บท 59: Rebellion (2)

Although the cultivator did not ride a Flying Sword to where he was, his speed was outstanding. This person is the one that similarly causing trouble on that night when Zhang Wu Ji is challenged by the Eighth Master-Disciple to fight under Headmaster Liang Tian's order.

During his fight against the Sixth Master Senior, he lost, but that was arranged earlier by the Grand Elder of the Left, Yang Chen Kun before the commotion started. It was all for the sake to let this disciple get selected by the headmaster during the end of the test. But with the addition of Zhang Wu Ji in the test, their plan eventually failed as the youth failed in getting the first spot.

This spoils the first plan arranged by Yang Chen Kun for this cultivator named Yuan Cheng. But in fact, his name is not Yuan Cheng, but Yang Chen!

He was the child Yang Chen Kun secretly conceived while he was outside plotting with the people from Lan Shan Clan! Growing up under the supervision from bandits and assassins, Yuan-Cheng was a unification of the ruthlessness and savagery in his flesh and bones. But to make sure that their plan is a success, he deliberately holds his progression on 2nd Stage of Inner Fighter to be chosen, but end up failed to get the spot as a Master Senior.

Thus, he kept a deep resentment against Zhang Wu Ji who thwart his plan repeatedly. Later when he was plotting to win the support from the Slave Disciples, Zhang Wu Ji coincidently appeared at the place to preach the disciples, ending up bringing away a bunch of excellent disciples among them to serve Zhang Wu Ji and his Apprentice Hall. Once again, he held his grudge until the moment the 3rd generations from the Lan Shan Clan decided to attack the Wen Wu City.

The attack caused a great commotion, with him secretly planned with the youngest of the Lan Shan Clan, Lan Shan Yao, to attack the important Apprentice Hall and destroys his supporting pillar. But as Yuan Cheng heard the news regarding the attack from the Lan Shan Bandits, he was kept in the dark from the victory brought by Zhang Wu Ji and his eight senior brother and sisters.

When the news regarding the Apprentice Hall and Master Senior Ninth is helping in rebuilding the Wen Wu City's Northern Side, he was thoroughly angered until he spits a mouthful of blood. At the end of the incident, Yang Chen Kun secretly brings Yuan Cheng to the Lan Shan Clan's base to ask for his forgiveness to incite such an incident. But this did not go as well as he thought when he was thrown to a pit with homosexuals bandits that laid their hand on him, giving him a trauma for a total of seven days before he returned to the Seven Star Sect, as someone that ain't normal anymore in his sexual preferences.

Still, his hatred against Zhang Wu Ji is extremely deep, making him tried to do Zhang Wu Ji once again. But this time, he was stopped by Yang Chen Kun because afraid that the youth will spoil their great plan. Of course, this was also the reason why after all this happened, Zhang Wu Ji was forced to create his own WUJI Faction to balance out the distribution of inner power in controlling the sect.

Of course, as the Headmaster's Faction remained neutral alongside with the Knowledge Pagoda's faction, only the WUJI Faction and the Grand Elder of the Left's Faction will fight for the power to control a part of the Seven Star Sect's power. But during the time they leave for the Counties Gathering, this is where everything started to go wrong.

When the Upper South Merchant Corporation Participants walk through the Wen Wu City, they were, in fact, making their stop for a purpose! That stop allows them to meet with the Grand Elder Yang Chen Kun, where he obtained the long searched manual that has been lost for a few generations.

It was the Seven Star Ascension Manual.

With this book in Yang Chen Kun's hand, the Pagoda Elders went crazy, and choose to side with his faction without any other special request other than having the full control of the book. Through this major changes of power, Yang Chen Kun took his precaution measure. Using the news related to their two faction's cooperation, it leads to a threat against the Headmaster Faction and WUJI Faction.

Without the nine Master Seniors and Master Mother inside of the sect, the injured Headmaster can do nothing at all, where because nobody was expecting that Yang Chen Kun will take his opportunity to take action at such moment. With the assistance from the Lan Shan Clan Bandits, Jie's Clan's disguised experts, the Upper South Mercenaries, and his own people from the Golden Wolf Syndicate, the battle for Yang Chen Kun to usurp the power is extremely easy.

