Master Changsheng

Chapter 148, Section 145: Improving the Foundation

The inner city of the House of Goodness.

To the west, near the only passage from the outer city to the inner city.

Here stands a five-story miniature castle with a courtyard of a thousand square meters, similar to the large villa in Western Europe that Ankai lived in his previous life. Coincidentally, the blueprints were also drawn by Ankai.

This is one of the few houses that did not collapse after the earthquake.

Ankai felt right at home here.

With a light leap, he jumped over the three-meter-high wall and entered the courtyard.

"What level is it? It's the same as what I use?"

In the courtyard, there were several plants from the royal families of the seven kingdoms, which Ankai happened to have as well.

His castle is planted with nearly a hundred square meters of rare plants obtained from the royal families of seven kingdoms.

Inside the inner city, Ankai had just experienced a cataclysmic upheaval, but nothing much had changed at Hanks's home.

Not only did we not feel any disturbance, but even the grass and trees did not shake violently.

All of this is thanks to Widow Wang.

In a pavilion in the courtyard, Widow Wang stood behind Hanks, who was fast asleep.

She gently patted Hanks' shoulder; a fine layer of sweat had just been wiped from her forehead.

Seeing that An Kai hadn't used the main entrance but climbed over her wall, she didn't give him a friendly look and glared at him fiercely...

"Hanks, how have you been lately?"

Ignoring everything else, Ankai flashed to Hanks' side...

A faint breathing sound, accompanied by the pungent smell of decaying wood, wafted towards us.

This made An Kai frown.

Widow Wang, who was massaging Hanks' shoulders, patted Hanks' shoulder gently.

Hanks, who was drowsy with his eyes downcast, only then noticed the person who had come to his side.

He raised his head, staring into his deep, murky eyes, and after about three seconds, Hanks finally broke into a smile…

"Ah... Ankai... cough cough... the master is here!"

"We...haven't seen each other for...cough cough...a long time, haven't we?"

Hanks's habit of coughing twice in one sentence made Ankai's brows furrow.

I patted Hanks on the shoulder, intending to say, "Slow down, or you'll run out of breath and die."

But seeing Hanks' half-dead, aging state, Ankai changed his words.

"Cough less, your body can't take it."

The reason An Kai changed his words was because he was worried that his words might come true and that he would be extorted to death by Widow Wang.

Hanks waved vigorously, trying to give a "I'm fine" smile.

Seeing Hanks's state, Ankai skipped the pleasantries and jokes, getting straight to the point: "Where do you get mid-grade magic stones?"

Upon hearing the question, the elderly Hanks showed a hint of wariness.

He wondered to himself, could it be that the magic stone mine he left for Widow Wang has been discovered?

Behind him, Widow Wang gently patted Hanks on the shoulder. Before Hanks could speak, Widow Wang took over Ankai's question:

"The magic stone vein contains some mid-grade magic stones."

An Kai nodded; this answer was exactly what he expected.

He didn't ask where the magic stone veins were.

Having dealt with Hanks his entire life, he knew that the old man Hanks would never reveal the location of the Philosopher's Stone mine, even if he were to take him to his grave.

Ankai had already made that decision three years ago.

Hanks possesses a Philosopher's Stone mine.

Currently, it seems highly likely that Hanks's decision to stop providing low-grade magic stones is due to a shortage of them…

If it weren't for the presence of a kind family, Ankai might have argued with Hanks about the Philosopher's Stone mine.

Having determined the answer he wanted, An Kai didn't hesitate and turned to leave.

I had only taken a few steps when I heard Hanks' aged voice:

"After I'm gone, I hope you'll remember your promise."

An Kai didn't even turn his head, waved his hand, and with a flash, leaped over the wall and disappeared...

Seeing this, Hanks finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Trembling, he held onto the armrest of the chair and slowly sat down.

Looking at the hot weather, Hanks muttered, "It's so warm..."

I drifted off to sleep, bathed in sunlight.

Widow Wang didn't move until Hanks fell asleep, then she came to his side, pulled up a chair, and rested her head against his…

Gazing at the sunlight, we fell asleep together...

People say the people of the desert are cold-blooded and evil…

Little did they know, even in the desert there were "outliers" like Hanks and Widow Wang...

...

Leave Hanks' house.

