The Heavens: Falling Ink From Douluo

Chapter 1669: Changes over the Years
I left home when I was young and returned when I was old, my accent has not changed, but my hair has turned gray.

Children meet but do not recognize each other, laughing and asking, "Where do you come from, guest?"

Previously, Lin Chaoci had only memorized the poem and understood its meaning.

But to put it simply, I didn't quite get a real feel for it.

After all, even before he transmigrated, although he had studied in other cities, he would still go home for holidays, most commonly during winter and summer vacations. Even after entering university, he would still go home when necessary. It wasn't like he would spend both holidays working part-time. In addition, he had some hobbies and wrote a few online novels. Although he didn't earn much money, it was still much more comfortable than those who had to wear mascot costumes to work part-time in the summer. Moreover, the advantage of writing online novels is that it is relatively free. As long as you have a computer or even a mobile phone, connect to the internet or turn on mobile data, you can write anytime, anywhere. You can write in your dormitory or after going home for a holiday. Therefore, you don't need to worry about whether you can go home for a holiday.

After traveling through time, it's obvious that there's no going back.

It's at least not for now that we can't go back.

To say that you have any insights into this poem is pure nonsense.

Unless he can go back.

Perhaps this will allow us to understand the poem more deeply.

Although he wasn't without a place to live after transmigrating, it's common knowledge that a house and a home are two different things. Even if he remarried, after all, he had been involved with quite a few girls along the way, but this did not affect his attachment to his homeland, or rather, his nostalgia for the memories of the past.

To put it bluntly, if he really goes back...

Returning to the old home before the time travel.

What I saw was not the scene I remembered.

Instead, it is a high-rise building that has been transformed.

He will inevitably feel disappointed.

If he had still retained his strength at that time, he might have even resorted to force to demand that this area be restored to its original state, or rather, restored to the state he remembered.

Ultimately, this is human nature.

They all want to gain and dislike losing.

However, theoretically speaking, there's nothing that can be done about losing something.

The rule of this world is survival of the fittest.

It's not about everyone being able to do whatever they want.

Therefore, all losses can be attributed to insufficient strength.

Just like the use of force to exert pressure.

It doesn't seem like it will work.

Just one person.

How could it be possible to affect the lives of everyone in this region without paying any price, or even to get the cooperation of all local forces, or even the forces of a country, or even the entire planet, to assist in the restoration work at any cost?
But in reality, it's entirely possible!
Let's assume he has planet-destroying combat power.

The kind that can shatter a planet with a single punch.

Even if he says, "I am the ancestor of all mankind," all mankind will have to admit it, because no one wants to die, at least most people do not want to die. Even if a few people disagree, they will be suppressed and coerced into obedience by the majority. After all, if you want to die, you can find a place anywhere. We can put aside our desire to help others and respect your choice, but you cannot make all of us perish because of disobedience.

Therefore, having power is important.

As for what to do if you have no power...

It is clearly obedience.

Or rather, accept this change.

Therefore, although he acquired many houses after transmigrating, those houses only contained a part of his memories, which was a different concept from the home that represented the source. As for the Xiao family or Wutan City, although it was not his hometown, it must be said that the sense of immersion that comes with reincarnation is indeed incomparable to that of simple transmigration. Although he would not feel much sadness, it is reasonable to feel a little sentimental.

Looking at the pedestrians and carriages at the gate of Wutan City.

Lin Chaoci, dressed in a black robe, had his hands in his pockets.

Beside her was Xiaodie, who was also dressed in a black robe.

I watched all of this silently as well.

Actually, describing their attire as "black robes" isn't entirely accurate. Underneath, they wore martial arts protective gear, complete with arm and leg guards, and even waist belts, all in a standard military uniform style. The so-called "black robes" were more like black cloaks. While such attire might seem odd in modern times, it's not surprising in this world teeming with superhumans, and in a context of diverse races and aesthetics. In fact, it's quite normal.

To put it bluntly, there are quite a few people who dress like this.

After seeing it so many times, you get used to it.

The attire of Lin Chaoci and Xiaodie is extremely common in border areas and forests, especially around the Tagor Desert. It is a favorite configuration for many mercenaries, facilitating movement and combat.

