Chapter 33: Today Is Complete

Chi Yixuan immediately shut off the screen. At the same time, the life-bound artifact made a sharp smack.

“What are you doing?”

Life-bound artifact: “Providing background music for you.”

Chi Yixuan: …

Ahhh, why? Why hadn’t he emptied the trash before leaving?

“No, wait! This isn’t about whether I emptied the trash. This is about Zhaoge not having a waste treatment plant! When I get back, I’m definitely finding a way to build one!”

He had originally wanted to check whether anything had happened in Zhaoge these past two days, but Ma Hongxuan even had free time to rummage through his trash can. It seemed Zhaoge’s situation was good right now, and there was no need for him to worry.

“How much farther are we from Dongchen Continent?”

Life-bound artifact: “Another half day of travel. Once we cross the East Pole Sea, we will arrive at Dongchen Continent. You can rest for another two hours.”

Chi Yixuan said, “Forget it. I’ll sort through the situation first. Right, do you know anything about Half-Moon Gorge right now?”

“I’m very sorry. My knowledge comes from reconnaissance scans, and at present I can only scan books and conversations below Foundation Establishment. These past few days on the Kun Boat, no one has mentioned the situation at Half-Moon Gorge in Dongchen Continent.”

Half-Moon Gorge was the place Wutong had mentioned, the one with a yellow-grade upper-rank spiritual vein. That day, Wutong had said he came from Half-Moon Gorge in Dongchen Continent and had crossed thousands of miles to Easternmost Continent through a teleportation array. There were still many of his companions in Half-Moon Gorge, and he hoped Chi Yixuan could bring all of them to live in Zhaoge. In exchange, they could offer the spiritual vein in Half-Moon Gorge as payment.

Chi Yixuan had some doubts about Wutong’s claim. It wasn’t that he thought Wutong was deceiving him, but rather that Wutong was a child, and a child only at the first level of Qi Refining at that. He did not have the authority to decide to give away an entire spiritual vein. Very likely, this was a big promise dangled by his elders.

As for whether they would actually give him the spiritual vein after he finished the job, that was not something a child like Wutong could decide either. Still, a yellow-grade upper-rank spiritual vein was worth the risk.

“Just how dangerous is Half-Moon Gorge’s environment? Even a yellow-grade upper-rank spiritual vein can’t save it? To the point that they’ve been forced to find somewhere else to settle?”

As Chi Yixuan muttered, he heard a commotion outside. At the same time, the Kun Boat jolted. Clearly, this journey, which had been quiet for more than two days, had produced trouble again.

His divine sense instinctively spread outward. The next moment, his furrowed brows relaxed, and he stood up and went to the sunning platform to look out.

He saw a flock of bird yao with human faces charging onto the Kun Boat and attacking the passengers on the deck and first floor.

As for the Kun Boat’s own array, it only lightly covered the passengers on the third floor. It clearly would not care whether the passengers on the deck and the first and second floors lived or died. Because arrays needed to connect to earth veins in order to operate on their own, the arrays on the Kun Boat were not grounded. Every full activation consumed quite a few spirit stones. Only when a great yao creature capable of threatening the entire Kun Boat appeared would the arrays activate.

The passengers on the second floor were still all right. As long as they tightly shut their doors, they did not have to worry about the bird yao rushing in. After all, the Kun Boat was a mystic-grade artifact, and its doors and windows were not something ordinary bird yao like these could break through. The passengers on the first floor were miserable. Even if they left the deck and entered the cabins, there were no proper doors or windows, only drafts leaking in from every side.

They wanted to flee down to the lower cargo hold, only to discover that the boat workers had locked the hatch leading below. When they knocked on the door and called for help, some boat workers even gloated and said that no one would die anyway, so they could just endure it and it would pass.

Faced with this situation, Chi Yixuan had originally thought they would be torn up by the bird yao like last time, left battered and covered in blood. Yet this time, the situation was completely different. The passengers on the deck seemed to have a leader now. Dozens of them formed a formation and actually used their own bodies as array flags, forcibly propping up a small defensive array.

Their division of labor was even quite clear. One group was responsible for maintaining the array, one group rescued the panicked people, and another group stood within the array’s range and struck at the bird yao.

This clear order eased everyone’s fear. Gradually, those people who had been scattering in all directions and screaming also gathered around them. Those with decent cultivation either helped maintain the array or helped attack the bird yao, while those with poorer cultivation comforted and treated the injured.

This scene of united effort and mutual assistance was completely different from the previous situation, where everyone had blamed one another and been scattered like loose sand.

