Chapter 454- Marketplace
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
Killing sword was the sword of killing.
The moment the sword left the sheath, it must taste blood. Otherwise, it would not be withdrawn.
The moment these words left the middle-aged general, the entire blood red illusion broke down. Ouyang Shuo slowly opened his eyes. In his mind, he was still thinking back on the sword strokes he witnessed.
Just at this moment, a system notification sounded out.
"System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, bone structure exquisite, comprehension strong. Player has obtained the teachings of the blood red illusion, Killing Sword Sword Manual has reached the ‘just learned the fundamentals’ level."
……
The sudden appearance of the blood red illusion, receiving comprehension out of nowhere.
At this point, Ouyang Shuo was sure that the Killing Sword Sword Manual hid a huge secret.
The other cultivation methods did not have anything like this, including the Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique, the Yang Family Spear Technique, and the rest. None of them created such an illusion.
"System Notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi lacks comprehension, 7th killing temporarily sealed."
……
"System notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi lacks comprehension, 6th killing temporarily sealed."
……
"System Notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi lacks comprehension, 5th killing move temporarily sealed."
……
The three successive system notifications left him speechless. He looked at his own stats. With the help of the Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique, his comprehension had reached a terrifying 32 points.
Even so, it was not good enough.
These facts aligned with the truth. After all, when he was in the blood red illusion, Ouyang Shuo did not understand anything about the last two strokes.
Making use of this chance, Ouyang Shuo took a look at his own stats.
Name: Qiyue Wuyi
Title: Mighty Lord (45% increase in NPCs’ relationship, 20% increase in the success rate of recruiting historical people)
Occupation: General (sub-occupation)
Territory: Nanjiang Governor-General House
Level: 70
Merit: 26200/1000000
Rank: 1st Class Marquis
Reputation: 173000/1000000
Primordial Energy: 710/2000
Body Structure: 39
Comprehension: 32
Luck: 8
Charm: 10
Command: 80
Force: 75
Intelligence: 27
Political: 65
Talent: Wargod (Permanent 20% increase in combat power)
Talent: Ice (Attacks have an additional icy effect)
Speciality: Magic God Possession (200% increase in combat power for 30 minutes, followed by a period of added weakness)
Specialty: Way of the King (raises sensory abilities and gives birth to the aura of a king)
Internal Art: Yellow Emperor Internal Cultivation Technique (layer 8/12)
Technique: Ba Ji Fist Art (achieved mastery through comprehension). Yang Family Spear Technique (achieved mastery through comprehension). Killing Sword Sword Manual (learned the fundamentals).
Movement Skill: Floating Ghost Shadow
Art of War: ‘Liu Tao’ (Wu Tao Volume)
Skills: Wild Beast Taming Technique (Intermediate)
Mount: Qingdian (Platinum)
Equipment: Tianmo Spear, Chixiao Sword
Armor: General Mingguang Armor (Dark Gold)
Cape: Divine Martial Cape
Accessories: Qilin Golden Seal (Platinum), Dragon and Phoenix Pendant (Platinum)
Unique Items: Yin Yang Copper Coin, Beihai Bay Treasure Map
Ouyang Shuo's current stats, even compared to adventure gamemode players, could allow him to be considered a pinnacle existence. Out of all his equipment, he only lacked a pair of good boots.
In the last few days, Ouyang Shuo had passed the king beast scale armor that Song Jia had gathered to Qing'er. He instructed her to tailor two inner armors and two pairs of boots.
That brat was really confident. For these few days, she had locked herself up in her shop.
Based on her normal speed, she should finish up soon.
Although it was dead at night, Ouyang Shuo was not tired at all. He got up and took out the Chixiao Sword.
Shua! the red sword exited its sheath. Contrasted to the night sky, it looked exceedingly elegant.
Ouyang Shuo held the sword in his hand, as he started practicing in the room. Each stroke and move closely followed the seven killing strokes that he had understood. He practiced it very slowly, as he ran it through his memory. Sometimes, he would even stop and close his eyes and fall into a moment of deep contemplation.
The original sword strokes, which seethed with killing intent, lacked that certain fire in his hand.
If an expert was present, they would feel shocked.
That was because Ouyang Shuo's strokes seemed weak and floaty, but in truth, his movements contained the essence of the sword strokes. Although it seemed formless, it actually concealed a hidden killing intent.
After a short while, Ouyang Shuo sheathed the sword.
In just that short while, the practice had left his forehead covered in sweat, while his face looked ashen white.
