clean up Lianzhou and within two months I'll find all the spies hidden here."

What Black Mamba said was find, not remove.

When Ouyang Shuo heard this, he nodded. Some spies, as long as they just scrutinized them, did not need to be removed. Maybe, they could have some uses too.

"Thank you!"

Black Mamba nodded and did not say anything more.

Apart from the intel network, Black Mamba also heard some interesting news.

The matter Ouyang Shuo paid the most attention to was naturally the events between Star Alliance and Thread.

"The Rumor between Xingzhe Zichen and Qing Sikou is a fact. On the other hand, Star Alliance is really pushing Thread into a corner."

"It seems like it's time for us to act!"

Ouyang Shuo laughed, appearing very confident.

When Black Mamba heard this, he looked at Ouyang Shuo with a weird expression. He did not understand what trump card Ouyang Shuo possessed to have such confidence in snatching Thread from the mouths of Star Alliance.

Although they were newly built, they had a strong ally in Jianqi Zongheng. They also had the backings of Handan County. To beat them was not an easy matter.

Without mentioning other factors, even Xingzhe Zichen's family was not something to underestimate.

For a hidden aristocratic family to come out, naturally, they would give it their all. If Ouyang Shuo wanted to beat them, he needed to pay a price.

Of course, Ouyang Shuo would not explain anything to Black Mamba.

That afternoon, he brought four Guards and teleported to Jingdou. Then, he entered the office there.

The conductor of that intel station was White Snake.

Out of the nine imperial cities, Jingdu was really important, so White Snake was one of the best out of all of them.

White Snake described in detail the intel that they had obtained.

Based on what they knew, under the oppression of Star Alliance, Thread was nearly in chaos. They could not buy any rare resources, and the members had started to grow unhappy.

Their leader, Qing Sikou, had started to release control. She was right about to give up and surrender.

When Ouyang Shuo heard this news, he said, "Help me ask Qing Sikou out for a meeting."

"No problem."

The Black Snake Guards had moved into Jingdu for a month. They definitely had ways to contact her. As a professional, White Snake naturally would not ask about Ouyang Shuo's reason and goal.

To him, he just needed to follow orders.

After he left, Ouyang Shuo remained alone in the room and prepared for the meeting tomorrow.

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Chapter 371- Relocating

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

3rd month 29th day, Ouyang Shuo arranged to meet Qing Sikou.

Their meeting location was a tea house in Jingdu known as Yi Pingxiang.

Ouyang Shuo arrived half an hour early and chose a room on the second floor. Not only could they admire the scenery outside, this move also ensured their secrecy.

Qing Sikou was a cold girl. When she came in, Ouyang Shuo was brewing the tea.

"Lord Wuyi, I've heard so much about you!"

"I've also heard much about you, guild leader Qing." Ouyang Shuo smiled. He personally poured a cup for her and said, "Golden emperor chrysanthemum tea, please enjoy!"

Qing Sikou picked up the cup, her actions very gentle and graceful. As she took a sip, her eyes lit up instantly, "I did not expect Lord Wuyi to know so much about tea."

Drinking flower tea in spring, there was nothing more perfect than that.

As the guild leader of Thread, Qing Sikou naturally knew all about tea, wine, food and the like.

In real-life, Qing Sikou was an especially refined and elegant lady. Not only did she look graceful, her taste was also refined. It was not easy for Ouyang Shuo to receive her praise.

In his last life, Ouyang Shuo did not like to drink wine, but he loved to drink tea. This became his hobby, so he knew a lot about tea.

"I just know a little. It's nothing compared to guild leader Qing."

Qing Sikou looked at Ouyang Shuo expressionlessly. In her eyes, there was a tangible tiredness, she did not want to beat around the bush and directly said, "For Lord Wuyi to invite me here, it definitely is not just to drink tea, right?"

To tell the truth, if it was not Ouyang Shuo, she would not have come. The current her had too many problems, and she did not have any energy to attend such meetings.

Ouyang Shuo smiled, "You can probably guess the reason why I am here!"

"Oh? You are also interested in Thread?"

In her words, there was an obvious coldness. The atmosphere was not as friendly as before. Recently, a similar strong man had forced her, making her feel really annoyed.

When she saw Ouyang Shuo, she could not act too rudely, but her originally good impression of him was gone.

Ouyang Shuo expected this reaction, "Guild Leader Qing, why not hear me out?"

When he thought of his identity as the best player, Qing Sikou held down her unhappiness. Xingze Zichen had recently forced her into a corner, and she even had thoughts of quitting. When she met Ouyang Shuo, she only held a slim hope of him being able to help.

She said calmly, "Please speak!"

"Guild Leader Qing, have you heard of Yazhou?"

"Yazhou?" Qing Sikou was confused.

Players, especially adventure gamemode players, were not very sensitive toward the China region map.

Ouyang Shuo added, "Qiongzhou island?"

"Qiongzhou Island?" Qing Sikou was astonished.

One of the two biggest islands on China. Naturally, Qiongzhou Island had a thunderous fame amongst players.

When he saw her reaction, Ouyang Shuo nodded.

That was right.

The secrecy of the three elite guild forces till date was something that pleased him. Evidently, no news regarding Yazhou had spread to the adventure gamemode players.

He noticed that Qing Sikou still had her doubts, so Ouyang Shuo gave her a simple introduction to Yazhou.

After she heard his, she kept silent for a long while.

As a guild leader, she naturally was not stupid. From Ouyang Shuo's description, she could roughly understand that Yazhou was a paradise for work occupation players.

"Lord Wuyi is not afraid that I will leak this?"

Ouyang Shuo laughed confidently, "I trust your character, and I also trust my own eyes."What a confident person.

"Can you be more specific?"

Qing Sikou realized that maybe this was the chance she had been waiting for.

"Of course." Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Thread will move their headquarters to Yashan City and will be protected by it. Outside the city, there are swathes of land that work occupation players can use. In the city, there are also different places for talents and artisans to practice their craft."

"What about rare resources? How will you solve this?" Qing Sikou was not satisfied. The reason Thread was in such a situation was still due to the other guilds hogging the rare materials.

"The future Yashan City will attract large amounts of adventure mode players and also many guilds. The resources of the Five Finger Mountain are plentiful, and I believe Thread will be able to cooperate with these players."

Qing Sikou's eyes brightened.

When he saw that she was a little tempted, Ouyang Shuo threw down his last assault, "War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group, Qingfeng Pavillion, and Tingyu Floor. Toward these three guilds, I have some influence. Even if Thread is not able to get rare resources from other players, I can help you out."

When Qing Sikou heard this, she was astonished.

"I have to say, Lord Wuyi has nearly persuaded me but…."

Qing Sikou stopped.

Ouyang Shuo frowned; he had not expected this reaction.

Rationally speaking, compared to the merger plans of the Star Alliance and Jianqi Zongheng, his proposal had less restrictions on Thread.

Basically, it was an equal-level cooperation.

Ouyang Shuo could not think of a reason why she would reject this deal.

