Tian, Di, Yu San Sha met a peaceful end.
They were the pride of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, their legend with the killing masks and robes of the first, second, and third numbering tens of thousands of years, deeply ingrained in the hearts of those in the know. Especially in the eyes of the people within their circle, they were terrifying demons, death gods to be feared.
Yet, these three paragons among the Sixth Sense were struck with utter horror beneath their masks.
Their minds could still function, their eyes could still see the scene before them, but their entire bodies were frozen as if trapped in amber. This power, this power…
Tian Sha was terrified.
He brandished the legendary anomalous weapon, pouring all his strength into it. The stagnant time seemed to loosen slightly. He seized a glimmer of hope, a light in his eyes, he…
He was dead.
In an instant, his head flew off, his frozen gaze filled with bewilderment. Di Sha and Yu Sha followed suit, meeting the same fate. However, the San Sha departed swiftly, the entire process devoid of pain, perhaps… perhaps it was peaceful?
Heads rolled.
Time, slowed down a thousandfold, finally began to flow again. Qian Qiu scratched his head, "I think I've fallen back into old habits. I shouldn't have aimed for the neck. It's all muscle memory."
He looked at the scythe in his hand, a look of annoyance on his face.
Although the Tian, Di, Yu San Sha were the true elite of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, members of the Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Master's families, unlike outsiders like them, they could never be persuaded to surrender. But he wasn't a bloodthirsty person.
At worst, he could have sold them for money!
"Indeed, it's all old habits."
He turned, looking at the trembling, pathetic crowd, and offered a gentle smile, "Hello, hello, hello. The troublemakers are gone. Now, we can begin our recruitment for the Burning Fire Merchant Guild. Everyone is welcome to voice any opinions. Speak your minds freely."
Qian Qiu stood beneath the gaping hole, bathed in brilliant sunlight. His thick eyebrows and large eyes, coupled with his smile, appeared exceptionally sincere.
If one were to ignore the three corpses lying at his feet, their blood flowing across the ground.
The invited experts all focused on their own business, neither speaking nor revealing their thoughts.
Who dared to speak now!
Moreover, what was the Burning Fire Merchant Guild, and what was this recruitment? Could the great lord explain more clearly? Many grumbled internally but dared not speak, let alone refuse. They were all waiting for a brave soul to emerge.
As expected, a brave soul appeared. He was alone, his back appearing broad and sturdy to the others. His fierce face seemed a little more pleasant.
It was Xue Tu.
This untamed, infamous top-tier powerhouse walked forward step by step. The atmosphere grew oppressive again, and everyone held their breath, staring intently.
This fearsome individual knelt on one knee!
"Tu Piaoling has spent his life regretting not meeting a wise lord. If you do not reject me, Tu is willing to pledge his life to follow you, sob sob sob..."
As this fearsome individual spoke, he even shed tears of emotion.
Although his expression was somewhat exaggerated, but…
Xue Tu could act so well? Wasn't this guy someone who would kill all witnesses if they didn't agree with him? The rumors lied to me!
Wait, I should declare my loyalty quickly too!
…
The Tian, Di, Yu San Sha had come fiercely but fell swiftly. The entire battle, influenced by the domain, barely affected the surroundings.
Not even the Starfall Bay patrol team was alerted.
After all, the location of the hidden stronghold was in the slums of Starfall Bay, a place where the riff-raff mingled, not only a dwelling for the poor but also a hiding place for awakened individuals from all walks of life. Fights occurred frequently.
Exploding a small courtyard with a bang was normal.
Unless there were heavy casualties, the Starfall Bay patrol team wouldn't even bother. They glanced over, saw no further activity, and went back to their chats.
Having just transitioned from an assassin to a merchant, Qian Qiu's professional habits were still strong. He moved to another stronghold.
He had no shortage of anything else, just plenty of these hidden strongholds. He couldn't afford so many courtyards in the normal districts of Starfall Bay, but couldn't he afford houses in the slums?
Aside from discovering his house demolished when he returned later, there were no other drawbacks.
Qian Qiu nodded with great satisfaction.
He said to Xiao Dao and the other two, "See, we have personnel! The foundation of our Burning Fire Merchant Guild branch is established. I'm truly amazing."
With personnel in place, the next steps were to raise funds, select locations for construction, and build a reputation.
The mission from that lord would soon be completed!
Hahahaha—
Qian Qiu dispatched his subordinates. Some were sent to raise capital, others to recruit people. Then, on the first day, half of these subordinates went missing. The next day, another half went missing. The third day, another half…
Qian Qiu fell silent.
"Is this the revenge of the Hidden Kill Pavilion?"
Xiao Dao, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up,
"Is there a possibility that they simply ran away?"
Qian Qiu fell silent again.
…
…
Fang You also fell silent.
"Myths are not omnipotent. Even the Mythical Ancestor of the Super Oasis needs to rely on his family and loyal subordinates to maintain the rule of a vast nation. However, he is, after all, a venerable Mythical being!"
In the Fallen Star Dungeon Great Domain, Myths were Heaven.