Ankai walked along the street toward the outer city.

Ankai felt incredibly annoyed after only a short time at Hanks's house.

I always feel a tightness in my chest that I can't expel.

Looking back at Ankai’s experiences over the years, Hanks played a very important role.

In his humble beginnings, in an unknown town, it was Hanks who taught him how to survive in the desert.

It was also Hanks who exchanged for the first low-grade magic stone with him, enabling Ankai to embark on the path of magical advancement.

Later, it was also Hanks who provided a lot of information, which enabled Ankai's resources to grow exponentially.

Seeing an old friend now in his twilight years, it would be a lie to say I'm unmoved.

Knowing he was immortal and had an unlimited lifespan, An Kai never paid much attention to the issue of lifespan.

It was Hanks's aging state that suddenly pulled him back to reality...

Others cannot have an infinite lifespan like him; they cannot enjoy an infinite lifespan with Ankai; and they cannot exist indefinitely throughout Ankai's growth.

"How annoying."

An Kai muttered to himself, he hated this feeling.

To avoid feeling upset when Hanks leaves, Ankai decides to continue adhering to his principles.

--indifferent.

If he remains indifferent enough, even if the world ends, he will not feel troubled or saddened...

Walking along the wide and smooth streets built by the orcs, Ankai firmly nailed his beliefs to the deepest part of his heart.

When Hanks passes away, Ankai's belief will truly "achieve its full potential"...

Three years.

The good family has changed a lot.

The outer city underwent three expansions in the past three years.

This has made the outer city of Good House a place that can now accommodate 20 people.

The desert orcs played a major role in this.

Everyone knows that the desert orcs are not very intelligent and are savage.

Little did people know, they were also experts at building houses and repairing roads.

Within the outer city, many buildings were constructed from the flesh and blood of orcs.

The flesh and blood are real flesh and blood.

When the outer city buildings were initially planned, due to the desert environment, there were always some flaws after they were built.

This flaw is something even Wayne, a professional scholar, cannot fix.

Finally, unable to find a solution, the group turned to Ankai.

How could An Kai, a mage, possibly know anything about building houses and repairing roads?

However, since his underlings have asked, he has no choice but to give a detailed answer.

Ankai felt it wasn't right.

After much thought, he recalled a secret from the time of its construction in his previous life…

Then, the mysterious figure revealed to Wayne the solution to the flaw:

—Drilling live stakes!

"Drilling live stakes?!"

"What is it?"

Wayne was naturally taken aback. As a professional scholar, he had a good understanding of everything from the noble knowledge of mages to the mage's basic needs like eating, drinking, and relieving himself.

Even when planning the outer city according to Ankai's wishes, he consulted many books on construction before starting construction.

The only thing Wayne had never heard of before was the "sharpening of the living stake" that Ankai mentioned.

After Ankai's explanation, Wayne understood what "driving a live stake" meant...

And you know what? This construction method really suits the character of desert people.

Then Wayne paved the way with animal flesh and blood and began to rebuild.

Surprisingly, after adding orc flesh and blood, the flaws actually disappeared...

The reason for this is that the energy contained within the orcs merged with the building, ultimately eliminating any inherent flaws in the structure…

Knowing this, the daily death toll of the orcs became a terrifying number.

Every meter along Good House Street, there is an orc sleeping eternally beneath it.

Each house requires two orcs to build.

The path between the House of Goodness and the Undead Cage was also forged with the "blood and sweat" of the orcs.

Three years.

The orcs made enormous sacrifices in planning and building the home of goodness…

The sacrifice was real...

Fortunately, the 28th Prince of the Orcs was there. Over the course of three years, at Ankai's suggestion, he kept coaxing the Orc royal family to send more troops.

Initially, the Orc King was reluctant to get too involved, but he couldn't withstand the harassment from the Twenty-Eighth Orc Prince…

Time and again, they reinforced their orc troops.

The results of it.

The orc army arrived in the desert full of hope, only to be met with a long whip and then branded with Ankai's mark on their foreheads.

Including himself and his three generations after him, who were reduced to slavery by Ankai…

Even so, first-tier orcs are rare in the House of Goodness.

There are even fewer than fourth-tier orcs.

There's no other way; first-tier orcs are weak but eat a lot, making them perfect for training as practice targets...

