Chapter 202: Seats And Founding A Town
“Is that lord from the association looking for me?” Lin Qi was quite surprised.
The lord from the Martial Artist Association Qin Mu mentioned was the one who had recently put the newly established Obsidian Martial Arts Hall into the wilderness powers ranking. Although Qin Mu had not stated this person’s identity, as a genius martial artist certified by the association, it was very easy for him to find out.
In the City of Light Chasing, the human race was not a weak race, but it was not a strong one either. Bone Forging Realm experts were few in number.
And someone who could hold a high position in the Martial Artist Association of the City of Light Chasing, and whom Qin Mu feared and respected so much,
was precisely the vice president of the City of Light Chasing Martial Artist Association, Liu Tianzong.
Liu Tianzong could be said to be the stabilizing pillar of the human race in the City of Light Chasing, and the expert currently closest to that higher realm.
“That’s right. It was not easy for that lord to come back this time. As soon as he learned that you are a Bone Forging Realm expert, he wanted to see you right away.” Qin Mu’s eyes were full of admiration. “If you are free now, come with me. It is rare for that lord to return, and since you are a Bone Forging Realm expert, you already qualify to enter the city senior officials. That lord is actually looking for you about this matter.”
“Alright, let’s go now.” Lin Qi nodded. With such a strong human inviting him, there was naturally no reason not to go.
Although he currently appeared infinitely impressive in the eyes of outsiders, he was very clear in his heart that the cake of the City of Light Chasing was only so big, and all races were fiercely competing for it. With a person like him suddenly emerging among the human race, all those Bone Forging Realm experts of other races were likely gnashing their teeth at him in secret.
Liu Tianzong inviting him at this time was actually a reminder to the other races, letting them know that the human race’s newly advanced Bone Forging Realm martial artist did not stand alone.
After that, Lin Qi left matters to Meng Wei to handle. With more and more vagrants coming to join the hall, he went alone with Qin Mu onto the flying car and headed toward the city proper.
In the city proper, at the Martial Artist Association.
The flying car slowly stopped on the rooftop of the association building, which was like a plaza. On the rooftop, flying cars were frequently landing and taking off. From the people getting in and out, judging by the blood qi emanating from them, many were Bone Forging Realm martial artists. Compared to the situation in the first floor lobby of the association, where not even a single Bone Forging Realm martial artist could be seen, it was simply a different world.
“The top level of the association is specially for Bone Forging Realm martial artists. Only Bone Forging Realm martial artists are allowed to land here. Organ Refining Realm martial artists are not allowed here unless for special tasks or arrangements.” Qin Mu watched Lin Qi continuously observing the Bone Forging Realm martialists coming and going, and explained as he led the way. “Also, aside from the rooftop, all floors above the fiftieth in the association building are places the association provides for martial artists above Bone Forging Realm to rest and train. Organ Refining Realm martial artists are normally forbidden to enter, to avoid disturbing those above Bone Forging Realm.”
“No wonder that last time I came to the association, I could not see a single Bone Forging Realm martial artist. The association really has made thorough preparations for Bone Forging Realm martial artists.” Lin Qi looked at the Bone Forging Realm experts of various races passing by inside the building and secretly clicked his tongue.
He had originally thought the gap between ordinary people and martial artists was already large enough. But looking at the top floors of the Martial Artist Association now, he realized the gap between Organ Refining Realm and Bone Forging Realm martial artists was even greater.
Not only were Bone Forging Realm martial artists picked up and dropped off by flying cars, but on the entire rooftop he could feel energy far surpassing that of the first floor lobby. The concentration was so high it was even more exaggerated than standing at the center of a small energy vein.
It felt like cultivating here, an Organ Refining Realm martial artist would not even need energy ore; direct cultivation would be enough, and the effect would definitely be better than using energy ore.
“We’re here.” Qin Mu reached the end of the corridor and pointed to the vice president’s room. “The lord will only see you alone. I won’t go in.”
“Alright, thank you, big brother Qin Mu.” Lin Qi nodded and then knocked on the door.
The tightly closed alloy door slowly opened. Inside, the room was like a garden, with all kinds of unknown trees and flowers planted everywhere. The moment he walked in, his mind felt a surge of clarity.
On the floor in the center of the room, which was entirely paved with energy crystals, sat an old man who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, with slightly graying hair. He was cross-legged on the ground, scrolling through messages on his smart watch.
Only when Lin Qi walked to within about ten meters of the old man did it happen. Although he did not see any billowing blood qi, the instant Lin Qi stepped forward, it felt as if he had fallen into an ocean of qi and blood. Just from that dense blood qi alone, it was as if his whole body was bearing the weight of ten thousand kilograms.
“So this is the strength of an expert close to that realm?” Lin Qi looked at Liu Tianzong, who was not deliberately releasing his blood qi, and felt incomparably shocked.
Due to cultivating three training methods at the same time, his blood qi was now no weaker than that of a true Bone Forging Realm martial artist. But compared with the Liu Tianzong before him, it was like a creek facing a long river, completely on a different level.