Chi Yixuan noticed that these people had a clear center. It was the seventh-level Qi Refining practitioner who had obviously been short on money and had done his best to persuade everyone to stay calm during the Seven-Colored Bird attack on the first day.

When he had seen this person before, he had not had much of a reaction. But now, as the other man stood at the center of the crowd and gave instructions in a grave and calm manner, Chi Yixuan saw something slowly light up above his head—a strip of pickled vegetable!

Chi Yixuan was still exploring the passive skill Soul of Bole. There were some people he thought were decent, but Soul of Bole made no response. Others had not triggered anything before, but at a certain moment, Soul of Bole suddenly chose them. This person before him was one such example.

“Not bad!” Chi Yixuan’s mood improved a great deal, not because of that strip of pickled vegetable, but because of this group of people.

The number of bird yao in this attack was enormous. Seeing that these people were finding it harder and harder to hold on, Chi Yixuan casually tossed out two artifacts.

One was the Goldwood Awl. The other was the Thunderclap Pearl.

As the center of the array, Yang Shengyun consumed the most spiritual power and had an especially difficult time holding on, but he did not reveal anything strange. He even increased the output of his spiritual power.

All of a sudden, one golden and one purple streak of light swept through the sky above. In an instant, several bolts of falling thunder smashed down, knocking countless bird yao out of the air. At the same time, a flash of golden light swiftly darted back and forth overhead. He had not even clearly seen what artifact it was when the great swarm of attacking bird yao was already more than half wiped out.

With this assistance, the pressure on everyone greatly lightened. Before long, they had exterminated the bird yao. Only a few bird yao that sensed things were going badly escaped, while the ground was covered with bird yao corpses.

“Congratulations. You have killed fifty-six third-level Qi Refining bird yao. You have obtained 4,816 points.”

Chi Yixuan clenched his fist. Although Foundation Establishment had a crushing advantage over Qi Refining, there were far too many bird yao. Even using the advantage of his artifacts, he had nearly consumed half his spiritual power.

“Although I got points, the spiritual power I consumed has to be replenished too,” Chi Yixuan murmured to himself.

A moment later, a white cloth covered in writing dropped down from the sunning platform on the Kun Boat’s third floor.

Although Yang Shengyun and the others had not been able to clearly see what artifacts those were, they knew that a true cultivator above Foundation Establishment on the third floor had helped them. Otherwise, their group of practitioners, whose average strength was below the seventh level of Qi Refining, would probably have been injured under the attack of more than a hundred bird yao.

Just as they were about to offer thanks, they looked up and saw the white cloth hanging down. A line of words was written on it: Paid lectures by a cultivator. One spirit stone per session. Attendees receive one Blood-Replenishing Pill and one Qi-Replenishing Pill.

Why would a cultivator do this kind of business on the Kun Boat?

Everyone’s expressions varied, but after discussing it for a while, almost all of them chose to pay spirit stones and attend the lecture.

First, yellow-grade pills such as the Blood-Replenishing Pill and Qi-Replenishing Pill were things they could often use even after advancing to cultivators. This time, in their fight against the bird yao, some people had suffered minor injuries. Having Blood-Replenishing Pills and Qi-Replenishing Pills to nurse themselves back to health would be good.

Second, they were heading to an immortal continent in the first place to use its dense spiritual qi to cultivate to Foundation Establishment and prepare to enter an immortal gate. Now that a cultivator was willing to give a lecture, even if he did not teach anything real and merely spoke about the local customs of the immortal continent and the general situation of its various immortal gates, that would still be good.

Third, this cultivator had just helped them. They should have thanked him to begin with. After all, a cultivator lived on the array-covered third floor. He originally could have remained safe and sound without taking action at all.

The practitioners all expressed that they were willing to attend the lecture. Thus, Chi Yixuan came down from upstairs. On the way, he ran into Captain Fan, who looked as if he wanted to speak but hesitated. Chi Yixuan waved a hand and said amiably, “Don’t worry. I won’t occupy the third floor. I’ll go to the deck.”

Captain Fan saw that he was much gentler than before, but could not figure out the reason. He could only say, “This isn’t in line with the rules!” Seeing Chi Yixuan look over, he continued, “Since ancient times, those who pass on the Dao and resolve doubts are teachers. These people have not acknowledged you as their master, so what qualifications do they have to receive your instruction?”

If spirit stones alone could buy the guidance of a true cultivator, who would still painstakingly seek out an immortal gate?