Unfortunately, for the past six months, no matter how much the 28th Orc Prince, Gulaier, complained or exaggerated the facts, the Orc King remained unmoved.

They absolutely refuse to send orc armies into the desert...

Of course, within three years.

Orcs reproduce naturally, and their numbers are also limited.

After all, orcs are the species in the world that reproduces the most children at one time.

There are as many as a dozen or so, and as few as five or six.

Unfortunately, it takes 18 years for these newly born orcs to join the workforce.

Ankai has also been researching this recently.

He wanted Wayne to research ways to reduce the growth time of orcs.

For example, they could be deprived of 18 years of their lifespan after birth, and then immediately put into the "great cause of building a good house" the next day.

The lifespan that has been taken away can be used to create things that increase lifespan.

In this way, two birds with one stone can be killed: the lifespan of the orcs can be exchanged for resources, and the growth time of the orcs can be greatly reduced.

When Wayne heard Ankai's plan, he was amazed. Wayne, who never asked many questions, even unusually asked, "Was this Polpi's idea?"

Despite asking many questions, Wayne kept Ankai's plan in mind.

Once the current spell research is completed, the feasibility of this plan will be studied.

This plan, it seems...

But when Wayne calmed down and thought about it carefully, he realized there were many other things to consider.

If it can truly be successfully developed, it will be a project worthy of celebration for the entire human race…

"My lord, do you have any orders?"

As An Kai wandered aimlessly through the streets, a soft question came from beside him.

It was none other than the fifth-tier [Assassin], Malken.

He was selecting suitable assassins in the outer city when he suddenly saw Ankai.

At that time, Malken gave up the selection and chose to come to Ankai's side as a subordinate who would follow orders.

Since Ankai surpassed Malken in strength, Malken has not worked alone with Ankai for quite some time.

Milton took over the position that was originally his "Number One Henchman Under Ankai".

Upon seeing Ankai alone again, how could Malken, formerly "Ankai's top henchman," let the opportunity slip by?

He rushed to An Kai's side.

An Kai glanced at it slightly to the side…

To be honest, Malken's current strength at the fifth rank, third level is somewhat lacking.

He hadn't assigned any tasks to Malken for a long time.

Nothing more than the result of three years of development; the Good Family now has 27 Tier 5 professionals and 1331 Tier 4 professionals.

During those three years, nine people advanced to the fifth rank due to their training around Ankai!

Two other fifth-tier, seventh-level professionals, from the seven kingdoms, "voluntarily" signed a [contract] with Ankai…

Compared to three years ago, when there were only 16 fifth-tier professionals and 631 fourth-tier professionals, the number has now nearly doubled.

In addition to these, Ankai also possesses a private army of orcs.

One spirit-enchanted beastman, 16 fifth-tier beastmen, and 256 fourth-tier beastmen.

These orcs also have to thank the twenty-eighth prince of the orcs, Gurel, for his tireless efforts and constant requests to the orc king for reinforcements.

This gave Ankai the opportunity to demonstrate his [Beast Taming] abilities...

Over the course of three years, Ankai was quite certain that the orcs were not weak. So why were they fighting so fiercely against Chaos City, which was controlled by Chris? The twenty-eighth prince of the orcs, Gulaier, really couldn't offer any useful explanation.

He only heard from his father that the orcs controlled their strength to enter this barbaric land because of "rules"...

A set of "rules" signed with the top human powers...

Nevertheless, the orcs still supplemented Ankai's strength.

Therefore, despite having improved his strength by two levels compared to three years ago, the fifth-tier, third-level [Assassin] Malken is indeed working hard to improve himself.

However, for Ankai, Malken's usefulness had already been greatly diminished.

If it weren't for Malcolm still in charge of the "House of Good Assassins' Guild," he would have been marginalized long ago...

At this moment, Malken came to his side, and he knew what Malken meant.

But there was nothing she could do. Malken was neither a stunning beauty, nor a powerful individual, nor someone like Wayne. Although her strength was meager, her role was significant.

Malken was just an ordinary Tier 5 Assassin...

How could Ankai possibly be interested?

And so, with an awkward smile on his face, Mairken stayed by Ankai's side.

An Kai remained silent, and he dared not say anything more.

After walking for a while, Wayne suddenly called out from behind, "My lord!"