"Guild Leader Qing, why not speak out your qualms or fears? Please do not doubt my sincerity."

"I naturally do not doubt your sincerity."

Qing Sikou sighed; she was also feeling regretful about missing such an opportunity, "Do you know Xingzhe Zichen's identity?"

Ouyang Shuo understood; no wonder she was worried. Naturally, a hidden aristocratic family scared and terrified normal players.

In his last life, Ouyang Shuo was similar, and he was very respectful to such big powers.

This life, it was very different.

Different experiences had given Ouyang Shuo a different determination. He calmly said, "It's just a hidden aristocratic family, it is not enough to worry me. There's no need for you to worry about this."

"What? You actually know his identity?"

Qing Sikou was shocked. She looked at Ouyang Shuo with awe.

This man was really unfathomable.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Guild Leader Qing, you do not need to worry. Shanhai City will help you out against Star Alliance and Jianqi Zongheng."

"With your promise, I have nothing to worry about!"

Ouyang Shuo's promise had totally helped rid Qing Sikou of her worries.

In a short half an hour meeting, the man in front of her had totally convinced her. Her confidence and impression of Ouyang Shuo had increased by many folds.

Ouyang Shuo smiled and raised his hand, "Happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation!"

The two of them had officially agreed to work with one another. Next, they had to work out the specific details.

As one of the TOP 10 guilds, apart from a main guild, Thread also had ten branch guilds. All of them were maxed member large-sized guilds, with a total of 110 thousand.

Compared to the other top guilds, they could be considered to have relatively lesser members.

The ones with the most were the first-ranked Blood Evil Mercenary Group, with a total of three hundred thousand members. Basically, all the other guilds in the TOP 10 had around two hundred thousand.

Due to the recent changes, many had quit Thread, mostly from the branch guilds.

Hence, their numbers had fallen to around a hundred thousand.

Toward these members, Ouyang Shuo was still wary of them. Among these people, there would be many spies.

Ouyang Shuo wanted to use this chance to clean out the guild.

Qing Sikou did not express any objection toward Ouyang Shuo's views.

In truth, large numbers of members leaving was the reason why Qing Sikou felt so disappointed. She did not think that the guild she tried so hard to run would actually fail to withstand this test.

Ouyang Shuo also promised Thread a series of benefits after they shifted over their headquarters. For example, half rent and tax for a year.

At the same time, the Four Seas Bank branch in Yashan City would loan money to Thread members to open shops or farms.

As for the specifics, it needed both parties to discuss.

After they reached an agreement, both of them left.

Qing Sikou needed to tell the members about the move, while Ouyang Shuo had other matters to handle.

The two of them agreed that Thread would need to move over two days later, on the 4th month 1st day.

This news definitely could not be hidden from the Star Alliance.

Ouyang Shuo could not foresee what would happen. He could only prepare for the worst. Based on Ouyang Shuo's character, he always thought the worst of people and made preparations based on such a premise.

When Qing Sikou returned to the headquarters, she immediately sent a message through the guild channel.

"Members, I'm Qing Sikou!"

With her sudden appearance, the guild channel went from total silence to total excitement.

During this period of time, Thread was in chaos. She had not expressed any opinions about this, causing the members to panic.

Now that the guild leader had stood out, it seems like everything would be solved.

Some members were distraught, while others were excited.

They were about to face the judgement of fate.

The spies that the Star Alliance had arranged in Thread were excited. The way they saw it, their master must have successfully taken her down.

When they thought about this, these spies did not even wait for her to announce anything. They spread the news to their superiors because they wanted to gain credit.

In less than ten minutes, Star Alliance leader Xingzhe Zichen received the news.

The spies were delighted. Based on their work, they could definitely get a position inside the Star Alliance. The identity of their leader was not some secret in the inner segments of the guild.

Hence, the members felt that the guild had potential. As a result, they worked so hard.

If they could be highly regarded by Xingzhe Zichen, would that not settle their lives?

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Chapter 372- When the Tree Falls, the Monkeys Scatter

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

However, the spies that the Star Alliance had planted in Thread were not happy for long.

Qing Sikou announced the news in the guild channel.

"Facing the current situation, I've decided to allow members to leave. You can either be solo players or join other guilds; I won't interfere with any decision you make."

The moment her words landed, the guild channel exploded.

The 110 thousand members were split into two groups.

One group chose to leave upon hearing her words. Since their leader had given up, what was the point of them staying?

Why not just leave on good terms?

As work occupation players, the members were not afraid of failing to find a new home.

Of course, some of them had gotten sick of the backstabbing that occured in guilds. Hence, they decided to become solo players. They would run a shop in the imperial city to earn money and raise their skills.

The other group were the loyal members who tried to stop Qing Sikou.

"Guild leader, don't. We don't want to leave Thread."

"That's right. It's our home; we won't leave!"

"Leader, we built this up with so much hard work, don't disband!"

"Leader, say something!"

"If Thread disbands, what can we do?"

Some of the members were thrown into disarray; they seemed like baby wolves that lost their mother.

Qing Sikou was currently feeling very conflicted.

On one side, she could hear notifications of members leaving, while on the other, she could hear members begging.

The members that stayed let her know that there were still loyal people in the guild. They were connected and belonged to the guild.

Even so, she had to continue this cruel test.

Qing Sikou shouted out once again, "Thread will not disband, but we won't merge with any other guild. If despite that, you want to stay, I won't say anything."

Even some of the loyal members started to waver the moment she said that.

After these few occurrences, Thread had fallen down the guild rankings and had an unknown future.

As a result, the ambitious members chose to leave.

More and more members chose to leave.

At first, it was just the outer group members. Now, even the elite and core members chose to leave.

When Qing Sikou saw this scene, a tinge of sadness appeared in her eyes. Especially after she saw core members leave, it left a huge impact on her. These people were the ones that had fought by her side for so long over many games.

She did not expect them to choose to leave at this crucial moment.

The real life interests that Earth Online affected were simply too big. The motives of playing were not so pure anymore, and these interests greatly tested the loyalty of the players.

If the tree falls, the monkeys will leave.

Suddenly, she also felt a sense of relief. She hoped that after this, Thread would revive itself in Yazhou.

In an entire afternoon, a total of forty thousand members had left. Those who had not left yet were mainly still exchanging guild contribution points for items.

Before they left, the members would basically spend up all the contribution points they had accumulated.

All of a sudden, the resources in the storage of Thread that had piled up like mountains started to disappear at a fast rate.

As the guild leader, she could prevent them from exchanging, but she did not. After all, they had earned the points with their hard work, and they also had the right to leave.

This series of events had totally fallen outside of the expectations of the spies. Their excitement turned into shock. They could only laugh bitterly and report the new intel.

After they heard that a large amount of the Thread members had left, the guilds in Jingdu bustled with excitement.

When both Jianqi Zongheng and Star Alliance acted, the other guilds who knew that this would happen backed off.

