Chapter 1033: The Iron of Iron-Dragon Sect (II)
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
After listening to Zhang Tie's introduction of the working principle of the dual-drive engine, all the 5 people in the room became silent.
Of course, this engine was an unprecedented invention in the eyes of them; however, they didn't understand why Fire Dragon Hermit invented it. This engine was specially designed for high-power fuels such as gasoline; however, in this age, the 5 people had not heard of any fuel in Taixia Country which could fully replace gasoline before the Catastrophe.
As Zhang Tie looked very interested in it, even Sun Qiming didn't dare displease him by telling him that this engine would not be available even if it was invented.
"Am I clear?" Zhang Tie asked them.
After exchanging a glance with each other, the 5 people shook their heads at the same time before replying, "Clear!"
"Can you make it?"
They nodded at the same time again.
"Great, I will give this design drawing to you. There's a differential gearbox under this design drawing. As you've understood it, I will not make a further introduction about it!" Zhang Tie pointed at Sun Qiming as he continued, "4 months later, I need 100 sets of prototypes and differential gearboxes. Additionally, I want to see a plant which could produce at least 100,000 sets of engines and differential gearboxes a year 4 months later. Here are the gold checks of 3 million gold coins!"
3 million gold coins were enough to build a plant which could produce 100,000 sets of engines a year.
As Zhang Tie said, he took out a pile of gold checks from Castle of Black Iron and handed it to Sun Qiming. Additionally, he told the other 4 people in a domineering way, "You should follow his order for the next 4 months and assist him to do it well! I don't like to force people to do anything; if anyone of you is not willing to do that, you could exit right away. Is there anyone?"
Who would dare to refuse Fire Dragon Hermit at this moment? The other 4 people hurriedly determined their minds to help Sun Qiming accomplish this task so as to live up to Hermit's trust.
"Fine, now that all of you have agreed, if you cannot make it on time, I will punish you. If you could make it on time, I'll make sure that you gain a lot of awards!"
"Yes...yes..."
The 4 people hurriedly nodded, except for Sun Qiming who slightly frowned as if he still hesitated. Even Clan head Yan had thrown a glance at Sun Qiming; however, he seemed to have not seen that warning at all.
"Do you have any problem?" Zhang Tie asked Sun Qiming.
"I will definitely exert my full efforts to finish the task assigned by Hermit; however, there's one thing that I have to warn Hermit——as this dual-drive engine doesn't have a proper fuel, even if we could produce it, we'd barely use it; perhaps Hermit has other plans that are out of our commoners' imaginations..." Sun Qiming said meticulously.
"Don't worry about that. I have my consideration!" Zhang Tie replied with a smile as he continued, "You should finish this task in a low-key manner. Am I clear?"
"Clear!"
"You can leave!"
The 5 people bowed and moved backward. Until they exited the parlor did they turn around and leave under the guidance of Liu Xing.
Sitting on the old-fashioned wooden armchair, Zhang Tie watched their backs as he touched his bald head.
'If Li Tao could accomplish the task on time, the alcohol production base would go online in 3 months. After that, it would produce over 40,000 tons of alcohol a month. By then, the engine production plant would go online too.'
The iron of Iron-dragon Sect was the same iron of Zhang Tie 1 and steel.
The change brought by Iron-dragon Sect would enable commoners to fight on the battlefield in the holy war. The power of iron and steam would present itself in a wholly new manner in front of the public.
Because of iron and steam, even commoners below LV 6 could become a major force that contended with the super demon corps, instead of being slaughtered by the latter.
What counted most, the reappearance of a propeller-driven airplane in this age would enable humans to wrestle with wing demons besides knights. It could be imagined that when the flames of war extended to Taixia Country, with the help of propeller-driven airplanes, Taixia Country would never repeat the tragedy of human airship troop above Selnes Theater of Operations——numerous fighters sprayed their blood in the sky as they could only watch the sky where the wing demons were indulging in wanton massacre.
Although there were airboats and knights in Taixia Country, the limited quantities of airboats and knights determined that these kinds of high-end forces and resources could only control limited areas. Actually, battles between commoners and demons accounted the most of the holy war.
It seemed that Zhang Tie had predicted the iron and steam storm that would start from Fire Dragon Bounty Territory and finally spread over the entire Taixia Country...
...
After a short while, when Zhang Tie was working out his layout in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory, the fourth batch of people was brought into the parlor by Liu Xing.
The 4th batch of people was actually only one old man as slim as a bamboo pole, who was the representative of the most boring clan in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory.
Of course, the most boring clan was most estranged from the other clans in the Fire Dragon Bounty Territory. Now that this clan could still survive itself, it indicated that this clan had its own bottom line and had its own way to survive itself. Additionally, now that this clan could dispatch a representative to wait outside the official manor, it indicated that this clan understood the ways of people; at least, they held in awe and veneration toward power and force.
Fire Dragon Bounty Territory indeed required such a clan.
"Fire Dragon Hermit, this humble man is Gu Hongyi, the clan elder of Introspection Palace in Snowpine City!"
The moment the old man as slim as a bamboo pole entered the parlor, he had bowed deeply towards Zhang Tie.
Not all the clan elders were knights. In many common clans, seniors or able ones could also be the clan elders. Undoubtedly, Gu Hongyi was an able man. Given his age, he should have a high seniority in Gu Clan. Now that Gu Clan could dispatch him to Xuantian City, it indicated that he was an able man.
"Take a seat!"
After saying thanks to Zhang Tie, Gu Hongyi straightened up and sat on the chair with a restrained and solemn look, being different than that of the earlier three batches of people.
"Why is your Gu Clan unpopular in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory?" Zhang Tie put it straight.
After hearing such a straightforward question, Gu Hongyi didn't look embarrassed; instead, he replied frankly, "My elder brother Gu Hongsheng has been serving as an around-the-clock imperial censor for 34 years. He's upright. Over these years, each time he came back to see relatives and offer sacrifice to predecessors, he would investigate local major clans openly and secretly. Whenever he found any disciples or clansmen making illegal things, he would impeach them. Therefore, many local officials from the major clans in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory had been impeached by my elder brother; some of them were caned by my elder brother; some of them were even dismissed. Therefore, our Gu Clan has a poor human relationship in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory!"
After hearing this reason, Zhang Tie was shocked too much.
Actually, Zhang Tie was once impeached by an around-the-clock imperial censor in the imperial censorate of Taixia Country; therefore, he disliked around-the-clock imperial censors. It was out of his imagination that there was an imperial censor's clan in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory.
When he thought that an around-the-clock imperial censor would break out his occupational disease by collecting the illegal behaviors of the local major clans and impeaching them the moment he returned home each year, Zhang Tie would almost collapse mentally. An around-the-clock censor's impeachment to local clans would at least reach military region and be accepted by the commander of the military region. Now that these local landlords had established human relationships, they could never barely establish any relationship with the commander of the military region. Therefore, they could only suffer from the punishment by the commander.
"Now that your Gu Clan is so unpopular, what if the disciples of Gu Clan is found illegal?" Zhang Tie asked.
After hearing Zhang Tie's question, Gu Hongyi replied with a proud look, "All the disciples of Gu Clan could recite "The Laws of Taixia Country" at the age of 12. Therefore, disciples of Gu Clan would never do anything illegal, neither would our disciples be found illegal!"
'Treating "The Laws of Taixia Country" as domestic disciplines and family rules? Recite them at 12 years old? When he recalled "The Laws of Taixia Country" which was as thick as a brick, Zhang Tie could only stay silent and tribute for the disciples of Gu Clan, 'What a weirdo clan!'
"What does Gu Clan survive on in Snowpine City?"
"Gu Clan has over 6 million square meters of quality arable land in Snowpine City, some bookstores and a printing plant. Disciples of Gu Clan could be farmers and teachers, many of them work as lawyers in the courts of different cities and provinces..."
The lawyers of courts in Taixia Country were different than those in other continents and subcontinents. To put it straightforwardly, lawyers in Taixia Country were equal to the counsels of officials in the courts. Because officials in the courts could not recite all the articles of "The Laws of Taixia Country". In many situations, these officials needed a legal advisor who was familiar with "The Laws of Taixia Country".
There were also lawyers in Jinwu Business Group. In Taixia Country, anyone who was familiar with "The Laws of Taixia Country" would be able to be a lawyer, which was a special occupation in Taixia Country.
"I want Gu Clan to do one thing for me!"
"May I know what that thing is?" Gu Hongyi asked meticulously.
"The cities in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory would carry out local representatives autonomy from then on; however, the local representatives could not behave freely. Gu Clan will be responsible for the supervision of local representatives of the 10 cities in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory!" Zhang Tie said generously. Previously, Zhang Tie just wanted Gu Clan to be his ear and eye as another information channel. However, after knowing that Gu Clan was such a weirdo clan, Zhang Tie directly handed the major task of supervising the local representatives to Gu Clan.
"Hermit, you're completely pushing Gu Clan to the opposite of local representatives in all cities of Fire Dragon Bounty Territory!"
"Aren't you Gu Clan already in such a condition?"
"Gu Clan can agree with you but on a condition!"
It was Zhang Tie's first time to see someone who dared bargain with him in the parlor. Therefore, he felt fresh and asked, "Go ahead!"