A black cloak is advantageous for movement at night.

Moreover, it can effectively prevent dust from entering.

Many specially made cloaks, made from the fur of magical beasts, can even be used as soft armor, providing strong resistance to scratching attacks and even some immunity to water and fire. In addition, when encountering a difficult opponent, the cloak can be removed to block the opponent's vision and create an opportunity for oneself. Although this move is not very useful against cultivators with higher cultivation levels, it can still make the enemy scramble for a second against cultivators below the Dou Wang level.

In battle, a single second is enough to determine victory or defeat.

In addition, cloaks can also serve to conceal one's figure.

For example, adding shoulder armor inside the cloak.

This can make a woman's back view look like a man's back view.

Just put the mask back on.

Change your voice.

It can basically be mistaken for the real thing.

In addition, it can also be used to conceal some weapons.

Although weapons are not very readily available among high-level cultivators, many cultivators below the Dou Ling realm use weapons. However, once a cultivator reaches the Dou Ling realm and can transform their Dou Qi into weapons, their weapons are all formed from Dou Qi and can be changed at will. Unless they are weapons inlaid with high-level magic cores, they are not enough to tempt cultivators. In addition, many pills also require magic cores as raw materials, which further weakens the widespread availability of weapons.

Therefore, the function of concealing weapons is not very important. Moreover, some uniquely shaped weapons cannot be concealed. To put it bluntly, it is easy to hide a dagger or short sword, and it is more feasible to hide a hand crossbow. However, if it is a longsword or long blade, including Lin Dong's battle halberd and Xiao Yan's giant ruler, such things cannot be hidden at all. At most, they can be stored in a personal storage device and taken out for use when needed.

The problem is that not many people have this configuration.

Storage devices, such as storage rings.

It's not something that's common or ubiquitous.

Even the cheapest storage ring.

The kind with an interior space of one cubic meter.

Its price is enough to exchange for a third-grade pill, or even a rare second-grade one. It's not something that can be bought with just a few or a few dozen gold coins; it would cost at least a hundred gold coins. Based on the purchasing power of the Doupo world, this is equivalent to millions. One gold coin is roughly equal to ten thousand yuan, one silver coin is roughly equal to one hundred yuan, and one copper coin is about one yuan. The conversion rate is basically one hundred. A small storage ring costs millions, which is indeed not something that ordinary cultivators can afford.

Let’s put it another way.

Cultivators who can afford storage rings do not need to conceal their physical form.

They are all the kind of people who manage to make it big.

Referencing the Yunlan Sect.

Let alone the outer disciples.

Even inner disciples were not provided with them.

Storage rings were only issued to elders and stewards, meaning that every elder and steward in the Yunlan Sect had one. However, the Yunlan Sect had fewer than ten elders and fewer than a thousand stewards, which shows how valuable storage rings were.

For most mercenaries.

The cloak is still quite useful.

Moreover, the biggest advantage of the cloak lies in its price.

A set can be bought for just a few silver coins.

It can also be modified later. For example, patterns can be drawn on it to prove one's identity, including which mercenary group one belongs to, so that one can quickly distinguish between friend and foe when going out on missions.

However, Lin Chaoci and Xiaodie don't need any of these functions. The only functions they can use, or rather, the functions they value, are the significant improvement in the cloak's dustproof effect. In addition, both cloaks were modified by Lin Chaoci, and they also have good defensive capabilities.

Now, Lin Chaoci and Xiaodie have grown up.

Lin Chaoci was fifteen years old.

From a distance, he looks to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

Xiao Die is twenty-two years old.

She was in the prime of her life.

They do look quite young.

It's mainly because Xiaodie has a baby face, so she always looks quite young.

She is clearly twenty-two years old.

She looks more like an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl.

In addition, her height is average.

Standing next to Lin Chaoci, who was developing faster, she actually complemented him better. Lin Chaoci was half a head ahead of her. Such boys and girls are not uncommon anywhere, so naturally they would not attract attention.

As for cultivation level, needless to say.