Since Thread refused to merge with other guilds, the members that left would not belong to anywhere and could be recruited.

The various guilds started to recruit members who had left Thread on a large-scale.

At the start, they went to receive the new members one by one.

As things progressed, they decided they would rather just set up a recruitment station outside Thread, as there were just too many of them.

The Thread members that chose to leave packed their stuff. Then, the moment they left the base, various guild members pestered them.

This scene was highly explosive.

Some guilds even fought right on the streets to snatch members.

In the imperial city, fighting was prohibited. If not, the moment they were caught, they needed to go to jail. They were not Blood Blade, who could escape easily as a single person.

Hence, they could only quarrel or have some simple fist fights. Even if the constables rushed here, as long as it was not a riot, they could explain the situation.

Not only the Thread headquarters, the other ten branch guild bases also had similar scenes. Around the headquarters were the large-guilds, while around the branches were the middle-sized guilds.

As for the small-sized guilds, Thread members definitely would not consider going to them.

Jianqi Zongheng was present too.

Since Star Alliance could not take down Thread, naturally, Jianqi Zongheng would not care. They ordered their managers and recruiters to take in large amounts of Thread members.

Such a scene even alarmed other imperial cities.

Blood Evil Mercenary Group, Streamer, and Eighteen Horsemen of Yanyun even came over to poach people.

This scene was like a buffet.

And Thread was the only dish.

In this feast, the angriest and most annoyed person had to be Xingzhe Zichen.

After he received the initial intel, he was delighted that his first battle had ended in a victory. With that, the people who disagreed in his family were totally proven wrong.

However, the feeling in his heart was not as good when he got the second news.

He went from the peak, right into the deep trenches.

He scolded out, "Scum! Actually choosing to disband rather than joining me."

Xingzhe Zichen totally hated Qing Sikou, the person who had caused all of this.

He had never faced such humiliation in his life.

He was so furious that he was about to lose his rationality. He even wanted to send people to take revenge.

Luckily, there were some smart people in Star Alliance.

At the crucial moment, their advisor stepped out, "We can take revenge next time. What's more important is for us to attract more members of Thread now."

When Xingzhe Zichen heard these words, his anger faded. He patted the advisor's shoulder and commended, "You're right. You'll be in charge of this."

"Thank you, leader!"

He backed off and started to join the feast.

This lasted all the way till the afternoon of the next day before it ended.

On the 3rd month, 30th day, 4 PM, there were less than ten thousand members left in Thread.

Facing such a situation, Qing Sikou felt heartbroken.

When she had agreed on this test, she had expected large amounts of members to leave. But she did not think that 90% of them would.

She even doubted herself and wondered if she was a failure of a guild leader.

Now, the ones that remained were the truly loyal members. All the spies were basically cleared out.

Star Alliance only had one spy left. They were only there because Xingzhe Zichen still hated her and wanted to take revenge.

During this feast, Star Alliance had only recruited three thousand. Jianqi Zongheng, on the other hand, recruited ten thousand and could form a work occupation branch guild.

All the guilds in Jingdou got a cut.

As for the other guilds in other imperial cities, they also gained a little bit. Blood Evil Mercenary Group had recruited five thousand, even more than Star Alliance, who was positioned at Thread's home ground.

The influence of Star Alliance was obviously not as great as he had expected. Three thousand compared to ten thousand, the large difference made him furious.

He had decided to take revenge on Thread and make them leave Jingdu.

The three guilds in Shanhai Alliance also joined in the feast.

When Ouyang Shuo received the news, he did not do anything. He was the alliance leader, but he would not interfere in their internal decisions.

At 5 PM, Qing Sikou performed a rough calculation. Out of the ten thousand, the main guild had three thousand left.

When she got the numbers, she felt a little happier.

At least the main group was trustable. Additionally, out of the hundred core members, half of them stayed.

As for the ten branch guilds, most of them left. Some had one thousand remaining, mostly less than that. One or two newly set up branches basically only had a few left, while the rest had all left.

Helplessly, she could only gather all of them into the main guild. As for the ten branch guilds, they would be left as empty shells.

Qing Sikou gathered her feelings and started to speak in the guild channel.

"Fellow members, I am Qing Sikou!"

The same words sounded out, but they contained a totally different meaning now.

The change that the guild had undergone had left the ten thousand of them terrified.

This was the weakest moment of Thread but also its strongest moment. The remaining members were totally united, they could only ride through this by staying together.

"Through troubles, we can see the truth. At the crucial moment, I've seen your loyalty, and I'm really touched by this. Now, I'm going to announce that our headquarters will move to Yashan City."

"Yashan City?"

"Yashan City is a base that Qiyue Wuyi has built in Qiongzhou Island. It will be where we spend our future. If you do not want to leave Jingdou, you can leave the guild. I won't force you."

Qing Sikou did not describe Yashan City much. Even so, the golden signboard of Qiyue Wuyi made all of them see some light in this darkness.

When they heard these words, only a few members left the guild because they did not want to leave Jingdou. Qing Sikou prepared some compensation for these members.

After all, they had passed the test. Naturally, they should get some rewards.

In the storage of the guild, there was only a portion of resources left. After all, they were just basic resources and Qing Sikou had kept the rare ones.

The valuable resources were the industries that the guild set up in Jingdou, including the hundreds of workshops and fifty to sixty shops.

Some shops were even in the bustling areas of Jingdou.

These businesses were what they amassed in this year. Their goal was to build a stable platform that would provide the guild with their main source of gold.

Qing Sikou sold all the products that the members processed.

The only thing she kept was the main courtyard. Firstly, she wanted to keep it as a memory. Moreover, she wanted to leave some assets in Jingdou for when they return.

Even the empty shells of the ten branch guilds were sold to other guilds.

Qing Sikou had raised 160 thousand gold considering everything. This would be the capital Thread would use to rise up again in Yashan City.

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Chapter 373- Arrogant and Domineering

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Xingzhe Zichen was furious when he learned that Thread would move over to Yashan City. More so when he found out that Qiyue Wuyi caused all of this.

"Despicable, I won't let you get away with this!"

Xingzhe Zichen gritted his teeth, as viciousness flashed across his eyes.

"Men!"

"Leader!"

The advisor walked in. The failure of Star Alliance in recruiting the members of Thread made him very anxious. He was afraid that the guild leader would blame him. However, it was not that he did not put in effort. It was the simple fact that Star Alliance did not have enough strength.

Although Xingzhe Zichen was angry, he was still rational. Since he hailed from an aristocratic family, he had a good upbringing. He called the advisor over and gave them a mission.

After the advisor heard the details, he was astonished. After he thought about it, he held back his words. The guild leader was still really angry. Trying to persuade him was just looking for trouble.

Xingzhe Zichen could see his weird expression and coldly said, "If you have anything to say, just say it!"

When the advisor heard this, he knew that he had no choice but to express his views.

The advisor arranged his words and said, "Guild leader, this isn't beneficial to the Star Alliance. Instead, we will make a huge enemy. Isn't it not the right thing to do?"