"Hermit, please take one Gu disciple as your apprentice!" Gu Hongyi replied after gritting his teeth.
"Hahaha, you're really audacious. Your Gu Clan is the first clan who dares propose a request to me today! I wonder why do you want your clan disciples to cultivate battle skills. Didn't you say that Gu Clan disciples just do farm works, be teachers and lawyers?
"As the holy war has broken out, we have to prepare for it. It would always be good if one of Gu disciple could survive himself in the chaotic world for the sake of the continuation of the clan!"
"What if I don't agree with you?"
Gu Hongyi then stretched his long neck and replied, "Although Gu Clan is not powerful, we always observe laws and regulations; it's difficult for Hermit to find Gu Clan trouble! Whatever, Gu Clan doesn't have even one friend in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory. Even if Hermit dislikes Gu Clan, our clan will not be in a worse situation."
According to Gu Hongyi's words, if Zhang Tie disagreed with him, Gu Clan would not follow Zhang Tie's order.
What a Gu Clan!
"Hahaha, interesting, interesting..." Zhang Tie burst out into laughter as he said, "Now that Gu Clan treats it as a business, I will establish this trade with you. You can go back and have one of your qualified disciples to be my apprentice..."
Gu Hongyi stood up and bowed deeply towards Zhang Tie, "Thanks, Fire Dragon Hermit!"
...
After Gu Hongyi left, Wang Chongde, the master of Wang Clan, Yushun Palace from Ningan City entered.
After chatting with Wang Chongde for a few minutes with a pleasant look and learning about Wang Clan's situation, Zhang Tie handed a task to Wang Clan.
"On August 18, I will hold the opening ceremony of Iron-Dragon Sect in the official manor. By then many guests would arrive. Previously there were some official servants in the official manor; I don't like them. When I arrived here, I've told them to leave. As the kindest clan in Fire Dragon Bounty Territory, Wang Clan has many servants and good family rules; you dispatch a batch of servants to the official manor and have them receive the guests from all walks of life in the opening ceremony of Iron-Dragon Sect!"
This was evidently a good opportunity for Wang Clan to be well-known in the opening ceremony of Iron-Dragon Sect, because those guests in the opening ceremony of Iron-Dragon Sect were all heroes and elites from all industries, who were all influential figures.
The moment Zhang Tie finished his words, Wang Chongde had sprung up as he replied in a quivering voice out of excitement with a blush, "Wang Clan...will exert our full efforts to live up to the Hermit's trust..."
...
After the 5 batches of people left the official manor, the entire Fire Dragon Bounty Territory started to run like gears...
However, Zhang Tie disappeared once again weirdly after making arrangements. Nobody knew where Zhang Tie was...
Actually, Zhang Tie had long been anxious to return home...
Chapter 1034: Jinwu City
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Jinwu City, Yanghe Prefecture...
Standing on the top of a mountain peak outside Jinwu City, Zhang Tie couldn't prevent his heart from racing when he looked at Jinwu City in front of him.
4 years ago, Jinwu City was only on the drawings; however, it had already come true today.
Compared to Class A cities in Taixia Country, covering a bit more than 100 square miles, Jinwu City was just a small city. However, the boisterous scenery of constant airships above Jinwu City and the bustling crowd outside Jinwu City made it more like a prosperous commercial center or regional air traffic hub than a small city.
Railways and highways had been built. Standing on the top of the mountain peak, Zhang Tie could see crisscrossed railways and highways radiate in all directions from Jinwu City. Smoking trains were running on the railways like boas while various vehicles were shuttling back and forth on the highways.
As it was too boisterous inside the city, Zhang Tie had not imagined that there were two high and magnificent castles being about 1 mile away from the city. They were defending Jinwu City like two silent guards and could divide human flows. Many airships accessing to Jinwu City were parking in the airship bases in the periphery of the two castles.
There were some villages, towns and plants around Jinwu City and two castles within dozens of square miles. Everything in front of Zhang Tie's eyes was thriving and vigorous.
Zhang Tie even caught sight of a huge camp outside the city.
Like that inside Jinwu City, that large-scale camp also looked very boisterous. Of course, the boisterous scene was composed of shuttling steam armored vehicles, battle calls, collisions and sweat of numerous fighters and the dust flying in the air.
In Zhang Tie's lotus-flower eyes, although being dozens of miles away, that camp was still as clear as his own palm prints.
The banner in the camp was not the banner of the official army in Youzhou Province, Taixia Country, but the Jinwu banner of Zhang Clan, Huaiyuan Palace.
The Jinwu Banner was as overbearing as the emblem of Jinwu Business Group. On both sides of the golden bird, its one claw was holding a shield while its the other hand was holding a sword.
This was the symbol of the armored guards of Jinwu Business Group. In another word, it was the symbol of Zhang Tie's private army.
Under the Jinwu banner, the frozen fighters' firm and persistent looks didn't escape away from Zhang Tie's eyes.
Black sweat stains were left on the fighters' faces; the military officers and the steam armored vehicles were roaring. With the extremely rhythmic shocks and booms, the targeted slope was covered with pits...
...
Only after throwing a glance at the size of the camp and the trainees on the battlefield, Zhang Tie had estimated the population of this armored forces——about 100,000 people.
Zhang family had changed a lot after 4 years.
...
Being excited, Zhang Tie watched the Jinwu City in the distance for quite a while before finally taking in a deep breath and flashing away from the top of the mountain peak.
Half an hour later, Zhang Tie appeared in the huge shadow of the city wall of Jinwu City. He looked up at the super high city wall of Jinwu City.
When he looked at it from the top of the mountain peak in the distance, he didn't feel that the city wall of Jinwu City was too high; however, when he came to the foot of the city wall, Zhang Tie realized that it was really too high.
The city wall of Youzhou City, as a Class A city was only a bit higher than 70 m; however, the city wall of Jinwu City was higher than 100 m like a high tower. Standing at the foot of the city wall and looking up at the city wall, Zhang Tie felt its overwhelming qi.
There were various city-defense machines on the city wall. The steam ballistas and heavy centrifugal cannons made the city wall an iron hedgehog. Besides, there were many pieces of movable iron armors over the city wall. It was more like the configuration of a battle fortress than a city wall.
Jinwu City was just a small city; however, it was more like a huge battle fortress.
After Zhang Tie was framed by demons and Three-eye Association and had to escape away, his family members had started to build this city. At the sight of such a firm city wall, Zhang Tie knew what his family members were thinking about when they built the city.
'If not for the sake of safety, Jinwu City would not have such a deterrent city wall. This city wall is actually the portrayal of my elder brother's thought. Over the past 4 years, my elder might be thinking about how to make our family firmer everyday in case that any one of our family would suffer from any misfortune like me once again.'
'No, it won't. As I'm back. From then on, nobody could bully us anymore!'
Zhang Tie mumbled.
...
"Wow, the city wall of Jinwu City is even higher than that of a Class A City..." A 17-18-year-old adolescent was exclaiming at the foot of the city wall.
Beside this adolescent, there was a middle-aged man at his 30s. They both looked like businessmen. The younger one looked naive while the elder one looked shrewd. Given their similar looks, Zhang Tie knew that they were father and son.
Many people who came to Jinwu City for the first time would stop and appreciate the magnificent city wall. Therefore, the demeanors of Zhang Tie and that adolescent at the foot of the city wall didn't look special at all.
"Do you want a photo at the foot of the city wall of Jinwu City? 2 gold coins per times. This is the highest city wall in the entire Northeast Military Region. If you pass by, you will miss this opportunity..." At the sight of Zhang Tie and the adolescent standing still there, a man with a camera instantly came to them for soliciting trade.
'The city wall could even be a scenery of Jinwu City.'
Zhang Tie burst out into laughter inside.
"We need to enter it now. We'd better settle down at first; after that, we have to take the sequence number and queue up tonight; if we're lucky enough, we could gain a chance to buy one case of vials of the all-purpose medicament..." The middle-aged man pulled the adolescent directly into the city, ignoring the photographer.
"Dad, is this all-purpose medicament really that popular in other provinces?" The adolescent asked him in a low and vigilant voice.
"It's very popular. I've already contacted the purchasers in Tongzhou Province. We could make 24 gold coins by selling one case of 12 vials of all-purpose medicament after increasing 2 gold coins for each vial. Although it's not too profitable and is a bit painstaking on the way as well as it will cost us some time, if we're lucky enough, we could travel here twice a year..." The middle-aged man replied in a low voice as he walked.
"When we're rich in the future, we will also buy an airship!" The adolescent said in a naive yet ambitious tone.
"Yup, it's nice to hear that you're so ambitious. Our Hong family's undertaking was gradually established through doing business by your father and your grandfather..." The father patted his son's shoulder and encouraged him pleasantly.
When the father and the son talked in low voice, they entered the crowd at the city gate. There were two teams of city-defense guards and military officers at the city gate of Jinwu City, who were watching the passers-by's faces and personal packages with flickering eyes. Unless they saw something special, they would not check or purposely make difficulties for someone.
Watching the father and the son entering the city gate, Zhang Tie also prepared to enter the city among the bustling crowd.
Zhang Tie was in a medium-sized figure; he looked a bit strong and was dressed like a common warrior that could be seen everywhere in Taixia Country. In this way, he was neither eye-catching nor mediocre. Besides a tough, fierce and intrepid face, there was a common walking saber on one side of his waist.