In the Broken Sea's various great domains, there were more Myths, but they were still undoubtedly venerable beings, qualified to influence the situation of a great domain, earning awe and worship from countless people.
"Creating a super force is not simple. The entire process cannot be smooth sailing, but to fail before even starting… that's a bit of a hmmmm…"
Fang You was speechless.
He had witnessed part of the entire process, and Xiao Huan had transcribed the rest for him.
Initially, Qian Qiu poaching from the Hidden Kill Pavilion was the right idea. The Hidden Kill Pavilion had a life-and-death imprint, almost insurmountable, and they treated these assassins like cattle. This was Opportunity One. Qian Qiu was familiar with the imprint, and being a Mythical being, he could erase the imprint with divine sense. This was Opportunity Two.
The start was already quite good.
Then, there was no "then."
The operation of a force not only requires powerful protectors but also advisors and strategists! Moreover, who would only offer pie in the sky without discussing salary? Although this pie was dazzling in Qian Qiu's eyes, it wasn't so for the other workers.
What's more, these non-human experts he had desperately sought were assassins and mercenaries by origin.
They had no integrity, prioritizing profit.
As a result, most of them ran away within three days. The remaining dozen or so would likely slip away in the coming days.
"After all, Qian Qiu entered the assassin training camp at the age of four and has only learned killing techniques since then. It's already commendable that he maintains a relatively normal worldview. His management skills are completely negative, and his thinking is also out of the ordinary."
"It's impossible for Qian Qiu alone to build a merchant guild."
"Moreover…"
The Hidden Kill Pavilion had already begun to track their movements. Qian Qiu was now facing internal strife and external threats, utterly overwhelmed.
Fang You could only instruct him to lie low for the time being and have Xiao Huan create an AI with a large amount of professional data to assist, which finally stabilized the situation somewhat.
"Oh, and send Qian Qiu some textbooks on common knowledge beneficial for physical and mental health. This guy needs remedial lessons," said Da Feng Fiction Network.
"Okay~!"
Xiao Huan immediately found hundreds of books that matched the master's requirements and sent them to Qian Qiu with a series of beeps.
She didn't think hundreds were a lot.
If she were to read them herself, it would take less than an hour to read and comprehend them all. Qian Qiu was also a Mythical being, so his reading speed shouldn't be much slower than hers.
Well, she'd gather a few thousand more suitable books and send them all at once.
Done~!
Fang You was unaware that Xiao Huan had "correctly understood" his intentions, but he was also thinking about cultural education at this time.
He believed that cultural and moral education was still of paramount importance. Even strong individuals needed a certain cultural foundation to grasp tactics and lead armies.
More importantly, a strong individual must possess moral character and mental fortitude commensurate with their strength, lest they become slaves to power.
The cultural education of Blue Star people was fine. Although martial arts were taught, liberal arts were still emphasized, with both being pursued. After entering the training camp, they would also study many mysterious cultural subjects and moral education.
The workload was substantial, and in addition to training, they had to read a lot of books.
However, as awakened beings, their memory and logical abilities also improved with the enhancement of their mental strength. Tutor Fang believed it wouldn't be a problem.
The issue lay with strong individuals not from Blue Star.
"Qian Qiu and his three companions need re-education. Xitina had a tutor when she was young, but she mostly learned aristocratic etiquette. She knew almost no math or science, and her literary cultivation was also quite poor."
"As more people like them officially step into the anomalous realm through the succession of the torch, there will be more. Therefore…"
"It's time to establish a Moral Cultivation Academy, an academy specifically for strong individuals to undergo retraining."
"Xiao Huan, add this to the memorandum and mark it as level two."
That was all.
There was no need to establish an academy yet. After all, there was only Xitina as a student right now. The exact location of Broken Sea, where Qian Qiu was, and whether there were Fallen Star Dungeons in adjacent great domains, were still uncertain.
So, he assigned Qian Qiu a mission: the merchant guild could wait. First, he needed to map out the surrounding area.
As Qian Qiu was too far away, he was instructed to continue exploring the map. Fang You's gaze fell on Oasis One, Starfire, and Oasis Two, Unnamed.
"The construction of Oasis One is on track. After sending a few more batches of residents, around eighty to ninety thousand people, it can be temporarily halted."
After all, it was still a level-two oasis with limited space. On the premise of each person having dozens of square meters, accommodating eighty to ninety thousand people would require the construction of many high-rise residential buildings.
At this time, with the assistance of construction puppets and mysterious methods, the residential areas were mostly completed.
Fang You also installed two "Gravity Fields" and a "Lotus Pond," a transplanted "Land of Inheritance," and numerous advanced training equipment dismantled from the level-five training grounds to ensure that the Succession of the Torch personnel stationed in the oasis had ample training environments.
If anything was lacking, it couldn't be training facilities!
He also condensed over twenty "Wood Bud Tower" building seeds and planted them along the outer edge of the oasis, ensuring sufficient defensive strength in case of sudden emergencies.
Furthermore, there was the construction of the oasis's great wall.