In the street, many residents of the Good Family stopped to watch.

Although most of them did not recognize Wayne, the "Lord of the Spirit Pavilion" nameplate that Wayne wore on his chest was so eye-catching.

The status of Fulinglou among virtuous families needs no further explanation.

It is no exaggeration to say that the entire desert, including the seven kingdoms, needs to act according to the whims of Fuling Tower.

At this moment, the Master of Fuling Tower was right in front of him!

And this truly important figure in this virtuous family actually addresses others as "Sir"?!

In an instant, many quick-thinking residents of the Good Family immediately prostrated themselves on the ground…

No longer just standing in the street watching the show like a bystander...

When someone takes the lead, others will follow.

With a whoosh, many residents lay prostrate on the ground in the street…

Wayne paused for a moment, then ignored the residents' reactions and maintained his composure.

He trotted up to An Kai and said respectfully, "Sir, I have something important to report to you!"

Ankai nodded, glanced at the crowd of Good House residents crawling around him, and smiled: "Wayne, you've ruined my face."

"Sir, I was too hasty. I'll be more careful next time."

"It's alright, let's go." Ankai chuckled and prepared to leave with Wayne.

Behind him, Malken watched Wayne and Ankai talking with envy...

Ankai didn't look at Malken once from beginning to end.

Until Ankai's figure disappeared at the end of the street, the stunned fifth-tier [Assassin] Malken heard Ankai whisper in his ear:

"Has the Assassin's Guild been effective since its formation?"

Ankai's words struck Malken like a thunderbolt.

Yes, the Assassin's Guild was formed to find the secluded retreat place of Donglin.

The results of it?

Not only did they not search for it, they didn't even find a single bone at the Donglin Temple where people were in seclusion...

Standing on the street, Malken suddenly had a realization.

In the past, he was too "soft-hearted," thinking that it was not easy to win over members of the Assassin's Guild and was reluctant to let them take risks.

The mission was also fully prepared before it was launched.

But if someone is an Assassin and carries out a mission with a 100% success rate, are they still an Assassin?

Malken knew in his heart that this was not the case at all.

An Kai's words truly awakened the lost and confused Malken.

Malken's eyes grew increasingly cold...

The Good House Assassin Guild... needs to change!

...

The inner city, the ruins of Fuling Tower.

Ankai watched as the fourth-tier orcs around him cleared the ruins without changing his expression.

"What is it?"

Wayne didn't pursue whether Ankai was responsible for the scene in the inner city, and went straight to the point:

"My lord, our people have recently discovered signs of undead activity in the town of the dead in the Duchy of Buklin."

"The town of the dead?" Ankai muttered, gesturing for Wayne to continue.

"Based on observations and confirmation from multiple sources, their mission is to mine the magic stone vein located beneath the capital of Booklin."

"The leader was a fifth-tier undead, accompanied by two pseudo-fifth-tier undead."

Below the fifth rank, Wayne didn't say anything, because there was no need.

For the Good House and the Town of the Dead, whenever they meet, those below the fifth rank are nothing but ants; the fifth rank is the mainstream.

Over three years, under An Kai's leadership, the Good Family eliminated the 11 puppets of Donglin, who were An Kai's 11 senior brothers from the nameless town.

When fighting these 11 mindless, spirit-enchanted undead creatures, fourth-tier beings can only watch from the sidelines, while fifth-tier beings are the main force.

"A magic stone mine beneath the capital of the Duchy of Booklin?"

An Kai's eyes lit up. Dong Lin was a good person. Knowing that he was short of mid-grade magic stones, he immediately offered them to him.

"Yes, this magic stone mine was previously hidden by the Donglin magic array, and no one knew about it."

"Based on my calculations, the magic stone veins of the Seven Desert Kingdoms are most likely hidden by the Donglin Magic Array!"

"Furthermore, beneath the capital of the Kingdom of Shak, there were two magic stone veins that suddenly disappeared ten years ago!"

Wayne pondered for a moment, then continued recounting what he had learned.

Hearing this, An Kai thought that Donglin, that old geezer, actually knew how to offer help in times of need…

What's this called? It's like having a pillow when you're sleepy!

"Wayne, pass on the word: we're departing tomorrow!"

"Destination...the capital of the Principality of Buklin!"

(End of this chapter)