Xingzhe Zichen shook his head, "You're wrong! Qiyue Wuyi is the enemy of the Yanhuang Alliance. As such, he's also our enemy. The Star Alliance has just joined the Yanhuang Alliance, and it's time for us to do good. If we can insult him and also raise our status, isn't that good?"

When the advisor heard those words, he felt that it made sense and could not retort.

"Let's just set it like this!"

Xingzhe Zichen had lost all of his patience and waved the advisor off.

"Yes, guild leader!"

The advisor backed down and followed the orders of the guild leader.

4th month, 1st day, Jingdu.

The Thread members had finished packing up. They officially said goodbye to Jingdu and waltzed toward the only teleportation formation in Jingdou.

It was only now that the other guilds finally received the news that Thread was actually about to leave Jingdou.

When they saw such a scene, many of the players were shocked.

A guild that ranked in the TOP 10 had disappeared in a short two days. This huge change was something normal people could not understand.

Along the way, players pointed and commented on this group.

"Where's Thread moving to?"

"Who knows? They probably just want to leave this sad place."

"Aiyo, the symbol of the work occupation has ended just like this. Is there any way for us to get famous?"

The sighs of one of the tailors received a lot of agreement.

"The strong prey on the weak. What can we do?"

On the sides, there were even old Thread members. The symbols and badges of their new guilds were on their chests. When they saw their old comrades, their expressions were complicated.

Some felt regretful, while others mocked Thread.

Qing Sikou walked at the front, as she expressionlessly faced everyone. In her heart, she swore that she would return. Moreover, they would be even more glorious that before.

The other members were not as calm as her. Being criticized and judged in public was not something that felt good, and many of them felt embarrassed.

They only wished that this journey could end fast.

The teleportation formation stood in the biggest square of Jingdu. Compared to the ones in territories, the teleportation formation in the imperial city was a lot more busy. Every moment, people would teleport in and out.

The current square was a little unusual.

Twenty thousand Star Alliance members formed up circle after circle, surrounding the teleportation formation. Xingzhe Zichen stood at the outermost layer, as he waited quietly for Thread to arrive.

On the east side of the square, in one of the tea houses, Ouyang Shuo and his four guards quietly watched things unfold.

Ouyang Shuo felt that it was to be expected that Xingzhe Zichen would act. However, the latter's shameless methods left him speechless.

Shameless.

The imperial city did not allow player killing, but it did not control where the players could stand. The Star Alliance members were allowed to stand like that.

With this move, Thread could not teleport out—a huge slap to their face. It was not just a slap to Qing Sikou but also to Ouyang Shuo.

After he thought about this, Ouyang Shuo took out something and passed it to one of the guards. He gave the latter some instructions. The guard nodded and left the tea house, disappearing.

In these two days, Ouyang Shuo had not just lazed around.

When the Thread members rushed to the square and saw such a formation, they were stunned.

"Xingzhe Zichen what's the meaning of this?"

Qing Sikou coldly stared at him, furious.

Originally, she was a little fearful. After all, he hailed from an aristocratic family. However, when she saw him perform such a despicable act, that fear disappeared. Only despise and hatred remained.

"There's no meaning!"

Xingzhe Zichen was delighted in his heart, but he acted really innocent on the surface.

"Don't you think this is too much?" Qing Sikou scolded.

"Too much?" Xingzhe Zichen blew up; his expression changed, as he loudly said, "Despicable b*tch! You dare to talk to me about being too much? You agreed with me but turned and jumped into Qiyue Wuyi's arms. If I don't kill you, how am I supposed to appease this anger?!"

"You!" All of a sudden, Qing Sikou was so furious that she did not know what to say. No one had ever insulted her so badly since she was born.

People filled the current square. Naturally, everyone heard their exchange.

Uproar!

Qing Sikou was one of the four heroines of the adventure gamemode players, yet someone insulted her to such an extent.

"You're too much!"

"That's right. Luckily, we did not join the Star Alliance. What a dog sh*t guild leader, such trash!"

All these men who grumbled only did so quietly. No one dared to stand out to say this.

When he witnessed such a scene, Xingzhe Zichen grew more and more delighted.

As a heir of an aristocratic family, he was asked to act low profile since his birth. Even though they held so much power and money, he could only act as a normal person.

This long period of suppression had made him lose his original nature; it had changed his personality.

Now, he really enjoyed the feeling of attention and the eyes of everyone.

He, the son of an aristocratic family, the mysterious Chi Cultivator, was destined to be the shining light.

Compared to Di Chen, who came from a large power, Xingzhe Zichen had undergone traditional aristocratic family education. In his heart, there was nothing that said everyone was equal.

Hence, that was why he would call her a b*tch and did not even hesitate when he scolded her. He did not find anything wrong with it.

It was not that no one in the square dared to go against the Star Alliance. They were silent as they were digesting the other intel that Xingzhe Zichen had revealed.

Qiyue Wuyi!

Behind Thread actually stood Qiyue Wuyi. This was something that no one had expected.

These two powers had no relation to one another, but they actually grouped up, shocking everyone.

Then, they realized that Xingzhe Zichen was not just going against Qing Sikou. He was also acting against Qiyue Wuyi, the huge giant that stood in the China region.

Just the thought of challenging him would make one tremble.

Hence, they did not do anything because they did not think Shanhai City would just let this side. Since that was the case, they just needed to wait and watch the show.

They were calm, but that did not mean that the Thread members were calm. When they saw their guild leader being insulted, they blew up and looked like they were about to pick a fight.

", kill them!"

"Let's step on them!"

Luckily, Qing Sikou maintained her rationality and stopped her members from fighting. It was impossible for work occupation players to go against combat occupation players twice their number.

Qing Sikou was just waiting for the arrival of one person.

When Xingzhe Zichen looked at the angry faces of the Thread members and saw that none of them dared to rush up, he became more arrogant and laughed, "All you young kids, go back to your mummies!"

Along with their guild leader, the members of Star Alliance also mocked Thread.

Ouyang Shuo picked up his tea, as he sat in the tea house. He took a slow sip, "I don't like this guy."

White Snake heart tightened when he heard those words, as he sat opposite Ouyang Shuo. He knew exactly how much weight those words held. It was basically a death sentence for Star Alliance.

White Snake took a look at Xingzhe Zichen, as pity appeared in his eyes. He was too young and rash. Did he really think that a hidden aristocratic family was very big in the game?

Sadly, he did not know how powerful Ouyang Shuo was.

Even Yanhuang Alliance would act careful and wary when they faced Ouyang Shuo. After failing several times, some members even had a phobia, like Sha Pojun.

White Snake really could not understand why Xingzhe Zichen would feel so confident. White Snake only knew that he needed to infiltrate Star Alliance and lay a path for his lord.

Not only that, it was time to act on the other guilds in Jingdou.

Star Alliance was the first sharpening stone for the Jingdou intel station.

At this point, the guard had returned and whispered something into Ouyang Shuo's ear. Ouyang Shuo nodded and stood up, "We should head down. Let's not make our friend wait."

