Lord of the Desert

Chapter 456 Breakthrough

The insect swarm attacked for more than a hundred days and the situation became as solid as a rock.

However, the Martial Saint came from the West with a sword and turned everything upside down.

From the second to the fifth day of May, Wang Guiche first destroyed the mother nest, and then quickly swept through the Sanshan Basin, killing more than 800 general insects in total.

On the sixth day, he broke into the Zerg territory of the Western Wasteland of Shengzhou for 500 miles alone, wreaking havoc along the way, and returned to Tiannan City of Zhanzhou after a day and a night.

The overall situation has been decided.

On the eighth day of May, the sky in Erbai City was clear and the flowers were in full bloom.

Hong Fan's injuries were mostly healed. He got out of the wheelchair and watched from Chengdong as Wen Changqing, Shi Yuanwei and other purple-sleeved innates escorted the Star God's coffin to Shenjing.

Just a day ago, he witnessed with his own eyes how Dai Wangchen was peeled off from the tangle of brick, tile and mud walls, and the latter's corpse, which had lost its human form, had dried up and shrunk like Ma Jingsha's in the past.

The carriages and horses left the city.

Mountains and rivers are in the north.

The fingers of the wind pluck the strings of the lake.

Hong Fan climbed up to the top of the city wall and watched for a long time among the ruins as the Purple Ribbon Caravan disappeared behind the hills. In a trance, he seemed to foresee his own fate.

The next day, the summer heat was even stronger.

The wilderness outside the city was nourished by the heavy rains of the past few days, and a sparse layer of tender green appeared.

Hong Fan's injuries have healed by 50%, his true energy is circulating smoothly, and he is ready to return north alone.

Because he had requested to keep a low profile in advance, few people knew about it and came to see him off.

Everyone drank farewell wine in the countryside, and Shengyu Army Sima Wang Shengrong repeatedly apologized for the absence of the Princess and Chiqiong Zhougong.

Hong Fan would not worry about such things.

He knew very well that no one in the world could kill all the scattered Zerg in half of Shengzhou within three days - Wan Guiche let go of the upper and lower ends and only captured the Zerg in the middle that served as the command node and killed him ruthlessly. This was already the most efficient method.

As for those low-level Zergs that were rampant in the west of the valley like wild beasts, and the handsome Zergs who were hiding quietly and struggling to survive, they could only be eliminated bit by bit by Xiao Chu who led the troops westward.

By noon, the wine was all gone.

A few dandelions fell from the east, landing silently, and I don’t know how far they traveled in the wind.

The desolation outside Erbai City will only be temporary.

However, the damage to the ecology and human population south of Feiyan Pass will probably take more than ten to twenty years to repair.

With this thought in mind, Hong Fan asked Gu Yixinyuan whether he wanted to move his family to Xijing, and got a negative answer - both he and his elderly parents wanted to stay in Erbai City for the time being, and then move back to Maoyan little by little to the southwest.

The sand wings immediately broke through the air.

Gu Yixin and Wei Yuanbai escorted him for dozens of miles. During this period, the latter demonstrated the method of lifting and leaping that he had learned from Hong Fan's lectures. In principle, it was about using true energy to shape the most suitable streamlined shell at different speeds to achieve the best aerodynamics.

The sun was scorching, and the golden and green rainbows returned, leaving only one person heading north.

······
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Hong Fan returned to Xijing in a low-key manner.

At this time, he still had half of the vitality he had accumulated in the last battle with Wan Guiche under the Dragon Soul Tree, and the fourth step of the Hand Taiyang and Hand Shaoyin meridians had made 20% progress.

Compared with the progress of one battle at a time when he was practicing through the main body, this seems very slow, but compared with the daily practice of grinding an iron rod into a needle, it is already very fast.

Hong Fan first met Aunt Liu in Chaori Mansion, and then went to Zhangwu Academy to report. In front of Xu Guinian, he reported three new killing methods at once - if they were successfully classified as super-grade, he could get 10,000 taels of silver for each method.

After that, the numerous affairs that had accumulated over the past six months came one after another and buried him.

What surprised Hong Fan the most was the speed of Tiannanxing's development.

With the accumulation of a large amount of resources, Wen Zhongguan completed the supervision of the construction of two large and six small converters ahead of schedule. The total monthly steel production capacity reached 1,200 tons, of which two-thirds were supplied to Xijing and one-third was radiated to the surrounding areas. The monthly gross profit was more than 30,000 strings of cash, and the scale had caught up with the He family's Xisui Dan.