Zhang Tie could almost see 7-8 people in the similar dress among the crowd.
Besides, guards of business groups, independent warriors and some valiant pedlars almost looked similar.
After making a comparison, Zhang Tie found that more people carried weapons in the crowd than when he came to Taixia Country for the first time.
The moment Zhang Tie wanted to enter the city, he had caught sight of a military officer who hurriedly walked downstairs the tunnel in the city gate. The military officer whispered something to another military officer at the city gate. After hearing that, the military officer immediately became spirited as he hurriedly sorted his clothes.
The whisper of the military officer drifted into Zhang Tie's ears too, "The castellan is coming, watch out..."
After hearing this words, Zhang Tie almost stopped his footsteps right away.
'Castellan? Isn't he my dad?' Zhang Tie mumbled.
Only after a few seconds, a fleet of four black limos rapidly drove towards one side of the city gate and parked outside the city gate. Some people then got off the black limos. At the sight of this, the military officer at the city gate hurriedly walked over there and made a military tribute to one of them. Closely after that, he followed those people who had just got off vehicles and started to introduce something to them outside the city gate.
Because of sudden arrival of these people, many people who were accessing to the city gate turned around and looked at them out of curiosity.
However, after looking at the sharp eyes and sensing aggressive qi of those bodyguards, who were above LV 13, surrounding those people, none of the onlookers dared approach them.
Zhang Ping, Zhang Tie's dad was escorted by the crowd and came to the place where Zhang Tie stood still and looked up at the high city wall. He put his hand over his forehead to prevent sunlight from entering his eyes as he said, "This city wall is indeed high. It looks aggressive; as a result, Jinwu City feels intense. It's necessary to beautify it..."
When Zhang Ping said, a stenographer took down his words in shorthand...
Chapter 1035: An Assassination
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
All of Zhang Ping's words drifted into Zhang Tie's ears.
'Beautifying city wall?'
Although it sounded staggering, Zhang Tie knew that his father could make it.
"A few days ago, I heard many business groups who came to Jinwu City complain that the city wall of Jinwu City was too high and as aggressive as a battlefortress. How about planting some creepers on it? When the creepers covered over the city wall, it would look a bit green and not that terrifying anymore..."
After saying that, Zhang Ping turned around and asked a military officer on his side as he knew that the city wall was designed for some special military purpose, "Will the creepers weaken the effect of the city-defense equipment?"
"Creepers could reach about 15 m in height at most; however, the lowest city-defense equipment of Jinwu City are above 30 m in height; additionally, as creepers would grow closely along the city wall, it could not hide any enemy. Therefore, it's acceptable to grow creepers at the foot of the city wall!" The military officer answered respectfully.
"That's good. We will plant creepers then!" Zhang Ping became very happy.
Hearing his dad's voice from a few meters away, Zhang Tie let out a sigh inside.
When Zhang Ping talked about creepers, his tone and facial expression reminded Zhang Tie of the scene when his dad whitewashed the fencing of the backyard of their house with him when in Blackhot City. 'Perhaps, dad has already treated Jinwu City as his own home; therefore, as a castellan, he would always do things himself.
'Zhang family's understakings have expanded greatly; however, dad still remains unchanged.'
'If dad is more considerable, he should ask about the military officer's opinion before making a decision. Only in this way could he behave as authoritative as a castellan. However, dad did it conversely. He expressed his opinion of planting creepers first before asking about the military officer's opinion. Although it looks normal, what if the military officer opposes him? Whether dad will adopt his opinion or not? If dad doesn't adopt his opinion, he will feel domineering; if dad adopts his opinion, his authority and influence will be gradually weakened in others' eyes.'
'Of course, my dad is not domineering. If that military officer opposes him, I'm sure that my dad will adopt the military officer's opinion and work out another method. He won't even notice the utterly different influences of the two sequences at all.'
Although it was too meticulous, it was the essence of becoming an officer and making oneself authoritative in front of the subordinates.
'Actually, my dad could only be a factory director or manager at most. It might be his upper limit to be a castellan. However, in Youzhou Province, with the protection of Huaiyuan Palace and the management of my elder brother, my dad could be a qualified castellan pleasantly in my territory.'
'After 4 years, dad remains unchanged. He's just got nobler with a better look. Being always escorted and taken care of by a lot of people, he really looks like an ambitious old man.'
Zhang Tie didn't expect his father to be too prestigious; he had felt much better at the sight of his father's current situation.
After taking a look at the city wall and inspecting the situation outside the city wall for a while, Zhang Ping whispered to some guys on his side before going to the parking lot.
Many people had stopped outside the city gate and watched these "big figures" of Jinwu City out of curiosity. The two teams of fighters at the city gate were maintaining the order. Zhang Tie was also watching his dad in the crowd. Although having mixed moods inside, Zhang Tie looked nothing special but curious like the others.
Zhang Ping and the other guys on his side were talking as they walked towards the parking lot...
Right then, Zhang Tie felt a berserk qi in the crowd; closely after that, he felt a killing qi.
If not being a knight who had a super great knight's consciousness, he could almost not find anything wrong in the crowd.
...
"Go die..." Right in the crowd, a man who looked like a common pedlar suddenly pulled out his dagger and charged at Zhang Ping as fast as a lightning bolt.
"Protect the castellan..."
Although that man moved fast, Zhang Ping's bodyguards were not weak. Almost the moment the assassin jumped out, one bodyguard had already discovered him. The bodyguard immediately sprung up and rushed towards that killer. When that assassin was dozens of meters away from Zhang Ping, he had been blocked.
Right in the city gate, two powerful battle qis collided against each other, causing a bang.
The moment the two powerhouses crashed, those near them were immediately affected. Being affected by their battle qis, some innocent people were instantly blown off by the impact wave of the battle qis and crashed onto the wall inside the city gate, uttering miserable shrieks...
After suffering such an accident, the city gate was in chaos at once. Most of the onlookers became a bit flurried and started to escape in all directions. At the same time, the two teams of guards at the city gate rapidly formed a flesh wall around Zhang Ping almost the moment someone shouted, "Protect the castellan" and isolated Zhang Ping from those flurried commoners.
Zhang Tie slightly changed his face; however, he did not panic. With the protection of those guards, he accelerated towards his vehicle. The military officer whom Zhang Ping was talking with directly rushed towards the battlefield and wanted to arrest the assassin as fast as possible.
The city gate sounded the alarm at the same time...
The moment Zhang Ping wanted to get on his vehicle, a person in the flurried crowd who was close to the vehicle opened his mouth while numerous lights flew towards Zhang Ping.
Besides moving extremely fast, the lights were very powerful. Even though two powerhouses on Zhang Ping's side had already released their protective battle qi to cover Zhang Ping, the lights directly broke their protective battle qi and came to Zhang Ping's front in a split second...
Chapter 1036: Saving His Father
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
At this moment, all the bodyguards at present changed their faces...
This was the trump card!
The assassin who exclaimed just now was just to attract the others' eyes, the real fatal strike was over here.
It was already unpredictable that an assassin could shoot out hidden weapons from his mouth; what was more terrifying was that the hidden weapon was not common as it could penetrate through the protective battle qis of the two bodyguards on Zhang Ping's side and covered Zhang Ping's upper body immediately.
At that moment, Zhang Tie felt a chilly qi approaching him after penetrating through his two bodyguards. His heart pounded...
It happened so suddenly that nobody could respond to it. As a result, the tragedy was going to happen.
"Ding..."
"Ding..."
"Ding..."
"Ding..."
Along with ceaseless metallic collisions which sounded like how raindrops beat leaves of Japanese banana trees, a gold light flashed around Zhang Ping, which almost covered Zhang Ping completely like a golden armor. After clattering the golden light, those lights immediately changed their directions and shot towards the top of the city gate...
Before that person who shot hidden weapons towards Zhang Ping responded, Zhang Tie had already appeared on his side and stretched his hand towards his neck.
One of Zhang Ping's bodyguards also darted towards here with a roar.
After glaring at Zhang Tie for the last moment in a lifeless way, that assassin's face turned as pitch as ink at once while a wisp of black blood flew out of his mouth corners. Closely after that, his body crumpled. Zhang Tie held his neck without using any strength...
Actually, before assassin's neck was gripped by Zhang Tie, he was already dead.
After seeing that assassin was killed, the other assassin who was in the disadvantageous position made a response to it right away. His face also turned black almost at the same time. Closely after that, he was punched by one of Zhang Ping's bodyguards and was sent flying over 20 m away. After falling onto the ground, he couldn't get up anymore.
The entire process lasted less than 10 seconds since the first assassin launched the attack.
Zhang Tie knew that the combat was already over.
In Zhang Tie's perceptions, there were only two killing qis within hundreds of meters. Unless one above earth knight was lurking somewhere and preparing to launch another attack, nothing could escape from Zhang Tie's perceptions. However, if a shadow knight wanted to kill Zhang Ping, the two assassins became unnecessary as a blow of a shadow knight could solve all the forces beside Zhang Ping. Therefore, the combat had come to an end.
Until then did the golden light surrounding Zhang Ping break off and fall onto the ground while rotating. They were just a handful of gold coins.
Zhang Tie didn't move, he just gripped the assassin's neck and watched the assassin's face which was turning black and decomposing with a slight frown...