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Chapter 374- Arrogant? I'm More Arrogant!

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

When Ouyang Shuo walked down the stairs, he bumped into a white shirt scholar.

This man looked very handsome. He seemed talented but reserved, making one feel inspired.

Ouyang Shuo's eyes focused; he did not expect to meet such a peerless and graceful figure in the tea house. As he had some matters to attend to, Ouyang Shuo could not start a conversation with him. He just slightly nodded and brushed past the latter.

In the square, Star Alliance and Thread stood in a stalemate.

At this very moment, a team of constables suddenly ran over. They had around two hundred men. A middle-aged constable led them. He wore a Wuliang Crown on his head and a Yulong robe on his body. Additionally, he had a Xiuchun knife on his waist.

"Who dares to create trouble in Jingdou?"

This middle-aged constable was the head of a hall; his position was not low. Above him were the elder, deputy commander, and the commander.

When he saw the police force suddenly appear, Xingzhe Dichen was shocked. He felt a bad premonition. As he noticed the leader asking them questions, Xingzhe Dichen told his advisor to go up and answer.

Although the advisor felt alarmed, he was still calm. He walked out and bowed, "We are members of the Star Alliance. We are only having a gathering here. We do not dare to create trouble."

The middle-aged constable laughed coldly. How could such poor acting fool him? He barked, "Impudence! You are obviously here to affect the order of the teleportation formation. Men, place them all into the jail!"

"Yes, sir!"

In an instant, two hundred constables went up with chains to capture them.

Two hundred constables up against twenty thousand players. Despite that, the constables did not show any fear. In Jingdu, no guild would dare to go up against the police force, as they represented the Jingdu Imperial Court.

Without mentioning the hundred thousand palace guards, even the police force had around ten thousand men. Furthermore, great martial artists filled their ranks.

They really did not need to use any energy to take down the Star Alliance.

The crowd that was just standing around felt dazzled when they saw the sudden change in the situation.

"What happened? Why did the police force come?"

"Did the Star Alliance make enemies with someone? They have knocked into an iron brick!"

"Hehe, there's something nice to watch now!"

"What is this called? Trying to embarrass someone but being embarrassed instead?"

"I did not expect Thread to have such a backer!"

"If they were so strong, Qing Sikou would not be in such a situation!"

A player retorted.

"You're right, so who is helping Thread?"

Along with these words, the group of people crowding around looked toward someone.

This player was called Dalang Taosha. He could be considered someone with a little knowledge. Once he saw himself become the centre of attention, he did not get happy. Instead, he tried to dampen it, "Are you all stupid? Did you hear what Xingzhe Zichen said? That Thread got Qiyue Wuyi to help them? Think about it, which lord has the most power in Jingdu?"

"That can't be true!" The other players did not believe it, "No matter how strong Qiyue Wuyi is, he can't possibly activate the police force!"

In their eyes, the police force was an unassailable presence.

Even their most ordinary member could compete with the pinnacle of players.

Dalang Taosha scoffed, "Shallow. Don't forget that he's different from us. The imperial court officially granted him his title. Activating the police would be the least of his powers!"

When the players heard this, they threw glances of admiration at Dalang Taosha. In his heart, he felt delighted. However, he acted like nothing had happened on the surface.

When the other players saw this, they were really impressed—this guy was smart!

Some of the smart ones wanted to add him as a Friend and have relations with him.

Dalang Taosha did not reject any; he even pulled the group to a corner very secretively. They looked on in excitement, eager for what he was about to reveal.

However, they only saw him take out an old armor, "Armor making, silver quality. Five gold for one. Do you all want one?"

His current eyes were so sincere.Their image of him instantly crumbled.

They did not think that this guy was actually a scum merchant. He would try to sell such an old armor for five gold. They all shook their heads and left. Some of them even deleted him from their Friends List.

"Aiyo do not leave. It's all silver quality from Shanhai City. A definite elite item!"

His expression instantly changed, and he formed a shrewd smile.

"Do not pull me!"

When the other players heard his words, they ran even faster and quickly disappeared.

"Brother, we can discuss the price. Do not leave!"

All of a sudden, all the players had left and no one remained.

Dalang Taosha shook his head and sighed. He saw that one guy at the corner had not left, so he smiled and asked, "Brother, do you want one?"

The player looked at the armor and drooled, "Skilled player, skilled player. I-I only have one gold." He took out one gold as he said that.

It was obvious that this gold was all of his assets. As such, he cherished it a lot.

Dalang Taosha did not know whether to laugh or cry. The armor he was trying to sell came from the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group. He wanted to resell it to earn the difference in price.

His purchase price was one gold.

When he saw the rookie in front of him, his heart softened, and he decided to sell one to him. Maybe, he had remembered what he was like when he started in the game. As a result, he decided to sow some good karma.

Unfortunately, the kid that started out pure had turned into a scamming merchant.

When the player received the armor, he felt delighted and was emotional beyond words, "You are a good person. Thank you, thank you!"

Faced with the pure small warrior, Dalang Taosha could only act valiant and magnanimous. He said, "It is not worth much. Little brother, good luck!"

"En!" The rookie nodded his head.

Unknown to Dalang Taosha, his actions had created one of the future experts of the game.

However, this was a matter for the future. It was not important now.

He saw that the situation was growing out of hand, so Xingzhe Zichen quickly stepped up.

He walked to the side of the middle-aged constable and sneakily handed over a gold note. Then, he softly said, "Sir, sorry for this. We will leave now. This is just a little token of our sincerity. Please accept it."

Only the heavens knew how angry and annoyed Xingzhe Zichen was now. He really lost too much face today. He really did not expect the police force to suddenly rush over.

Under normal circumstances, if there were no major incidents or assassinations, the police force would not care no matter what the players did. Who knows what medicine they ate today to suddenly bother about this small matter.

It was not that Xingzhe Zichen did not think that Qiyue Wuyi might have caused this, but even a lord could not activate the police force. In Jingdu, there were so many of them.

The elders in the police force would not take orders from the lords and help them solve their problems.

It was just as he had expected. The police force would not easily make a move. However, Ouyang Shuo was different.

During the first day of the New Year, after Ouyang Shuo faced an assassination attempt, the police force had failed to find the assailant. The one in charge was the middle-aged constable before him.

Hence, he felt like he owed Ouyang Shuo something.

Faced with Ouyang Shuo's request for help, he did not hesitate and instantly agreed.

Hence, these series of events occurred.

When he saw the two hundred gold ticket that Xingzhe Zichen passed to him, a look of despise flashed across his face. The Lianzhou Lord had rewarded him with five thousand gold.

Naturally, Ouyang Shuo did not spend so much gold just for this matter. He also wanted to create relations in Jingdou. In the future, the work of the Black Snake Guards would have some backing.

Strictly speaking, two hundred gold could be considered a lot, and it was close to half a year of the middle-aged constable's pay.

Unfortunately, someone had offered a higher price.