Chi Yixuan was about to say that this was business, not taking on students, but after a brief pause, he understood Captain Fan’s implication.

“On this boat, anyone who pays spirit stones can come listen.”

Captain Fan immediately fell silent.

Chi Yixuan leisurely walked to the deck. By then, some practitioners had already cleared out a clean open space. He took a table and chair from his inventory slots and sat down. Beside him, Wutong held a small storage pouch and excitedly began collecting spirit stones.

A moment later, the lecture began. There were also people who were reluctant to give up spirit stones and wanted to secretly freeload. However, they discovered that the cultivator sitting behind the desk kept moving his lips, but without paying spirit stones, they could not hear a thing. Seeing everyone else listen in complete fascination while they themselves were so anxious they scratched their ears and cheeks, they could only secretly stuff spirit stones over to Wutong.

At first, they had thought this might displease the cultivator. Unexpectedly, that person did not even glance at them and remained focused on teaching. After they paid the spirit stones, sound finally reached their ears. They were instantly overjoyed, and then they became immersed in it.

Gradually, more and more people came out of the cabins. Some practitioners on the second floor also opened their doors out of curiosity, paid spirit stones, and then their eyes lit up. Once they sat on the deck, they could no longer move from their spots.

Because Chi Yixuan was not speaking casually. Everything he taught was extremely practical. There were three parts in total. The first was Dongchen Continent’s geographical distribution, including which areas of Dongchen Continent had which immortal gates, and what those immortal gates specialized in.

The second was Dongchen Continent’s customs and social practices. This part also included where practitioners who had just arrived in Dongchen Continent should choose to stay, where they could go to earn spirit stones, how to conduct themselves so they would not be cheated by shady shops, and so on.

Neither Chi Yixuan nor his life-bound artifact had ever been to Dongchen Continent. Of course, all this knowledge came from the life-bound artifact’s reconnaissance scans along the way. Some of it came from the book collections of local powers, but most had been obtained from the imperial library of Donglai Kingdom.

The life-bound artifact screened, summarized, and compared the information on its own, removing things that were clearly vague or wrong. Then, after comprehensive verification, it told Chi Yixuan the information it had confirmed was accurate.

Now, Chi Yixuan taught it to these unfamiliar practitioners before him.

This knowledge had originally been monopolized by the great powers of Easternmost Continent. Practitioners often had to pay a tremendous price, even lose their lives, to learn such information. Yet now, they had obtained it with ease.

The third part, and the most important part of this lecture, was how to improve one’s life-bound artifact.

Chi Yixuan had discovered this long ago. Although after summoning a life-bound artifact, one could vaguely know how to cultivate, that knowledge was a very shallow and vague concept. It was equivalent to a baby being born knowing how to drink milk, but having absolutely no idea how to chop ingredients and cook.

Most people, upon seeing that the life-bound artifact they summoned was only an ordinary, commonly seen object, such as pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and the like, would first lose half their confidence, let alone painstakingly study it.

Yet what many people did not know was that since a life-bound artifact was something born alongside the soul, how could it possibly be limited to its outer appearance alone? It was only because mortals had limited understanding that life-bound artifacts took the form of objects they commonly saw in daily life, making them easier to comprehend.

You can’t summon a bowl and really think you’re a rice bucket, hey! You have to think about the meanings related to a bowl, then work hard in that direction!

For example, a bowl was a vessel. Think about whether it could be expanded further. Could it become a tiny storage vessel hidden inside the soul-body, like Tao Dacheng, who used a clay jar as a storage pouch? Or think from another direction. If a bowl was turned upside down, the things inside it could not be seen or touched. That could be extended into powers such as protection, invisibility, and so on.

There were far, far too many things that could be extended from it. It depended on each person’s own comprehension.

This knowledge was monopolized by the immortal gates. Not even the Donglai Kingdom imperial family had records of it. But the moment Chi Yixuan entered this world and saw those wildly varied life-bound artifacts, he instantly comprehended this principle. The practice he had carried out on Ma Hongxuan and the others also proved that his theory was correct.

So now, he taught this theory without holding anything back. As for how much they could comprehend, that would depend on them individually.

If the first two parts had only made these practitioners feel that the lecture was worth far more than its price, then the explanation in this third part was comparable to a sacred scripture bestowed by heaven in an age of ignorance. It concerned cultivation. Even the most foolish person realized the value of this knowledge.