The assassin's brain rotted first. Zhang Tie just tried his utmost to collect the remaining information from the decomposing brain of the assassin.
It was chaotic in the surroundings. Zhang Tie heard heavy footsteps. After hearing the alerts from the city gate, the fighters on the top of the city gate rushed off towards here...
Zhang Tie's dad looked a bit pale. After throwing a glance at those gold coins on his side before moving his eyes onto Zhang Tie whose look was strange to him. Closely after that, he was pushed onto the vehicle with the protection of his bodyguards.
The moment Zhang Ping and one bodyguard got on the vehicle, the vehicle had accelerated into the city. Although Zhang Ping got off the vehicle just now, the driver was still in it. The driver who had received professional training would drive Zhang Ping away from the dangerous place as fast as possible according to the emergency plan.
"Hmm..." With a muffled sound, a bodyguard beside Zhang Ping rapidly cut off his right palm by a dagger.
When the lights shot towards Zhang Ping, this bodyguard stretched his right palm to catch them; however, a light penetrated through his protective battle qi along with his palm, leaving a needle-sized bloody point on his palm. However, only after a few seconds, his palm had started to turn black and rot. After sensing the overbearing toxicity of the hidden weapon, the bodyguard immediately made a decision to cut off his right palm.
After falling onto the ground, the broken right palm gradually turned into a puddle of black water.
Zhang Tie also loosed his grip. After that, the assassin's body started to turn soft and smoke. Additionally, his face started to melt. The moment he crumpled on the ground, a puddle of stinky black water had flown out of his body.
Zhang Tie raised his head and found that the chaotic crowd had been driven away only after such a short while. Meanwhile, a great batch of city guards of Jinwu City had already surrounded him and targeted at him with their long spears and crossbows.
Two bodyguards and some military officials on Zhang Ping's side also goggled at him with fully vigilant and intense eye light.
It was one bodyguard on Zhang Ping's side who stopped the others from attacking Zhang Tie. Because that bodyguard faintly remembered that the golden light that covered Zhang Ping flew off Zhang Tie's sleeve.
The golden light was actually caused by the flying gold coins. Although that assassin who shot his hidden weapons out of his mouth was irresistible and terrifying, Zhang Tie's move was really an exceptional art, which was already out of the realm of hidden weapons. It was more like an immortal, fabulous realm——although being launched a bit later, they blocked all the flying needles; additionally, they suspended around Zhang Ping. In the urgent moment, they protected Zhang Ping like an armor...
The others used hidden weapons to kill people; however, this one saved people with hidden weapons. Nobody had ever heard about this before even in Taixia Country, not to mention having ever seen it.
After throwing a glance at the people surrounding him, Zhang Tie took in a deep breath before saying, "I'm just a passer-by..."
Although revealing a smile, Zhang Tie felt colder inside than before. If he didn't come to Jinwu City out of a whim, his dad might have already...
When Zhang Tie thought about the potential result, he became scared. Besides, a killing qi surged in his mind.
"Tough man, please wait a moment in Jinwu City and coordinate with the aspect of Jinwu City for the investigation. If you've nothing to do with the assassination, Jinwu City will pay you a great reward!" The bodyguard cupped his hands towards Zhang Tie with a solemn look while the others were gazing at Zhang Tie's hands and sleeves...
Facing such an event, Zhang Tie also knew that Jinwu City would not easily let him go. After throwing a glance at those people who were ready to charge at him at any time, Zhang Tie became faintly hesitated before slowly nodding his head...
...
In less than half an hour, the event that Zhang Ping was assassinated by powerhouses in Jinwu City had already spread over the entire city, even across Youzhou Province. Numerous people were shocked inside...
Chapter 1037: Concerns and Surprises
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Only after 2 hours, Zhang Yang had received the news and arrived at home in Jinwu City...
At this moment, Zhang family was living in the inner city, the core of Jinwu City, which covered over 1 million square meters. Being protected by castles and high city walls and set off by mountains, rivers and gardens, Zhang family had already looked like a real major clan.
Over 20,000 Jinwu guards were protecting the inner city. The camp of Jinwu Guards was close to the inner city which could be mobilized at any time. The moment the Jinwu guards heard the news that Zhang Ping was assassinated, they had turned as ferocious as furious beasts. The entire camp started to move. Even the inside of Jinwu City had started a curfew. Squads of fully-armored patrols appeared in the streets across the city at once, causing an abrupt intense atmosphere in the city.
Zhang Yang's airboat directly landed at the airport in the inner city. The moment the airboat landed, Zhang Yang had got off it with a solemn look. Those who had long been waiting over there hurriedly moved forward and followed after Zhang Yang towards the inner mansion.
"How's my father?" Zhang Yang hurriedly strode as he asked a steward.
"Master is fine. He was just a bit startled and was playing with some young masters in the mansion..." As Zhang Yang strode very fast, the steward almost trotted so as to catch up with him.
After hearing this, Zhang Yang looked a bit better, 'If dad could still play with his grandsons, it means that he's fine.'
"Have you closed the city gate?" Zhang Yang asked after throwing a glance at the other man in the uniform of Jinwu Guards on his side.
"Castellan told us to not treat it too seriously in case of influencing the trades in Jinwu City. He ordered us to not close the city gate..." The military officer answered.
After hearing this reply, Zhang Yang slightly frowned. Closely after that, he relieved his frown. Because he knew that was how his dad always behaved. Although being a castellan, he still felt like being a boss of the rice brew store as before in Blackhot City. He would always consider the interests of his family; instead of his own hardships and safety.
When Zhang Yang entered the inner courtyard, all the male and female servants hurriedly stood aside as they bowed and greeted him.
After returning home, a knight dispatched by Golden Roc Bank to protect Zhang Yang stayed outside. Zhang Yang himself entered home.
After such a major event occurred, all the family members almost gathered in the lobby of the main mansion, including Zhang Tie's wives.
Zhang Yang saw his dad putting two 2-3-year-old babies on his legs and letting them climb over there while his mother was talking with Linda, Beverly and Fiona on one side with red eyes.
At the sight of Zhang Yang, those in the lobby almost stood up at the same time, except for Zhang Yang's parents.
Over these years, as Zhang Tie was not at home, Zhang Yang was responsible for the entire Zhang family and looked more like the master of a family.
"Papa..." A juvenile called Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang nodded. This juvenile was Zhang Chengan.
Born in 890 of Black Iron Calendar, Zhang Chengan already looked like a 13-year-old strong juvenile while his look was more similar to that of Zhang Yang. As the eldest son of the 3rd generation of Zhang family, he had a lot of younger brothers and sisters; Zhang Chengan was calm and steady since young. Although he was young, he already looked a bit mature.
"Dad, are you fine?" Zhang Yang sat down in front of Zhang Ping. After looking at Zhang Ping from his head to toe, Zhang Yang became completely reassured.
"I'm fine, of course, I'm fine..." Zhang Ping replied as he strengthened his legs with a big smile, making it a sliding board for the two babies. Although Linda and Beverly wanted to cradle the babies away, they were stopped by Zhang Ping.
"I will let Liu Knight stay with you!"
"No need. You always do business outside. If not being protected by a knight, the entire family would be worried about you. In Huaiyuan Palace, knights are all clan elders. Heavenly Fortune Sect has already arranged a knight to protect our home, it's already very eye-catching. Many people outside have been blaming me about that. If the castellan of Jinwu City was followed by a clan elder-level powerhouse, what the others of Huaiyuan Palace would think about me?" Zhang Ping turned his head and told Zhang Yang with a serious look.
"But..."
Zhang Ping stopped Zhang Yang. Although Zhang Yang was decisive and more influential outside, he had to be docile at home in front of Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping let out a deep sigh, "As you two brothers have established such a great undertaking in Taixia Country; the entire Zhang family is growing vigorous; Chengan and the other grandsons and granddaughters are growing more and more excellent. I'm already satisfied to help you brothers look after the family. Previously, when I made one gold coin a month in the factory of Blackhot City, who could imagine that I, Zhang Ping could live such a wealthy life. Even if I could not come back alive, I wouldn't feel regretful at all..."
After hearing Zhang Ping's words, Zhang Tie's mom dropped off her tears once again, "I've told your dad to not be the castellan of Jinwu City anymore. It's too dangerous..."
"Woman! If those people really wanted to harm us; unless our Zhang family members stayed in the inner city for the rest of our lives, they would find a chance to do that sooner or later. It has nothing to do with my status. Jinwu City is the undertaking of our family. If our family became so timid in our own city, wouldn't it be a laughingstock?" Zhang Ping blamed Zhang Yang's mom. Although Zhang Yang's mom was always reasonable, facing such a big event, she didn't dispute with Zhang Ping anymore as she knew that Zhang Ping was right.
After saying that, Zhang Ping turned around and watched Zhang Yang, "I know my own ability. It's my upper limit to give a favor to this family as the castellan of Jinwu City. It's also what I could do for you brothers now. Don't make this event a fuss. After a few days, I will continue to do my job instead of dropping the official affairs in Jinwu City..."
Zhang Yang revealed a smile, "I know, I will arrange the other things!"
"Let's have a dinner. Coincidentally, Chengan came back today. We could have a meal together..." Zhang Ping said as he cradled the two babies and stood up.