With Liu Tianzong merely not restraining his blood qi, within a radius of ten meters, probably no Organ Refining Realm martial artist could harm him. Ordinary Organ Refining Realm martial artists might not even be able to move once they entered within ten meters of Liu Tianzong.
“Not bad. Your blood qi has indeed reached the Bone Forging Realm.” Liu Tianzong looked at Lin Qi, who was sitting on a mat a little over a meter in front of him, and said with great satisfaction, “Some time ago, little Meng reaching the Bone Forging Realm was already quite a surprise to me. I didn’t expect that in just a few days, another martial artist like you, not quite in the Bone Forging Realm yet surpassing it, would appear.”
“Vice president Liu really saw through it.” Lin Qi said with slight embarrassment. “As for everyone’s misunderstanding, I wanted to explain, but unfortunately no one believed it.”
“You don’t need to be so polite, young man. Just call me Elder Liu.” Liu Tianzong stroked his graying beard and smiled. “As for others’ misunderstandings, let them misunderstand. It is a good kind of misunderstanding. Even if there are other old fellows like me who see through it, there is no need to worry. With such blood qi, becoming a Bone Forging Realm martial artist is only a matter of ease. Not to mention, you already possess strength comparable to a Bone Forging Realm martial artist. Saying you are not Bone Forging Realm is meaningless.”
“I wonder what Elder Liu wanted to see me for?” Lin Qi looked curiously at the kindly Liu Tianzong in front of him.
“You are already a Bone Forging Realm martial artist now. According to the rules of our City of Light Chasing, anyone who becomes a Bone Forging Realm martial artist can have a city council member seat. In addition to redeeming thirty bottles of Type Three Potion every month, they can also obtain a quota to enter the Inheritance Land controlled by our City of Light Chasing.” Liu Tianzong smiled. “Normally, processing these procedures takes ten days, half a month. If people of other races stall, waiting half a year is possible. I called you here because I intend to personally handle these procedures for you, so that at most within half a day, everything can be completed.”
“Thank you, Elder Liu.” Lin Qi instantly understood. The people of other races definitely did not want outsiders to gain benefits. Although they could not completely prevent it, they could still delay. Half a year’s delay meant missing out on redeeming 180 bottles of Type Three Potion, which should be quite a lot of resources even for a Bone Forging Realm martial artist.
“No, you don’t understand.” Liu Tianzong looked at Lin Qi, as if seeing through his thoughts, and shook his head. “The monthly redeeming of Type Three Potion is a small matter. The Inheritance Land controlled by our City of Light Chasing is what truly matters. It is the very foundation of our city and the lifeline for birthing experts of that higher realm.”
“The foundation of the City of Light Chasing?” Lin Qi was a bit stunned. He had known that this Inheritance Land should be a place for martial artists to learn and improve, but he had not expected it to be the very foundation of the city.
“It is normal that you do not know what the Inheritance Land is. This is a secret of the city senior officials. Aside from a very small number of people in the major powers in the city proper, only those who pass into the genius training camp know of it.” Liu Tianzong said, “The path of a martial artist is one step, one higher sky. The training methods and martial skills we now use were actually derived from cultivation methods and martial skills found in ancient ruins unearthed after the great catastrophe. They were not created from nothing by us.”
“These ancient ruins are of mysterious origin. Many scholars believe they were built by people of ancient times, while many others believe they came from civilizations on alien planets.”
“Regardless of whether they came from ancient humans or alien civilizations, a considerable number of these ancient ruins contain cultivation inheritances. Our City of Light Chasing is in charge of one of them. Whenever the Inheritance Land opens, every council member of the city can obtain twenty quotas to enter for exploration, and all students of the genius training camp may enter. As for what they gain, that depends entirely on the individual.”
“The current City Lord obtained a very powerful martial skill in the Inheritance Land back then, and after mastering it, stepped into that higher realm. So the sooner you secure the quotas for the Inheritance Land, the better. The next opening of the Inheritance Land is in twenty days, also the first day new students report to the genius training camp. How you arrange these quotas is entirely up to you. Our human race does not have so many rigid rules. Whether you use them to cultivate your own faction or to nurture new talents, it is your choice.”
“Leaving behind very powerful martial skills and training methods?” Lin Qi’s eyes could not help but light up.
Training methods and powerful martial skills for the Bone Forging Realm were extremely hard to find. Above the Bone Forging Realm was even more out of reach. Unless you fully joined some enormous power, you would not even qualify to see them.
But this Inheritance Land was a place where he could obtain higher level training methods and martial skills. If he could acquire more of them, his own methods and skills could become better and stronger.
“The Inheritance Land is good, but I must also remind you that it is extremely dangerous.” Liu Tianzong looked at the delighted Lin Qi, his expression turning solemn. “These Inheritance Lands all contain various means left by their creators. Every year, even when there are clearly no monster hordes attacking towns, Bone Forging Realm martial artists still fall, and some famous geniuses vanish. In fact, they die in the Inheritance Land. When acting inside it, you must act within your limits. If you see something cannot be done, abandon it immediately and return.”
