Chapter 230 - 147: Architects’ Convention
"All members of the Dark Pavilion will receive a reward of 1,000 Ghost Stones. Shao Qiu will receive a reward of 5,000 Ghost Stones."
"Third, to celebrate the Mortal Realm now having two Martial Kings! Qi Yue and Shao Qiu have both broken through to become Tenfold Body Tempering Martial Kings—a truly rare feat! This signifies that the Mortal Realm's fortune is on the rise."
"Fourth, to celebrate the smooth execution of the Mortal Realm's Silk Road project, which is already showing initial results. This would not have been possible without everyone's collective efforts these past days."
"I've gathered you all here today to celebrate this moment, so don't be so formal. Eat and drink as you please.
"The new year is just over ten days away. We'll have another great meal then."
When he finished speaking, the Mortal Realm Members all clapped and cheered, and only then did they start eating.
Though it was called a meal, it was really a feast of braised food. There weren't many other dishes; it was almost all braised items, but there was an incredible variety.
It must have been hard work for Zhao Shengping. With over 200 people in the Mortal Realm now, preparing so much braised food by himself was no simple task.
There was no shortage of wine, though, and plenty to go around. Meat and wine—in this world, this was truly considered a fine meal.
The atmosphere gradually grew lively and energetic. Having received the Domain Lord's affirmation, everyone was quite happy.
"Not bad."
Shao Qiu sat beside Chen Fan, popping a braised duck wing into his mouth. He savored it for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction. "Pavilion Master Zhao, not only are your Artifact Refining skills impressive, but your braised food is excellent too."
'Wait.'
He suddenly froze. 'An Artifact Refiner who's good at making braised food… I feel like I've met someone like that before. But that was back when I was in the Guanxi Plain, and the flavor is only about seventy percent the same.'
"Pavilion Master Zhao."
Shao Qiu turned to look at Zhao Shengping, a dazed expression on his face. "Your full name wouldn't happen to be Zhao Shengping, would it? From the Guanxi Plain, once hailed as Guanxi's most useless Artifact Refiner, nicknamed the Guanxi Master of Braised Food?"
"That's me."
Zhao Shengping rubbed his nose awkwardly. He hadn't expected his embarrassing past to be exposed so quickly, and he looked rather flustered.
"Holy shit, it really is you!"
Shao Qiu looked utterly shocked. "Weren't you in Guanxi? How did you end up in Jiangbei? The distance between them is huge."
Jiangbei was relatively barren. The people of Jiangnan had always looked down on Jiangbei. And since the Guanxi Plain was even more prosperous than Jiangnan, its people looked down on Jiangnan, and even more so on Jiangbei.
Generally speaking, people from the Guanxi Plain wouldn't willingly travel to Jiangbei.
"Also, I had your braised food seven years ago. I paid a high price to buy it from someone else, and I thought it was heavenly—the best I'd ever had. But the food you made this time is even better than back then, and the flavor is a little different. What's up with that?"
"Ahem."
Zhao Shengping cupped a fist over his mouth and gave a light cough. "Well, it has been many years. Isn't it normal for one's skills to improve? A person has to keep getting better, right?"
"I remember you were a Level 9 Artifact Refiner seven years ago. What about now? Are you Level 10?"
"No."
Zhao Shengping said, his face devoid of expression.
"How come that hasn't improved?"
"Something like that depends on fate. You can't rush it."
"True." Shao Qiu nodded in deep agreement and said no more.
The night quickly came to an end, and the celebration feast drew to a close.
They couldn't stay tense all the time; sometimes, they needed to relax.
This celebration feast allowed all the members of the Mortal Realm to relax considerably, and as time trickled by, three days soon passed.
...
On this day, many factions arrived at Mortal City.
Mortal City became even livelier than before. In the past, many merchant guilds had traveled to and from the city, but this time, many of the arriving factions also brought their Architects with them.
The Architects of the various factions usually never traveled, but today, they had all arrived alongside their respective faction leaders.
No Architect was a Loose Cultivator.
An Architect had to join a faction or create one themselves. A Cultivator could be a Loose Cultivator, but an Architect could not. An Architect working alone could never obtain enough Ghost Stones and construction materials.
Being an Architect wasn't a one-person job; they needed a faction to handle logistics.
"This city doesn't look like much."
A young man stood before a convoy of carriages, gazing at the City Wall in the distance. All around him, traffic was heavy, with convoys arriving one after another.
He recognized the Banners of many of the factions among them.
"These all look like Level 1 City Walls. Weren't they saying the Mortal Realm was very powerful?"
The young man curled his lip.
His faction's City Walls were all Level 3; they had stopped using Level 1 City Walls long ago.
"You can't put it that way."
An old man beside him shook his head, his expression serious. "The Mortal Realm definitely has strength, but their foundation is weak, after all."
"Think about it. The Mortal Realm is a faction that rose to prominence during the rainy season. From its founding until now, only a few months have passed—not even three. To have achieved this much already is incredible."
"Moreover, the Mortal Realm's main base of development is in the nearby Nameless Mountain. It was from that base that they killed a Ghost King during the rainy season, as well as the Young Master of the Pill Sect."
"Mortal City is just the Mortal Realm's city for mortals, used for trade. It's not their main fortification for defending against Ghost Objects during the rainy season. Reaching this stage is already quite impressive."
"Our faction has existed for many years, while the Mortal Realm was founded only recently. It's only natural their foundation can't compare to ours. But for Chen Fan, as an Architect, to build such a faction in so little time… he must have some extraordinary methods."