Third-Order materials were incredibly valuable, and Yang Kai naturally did not want to miss out on this opportunity.
“Absolutely not!” Old Fang was shocked, realizing that Yang Kai was really ignorant and dauntless. He dared to say anything and dared to come up with the most outrageous ideas. Turning his head around to make sure that there was no one around, Old Fang lowered his voice and scolded, “Don’t even think about it, Little Brother. You have a great way to make money now, don’t ruin your future for this petty profit; after all, this is something that belongs to Seven Wonders Land. Once exposed…” He drew a line across his neck with his hand.
It made sense. Now that they were in Seven Wonders Land, even if they really obtained the Scarlet Clouds True Flame, there was no place to sell it, and Yang Kai was not interested in refining Third-Order materials.
After weighing the potential gains and the risks, Yang Kai dismissed the ideas in his heart and nodded, “Should I report this matter then?”
“Yes, what are you waiting for? I believe Manager Zhou will come to investigate immediately if he knows about this.” Old Fang urged, finally letting out a big breath of relief after finding out the root cause.
Yang Kai followed his advice and immediately set off to find Zhou Zheng in the very centre of the orchards.
If it was possible, he did not want Zhou Zheng to benefit from any of this as the latter had just received more than a hundred Open Heaven Pills from him and Old Fang but abandoned them right after. Zhou Zheng was nothing but an opportunistic wolf. Unfortunately, there was no way to leave the orchard without permission, let alone to report this to someone else; Zhou Zheng was his only option.
After Yang Kai had left, Old Fang suddenly had a doubt, [Why did Yang Kai discover the problem immediately when the previous owners here could not? Also, why did the Scarlet Clouds True Flame not respond when I used my Wood Element but responded to Yang Kai’s instead?]
He was suddenly confused.
It did not take long before two figures flew towards him; Zhou Zheng and Yang Kai.
Old Fang stepped forward and saluted as Zhou Zheng questioned suspiciously, “Yang Kai reported that there are traces of the Scarlet Clouds True Flame’s aura here, is it true?”
“It’s true, this Old Master can’t be wrong. It’s definitely the aura of a Scarlet Clouds True Flame, Yang Kai can show it to you if you don’t believe it, Sir Manager.”
Zhou Zheng turned his head to look at Yang Kai, who walked to the fruit tree without a word, placed his hand on it, and injected his Wood Element Energy.
In the next moment, Zhou Zheng’s face lit up in glee, “It really is a Scarlet Clouds True Flame!”
He was not even close to the fruit tree, but he had already felt it. It seemed that an Open Heaven Realm Master was indeed different, even if they were only First-Order.
After pondering for a while, Zhou Zheng’s face changed abruptly, “So, that’s the case…” He raised his head and commanded them, “You two stay here, this King will be back soon.”
When the words fell, he rose into the sky.
Old Fang watched him leave, then beamed at Yang Kai, “Little Brother, congratulations!”
Yang Kai was much less excited, “What is there to congratulate? This Scarlet Clouds True Flame doesn’t belong to us.”
“You can’t say that. Although this Third-Order material is indeed not ours, since Manager Zhou has confirmed it, it is a solution to a major concern, and naturally, it should be something worth being happy for.” He then lowered his voice, “It’s a Third-Order material, isn’t it? It’s just a little more than 15,000 Open Heaven Pills. With Little Brother’s current ability, are you afraid that you won’t be able to earn that much?”
Yang Kai knew he made sense, but he still felt a little disgruntled. He had already acted very humble. After coming out of the Star Boundary, he adjusted his mentality very well. There were plenty of others who jumped out of their Universe Worlds and were not able to adapt. If he still had the same ‘I am supreme beneath the Heavens’ attitude here, he probably would have already died multiple times.
In less than half an hour, Zhou Zheng led a large number of Seven Wonders Land disciples over. It could be seen that this Scarlet Clouds True Flame was also important to Seven Wonders Land; otherwise, they would not have been so efficient.
Yang Kai recognized the leader, Du Ru Feng, as the disciple in charge of Fire Spirit Land. Zhou Zheng, who usually stood proudly in front of the Workers, was nodding and bowing to him with every move he made now.
Du Ru Feng led the way, not bothering to lay eyes on Zhou Zheng. Many Seven Wonders Land disciples behind him did the same.
Landing in the orchard, Zhou Zheng dismissed Yang Kai and Old Fang, “Leave, you have nothing to do here.”
When the two heard this, how could they still stay? Although Yang Kai was a little curious about how they would extract the Scarlet Clouds True Flame, there was nothing he could do if they did not want to show him.
He returned to Old Fang’s plot and sat on the stone bench in front of the hut, while Old Fang took out some wine and filled their cups.
While drinking and chatting, Yang Kai occasionally looked over at his plot.
Old Fang smiled, “Don’t bother, Little Brother. They will set up a barrier and we won’t be able to see anything. There’s nothing to worry about over there. Come and have a drink with me.”
Yang Kai nodded absent-mindedly.
He soon discovered that, as Old Fang said, many restrictions were quickly placed in his plot, and everything beyond the barrier was obscured. As expected, nothing could be seen.
Confirming that he did not need to observe anything, Yang Kai gave up and started drinking with Old Fang.
After only a few drinks, however, he suddenly felt something and turned to look, only to see a figure hurrying toward them. It was Zhou Zheng.
At this moment, his face did not look very good and sweat was beading profusely on his forehead. For some reason, he called from a distance, “Yang Kai, come here.”
Yang Kai and Old Fang looked at each other, both of them as confused as each other, and got up to greet Zhou Zheng. Yang Kai cupped his fists, “What is your order, Manager Zhou?”
Zhou Zheng lowered his voice, asking, “How did you get that Scarlet Clouds True Flame to react?”
The question was rather baffling, but Yang Kai answered, “I simply injected my Wood Element Energy into that tree.”
“Bullshit!” Zhou Zheng gritted his teeth and scolded, “If it was so simple, would this King still need to come to you?”
Yang Kai was astonished, “Can’t Sir Manager trigger the Scarlet Clouds True Flame?” He suddenly recalled that there was no response when Old Fang surged his Wood Element either, but there was an immediate response from the Scarlet Clouds True Flame when he tried it.
Zhou Zheng retorted, “Not only this King, even Senior Brother Du and the others couldn’t do it either!”
“Could you have used the wrong method?”
“What method is needed to circulate Wood Element Energy?” Zhou Zheng scowled at Yang Kai, “Come with me and perform well when you get there. If you can help Senior Brother Du to collect the Scarlet Clouds True Flame, they will definitely reward you.”
After taking a few steps forward, he stopped again, and turned to Yang Kai, “If Senior Brother Du and the others ask, tell them that the Scarlet Clouds True Flame was discovered by this King, understand?”
[You want to take my credit for yourself?] Yang Kai was speechless, but he remembered what Old Fang said; receiving credit would mean receiving rewards. Zhou Zheng would definitely fight for it. If it was not because they could not extract the Scarlet Clouds True Flame, they would not even have summoned Yang Kai.
Yang Kai sneered silently as he thought Zhou Zheng was truly really insatiable.
After getting Yang Kai’s definite answer from his careful instructions, Zhou Zheng patted him on the shoulder, “Rest assured, if there is a reward from Venerable, you will definitely get a share of it, and this King will also arrange another place in the orchard for you, lest your talents be wasted.”
“Many thanks in advance, Manager Zhou.” Yang Kai responded casually.
Yang Kai returned to his plot with Zhou Zheng and entered the restriction. At a glance, the Seven Wonders Land’s disciples had set up an array around the fruit tree while each of their hands formed specific seals. Du Ru Feng had his hands folded behind his back, seemingly doing nothing but looking dashing.
Zhou Zheng stepped forward and reported, “Senior Brother Du, I’ve brought him.”
Du Ru Feng glanced at Yang Kai and ask casually, “Are you new here?”
Yang Kai cupped his fists and answered, “Greetings, Sir Du, this Yang has been in Fire Spirit Land for less than three months.”
Du Ru Feng nodded lightly, “Zhou Zheng said you can trigger the Scarlet Clouds True Flame?”
“Indeed!”
“Go ahead!” Du Ru Feng gestured at the fruit tree without saying another word.
Yang Kai did not hesitate, and stepped forward to the fruit tree, placed his palm on the trunk, and poured his Wood Element into it. In the next instant, a scorching power gushed out from the ground.
Du Ru Feng raised his brows, while Zhou Zheng was overjoyed and exclaimed at him, “Senior Brother Du!”
Du Ru Feng nodded and urged Yang Kai, “Continue!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai had no choice but to continue pouring more Wood Element Energy into the fruit tree. At the same time, Du Ru Feng signalled around him.
The hands of the Seven Wonders Land disciples who were in the array immediately switched their hand seals, and a light flickered under their feet. At the same time, a gentle Water Element Energy was poured into the ground.
Yang Kai was stunned. Water subdued Fire, so were they trying to use a Water Element to extract the Scarlet Clouds True Flame? That seemed feasible. It seemed that the Seven Wonders Land disciples brought here by Du Ru Feng were all carefully selected for the extraction of the Scarlet Clouds True Flame; otherwise, how could they be so well prepared?
One could say the entire process was quite uneventful, and there was no Earth-shattering phenomenon, only a fluctuation of a particular power in this little plot.
However, as time passed, Yang Kai could clearly feel that the Scarlet Clouds True Flame was being forced out little by little, but the condition of the fruit tree in front of him was getting progressively worse, its leaves and fruits gradually releasing a burnt smell.
Du Ru Feng did not speak, so Yang Kai did not dare to stop and continued to surge his Wood Element.
After half a day, the fruit tree in front of Yang Kai suddenly burst into flames, turning into a huge ball of fire and releasing scorching heat towards Yang Kai, who swiftly retreated.
“Do it!” Du Ru Feng, who had been observing, yelled in a low voice.
The Array activated and Water Element Energy gathered from all around, slowly turning it into a cage, closing in on the ball of flame with perfect timing.
Zhou Zheng looked excited, “It’s done.”
As soon as he finished speaking though, there was a loud bang and the cage formed from Water Element Energy shattered while the ball of flame escaped from the trap, trying to bury itself back into the ground. The group of Seven Wonders Land disciples exclaimed in surprise at the destruction of their Secret Technique and fell out of formation.
The situation was beyond everyone’s expectations, and not even Du Ru Feng could react to it. They had experience from three hundred years ago collecting a Scarlet Clouds True Flame as Du Ru Feng had been in charge at that time as well, so this should have been a simple matter for him. No one expected things to end up this way.
Everyone watched the bundle of scorching power about to escape deep into the ground when a soft shout was heard, “You can’t run!”
When the words fell, a layer of light swept across the area of a thousand meters of land, and the ground surface suddenly became extremely hard.
Zhou Zheng lifted his head and saw Yang Kai holding a token, activating the power of the orchard’s Grand Array to stop the Scarlet Clouds True Flame from escaping.
The Scarlet Clouds True Flame plunged to the ground, but it was hindered by the surface, unable to dive into it.
“Well done!” Du Ru Feng roared and with a lift of his hand, a large blue net plummeted from the sky, covering the Scarlet Clouds True Flame. It was unknown what kind of artifact the large net was, but it permeated a bone-chilling cold aura.
In the blink of an eye, the large net enveloped the Scarlet Clouds True Flame. The Scarlet Clouds True Flame bounced left and right within the net, but it could not break free of it. Du Ru Feng changed his hand seal and stretched out his palm, causing the large net to contract tightly, seizing the Scarlet Clouds True Flame tightly in his grip.
After examining carefully for a while, Du Ru Feng revealed a look of pleasant surprise, and could not help bursting out into laughter.
Only then did Zhou Zheng come back to his senses and hurriedly went forward with his fists cupped, “Congratulations for collecting the Scarlet Clouds True Flame successfully, Senior Brother Du.”
Du Ru Feng’s laughter abruptly ceased as he turned to Zhou Zheng and snorted coldly, “How dare you speak now!? Luckily this King had his Sky Seizing Net, otherwise, this Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame would have escaped!”
“Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame?” Zhou Zheng was dumbstruck.
Du Ru Feng put away the large net along with the thing inside, and continued with a cold voice, “You thought this was a Third-Order Scarlet Clouds True Flame?”
“Isn’t it?” Zhou Zheng was puzzled.
“This is the Fourth-Order Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame!” Du Ru Feng bellowed with his teeth gritted, “Waste!”
“Fourth-Order?” Zhou Zheng exclaimed.
Yang Kai was amazed too. How could a Third-Order material suddenly become Fourth-Order? But given the change of events and Du Ru Feng’s previous actions, he readily believed him. Furthermore, Du Ru Feng had no reason to lie to them about this.
No wonder the Seven Wonders Land disciples almost failed the task despite all the preparations they made, it was because a Fourth-Order material was buried under the ground. Therefore, it was natural for them to fail by using Third-Order methods to deal with it.