The massive influx of affordable steel into the market is gradually changing Xijing’s industrial ecology and lifestyle. Just a year ago, the local monthly steel consumption was less than 100 tons.

From the changes that occurred temporarily, Zhu Zhanran has seen a glimpse of the future that Hong Fan promised.

Upon hearing that the latter had returned, he personally hosted a banquet to welcome him, during which he forced the eldest and second sons of the Zhu family to toast and surrender.

What surprised Hong Fan again was Shen Tiexin.

In mid-May, the two of them worked together a lot. During this time, Hong Fan discovered that this sensitive and gifted girl had a good sense of finance. As her knowledge and experience gradually accumulated, she became more and more difficult to fool. She was able to keep abreast of the money flow in and out of the company, which also cut off his occasional interest in "harming the public interest for personal gain".

Apart from the business, most of Hong Fan’s social activities were entrusted to agents within the clan.

In the past two years, Hong Pan's status in Xijing has risen, and he has been too busy to handle everything. After the New Year, he invited Hong Li to bring people to Xijing to take charge. Originally, Hong Wu was the youngest and strongest, but in the past two years, he had witnessed Hong Sheng breaking through to the innate level and Hong She breaking through to the heaven-man communication level. Now he has obtained the Fenzhong Pill, and his desire to practice martial arts has been rekindled. He gave up most of his worldly affairs and intended to break through to the innate level again.

The original Jinhai Gang gathered around the group of senior executives of the Hong family who moved to Xijing, and formed a new interest group.

Although this group's strength is far inferior to any local family, it is particularly vibrant because it can communicate with the Shen family, the Zhu family, and even the Shura Sect.

On May 22, Master Lu Yun, who had been in seclusion for a long time, finally broke through and became the third innate master to emerge from Xijing Zhangwu Academy in recent years.

To celebrate this event, the Tiqi colleagues raised funds and held a banquet in Xingsheng Hall.

During the banquet, Lu Yunshi said that he would quit the Imperial Guards and follow the tradition of his ancestors to develop in the military. He would first use his connections to serve as a deputy in the Liangzhou camp. After accumulating two years of experience, he might be able to serve as the garrison commander of a city.

As for inheriting his father's title of General Guarding the Country, it was only in the past two or three years.

Wu Ruyi, Yan Yulin, Bai Jiaci, Gong Pengyun and others started to toast upon hearing this.

Master Lu Yun accepted all the drinks and got drunk. In the end, he hugged Hong Fan and cried with red eyes, saying that if Jun Chixing had not come to revive the family reputation and relieve him of his heavy burden, he would never be where he is today.

At the end of May, Hong Fan had been busy for twenty days and the chores gradually came to an end.

But just as he had some free time, Xijing released a new round of three lists.

Qu Luoyi had already been removed from the list as he was 24 years old, and a new person had topped the list.

Tang Xingqing broke through to the innate realm and ranked sixty.

But no one cares about this.

Ever since the Yellow List was released, the residents of Xijing, who had been suffering from various rumors for a long time, began looking for Hong Fan's name from the 38th place on the Tianjiao List, and indeed found him at the 18th place.

[No. 18 on the Tianjiao List, "Blazing Star" Hong Fan, born on September 11, the tenth year of Zhenghe, from Liangzhou Jinhai, the star master of the Sand World, also practices the second-grade fire martial arts "Blazing Explosion Classic", is at the innate three-in-one realm, and has created super-grade killing methods "Turboprop Sand Wing", "Cannon", "Fire God", first-grade killing methods "Desert Sand Realm", "Hot Wind Hell", "Desert Sand Armor", "Instant Step", and second-grade killing method "Sand Flowing Knife"...

He started practicing martial arts at the age of fifteen. In March of the twenty-seventh year of Zhenghe, his fate star entered his position. He was extremely gifted and intelligent...】

After the personal introduction is a brief record of Hong Fan's deeds in Shengzhou.

All of the above are consistent with the rumors such as "Chixing Hengtian Yuanci is difficult to catch up", "He is respected as a half-master by Wei Yuanbai", "He single-handedly defeated the insect tide attack", etc.