...
At the table, Zhang Yang didn't mention this event anymore. He even asked about Zhang Chengan's studies in Youzhou Provincial School.
Youzhou Provincial School was not the supreme official school across Youzhou Province. Its teachers were the most excellent ones in Youzhou Province, who were top talents in all aspects. Additionally, Knight-level elders or guests from clans in Youzhou Province always went to give lessons over there. Even Huaiyuan Palace, the clan of the provincial governor of Youzhou Province could not afford such excellent teachers. As Taixia Country paid attention to education very much, all the provincial schools would gather elites in all industries. As a result, both major clans and common families could share the quality education. Given comprehensive teaching capability, provincial schools definitely ranked first. However, some major clan's private schools could also match provincial schools.
Except for one point, namely, human relationship. Most of the disciples in private schools only shared one family name, including someone from other clans who had relationships with this clan or from collateral bloodlines. By contrast, surnames were not limited in official schools. One official school could have disciples from both major clans and common families. Even though those disciples from common families who graduated from official schools might become prefectural or provincial governors in the future, not to mention those from major clans. The original intention of official school was to select officials from commoners so as to balance the influence of local major clans.
Almost half of the learners in Youzhou Provincial School came from major clans across Youzhou Province according to the quota; the other half were the local excellent juveniles in Youzhou Province through public selection.
Zhang Chengan had already learned in Youzhou Provincial School for 3 years.
Of course, provincial schools were different than that of those major sects in Taixia Country because they were on two routes.
Coincidentally, Zhang Chengan attended the practicum of Youzhou Provincial School today. When he passed by Jinwu City and felt it was intense all over, Zhang Chengan asked people about what happened inside. When he heard that his grandpa was assassinated, he hurriedly ran back home to pay a visit to Zhang Ping.
"After having a meal, go back immediately. Don't behave special in Youzhou Provincial School because of your status!" Zhang Yang told his son.
"Don't worry, papa, I've not mentioned about my status at school yet. Besides some teachers at school, most of the classmates only know that I come from Yanghe Prefecture. Additionally, I asked for 6 hours' leave from the teacher. As my grandpa is fine, I'm reassured. I will go back soon..." Zhang Chengan replied seriously.
After hearing his words, Zhang Ping nodded as he felt that his son had been docile, "What practicum are you having in Jinwu City?"
"It's about airship and geography which will last 1.5 months. We will circle around Youzhou Province by airship and learn how to manipulate airship and the terrain, distribution of natural resources, layout of cities and military geography..."
Hearing Zhang Chengan's answers, Zhang Ping nodded as he sighed with emotions, "Read and travel. Good method. Take a ride in the sky and learn whatever you see. You will learn both how to manipulate airships in the air and the knowledge on the ground. Such a good education condition could only be available in Taixia Country. When in Blackhot City, I remember that your Uncle Tie would rush towards school with a schoolbag while gnawing a roasted sweat potato. At that time, our home was far away from school, in order to save some copper coins, your Uncle Tie didn't even take a bus. The so-called practicum at school was just some simple items on the processing tables. Occasionally, he had to plow the land! As you've got such a good educational resource, you have to treasure it and study hard..."
"I've kept your words in mind, grandpa!" Zhang Chengan nodded.
When Zhang Ping talked about Zhang Tie, the atmosphere at the table became gloomy at once. The moment Zhang Tie's mom controlled her tears, her eyes had turned red once again, "Zhang Tie is still in the Earth-elements Realm?"
Zhang Yang nodded.
"I wonder whether Guoguo is fine in Earth-elements Realm. It's said that it's dark all the year round over there. It's full of dangers. Being covered with magma and mutated beasts, it was as perilous as the hell. These babies have not seen their papa yet although they could already speak like Chenglei at their age..." Zhang Tie's mom said with a worried look.
Linda, Beverly and Fiona slowed down their chopsticks. Although the table was full of delicious food, they didn't feel like eating anymore...
"Dad, mom, younger sisters-in-law, don't worry, as long as Jinwu Business Group still exists, I'm sure that Zhang Tie will come back aboveboard soon. I've already contacted the side of Xuanyuan Hill. There's already a hope..." Zhang Yang replied in a muffled voice.
After hearing Zhang Yang's news, the entire Zhang family became spirited.
Although Zhang Ping's accident made Zhang family scared, the moment they heard that Zhang Tie might come back aboveboard, the entire family became reassured as nothing else was more important than Zhang Tie's case.
Zhang Yang was the helmsman of this family and helped Zhang family tide over the ocean by dodging away from reefs and rapids. However, the entire family, including Zhang Yang knew that Zhang Tie was the key stand of this family. As long as Zhang Tie was at home, the entire family would be filled with cheers and would not worry about any difficulty...
...
Although the event that Zhang Ping was assassinated was severe, the 3rd generation of Zhang family were all kids. Additionally, Zhang Yang and Zhang Tie were all in the prime of their lives. If they wanted, they could deliver over 100 sons. Therefore, nobody would think about harming Zhang Chengan.
After supper, Zhang Yang arranged a bodyguard to escort Zhang Chengan away from the city.
The moment Zhang Chengan left, Donder the manager of Golden Roc Bank in Jinwu City had arrived.
After caring about Zhang Ping, Donder came to the study with Zhang Yang for a secret talk.
The moment Donder left, Elder Muen of Huaiyuan Palace had arrived with a great batch of powerhouses from the Court of Youzhou Province and Huaiyuan Palace. The moment they arrived, these powerhouses had scattered in Jinwu City for clues...
After talking with Elder Muen secretly, Zhang Yang arranged Elder Muen to settle down in the inner city for the time being. After that, a trusted subordinate of Zhang Ping found a chance to whisper to Zhang Ping...
The moment Zhang Ping heard that, his eyes flickered as he asked, "Where's he?"
"We've already arranged him in the Starlight Castle..."
"I will take a look over there..."
Chapter 1038: The Tail of the Culprit
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
After leaving the spot of the assassination, Zhang Tie had been taken into a castle inside the city and was treated with tasty food and drinks. However, he was forbidden to leave under strict surveillance...
Starlight Castle was important for military affairs in Jinwu City. It was also a foothold of Jinwu Guards. As a result, it was under strict surveillance. The castle was covered with elite fighters and heavy machines. Those who were inside could barely break out by force if not a knight.
It would be a laughingstock if he fought his family members in another face in Jinwu City.
According to the status that Zhang Tie fabricated for himself, he was a vagrant warrior in Taixia Country who didn't belong to any sect. As he didn't care about his face, he just listened to the arrangement of Jinwu City and waited in the Starlight Castle for the big figures in Jinwu City.
He was in a parlor of Starlight Castle, which was briefly designed. It only had a map of Youzhou Province on the wall, some chairs, a table and a potted plant. As Zhang Tie was here, those who brought him in especially told someone to serve two plates of fruits on the table.
Two guards were standing at the door of the parlor. There was a small square window on the wall, which looked more like an embrasure. However, he could rightly see the Jinwu City from inside.
Standing at the window, Zhang Tie watched the Jinwu City as he waited for his family member.
'It was too coincidental this time. No wonder the side of Jinwu City would doubt about my motive. Even if I would doubt that it was a plot if someone coincidentally blocked the hidden weapons at the critical moment. '
Zhang Tie was clear that it was not a plot. The reason that he could save his dad at the critical moment lay in that Zhang family's meritorious deeds over these years were favored by the God. The God didn't want to see any tragedy of Zhang family anymore; therefore, Zhang Tie stopped the tragedy at the critical moment.
When Zhang Tie recalled that those poisonous needles almost touched his dad's body, he started to drool sweat all over due to fear.
Standing in the room, facing the breeze at the window, Zhang Tie's sweat was dried; however, his heart turned colder.
'My dad is just a castellan of Jinwu City, who has nothing to do with the outside world. Honestly, although it sounds improper, my dad's status and good temperament are not worth an assassination at all if not I am related to Jinwu Business Group. Therefore, the two killers must target at me.'
'Besides me and Jinwu Business Group, there would be no other target. If it targets at Jinwu Business Group, its influence is limited. Because my dad is almost not involved with the business of Jinwu Business Group. Comprehensively, it probably targets at me.'
'The animosity of killing my father is unforgivable. If the news that my dad was killed drifted into my ears, how could I keep traveling leisurely in the Earth-elements Realm? If I ignored it, how would the others in the world regard me? Being influenced by it, even Jinwu Business Group and the entire Huaiyuan Palace might feel shameful. If I come back to Taixia Country, as long as I reveal myself in the public, the opponent might set a plot to kill me.'
'The target of the culprit is to force me to appear in the public; meanwhile; he wants to give a blow to the growing reputation and influence of Jinwu Business Group and Huaiyuan Palace in Taixia Country.'
After thinking it through, Zhang Tie could almost comfirm immediately that the culprit of this assassination was the very one who set him up 4 years ago.
'Who's he among the nine chancellors of Taixia Country?'
After launching a strike, the two killers didn't think about leaving Jinwu City alive. The poison that they used to commit suicide was too destructive. In a split second, their corpses had turned into puddles of blood, leaving nothing at all. Therefore, Zhang Tie could not get any information from their minds.
'However, the culprit of this assination has not imagined that I could coincidentally prevent this assassination; additionally, I've touched one killer before he turned into a puddle of blood.'