He laughed coldly, "Wow, someone actually tries to bribe an official. Men!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Take this man down and hand him over to the Yamen."

"Yes, sir!"

They did not hesitate and immediately chained up Xingzhe Zichen.

"Ah?"

Before he could even react, he was taken. Even till now, he did not understand what he did wrong. He followed the usual act of paying a fee to gain better relations. This was the usual method to make the other party give him a chance. However, they actually did not fall for it.

"Bring him away!"

The middle-aged constable was expressionless.

When they saw their guild leader being taken down, the Star Alliance members could only follow on without making too much noise.

The police force were quick and used long metal chains to chain them all up into line after line. Then, they brought them back to the Yamen.

This scene was really majestic.

When the crowd saw this scene, their mouths gaped open."Star Alliance won't be able to survive in Jingdou anymore!"

Being seen as monkeys, the members of the Star Alliance hung their heads low; they felt utterly embarrassed.

When the members of all the powers saw this scene, their hearts tightened.

One would rather make enemies with the God of Hell than the Lianzhou Lord!

The middle-aged constable did not care and went before Qing Sikou. Then, he warmly said, "Guild leader Qing? Please forgive me for not doing my job and inconveniencing you."

Normally, he would not act so well-mannered and polite. All of this was just a matter of giving the Lianzhou Lord face.

When Qing Sikou heard these words, tears nearly rolled down her face. The embarrassment and insult that she suffered, Ouyang Shuo had made up for it by several times; this respect was more important than anything else.

At this moment, the Thread members held their heads up high.

"Thank you, sir, for your help!" Qing Sikou bowed.

The middle-aged constable waved her off. Then, he led his force and left. He had done all that he could do.

Only after the police force had taken away all the members of Star Alliance did Ouyang Shuo finally appear. Although everyone had guessed that he had used his power to create this situation, he did not want to confirm that he had activated the police force.

When they all saw Ouyang Shuo appear, the square was sent into a state of uproar.

In the end, in this whole episode, Ouyang Shuo was the main character.

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Chapter 375- The Enemy of My Enemy, Is My Friend

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Ouyang Shuo walked in front of Qing Sikou. Then, he only said one sentence, "Take care!"

She nodded; the two of them had formed a tacit understanding.

Saying anymore would just be a waste of words.

After this simple goodbye, Qing Sikou brought Thread and teleported to Yashan City. At this point, Sun Xiaoyue was already waiting besides the teleportation formation.

Ouyang Shuo did not follow along to Yashan City, as Shanhai City still had some matters for him to handle. He also believed that Yashan City, with both Sun Xiaoyue and Bai Nanpu, could temporarily handle things.

As this matter came to an end, the smart players knew that the animosity between the two men would create future developments.

Jingdu was destined for a lack of peace and quiet.

After he sent away Thread, Ouyang Shuo walked back toward the tea house. Ouyang Shuo felt that the white shirt scholar was not a simple person, and he wanted to get to know them.

Unfortunately, when Ouyang Shuo rushed back to the tea house, he did not see any signs of the scholar.

"Waiter, did you see a white shirt scholar?"

Ouyang Shuo handed over a piece of gold, as he asked one of the waiters in the tea house.

When he received the gold, the waiter smiled widely; this gold coin was equal to two months of his pay, "There's such a person, but he has already left."

"How long? And in which direction?"

"He just left. As for which direction, I do not know!"

Ouyang Shuo felt disappointed, but he did not want to give up. As such, he said to his four Guards, "He should not be far away. Let's split up and chase, quickly!"

"Lord, this..." the Guards were faced with a difficult situation.

"What?"

"Lord, if we all leave, what will happen to you?"

After the Jingdou assassination incident, Wang Feng had chosen eight of the finest Guards from the Guards Regiment—the current palace guards—to work in two shifts to protect Ouyang Shuo twenty-four seven.

"It's fine. I'll follow the lord!" White Snake stepped out.

The Guards wanted to say something, but Ouyang Shuo interrupted them. He asked them to quickly give chase.

Ouyang Shuo, on the other hand, brought White Snake and chased toward the east.

Compared to Shanhai City, Jingdu was bustling. The roads intersected one another, and there were numerous streets and alleys. Amongst the sea of people, Ouyang Shuo did not manage to see the white shirt scholar.

"Forget it. Let's stop chasing!"

Ouyang Shuo sighed. Half an hour had passed, and all clues were lost.

His stupid luck stat. It really did not give him any opportune moments.

Ouyang Shuo was pretty sure that the scholar was a historical figure from the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period.

As for whether he was from a period before that, he would have either come out already or became a hermit, so it was not possible. Even the Shang Dynasty famous figure Yiyin was recruited by a player known as Chen Hang.

Based on the sources, Chen Hang was a strong lord in Jianye. After he recruited Yiyin, his reputation in the area bloomed, and he became the leader of an alliance in the area.

Not just the Shang Dynasty, even a large portion of the figures from the Spring and Autumn Era had already taken up roles. The players tried to keep many of them a secret, but as more and more alliances were built, they were slowly revealed on forums.

The current territories basically all had one to two historical figures, either civil servants or generals.

In regards to this point, Gaia was very fair.

The most stunning one was Wuqi, who had taken up a role in King County. Who knows what Xiongba, that old fox, did to convince Wuqi.

Wuqi could be said to be a presence equal to Sun Bin. In fact, he might even be better.

When White Snake noticed the lord's disappointment, he said, "Lord, I feel that we might find clues if we return. With the nature of scholars, since they chose one tea house, they would frequent it."

When Ouyang Shuo heard these words, his eyes brightened, and he face palmed, "Why didn't I think of that!"

"Go, let's return to the tea house!"

When they returned, all of the other guards had also gotten back.

As expected, they did not manage to find anything either.

Ouyang Shuo was not dejected. He found the waiter and asked, "Does that white shirt scholar frequent this tea house?"

The waiter knew that he was speaking to a lord, so he did not dare to tarry, "Lord, you've asked the right person. That fellow does not come everyday; he only comes when the tea house has chess games."

"Chess games?"

"That's right, to attract customers, the tea house will hold five chess games a month. Customers can drink tea and watch the games at the same time," the waiter proudly introduced.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "When's the next one?"

"In five days!"

When Ouyang Shuo heard this, he took out another gold coin and passed it to the waiter, "Five days later, I'll come once more. Help me book a room. If that mister arrives earlier than me, lead him to that room. Do you understand?"

"Do not worry, I'll do it!"

After he received this reward, the waiter was elated. Such generosity, as expected from a lord.

After he left the tea house, Ouyang Shuo arrived into the little courtyard that was the Jingdu Office.

White Snake followed and asked, "Is the lord prepared to wait all the way in Jingdou, or?"

Ouyang Shuo thought about it, "I'll just wait here. In the meantime, I'll deal with the Star Alliance."

"Your intention is?"

To deal with the Star Alliance, he had to take into account the interference of Jianqi Zongheng.