If the people at the city gate could discern the true cultivation levels of a Dou Wang and a Dou Huang, it could only mean that either these people at the city gate were extraordinary, all being Dou Wangs or higher, or that Lin Chao Ci and Xiao Die deliberately released their auras for these people to perceive.

Moreover, even if it is the latter.

They also have extremely high expectations of those around them.

To put it bluntly, the aura released by a Dou Huang is obviously stronger than that of a Dou Wang.

But whether it's a Battle Emperor or a Battle King.

The pressure released felt like the sky was falling and the earth was cracking to ordinary people.

They simply couldn't perceive the deeper differences.

In addition, Lin Chaoci and Xiaodie were basically nobodys to begin with.

That's how it was back in the Xiao family.

Besides regular meals.

I hardly ever go out for the rest of the time.

Not many people in the Xiao family knew them.

Not to mention those outside the Xiao family who know them.

As little as can be.

He is completely different from Xiao Yan, who was famous everywhere in previous years.

Therefore, the idea of ​​being seen through exists only in the realm of hypothesis.

"I left home when I was six years old."

"Heading to Yunlan Sect."

"At the age of eight, he went to Zhongzhou to gain experience."

"He returned at the age of fifteen."

"Nine years have passed in the blink of an eye. It seems like only nine days have gone by instead of nine years. It's as if a day apart feels like three autumns."

After pondering for a long time, Lin Chaoci finally smiled and said this.

Leading Xiaodie, they walked into the city.

They began to observe the changes within the city.

The same goes for Xiaodie.

I was momentarily dazed.

Only then did they begin to observe the present-day city of Wutan.

Many changes happen silently.

Compared to Utan City many years ago.

The city of Utan is now significantly more prosperous.

All these changes are inextricably linked to the auction house in the center of Wutan City. In other words, it was precisely because of this auction house that the economic circulation in Wutan City improved significantly.

Was it built five years ago?

Lin Chaoci gazed thoughtfully at the magnificent auction house not far away. Xiao Die added, pointing to the emblem hanging above the auction house, "Young Master, look, that's the crest of the Mittel family. That means this auction house was built by a direct descendant of the Mittel family. But logically speaking, Utan City is located inland, with no special products, and it's not a major city or close to a transportation hub. Building an auction house here would be a pure loss-making business. Even if it's done very well, it would only make a small profit. The Mittel family shouldn't be unaware of this..."

The Mittel family's businesses indeed spanned the entire Gama Empire.

Auction houses are part of the business.

But it takes a different approach from ordinary businesses.

Because auction venues need an environment and customers to support them.

It is also a fourth-grade pill.

In a major city, or even the capital of the Gama Empire, one can easily bid tens of thousands of gold coins, but in a small city like Wutan, bidding a thousand gold coins is already quite good.

The reason is that everyone is broke.

It's not just one or two people who are broke.

Rather, it's that no one can produce tens of thousands of gold coins.

Even if an extremely valuable item is brought up for auction, it may fail to sell due to its high starting price. For any professional auctioneer, this is a veiled questioning of their competence.

Therefore, auction houses are often located in economic or political centers.

Auctioneers are scrambling to get into auction houses with this kind of environment.

Trying to prove one's worth.

They were trying to get an even higher price.

Give yourself a chance to get a promotion and a raise.

The Mittel family's decision to send a direct descendant to Utan City to build an auction house is completely contrary to common sense. If this direct descendant were truly incompetent, the Mittel family would only need to provide him with food; there would be no need for him to manage the operation. After all, it's common knowledge that it's not the rich second-generation's indulgence in eating, drinking, and having fun that's worrisome, but their entrepreneurial endeavors, which could potentially lead to sudden financial ruin. However, if this direct descendant is capable, even if the Mittel family wanted him to start from the bottom, there was no need to place him at such a low level, leaving him with almost no room for advancement.

"This is suppression."

"It was also coercion."

Lin Chaoci, who had read the original novel, was well aware of the inside story.

Shake his head.

I gave a simple explanation.

Then, she raised her eyes and smiled slightly: "Very well, consider it leaving a free passerby. Xiaodie, come with me to see the owner of this auction house..."

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(End of this chapter)