A Four-Order material…
[First-Order materials are worth 150 Open Heaven Pills, Second-Order materials 1,500, Third-Order, 15,000, Fourth-Order…. 150,000?!]
The dispirited Seven Wonders Land disciples became excited when they realized what was happening. They followed Du Ru Feng here today to collect the Open Heaven material, and since they completed the task, the Venerable would definitely reward them, and the reward for a Fourth-Order material was definitely greater than that of a Third-Order.
Moreover, looking at the whole Seven Wonders Land, there were only a few Open Heaven Realm Masters who were Fourth-Order and above. In other words, the materials of the Fourth Order were also extremely precious to Seven Wonders Land, to the point where they could no longer be measured simply in Open Heaven Pills. They definitely would prosper from this achievement this time!
The group of people came forward, all smiling, gathering around Du Ru Feng and begging to have a look at it. Even these Seven Wonders Land disciples had never seen Fourth-Order materials before.
But how would Du Ru Feng agree? The Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame in the Sky Seizing Net was incredibly important and he considered himself quite lucky to be able to collect it now. If anything happened to it, he could not bear the consequences. As such, he reprimanded the group of disciples with a stern face, which dispelled their stray thoughts.
Looking up at Yang Kai again, Du Ru Feng’s face turned more pleasant, “What’s your name?”
In fact, Yang Kai had just reported his name to him, but he probably did not take it to heart earlier.
Yang Kai reported his name once more.
Du Ru Feng nodded, “You did a good job this time. I will report today’s affairs to Sir Venerable. You will be rewarded when I return.”
If it were not for Yang Kai’s quick reaction earlier, using the orchard token to focus the Grand Array here, delaying the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame for a moment, Du Ru Feng would not have had the opportunity to summon his Sky Seizing Net. Du Ru Feng then turned to Zhou Zheng, who was in charge of the whole orchard and frowned. Zhou Zheng’s performance was mediocre at best today. What’s more, he had reported inaccurate information, which almost cost them a great opportunity for Fire Spirit Land.
“Many thanks, Sir!” Yang Kai thanked, secretly wondering, [How much reward would I get? Given this thing is worth 150,000 Open Heaven Pills, I should be able to get at least a few thousand of them, right?] This was a huge income even for him, and he suddenly had a little expectation. Besides, he was still wondering how to make a contribution as a Worker in this orchard, but who knew he had made one in the blink of an eye.
Du Ru Feng waved his hand to the others, “All of you leave first. I still have something to ask.”
After receiving the order, the group of Seven Wonders Land disciples soared to the sky without any hesitation.
Du Ru Feng turned to look at Zhou Zheng again coldly, and Zhou Zheng immediately understood and hurriedly stated, “Junior Brother will take his leave first.”
After everyone left, Du Ru Feng waved his hand, placed a barrier around them, and stared at Yang Kai for a moment.
Yang Kai frowned slightly. He knew why Du Ru Feng kept him here. It was natural for him to be suspicious about what happened today, but Yang Kai was not sure if he discovered anything. Swiftly, Yang Kai cupped his fists and asked, “May I know what Sir wants to ask?”
Du Ru Feng stood with his hands behind his back and proceeded seriously, “You must have known that there was something wrong with this land. For the past ten years, this King has brought people to investigate here many times, but we could not find any clues. This time, through your blessing, I learned that it was the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame that was causing the trouble.”
“Many thanks for saying so, Sir, but it was just luck.”
“I don’t believe in luck. Since you found out about this, you must be capable.” Du Ru Feng continued, “Previously, this King also tried to use his Wood Element to stimulate the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, but couldn’t. None of the others could do so either. Why could only you do it? What’s the Order of the Wood Element you have condensed?”
[As I thought…]
Yang Kai already knew that he wanted to ask him about this; after all, none of the others’ Wood Elements could trigger the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame except his. This undoubtedly showed that his Wood Element was a little special, and the most obvious reason for that would be a difference in Order.
“What Order Element has Sir condensed?” Yang Kai questioned instead of answering.
Du Ru Feng replied proudly, “Fourth Order!” He was the most outstanding disciple of Fire Spirit Land and the person who the Venerable Protector placed high hopes on. Naturally, he would not be careless in the path of achieving the Open Heaven Realm. The reason why he has not been promoted yet was to collect other appropriate Fourth-Order materials.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t know the Order of the Element that I have condensed. I haven’t been in the Outer Universe for long, and am clueless about many things here. Before I met Venerable, I happened to encounter a Sealed Space in the Void and after inadvertently refined my Wood Element from an object I found there.”
Du Ru Feng nodded, “Let me see your Dao Seal.”
This request was somewhat rude as his Dao Seal was the crystallization of Yang Kai’s cultivation and his own Dao, which contained many of his secrets. Normally, who would make such a request? Moreover, releasing one’s Dao Seal was equivalent to a Monster Beast spitting out its Monster Core, which was an extremely dangerous thing.
Back then, if Yang Kai had a choice in the Star Boundary, he would not have released his Dao Seal to deal with the Can Ye.
However, given that he was in other people’s territory, Yang Kai was afraid that it would not be easy to refuse this request. Judging from Du Ru Feng’s look, if Yang Kai did not release his Dao Seal now, he definitely would not let him go, and it would only bring him more trouble later.
Therefore, after a short hesitation, Yang Kai surged his own Dao Seal.
An amorphous mark appeared on his forehead, which contained the Void Grand Dao that Yang Kai comprehended. In the Dao Seal, a rich Wood Element Energy was rotating. Yang Kai was secretly vigilant and paid close attention to Du Ru Feng, preparing to rebel if something untoward happened.
Staring at Yang Kai’s Dao Seal, Du Ru Feng made no secret of releasing his Divine Sense to examine it and soon his face changed, “Your Wood Element is above Fourth Order!”
Yang Kai was half-relieved from his anxiety. It seemed that Du Ru Feng could only judge that his Wood Element was higher Order than his, but he was not capable of distinguishing the exact Order. After all, Du Ru Feng’s insight was still limited. Yang Kai hastily pretended to be surprised, “Is Sir serious?”
“No mistake.” Du Ru Feng answered in amazement, “You’re really lucky to be able to obtain such an opportunity. Looks like luck does work sometimes.”
Yang Kai grinned, “I don’t know what Order my Wood Element is, but since Sir stated it’s above the Fourth Order, it can’t be wrong.”
Du Ru Feng pressed on, “What is it that you found in the Void?”
Yang Kai quickly came up with a story, “A crystal-clear, small tree like white jade, with several shoot buds and leaves. The tree was about this tall, and it had a strange scent!” He casually elaborated with his hand gestures, and looked at Du Ru Feng, “Does Sir know what it was?”
Du Ru Feng shook his head slowly, “I haven’t heard of it.” He had no way to study deep into it, so he allowed Yang Kai to put away his Dao Seal, lest he become jealous of him. After that, he asked again casually, “Are you the one who found the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame here?”
Yang Kai answered, “Yes!” Although Zhou Zheng warned him in advance, since the ungrateful wolf did not try to save him from trouble previously, Yang Kai did not bother to give away his own credit. In any case, it was only him and Du Ru Feng here, and Zhou Zheng would not know what he said.
Du Ru Feng sneered, “Zhou Zheng, that waste. I knew he was not the one who found the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame here.”
Soon, Du Ru Feng departed. He actually had to report to the Venerable as soon as he collected the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, for a Fourth-Order material was truly rare. Nevertheless, he stayed for a while to inquire about Yang Kai’s Wood Element. Since he had a clear picture of it now, he had no reason to stay longer.
After the departure of Du Ru Feng, Zhou Zheng came over hurriedly, “What did Senior Brother Du ask you?”
“He didn’t ask anything, but just offer a few words of praise.”
“Seriously?” Zhou Zheng looked at him suspiciously.
Yang Kai replied, “You may ask Sir Du yourself if you don’t believe me.”
Zhou Zheng snorted coldly, “It’d better be so!” After a pause, he continued, “You have made a great contribution today. There will be rewards from Venerable and Senior Brother Du. Wait for the good news.”
He flew away after stating it, with displeasure clearly etched on his face.
In the palace located at the centre of Fire Spirit Land, Du Ru Feng strode quickly, and stopped in front of the main hall at its deepest part, bowed, and saluted, “Venerable!”
The heavy gate of the main hall slowly opened up a gap that only allowed a single person to pass through. Du Ru Feng stepped in and soon, he saw Duan Hai, the Fire Spirit Land Venerable Protector, who was sitting cross-legged and refining Open Heaven Pills.
After an hour, Duan Hai let out a long breath and asked, “What is the situation?”
Du Ru Feng cupped his fists with a joyful look, “Reporting to Venerable, we have achieved a great harvest.”
“A Third-Order Scarlet Clouds True Flame cannot be considered a great harvest. What else did you find?” Duan Hai’s eyes flashed.
Du Ru Feng hurriedly reported, “The information was wrong. It was not a Third-Order Scarlet Clouds True Flame, but a Fourth-Order Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame!”
“Fourth-Order!”
“Please have a look, Venerable!” Du Ru Feng took two steps forward and handed over the Sky Seizing Net. Duan Hai took it and nodded as he scanned it with his Divine Sense, “It’s really a Fourth-Order Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame. You did well this time. Fourth-Order materials are precious in Seven Wonders Land. Keep it for yourself.” He threw the Sky Seizing Net back at Du Ru Feng.
Du Ru Feng was overjoyed, “Many thanks for your generous gift, Venerable!”
The Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame was exactly something he needed badly now, so it was natural for him to be happy.
Duan Hai continued, “Give some benefits to Zhou Zheng; after all, he was the one who found it and solved the mysterious danger in the orchard.”
“I was about to inform Venerable about this.” Du Ru Feng stored the Sky Seizing Net carefully, “Zhou Zheng had nothing to do with what happened today. It was a Worker who discovered the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame. Zhou Zheng lied in order to seize the merit for himself.”
Duan Hai sneered, “It’s not a big deal. Since he is the orchard Manager, he should still be given a reward for finding a Fourth-Order material in the orchard.”
“Yes!”
“But, given that a Worker actually found traces of a Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, he must have some skill.” Duan Hai was curious.
Du Ru Feng smiled, “Indeed, and he’s quite lucky too. Do you remember a group of newcomers that were brought back a few months ago?”
Duan Hai was surprised, “Is he one of those newcomers?”
“Indeed, a young man named Yang Kai. He also contributed to collecting this Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame.”
Duan Hai’s interest was piqued, “How did he contribute?”
Du Ru Feng briefly explained the matter of the trip to the orchard to collect Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, and then pressed on, “Disciple was a little suspicious at that time, wondering what was special about the Wood Element condensed by that Yang Kai as only he could stimulate the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, so this Disciple asked him to show his Dao Seal. As a result, this Disciple found that he had condensed a Wood Element above the Fourth Order!”
“Above the Fourth Order!” Duan Hai’s eyes flashed, “Are you sure?”
“Disciple has no doubt. His Wood Element was purer and richer than that of my own. If it were not above Fourth Order, it would never make this Disciple feel that way.”
“Interesting… What an opportunity for a young man who has just entered the 3,000 Worlds.”
Du Ru Feng continued, “This Disciple questioned him for a while and he said that before meeting Venerable, he accidentally found a white jade-like small tree about this tall in some kind of Sealed Space. It had several shoot buds and leaves and apparently gave off a strange smell. He says he inadvertently absorbed it and condensed his Wood Element.”
“A small, white, jade-like? One with a strange fragrance?” Duan Hai frowned and caressed his beard as he pondered.
Du Ru Feng watched from the side and dared not to disturb him.
After a while, Duan Hai suddenly stopped his hand movement and revealed a shocked expression.
“Venerable, what exactly is that small tree? What Order is this material?” Du Ru Feng questioned.
Duan Hai took a deep breath and answered in a solemn voice, “If this Old Master is not mistaken, what he found should be the White Jade Bodhi. Since it had grown into a small tree, it should be at least Fifth-Order, most likely Sixth-Order!”
“Fifth or Sixth-Order!” Du Ru Feng exclaimed, his eyes bulging with jealousy.
In the entire Seven Wonders Land, the most powerful person was the Heavenly Monarch who was a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, while the other Venerable Protectors were just Fourth-Order, and all of them had promoted their current Order once after their initial breakthrough. In other words, when they achieved the Open Heaven Realm, the Heavenly Monarch was only Fourth-Order, while the several Venerables were all Third-Order.
But this Worker, Yang Kai, actually found a Fifth or possibly Sixth-Order material and successfully refined it! Was his luck not Heaven-defying? If he continued to find more Fifth or Sixth-Order materials, would he not be able to break through to the Fifth or Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm directly? At that time, he would be invincible in the entire Seven Wonders Land.