"Go and contact one or two of the guilds in Jingdou. I think that they will be interested in working with us."

As a pleasant coincidence, Ouyang Shuo had just wanted to deal with Jianqi Zongheng.

During the last system auction, in order to fight for the god weapon, Jianqi Zongheng had become mortal enemies with the War-Snow Rose Mercenary Group.

If he had a chance, Ouyang Shuo definitely would not mind teaching them a lesson.

Although there was a rise in adventure gamemode players, they did not have the ability to compete. As a result, they needed the backing of Ouyang Shuo.

In the late game, the situation would change.

Now, Ouyang Shuo had enough to go against Jianqi Zongheng.

When White Snake heard these words, his eyes brightened, "I understand. Do not worry lord, it will happen in these two days."

Ouyang Shuo nodded and did not say anything more.

4th month 3rd day Jingdou.

In a pavilion, four young men sat separately.

Ouyang Shuo sat at the host position, while White Snake sat opposite to him. In the dark, he was the conductor of the intel station; on the surface, he was the manager of the office.

On Ouyang Shuo's left, sat a cool-looking young man—he was the guild leader of Shadow Alliance, Ji Yinghu. On the right, sat a gentle and polite-looking young woman—she was the guild leader of Yimeng Pavilion, Mengyun Tunding.

These two guilds were ranked second and fourth on the Jingdu guild rankings.

In the third spot on the Jingdu guild rankings was Star Alliance.

After these two guilds received Ouyang Shuo's invitation, both of them felt excited and anxious at the same time.

The news of what happened in the square had already spread around. They both knew that members of the Star Alliance were still locked up in jail.

Xingzhe Zichen was in the worst position, as he was sentenced to a month in jail.

The fellow in front of them terrified the two.

When White Snake invited the duo, he revealed that Shanhai City wanted to act against Star Alliance.

Ji Yinghu did not express his stance toward this matter, while Mengyun Tunding was eager.

It had been a short two months since Xingzhe Zichen came to Jingdu, yet he managed to usurp Yimeng Pavillion. Mengyun Tunding's thoughts of Xingzhe Zichen were obvious.

Ji Yinghu came because of his target—Jianqi Zongheng.

As the 3rd ranked guild in the China region, Jianqi Zongheng suppressed every guild in Jingdu until they could not breathe.

However, the waters in Jingdou were deep and there were many hidden tigers.

There were many who wanted to challenge the position of Jianqi Zongheng.

Ji Yinghu was such a character.

When Shadow Alliance first came out, they went straight against Jianqi Zongheng, but their actions failed to bear any results. However, they solidified themselves at the second spot. Even Star Alliance could not shake them.

The strength and toughness of Ji Yinghu was not ordinary.

When he received this invitation, Ji Yinghu knew that his chance had arrived.

Ouyang Shuo could feel something from the short time it took for them to accept the invitation. He could tell that White Snake was very clear about the animosities and relationships between the various guilds in Jingdu.

The ability of this conductor could not be underestimated.

Compared to the previous intel station, the Black Snake Guards were several times better. Ouyang Shuo felt that the hundreds of thousands of gold he spent on them was totally worth it.

"Both of you are the top figures in Jingdu. Are you interested in working with Shanhai City?"

After the greetings, Ouyang Shuo directly delved into the topic.

Based on his current position, whether speaking or doing things, he no longer needed to beat around the bush. Whatever he did he would be very clear and direct.

"We are willing to hear your suggestion!" Although Mengyun Tunding was very eager, the way she spoke still showed class.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Simple, Shanhai Alliance will sell you two a batch of elite equipment including strong bows, heavy swords, and shields. As a requirement, the Star Alliance must not be able to survive in the 3rd region."

The 3rd region of the imperial city was the most hotly contested area for guilds. If a guild was unable to gain a foothold there, that would pretty much mean they were not a first-rate guild.

Ouyang Shuo's requirement basically meant that Star Alliance would fail to prosper in Jingdu.

In truth, his requirements tempted both of them. These elite equipment were the dream of all the large guilds.

Now was the crucial moment for the guilds in the 3rd region. With these equipment, they could form one or two elite squads.

The moment they took the initiative and got ahead, the benefits were limitless.

If not, Xie Siyun would not have been so anxious during the Shanhai Alliance meeting.

Ouyang Shuo agreeing to sell these items did not affect his deal with the other members. He was just taking out half of the equipment he traded for.

After all, when he ordered the heavy swords and shields, Ouyang Shuo prepared half for his own use and half as a reserve.

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Chapter 376- Mysterious White Shirt Scholar

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

As for the terms that Ouyang Shuo suggested, Ji Yinghu instinctively wanted to bargain.

"Going against the Star Alliance is not an easy matter."

When Ouyang Shuo heard these words, he laughed. Ji Yinghu looked like a cool fellow, but he liked to beat around the bush when he spoke.

"You're wrong. To me, going against them is just to vent my frustrations. However, for the two of you, it's a great opportunity. What you get is proportionate to how much you put in, isn't that right?"

Ji Yinghu froze, he had not expected for Ouyang Shuo to actually be so confident.

Of course, Ouyang Shuo was confident. If Shadow Alliance did not work with them, he could just find another guild. At that point, the ones facing troubles would be the two in front of him.

He believed that Ji Yinghu would not give up this opportunity.

For negotiations, as long as one grabbed the other's bottom line, everything was easy to discuss.

Ji Yinghu could only smile awkwardly when he noticed that he was baited. He was also a decisive person. Since he saw that he could not bargain for more, he immediately gave up and agreed.

With this, the cooperation of the three sides was achieved.

Ouyang Shuo did not want to draw these two guilds into the Shanhai Alliance. Even if he considered such a matter, it would have to wait till they finished off Jianqi Zongheng and Star Alliance.

On the other hand, Thread had successfully entered Shanhai Alliance under Ouyang Suho's recommendation.

In truth, Ouyang Shuo did not expect Shadow Alliance and Yimeng Pavilion to take down Jianqi Zongheng. Just taking down Star Alliance would suffice.

How strong was Jianqi Zongheng to rule Jingdou? The hidden ariocrastic family behind Star Alliance would go all out since they decided to come out.

Ouyang Shuo's goal was to let the guilds in Jingdu fight one another and stunt each other's growths.

With this, Ouyang Shuo would be pleased.

When the time where he needed to finish the two guilds arrived, the Shanhai Alliance would probably do the deed.

After sending them away, Ouyang Shuo was left cooped up in the courtyard with nowhere to go. As a result, he planned to spectate and enjoy the action that would happen in Jingdu.

That afternoon, the promised batch of equipment arrived at Jingdou. The batch included one thousand strong bows, one thousand God arm crossbows, five hundred heavy swords, and two thousand shields.

Ouyang Shuo sold them to Shadow Alliance and Yimeng Floor for a total of 44 thousand gold.

He sold it to them at a price 10% higher than what he paid for internally. Even so, it still made the two of them delighted.

Such elite equipment would be a further 10% more expensive if placed on the market to sell.