'The culprit must have not imagined that I had mastered the essence of soul forbidden skill. Through a transient contact, I've already gained some intelligence from the killer's brain before it was melted by the poison.'
Zhang Tie read the killer's mind in sequence.
Through the transient contact, Zhang Tie knew that the two killers had already lived in the hotel outside Jinwu City for over 1 month, during which period they wandered near Jinwu City every day. Apparently, they were looking for business opportunities; actually, they were waiting for the order to launch an attack.
They didn't know who sent the order to them; neither did they have any contact in Jinwu City. The killer who launched an attack at first carried a portable small crystal remote-sensing communication device through which he could receive the order.
1 hour before the assassination, the killer received the brief order——east gate, in 1 hour...
After receiving the order, they destroyed the remote-sensing communication crystal. Then, they waited for Zhang Tie's dad near the east gate of Jinwu City. As was told, Zhang Tie's dad indeed appeared at the east gate in 1 hour.
The assassination then occurred.
After dating back a bit earlier, Zhang Tie knew that the two killers came from the Zhongzhou Province, one of the nine immortal provinces in Taixia Country. They didn't even have names; instead, they only had code names, 137 and 224. They came from a mysterious killers' organization. 3 months ago, they received the task dispatched by their organization, namely, the assassination of Zhang Ping, the castellan of Jinwu City in Youzhou Province.
They had a photo of Zhang Ping and his introduction, two wholly-new fabricated identities and an amount of expenditure. After receiving the task, the two killers had set for Jinwu City. After coming to Jinwu City, they had been waiting for the order.
The killers' organization was very terrifying and unimaginably strict. After receiving the task, the two people didn't contact any member of their organization anymore. It was their first task and the last one. In the killer's memory, Zhang Tie saw a gloomy face of a person, who was called Steward Qi. It was Steward Qi who assigned the task to them.
If that killer's brain was well preserved, Zhang Tie might be able to gain more information. However, soon after the image of Steward Qi appeared, the killer's brain tissue had been eroded by poison. Therefore, Zhang Tie was forced to exit his secret method of Bloody Soul Temple from the killer's memory.
Zhang Tie got two intelligence from the killer's mind. First, that killers' organization was in a base of Zhongzhou Province; second the gloomy long face of Steward Qi. Although being limited in clues, The image of the culprit who framed him 4 years ago became a bit clearer in the heavy mist. Zhang Tie finally caught the tail of the culprit.
...
When Zhang Tie was waiting inside the room quietly, he heard the familiar footsteps from the corridors in the outside.
Although the footsteps were still over 100 m away from Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie had already identified the arriver——Zhang Yang, his elder brother.
Out of imagination, Zhang Tie became slightly thrilled. After thinking about it for a second, he understood that his elder brother would catch any clue for sure based on his temperament.
Given the footsteps, Zhang Tie knew that Zhang Yang was accompanied by two knights, one of them had come to this room before, the other was a black iron knight, who didn't come from Huaiyuan Palace.
Given the frequency of the footsteps and relative positions, Zhang Tie knew that the knight who purposely fell one step behind Zhang Yang was Zhang Yang's bodyguard.
Hearing the footsteps approaching him, Zhang Tie sensed that Zhang Yang felt a great stress inside; at the same time, he let out a sigh inside.
If this accident didn't occur, Zhang Tie could continue to play hide-and-seek with his elder brother. However, now that it had happened, it was not necessary for him to cover his identity in front of his elder brother. Whatever, Zhang Tie believed in his elder brother. Additionally, Zhang Tie was preparing to establish a relationship with his elder brother in a new identity.
When he thought about this, although Zhang Tie was still standing at the window, he had recovered his original look.
...
"...The hidden weapon that the killer shot out towards castellan through his mouth should be fierce soul-eating needles. This secret method was irresistible. When one releases his battle qi, he could shoot this hidden weapon out of his mouth almost 10 times more powerful than that of its original power. Additionally, it could penetrate through protective battle qis below knight level. In a close distance, it is barely resisted. Even battle spirits might be harmed if they were not careful. The only shortcoming of this hidden weapon secret method is that its cultivator could only apply it one time in many days at the cost of his aura severely. After that killer failed it, he immediately committed suicide by taking poison. It seems that he has already known that he has lost the last opportunity. According to the autopsy, the poison black bones erosion powder had been buried beneath their teeth in advance. Those who commit suicide by taking this poison are all dauntless fighters..."
A person was reporting to Zhang Yang on the way here.
"Do you know which sect or which person is cultivating fierce soul-eating needle in Taixia Country?"
"This secret method has been lost for many years in Taixia Country..."
"However, that person blocked the fierce soul-eating needle by a handful of gold coins?"
"That person's hidden weapon skill is excellent. He's definitely a master-level hidden weapon powerhouse!"
"Two hidden weapon powerhouses appear at the same time. One wants to kill people; the other wants to save people. I really wonder about the reason!" Zhang Yang revealed a faint sneer.
After that, an unimaginable voice drifted into Zhang Yang's ears, which was not discovered by the two followers on his side.
"Elder brother, I'm the one who saved dad at the city gate. I've not imagined that it's you who came here. I'm in the room. You'd better come alone..."
Of course, Zhang Yang was sure that it was Zhang Tie's voice.
In a split second, a shocked look flashed across Zhang Yang's face. Closely after that, he recovered his face as he immediately stopped...
Chapter 1039: Reunion of Brothers
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
Zhang Yang stopped less than 20 steps away from Zhang Tie's room. At the sight of Zhang Yang, two fighters at the door chested out and looked forward.
If not Zhang Yang was sure that he was healthy, he almost thought that he got a phonism.
However, Zhang Yang knew that it was not phonism, but a secret voice transmission skill used by knights. Now that the one in the room knew that he had arrived from so far away by ears and could talk with him in secret voice transmission skill without being discovered by his knight bodyguard, it meant that the one's overall strength had surpassed the knight bodyguard on his side.
Zhang Yang's heart raced. When he stopped, the two followers also stopped as they watched him with curious looks.
In a split second, Zhang Yang had considered well some things.
"Is that man inside the room?"
"Yes, he's still inside and waiting for colonel!" The military officer on Zhang Yang's side replied.
In Jinwu Business Group and Jinwu City, besides stewards and servants of Zhang family who called Zhang Yang first young master, all the others called him colonel——the colonel of Jinwu Business Group.
"Let the two guards at the door leave. After I enter it, keep people 50 m away!" Zhang Yang said with a glassy-eyed look.
After hearing this order, the two people beside Zhang Yang became startled.
"Colonel, this person is unidentified. Additionally, he excels at using a hidden weapon. His battle strength is also above battle general. I'm afraid that..."
One person became worried about Zhang Yang's safety.
"Don't worry about that..." Zhang Yang threw a glance at that military officer. The military officer then became silent. As Zhang Yang had been prestigious in Jinwu Business Group these years, nobody across Jinwu Business Group dared doubt his command. After hearing Zhang Yang's words, the knight bodyguard also became silent. He just nodded and expressed that he would wait for Zhang Yang from 50 m away after Zhang Yang entered the room.
This knight bodyguard came from Golden Roc Bank. He would immediately follow Zhang Yang's order like fulfilling a contract within his responsibilities.
When Zhang Yang walked over there, the two guards left the door too. As a result, nobody was within 50 m.
When Zhang Yang pushed open the door, a whim occurred to his mind, 'What if the one inside the room is not Zhang Tie, but another plot?'
However, Zhang Yang immediately revealed a smile, 'Based on the superb voice-transmission skill of this person, even if he was not Zhang Tie, he could raid me and probably kill me immediately the moment I entered the room even with a knight bodyguard on my side; instead of having to play such a trick.'
After taking a deep breath, Zhang Yang pushed open the door as he saw a figure standing at the window. After hearing the sound behind him, Zhang Tie turned around, revealing his original look and frame to Zhang Yang, although his clothes looked a bit loose...
Zhang Tie recovered his original look by activating his body-changing immortal bloodline; however, he didn't change his clothes.
Of course, clothes were not important at this moment.
Zhang Yang was a bit thrilled as he didn't care about the details of the clothes. However, after staying so many years in Taixia Country, he had already known that seeing was not always believing. If not, his younger brother Zhang Tie would not be trapped by the tragedy in Fuhai City.
Zhang Tie watched Zhang Yang too. After 4 years, Zhang Yang had changed a lot in Zhang Tie's eyes. He looked more mature and dignified. Additionally, Zhang Yang had been LV 10.
"Elder brother..." Zhang Tie shouted.
"What did I do when I came to your school for the first time after you entered No. 7 Male Middle School in Blackhot City?"
After hearing elder brother's question and noticing the vigilance in his excited eyes, Zhang Tie became stunned. Closely after that, Zhang Tie grinned, 'How could anyone know that secret besides an elder brother and me.'
Honestly, it was a scandal. That year, Zhang Tie had spermatorrhea. Additionally, he wrote down many diaries about how much he liked Miss Daina. As a result, the bed sheet with the stains of sperm being exposed to the sun at the attic always attracted his elder brother's mocks. What was more, his elder brother found his diary from below his bed and knew his secrets. As his elder brother was also young at that time, he went to see the look of the woman whose name Zhang Tie had written many times in his diary when he picked up Zhang Tie at his school.