“He’s lucky, very lucky!” Duan Hai kept nodding.
Du Ru Feng’s expression fluctuated for a while, but eventually suppressing the jealousy in his heart, he cupped his fists again and said, “There’s another thing to inform Venerable about, which is also related to that Worker Yang Kai.”
“Proceed.”
“This Disciple has no idea how he offended the Ruler of the Dawn Great General, but the latter is currently using his head as a chicken coop now. Great General has perched atop Yang Kai’s head the entire time Disciple was with him.”
Duan Hai was surprised, “Ruler of the Dawn really perched atop his head?”
“Yes.”
Duan Hai could not help laughing, “It seems that the Ruler of the Dawn favours this Yang Kai quite deeply.”
Du Ru Feng was stunned, “Great General likes him? Why does Venerable say so?”
“If Ruler of the Dawn didn’t like him, he wouldn’t get so close to him.” Duan Hai explained.
Du Ru Feng was speechless when he heard this. He would rather not hope for this kind of affection, for it was a shame to be seen like that.
“Then about Yang Kai…” Du Ru Feng wanted to say something, but he stopped. He could ignore it if he did not know how high the Order of the Wood Element Yang Kai had condensed was, but since he knew now, he could not take it lightly. However, Du Ru Feng could not make up his mind about how to deal with him, so he could only wait for the Venerable’s order.
After pondering for a while, Duan Hai asked, “How many years has your Senior Brother Yu Lian been in the retreat?”
Du Ru Feng bowed, “Senior Brother Yu Lian went into retreat ten years ago to condense his Earth Element. Disciple believes it is about time for him to exit.” At this point, a sudden realization dawned on Du Ru Feng and he continued, “This Disciple knows what to do.”
“En, go.” Duan Hai waved his hand and closed his eyes again.
Du Ru Feng saw himself out respectfully, and after he walked out of the hall, the heavy gates closed slowly.
Back at the orchard, Old Fang exclaimed with his eyes widened, “A Fourth-Order Open Heaven material? Are you being serious, little brat? Or are you lying to this Old Master?”
Due to his excitement, Old Fang started calling Yang Kai a little brat instead of Little Brother again.
Yang Kai took a sip of wine from his cup and replied, “Why should I lie to you? Du Ru Feng himself said that it was the Fourth-Order Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame. At that time, if he didn’t have a suitable artifact on hand, he would already have fallen short of success.”
“Amazing…” Old Fang muttered, “Then, isn’t it worth as much as 150,000 if it’s a Fourth-Order material?”
Yang Kai looked sideways at him, “What are you excited for? It has nothing to do with you.”
Old Fang explained, “Indeed it doesn’t, but it has plenty to do with you! You are the one who found it! How much of a reward will you receive?”
“Who knows?” Yang Kai shrugged. In fact, what he cared about now was not the reward, but his Wood Element. Before, he had to release his Dao Seal for Du Ru Feng to observe. Although it seemed Du Ru Feng did not figure out anything specific, there was still the Venerable Protector behind him. With Duan Hai’s level of knowledge and insight, Yang Kai was not sure whether the lies he made up on the spot could fool him.
After thinking about it, he asked, “Old Fang, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Little Brother.”
“Have you ever heard of any Secret Technique that can forcibly seize the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements from another’s Dao Seal?”
“What kind of Secret Technique could do that?” Old Fang widened his eyes.
Yang Kai was speechless, “I also don’t know. That’s why I asked you. Why would I ask you if I knew?”
“I’ve never heard of anything like that.” Old Fang shook his head like a rattle, “But even if there is such a technique, it wouldn’t be surprising. Unfortunately, this Old Master arrived in this Fire Spirit Land soon after he left his Universe World, becoming a Worker for others. I haven’t gone out and don’t know much about the world outside… En, why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Yang Kai replied absent-mindedly.
Old Fang looked at him for a while and smiled, “Don’t worry too much, Little Brother. As the saying goes, there’s always a way out. Didn’t we worry about your land and the fruit trees before? Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, Little Brother would turn disaster into a great contribution? Fang Tai thought he could be arrogant after making two contributions, but if he knew your situation, wouldn’t he be ashamed to death?”
“Why should he be ashamed…” Yang Kai chuckled.
The reward of Fire Spirit Land came down quite fast. Perhaps it was because the Fourth-Order Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame was too important, but on the third day after its collection, Zhou Zheng came again.
Yang Kai and Old Fang were playing chess when he arrived, and seeing Zhou Zheng come, they quickly got up and saluted.
With one hand behind his back, Zhou Zheng threw a Space Ring at Yang Kai with the other hand, stating flatly, “Yang Kai, you did a good job in collecting the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame last time. Venerable appreciates your effort. This is your reward.”
Yang Kai caught the ring and was a little surprised when he scanned it with his Divine Sense; however, he quickly composed his expression and put away the Space Ring, cupping his fists, “Many thanks to Venerable!”
Zhou Zheng nodded but did not say anything more. He just looked up at the sky with his hand behind his back, as if there was marvellous scenery up there, clearly not meaning to leave immediately.
Old Fang winked at Yang Kai, but seeing the latter not pay attention to him, he prodded him with his elbow.
Yang Kai turned to Old Fang and saw that he was pointing his lips and eyes at Zhou Zheng.
“Old Fang, what happened to your mouth?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
Old Fang almost coughed up blood as he was certain that the hint was obvious enough. Yang Kai was not a fool, so how could he not understand what Old Fang was trying to say? It was simply inappropriate for them to whisper in front of Zhou Zheng, so Old Fang was anxious and did not know what to do.
On the contrary, Zhou Zheng’s face became uglier and colder.
Seeing Yang Kai’s aloof look, Old Fang had no choice but to take out a Space Ring and approach Zhou Zheng. He handed the Space Ring over with a smile, “I’m sorry to trouble Manager Zhou to come here in person. Please forgive the inconvenience, Sir Manager.”
Zhou Zheng took the Space Ring coldly, and scanned it with his Divine Sense and found that there were only twenty Open Heaven Pills in it. Following a cold snort, he threw the Space Ring on the ground and flicked his sleeve, “Never mind. I’m leaving!”
Normally, Zhou Zheng would gladly accept twenty Open Heaven Pills, but the situation now was a different case. Twenty Open Heaven Pills were nothing compared to the rewards Yang Kai received.
“Manager Zhou, Manager Zhou…” Old Fang quickly picked up the Space Ring and chased after him.
After a long time, Old Fang came back looking dispirited. By the look of his face, it was obvious that things did not go well.
When he came back, he found that Yang Kai was checking the Open Heaven Pills in the Space Ring, smiling from ear to ear. Old Fang was infuriated and pointed at him, “Tell me, why did you have to make enemies with him? You should’ve just given him some benefits.”
Yang Kai sneered, “I wouldn’t mind giving him some benefits if the previous gift had worked, but it’s clear that he did not bother saving us even when we had given him such a big gift. So, why do we need to be generous to him?”
Old Fang stomped his foot, “He is still the Orchard Manager! You should make friends with him with the money rather than offend him like this. Can you stand it if he causes you trouble in the future?”
“There is always a solution to a problem!” Yang Kai sneered, “Although he is a Manager, he can’t just do whatever he wants, and I’m not afraid of him even though I am just a Worker.”
Old Fang sighed, “Let’s stop talking about this matter. It’s useless to say anything now.”
After sitting down and drinking a cup of wine, he saw that Yang Kai was still smiling and he could not help but ask, “How much did Venerable reward you this time that you keep smiling like that?”
“See for yourself,” Yang Kai tossed the Space Ring in his hand to him.
Old Fang caught it, and exclaimed after scanning it with his Divine Sense, “So many?”
He did not count them properly, but there should be at least four or five thousand Open Heaven Pills in the Space Ring! This was a terrifying number for a Worker.
Although Old Fang expected the Venerable to give a great reward, the amount was still out of his expectation. He thought it would be just a few hundred to a thousand at most.
Yang Kai disclosed, “Five thousand pieces exactly! Though I’m not sure if Zhou Zheng took some beforehand.”
Old Fang shook his head, “Of course he didn’t. This is a direct reward from the Venerable; as a trivial Orchard Manager, Zhou Zheng wouldn’t dare touch it. Otherwise, his life would not be spared if Venerable found out. I see… No wonder he was uninterested in the twenty Open Heaven Pills that I just offered him.”
Yang Kai laughed “Now you understand why I pretended to be ignorant. If I share the benefits with him, how much would be an appropriate amount? Judging by his character, I’m afraid he won’t be satisfied without at least a thousand Open Heaven Pills. Since he was useless previously, why should I give him a thousand Spirit Pills for free?”
Old Fang nodded, “That’s true. He will only be more resentful if he gets a smaller share, but we will suffer losses if he gets too many. It’s better to just ignore him.”
“Exactly!” Yang Kai took back the Space Ring with a grin.
Old Fang admired Yang Kai for being able to gain five thousand Open Heaven Pills so easily. None of the Workers in Seven Wonders Land were a match for him. Old Fang had seen others making big contributions before, but the largest reward given out for those had been 60 Open Heaven Pills. 5,000 pills were equivalent to the pay of about a thousand Workers without any other expenses for almost two years. In addition to Yang Kai’s previous income, it was not an exaggeration to say that he was now the richest Worker in Seven Wonders Land.
And how long had he been here? It was only less than three months!
“Old Fang, don’t you think this reward is too much?” Yang Kai suddenly frowned. Although the Fourth-Order Open Heaven material was worth 150,000 Open Heaven Pills and Yang Kai had contributed greatly to its acquisition, such a massive reward was still somewhat surprising.
“Isn’t it good that it’s too much?” Old Fang was bewildered, “This is the first time I’ve heard someone complaining about being rewarded too much. If you think it’s too much, you might as well share half of it with me. I don’t mind.”
Yang Kai pretended he did not hear him.
Old Fang sighed again, “But after this, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to get rid of this small plot.” As Workers, everyone naturally wished to take care of as many fruit trees as they could. In this way, they could earn extra income, and also have more opportunities for making contributions.
None of the Workers in the Worker’s Room would be upset about managing a large area of the orchard. They all wanted it to be as big as possible.
“It doesn’t matter.” Yang Kai chuckled, “I don’t rely on this land to make money.”
After a single thought, Old Fang agreed with him. Yang Kai had his own way to earn a fortune now. Unlike the ordinary Workers, the size of his orchard made no difference to him. It could even be said that a smaller orchard would be more convenient and better for him.
He had been here for hundreds of years, and it was the first time he had seen a Worker acting so carefree. Old Fang could not help but admire Yang Kai.
Everything was calm for the next few days. From time to time, people would come to sell Jade Fire Silkworms to Old Fang, and Old Fang bought all of them without hesitation, then passed them to Yang Kai to feed the Ruler of the Dawn Great General, while the Great General spat out Open Heaven Pills seemingly endlessly.
Old Fang was beaming every day all day. He had experienced more glee these past two months than in the past few hundred years combined.
A few days later, Yang Kai, who was sunbathing under a fruit tree, suddenly opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction.
At the same moment, Old Fang, who was calculating his recent income, also turned to look. Then, his face changed slightly and called Yang Kai, “Little Brother, get up.”
Yang Kai turned over lazily, turning his back to him.
Old Fang was speechless as he got up and greeted the visitor. After a few minutes, a man approached him. It was Zhou Zheng, so Old Fang hurriedly saluted.
“En.” Zhou Zheng scanned around, but seeing that Yang Kai did not show him any respect at all, his face immediately turned cold and he snorted heavily.
A few days ago, he was upset that he did not get a share of benefits from Yang Kai. He had naturally checked the Open Heaven Pills in the Space Ring before, and he knew that there were 5,000 of them. With a twenty percent ‘gift’, he would acquire 1,000 pills. However, Yang Kai did not give anything to him at all.
If Du Ru Feng had not given him an order in advance, Zhou Zheng would have taught Yang Kai a lesson already. He was hoping Yang Kai would come to his senses and make up for his mistakes, but he did not expect Yang Kai to ignore him outright.
Coming here and seeing Yang Kai still lying under the sun, the anger almost blew out of Zhou Zheng’s chest.
“Yang Kai, what is the meaning of this!? As a Worker, why are you not taking care of the fruit trees and instead lazing around here!?” Zhou Zheng shouted.
Yang Kai turned over and squinted at him. Then he got up, and cupped his fists, “So it is Manager Zhou who came. Does Manager Zhou need anything?”
“You…” Zhou Zheng was maddened, “I’m asking you, have you finished taking care of the fruit trees in your orchard?”
“I’ve finished my task properly. If Manager Zhou doesn’t believe me, you may inspect it yourself. If there is anything wrong, I will correct it immediately!”