Looking at the Great Hua Jiuzhou, it is normal for some high-level innate people to surpass low-level Yuanci in a single item - for example, the peak of the innate who practices the "Tiangang Shenfeng Sutra" is likely to be faster than the Yuanci first level who practices the "Tongyun Classic".

But the speed of the innate three-in-one realm exceeds that of the top-level Yuan magnetic field, which is shocking.

As a result, the atmosphere on both sides of Xianzun Bridge exploded. The atmosphere was much more enthusiastic than when Xiao Dou Di topped the list, which made Qu Luo, who was secretly observing on the fourth floor of Qijingke, very depressed.

People's focus is not just on those super-quality killing methods.

Although the Sand Wing is fast and the Fire God is fierce, they are not very useful in the arena duel that people all over the world talk about most. The key is that Xiao Zhe, who is ranked 19th and "Zi Fu Chao Yuan", who is ranked 20th, and Li Feng, who is ranked 20th, are both innate four-in-one.

Compared with ordinary warriors, each of the geniuses on the list can fight across realms.

But in the past five years, from Kou Yong onwards, among the hundreds of people, no one has been able to defeat the geniuses by jumping levels.

For a time, Hong Fan became the top figure in Jiuzhou, and discussions surrounding him were rampant.

Some said that the Zhangwu Academy was behind the scenes to show the reputation of the Tiqi, some said that Jie Tianji favored Xingjun, and some said that Chixing's combat performance in Shengzhou was mostly due to elixirs...

No matter how hyped up the outside world is, Hong Fan just keeps a low profile at home.

But people can hide, but things cannot be hidden.

On the first day of June, Wu Hongling was promoted to the deputy general manager of the Wu Department of the Management Department, and a banquet was held to welcome new and old colleagues; Hong Fan was invited to take charge and help her to use the power of the tiger to bully others. On the second day of the month, Jiang Wenbo prepared a generous gift and went to the Liang family to mediate, and Hong Fan agreed.

On the third day of the first lunar month, Hong Fan went to Jin Ziming's private banquet.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Hong Fan met with Niu Dequan, the leader of the Bi Hai Gang, and learned that the Tie Jiang Gang, supported by the Fei Xia Sect, had changed its backers and had driven the Lian Yi Gang out of Xijing, and was looking to recreate the Fu Bo Gang...

Five days later, it was June 9th.

It rained for several days in Xijing, muddying the Yao River.

Shortly after dawn, when the birdsong was sparse, a pure black carriage, escorted by two teams of black-armored guards, passed through the city and crossed the bridge, and drove into the back door of the Xijing Governor's Mansion.

In the study, Jin Ziming, dressed in a formal suit, made tea himself.

Across the tea table, a broad-faced young man sat steadily, with an imposing manner in his every move. It was the third prince Xiao Ji.

"Master, you don't know how big a scene this Dragon Summoning Festival has been made by my dear brother, the King."

Xiao Ji held the porcelain cup with his fingertips, his eyes absorbed in the curling tea smoke, and sneered disdainfully.

"The treasury has been in his hands for ten years, and he consumes most of the revenue of the Weaponry Bureau every year. In the end, apart from the sacrifices, what else has he accomplished?"

"Your Highness, sacrifice is no small matter."

Jin Ziming raised his eyelids and reminded solemnly.

"Sacrificial offerings are of course a big deal, but this is not the way to handle big things."

Xiao Ji drank the tea and laughed wildly.

"Master, my brother spent so much money and gold to hunt for countless rare treasures from all over the world, but how much of it did the old man Zulong enjoy? To be honest, I'm afraid that as the whole court is saying, all of it went into his extravagant and grand Prince's Eastern Palace!"

The voice went out of the window and diluted in the rain.

Jin Ziming remained silent after hearing this. He sat quietly for a while before sighing and adding, "That is why Your Highness must strive to make progress."

"It's natural."

Xiao Ji nodded heavily, with confidence.

"After all, we have the same mother. If he was wise and brave, I would have been a peaceful and idle king. Why would it come to this?"

The rain outside the window has not stopped, making the room especially quiet.

Jin Ziming changed the subject.

"How is the Mountain King doing?"

Of course, what he was concerned about was not the physical condition of a martial saint.

"My great-great-grandfather has been drinking a lot lately and is quite obsessed with magic tricks with props."

Xiao Ji answered fluently.

"I presented a magic troupe to us in early May, and I have never slacked off in the daily etiquette of kneeling and paying respects."