The cultivation conditions in Easternmost Continent were harsh, so most of the practitioners on this Kun Boat were fairly old. Some had only reached the sixth level of Qi Refining when they were already at the age of knowing fate. Knowing that they would never reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, they had taken the Kun Boat to Dongchen Continent because they wanted to personally see the scenery of an immortal continent before they died. But after hearing this teaching, some people showed signs of breaking through on the spot and understood that they had stumbled upon an enormous opportunity.

They immediately lost control and kowtowed in worship, but even more people were immersed in the lecture and completely failed to notice what was happening around them.

For the first time, the deck of the Kun Boat was so harmonious. Everyone sat on the ground, their expressions entranced.

When the lecture ended, Chi Yixuan took back the storage pouch and counted it. He discovered there were one hundred and twenty-six spirit stones inside, while only one hundred people had attended the lecture. This meant some people had given extra.

“Made a little profit. Not bad.” Chi Yixuan naturally accepted all the spirit stones, then discovered that too many people had attended the lecture and he did not have enough pills with him to distribute.

“Sorry, there aren’t enough pills. How about I refund you some silver?” He had barely finished speaking when quite a few practitioners waved their hands again and again, their faces full of panic.

“Senior’s righteousness is profound. You have gifted us an opportunity. In the future, should you have any orders, we will not refuse.”

A group of practitioners spoke with solemn vows.

Chi Yixuan stared at them for a while, then said, “I’m just doing business and earning a few spirit stones, that’s all.”

“We all understand!” everyone shouted extremely loudly.

Chi Yixuan rubbed his ear and looked at Captain Fan, who had squeezed his way in front of him. “You know I’m very poor, right?”

Captain Fan nodded repeatedly. “I understand, I understand!” In his heart, however, he thought that this knowledge was not something ordinary cultivators could access. This young master had to be some reclusive senior traveling in disguise. To think he had previously believed Young Master Chi was a young cultivator going to the immortal continent to seek a master. He truly had shallow experience.

Chi Yixuan: …

He had the feeling that what they were saying was not sincere.

Forget it. He had earned spirit stones, and he had done a good deed. Today was very complete.

Chi Yixuan felt satisfied with his day and was just about to leave when an old man suddenly threw himself before him, kowtowing and crying bitterly as he said, “Senior, my life-bound artifact really is a bowl. I’ve used it to eat all my life and only advanced to the sixth level last year. Today, thanks to Senior’s guidance, I feel that I can advance further!”

Chi Yixuan: …

The life-bound artifact’s sigh reached his ear. “His life-bound artifact is so pitiful. Not like me. I’m so happy.”

Chi Yixuan: …

Very good. Today, his speechlessness had doubled too.

…

After noon, the weather darkened.

Chi Yixuan stood on the sunning platform and saw distant clouds densely covering the sky. Lightning flickered, and the rain was like an enormous bristle brush, its long, rough bristles plowing back and forth across the surface of the sea, making the waves roll and surge as if the sea could not bear it, letting out one wild howl after another.

The helmsmen and sail handlers on the Kun Boat worked together, shifting the Kun Boat’s direction so it could avoid the lightning.

Chi Yixuan noticed that the Kun Boat’s altitude had been dropping the entire time. If it had flown at its original height, it could have easily passed above the clouds.

“Dongchen Continent is almost here. To make landing easier, they will lower the altitude in advance.”

“Past this stretch of the East Pole Sea is Dongchen Continent.”

Chi Yixuan vaguely heard the discussions of the other passengers on the boat.

“Whoa, that’s terrifying. Has the East Pole Sea always been like this?”

“How are we supposed to get through that? It won’t knock the Kun Boat down, will it?”

“Not really,” several boat workers said. “Although the East Pole Sea used to have violent winds, heavy rain, lightning, and thunder, its momentum wasn’t even half as strong as it is now. There, see that cliff ahead? I heard a young lady from one of the Upper Three Sects is staying there temporarily. It’s said that she likes weather with violent wind and heavy rain. The bigger the storm and the louder the thunder, the happier she is.”

“To curry favor with their mistress, her guards catalyzed the wandering spiritual vein over the East Pole Sea to its limit.”

“Which young lady is it?”

“How would we know that?”

After listening, Chi Yixuan understood that this ungraded spiritual vein that had been catalyzed was about to be ruined.

“Good thing Wutong brought that lead. Otherwise, after working so hard to reach the East Pole Sea, I’d have to return empty-handed again.”

This was not the first time the Kun Boat had crossed the East Pole Sea, so it only swayed slightly before passing through smoothly. After that, it flew forward for another hour, and the Kun Boat landed at a peaceful seaside dock.