“Are you that confident?” Zhou Zheng sneered repeatedly. If he wanted to find fault with Yang Kai, it would be futile even if Yang Kai took perfect care of the fruit trees.
Old Fang noticed something was wrong, knowing that Yang Kai was digging his own grave. Taken aback, he quickly went forward to apologize, “Manager Zhou, please calm down. I went to see his fruit trees myself, and this little brat indeed has taken care of them. Since Manager Zhou came all the way here, please sit down to have some wine!”
Then he went to pull Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng reprimanded as he looked at him coldly, “Go away, what thing are you?”
Old Fang’s hand froze mid-air, and embarrassment filled his face. He knew that Zhou Zheng was really mad this time, otherwise he would not say such words. In the past, he was just greedy, but he always had an amiable attitude towards the Workers. Of course, the premise was that they had paid him enough, but today he actually rebuked them with harsh words.
Zhou Zheng turned back to Yang Kai and suppressed his anger because he needed to settle something with him today. Although he was upset with Yang Kai’s attitude, he could not delay this matter anymore. This matter should have been done a few days ago, but he was too enraged at the time, so he did not mention it. But he was getting anxious after a few days, and he was afraid of getting into trouble if he continued to delay.
“Yang Kai, come with me,” Zhou Zheng snorted coldly. Although he could not harm Yang Kai due to Du Ru Feng’s order, it did not mean he could not punish him slightly. With his identity as a Manager, it was too convenient for him to teach Yang Kai a lesson.
“I wonder if Manager Zhou has anything to tell me?” Yang Kai questioned.
Zhou Zheng retorted, “Enough nonsense. Just follow me as I ordered!” After saying so, he soared to the sky and rushed off.
Yang Kai frowned, for he had no idea what Zhou Zheng was going to do. [Could he be angry and want to beat me up? I don’t think he has the courage to kill me.] Although the status of the Workers in the Worker’s Room was low, each of them was a valuable resource to Fire Spirit Land. Otherwise, the Venerable Protector would not have gone out to attract more; therefore, Zhou Zheng definitely would not kill him. Only the Venerable Protector had the authority to execute Workers in the entire Fire Spirit Land.
Old Fang looked at Yang Kai worriedly, “Be patient and don’t be so impulsive later. Speak softly, and if Manager Zhou wants to do anything to you, bear it if you can and don’t fight back, otherwise, you’ll be doomed in the future.”
Yang Kai said nothing and glanced in the direction Zhou Zheng had left, having no choice but to keep up as he thought to himself, [If Zhou Zheng really attacks me later, what should I do?]
[Good, I will grab Ruler of the Dawn Great General and throw him at him. Let’s see if he dares to fight back then!]
After he decided, Yang Kai caressed the Ruler of the Dawn Great General on his head, [I’m putting my faith in you for later!]
Great General did not understand what was happening and just crowed twice.
Yang Kai sped after Zhou Zheng, and after a stick worth of incense, he saw him plummeting straight into the orchard. Yang Kai also landed and looked around suspiciously.
Even if Zhou Zheng wanted to teach himself a lesson, he should not have chosen this place. Zhou Zheng could not afford it if their fight caused any problems for the surrounding fruit trees.
If he was not here to teach him a lesson, what was his intention of bringing him here?
While Yang Kai was still puzzled, Zhou Zheng suddenly bellowed, “Where’s the Worker of this plot!?”
After only three breaths of time, a rumbling sound approached rapidly, as if thunderstruck across the ground, causing it to tremble. Then, a burly figure rushed towards them from a distance and bowed, “I’m here, I’m here. So it is Manager Zhou here. Please forgive this Xiang for being far away just now. Hahaha, Manager Zhou, have a seat.”
Yang Kai took a closer look, and found that the visitor was actually someone he knew.
Given that he had only been in the Worker’s Room for less than three months, he did not get acquainted with many people, but the one in front of him was actually one of the few he recognized. It was Xiang Yong, the bear who chased after Dié You in the shopping district and blocked him outside of it.
He only met Xiang Yong twice and only talked to him once, but Yang Kai had the impression that he was a simple-minded and domineering person. By the look of it, this plot was probably Xiang Yong’s territory.
[Why did Zhou Zheng bring me here?] Yang Kai was puzzled.
On the other side, Xiang Yong also saw Yang Kai. He suddenly widened his bronze bell-like eyes and pointed at Yang Kai while scratching his head, “You… You… I seem to have seen you somewhere!”
Yang Kai smiled, “At the shopping district!”
“Oh, yes, it’s you. I remember.” Xiang Yong was immediately enlightened by Yang Kai’s reminder.
“You two know each other?” Zhou Zheng observed from the side coldly. Listening to them, he looked at Yang Kai, then looked at Xiang Yong, the corner of his mouth slightly curving.
“No!” Xiang Yong shook his head and turned to Zhou Zheng, “Does Manager Zhou have any orders?”
Zhou Zheng put one hand behind his back and proceeded faintly, “This Manager is here to inform you that from now on, your plot will be taken over by Yang Kai.”
As soon as he declared this, Xiang Yong’s jaw instantly dropped so low that it could fit a giant fist inside of it. He was dumbstruck, and could not return to his senses for a long time.
Yang Kai too, was stunned for a moment, wondering if there could be such a good thing for him.
This was good news to any Worker. The plot that Yang Kai managed before was too small and there were very few fruit trees. It would be of great benefit for him to change to any other place, and this was also the reason why he requested Old Fang to send gifts to Manager Zhou on his behalf before.
But how was it possible that Zhou Zheng would treat him well after he offended him like that? Even if he could not do anything to him publicly, Zhou Zheng could still do some things discretely.
[Is there any problem with Xiang Yong’s land?] With a single thought, Yang Kai dismissed this idea and instead understood something. There was probably no problem with Xiang Yong’s land, but Zhou Zheng’s move had another hidden intention!
On the other side, Xiang Yong hesitated for a while and scratched his head, “Heh heh, Manager Zhou, what did you say just now? This Xiang didn’t hear it clearly.”
Zhou Zheng repeated word by word, “From now on, your plot will be taken over by Yang Kai. Did you hear me clearly now?”
Xiang Yong immediately jumped like a cat whose tail was stepped on, the veins on his forehead bulging as he pointed at Yang Kai with a stubby finger, “Him? Why?”
Zhou Zheng explained coldly, “Because this Manager has ordered it so, is that not enough of a reason? What now? Are you not putting this Manager in your eyes?” While speaking, his Open Heaven Realm aura gradually permeated.
Feeling the aura, Xiang Yong woke up from his rage and put on a fawning face, “I didn’t mean that, Manager Zhou. This Xiang dares not disrespect you. Is there any misunderstanding in this? What did this Xiang do wrong? Why is my territory being taken over by someone else all of a sudden?”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
Yang Kai also cupped his fists and started, “Manager Zhou, since Brother Xiang is so reluctant, let’s forget it. My land is still good and doesn’t need to be changed.”
Zhou Zheng sneered, “You’re in no position to speak. Let this Manager tell you, this is the order of Senior Brother Du, so you have to change plots no matter what!”
Yang Kai was speechless as he thought to himself, [Why is Du Ru Feng suddenly involving himself in such a small matter in the orchard? Isn’t he a Core Disciple of Fire Spirit Land? However, since Zhou Zheng said so, he must not be wrong. Is it because I helped him to collect the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame a few days ago?]
Xiang Yong kept blinking, “Did Sir Du purposely order him to take over my territory?” If so, there was nothing he could say. He could only blame himself for being looked down upon by Du Ru Feng.
Zhou Zheng answered, “Not really.”
“Then why does it have to be my place?” Xiang Yong was visibly upset. After that, he pulled Zhou Zheng over and leaned in to whisper something.
Yang Kai did not bother to eavesdrop, because they would find out if he tried; therefore, he had no idea what they were talking about, only that Xiang Yong was muttering endlessly while Zhou Zheng shook his head from time to time. Intermittently, Xiang Yong would turn to look at Yang Kai with his eyes full of vicious light.
For Xiang Yong, this was apparently a great disaster. He could not do anything to Manager Zhou for Zhou Zheng was stronger and had a higher status than him, so he could only turn his anger on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai folded his hands behind his back and turned his gaze away, avoiding eye contact with Xiang Yong, which made the latter even more furious.
Since Zhou Zheng brought Yang Kai here today, it meant that he had planned this long ago. Perhaps, Xiang Yong had no way to turn the situation around.
Sure enough, the two talked for a stick’s worth of incense as Xiang Yong’s face became increasingly ugly. Suddenly, he left Zhou Zheng, and charged towards Yang Kai directly while putting his fist in front of his face, and threatening fiercely, “Little brat, if you’re smart, hurry up and tell Manager Zhou that you don’t want this land, otherwise, this Xiang will not let you end well!”
Following a sigh, Yang Kai looked over at Xiang Yong and gazed at Zhou Zheng. Seeing the grin on his face, he knew that he was right. Zhou Zheng was trying to commit murder with a borrowed knife!
Since Zhou Zheng wanted to manipulate others to harm him, Yang Kai definitely could not let him succeed so he immediately explained, “Brother Xiang, I can’t help it. I’m innocent too. I was dragged here by Manager Zhou, and I don’t know what happened to cause all this. But since Manager Zhou has made a decision, there’s no way to change his mind. How about this? Even if I take care of this land for you, if any benefits or credits appear from this place, I will give them to you. Deal?”
“No deal!” Xiang Yong’s spit flew everywhere, “This is my Heavenly Paradise. I won’t give it away no matter how many benefits you give me!”
Yang Kai almost choked to death. How could this plot of land be a Heavenly Paradise? All the plots in the orchard were the same other than being bigger or smaller.
“The income of this land will belong to you as well!” Yang Kai added.
Xiang Yong waved his big hand like a cattail leaf fan and almost slapped Yang Kai’s face, “I already said I won’t give this place away for any price! You must quickly settle this issue for me!”
Yang Kai was becoming annoyed. He felt that he had made enough concessions and was even willing to give up the benefits of two pieces of land to settle things with Xiang Yong, but this bear indeed had a bear’s brain, making him near fanatical about his territory.
Given his attitude, Yang Kai knew that he could not talk sense to him, so he did not bother to waste further energy.
“When will you stop grumbling? If you’re finished, leave with me!” Zhou Zheng urged from not far away.
Xiang Yong turned to Zhou Zheng and wanted to say something; however, seeing the look on Zhou Zheng’s cold face, Xiang Yong knew that it was probably useless to say anything so he could only accept his fate. Still, he glared at Yang Kai hatefully and declared, “Just wait. I’ll be back.”
While leaving with Zhou Zheng, Xiang Yong would turn back every few steps to glare at Yang Kai with threatening eyes. Only after disappearing out of sight did Yang Kai click his tongue.
Zhou Zheng’s move was brilliant. By using the name of Du Ru Feng, he made it impossible for either side to object, and on top of that, Xiang Yong was clearly difficult to deal with. Zhou Zheng was able to justify himself, and no one would complain about him even if this matter was spread, because his move was considered as good news for Yang Kai.
But in fact, Yang Kai did not want to change his territory at all. Since the hidden danger of his original plot had been resolved and with the Ruler of the Dawn Great General, the God of Fortune, he was not expecting any harvest from the orchard like the other Workers did. Comparatively, Yang Kai preferred his small plot as he didn’t need to spend much time or energy to care for it. Furthermore, the main advantage of it was to be close to Old Fang. When they were free, they could drink and play chess together. Those days were so carefree.
But now that things have come to this point, Yang Kai could only take things one step at a time.
This plot was much larger than his previous one, and there was an exquisitely built thatched house on it. Yang Kai knew at a glance that it was not built by the bear Xiang Yong. It was probably left by the Worker who took care of the fruit trees here before.
Old Fang also had his own hut. The reason why Yang Kai did not have one was because the area of his plot was too small to build one. Otherwise, he would have built one for himself.
After all, the Workers had to spend nearly a month in the orchard at a time. Although it was fine for them to live without a house, it was more comfortable to live in a shelter.
When Yang Kai pushed the door in, so much dust blew into his face he almost choked.
Yang Kai was speechless, wondering how long the bear had not entered the house as the dust inside was visibly thick. After some simple cleanup, Yang Kai brought out some furniture from his Space Ring and only then did the small house look half-decent.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Yang Kai took out the control token for this plot and held it in the palm of his hand.
Before Zhou Zheng left, he exchanged his token with Xiang Yong’s. The tokens of each territory were distinct, so Yang Kai needed to refine it before knowing the details of this plot
Yang Kai immediately refined the token, though he remained vigilant after what happened today. He felt that he had to be on guard at all times now so that Zhou Zheng could not find fault with him.
The token was specially made by Fire Spirit Land for the Workers, and because their owners frequently changed, the tokens were not difficult to refine.
Yang Kai took less than two hours to finish refining the token, and he then poured his Divine Sense into it to investigate.
