Jiang He felt quite embarrassed. He was just testing the power of his mung bean bullets, and certainly had not expected that he almost blew up the entire Martial Arts Department (MAD).
His spirit swept out before he left.
There was now an eighty-meter-wide crater that was not too deep where the wall had been. All that was destroyed were greenbelts and the windows of some buildings… that’s not too serious, was it?
“As long as no one is hurt. I’ll hand Duan Tianhe several dozen million for repairs later—either way, money is just a number to me now, and toilet paper is more useful to me sometimes.”
Jiang He thought then.
Meanwhile, Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu—rank-nine elites in their own right were trading blank glances, after having been lifted to the air by Jiang He with True Qi, and only came to their senses after a while.
Homemade mung bean bullets?
What nonsense was that?
Both of them were rank-nine martial artists who had seen and learned much. What had they never seen?
And yet, this was the first time they had seen bullets fashioned from mung beans.
Most importantly, wasn’t that bullet too powerful?
No, it couldn’t even be called a bullet now. Not even rocket launchers were that powerful, were they?
Even so, their shock was momentary—the mung bean bullets might be powerful, but it was no threat to rank-nine martial artists. They would be fine if they stood still and not moved if they charged their True Qi guard.
Of course…
They were not aware that the mung bean bullets ignored defense. Judging from the explosion just now, if that bullet reached their bodies, a divine-tier would be blown half to death, let alone a rank-nine.
After flying over 50 kilometers, Jiang He suddenly thought of something and put Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu on the ground, saying, “Deputy Zhou, Grandmaster Ji, please wait here for a moment. I need to get something from my house.”
Whoosh!
Jiang He turned into a thunderbolt and returned to Jinyintan Village.
He called out to Sora and had her go into his farm before retrieving it, and returned to where Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were waiting.
Levitating both men with a gust of True Qi again, Jiang He took to the air and flew towards Xi’an City.
Just around 700 kilometers away, that city was not far from Lingzhou City.
Jiang He was not especially in a hurry as he carried both men either, flying at just twice the speed of light and landing outside Xi’an City after around 40 minutes.
Xi’an City—otherwise known as Chang’an was an ancient city with a traditional aesthetic to it. It had been the capital of thirteen dynasties and had been so for the longest time in the Hua Nation’s older days, and the Qin Emperor’s Tomb was just 35 kilometers away.
Now, Xi’an base city was surrounded by electric fences that covered the whole city as well. After getting their IDs checked at the entrance, Jiang He and the others entered.
Along the way, Ji Dongxu introduced Jiang He to the local specialties and history.
After Ji Dongxu mentioned the Qin Emperor’s tomb, Jiang He chuckled. “Back then, that tomb was a tourist spot that drew untold numbers of tourists from overseas, and now it’s an abandoned wasteland?”
Ji Dongxu smiled and nodded. “With the Ferals rampaging in the wastelands, it is already very good that humans could protect themselves. Would they have the effort to care for the tomb? That said…”
Suddenly, Ji Dongxu paused and he turned to look in the direction of the Qin Emperor’s tomb, quietly saying, “That place is a little mysterious. Following the Revival of Qi, multiple phenomena had manifested multiple times in the skies above the tomb, and elites of my Ji clan found nothing after several trips there… and it seems that even Ferals were afraid to get too close, so the tomb has not been destroyed even now.”
Jiang He appeared thoughtful.
Multiple phenomena in the skies above the tomb?
And the elites of the Ji clan had searched it multiple times without getting anything… but was that true?
When he was flying to Xi’an City, Jiang He vaguely sensed that there were elites standing guard nearby the tomb, and more than one at that—there must have been three divine-tiers, and judging from the aura of one, their cultivation was identical to Ji Dongxu’s, making it likely that they were Ji clan elites.
If you people really didn’t find anything, why would Ji clan elites be standing guard over the Qin Shihuang’s tomb?
Of course, there was a chance that Ji Dongxu was not aware.
***
It was now 11 pm.
Ji Dongxu took out his phone and dialed a number, and another call came five minutes later. After several exchanges, he hung up and smiled. “Mister Jiang, I’ve reached him—he lives at his dojo.
“I’ve already booked a cab, so please wait for a while, Mister Jiang, Deputy Zhou.”
After several minutes, a Bentley slowly pulled up beside the trio.
The driver was a man wearing a suit from Ji Industries. He bowed respectfully to Ji Dongxu, and appeared not to know him aside from his high rank.
Naturally, there was no way Ji Dongxu would introduce a driver to Jiang He and Zhou Yu.
Opening the car doors, he invited both Jiang He and Zhou Yu onboard while he rode shotgun, “Jingwu Dojo, please.”
The driver replied a respectful affirmative and quickly started the car.
Jiang He’s gaze shifted from the backseat.
Jing Wu dojo?