This was a rather prosperous dock. Before the Kun Boat even came to a steady stop, sounds from shore floated up. There were peddlers, footmen, merchants, and idlers greeting and sending people off, as well as practitioners carrying packs and hurrying to and fro.

And theirs was not the only Kun Boat at the seaside dock. Kun Boats from other great continents were also parked nearby, and they still had to wait in line to dock.

Aside from Kun Boats, there were cultivators controlling all kinds of flying artifacts. Some hurried past on their artifacts, some leisurely circled around, and some disembarked from smaller Kun Boats. Those Kun Boats were clearly artifacts used by immortal gate disciples when traveling. They were gorgeously decorated, with spiritual light radiating outward. A single glance made one feel as if one’s eyes would be dazzled blind.

The Kun Boat slowly moved forward. As soon as it reached the shore, it attracted the attention of a group of people.

These people were brokers soliciting customers near the dock. As soon as they saw that the Kun Boat in front of them looked slightly old, they knew it was carrying practitioners from the mortal world. These practitioners had never seen the world, were the easiest to fool, and were fat sheep in their eyes.

With a clattering sound, the anchor dropped. A door opened in the side of the Kun Boat, and the gangway lowered. The fat sheep on the boat were about to come down.

On the Kun Boat, Yang Shengyun and the others finally mustered the courage to ask about Chi Yixuan’s place of residence just before disembarking. In their view, a true cultivator who understood Dongchen Continent so thoroughly would certainly have a fixed residence in Dongchen Continent. If they knew the location, they would be able to find a place to repay his kindness in the future.

Chi Yixuan said to them, “Easternmost Continent, Zhaoge.”

He had originally wanted to add, “You’re welcome to settle there anytime,” but after thinking about it, he let it go. These people had finally managed to leave Easternmost Continent. Why would they go back?

Yang Shengyun and the others thought the senior was unwilling to tell them. While disappointed, they also sighed over how kindhearted and morally subtle this senior was. He had even found an excuse to tactfully refuse them.

The brokers thought this Kun Boat was a little strange. When those practitioners from the mortal world arrived in a mortal land of an immortal continent where spiritual qi steamed in the air, which of them was not impatient to get off the boat? Why had no one come down for so long this time?

Finally, someone came down. The brokers eagerly surrounded them, planning to use their usual methods to fool this group of reckless novices until they lost all sense of direction and obediently followed them. But when the people actually came down, the brokers stopped where they were for a moment, not daring to approach.

They saw that the one leading the way was a young master, with a child following beside him. Behind them, dozens of people clustered around him, every one of them deferential toward that young master, as if they were his servants.

Hah, which family’s young master was going out with this many attendants?

The brokers keenly sensed that the young master was a true cultivator, while most of the “attendants” behind him had cultivation at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining. Quite a few among them even had spiritual qi leaking outward and looked as if they were about to break through.

Impressive. With so many servants, even if only one-tenth of them ultimately became cultivators, that would still be no small number. What was this person’s background? Could he be a direct disciple of the Nine Great Immortal Gates, or even the Upper Three Sects?

The brokers did not dare move. They could only watch helplessly as those people disembarked and walked away, then watch helplessly as that young master dismissed his attendants, overbearingly ordering them not to follow. Only then did those attendants reluctantly bow and bid farewell to the young master.

The brokers watched very carefully and discovered that these people’s respect toward the young master came from the heart. They immediately began chatting with the people around them.

“Looks like this one’s family background is incredible. His servants are trained so well.”

“You all remembered those attendants’ faces, right? Don’t provoke these people. Otherwise, if you get greedy for a moment’s advantage, they might come after you later.”

At that moment, more people came down from the Kun Boat, and the brokers all swarmed over.

“Guest, are you stopping for a meal or staying the night? My place has the best prices. I’ll take you there right now.”

“Guest, you’ve just arrived, haven’t you? You don’t know anyone here and must be afraid of being cheated. Hurry and come with me. Everything at my place is properly prepared. I guarantee you’ll stay with peace of mind!”

“Guest, my inn gives away a free Dongchen map and a summary of the immortal gates. Come with me. I guarantee nothing will go wrong.”

What shocked them, however, was that these people all kept stern faces, refused them one by one, and headed with the same goal toward the fairest-priced post station at the dock.

The brokers: …

Who was it? Who had told them the truth about this profession?