For the funds he gained from the sale, Ouyang Shuo kept twenty thousand gold to make up for the investment on the Black Snake Guards. He did this to keep his gold at hand to fifty thousand.

As for the remaining 24 thousand, he sent it to the Financial Department.

This sum would flow into a specialised fund used to expand the four military workshops.

Based on the plans of Shanhai City, the east region military workshops would continue to expand toward the east, all the way toward the Canyon River. Even a portion of the harbor would be used as a military harbor.

After the expansion, the military workshop region would be five times larger. After a year of development, numerous intermediate artisans were born, which helped to lead the fast development of the military industry.

Since they had gained the support of Shanhai City, both Shadow Alliance and Yimeng Pavillion felt confident.

On the 4th day of the 4th month, Yimeng Pavilion secretly attacked the Star Alliance levelling squad in the 3rd region. As a result, they caused heavy casualties.

The core members of Star Alliance were still in jail, so Yimeng Pavillion could force them back. They were forced out of their training spots and resource collecting areas.

When they saw this, Jianqi Zongheng wanted to send reinforcements but Shadow Alliance stopped them.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere around Jingdu became very tense.

On the 5th day, the main force of Star Alliance was released. They counterattacked and fought against Yimeng Pavilion under the leadership of all of the heads.

Yimeng Pavilion had the momentum, so they were naturally fearless and welcomed the battle.

The war fires in Jingdou burned stronger and stronger, officially unveiling the start of guild wars. The various guilds in the China region were similar to the territories, as they welcomed a series of tough battles.

The strong would survive while the weak would die.

Thanks to their influence, many challengers from the nine imperial cities appeared. They tried to challenge the TOP 9 guilds.

With Thread out of the picture, each imperial city coincidentally had one guild in the TOP 9. Which guild would replace Thread? All the players looked forward to the answer to this question.

The Guild Alliance under Shanhai Alliance made use of this chance to show themselves.

Three of the TOP 9 and one ex-member of the TOP 9 caused the war fires to stop.

The guilds in Jianye, Luoyang, and Dali instantly kept their flags and stopped fighting.

With the wars stopping in three imperial cities, the wars in the other cities grew fiercer and more intense instead.

Apart from Jingdu, Xianyang had the Blood Evil Mercenary Group, which no one dared to challenge. Xiangyang had the Eighteen Swordsmen of Yanyun, which Chun Shenjun supported. Hence, they were pretty stable.

The Jin Yi Wei in Chang An, Streamer in Quanzhou, and Laojun Temple in Chengdu had not allied with any territories. As a result, they became the targets of ambitious players.

Especially Laojun Temple, which was ranked last. Thanks to this, they faced the highest amount of pressure.

Chengdu had a guild known as Spark, its leader, Mingye, was similar to Xingzhe Zichen. They were both heirs of hidden aristocratic families. Mingye's ancestors were also from the royal family.

The appearance of Spark caused Chengdu to go from one main guild to two. Rumors had it that Spark had started to work together with Swordsmen County.

With that, Laojun Temple faced an even larger pressure.

As Spark grew stronger, they became the best example of this messy guild war.

The Black Snake Guards took this opportunity to plant spies in all the guilds. Ouyang Shuo just sat on and watched. Little did he know that he was the spark that caused this huge fire.

4th month, 6th day.

Ouyang Shuo brought White Snake to the tea house.

The waiter recognized the two, and he warmly brought them to their room.

"That white shirt mister has not arrived yet?"

"Not yet!"

Ouyang Shuo nodded and waited on patiently.

After half an hour, the white shirt scholar finally entered the tea house.

The waiter had been waiting at the door. When he saw the scholar, he immediately went up to welcome the latter.

"Mister, please!" He said as he led him toward the room.

The scholar followed behind him. When he saw that their destination was one of the rooms, he said, "I'm just looking for a seat in the main hall. I do not need a room."

The waiter smiled, "I won't hide it from you. There's actually a VIP waiting for you."

"VIP? But I don't know anyone in Jingdu?"

"You'll know once you go in!"

The white shirt scholar did not mind it much, "Okay, then I'll go take a look!"

Once he pushed open the door, he only saw a young man brewing tea. The young man seemed highly focused on the task.

When the young man heard the sound, he looked up. He was Ouyang Shuo.

Ouyang Shuo placed down the teaware. Then, he stood up and adjusted his shirt. He followed the olden customs. He cupped his hands together, the back of his palm faced outward, and he pushed the front forward before he placed it in front of his chest, "I am Qiyue Wuyi. Sorry for disturbing you!"

The white shirt scholar froze. He obviously knew who Qiyue Wuyi was.

Among the historical people, nearly everyone knew of him.

He returned the greeting, "I am Wei Yang. Greetings, Lianzhou Lord!"

When Ouyang Shuo heard this name, his heartbeat slowed by half a beat. He was even more shocked than Wei Yang.

Wei Yang, the representative figure of legalism. He was the one who pushed for the Qin Country to unify the land. Any one of his achievements could make anyone worship him.

Ouyang Shuo's decision to wait on was right.

"Please!"

White Snake stood up and sat behind Ouyang Shuo.

Wei Yang sat opposite him; his actions were really respectful and polite. At this point, Wei Yang recognized that Ouyang Shuo was the young man he met on the stairs.

It seems like the Lianzhou Lord had purposely waited for him.

In an instant, Wei Yang had deciphered all that had happened and the current events.

Both of them were smart people, and they did not need to state the obvious. Since they were sure of each other's identities, Ouyang Shuo did not rush. Instead, he happily accompanied Wei Yang to watch the chess game downstairs.

A huge hall with a giant chess board. When the two people made a move, men would replicate it on the large board. They would move the huge pieces on the board for the customers to watch.

Ouyang Shuo did not know much about chess.

In his last life, he was an adventure mode player, so he did not have so much time.

It was only after Jiangshang moved over did Ouyang Shuo occasionally play chess with him. Although he lost every time, his skills had improved really quickly.

Hence, when he watched the chess game downstairs, Ouyang Shuo could understand it. As for Wei Yang, he was the pinnacle of the game.

The whole chess game lasted for two hours.

White Snake, who sat behind Ouyang Shuo, could not handle it anymore.

As a mercenary, he would rather kill people or go undercover. But chess? It was basically torture.

He felt like looking at the full chess board was the same as reading books. He really did not understand why the lord would not ask Wei Yang immediately after recognizing him. Instead, the lord would do this.

Doing such a thing with low-efficiency was not how lords handled matters.

How would White Snake know that Wei Yang was different? Such a talent, it would be difficult to persuade him unless he personally wanted to take up a role.

Based on his style, he would rather spent his time in the tea house than go to other places to visit. Ouyang Shuo knew that Wei Yang was already starting to have thoughts of becoming a hermit.

Hence, Ouyang Shuo seemed to be just waiting on the surface, but deep down, he was contemplating about what Wei Yang needed. What could he do to persuade this legalism representative?

So difficult!

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