That lass who told him about a Doom Shroom growing at her house’s farm seemed to be from that place as well, was she not?
What a coincidence, he could have her lead the way to get the Doom Shroom.
Soon, they arrived.
A middle-aged man wearing training roes was waiting at the entrance, and promptly approached once the Bentley stopped, calling out, “Welcome, second granduncle.”
It turns out that the dojo owner was Ji Dongxu’s relative—his younger sister had married the dojo owner’s grandfather, though they were not exactly close. After all, the Ji clan had a long history as well as widespread business and familial relations. In fact, that sister of Ji Dongxu only shared a grandfather after tracing back their ancestry over four generations before.
Ji Dongxu then introduced them to the dojo owner whose name was Wang Jingwu, who was a lesser martial clan that existed over a hundred years ago, and Wang Jingwu himself incidentally cultivated a martial art passed down in the family.
Thanks to his connection with the Ji clan, the dojo owner appeared to have an easy time. His dojo was three-floored and quite huge: the first floor, which was over two thousand square meters was where trainees sparred and trained. There were weapons and protective equipment kept on the walls, but no one in sight was training since it was already late at night.
Half of the second floor was a training ground, the other being a guest room.
Ji Dongxu introduced Wang Jingwu to Jiang He and Zhou Yu as well, and though he did not know who Jiang He was, how could he not know the famous Deputy Zhou?
Moreover, when he noticed how respectful Deputy Zhou was of Jiang He as if he were a grandfather, he became rather nervous even as he conversed with Jiang He, with his replies so careful that he was almost stuttering.
Jiang He chuckled, “No need to be nervous, Dojo Master Wang. I’ve actually come today to discuss a deal with you.”
“A deal?”
Wang Jingwu appeared baffled, and turned to Ji Dongxu with a confused look.
A big shot such as him… what deal would he need to discuss with someone like him, who is not even a martial arts grandmaster?
Ji Dongxu told Wang Jingwu about everything, and Wang Jingwu’s eyes lit up after some thought. “There is a broken sword in my house which I picked up from a collapsed slope. My grandfather told me at the time that the craftsmanship was immaculate and might be an ancient weapon, which is why he kept it. It must be placed together with my grandfather’s keepsakes.”
“Wait a moment, Mister Jiang. I’ll fetch it for you right now.”
Wang Jingwu left for a while, and returned around ten minutes later with an old wooden chest.
There was a rather rusted broken sword within.
With two-thirds of it missing, the sword was only left with a hilt and a foot-long edge. Jiang He took it and scanned it with his spirit but found nothing special, although when he looked closely, he found that there was ancient scripts inscribed upon it, which was present on the Scarlet Flame Sword as well.
That was enough for Jiang He to determine that the broken sword was indeed a flying sword.
There were also two more words marked on the hilt, but those were written in tadpole script which Jiang He could not identify.
Wang Jingwu then said, “My grandfather had asked for a specialist’s analysis on those text before, Mister Jiang, and it probably meant ‘Autumn Water’. If you need it, you may have it.”
“How could I take your grandfather’s keepsake for nothing?”
Jiang He smiled while giving Wang Jingwu a look. “You are rank-six pinnacle and on the cusp of rank-seven, but your spirit and qi cultivation are rather average and lacking. So, I’ll help you reach rank-seven as reward for this sword.”
Delighted, Wang Jingwu quickly thanked him—even Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were interested in seeing how Jiang He would reach rank-seven.
There were many treasures in the world that could help martial artists ascend from rank-six up to rank-seven, but it remained that the most difficult part about reaching rank-seven from rank-six was the improvement in spirit.
Though there were some floral spirits that improve spirit, each of those were rare and expensive, and not even available when you owned mines.
And then…
They saw Jiang He took out a pinch of sunflower seeds.
Wang Jingwu: “???”
Even Ji Dongxu was rather baffled. What is it with those sunflower seeds?
Only one purple-golden sunflower had been found so far, and the MAD ending up sharing it with the Superpower Research Department.
That was why it made sense if Ji Dongxu had neither seen nor heard of it, but Zhou Yu was somehow astonished as well. “The purple-golden sunflower seeds?”
Jiang He had indeed got some purple-golden sunflower seeds from the MAD, and Zhou Yu also happened to know that he obtained some from the Superpower Research Department as well, meaning that he had over twenty…
But wasn’t there more than sixty, even seventy here?
Nonetheless, Jiang He chuckled. “Dojo Master Wang, these purple-golden sunflower seeds improve spirit. Have some and see how your spirit grows, and I still have more if this isn’t enough.”
Even as he spoke, Jiang He whipped out another pinch and munched on them loudly. When he saw Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu staring at himself with wide eyes, he promptly handed them some as well, smiling, “Grandmaster Ji, Deputy Zhou, want some?”