"Killing sword?"
Ouyang Shuo muttered.
As the light wind blew, the night remained utterly silent. The only audible sounds were someone sighing.
As the night sky passed, a red sun rose up from the east mountains. The golden glow of the sunlight scattered onto Shanhai City, waking up this titanic beast.
Outside the city, in the cover of the night, the farmers either pushed their carts or carried their items. They were bringing the fruits and vegetables that they had grown to sell in the city.
The moment the city doors opened, the farmers formed up lines and entered the city orderly.
Friendship River riverside, the area of the various Chamber of Commerces. It took up the greatest area and sold a large variety of products from the nine imperial cities. Naturally, it was the most bustling area.
Canyon Riverside, people crowded the harbor. Numerous merchant ships docked at the harbor, waiting to unload or load up the Shanhai City specialties onto their boats to sell elsewhere.
The coolies on the harbor had reached more than a thousand in number.
The streets and alleys of the city already brimmed with people.
At the private schools at the sides of the streets, sounds of children studying spread out.
Today, the number of private schools in Shanhai City had reached a number no less than a hundred. One could see such private schools everywhere. Some were built by the Culture and Education Division, some by Shanhai City, while others were built by funds that scholars donated.
Shanhai City's cultural luster was predicated on this.
Maybe a famous scholar would appear from these schools in the future.
The women who woke up early dressed up prettily, as they carried their baskets to purchase vegetables in the market. On the way there, they would purchase buns from the breakfast shop to take back home.
Seeing familiar neighbors, some people would definitely start chatting on the streets, talking about things at home, prices of vegetables, materials of their clothes, and the like.
Some vain ones could even talk about make-up.
All along, Shanhai City was an exceedingly open society. They would not look down on women. Especially with the rise of prominent women like Cui Yingyu, Mulan Yue, and Mu Guiying. They helped to push females to a high point.
Hence, these women could do as they wished.
Some of their family males even followed them to the breakfast shop to have soy milk and breakfast, as they gossiped about rumors on the streets.
Amongst them, some people had connections. They talked about the rumors inside the Governor-General Manor.
"Little princess is being so naughty at school. She drew turtles on her friends' face while they were taking a nap."
"Cui Hua, who lives beside us, has been recruited as a maidservant. Her whole family is so honored now."
"Some servants didn't follow the rules and took vases from the manor to sell. After being found out, they were sacked and sent to the Procuratorate Division."
"In the back garden of the manor, there's a playground and a weird looking castle."
The people would gossip about everything they heard regarding the manor. Moreover, the biggest topic today was naturally the philosophers’ debate.
The people naturally understood a lot about the philosophers. The officials placed so much importance on them, and they could be seen all around.
"I heard that four to five factions and schools have decided to base themselves in Shanhai City."
"What four to five, I think more than ten."
"That's right, on this earth, there's no place more suitable than our Shanhai City."
"I really want to make a trip to the imperial city to take a look. What do you think it looks like inside?"
The people that spoke were migrants that came not long ago.
After the three cities merged, the imperial city became a forbidden ground for the commoners.
"Hei, talking about that, I've been there before and stayed there for a while."
The one that spoke was an old man over fifty in age.
"Old Zhang, did you really? Tell us about it!"
A table of people instantly crowded around.
Even those from neighboring tables peeked across, their eyes all filled with curiosity.
When Old Zhang saw such a response, he smiled, “You all came too late. Last year, when I arrived, Shanhai City wasn't so big."
"That's right, that's right. I heard that Shanhai City was only a small city. The Lord brought everyone and built it up step by step."
"What small city? I heard that it was a small village."
"Old Zhang, you are wise, and you have seen a lot. What do you say?"
"It really was a village."
"That's amazing!"
"Stop asking questions and let Old Zhang speak about what the imperial city is like."
The teen from the start eagerly said.
"That's right!"
"The imperial city, ah. It's really amazing. Golden tiles on the floor, jade as walls, paintings hung around; that place is beautiful beyond belief. There's a temple of heaven for worshipping, the temple of our old ancestor, the Yellow Emperor, is also built there. However, the most amazing thing is still the old Lianzhou Lord’s Manor…."
Old Zhang's words were half real and half fake but mostly his exaggerations. The teens crowding around were all stunned and amazed. They all exclaimed out in awe.
These events at the corner of the streets was just a small happening in the city. The same scene would happen at other corners, forming a realistic, lively, and beautiful painting.