Chapter 60
A lone figure slowly emerges from within the tunnel, and many eyes suddenly caught that tall frame which suddenly appears from within the shadows. Shin Jiao frowns upon seeing all the people he had saved still standing just outside the tunnel he made as if they are waiting for him to come out.
"Why are these people waiting for me here? Can't they just go and escape by themselves?" Shin Jiao thought, but then he realized that this is still inside the Daemon forest.
The people around him are mortal, and if they cross this forest, then it's a sure way for them to die.
Shin Jiao began to observed them and noticed that the number of women in the group is around 18 and three of them are elderly the rest are either young or mothers. The children are numbering up to 6, and there are 5 old men.
Seeing the different faces with a happy expression in front of him, Shin Jiao's heart was moved. Then an idea suddenly pops out of his mind. It's like an awakening call for him, and the idea was so vivid that Shin Jiao can already clearly picture it in his mind.
"In this land, mortals are being regarded as lowly beings, didn't they realized that without these mortals, cultivators are bound to be extinct. If I'm not wrong the birth rate of cultivators is too low that 70% of cultivators come from a normal mortal family. I think the rulers of these lands have some few screws loose on their heads." Shin Jiao sneered as he realized something.
He knows that he's not the only person who grasped this, but because it's already the norms in this land this opinion is hard to realize.
"Power is the ruling law in this land. Since mortals don't have that power, then they are in the bottom rung of the ladder. I think it's time to change things, let's starts with this little group of mine. Hehe…" Shin Jiao thought then a creepy smile crept on his face.
While he is in deep thought he didn't notice that a very thin young woman is looking at him with her big glowing eyes. She covers her head with a hood and the dirty ragged cloth which is barely covering her body is stained with some blood. She is scrutinizing Shin Jiao's appearance and every now and then a smile would appear on her dried thin lips.
After a while, Shin Jiao already finished a plan in his mind on how to help these people and start his very own idea. So he looks at them and as if contented with what he sees, he smiled.
"Listen, everyone! If any of you has a family in the town of Dis or someone to return to, please raise your hands…" Shin Jiao suddenly asked.
Although a little confused the people in front of him just looked at each other with no one raising their hands. This means that these people have nowhere to go to. If they arrived in town they will only be working as lowly mortal servants to some cultivator families.
"Alright since none of you have anywhere to go, I will offer you work. Now, this is unlike your previous jobs as a servant. Each person who works for me will be paid with a monthly wage of 2 silver stones, with 2 days rest per week, and free meal as of now. Now, these are my conditions. So... who is willing?" Shin Jiao offered, though he is sure that 2 silver stones are enough because according to Susu Ling, a silver stone is already sufficient for a mortal family to live comfortably for a month.
Everyone was dumbfounded, as no one was able to say anything for a long time. Then all of a sudden an old man fell on the ground and started to kowtow.
"Senior, this lowly one is willing to be your servant!" the old man said.
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
The rest of them suddenly fell on the ground and bowed.
"If you continue on kowtowing towards me, I will not accept you." Shin Jiao suddenly said with an annoyed voice as he felt a little awkward when these people started to praise him.
Upon hearing this everyone stopped and immediately stood up. In their faces, confusion and nervousness are clearly visible. As this is the first time they have experienced someone as powerful as Shin Jiao to treat them very well.
"All right enough of that. We will travel back to town, but we will not enter it. I have a plan, and because you decided to follow me, I promise that I won't treat you badly." Shin Jiao said as he walks towards a large tree.
While everyone is still confused, Shin Jiao chopped the tree using a black sword which suddenly appears out of nowhere, and then he started to manipulate the natural energies in his hands. Shin Jiao started to craft 2 carriages without wheels; this made the people looking at the wooden carriage confused.
"Mama, why are those carriages have no wheels? How can they run?" A small girl asked her mother in confusion as she tugs on her mother's ragged clothes.
"Shhh… Don't say that little Chin-chin, everything has a purpose. Senior has his own ways, you'll see." Her mother answered with an intelligent look in her eyes.
Upon hearing this Shin Jiao had a favorable impression of the mother in his mind. In this situation, most mothers would immediately scold their kids. Shin Jiao can't help but remember his own grandfather who raised him as a child. His grandfather is a very wise old man, who always has those wise words for him when he is in trouble. Because of this Shin Jiao scanned the mother with his spiritual sense and was dumbfounded.