Jiang He felt quite embarrassed. He was just testing the power of his mung bean bullets, and certainly had not expected that he almost blew up the entire Martial Arts Department (MAD).
His spirit swept out before he left.
There was now an eighty-meter-wide crater that was not too deep where the wall had been. All that was destroyed were greenbelts and the windows of some buildings… that’s not too serious, was it?
“As long as no one is hurt. I’ll hand Duan Tianhe several dozen million for repairs later—either way, money is just a number to me now, and toilet paper is more useful to me sometimes.”
Jiang He thought then.
Meanwhile, Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu—rank-nine elites in their own right were trading blank glances, after having been lifted to the air by Jiang He with True Qi, and only came to their senses after a while.
Homemade mung bean bullets?
What nonsense was that?
Both of them were rank-nine martial artists who had seen and learned much. What had they never seen?
And yet, this was the first time they had seen bullets fashioned from mung beans.
Most importantly, wasn’t that bullet too powerful?
No, it couldn’t even be called a bullet now. Not even rocket launchers were that powerful, were they?
Even so, their shock was momentary—the mung bean bullets might be powerful, but it was no threat to rank-nine martial artists. They would be fine if they stood still and not moved if they charged their True Qi guard.
Of course…
They were not aware that the mung bean bullets ignored defense. Judging from the explosion just now, if that bullet reached their bodies, a divine-tier would be blown half to death, let alone a rank-nine.
After flying over 50 kilometers, Jiang He suddenly thought of something and put Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu on the ground, saying, “Deputy Zhou, Grandmaster Ji, please wait here for a moment. I need to get something from my house.”
Whoosh!
Jiang He turned into a thunderbolt and returned to Jinyintan Village.
He called out to Sora and had her go into his farm before retrieving it, and returned to where Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were waiting.
Levitating both men with a gust of True Qi again, Jiang He took to the air and flew towards Xi’an City.
Just around 700 kilometers away, that city was not far from Lingzhou City.
Jiang He was not especially in a hurry as he carried both men either, flying at just twice the speed of light and landing outside Xi’an City after around 40 minutes.
Xi’an City—otherwise known as Chang’an was an ancient city with a traditional aesthetic to it. It had been the capital of thirteen dynasties and had been so for the longest time in the Hua Nation’s older days, and the Qin Emperor’s Tomb was just 35 kilometers away.
Now, Xi’an base city was surrounded by electric fences that covered the whole city as well. After getting their IDs checked at the entrance, Jiang He and the others entered.
Along the way, Ji Dongxu introduced Jiang He to the local specialties and history.
After Ji Dongxu mentioned the Qin Emperor’s tomb, Jiang He chuckled. “Back then, that tomb was a tourist spot that drew untold numbers of tourists from overseas, and now it’s an abandoned wasteland?”
Ji Dongxu smiled and nodded. “With the Ferals rampaging in the wastelands, it is already very good that humans could protect themselves. Would they have the effort to care for the tomb? That said…”
Suddenly, Ji Dongxu paused and he turned to look in the direction of the Qin Emperor’s tomb, quietly saying, “That place is a little mysterious. Following the Revival of Qi, multiple phenomena had manifested multiple times in the skies above the tomb, and elites of my Ji clan found nothing after several trips there… and it seems that even Ferals were afraid to get too close, so the tomb has not been destroyed even now.”
Jiang He appeared thoughtful.
Multiple phenomena in the skies above the tomb?
And the elites of the Ji clan had searched it multiple times without getting anything… but was that true?
When he was flying to Xi’an City, Jiang He vaguely sensed that there were elites standing guard nearby the tomb, and more than one at that—there must have been three divine-tiers, and judging from the aura of one, their cultivation was identical to Ji Dongxu’s, making it likely that they were Ji clan elites.
If you people really didn’t find anything, why would Ji clan elites be standing guard over the Qin Shihuang’s tomb?
Of course, there was a chance that Ji Dongxu was not aware.
***
It was now 11 pm.
Ji Dongxu took out his phone and dialed a number, and another call came five minutes later. After several exchanges, he hung up and smiled. “Mister Jiang, I’ve reached him—he lives at his dojo.
“I’ve already booked a cab, so please wait for a while, Mister Jiang, Deputy Zhou.”
After several minutes, a Bentley slowly pulled up beside the trio.
The driver was a man wearing a suit from Ji Industries. He bowed respectfully to Ji Dongxu, and appeared not to know him aside from his high rank.
Naturally, there was no way Ji Dongxu would introduce a driver to Jiang He and Zhou Yu.
Opening the car doors, he invited both Jiang He and Zhou Yu onboard while he rode shotgun, “Jingwu Dojo, please.”
The driver replied a respectful affirmative and quickly started the car.
Jiang He’s gaze shifted from the backseat.
Jing Wu dojo?