Were magnificent cities like Sword Flower City, Burning Flame Great Oasis, and Star Brilliance Fortress, all built with dozens or hundreds of meters high walls, solely for show? Of course not.
It was to resist anomalies!
The great wall couldn't stop strong individuals, nor could it stop infiltrators, but when it came to blocking anomalies, the great wall was exceptionally practical.
"If we were only dealing with isolated anomalies intruding into the oasis, there would be no need to build a great wall, as it is extremely costly. However, the reason why great oases spare no expense in building them, and even small oases like Lamp Post Town build earthen walls, is because they are useful, very useful!"
"Anomalies do not breed within the oasis, but with population growth, the oasis might encounter attacks from anomaly tides."
"This is a natural disaster."
Just like anomaly tides impacting base cities.
Such impacts were particularly common in great oases, occurring at regular intervals. Small oases had a lower chance of encountering tides, but if they did, it would be a disaster that could cripple or even destroy the oasis.
Starfire Oasis was estimated to house eighty to ninety thousand people, a considerable population. The great wall needed to start construction soon, otherwise, no matter how strong one was, it would be difficult for strong individuals to stop all the anomalies.
"Because this great wall has a relatively high specification and will incorporate ritual formations, it is estimated… estimated to take two and a half months to complete."
Xiao Huan said so.
Fang You then shifted his gaze to Oasis Two, which was also under construction. A city wall was also being built there, but its specifications were much smaller.
In his plan, Oasis Two would primarily house no ordinary people, so safety was not a significant concern.
Moreover, due to the small size of the oasis and even smaller town, the length of the city wall was greatly reduced.
Within just one month, Oasis Two was basically completed, with a construction period much shorter than that of Oasis One.
…
Hum~ hum~ hum~
Ripples appeared in space, and with some effort, Fang You emerged from it, stepping onto the land of Oasis Two.
This place was not large, and less than half of the land was utilized, yet the cost was not small. The roads were wide and straight, with grand commercial buildings on both sides. The interiors were decorated with some rituals, and the materials used were extraordinary. At night, the entire town emanated a faint halo, as if the rooftops were embedded with pearls.
Fang You swept his gaze around, quite satisfied.
Whether satisfied or not, this was the limit. After all, it had to be rushed, and advanced rituals were lacking. What he could do was find an alternative approach, such as transplanting a root of the 'Yidola Tree of Life' to bring a fragrant life to this place.
Wait!
"Since it's a commercial oasis, ultimately, it has to win with its products."
"There are advantages. There is only one large gathering market in the entire Fallen Star Dungeon, so the competitive pressure is far less than in the Broken Sea."
"Furthermore, Oasis Two is located on the outskirts of the Fallen Star Dungeon, not far from the passage to deeper layers. This… is a mixed bag of advantages and disadvantages."
After mentally reviewing all the matters and confirming there were no issues, Fang You took out a special legendary anomalous artifact—Sangchila's Rumor Phonograph.
It was an anomalous artifact drawn in the same batch as Qian Qiu's.
It possessed the ability to spread rumors… no, to spread a certain piece of information silently and over a wide range. The specific effect depended on the user.
As Tutor Fang personally operated it, the effect was naturally maximized.
He poured life energy into it and began to compile information, writing it in a somewhat scholarly, enigmatic tone. This half-hidden, half-revealed style was more favored by strong individuals.
Of course, if translated into plain language, it would be:
—The Burning Fire Mall is having a grand opening sale! Buy now and get a discount, dear customer~!
He pressed it. The message, like a winged phantom, spread rapidly.
…
…
In the city of Fallen Star, the capital.
The great Prelaze Mon, His Majesty, was handling matters that required his review as an ancestor.
"Our Fallen Star is so lacking in mid-to-high-tier materials, and even tier-one materials are scarce. What is going on?!"
"Ancestor, you may not know…"
Steller the Thirteenth stood beside him, looking as wronged as a hundred-year-old child. He explained, "Most of the resource mines around Fallen Star City have been depleted. The output of the various oases is abundant, but the types of materials produced are very singular. Now, we are severely lacking in some materials, while others are heavily stocked in warehouses and cannot be used up."
One particular white-grade material, for instance, had an output far below daily consumption.
Steller the Thirteenth explained at length, concluding,
"We have tried to trade with other Super Oases, but the distance is too great, and there is a lack of safe route maps. Currently, the only stable exchange is with the Pale Graveyard in the adjacent great domain, but those guys are very reclusive."
It wasn't that he wasn't trying.
It was the surrounding environment's fault!
After a period of seclusion, Prelaze Mon, who had some lack of understanding of worldly affairs, pondered for a moment and lightly said, "Oh."
He found himself unable to say much, so he simply stopped talking.
Was he expected to personally go to the Pale Graveyard? Such a task was too troublesome, and he was unwilling. The chances of success were likely nil.
It wasn't the Source Water he was desperately seeking.
Just as he thought this, an internal guard brought news.
"Ancestor, we have a lead on the one you asked us to search for!"