The Grand Master of the Right, Xing Yi Chen, can only do this much to protect as many people from the Pill Department, Blacksmith Department, Kitchen Department, and the remaining people from both factions as they escaped. It was a grueling fight for the escapers and the pursuers, where it did not directly lead to many death, but it destroys the reputation the Seven Star Sect has built for so long.

It was an utter disgrace, for the Overlord of the Seven Star County, to fall into such as situation just because of their internal struggle for power.

"Who are you?" Zhang Wu Ji whom completely has no idea about the other party's identity asked. Facing the threat from a 7th Stage Inner Qi Fighter, he felt not even a single thread of threat coming to him.

"I am Yuan Cheng, the guy that supposed to be the Master Senior instead of you! It was because of you all my plan has been ruined until now!" Yuan-Cheng answered the question while howling for anger. But his anger was something Zhang Wu Ji completely has no idea for why, as he did not know this cultivator until today.

"If I can kill you today, it will help me in the future to hold an important seat within the Seven Star Sect." Yuan-Cheng thought as he aims to kill this youth before him.

"Shining Star Blade!" like a drilling bit, he charged at where Zhang Wu Ji stands.

"Kacha... Bang!" realizing that this attack is slightly difficult to handle it perfectly, Zhang Wu Ji decided to fight power with a stronger power. The Yuan-Tie Hand Cannon appeared from nowhere as it was ignited and fired at the incoming target with a round iron ball, which came in a size of a honey melon.

Unprepared and inexperienced with such a weird weapon, the iron ball strikes right on his face, leaving a youth charging at Zhang Wu Ji's direction as if he was a Horned Rhino is flying backward like a wild arrow. He falls on the ground after flying for a little while and still continues to roll until he hit the wall.

"Aargh... What mountain just came out from his little iron pipe?" Yuan-Cheng complained his painful encounter while having a total of four teeth extracted from that shot.

"Meng Ran, come up quickly, we have to leave immediately!" Zhang Wu Ji immediately activates his Qiyue Flying Sword and leave the dangerous area as hurry as he could. Luckily, Meng Ran wasn't somebody that reacted slowly from a sudden order, and quickly went up to the sword and hug Zhang Wu Ji in order to allow him to escape as fast as he can.

"Send the order to the Reflecting Pagoda, that's where they can stop him from escaping!" Yuan-Cheng ordered a subordinate to change the setting on the Seven Star Shield, which they did not alter anything previously in order to trap Zhang Wu Ji to enter the Seven Star Sect vicinity.

But no matter how fast a disciple can run, they cannot overcome the speed of a Flying Sword. Before too long, Zhang Wu Ji left the barrier using his Nameplate and heading straight to the Wen Wu City in hurry.

"Hateful!" Yuan-Cheng cried out loudly and stop his feet on the ground.

Half a day later, Zhang Wu Ji and Meng Ran reach the vicinity of the Wen Wu City, where the Apprentice Hall is established. Although he was only away for almost one month, the changes happened to the Apprentice Hall is very easy to discern.

From one tower, it became two now. The residents living nearby of the Apprentice Hall was moving to the better part in the Northern Side of the City, making a few plots of land nearby become available to purchase. With the amount of profit the Apprentice Hall is raking daily, the purchasing process of the land becomes much easier.

Given to the situation at this moment, the purchased land that has no need to be built immediately is immediately occupied, with a total of 10,000 additional people helping in many kinds of different positions. Even Elders and seniors that promoted into the Inner Qi Warrior and Inner Qi Soldier is helping to prepare the land with buildings.

"Master Senior Ninth is back! Master Senior Ninth is back!" the disciples that closest to him during his time in the hall immediately noticed his return. With drum is beaten for a few times, the news spreads throughout the Apprentice Hall, where included the Headmaster, everyone is outside receiving him on his return.