In less than half a day after arriving in Dongchen Continent, Yang Shengyun saw several practitioners who had been tricked by local brokers into pawning off even their underpants. Some had even been forced to sign contracts of servitude, destroying their immortal path. All of these people had come from other Kun Boats.

Only then did he understand even more clearly how fortunate the people on his boat had been.

“It’s a pity we can’t follow that senior for a while longer.”

“If we achieve success in cultivation in the future, we must repay him properly.”

“The immortal path is boundless. Who knows whether we’ll be able to see him again in this lifetime?” Yang Shengyun and his companions sighed.

No matter what, they had met like-minded companions on that Kun Boat, had endured hardship together, and had shared blessings together. Their bonds were deeper than those of ordinary people. Their days in Dongchen Continent would surely not be worse than those of solitary practitioners.

…

On the Kun Boat.

After the last passenger on the boat had left, Captain Fan went somewhere empty and took down a pearl-colored precious jade from the Kun Boat.

This piece of precious jade was actually a recording artifact. It was used by the Beauty Contest to record votes. At this point, the artifact had already recorded everyone on this Kun Boat’s amazement and evaluations of those peaks from before, including Chi Yixuan’s, of course.

It was just that his expressions had not shown much, so they were not obvious. But his appearance and features had still been recorded.

Captain Fan recalled what had happened on the boat over these past few days and sighed softly.

More than ten years ago, he had also been a passenger on a Kun Boat, high-spirited and wanting to go to an immortal continent to make his way.

At that time, he had also felt furious over all the darkness on the Kun Boat and had resolved to change everything once he made something of himself. Later, in order to earn more spirit stones, he joined a disciple of the Tyrant Blade Sect and became a lowly traveling attendant. Later still, he was assigned to be the captain of a Kun Boat.

At first, he had felt ashamed. Later, he became able to turn a blind eye to the suffering of other practitioners, even mocking and ridiculing them.

When had he changed? Perhaps it had been the first time he asked a Foundation Establishment cultivator for guidance, only to be humiliated and ordered around like a slave. Or perhaps it had been the first time he violated the rules and activated the Kun Boat’s array without permission. To protect a group of strangers, he had received a severe punishment. From then on, his spiritual roots were damaged, and Foundation Establishment became hopeless for the rest of his life. Yet none of the people he had protected back then had stepped forward to repay him.

What was this world?

The weak were prey to the strong, and the strong were honored. So did that mean the weak were not even worthy of breathing?

Captain Fan had long since accepted his fate. But why, of all things, had he been made to meet Chi Yixuan?

Why, of all things, did he have to be taught that there were still cultivators like this in the world?

What a joke. There was actually a cultivator in this world who held nothing back for himself, and such a cultivator had actually managed to survive until now.

But he was willing to teach him. Even the gaze he turned on him was calm, as if looking at a cultivator of the same rank.

Who was born knowing how to bow and scrape and fawn?

Captain Fan sniffed, held back a hint of tears, and erased the content related to Chi Yixuan from the image-retaining artifact.

…

“Congratulations. Your territory now has its first shoe repair shop. You have obtained one thousand points.”

Seeing that it was about to get dark, Chi Yixuan found a fairly priced inn to stay at. He had just entered the room when he received this notification.

He was in a very good mood. So he finally opened the map of Zhaoge and entered observation mode.

“My Zhaoge is getting better and better now. The prosperity of all industries is right before my eyes…”

His words abruptly stopped. Chi Yixuan widened his eyes and stared at the scene before him, speechless for a long time.

He saw that an open space had been cleared in the center of the valley as a drill ground. The employees led by Guo Qianshan were standing with their hands behind their backs, faces solemn and bodies straight, scraping the ground with their toes?

Yes, he had not seen wrong. Every person was extremely serious and solemn, focused intently on rubbing their toes against the soles of their shoes and the ground. Their soft, thin cloth shoes completely exposed the movements of their toes.

After they silently and diligently rubbed like this for a while, one employee suddenly shouted, “I did it, I did it! I scraped through the sole of my shoe!”

Ma Hongxuan looked gratified. “Not bad. Your task for today is over. Go repair your shoes first! Everyone else, please keep working hard as well.”

The others all worked even harder to scrape the ground with their toes. Because they were exerting too much force, even their expressions turned a little ferocious, as if they would never stop until they scraped through their soles!

Chi Yixuan: …

Help! Just what had they imagined?

Chi Yixuan collapsed onto the bed, utterly bereft of the will to live.

“Your Majesty, are you all right?”

Chi Yixuan said, “Thank you. I will never love again.”

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