After recalling what happened at that time, Zhang Tie signed with emotions, "Elder brother, when you went to my school for the time, you let me understand how stupid it was for a bashful juvenile to write diaries."
Since his elder brother went to school, Zhang Tie had been mocked so many times by his elder brother. For a long time, he felt too bashful to raise his head and was a bit furious about his elder brother; however, his elder brother didn't tell this to their parents. He even solemnly told Zhang Tie to not write his secrets on the paper as it was not a good habit. After irritating Zhang Tie, Zhang Yang also felt a bit regretful. He even bought a lot of snacks for Zhang Tie. Therefore, this conflict then became an anecdote and secret between the two brothers at their young age. From then on, Zhang Tie burned all of his diaries and didn't write it anymore.
After Zhang Tie answered it briefly, Zhang Yang had run towards Zhang Tie and hugged him tightly.
When they departed from each other, Zhang Yang's eyes turned red. He looked at Zhang Tie carefully from head to toe. After that, he punched Zhang Tie's chest before moving two steps backward and recovering his solemn look.
"It's too dangerous. You should not come back!"
This room had been inlaid with a special alchemical device, which could prevent the sound from leaking out of the room like a single-way glass. Even knights could barely eavesdrop their talk from outside the room. However, the sound outside the room could be heard from inside. Therefore, Zhang Yang was not worried that their talk would be exposed to the public.
Of course, people in Jinwu Business Group and Jinwu City could identify Zhang Tie's original look, neither would Zhang Tie enter the city in his original look. Additionally, Zhang Yang had heard about the look of the person who saved his father outside the city gate. Therefore, Zhang Yang thought that Zhang Tie just used that look to hide his real identity during these years' escape. therefore, he didn't ask Zhang Tie about the disguised look at all.
"If I did not come back in time, my dad would be in danger today..." Zhang Tie let out a sigh as he pointed at a chair in the room to let Zhang Yang sit down.
"You know that someone was going to kill our father; therefore, you came back especially?"
Of course, Zhang Yang thought so.
Zhang Tie forced a bitter smile as he shook his head with a solemn look and said, "After this event, I was also scared too much. If I didn't pass by there accidentally and hear that the castellan was coming, the result of this event would be unpredictable. Previously, I just wanted to take a look at our family members stealthily. I've not imagined that I could meet this event. Our parents usually said that a good act would be well rewarded, as our mother always did meritorious deeds, the God might give Zhang family a favor so that dad could survive the dangers!"
Before coming here, Zhang Yang was still guessing about the identity of the hidden weapon powerhouse who saved his father at the critical moment and whether it was another plot. However, after meeting Zhang Tie, all the doubts had been cleared. Even though Zhang Tie had not shown his talents in using hidden weapons, his identity as a knight and his great military exploits in the past had already made people very confident about him. Therefore, Zhang Yang only wondered about the culprit of the assassination.
Jinwu City was searching for the clues behind the killers. Zhang Yang was also thinking about the major clans that had commercial competitions and conflicts of interests with Zhang Clan and preparing for the revenge. Now that they could assign dauntless killers to hurt Zhang family, Zhang Yang could also assign more dauntless killers to hurt their families. In the future, Jinwu Business Group would have endless dauntless fighters.
After Zhang Yang told Zhang Tie about his guesses, Zhang Tie shook his head, "Not these clans, the culprit of this assassination is definitely not any of those clans in Taixia Country who have commercial competitions and conflicts of interests with Zhang Clan and Jinwu Business Group, but the very one who framed me in Fuhai City!"
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, Zhang Yang became shocked. He had also thought about this point before. However, after 4 years' peaceful period, those people who framed Zhang Tie almost became the target for all in Taixia Country. The imperial court, local major clans, seven top sects and dark forces were all focusing on this event. Those people dared not expose themselves at all. Zhang Yang thought that those people dared not offend Zhang Clan anymore; therefore, he didn't owe the assassination to those people. After knowing Zhang Tie's firm attitude, Zhang Yang realized the severity of this event.
"Do you have any clue?"
"Yup, I've caught the tail of the culprit. The culprit is very powerful. He colludes with demons. Even the entire Zhang family and Huaiyuan Palace could not hurt him at all!"
Zhang Yang turned gloomy too. He gritted his teeth as a killing qi flashed across his face. He watched Zhang Tie with a firm expression, "No matter what, it never ends. That one targets at you, then papa; our Zhang family will definitely fight him to death. As you've caught the tail of the culprit, what are you going to do then?"
"I could not defeat the culprit previously; however, the culprit would be beaten like a rat crossing the road wherever he appeared in Taixia Country. Even though he's a shadow knight, he should also behave meticulously. Additionally, he must have a lot of opponents!" Zhang Tie revealed a faintly solemn look, "We don't need to fight them face-to-face. We only need to make use of the resources on our side!"
"How?"
"Now that two killers could appear at the city gate, there must be a mole in Jinwu City. Only after receiving the news of their mole could they arrive at the city gate on time and make preparations for the attack. We'd better check those people who knew about dad's schedule 1 hour before the assassination."
"Jinwu Guards have been on it!" Zhang Yang replied in a gloomy voice. There were powerhouses and talents in this aspect among Zhang Yang's subordinates. Almost the moment they heard about the news that Zhang Ping was assassinated, they had known that Zhang Ping's schedule was leaked in advance. There must be a mole of the killers inside the city, who must be very familiar with the trace of Zhang Tie's dad. Therefore, they could make a timely arrangement.
"Jinwu Guards have been investigating them. After you were framed and escaped away, I've been paying attention to the safety of our family members these years; especially the schedule of our father, which was always arranged by security officers. Dad's inspection outside the city gate was temporary. Before the event, less than 100 people knew the concrete schedule of our dad. If those killers really have a mole inside the city, it's definitely among those people..."
"Can we put all of them under house arrest?" Zhang Tie asked.
Zhang Yang nodded as he replied without any hesitation, "Yes, we can. 2/3 of these people are staff in the castellan's mansion of Jinwu City, less than 1/3 of them were from the other places across Taixia Country, who gradually joined the system of Jinwu City and Jinwu Business Group with the expansion of Jinwu Business Group and Jinwu City. It's just a matter of word to have them coordinate with us for the investigation."
"Can we isolate these people independently..." Zhang Tie revealed a cold look.
Zhang Yang faintly frowned as he replied, "As there're so many people, the mole must have paid special attention to keep his secrets. Even if we isolated them independently, we might not get any intelligence. If we torture them one after another, I'm afraid..."
"Just put them under house arrest. As long as the mole is among them, I could find him..." Zhang Tie said in a profound way...
Chapter 1040: Drive Tigers to Kill Wolves
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
"You could find that mole?" Zhang Yang became spirited after hearing Zhang Tie's words.
Zhang Tie nodded.
Zhang Yang became a bit thrilled. Since he saw Zhang Tie once again, he had become reassured inside. However, when he imagined how the two dauntless assassins attacked his dad today, he frowned once again and became a bit hesitated, "Referring to the firm mind of the two assassins at the last moment, the one who passed the intelligence must be a dauntless person too. The moment he finds that he's targeted, he will commit suicide and become a puddle of blood in the blink of an eye even if you could find him. I'm afraid that we could not get anything from him..."
Zhang Tie replied with a smile. Of course, Zhang Tie had thought about this situation. 'Actually, it's not important whether this person will commit suicide or not. In killers' organizations, such people who's responsible for passing intelligence don't know too much. What's more, I could find him; additionally, I've already got some intelligence. As long as we could make outsiders feel that we've caught this guy and got much intelligence from him through torture!"
"You mean..." Zhang Yang was a bit clear.
"The two assassins came from Zhongzhou Province. They are members of the same killers' organization. They only have codes instead of names. One's code is 137; the other's code is 224. The base of the killer's organization is located in Pinsha Valley, Longxi Prefecture, Zhongzhou Province, one of the top 9 immortal provinces in Taixia Country. As long as Jinwu Business Group expose this intelligence to the public and imply that this assassination is related to the culprit who framed me 4 years ago, the powerhouses from the supreme court and the 7 major sects in Taixia Country would charge at that place and turn it upside down. Someone would definitely move ahead of us..."
"Drive tigers to kill wolves!"
"Yes, drive trigers to kill wolves!"
Over these years, the biggest pending criminal case that shocked the entire Taixia Country was the tragedy in Fuhai City. With Zhang Tie's escape and the release of the article in Mountain of Brightness, the tragedy in Fuhai City gradually fermented over the past 4 years. As a result, more and more people knew Zhang Tie's name; the influence of the case was also growing greater. Across Taixia Country, the supreme court, the local major sects and clans and numerous knights were paying attention to this case all the time. Because this event was weird and was involved with demons, the Heavens Reaching Church, the Bloody Soul Temple which had already been eliminated and an increasingly popular young knight in Taixia Country, any intelligence about this case would attract the attention of all parties; especially the identity of the culprit of this tragedy, which made many people restless. As long as there was any clue, the parties in Taixia Country would definitely charge at it like hungry tigers.
"The power of Jinwu Business Group and Zhang family could not reach as far as Zhongzhou Province. Even if we could, our power is limited!" Zhang Tie watched Zhang Yang as he said firmly, "However, it doesn't matter; because Zhang family is not the only one which wants to find that culprit and remove him!"