"How can she be a mother? Although she dressed like one, yet her skin and body structure is that of a 20-year-old woman. And the little girl named Chin-chin is already a 7-year-old child. Don't tell me she got pregnant when she's still 12?" Shin Jiao asked himself as his curiosity was peaked.
It didn't take too long, after just an hour, Shin Jiao finished crafting the carriages, and then he links them together. Under these carriages are five disk-shaped hover pads, which Shin Jiao also crafted and installed under the carriages. This way their traveling time would be shortened.
"Alright, now everyone! Get inside the carriages! The sooner we leave the better." Shin Jiao gestured to the group.
They traverse the forest for 3 days at a fast speed, where Shin Jiao would occasionally kill some beast which would pose a threat to their group. Then, not long later on the third day they safely arrived in the borders of the town of Dis.
"So, this is the town of Dis, it looks closer to a fortress than a town." Shin Jiao said while standing on top of the tallest tree while looking at the far distance tall walls of the town.
"We will build our base in this place." Shin Jiao said after he jumped back down and standing at front of a mountainside, this location where they stopped is around 30 kilometers away from the nearest town.
The people inside the carriages are looking at the forest area and the mountainside. But they feel fear as the sounds of beast howling can be heard everywhere.
Shin Jiao didn't mind their reaction as he immediately gets to work. He knows that he will be doing a lot of hard labor while laying down the foundation of his own base. Shin Jiao started digging down a 30x20 feet hole, and while he digs he converts the stones making the wall solid and tough. Then he began to make a 1,000 square feet base underground, dividing it by rooms with different purposes. The function of the rooms ranges from simple housing to laboratories, clinics, training rooms, and crafting room. Shin Jiao didn't notice that it already took him the whole day just to finish the basic layout of the whole underground base.
When he flew up he immediately noticed that everything is already dark. He didn't notice this as down below he already put up the light bulbs he had created and a functioning small power core.
The people inside the carriage right now are all shivering in fear. Although Shin Jiao told them that there is a concealment array in the carriages, but without him, they don't feel secure. When Shin Jiao appears everyone heaves a sigh of relief.
"All right everyone, we will now be entering the base. From now on this will be your home." Shin Jiao said as he escorted the two carriages inside the base.
When the people saw the structure underground and the lighting, they were all amazed. They didn't expect that in just one day their master is able to build this huge mansion. Although it's just the basic structure, still everyone is already happy as they know in this place they will be safe and free.
From then on Shin Jiao spend almost two months doing a lot of things. The first thing he did was to finish the structure of his base and constructed 2 working lifts which would take people from top to the bottom and vice versa. They also started to create farmland above the base, where Shin Jiao surrounded it by concealment and defensive arrays and runes.
Shin Jiao divided everyone according to their skills, but most of the old people prefer to take care of and teach the children. Shin Jiao divided the rest of the women to different tasks and duties. But 5 of them with great aptitude he chooses to train to be fighters.
In his plan, he would create a small scale factory, where they would start to make different things. And thanks to his good old laptop which is loaded with DIY videos he downloaded while on earth. He is able to get a good idea on how to craft many different things like air vents, complex hot and cold water system and filtering, air conditioner, detergent, soap, shampoo, perfume, toothpaste, and a lot more.
After some time, Shin Jiao is able to witness the fruit of his labor as he can see everyone busy doing their jobs. Everyone is really happy as they feel their lives became better.
Whenever they see Shin Jiao, instead of fear their eyes are beaming with respect and adoration. Even young women would blush whenever they made eye contact with him. Shin Jiao is already a very handsome young man plus his knowledge and skills which makes him every woman's dream guy.
Out of all these young women, Shin Jiao noticed one of them. She is a very beautiful young lady but a little bit annoying for him as she would always follow him behind. She even volunteered to be a fighter at that time and would always act like his bodyguard/secretary... not that he needed one.
Her name is Qian Li. Shin Jiao is actually doubtful of her identity as at first, she would always act like a pampered young woman. But then, later on, as time went by she was able to adjust herself to the situation and the group, and now she became somewhat their leader or the second in command in the base. Whenever Shin Jiao would go out and hunt some beast, she would automatically take care of everything. Shin Jiao at onetime just silently observe the situation and realized how effective she works with everyone, and so from then on, he started to approve her actions and decisions.
As time flew by, the base is now self-sufficient and is able to protect itself.
Shin Jiao decided to call the 5 fighters he had trained for a while now and gathered them in the large crafting room.
