I Can See Your Combat Power

Building the City

‘”‘Is the Heavenly Pride serious about this?”

“Of course.”

“Then the old man would like… would like…” Shen Dafa struggled uncomfortably, wringing his hands repeatedly in front of him. After repeating “would like” over a dozen times, he finally forced out a number, “I would like two, no! A million catties of grain.”

Having made his demand, he looked at Tang Luo anxiously, feeling guilty as if his request was too much.

“Understood.” Tang Luo’s face remained impassive as he willingly agreed.

With Shen Dafa as an example, all the other renowned people of Xiling started to voice their grain needs, even though they were much more conservative with their numbers.

“Eight hundred thousand catties.”

“Six hundred thousand catties.”

“Five hundred thousand catties.”

By the end, some only dared to ask for fifty thousand or thirty thousand catties.

After everyone in the hall concluded their requests, Tang Luo asked irritably,

“Are you all sure that’s all the grain you need?”

Turning to a middle-aged man with a thick beard, Tang Luo spoke with exasperation, “I can understand others, but Elder Nian, you have at least seven to eight hundred strong men under you in the Mortal Realm. A martial artist consumes three to five catties of rice per day. How is a hundred thousand catties of grain enough?”

There are only two shipyards in Xiling, located in Fenling Port and Yongning Port under the jurisdiction of Tang Mi. So the shipping companies in Xiling only train sailors and laborers.

The Nian family has been living in Xiling for generations, making their living on the water by training sailors, laborers, and fishermen. Although not considered a scholarly family of Xiling, they are still well respected and have been a benevolent family for generations.

Setting aside how many people are in the Nian family, even the poor souls under Elder Nian’s care, who have no grain, all rely on his handouts. There are thousands of them, families included. As the man in charge of taking care of these people, Elder Nian’s request for only a hundred thousand catties of gram left Tang Luo bewildered on what he could do with such an amount.

The middle-aged man, whose name had been called, suddenly blushed, standing up in confusion and waving his burly arms, repeatedly saying, “Enough, enough, a hundred thousand catties is enough.

-No need to panic, sit down,” Tang Luo waved at Elder Nian before addressing everyone, “I understand your reluctance to cause me further trouble. But there’s something you all need to know. The flood is not receding. If you’re pinching pennies to survive this winter, hoping for the waters to recede after, then it’s time to give up.”

It’s easy to guess the thoughts of these people. They simply want to avoid entanglement with the young masters of influential families, preferring to endure through thrift rather than seeking assistance from the nobility.

This is human nature, but only if the floodwaters are indeed likely to recede. Otherwise, on this Red Cloud Mountain with only a few basins, their frugal approach will only make them weak until they starve to death.

If the people here initially thought that this was a once-in-a-millennium flood, now they were utterly stunned.

“You are all men of honor from Xiling. Out of respect for you, I am willing to share some information.” Tang Luo placed both hands on the table, his fingers locked in a relaxed gesture, “First, I can obtain a large amount of grain and am willing to provide it at regular prices. Do not worry, I won’t force you to serve me through grain demands. Secondly, Red Cloud Mountain, where you are currently residing, is now my territory. Given the sudden disaster, I’ve offered it as a place for you to live. In exchange, I hope you can lend some assistance to your dwelling place, which I’ll elaborate on later. Finally, I have some Soul Casting techniques here. If anyone is willing to join the Marshal Star Pavilion, it will be provided for free.”

The people, who were initially stunned by the news of the unrelenting flood, were now utterly bewildered. They had never seen a young master like Tang

Luo.

As the cream of the crop within the Five Elements crafts, they have been courted by countless influential families promising wealth, beauty, and futures. Yet, they were still sitting here as independent entities because they saw only greed and ambition in these offers, but no sincerity.

Getting recruited meant becoming cannon fodder, which was clear to every Xiling craftsman. The young masters would only trust their family’s martial artists and household servants. External families become appendages, and although establishing kinship fares better in preserving some degree of autonomy, the common consequence for such families was to disintegrate only a few years after recruitment.

Tang Luo’s seemingly casual remarks had caused a huge stir among these craftsman.

If it were the son of any other family, they would not openly disclose the non-receding flood, let alone offer grain provision.

“What does the Heavenly Pride wish us to do?” Amid the collective shock, Ou Yu, a craftsman with profound features, cautiously asked Tang Luo. Unlike the others, this craftsman’s vigilance remained high.

If they were expected to be soldiers in exchange for shelter, then how would it be any different from becoming cannon fodder – only disguised in different words?

“Master Ou, relax.” Tang Luo laughed lightly, “It will be something you are good at – such as building houses, making ships, blacksmithing, animal taming, carving mountains, and so on. My territory will also need the Five Elements crafts, won’t it?”

The Ou family was a renowned craftsman family in Xiling, distant relatives of the Ou Clan in Zhongzhou. Even without any powerful martial artists, their standing in Xiling remained firm. However, the family’s focus on craft and disinterest in luxury left them less affluent despite centuries passing, making them a lesser force in Xiling.

But seeing them from another perspective, the Ou family was indeed a treasure – top-class craftsmen. Just thinking about it brings joy, doesn’t it?

Ou Yu’s face seemed a little stiff; he hadn’t expected Tang Luo’s demands to be so straightforward, yet he was still suspicious, “Ordinary forces don’t need the Five Elements crafts, does the Heavenly Pride intend to    ?

“Yes, you are correct.” Tang Luo nodded. He stood up, and with relaxed, parted fingers, walked to a map on the wall of the hall. Pointing to the peak of Red Cloud Mountain, he declared to the stunned audience, “I plan to carve the main peak down to its current mid-mountain level and build a city on top. What do you think?”

Tang Luo’s face was full of excitement. A man’s dream is to have a city of his own, right?

Even better if it’s a city built from nothing by hand. He thought his plan would win everyone’s praise, but all Tang Luo saw when he turned around were dozens of stupefied faces, which slightly displeased him, “What’s with these expressions? Do you want to keep living in tents forever?”

Since the flood is not going to recede, they should definitely build a city. Or do they want to live like savages in caves?

The crowd looked at each other, at a loss for words. Life on Red Cloud Mountain was already difficult, and Tang Luo was actually planning to build a city. They weren’t sure if this was audacity or ignorance of reality..

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