That lass who told him about a Doom Shroom growing at her house’s farm seemed to be from that place as well, was she not?
What a coincidence, he could have her lead the way to get the Doom Shroom.
Soon, they arrived.
A middle-aged man wearing training roes was waiting at the entrance, and promptly approached once the Bentley stopped, calling out, “Welcome, second granduncle.”
It turns out that the dojo owner was Ji Dongxu’s relative—his younger sister had married the dojo owner’s grandfather, though they were not exactly close. After all, the Ji clan had a long history as well as widespread business and familial relations. In fact, that sister of Ji Dongxu only shared a grandfather after tracing back their ancestry over four generations before.
Ji Dongxu then introduced them to the dojo owner whose name was Wang Jingwu, who was a lesser martial clan that existed over a hundred years ago, and Wang Jingwu himself incidentally cultivated a martial art passed down in the family.
Thanks to his connection with the Ji clan, the dojo owner appeared to have an easy time. His dojo was three-floored and quite huge: the first floor, which was over two thousand square meters was where trainees sparred and trained. There were weapons and protective equipment kept on the walls, but no one in sight was training since it was already late at night.
Half of the second floor was a training ground, the other being a guest room.
Ji Dongxu introduced Wang Jingwu to Jiang He and Zhou Yu as well, and though he did not know who Jiang He was, how could he not know the famous Deputy Zhou?
Moreover, when he noticed how respectful Deputy Zhou was of Jiang He as if he were a grandfather, he became rather nervous even as he conversed with Jiang He, with his replies so careful that he was almost stuttering.
Jiang He chuckled, “No need to be nervous, Dojo Master Wang. I’ve actually come today to discuss a deal with you.”
“A deal?”
Wang Jingwu appeared baffled, and turned to Ji Dongxu with a confused look.
A big shot such as him… what deal would he need to discuss with someone like him, who is not even a martial arts grandmaster?
Ji Dongxu told Wang Jingwu about everything, and Wang Jingwu’s eyes lit up after some thought. “There is a broken sword in my house which I picked up from a collapsed slope. My grandfather told me at the time that the craftsmanship was immaculate and might be an ancient weapon, which is why he kept it. It must be placed together with my grandfather’s keepsakes.”
“Wait a moment, Mister Jiang. I’ll fetch it for you right now.”
Wang Jingwu left for a while, and returned around ten minutes later with an old wooden chest.
There was a rather rusted broken sword within.
With two-thirds of it missing, the sword was only left with a hilt and a foot-long edge. Jiang He took it and scanned it with his spirit but found nothing special, although when he looked closely, he found that there was ancient scripts inscribed upon it, which was present on the Scarlet Flame Sword as well.
That was enough for Jiang He to determine that the broken sword was indeed a flying sword.
There were also two more words marked on the hilt, but those were written in tadpole script which Jiang He could not identify.
Wang Jingwu then said, “My grandfather had asked for a specialist’s analysis on those text before, Mister Jiang, and it probably meant ‘Autumn Water’. If you need it, you may have it.”
“How could I take your grandfather’s keepsake for nothing?”
Jiang He smiled while giving Wang Jingwu a look. “You are rank-six pinnacle and on the cusp of rank-seven, but your spirit and qi cultivation are rather average and lacking. So, I’ll help you reach rank-seven as reward for this sword.”
Delighted, Wang Jingwu quickly thanked him—even Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were interested in seeing how Jiang He would reach rank-seven.
There were many treasures in the world that could help martial artists ascend from rank-six up to rank-seven, but it remained that the most difficult part about reaching rank-seven from rank-six was the improvement in spirit.
Though there were some floral spirits that improve spirit, each of those were rare and expensive, and not even available when you owned mines.
And then…
They saw Jiang He took out a pinch of sunflower seeds.
Wang Jingwu: “???”
Even Ji Dongxu was rather baffled. What is it with those sunflower seeds?
Only one purple-golden sunflower had been found so far, and the MAD ending up sharing it with the Superpower Research Department.
That was why it made sense if Ji Dongxu had neither seen nor heard of it, but Zhou Yu was somehow astonished as well. “The purple-golden sunflower seeds?”
Jiang He had indeed got some purple-golden sunflower seeds from the MAD, and Zhou Yu also happened to know that he obtained some from the Superpower Research Department as well, meaning that he had over twenty…
But wasn’t there more than sixty, even seventy here?
Nonetheless, Jiang He chuckled. “Dojo Master Wang, these purple-golden sunflower seeds improve spirit. Have some and see how your spirit grows, and I still have more if this isn’t enough.”
Even as he spoke, Jiang He whipped out another pinch and munched on them loudly. When he saw Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu staring at himself with wide eyes, he promptly handed them some as well, smiling, “Grandmaster Ji, Deputy Zhou, want some?”