Yang Kai immediately clicked his tongue.
It seemed that Xiang Yong was quite valued. Although this plot was not excessively large, it was still 50% bigger than Old Fang’s, thus having 50% more fruit trees.
Yang Kai could not see the details of each fruit tree in the token, however, so he could only check them one by one to see if there were any problems that needed to be solved.
After leaving the house, Yang Kai wandered around his new plot and examined the fruit trees. Only then did he discover that Xiang Yong had not been doing a good job in taking care of the fruit trees. Xiang Yong had clearly made so many mistakes that Yang Kai had no idea how he managed to get such a large territory.
If this plot was given to Old Fang, he definitely would have taken much better care of the fruit trees than Xiang Yong.
Yang Kai had no choice but to take some time to fix these issues. After an entire day of hard work, Yang Kai was deeply missing his small plot of land. Fortunately, the number of fruits on the fruit trees was recorded correctly, without any discrepancies.
The next day, Yang Kai continued to patrol his plot, taking care of the fruit trees, but while he was deworming one of them, he heard a familiar voice not far away, “Yang Kai?”
Yang Kai looked up and saw a beautiful figure standing against the fiery red background, looking at him curiously from a short distance, her somewhat sleepy eyes full of puzzlement.
“Xiao Dié?” Yang Kai was pleasantly surprised, “Why are you here?”
Dié You rushed over, all the while peering around, “I was about to ask you the same. Why are you here? Isn’t this plot Xiang Yong’s?”
“It’s mine now.” Yang Kai chuckled, immediately understanding something, “Is your plot nearby?”
Dié You pointed to the side.
Yang Kai nodded, “No wonder it’s a Heavenly Paradise, I understand now!”
“What Heavenly Paradise?” Dié You was confused.
“It’s nothing.” Yang Kai shook his head and did not explain. He did not understand when Xiang Yong called this place his Heavenly Paradise yesterday. To others, this place may not be much different from any other plot, but to Xiang Yong, there was no better place in the orchard than here. No wonder he reacted so strongly when Zhou Zheng wanted to change his site yesterday.
Xiang Yong was nowhere to be seen when Zhou Zheng and Yang Kai arrived here together, so clearly he was pestering Dié You. How could Xiang Yong take care of such a large plot when he was spending most of his time and effort on Dié You?
The mystery of the dusty hut was also explained; he obviously had no time to go back to it.
Now it seemed that the person that Zhou Zheng used was not just a random choice, but was selected carefully. He must know how Xiang Yong felt about Dié You, and deliberately picked this plot for Yang Kai to take over. It would be strange if Xiang Yong did not hate him now.
“What did Xiang Yong do? Why did you take over this plot?” Dié You wondered.
Yang Kai smiled bitterly, “It’s a long story.”
“Take your time,” Dié You pursed her lips and giggled.
There was nothing to do, and since they were friends already, Yang Kai recounted what happened before. Hearing that Yang Kai actually found a Fourth-Order’s Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, Dié You’s hand flew to her scarlet lips in shock, and Yang Kai, who made such a great contribution, not only won a generous reward from Du Ru Feng but was also transferred to this plot.
However, he offended Zhou Zheng, and now Xiang Yong too. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time.
“Your days have been quite exciting,” Dié You laughed sweetly as her eyes upturned into crescents.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes at her, “Why do I feel like you’re taking pleasure in my misfortune?”
“No, no.” Dié You waved her hands quickly, “It’s true that I’ve never met a Worker who has caused such a big scene in just a few months, and this is not even inclusive of the matter regarding Great General.” As she spoke, Dié You took out a Jade Fire Silkworm and fed it to the stupid chicken, who pecked on it lazily but returned no reward.
“Do you think I want this?” Yang Kai was indignant; sometimes trouble would come looking for him even if he did not want it to.
“It doesn’t matter. According to what you said, you have made great achievements, so Sir Du is probably looking at you in a different light now and intends to promote you. So even if Zhou Zheng doesn’t like you, there’s nothing he can do. But of course, the premise is that you do not commit any huge mistakes.”
“If only it was that easy. Zhou Zheng is not so easy to deal with, you can see that from the matter regarding Xiang Yong.”
Dié You nodded softly, “He wants to murder with a borrowed knife… And Xiang Yong…” She looked like she was having a headache. It seemed like she was terribly harassed by the bear, “Don’t worry, if Xiang Yong comes asking for trouble, I’ll warn him.”
“Don’t, if you intervene when he comes to make trouble, the situation will only get worse.” Yang Kai stopped her hurriedly. He was already stopped once by the bear when he was seen going to the shopping district with Dié You. If Dié You showed up again, it would only give birth to more misunderstandings between him and Xiang Yong.
“You’re right.” Dié You frowned, “Then what should we do?”
“Nothing, just let it be.” Yang Kai shrugged, “By the way, how many Jade Fire Silkworms have you collected these days? Give them to me while we’re here.”
“Sure.” Dié You handed over the Jade Fire Silkworms she collected the past few days to Yang Kai, who then patted Ruler of the Dawn Great General on his head, “Time to eat!”
Even though he knew that Xiang Yong would not give up and would definitely come looking for trouble again, Yang Kai did not expect him to come so soon.
Not long after Dié You left, the big bear plummeted from the sky and landed in front of Yang Kai.
Yang Kai blinked at him, “Brother Xiang is here?”
Xiang Yong threatened with rage in his eyes, “Just you wait, I’ll be back to deal with you!”
After leaving that threat, he hurriedly walked towards Dié You’s plot. A moment later, Yang Kai heard a screech, followed by Xiang Yong howling in pain from the depths of the orchard.
After a while, Xiang Yong returned with a bruised nose and a swollen face. Although he looked terrible, his expression was full of contentment. He went straight to Yang Kai and stared at him condescendingly, “Little brat, you have any wine?”
Yang Kai turned his eyes away from him, for fear that he might burst out laughing if he continued to stare at Xiang Yong directly, and picked up an urn of wine and handed it over.
Xiang Yong slammed the seal on the mouth of the wine urn and gulped half of it down his throat, then nodded contentedly with a loud burp, “Little brat, you have the right attitude at least!”
Yang Kai asked while busying himself with work, “Doesn’t Brother Xiang need to take care of his plot? How are you so free to be here?”
Xiang Yong spat and complained, “Can that pea-sized place even be considered a plot? Father here can deal with it with just a glance. It’s so small that I don’t even want to care for it, so I left it all to that old guy next to me.”
Yang Kai turned to look at him, “Is that old guy surnamed Fang?”
“En, him!” Xiang Yong nodded, “He was very concerned about what happened to you, it seems that you two have a good relationship.”
Yang Kai suddenly realized that he forgot to report to Old Fang that he was safe. He had no time to go back after he was taken to this place by Zhou Zheng yesterday, so Old Fang was probably worried sick.
“What did you tell him?”
Xiang Yong sneered, “Why should I tell him anything?”
Yang Kai was speechless and immediately took out a communication artifact. After sending Old Fang a message, he immediately received a reply, asking him what happened. Old Fang was obviously waiting for news for the past two days.
Without going into detail, Yang Kai could only assure Old Fang not to worry, that everything was fine, and he would explain to him during their rest days.
After communicating with Old Fang, Yang Kai put away the artifact and turned to Xiang Yong, “Looks like she was quite ruthless.”
Xiang Yong was quite strong, so Dié You must have not held back to have beaten him up like this.
“I’m used to it, it’s no big deal.” Xiang Yong snorted.
Yang Kai could not help admiring it, “Brother Xiang is truly loyal.”
“What do you know?” Xiang Yong snorted, his mouth full of alcohol, “If it wasn’t for Xiao Dié, I would have been dead for a long time! My life is hers, what does it matter if she beats me up a few times?”
Yang Kai wondered, “Sister Dié You is Brother Xiang’s life-saver?”
Xiang Yong snorted, “I have nothing to say to you, why are you asking so much?”
“Just chatting, there’s nothing much to do anyway.”
Xiang Yong frowned and pondered for a while. He seemed to think that what Yang Kai said was reasonable, and softened his tone a little, “Then tell me, why doesn’t Xiao Dié like me? What am I doing wrong?”
[How am I supposed to know? You should ask Dié You. Love is a matter of two people, what’s the use when only one person is involved?]
“Aren’t you being too intense?” Yang Kai asked.
“What’s too intense?” Xiang Yong stared.
“You’re pushing her too intensely!” Yang Kai explained, “Take a moment to think about this, how would you feel if a woman pestered you all day long and didn’t give you any space to even breathe?”
“Is she beautiful?”
“Does it matter?” This time it was Yang Kai’s turn to stare.
“Of course it does.” Xiang Yong snorted, “If she’s beautiful, I will make her my woman on the spot. If she’s ugly, I’ll give her three punches and two kicks… Eh? Little brat, are you saying I’m ugly? How am I, your Father, ugly!?”
Yang Kai replied sternly, “Brother Xiang is brave and heroic, an extraordinary man in every way. How can he be associated with the word ‘ugly’? Sister Dié You probably doesn’t know how to appreciate your handsomeness!” As he spoke, Yang Kai for some reason, felt his conscience hurt a little.
Xiang Yong narrowed his eyes, “Are you saying Xiao Dié has bad eyes?”
There was nothing else he could say, so Yang Kai just waved his hand, “Brother Xiang, please go, I have work to do!”
A palm slammed hard on Yang Kai’s shoulder and felt his knees bend from the large impact, “Don’t go, don’t go, let’s talk this out.” Xiang Yong ‘requested’.
“Talk what out?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
“Tell me, how can I get Xiao Dié to follow me willingly? As long as you can help Father here this time, this Xiang will let go of everything in the past!”
[Damn it, how am I supposed to help you with this? It’s all up to you!] Yang Kai was really speechless.
By the looks of it though, Xiang Yong would not let this go until Yang Kai came up with a sensible plan. After racking his brain hard, he finally suggested, “Why don’t you try playing hard-to-get?”
Xiang Yong’s eyes lit up, looking around for a while before asking sneakily, “How do I play hard-to-get?”
Yang Kai lowered his voice too, “Brother Xiang has been following Sister Dié You constantly for a long time now, so she’s probably used to having you look for her every day. In that case, if you suddenly stop looking for her, wouldn’t she feel something is odd? Then she would start wondering what you’re busy with, or wondering if you got hurt. As long as she has thoughts like this, she will start to care about you. Men and women are the same, we always want what we cannot have. She wouldn’t know how to cherish Brother Xiang if you constantly offer yourself to her.”
Xiang Yong’s heart was moved when he heard this and his face flushed as he pictured the possible scene of a wonderful future. He licked his lips and asked again, “Is this way possible?”
“You won’t know if you don’t try. In any case, Brother Xiang has nothing to lose. If it doesn’t work, just think of another way.”
“I’ll do it!” Xiang Yong loudly palmed his fist, “Let’s do as you suggested, when should I start?”
“Let’s start now.”
“Good!” Xiang Yong strode in big steps, “Then I’ll go back first. If Dié You asks about me later, remember to let me know.”
Seeing that Xiang Yong had left, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief. He did not expect this guy to be so easy to fool.
However, after only two days, Xiang Yong returned again. Yang Kai’s head instantly started aching at the sight of him, but he had no way to hide, so he greeted him, “Brother Xiang is here again?”
Xiang Yong rushed over, looked around, then leaned over to whisper, “How is it? How is it?”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai was confused.
“Did Xiao Dié ask about me? Did she miss me? Did she cry and try to look for me?”
“Ah…” Yang Kai saw a face full of expectation and did not want to hurt him by telling him the truth, so he could only lie, “I’m not sure. I haven’t met Sister Dié You these two days. I’ve just come here and am busy taking care of the fruit trees.”
“Waste!” Xiang Yong snarled as he glanced sideways at Yang Kai, “Why don’t you inquire about it? Why do I need such an incompetent person like you?”
The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth twitched and he did not know what to say.
Xiang Yong shoved both arms, “I’ll ask myself.”
He went past Yang Kai straight to Dié You’s plot, and after a short while, the familiar screech and painful howl of Xiang Yong echoed through the air.
A moment later, Xiang Yong came back limping with bruises on his face. Yang Kai was shocked, because this time, his nose and mouth were bloody.
When he came in front of Yang Kai, Xiang Yong retorted angrily, “What kind of shit idea did you give me? It didn’t work at all! Xiao Dié hit me even harder!”
Yang Kai sighed, “Brother Xiang, I have something to say, but I’m not sure if I should!”
“Just say it!” Xiang Yong snorted coldly and wiped the blood under his nose with his hand.
“There are plenty of other fish in the sea…”
Xiang Yong guffawed, “Although there are many women in the world, Father here has identified Xiao Dié as the love of my life! Except for Xiao Dié, even if the most beautiful woman in the world stands in front of me, I won’t steal a glance. I have decided since she saved my life back then, she is destined to be my woman! Whoever dares to touch her, I will tear his flesh apart and drink his blood!”