"I gathered you all here today to test out a new creation of mine." Shin Jiao said.
Then from the side, they noticed that on the table lay a strange metal structure, some black boots, and some goggles which they would always see on Shin Jiao's head.
"Master, what are these?" Qian Li asked with her curios eyes examining the metallic thing on the table.
"This is my gift for you… I know that as a mortal, cultivators are stronger than you. But as a mortal, you should not be confined with the idea that you are lower than them. Your lifespan may be shorter, but you should live your life freely and without regrets, right? Your training will be of great help to you and the community we have created. I am giving you my trust that you will do all you can to protect the people we have in this base." Shin Jiao said trying to inspire the five women in front of him.
"Someday this family of ours will grow, and the five of you are the ones I have trust the most to execute my plans and help the growth and protection of our community." Shin Jiao added then he turns around and approaches the table.
"Now let me explain these things, first is the exoskeleton. Now, this is made from a very flexible and sturdy material which you can wear on your body. Its strength and durability are comparable to a cultivator in the core-forming realm." Shin Jiao said as he lifted the exoskeleton and showed it to them.
Everyone was dumbstruck after hearing his explanation. What is core-forming realm cultivator for them? According to common knowledge, the core-forming realm is the strength needed or the qualification for being a soldier of the empire. So, how could a mere mortal imagine themselves wielding that kind of strength? Especially weak women like themselves who are always being looked down upon and abused.
When Qian Li heard this, her hand immediately shook, no one knows what's going on in her mind as tears suddenly escaped her eyes and slid down her red rosy cheeks.
Not only her but the rest of the girls in that room was also in tears. Deep within their hearts, they are saying that they really found a great master who is willing to not only teach them how to fight and become strong but also to wield the strength rivaling that of a strong cultivator.
Because of this, all the five girls suddenly jumped and throw themselves at Shin Jiao and cried with happy tears. Shin Jiao felt helpless at this scene, as no matter how hard he had trained them, their experience is still lacking and the fact is that deep inside they are still young women.
"Alright... Alright, all of you that's enough, we will now begin the test of these things so I can make some adjustments." Shin Jiao said as he removes himself in the midst of them.
Seeing the excited look on their faces Shin Jiao became happy within his heart because right now he can already see his vision for this world starting to slowly come to fruition. He can't wait to see the advancement of technology along with cultivation in this world, which would make this land an ideal place to live in, for both mortals and cultivators.
Thank you so far for reading the first journey of Shin Jiao in his new world. This is the end of book 1. I hope that you continue to support this novel of mine.
See you in book 2!
Chapter 61
The light of dawn carefully brushed through the endless green forest signaling the start of a new day for every creature that lived within. As the sun rose up to the sky, it gives warmth to every living being in this land.
In a tiny part of this huge and endless forest, there exists farmland the size of around 9 sq. hectares. The field is full of life with varied crops growing healthily around it. The thing that made this farm unique from the rest is that the people working in this field are people with a unique contraption on their back, or riding an unknown metal like behemoth which can carefully traverse the land.
Around this place is also a clear indication that it is protected by some array formation which seems to hide the presence of the place. There is also a defensive array formation behind it which makes it hard for any beast to intrude the area.
From the outside, one can only see a small barren hill, with bleak chaotic Qi. And from above one can see trees covering this hill, making it almost invisible to its surroundings.
"Elder Kou, is the master back yet?" a young woman sudden ask an old man who is writing something inside a house in the middle of the field.
"No, not yet. Why do you ask, young lady?" the old man named elder Kou asked with a smile.
He already knows the purpose of this young woman, it is not a secret in this small community that almost all the girls had a crush on their lord. So they would always ask to see him for no matter what reason it may be. And the lord would always say yes to them which clearly show the magnanimity of the young cultivator.
"It has been 3 days that they went out. Would they be okay?" the young woman said with worry clearly shown in her face.
"Haha, this young one should not worry too much. You know how strong our master is, don't be confuse of his kindness to weakness." The wise old man said to the young woman.
"Master Shin Jiao went to town with vice Master Qian Li, and the rest of the Shadow Squad is training in the forest. So it would take them a little bit of time. While they are away, we should focus on our duties to improve our small community." Elder Kou said as he continues on his writing.