"As long as we release the news, the killers' organization in Pingsha Valley, Longxi Prefecture, Zhongzhou Province will be uprooted and eliminated. This is how we Zhang family revenge them!" Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes with a killing qi.
Zhang Tie nodded as he said, "After the supreme court and the seven major sects in Taixia Country launched an attack towards the base, they would get more things by clues if they're lucky. We only need to wait for that..."
"Even your crime might be redressed!"
"It depends. However, at least, we could tell the culprit through this means that Zhang family is not weak, even if we cannot defeat him. If he wants to hurt us, he has to pay for that no matter how considerate he is. The price of framing me is to expose himself and make all parties in Taixia Country vigilant; the price of assassinating our dad is to eliminate the killers' organization. After failing twice, even though that culprit has not been discovered, he has to consider the outcome for the next failure."
Zhang Yang pounded one punch onto one palm, causing a bang in the room before saying, "Zhang family could expose the intelligence to Heavens Fortune Sect and have Huaiyuan Palace report it to the supreme court of Xuanyuan Hill. We can expose it tonight and take the enemy by surprise..."
Zhang Tie nodded, "The faster, the better!"
Zhang Yang tightly pursed his mouth, revealing two firm wrinkles on his face.
After exchanging a glance with each other, the two brothers burst out into laughter. Through the brief talk, the two brothers both felt the opponent has changed a lot and turned mature. They could carry more burdens and could understand each other much better...
Especially Zhang Yang, who sighed with emotions when he found that Zhang Tie could inflict heavy losses on the powerful enemy, influence the overall situation in Taixia Country and defuse Zhang family's crisis by making such a plan of driving tigers to kill wolves.
Before coming to the Starlight Castle, Zhang Yang still felt gloomy inside; however, only after meeting Zhang Tie a short while, he had already been much clearer about what to do next.
Zhang Yang didn't know how Zhang Tie knew the backgrounds and identities of the two assassins. Now that Zhang Tie didn't explain it to him, Zhang Yang didn't ask him about that. Since Zhang Tie gave that marvelous fruit to him, Zhang Yang had known that his younger brother had too many secrets. Therefore, Zhang Yang would not feel strange no matter what happened to Zhang Tie.
"Compared to that 4 years ago, Zhang Tie, you've changed a lot. I really wonder what you've experienced in the past 4 years..." Zhang Yang sighed with emotion, "Dad and mom are worried about you every day. When I see you, I know that your life is definitely out of our imagination!"
"Elder brother, you've changed a lot too. You look more like a master of a major clan. Even your bodyguard is a knight."
"I cannot make it without you. That knight-level bodyguard is hired from Golden Roc Bank." Zhang Yang revealed a faintly bitter yet relaxed smile. He put one hand onto Zhang Tie's shoulder forcefully and said, "It's good that you could come back. Your case might be redressed. The atmosphere in Youzhou Province is not as intense as that a few years ago. As long as you don't appear in the original look, you could stay in Youzhou Province safe and sound. Nobody could hurt you. If you do not feel free and want to take a walk in Chaosang Subcontinent, I can make arrangements for your schedule. After your order for arrest was revoked, you would come back aboveboard..."
After hearing his elder brother's words, Zhang Tie thought a few seconds before replying in a euphemistic tone, "Elder brother, I'm already...already an earth knight!"
'Earth knight?'
Zhang Yang goggled at Zhang Tie. Even though he was experienced and always behaved calmly, he still felt vacant in mind after hearing this news.
When Zhang Tie promoted to a black iron knight in Waii Subcontinent, the news had shocked the entire subcontinent. Even in Taixia Country, an earth knight was already a powerhouse on the same level as the provincial governor and Cheji General. Who could imagine that Zhang Tie had already promoted to an earth knight after escaping for 4 years? The fact was that there were very few earth knights in Youzhou Province.
Zhang Yang almost thought that he misheard it.
Zhang Tie's following words shocked Zhang Yang so much that he almost passed out.
"I have another identity, Fire Dragon Hermit!"
"Fire...Fire Dragon Hermit..." Zhang Yang stammered. Zhang Yang had already received the golden invitation card from Iron-Dragon Sect. As Zhang Yang was not a knight, when he received the invitation card, he felt a bit arrogant as he thought that it indicated that he himself had a greater influence due to the rising position and influence of Jinwu Business Group. It was really out of his imagination that Fire Dragon Hermit was Zhang Tie.
After being stunned a short while, Zhang Yang recalled something as he stammered, "Isn't Fire Dragon Hermit as strong as an iron tower like a Mighty Miracle God? Additionally, Fire Dragon Hermit is cultivating the famous "Fire Dragon Sutra", how come you...you..."
Watching his elder brother's dumbfounded look, Zhang Tie rubbed his face. Although his voice sounded normal, it was ethereal in Zhang Yang's ears. Zhang Tie replied, "I've awakened an immortal bloodline. I could change my figure and look freely. Additionally, I've mastered a secret method. I could simulate "Fire Dragon Sutra". Only elder brother knows these secrets. Remember to keep these secrets even to our family members and Huaiyuan Palace. If you expose these secrets to them, you might hurt them..."
Unconsciously, Zhang Tie had applied a secret skill in his Soul Forbidden Method in his sound. After Zhang Yang heard that, these secrets would turn into information fragments and lie in the depth of Zhang Yang's consciousness forever. Even if Zhang Yang met another powerhouse who mastered the Soul Forbidden Method, the secrets in the depth of his consciousness could not be dug out either; unless the opponent was also a supreme dominator with greater spiritual energy than that of Zhang Tie and was much more proficient in Soul Forbidden Method. In that way, the opponent might discover the encrypted information fragments, extracting them and recovering them. However, it was almost impossible.
'In the worst scenario, even if there was such a person who could gain the secrets from my elder brother, he only knows that I've awakened a unique immortal bloodline which could change my own look and figure. He could never imagine that I could simulate "Fire Dragon Sutra" through "King Roc Sutra"; instead, he could at most think that I'm cultivating a marvelous secret method. As for the effect of "King Roc Sutra", only the cultivator himself knows it.'
The two secrets were very important for Zhang Tie; however, it was not the most important. Even though they were exposed, they would not cause any fatal outcome. Actually, Zhang Tie had too many secrets. In the current stage, the secrets which could really put the cat among the pigeons was Castle of Black Iron, his "King Roc Sutra", "Purgatory Samsara", his profession "Supreme Dominator" and the fact that he had "the Great Wilderness Sutra".
The two secrets would definitely arouse a great disturbance no matter who had them, except for Zhang Tie. Because Zhang Tie had too many secrets. By contrast, the two secrets became relatively not that important.
Even though, Zhang Tie had also considered a lot before exposing a small part of his secrets to Zhang Yang. Now that he had returned to Youzhou Province, he had to contact Zhang family. As Zhang Yang was his brother, it would not bring him any trouble by exposing his another identity to Zhang Yang; instead, it would have a lot of benefits. With the help of Zhang Yang, many things would become more convenient. Additionally, neither doubts nor jokes would be aroused.
Zhang Yang watched Zhang Tie for 5 minutes before recovering his composure. However, he still didn't believe in what he heard. He felt that his heart was still racing.
As Zhang Tie's secrets were too shocking to be believed, Zhang Yang couldn't believe in that as if he was listening to a story.
"Erm...erm, your pupil changing immortal bloodline...I know that...is this another immortal bloodline..."
"Seriously, pupil changing immortal bloodline is just a part of this immortal bloodline. This is a body changing immortal bloodline, the real immortal bloodline; that's it..." Zhang Tie replied as he activated his body changing bloodline and started to change his skin, skeleton, muscles, hair, tendons and meridians in front of Zhang Yang. Only after 10 more seconds, Zhang Tie had recovered the look to when he saved Zhang Ping at the city gate. The strange figure and look had nothing to do with Zhang Tie; however, the clothes became proper.
Watching Zhang Tie changing his figure and look, Zhang Yang couldn't stand panting heavily as his face blushed. At the same time, he clenched his fist and put it onto his chest. He felt breathless as if there was a big stone on his chest. After quite a while did he recover his composure. After that, he let out a deep sigh and revealed a bitter smile, "If you have any more secrets, don't display them in front of me anymore. I'm afraid that my heart cannot stand that! I only heard that shadow demons could do that, I've not imagined that human could also awaken such a bloodline. What a marvelous ability...It only appears in the fairy tales..."
"Humans share 99% of genes with demons. Perhaps, everybody had such an ability in far-ancient times..." Zhang Tie said in his original voice.
"Your voice..." Zhang Yang wanted to say it was a loophole; however, before he finished his words, Zhang Tie had uttered once again.
"How about now?"
Zhang Tie's voice turned strange at once. Zhang Yang became speechless. After looking at Zhang Tie seriously quite a while, Zhang Yang finally recovered his composure and loosed his fist, "Let's go now. We need to catch that mole as soon as possible!"
"Fine!"
"How long do you need?"
"I only need to have a brief talk with each of them..."
"And, what's the name of your current look??
"Just call me Xia Ping!"
"Xia Ping!"
A few seconds later, right under the gaze of the knight-level bodyguard 50 m away, Zhang Yang pushed open the door and exited it, followed by Zhang Tie with a glassy-eyed look...