Hearing this, Yang Kai was genuinely impressed. He did not expect Xiang Yong to be so infatuated. It was just that his method of picking up women was a little too annoying, while he was also quite dumb.
But then again, even though Xiang Yong was a little hateful, without a doubt he was sweet to Dié You, otherwise, he would not endure getting beaten like this every time.
“Are you planning to lay your hand on Xiao Dié?” Xiang Yong suddenly turned his head and glared at Yang Kai fiercely, with his eyes full of murderous light, as if he would kill Yang Kai on the spot if he dared to say yes.
“I’ve only known Sister Dié You for about two months. I don’t deserve such a Heavenly beauty like Sister Dié You.”
“It’s best you think so!” Xiang Yong snorted, “If you dare to touch her, I will tear you to pieces!”
“I wouldn’t dare!”
“I’ll give you a task!” Xiang Yong put on a grim face and ordered regardless of whether Yang Kai was willing or not, “Look after Xiao Dié for me. If anyone dares to pester her, tell me immediately and I’ll deal with him. Do you hear me?”
Yang Kai nodded silently.
Only then did Xiang Yong look satisfied. He reached out to touch the wound on his face, hissed as he winced in pain, and walked back.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and shouted, “Oh, one more thing, remember what you said last time.”
Yang Kai was puzzled, “What did I say?”
Xiang Yong continued, “You said last time that the income of this land and your previous land belongs to me. Your tiny plot is not really profitable, but mine can earn me twenty Open Heaven Pills every year. Remember to give it to me later.”
[Twenty?] Yang Kai could not help glaring at him. This was obviously nonsense. Although the area of this plot was not small, given that Xiang Yong was not focused on taking care of the fruit trees and devoted all his time to wooing Dié You, how much extra income could he get except above the normal salary of a Worker every year?
Twenty pills were absolutely impossible. It was obviously blackmail.
Earlier, Yang Kai still had some admiration for Xiang Yong’s unwavering infatuation, but now it seemed that this hateful man indeed had a hateful side.
Yang Kai did not bother to negotiate with him though because twenty pills were really nothing to him with his current wealth.
Right after the departure of Xiang Yong, Dié You appeared, “Sorry, Little Brother Yang Kai. I’ve caused you trouble.” Dié You apologized.
“It’s not because of you.” Yang Kai waved his hand. Zhou Zheng was the cause of this situation. If he had to blame someone, Zhou Zheng was the one.
He turned around and asked curiously, “Xiang Yong mentioned that you saved his life before?”
Dié You smiled wryly, “That’s a big exaggeration. When he first came to Fire Spirit Land as a Worker, he made some mistakes and was punished nearly to death. I only fed him a healing pill while he was able to survive thanks to his own good foundation, so it doesn’t have much to do with me. He has been like this since then. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have meddled in his business.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Xiao Dié has always been kind it seems.”
“Actually, he isn’t a bad person, it’s just his character that is a little overbearing.” Dié You sighed, “And he’s quite stubborn.”
Yang Kai smiled, “Xiao Dié, have you ever considered him?”
Dié You shot a glare at him, “Don’t tease your Elder Sister!”
After saying so, she was too lazy to talk to Yang Kai anymore and turned back to her plot.
Since that day, Xiang Yong would come over almost every day, and he would get beaten as usual, but he actually seemed to be enjoying it. Yang Kai also gradually got used to it.
Sometimes, after being beaten, Xiang Yong would leave directly, but sometimes he would stay and talk to Yang Kai, just to find out if anyone harassed Dié You when he was away.
On a certain day, when Yang Kai was taking care of the fruit trees, he heard a sky-piercing sound, followed by someone falling nearby.
He thought it was Xiang Yong again, so he did not bother to turn around and continued to take care of the fruit trees; however, out of his expectation, the visitor did not mean to leave, so Yang Kai looked back curiously. At first glance, he immediately turned around in shock and cupped his fist, “Greetings, Sir Du!”
The visitor this time was not Xiang Yong, but Du Ru Feng.
Du Ru Feng did not act as cold and proud as before, but smiled instead, “I thought I saw you from above, so I came down to have a look.”
“Was Sir looking for me?” Yang Kai asked.
“I’m not looking for you specifically. I just came to inspect the orchard today. Head Manager will be coming to inspect things in a few days, so I have to perform a check in advance to avoid any mistakes.” Du Ru Feng explained.
Yang Kai looked enlightened. He had been here for several months, and he knew almost all the information about Seven Wonders Land that he should know now. There were seven orchards, and each orchard had a Manager like Zhou Zheng, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the orchards of each Spirit Land respectively. Above them, there was a Head Manager who was directly in charge of all the orchards and reported only to the Heavenly Monarch. His status was no worse than that of the Venerable Protectors.
“Then Sir should really check carefully,” Yang Kai answered casually. Since he was not close to Du Ru Feng and only assisted him in collecting the Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame last time, Yang Kai had no idea why the latter purposely came to talk to him.
“Is this the new place that you’ve been assigned?” When Du Ru Feng questioned, he glanced towards the Ruler of the Dawn Great General unintentionally. During their last meeting, he thought that Yang Kai had offended the Ruler of the Dawn Great General, and Great General was punishing him. However, he did not expect the Venerable to tell him that this was the way Great General showed his affection.
Now that he observed carefully, he realized that it was true. Great General just laid there with his eyes closed, taking its nap carefreely. Du Ru Feng found it funny and interesting, wondering which part of Yang Kai had gained the interest of the Great General.
“Yes!” Yang Kai nodded, “After last time, Manager Zhou brought me here and appointed me to this plot. He also mentioned that it was on Sir Du’s order.”
Du Ru Feng nodded, “En, it was my order. You should be rewarded for your good work. It seems that Zhou Zheng has done his job well and found you a suitable place.”
Yang Kai replied, “The 5,000 Open Heaven Pills were already a generous gift. Yet, Sir still gave me such a good piece of land. This Worker is truly grateful.”
Du Ru Feng waved his hand, “Anyone who contributes should be rewarded. You deserve it.”
[But I don’t want it!] Because of this, Yang Kai was involved in the matter of Xiang Yong, and he had offended the fool for nothing. However, after a few words of probing, Yang Kai was sure that the original reward was indeed 5,000 Open Heaven Pills. Zhou Zheng had not meddled with the reward.
“So,” Du Ru Feng suddenly looked at Yang Kai, “Are you interested in following and working for me?”
Yang Kai was stunned, “What does Sir mean?”
Du Ru Feng folded his hands behind his back, “If you follow me, you will no longer be a Worker, but a disciple of Seven Wonders Land.”
Yang Kai could not help widening his eyes. He was dumbstruck, as if a pie had fallen from the sky and landed in his lap.
The Workers in Fire Spirit Land had the lowest status and had to do the most work every day. Therefore, getting rid of this status was every Worker’s dream. However, they could only achieve their wish by being promoted to the Open Heaven Realm. As such, the Workers had been working hard for countless years to store up Open Heaven Pills, using them to buy appropriate materials in the shopping district. Yang Kai would never expect that such good news would happen to him.
With Du Ru Feng’s status in Fire Spirit Land, since he proposed it himself, it was definitely not a lie. In other words, as long as Yang Kai agreed, he could instantly get rid of his status as a Worker and become a disciple of Seven Wonders Land.
This was absolutely advantageous to his plan of getting the Open Heaven Pill recipe.
[But… This is strange! Although I made great contributions last time, I already received 5,000 Open Heaven Pills and a bigger piece of land as rewards. What’s the purpose of Du Ru Feng sending such a big gift again?]
[Could it be that my Wood Element is being eyed by someone?] Yang Kai secretly became alert.
As if he noticed his hesitation, Du Ru Feng pressed on with a smile, “This is not the order of Venerable, but my personal proposal. The Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame that we collected last time has been awarded to me by Venerable, and it’s the exact Fourth-Order material that I will need within ten years. With this Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame, I am a big step closer to the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Do you now understand the importance of that Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame to me?”
He paused for a while before he continued, “But you may rest assured. Although this is not the idea of Venerable, since I dared to mention this, I am sure that I can persuade Venerable to remove your identity as a Worker.”
“I’m a man who always returns favours. The Scarlet Clouds Golden Flame is of great importance to me. Now that I’ve profited, I’ll not forget your contribution.” Du Ru Feng looked at Yang Kai with a smile, “What do you think? Are you interested in joining me? I dare not promise anything else, but I still have the confidence to let you be promoted to the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm within three hundred years.”
“Third-Order Open Heaven Realm!” Yang Kai exclaimed.
It could be said that the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm was the greatest that Workers could hope for, but so far, none of them had achieved it. After all, there were too many materials they needed to condense of that Order, and each of them was extremely pricey. The Workers simply could not save enough Open Heaven Pills for them. Of course, Yang Kai’s goal was definitely higher than the Third Order, but he had to act like a Worker should at this moment.
Du Ru Feng nodded, “I know you were fortunate to have condensed a Wood Element above the Fourth Order, but you should know that this is just a moment of luck. If you don’t have other high Order materials, your achievement in the Open Heaven Realm will be limited even if you have a Wood Element above the Fourth Order now.”
“I understand,” Yang Kai nodded.
“It’s good that you understand. I was afraid that your expectations have become extravagantly high due to your excellent starting point, which might lead you to accomplish nothing in the end.”
“Many thanks to Sir for your kind reminder,” Yang Kai cupped his fists, “But after considering it, this Yang should work in the orchard for the time being.”
“Why?” Du Ru Feng was slightly stunned. He did not expect Yang Kai to reject his proposal; after all, it was an irresistible temptation for any Worker.
“First, this disciple only arrived in Fire Spirit Land three months ago. Although I made a contribution, I’ve already received more rewards than I deserve. If there was another huge reward, I’m afraid that if the other Workers learnt about it, they would accuse Sir of being unfair. At that time, they might get impetuous, and I’m afraid that the work in the orchard will be affected.”
“Who would dare?” Du Ru Feng sneered.
Yang Kai continued, “They dare not in public, but I can’t guarantee that they won’t do it secretly.”
Du Ru Feng pondered for a while, and nodded, “Go on.”
“Second, this disciple wants to train further in this orchard. When the time comes in the future, more experience will allow me to better serve Sir. By that time, no one will dare to say anything about it, and it will be more convenient for this Yang to assist Sir. But if I join Sir now, I would not be able to accomplish anything other than just being protected under Sir’s wings.”
Du Ru Feng looked at Yang Kai with a grin, “It’s rare that you are so thoughtful. In that case, follow your thoughts. When you’re ready, you can come to me at any time.”
“Many thanks to Sir for your kindness.”
After encouraging Yang Kai with a few words, Du Ru Feng continued to inspect the orchard. Looking at the direction of his departure, Yang Kai frowned. What happened today was extremely strange to him. Du Ru Feng’s interest in him was very suspicious; therefore, he refused the offer, not just because of his doubt, but also because of the Ruler of the Dawn Great General.
He had just found a way to make a fortune, earning thousands of Open Heaven Pills every month, so he had no reason to follow Du Ru Feng. If he really went over, his income would definitely be cut off. Du Ru Feng guaranteed him that he would be promoted to the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm within three hundred years, but the materials needed for the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm were only worth about 15,000 Open Heaven Pills. Since he could earn this amount in a few years, why did he need Du Ru Feng’s promise?
The next few days were notably calm, but Yang Kai could sense a heavy air in the orchard. Perhaps it was because of the upcoming arrival of the Head Manager, the Workers stayed on their own land obediently and took good care of the fruit trees, for they feared making any mistakes. Even Xiang Yong did not dare to leave his small plot recklessly. It was likely that Zhou Zheng had passed down some orders.
When the time came, the orchard barrier was activated, and everyone was forced out.
Yang Kai quickly rushed back to the Worker’s Room. Soon, Old Fang and Dié You arrived too, and they went straight to the shopping district without hesitation.
They were busy collecting worms from the other six Spirit Lands in the shopping district for the whole day. At night, just like the previous month, the three sat on the ground and split their shares in Yang Kai’s house.
However, the income this time was much greater than the last time. Previously, the agents of those Spirit Lands had doubts and dared not buy too many worms at one time, except for Yu Xue Ping who was bold from the beginning, while the others only brought about six hundred worms at most.
But after confirming the business was legitimate, they no longer hesitated.
This time, more than 12,000 worms were purchased from all over the six Spirit Lands. Including the worms they bought from Fire Spirit Land this month, there were about 15,000 worms in total.
After feeding Great General for a whole day, despite the stupid chicken’s bottomless stomach, he was probably so stuffed that he walked away unsteadily when he left Yang Kai’s room, as if he were drunk.