The beautiful young woman just pouted a little, turns around and walked away from the place a little frustrated. She now wished that she had volunteered to be one of the Shadow Squad. At that time she was just scared as she could not fathom what her lord was thinking of, turning mortal women into fighters. But when she saw what they can do when they were testing out some new suit that their lord is calling exoskeleton, she was dumbfounded. She can't believe that those simple and weak women can suddenly move and fight like those cultivators. With this result, she became excited and truly admired the tall and handsome young man who made this miracle come true.
"I swear once master came back, I will immediately volunteer to enter the Shadow Squad." The young woman said to herself with determination as she clenched her fist tight.
This mindset is not only limited to her or the young women in this small community but on everyone.
…
Meanwhile, Shin Jiao and Qian Li have already entered the town of Dis disguised as a merchant. Dragging a cart full of beast carcasses and beast cores, the two of them immediately entered the town and went to find a merchant house to dispose of the supposed harvest they had in the forest.
When people would look at the two, they would almost always turn their gaze at Qian Li. Although she is just a mortal servant yet her temperament and beauty are out of this world. Luckily Shin Jiao decided to changed Qian Li's silver hair color and turn it black, or else it would really cause a huge commotion in this town.
At first, when Shin Jaio saw her after she took off her hood, he was actually mesmerized by her silver hair coupled with her beautiful fairy-like face. Although at that time she was still emaciated and thin yet the curves of her body are evident.
"Master, do we need to stay in this town for a while?" Qian Li asked feeling a bit uncomfortable with the stare she is receiving from the passer-by, plus she is already missing the clean water and hot bath they have in the underground base and her clean and comfortable room.
"Yes, I need to know how this town works and how can we integrate ourselves into it." Shin Jiao replied in a low tone.
Qian Li just nods her head as she follows Shin Jiao.
While they were walking they suddenly noticed that many people are gathering in the middle of the town. In front of a platform, one can see rows of young people who look like in their 20's wearing different colored robes and behind every group are flags with the name of their clans on it.
"Who do you think will win this year's crafting competition?"
"I don't care, as long as they are able to create a high-grade spiritual artifact I wouldn't mind spending more spirit stone in it."
"You're right, but I heard that they found something strange in the swamps."
"What? What did they found?"
"I heard it was eyewear or something, but no one knows how to make it work."
"Yeah, I also heard that it's broken."
People are talking to each other as Shin Jiao passed by and was able to listen to their conversation. Qian Li upon hearing this didn't put it in her mind as she already knows that her master is the best craftsman in this land. So she didn't show any interest in this and just followed Shin Jiao silently.
"I guess they found my goggles in that swamp… hmm… do I have to get it back? I don't think they can decipher it that easily. If they forcefully open the main processing box, it would render everything useless as it would only accept my spiritual sense signature." Shin Jiao thought to himself as he listens to those people talking.
Then, from within the group of old bearded men standing on the stage, a green robe old man stepped forward. As he walks towards the center of the stage his robe flutters like an immortal being able to control the elements.
With a majestic aura, the old man infused his voice with his spiritual Qi and spoke.
"Ladies and gentleman! In behalf of the council of elders of the town of Dis, I Sikong Ye, welcome you all to our yearly crafting competition." The old man named Sikong Ye said.
"This year's crafting competition would be different as all of you know that the empire of Xi is now looking for skilled craftsmen. So those of you who will show an impressive performance this year's competition will be sent to the empire for further training. Perform well and good luck!" after saying that Sikong Ye moved back to the group of elders standing behind him.
Then suddenly a young woman wearing a tight red cultivator's robe walks up to the stage and began to announce the rules and criteria of the contest.
Shin Jiao listened carefully at the announcement and was shocked and amazed at the same time by what he heard.
He learned that every artifact either attacking, defensive, support or auxiliary has three grades in them; low, mid, and high. Then it is also divided into five different categories of strength.
The first is the mortal level, which is just a lump of iron turned into an artifact and is commonly used by mortals or low-level cultivators. Although high-grade mortal level artifacts are strong, and can even be used by gold core realm cultivators, just the fact that mortal level artifact can't channel Qi makes its value lower than low-level spirit artifact.
The second is the spirit level, a type of artifact which can hold at least 1 type of elemental Qi. This is the starting stage of a true artifact for cultivators as these artifacts are even sometimes used by some nascent realm cultivators. The basic flying swords given to sect disciples belong to this level.
The third is the soul level, a type of artifact that can only be used when refined by a cultivator; these artifacts would be mentally connected to a cultivator and can be controlled without expending a large amount of spiritual Qi. This is already considered as a legendary artifact for lower realm cultivators and is the main artifact for nascent realm cultivators.