“I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Elder Liu.” Lin Qi nodded, though he did not take it very much to heart.
For such an Inheritance Land, if he personally entered, it would be a waste of a quota, not to mention there was the risk of life and death. Of course such things should be left to the players. He only needed to be a merciless harvesting machine.
“Right, there is one more thing.” Liu Tianzong suddenly said. “The patrol teams sent out by the city have already discovered many monsters that escaped from the frontline around the city. Among them, they have found lord grade monsters gathering monster hordes to attack towns. Although your strength is comparable to a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, if you really encounter a lord monster and a small monster tide of several thousand, you still have a high chance of dying. Before you fully become a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, it is best not to go out.”
“Lord grade monsters and small monster tides have already appeared near the city?” Lin Qi frowned.
He truly had no confidence in dealing with a lord grade monster alone. At most, he could use Startling Swan to escape. As for facing large numbers of monsters, his stamina and blood qi were limited. He would need to act together with a large group of martial artists.
And Crimson Moon Mountain was more than one hundred kilometers from the city, easily exposed to attacks. Relying only on himself and the current player count of martial artists, even with Desert Eagles, it would be very hard to withstand them. After all, energy crystals were limited, which meant the bullets for the Desert Eagles were limited.
Once the bullets were exhausted, beginner martial artist level players would already be doing well to fight mid-level monsters to a draw. Ten beginner martial artist level players were nothing but ants in front of several thousand mid-level monsters.
But Crimson Moon Mountain was currently his main source of energy ore and energy crystals, and could not be lost.
If Crimson Moon Mountain was truly overrun by monsters, upgrading the martial hall’s buildings and summoning more players would all become a big problem.
After Liu Tianzong spent most of the day resolving the procedures for appointing Lin Qi as a new city council member, he was assigned a garrison task by the association. No longer bothering with Lin Qi, he directly took a flying car over there. His level of busyness left Lin Qi tongue-tied.
After completing all procedures, Lin Qi did not stay in the Martial Artist Association to chat more with Qin Mu. He returned to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall as soon as possible.
Regarding the cities clearing monster hordes, he had already known the surroundings were no longer safe, but he had not expected them to be this unsafe.
Even lord grade monsters were moving about. If this was not dealt with quickly, the very foundation of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would be gone.
“Hall master, is there something else you want to instruct me to do?” Meng Wei was puzzled when Lin Qi, upon returning, immediately summoned him.
Lin Qi had asked him to recruit as many martial arts hall disciples as possible. To recruit more disciples, he had been planning recruitment work while taking over the territories of the four major powers, but then Lin Qi urgently recalled him to the hall.
“How is the current situation with recruiting martial arts hall disciples?” Lin Qi asked.
“Right now, because of your status, hall master, recruitment is going very smoothly. We have already recruited 5,347 martial arts hall disciples. If we recruit once more in the territories of the four major powers, in less than three days, the number should exceed ten thousand.” Meng Wei said excitedly.
“Over ten thousand in three days?” Lin Qi frowned. This speed was indeed fast under normal circumstances, since recruitment had assessment standards. But to quickly develop the small energy vein at Crimson Moon Mountain, obtain more energy crystals, and form a garrison capable of resisting small monster tides, this number was far from enough.
“Hall master, if you want to recruit martial arts hall disciples even faster, there is actually another way. This method could bring in a terrifying number of disciples, except…” Meng Wei looked at the dissatisfied Lin Qi, hesitating to speak.
“Say it. What way?” Lin Qi said directly. “Right now I only want a large group of our own people.”
“That is to establish a town.” Meng Wei gritted his teeth. “Now that monsters rampage through the wilderness, most vagrants live outside. The cities can only accept a limited number, especially in more distant and unsafe areas that the cities cannot manage. But if there is a relatively safe town in the wilderness willing to accept these vagrants, there will definitely be large numbers flooding in, even if the condition is to join the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. We can completely build Crimson Moon Mountain into a town. The only problem is that doing so will definitely provoke dissatisfaction from other cities, as it would be equivalent to encroaching on their territory, especially Wanxing City.”
All major cities valued every town extremely highly, not only because a town could increase city resources and bring considerable wealth, but also because it expanded the city’s sphere of influence. So all the cities had been secretly trying to seize various towns. If a town belonging to another city suddenly appeared, it would definitely become a thorn in the flesh and a hated rival for those cities.
“If they are dissatisfied, let them be. Our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall does not need others’ consent to act.” Lin Qi said directly. “Arrange it now. Inform the surrounding vagrants that a new town is being built at Crimson Moon Mountain. All disciples of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall and their families can live there free of charge.”
“Yes!” Meng Wei felt his heart burn with excitement.
Before the sun set, the news that Crimson Moon Mountain was going to establish a town had spread through every street and alley.