After deducting the expenses, the income of this month was nearly 10,000 Open Heaven Pills!
According to the previous agreement, Old Fang and Dié You each took ten percent, which was 1,000 pills, while the remaining 8,000 belonged to Yang Kai.
Old Fang’s eyes turned red; it was not due to jealousy though, but excitement. Recalling the past hundreds of years when he had to work so hard for his Open Heaven Pills and had to be exceptionally careful with his spending, then thinking about how he could earn so many with such little effort now, he could not help being emotional.
Yang Kai laughed and patted him on the shoulder, “Old Fang, why are you crying? This is just the beginning. The good days are still yet to come!”
Old Fang wiped the tears off the corners of his eyes, “Shitty brat, I cried because you did not come to Fire Spirit Land hundreds of years earlier! If you came earlier, this Old Master wouldn’t have had to work so hard only to refine the Second-Order materials. If this Old Master had condensed Fourth-Order materials, he could have been promoted straight to the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm! Unfortunately, since things have been set, I don’t have a chance to change it anymore.”
“I wasn’t even born several hundred years ago!” Yang Kai sneered, “You’re talking nonsense again. Fourth-Order materials in Fire Spirit Land are incredibly rare. Even if you saved enough Open Heaven Pills, you wouldn’t be able to buy them. You should be content to be able to condense Second-Order materials.”
Old Fang nodded, “True. I’m content, I’m content!” His original goal was the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he worked so hard to save Open Heaven Pills just for this goal. What could he be uncontented about now?
Dié You smiled on the side, “According to our current income, we can buy a material every one or two years, but… we still can’t compare with Little Brother Yang Kai.”
“Who can compare with him?” Old Fang smiled wryly. Previously, Yang Kai received 5,000 Open Heaven Pills as a reward, and he thought it was already a massive number, but who knew Yang Kai would earn 8,000 more each month?
“How about I share another ten percent to both of you?” Yang Kai looked at them.
Dié You and Old Fang exchanged looks, and waved their hands together, “No, we should just stick back to our original agreement, which is ten percent. If necessary, we can just borrow Open Heaven Pills from you in the future.”
“Good!” Yang Kai nodded, and suddenly asked as he remembered something, “By the way, if a Worker buys materials and wants to condense and absorb them, what should they do about their plot in the orchard? You can’t take care of the fruit trees and absorb Open Heaven materials at the same time, right?”
Dié You explained, “You can apply for a retreat. They can’t make a horse run without feeding it, so Seven Wonders Land is still quite understanding when it comes to this matter.”
Old Fang nodded, “Yes, you can apply for a retreat as long as you need to absorb Open Heaven materials. Of course, it also depends on the arrangement of each Manager. You can’t have too many people in retreat at the same time, or there will be no one to take care of the orchard.”
Dié You continued, “Therefore, this matter still needs the Manager’s approval. Even if you apply, you may have to wait more than ten or twenty years or even longer to get your turn. I once applied for a retreat, and had to wait for fifty years!”
Yang Kai laughed, “If I apply, Zhou Zheng certainly will not approve.”
After chatting for a while, the three dispersed with Yang Kai and Old Fang heading to the shopping district again. They had earned a lot this time, so they were going to enjoy themselves before the shopping district closed.
Dié You did not want to go, so they did not force her; after all, drinking was really not entertainment that was suitable for women.
When Yang Kai came back from the shopping district, he went straight to Dié You’s house and knocked on the door. Dié You was a little surprised to see him, but still let him in, serving him a cup of tea as she asked curiously, “Did you forget something?”
“Nope.” Yang Kai smiled as he acted mysterious, “Just wanted to give you something. See if you like it.” He took something out of his Space Ring.
Dié You blushed, “You came all the way just to give me something? What is it?”
“See for yourself,” Yang Kai grinned, and did not tell her what it was.
Dié You glanced at him, then looked down and saw a delicate box in front of him. It was not the Cyan Wood Box that was used for catching worms, but another box that looked quite familiar. Suddenly, she realized what was in the box, and immediately looked up at Yang Kai, “Did you buy it?”
“You know what it is?” Yang Kai was surprised.
Dié You replied, “I’ve been here for a thousand years, and have made purchases there before. I recognize this box.” As she spoke, she opened the box, and a bundle filled with a rich Metal Element that kept transforming in shape was revealed before her eyes.
“Stainless Golden Dew!” Dié You sighed lightly, “It’s really this. Why did you buy it?”
Yang Kai beamed, “I told you before that I’d buy it for you!”
“That was just a joke! No, this is too expensive. Take it back!” Dié You shook her head. This Third-Order material was worth 16,000 Open Heaven Pills in the Open Heaven Temple. She could only take a look at it every time she went to the shopping district, but she did not really expect to be able to buy it one day, so she could not believe that it was placed in front of her now. She closed the box and pushed it back to Yang Kai as she spoke.
“Since I gave it to you, I won’t take it back.” Yang Kai pushed the box back at her again and continued with a solemn face, “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have sufficient financial resources. Since I have enough Open Heaven Pills now, I naturally have to fulfil what I promised you before. Moreover, when I first came to Fire Spirit Land, you helped me a lot. Take this as a gift of thanks from me.”
Dié You still insisted on rejecting it, but Yang Kai pressed on, “It’s useless for me to take it back. I can’t get a refund on it anyway”
“Keep it for yourself. You’ll definitely need it in the future.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m not aiming for the Third Order!”
Dié You was a little baffled…
Looking at the entire Seven Wonders Land, the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm was not only the Workers’ limit, it could even be said to be the limit of the achievements of most Seven Wonders Land disciples.
Apart from disciples like Du Ru Feng, who were highly valued by the Venerables, who else could get materials above the Third Order? There were very few in the entire Seven Wonders Land who had the opportunity to achieve anything above the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Dié You was not a fool, and when Yang Kai said that he was not interested in Third-Order materials, she naturally understood what he meant. Back then, when she first came to Fire Spirit Land, she was just as ambitious. Unfortunately, the passing of the years had dampened her spirit, and she had long lost such drive.
Who knew if Yang Kai would accept a fate equal to hers after many years…
“Where did you get so many Open Heaven Pills?” Dié You asked, then she suddenly remembered that Yang Kai earned 8,000 this month and received 5,000 as a reward, which added up to 13,000. Including his income from the last two months, it should be enough. Even if it was not enough, he could have borrowed some from Old Fang.
“Don’t worry about it.” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully, “Could it be that Xiao Dié wants to achieve a higher Order like me and doesn’t find Third-Order material attractive anymore?”
“How is that possible? Old Fang said it before too, we have already set our foundation, and we have no chance to change it. It’s just that…”
Seeing that she was still a little hesitant, Yang Kai started, “Don’t think too much, it doesn’t mean anything else. It’s just what I promised before. Now that I’m capable, I will naturally keep my word. I didn’t expect to be able to buy it so soon either.”
Dié You sighed softly, “Fine, I will accept it, but I’ll take it as a loan from you. Now that I can earn a lot of Open Heaven Pills from you every month, this amount is not something I cannot afford.” After a pause, she continued solemnly, “Little Brother, thank you!”
Yang Kai laughed, “I didn’t even thank you when you helped me so much.”
Dié You replied, “How can it be the same? It didn’t cost me much when I helped you, but this thing is worth 16,000 Open Heaven Pills.”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “Many are willing to add flowers to one’s bouquet, but few will send you charcoal in a frigid winter. It has always been like this. And to me, the value of the few Open Heaven Pills you loaned me back then can’t be measured.”
…..
At the same time, inside another house located in the Worker’s Room, two people sat opposite each other at a table fully plated with wine and dishes. One of them was serving the wine and dishes enthusiastically, the smile on his face never faltering for a moment, “Manager Zhou, try this, these are all specially bought by this Xiang from the shopping district.”
Zhou Zheng drank the wine and ate the food served to him for a time before he slowly put down his chopsticks, “I’m sure this table cost you a great deal.”
Xiang Yong replied hastily, “Not at all, not at all. As long as Manager Zhou is pleased.” All the while, he cursed silently how difficult it was to even invite him to a meal. When he came back from the orchard, he intentionally invited Zhou Zheng but was ignored. Only after persisting several times in a row did Zhou Zheng accept the invitation, but because he was not in a good mood, he did not want to go to the shopping district and insisted on dining here in the Worker’s Room.
What else could Xiang Yong do? He went to the shopping district and brought back a table of wine and dishes.
After three rounds of wine and tasting all the dishes, the atmosphere became livelier as they chatted, and Xiang Yong decided that now was the moment to strike, “Manager Zhou, is there something you can do about this Xiang’s matter?”
Zhou Zheng replied as he continued eating, “This Zhou is sorry, but this Zhou can’t do anything about it. Sir Du has spoken, and this Zhou had to find a place to switch with that fellow; otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to explain to Sir Du.”
Xiang Yong almost cursed out loud. [Sir Du did ask you to find a place for Yang Kai, but the orchard is so big, why pick my Heavenly Paradise!?] The displeasure was obvious on his face as he continued, “Since it was Sir Du who gave the order, it should be done, but Manager Zhou, can’t we change him to another place? I have taken care of that plot of land for so many years, and it is somewhat sentimental to me. I am reluctant to leave it.”
Zhou Zheng sneered in his heart, knowing that it was not the land that was sentimental to him, but Xiang Yong’s neighbour. Outwardly though, Zhou Zheng waved his hand, “Impossible, if it was a few days ago, it might have been possible, but today, it is impossible to move him.”
“Why?” Xiang Yong’s eyes widened, “That little brat can’t be so powerful that Manager Zhou can’t even move him!”
“Of course not.” Zhou Zheng smiled bitterly, “But that little brat made a massive contribution recently and is now heavily favoured by Sir Du. When Sir Du was inspecting the orchard a few days ago, he even went down to talk to him for a time. In other words, Sir Du already knows that he is in charge of that plot. If I moved him away casually, and Sir Du asked about it, how would I explain it to him?”
“Sir Du went down to talk to him on purpose?” Xiang Yong was stunned, unable to understand why Yang Kai had such good luck.
After a moment of silence, Xiang Yong poured some more wine and spoke in a low voice, “Manager Zhou, if we can’t move him, we can move others. This Xiang also doesn’t want that piece of land, couldn’t you find a way to transfer me to a land neighbouring it? It shouldn’t be difficult, right?”
“There must be a reason for a transfer of personnel. The others have done a good job, so why should I transfer them away?”
Xiang Yong was speechless, [Is this the first time you did this? Haven’t you done it before? As the Orchard Manager, mobilizing personnel is just a matter of one sentence, who can complain about it? It’s obvious that you don’t want to help Father here!]
Looking at Zhou Zheng’s hateful face, Xiang Yong could not help but get angry.
However, Zhou Zheng just sneered, “You might as well worry about that person instead of worrying about your little piece of land. If the land is gone, it can be replaced, but if the person is gone, what can you exchange for it?”
“Who?” Xiang Yong was confused.
“Who do you think?” Zhou Zheng looked at him coldly.
Xiang Yong blinked, “Xiao Dié? What happened to Xiao Die?” Suddenly nervous, he stood up abruptly, looking ferocious again, “What happened to her?”
Zhou Zheng chuckled, “What could have happened to her? Not only has nothing happened to her, but she’s also still alive and well at this time.”
Xiang Yong frowned and stared at him, feeling that Zhou Zheng was implying something, and he was disgusted with his pretentious attitude. Recalling how he was rejected by Zhou Zheng’s excuses, he could not help but remarked coldly, “Manager Zhou, if you have anything to say, please say it directly. This Xiang is a rather straightforward person and can’t understand people who beat around the bush.”
Zhou Zheng patted him, looking heartbroken for him, “It’s because you are too naïve that you don’t even know that you’ve been deceived.”
“Who dares to deceive me!?” Xiang Yong was furious.
“Forget it, let’s not talk about this, come and drink!”
“Bullshit!” Xiang Yong yelled and flipped the table in front of him to the ground with a large stomp. He would have drenched Zhou Zheng with wine and dishes if the latter had not dodged in time.
“Xiang Yong, what are you doing!?” Zhou Zheng was furious. Although he knew that Xiang Yong was an uncultured brute, he did not expect him to be this crude.
Xiang Yong’s face was grim and rebellious, “Manager Zhou, when someone kindly invites you for a meal, isn’t it not right that you stir up so much trouble in their heart?”
“It’s not this King that made you upset, but someone else. Why are you mad at me?”
Xiang Yong cracked his neck, “I don’t care, Manager Zhou, you have to make it clear right now!”
Zhou Zheng sneered again, “Are you sure you want to know?”
Xiang Yong’s glare looked as though he could eat him alive. His answer was obvious.
Zhou Zheng gritted his teeth, “Good, good, good. Since you want to know, then I’ll let you know. I hope you won’t regret it.” He did not explain further, but just took out a token and surged his power into it. Holding the token up, and waving it in front of himself, Zhou Zheng proceeded, “Open your eyes and look clearly.”