The fourth one is the Dao level, an artifact which carries traces of laws in it. These kinds of artifacts are truly rare as it could not be crafted easily unless the crafter is already in the Deity realm. If a cultivator holds these artifacts while their cultivation level is lower than the nascent realm, they would be reduced to ashes by the Dao law inside that artifact.
The fifth and the last is the divine level, this artifact comes from the body or blood of the deities. It is considered as the most powerful artifact in the land, and those it deems unworthy of its presence are destroyed before anyone could approach it.
"So these are the types of artifacts, why is it that Gubu didn't explain these things in his jade slip?" Shin Jiao thought as he considered some things in his mind.
But no matter how he thinks about it, Shin Jiao is unable to understand what's Gubu's purpose for not including this information. Although he felt a bit confused but still looking at the artifact grading and levels he can say that most of his artifacts are mid to high grade, and every single one of them is a spirit level artifact.
Upon realizing this Shin Jiao suddenly had a determined glint in his eyes, his goal in crafting would be to reach the soul level so that he can make stronger artifacts.
As Shin Jiao was in deep thought a beautiful figure flashed by him walking at a fast pace towards the outer gate of the town on the opposite side of the forest.
Then that figure stopped in front of a carriage and looked at the young woman peeking through its window.
"Senior sister Qin Lou, are you sure that you wanted to stay here? I would really love for the two of us to return back to the city of Er." Susu Ling said as she looks at Qin Lou outside the carriage.
"Your family is already missing you so you need to go back. As for me and Lemy, we will be staying here with elder Ao in the alchemy school branch in this town. I will wait for him here because I know that he is still out there." Qin Lou said as her gaze turns towards the vast and endless forest.
"Sigh… I know, if not for my father I would have stayed here too. We'll when you see him you three must come back to the city okay? Promise?" Susu Ling said as reluctance can be seen in her expression.
Qin Lou just nods her head, as she is a woman with little words and would only express herself when she is with Susu Ling.
She watched as the rows of carriages marched forth towards the direction of the City of Er. Qin Lou just stood there unmoving as her gaze followed one of her true friends leave. She didn't move in that place until the carriage disappears into the horizon.
Meanwhile, Shin Jiao and Qian Li watched the tournament proceedings. Shin Jiao is really interested in the level of crafting technique that the cultivators will show in this town. The first part of the competition is like a battle royale, everyone would craft an artifact and the judges will only choose those that can pass the requirements, which is a mid-grade mortal level.
Shin Jiao noticed that in this first part of the competition alone, he can already deduce that almost all the craftsmanship of these cultivators are subpar from being good. And it seems that everyone here is really just novice artificer. So he just shook his head and turn around wanting to return to the inn they are staying.
"Master, I think they are just beginner craftsman. The way they refine and craft artifact is really taxing. Even elder Wan Bing is better than any of them." Qian Li suddenly said as she followed behind Shin Jiao.
Qian Li was there when Shin Jiao taught some of the women on how to craft. Using a machine powered by a beast core, Shin Jiao was able to simulate his basic way of crafting. And because of this, the women were able to produce low-quality guns. But the guns they produced are enough to kill a level 2 beast, and if overcharged it would even kill a level 3 beast but will break after just 1 shot.
But unexpectedly someone from the crowd heard her and that cultivator's ear perked up. He then followed secretly the duo towards the inn. Shin Jiao at first didn't notice the man, but later on, as they walked, his instinct kicks in and found the man following them.
When he checked the aura of the man following them, he dismissed the worry in his mind as the man is just a lowly cultivator. As long as the man would not do anything to them or would suddenly act suspicious, Shin Jiao would not cause some trouble. He didn't know why this person is following them but he didn't care about the reason, as long as he didn't cause trouble Shin Jiao would not take any action. But if the man becomes a threat, then he would treat the man as an initiation rite for Qian Li's first blood.
After following Shin Jiao and Qian Li, the man suddenly went towards a dark corner, then he suddenly took out a long-range communication crystal and waited for the other side to pick up. Then after some time, he heard a voice on the other side.
"Master, I think I found two suspicious people. The girl looks really familiar, I recognized her because of her voice. Though the color of her hair is wrong however with that face and voice I'm sure it's her." The man said quickly then he paused as he waited for a reply.
Then not long after that, the communication crystal in his hand quivered as he suddenly received a message. After understanding what he should do, disdain suddenly appears on his face.
"Don't worry young master, I'll do as you command."
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