As this was her first time seeing how much respect Zhang Wu Ji got from his fellow members of Seven Star Sect, the slight negative opinion towards Zhang Wu Ji vanished and left with one of his worst weakness, Direction-Blind.

Immediately, Zhang Wu Ji went to his now recovered master and gives him a proper salutation. He was out from the sect for over a month in total, counted from the day they travel to the Heavenly Sword Sect. It took them nine days to reach the Heavenly Sect, three days of the gathering, another twelve days for him to prepare his brother's weapon, three more days in the village for the wine, and nine more days to return to the Seven Star County.

In total, he was out from the sect for 33 days.

"Wu Ji came back late, hope master penalize this disciple for neglecting his duties as a Master Senior." Zhang Wu Ji kneeled before his master. Instead of lecturing him, Liang Tian held him up from the ground, and pat his head once. With a face brimming with a smile, it was one of the most warming smiles he'd ever seen.

"I heard that you almost win your second brother in the Gathering's competition. Like usual, I am always proud of the nine of you and Little Qing Han for bringing the Seven Star Sect back to the top amongst the five Lower Counties." Liang Tian speaks as soon as the other Master Senior made their appearance in the open space.

"Unfortunately, the inside of the Seven Star Sect is corrupted by people with greed and ill intention towards this county. Added with another seven elders that cannot differentiate the Black and White of the matters related to the sect, I wanted to ask;

"Are they worth being called as the Elders of the sect, if all they care is hiding behind their pagoda and cultivates the art that might allow them to walk past the Sheng Tian Process?" Liang Tian asked the crowd.

"No! Without the Sect, walking past Sheng Tian Process is useless!" the crowd filled with disciples and elders answered.

"Correct! If you sacrifice the future of the sect just for the sake of the lots of you walking past the Sheng Tian Process, then what is the purpose after you succeed? The foundation that has been laid by the previous headmasters and ancestors of the Seven Star Sect has been destroyed by your greed!"

"What is worthy if you sacrifice a foundation to build your own foundation? The legacy is lost. The name is smeared. The trust is gone. Only your own remains. Even if you rebuild the Seven Star Sect, is it Seven Star Sect?"

he asked again.

"NO! NO! NO!" all of them shouted. Especially for the elders where the Sect nurtures their foundation until now, it was a disgrace to see what had the sect became because of the internal struggle for power.

"Good. If the people in the sect wanted that piece of ancestral land so much, we'll give it to them! For I holds the Origin and the Legacy of the Seven Star Sect. If you all willing to do so, help me to rebuild the Seven Star Sect, and make it a completely new Seven Star Sect!" Liang Tian speaks. His word rang through everyone's ears and bring them in a higher reach of loyalty, where it will qualify to be called as;

The Loyalty to a Sect.

This kind of reach is significant, as they carry a hint of an oath from the upper heaven. They were separated into five different categories, with each reach carries a different kind of effect.

[1]. Loyalty to Parents

[2]. Loyalty to Master

[3]. Loyalty to Sect

[4]. Loyalty to Country

[5]. Loyalty to Land

the five different kind of Loyalty carries their own special effect, where the most well known would be the Loyalty to Parents, which carries the effectiveness of growth and the Loyalty to Master, which carries the effect of solidifying a foundation. But when they reach the effect of a Loyalty to Sect, the effect changed to a more significant effect, Cultivation Enhancement.

With everyone is blessed under the ray from the sun, the crowd soon disperse and return to their daily responsibilities. Given the production from the greenhouses all around the Wen Wu City now, the Apprentice Hall's production can be said to be oversupplied. Luckily, the oversupplied are a good impact on the economy, where with a better supply of medicinal pills, the procuring process to the ingredient in a higher level is much more easier to get.

Back to the room where it was specially arranged as Zhang Wu Ji's accommodation, it was now converted into the room for his master. With all the important members of the Seven Star Sect is inside of the room now, Liang Tian started to covers the more important topics that cannot be discussed outside in the public, as that may disturb and lower the confidence amongst their members.