When the words fell, a projection of a scene immediately appeared in the air between the pair. There was nothing unusual about the scene. It was just an ordinary house, one of many in the Worker’s Room. There were at least five hundred huts like this in the entire Worker’s Room.
Xiang Yong, however, recognized it at a glance, “Isn’t that Xiao Dié’s house?”
“You have good eyesight!” Zhou Zheng snorted coldly.
“What does Manager Zhou want me to see?” Xiang Yong wondered.
“Just watch and wait, you’ll know soon enough.” Zhou Zheng did not bother to talk nonsense with him.
Xiang Yong stared at him for a while, guessing that he would not be able to get any further answers, so he just stared carefully. Nothing abnormal happened, however, and it was rather boring.
After waiting for more than half an hour, the door of the hut in the projection suddenly opened.
Xiang Yong was startled, and watched expectantly.
But in the next moment, his anticipation turned into shock, and then turned into anger. The fury in his eyes burned as though he was a volcano about to erupt.
“Yang… Kai!!” Xiang Yong growled through gritted teeth, “Why is this little brat coming out of Xiao Dié’s hut at this hour!?”
In the projection, Yang Kai seemed to be in a good mood as he walked out of the house with a smile on his face, and Dié You, who followed behind him, had a blush on her beautiful face. Yang Kai did not look back, however, and just waved his hand at her.
Zhou Zheng watched indifferently, clicking his tongue, “A man and woman meeting up in the dead of night, what do you think this little brat was doing just now? Tsk tsk, he has only come to Fire Spirit Land for a few months, and was already favoured by both Sir Du and a beautiful woman. He is truly enviable.”
Xiang Yong’s face twitched, and the anger in his eyes instantly turned into endless murderous intent, “Damn him!”
He turned around with an axe in his hand, a murderous aura boiling violently as he walked towards the door, “I’ll kill him!”
Zhou Zheng barked coldly, “Workers are not allowed to fight in private. The assaulter will be imprisoned for up to a hundred years depending on the severity of the assault. Murderers will be killed without mercy. Do you want to be buried together with him?”
Xiang Yong halted. Although he was angry at the moment, he still had some sense left. He knew that what Zhou Zheng said was right. If he really killed Yang Kai, he would definitely follow after him, and no one could save him then.
After just three breaths of time, Xiang Yong roared, “Then I’ll beat him up first!”
Zhou Zheng replied, “Even for a minor assault, three years of confinement is inescapable. While you spend three years in prison, this little brat and your Sister Dié You will be free to do whatever they want.”
Xiang Yong turned his head sharply, glaring at Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng sneered, “What are you looking at me for? It’s not me who messed with your woman!”
“Then do you want me to do nothing!?” Xiang Yong shouted angrily, his face contorting into all kinds of ferocious and scary expressions constantly; he was obviously struggling inside.
Seeing this, Zhou Zheng advised, “Xiang Yong, you have to be especially calm at this time; otherwise, your impulse may spoil everything.”
“It’s easy for you to say, and your advice is not helping at all!” Xiang Yong replied in a deep voice, “Manager Zhou, just pretend you don’t know anything today. I’ll kill him now!”
“If you want him to die, you don’t have to do it with your own hands!” Zhou Zheng sneered.
Xiang Yong, who was about to leave, immediately stopped and turned to Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng’s face changed, “I always talk nonsense when I drink. Don’t take it seriously. It’s late at night. I should go back and have a rest.” After stating this, he wanted to rush out of the door.
Xiang Yong stopped Zhou Zheng with a swing of his axe, and his burly body stood blocking the entrance, looking down at Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng was not scared but still narrowed his eyes slightly, “Xiang Yong, are you going to fight this King? This King is a little drunk after all that wine, but it seems that you are even more out of your mind.”
Xiang Yong answered in a deep voice, “Sir Manager is an Open Heaven Realm Master, and I know that I’m no match for you. If we really initiate a fight, I would only end up being humiliated; however, the matter of Xiao Dié is exceptionally important to me. If Manager has a good plan, please tell me directly. I will be very grateful.”
“What if I don’t?” Zhou Zheng stared at him coldly.
Xiang Yong snickered, “Although Sir Manager is an Open Heaven Realm Master, you’re just First-Order. I will fight to my death and probably be able to tear off a big chunk of your flesh!”
“You’re crazy!” Zhou Zheng was infuriated.
Xiang Yong rubbed his own chin with a ferocious look, “Please teach me, Sir Manager!”
Zhou Zheng was staring at him in the eyes quietly and saw only determination and viciousness in his eyes.
After a long time, Zhou Zheng started, “Xiang Yong, why do you have to be like this? Since Dié You doesn’t like you, why do you still not let go?”
“This is my own business. Sir Manager doesn’t need to care about it!”
Zhou Zheng sighed, “It’s actually not up to me to have a say about this matter, but for the sake of your infatuation, this King can give you some advice. However…”
Xiang Yong assured, “Don’t worry, Sir Manager. It has nothing to do with you. No matter what happens in the end, this Xiang will bear all the consequences!”
“Very good!” Zhou Zheng nodded, “If so, come closer!”
Xiang Yong hurriedly leaned in, and Zhou Zheng whispered to him in detail for a while. The expression on Xiang Yong’s face changed endlessly during the conversation, and he secretly sighed that Zhou Zheng was truly a cruel and merciless person. If the plan really worked, Yang Kai would die without doubt, and he could obtain victory without staining his own hands!
A moment later, Zhou Zheng informed in a deep voice, “This matter involves many pieces. If it is exposed, your end will not be pleasant, so you should think it over carefully.”
Xiang Yong snickered, “It’s a good idea, Sir Manager. If I don’t do it, I’ll waste your idea.”
“What does it have to do with me?” Zhou Zheng was appalled.
Xiang Yong quickly slapped his mouth, “Yes, yes, yes. It has nothing to do with Sir Manager. It was all my own idea. Come and drink.”
There was no point in continuing drinking when the drinks and food were flipped all over the floor of course, so Zhou Zheng flicked his sleeve and declared, “It’s already late. This King is going back to have a rest.”
Xiang Yong continued, “Then I’ll rely on Manager Zhou for the future affair.”
Zhou Zheng staggered, wondering whether it was a good idea to share this plan with Xiang Yong. However, it was too late to regret. By the look of Xiang Yong, he would definitely carry out the plan, so Zhou Zheng could only secretly pray that it would succeed in making Yang Kai have no way to recover.
Life in the Worker’s Room was uninteresting. After Yang Kai came back from Dié You’s house, he meditated and rested. The next day, he took Old Fang to the shopping district again, mainly to explore new places.
Although he knew about the general situation in the shopping district, there were still some quaint things selling in the stalls, which were brought out by the Workers from their own Universe Worlds.
In order to buy the Third-Order Stainless Golden Dew for Dié You, Yang Kai had spent his entire fortune and even owed Old Fang a few Open Heaven Pills. However, he was not worried, for he could earn a large amount of Open Heaven Pills next month anyway.
All the eating and drinking in the shopping district were Old Fang’s treat. Old Fang naturally would not be calculative with him and he even mysteriously brought Yang Kai to a special place this time.
The place was extremely well hidden and looked insignificant on the outside, but one would only know it was a different world inside when he entered. The people who came here were not only the Workers but also some Seven Wonders Land disciples. Many Seven Wonders Land disciples donned in Seven Coloured Robes were busy with their hands wrapped around beautiful women, having the time of their lives.
Yang Kai was so shocked that he tugged Old Fang’s arm, “Is there such a place in the shopping district?”
Old Fang sneered, “What’s so strange about this? Since ancient times, this industry can be seen everywhere.”
“Who are the… women?” Yang Kai looked around.
Old Fang sighed, “They are all Workers from various Spirit Lands. Everyone is working for a living. I didn’t have the capability last time, but since I have it now, I will try to help them as much as I can.”
Yang Kai looked at him strangely. This was the first time he heard someone making this activity sound so noble. Frowning, he asked, “The Workers should have no spare money, right?”
Old Fang answered, “That’s why most of the customers here are disciples of Seven Wonders Land. It’s quite rare for a Worker to have fun here. Although this place is not specially opened for Seven Wonders Land disciples, the business is mainly dependent on them.”
Just as Old Fang mentioned, most of the customers Yang Kai saw here were Seven Wonders Land disciples with Seven Coloured Robes. As for the Workers, there were only a few including the two of them.
“Stop talking nonsense and find a girl to take care of you.” Old Fang pushed him, and pointed to a group of more than ten women, “Just take one you like upstairs directly.”
After that, he swiftly went upstairs and knocked on the door of a room as if he was familiar with this place. A moment later, the door opened, and a jade white hand extended out of the room to pull Old Fang in.
Yang Kai’s jaw dropped at the scene. He stood there and scratched his head. Looking aside, more than ten women over there were looking at him curiously, but no one wanted to serve him.
This place was mainly maintained by the Seven Wonders Land disciples, and it was only open for three days a month. These women also understood that if they wanted to make money, serving those who wore Seven Coloured Robes was the better choice. Most of the Workers like Yang Kai were ignored by them unless they took the initiative to talk to them.
[It’s good that nobody cares!]
Yang Kai went straight to a table on the side, then ordered a table of wine and dishes from the server before enjoying himself.
Although this was a brothel, the environment here was clean, similar to a high-end teahouse.
If it were not to wait for Old Fang, Yang Kai would have left long ago.
It was a long wait though, and Yang Kai had to order another round of wine and dishes. Finally, a girl could not stand it anymore and approached him, “Senior Brother, are you waiting for your companion?”
Yang Kai nodded.
The girl smiled, “Then you shouldn’t wait anymore. I heard from the Senior Sisters over there that your companion will always stay overnight every time he comes.”
Yang Kai almost cursed. He thanked her with a darkened face, and settled the bill for the wine and food. Just as he was about to leave though, the girl suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
Yang Kai turned to look at her, and seeing her flushed cheeks, he asked, “What happened, Junior Sister?”
The woman lowered her head, “Senior Brother, are you only here to drink?”
Yang Kai was not a fool and certainly understood what she meant. After checking her out, he found that this woman was beautiful and did not look loose in any sense of the term, so he laughed and commented, “I came here to accompany my friend. I’ve never been to a place like this before.”
The woman replied with a soft voice, “There’s always a first for everything. Senior Brother, do you want to… Do you want to try?”
As she spoke, she almost buried her head into her chest, her face turning redder by the breath.
Yang Kai was a little speechless and wondered if the woman in front of him was shy due to her own nature or if she was still new.
While he was still thinking, the woman pressed on, “Senior Brother, let this Junior Sister tell you… It’s… It’s also my first time.”
Yang Kai frowned as he asked, “Junior Sister, why are you here?”
The woman kept silent; however, Yang Kai had been here for several months, so he naturally knew how hard the life of a Worker was. Their salary was just three Open Heaven Pills a year, and if they wanted to buy Second-Order materials, it would cost at least 1,500 Open Heaven Pills. If they wanted to be promoted to the Open Heaven Realm, they had to find an alternative method of making money.
Yang Kai sighed secretly and agreed with Old Fang. If it were not for living, who would be willing to work in a place like this?
Just then, a burly man suddenly walked in. He swept his eyes across the place and stopped on Yang Kai. Surprised, he approached.
Aware of the movement, Yang Kai turned his head and was astonished, “Brother Fang?”
“Why are you here?” Fang Tai looked at Yang Kai curiously, “Are you in the wrong place?”
“What does Brother Fang want to say?” Yang Kai frowned slightly.
“Nothing.” Fang Tai shook his head slowly. He probably did not want to talk to him much. He looked around, then saw the woman next to Yang Kai, and smiled as he advised, “Junior Sister, you have to know how to choose the right people. Some people might not be able to pay you after you serve them. It’s not worth working for nothing.”
The woman forced a smile, “Senior Brother must be joking.”
Fang Tai continued, “I’m not. The one you’re holding onto is a newcomer. He’s only been here for a few months and hasn’t even gotten his salary. How can he give you any reward?”
The woman looked at Yang Kai strangely as he certainly did not look like a newcomer when he splurged on wine and food.
“This Fang is different, however. I will definitely satisfy Junior Sister.” After saying so, he reached out and grabbed the woman’s arm. The woman could not avoid it, and was caught at once. She quickly turned to Yang Kai with a pleading face. Comparatively, she was more willing to serve Yang Kai; otherwise, she would not have taken the initiative to talk with him.
To her disappointment though, Yang Kai just glanced at her and commented, “Then I won’t interrupt Brother Fang’s business. Goodbye.”
“Hmph!” Fang Tai snorted coldly.
Yang Kai strode towards the exit, but he could clearly feel a pair of eyes staring at him from behind.