He knew exactly what the teacher wanted to ask.

Several years ago, when Xiao Ji, who had not yet been crowned king, first expressed his ambition to his teacher, the first of the four strategies the latter taught him was to gain the support of King Zhenshan.

"Where's the headmaster?"

Jin Ziming asked again.

"He became a saint through martial arts, so he is still as vigorous as ever."

When talking about Guan Qimai, Xiao Ji's expression became gloomy.

"Last year, he cooperated with my father and spent most of his energy on fighting the two saints of Hejian and Langya. This year, as the aftermath of the three counties of Huaiyang gradually subsided, he turned back to tinkering with the public martial arts schools run by the Zhangwu Academy in the three eastern states, causing my father-in-law a lot of headaches."

The father-in-law he mentioned is the current head of the Pan family, the most aristocratic family in Juzhou. His power is far beyond that of the beautiful girl married by the second prince.

“That’s not a bad thing.”

Jin Ziming said.

"The headmaster possesses the great power of a martial saint, and he strives to do his best and go far in everything he does. This is certainly his strength, but it is also his weakness - to complete a task is ten times more difficult than just completing it.
The seeds sown by the public martial arts school of the Zhangwu Academy will not bear fruit for 20 to 30 years, but before that, it will naturally push the prominent families of the three states to our side..."

The two of them talked about all the major events in Kyushu and finally returned to Liangzhou.

"Since I came to power, I have done the following: first, I have eliminated the Liu family; second, I have recovered the lost money; third, I have rectified the road administration; now that the situation in Liangzhou is stable and commercial taxes are increasing, I should first control Yaohe and then control the local areas."

Jin Ziming looked at the drizzle and counted his political achievements.

"But Liangzhou is different from Guzhou. There is no natural role model like your Highness's wife's family. I have met with key figures from all sides of the state many times. Each of them is very cautious and unwilling to make a bet casually."

Speaking of difficulties, Jin Ziming's already thin face looked even more severe.

Xiao Ji was not surprised.

Fighting for the throne is so risky. How could these wealthy families from free and easy places be tied to the chariot so easily?

"Besides the big families, the Weaponry Bureau and the Ministry of Martial Arts are either neutral or in opposition, so it is even harder to know where to start. After much thought, I felt that I had to find a breakthrough first, so I mentioned that person in the letter to Your Highness."

Jin Ziming suddenly stopped talking.

"Master, you are talking about Blazing Star Hong Fan."

Xiao Ji replied.

"Exactly."

Jin Ziming nodded heavily.

"Although Hong Fan is of humble origin, his talent is unprecedented in my life, and he has extensive connections in Xijing. Not only is he on good terms with the Shen and Zhu families, he is also very close to Qu Luoyi of the Shura Sect. The matter I mentioned earlier about rebuilding the Fubo Gang cannot be done without him."

"This person is famous. Even though he is far away in the capital, I have heard a lot about him."

Xiao Ji frowned slightly.

"But I don't understand, is there such a talented person in the world who is loved by everyone and whom all the great masters of heaven and man and Yuanci masters will never forget at first sight?"

"Your Highness, Hong Fan's likability lies not in his martial arts and demeanor."

Jin Ziming explained.

"My previous letter was brief, and I was unable to fully describe it: Hong Fan is a well-known god of wealth in the Liangzhou Weaponry Bureau and the aristocratic circles. He has only been in Xijing for three years, and the total amount of silver traded by his several business companies has reached several million taels a year."

Xiao Ji suddenly realized.

There are countless conflicts between people, but few people have a problem with money; in fact, even if he himself is a prince, he is often troubled by lack of funds.

"Such a skill is indeed rare, but he is still just an adult, so how can the master control him?"

Xiao Ji knew his teacher's methods.

"not that simple."

Jin Ziming shook his head.

"Although this boy is young, he is very experienced and precise in dealing with people, as if he has really awakened his wisdom as the rumors say. Before Your Highness came, I also did some preparations - the Hong family wanted an official permit for shipping and cargo transportation on the Yao River, and they asked the Governor's Office through the Shen family, and I provided convenience; a few days ago, I hosted a banquet for Hong Fan, and he also returned a generous gift."

He meant something.

"Master, don't worry."

Xiao Ji smiled, very confident.

"I came here this time with an offer he cannot refuse."

(End of this chapter)