Within the room is now seated with fifteen people. Liang Tian, Xing Yi Chen, the Grand Elder of Right, nine Master Seniors, the City Lord Yang-Er and Commander of Militarized Forces, Yang Yi. The remaining two people are respectively the Representatives of the 30 Villages and the representative for the 15 towns. Their name is Long Hao and Fang Feng Zheng.

According to the report on their current situation, a complete counterattack is impossible. With the assistance from the Lan Shan Clan, Knowledge Pagoda, Jie's Clan, Upper South Mercenaries, and Golden Wolf Syndicate, their opponent's strength is now too gigantic for them to overcome their progress. Perhaps Zhang Wu Ji may seem rich, but it wasn't everything at this moment, because wealth that came in the form of currency to exchange was useful in trading, but not in day to day life requirement.

Even with the Wen Wu City as their main base at this moment, they'were surrounded with Mines in the west, and three more villages further until they reach the border between Heavenly South County. Based on their land size, it wasn't a problem for them to start to plant for edible crops and grains, but their harvest may come in earliest after half a year of growing into maturity.

Plus, it wasn't confirmed at this moment which side are the Wen Qing City and Wen Yang City stands. Based on their strategic location, Wen-Qing City is surrounded by many natural resources and also 13 villages and 7 towns. their location positioned right on top after the Lan Shan Mountain gave them a strategic location because it was close to the border to enter the Imperial County, and also because the route to Wen Wu City is blocked.

As for the Wen Yang City, their location is much more situated to the border in the east, where included Zhang Wu Ji's Li Jiang Town. This city is surrounded by 14 villages, and also the remaining 8 towns. The location of the city is also near to two borders, the Crystalline River County, and the Jie's County.

Left for last, the Wen Wu City only surrounded by three villages before they reach the border between the Heavenly South County and Seven Star County. with only three villages after the mines in their east, the Wen Wu City is blocked by the northern bandits, the Seven Star Sect in their east, and the Southern Bamboo City in the south.

With the situation is not too convincing, everyone's attention is laid on Zhang Wu Ji, who always come up with something new that can be exploited. Being put in a position with such pressure, Zhang Wu Ji can't help but question everyone inside the room for a few questions.

What kind of crops that are easily grown and can be used as a replacement of grains?

How can we maintain a stable supply of meat, fish, and poultry?

What kind of edible resources that can sustain the resident's food consumption, but did not lack any required nutrients?

How long can we expect the mining to continues until it was too deep for the miners to proceed?

The question once again took everyone by surprise as they begin to look for the countermeasure to answer his four questions. After a while of discussion, based on the land and the three villages, the group came up with four best answer that matches his requirement.

Six Stalks Cluster Wheat, an easily grown wheat-like product that fits to be made into flour which will then be used in noodles, bun, cakes, and other edible materials.

Fire Pattern Frog, an edible and delicious reptile that rich in flavor and delicious. With each matured Fire Pattern Frog can easily lay over a thousand eggs each time, only a few seasons is required to manage a large scale Fire Pattern Frog Farm.

The more precious Golden Tusk Black Hog is also one of the best selection due to their good quantity of edible meat. Best of all, the Golden Tusk Black Hog is very delicious.

Sweet Fleshed Oak Fruit, a fruit that grows on the tree surrounding the entrance to Southern Bamboo Forest. The fruit often left aside without any people eating them because it was common and difficult to prepare. But if they were used as sustainable ingredients to replace the shortage of vegetable variety, the fruit is much more amazing than one can think of.

The Outer skin can be made into sour peels, the sweet flesh hidden can be eaten cooked or processed into dried fruits that storable for a long time. As for the seed, they can be cracked to expose the cluster of nuts inside with the size of a soybean.

Last but not least, the matter related to mining. Based on their current exploitation, it should be able to last for another hundred years.

"Based on the report, we will follow up with the preparation to begin cultivating them! Select people with good experience in the three different fields to work in, and we will prevail through this difficulties!"