The Nine Cauldrons

He was initially under the impression that it was the army of some great clan. Who could have thought that it would actually be the Rising Sun Trading Company’s army? Although it had not been long since Teng Qingshan had come to Duanmu Continent, he still knew a lot about the ‘Rising Sun Trading Company’ whose name was spread far and wide. For example, the ‘Rising Sun Restaurant’ that could be found throughout the thirty six major cities was precisely a business under its administrative.

As a large trading company, the restaurants were but one of the businesses under its administrative.

As for the extremely lucrative business of slave peddling, the Rising Sun Trading Company would naturally have a hand in it. Moreover, they were even one of the large dominators of the slave trade. At the very least, twenty to thirty percent of all slave trade in the whole of Duanmu Continent was entirely under the Rising Sun Trading Company’s control. Twenty to thirty percent did not sound like much, but this was because... many clans that were competing for hegemony were also in the business of slave trade.

The strength of the Rising Sun Trading Company was obvious, seeing as they could compete with each of the large clans, and even seize twenty to thirty percent of the trade.

Although they were not striving to conquer the world, the Rising Sun Trading Company was nevertheless one of the few superpowers on Duanmu Continent.

“Administrator Mu!” Teng Qingshan gave a faint smile. “I still have things to do!”

Mu Wan’s complexion darkened, and each of the numerous soldiers around stared at Teng Qingsan as well. Mu Wan uttered coldly, “Why have the people of my Rising Sun Trading Company just died in vain?”

For this matter, Teng Qingshan was indeed in the wrong.

On Duanmu Continent, slaves were just goods! Their Trading Company transporting goods was none of Teng Qingshan’s business, even if they had beaten a slave to death. They did not provoke him, Teng Qingshan, but... the fierce bestial youth instead killed three of the Rising Sun Trading Company’s people, and injured quite a number of them.

He was completely in the wrong!

“Name a method of resolving this then, Administrator Mu.” Teng Qingshan smiled coolly.

“Hmph...” Mu Wan had just opened his mouth.

Suddenly—

The whole earth suddenly started shaking, and each of the surrounding slaves, as well as soldiers, were upended from their feet and they fell tumbling. “Crack~” The ground split open and several deep trenches formed.

“Earthquake!”

“It’s an earthquake!”

Many of the surrounding soldiers cried out in alarm. The Nine Prefectures was the center of the whole world, and it experienced very few disasters. However, the natural disasters on Duanmu Continent were actually especially plenty, from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, devastating cold gales, and the likes. “Protect Honorable Administrator well!” many people yelled out. Mu Wan, too, was slightly alarmed and flustered.

“Eh, it’s strange. Why don’t the other places have tremors?” Teng Qingshan said in surprise.

The earth’s shaking stopped.

“Right, it’s only the area in the surrounding several dozen Zhang that started shaking, splitting the ground open.”

“So strange.”

Many soldiers became doubtful. They all realized that the soldiers in the other areas were not even a single bit out of place; it was only their area. With their collapsed tents and fallen torches, it was messy to the extreme.

“Administrator Mu, how ’bout you name a price?” Teng Qingshan smiled as he looked at Mu Wan.

Mu Wan eyed him. Teng Qingshan’s eyes still held the same expression as before, and instantly, it made Mu Wan realize the origin of the previous ‘fake earthquake’. Stormy waves involuntarily surged in his mind. “That was definitely him just now. Unexpectedly, without a sound or movement, this Teng Qingshan made the earth quake tremendously! He is definitely an Innate Expert, and definitely a Martial Saint!”

“Good skill!” Beside Mu Wan, the burly man who carried a giant machete on his back and had been silent all this while spoke as his gazed at Teng Qingshan.

Being studied by this burly man was like being eyed by a large ancient beast.

“You aren’t bad either.” Teng Qingshan smiled as he looked over this machete carrying burly man. He then immediately resumed looking at Mu Wan. “Administrator Mu?”

Mu Wan instead glanced at the burly man beside him, then smiled faintly. “Looking at things, Mister Teng, you and Mister Fu are friends. Since it’s like this, we’ll do things this way... you will give a compensation of three thousand taels of silver for the three soldiers that died. Adding onto the numerous injured people, you will pay a total of five thousand taels of silver.”

Five thousand taels of silver seemed rather much, but...

Actually, though three ordinary soldiers dying was just a trivial matter, the Rising Sun Trading Company’s reputation was of great importance! Five thousand taels of silver could settle it, and Mu Wan also guessed that Teng Qingshan was a Martial Saint Expert. It was only due to this that he yielded.

“Fine.” Teng Qingshan turned his head to look at the official road, saying in a loud voice, “Old Wang, bring over forty taels of gold.”

“Yes.”

Standing on the official road, Old Wang the groom responded loudly. Meanwhile, Li Jun, who had been looking out of the carriage window all this time, immediately took out forty taels of gold from within the bundle, then passed it to Old Wang outside. The exchange rate between gold and silver, although back in the era of Thunder Blade Deity ‘Duanmu Yu’, was one tael of gold worth a hundred taels of silver.

The people of Duanmu Continent, however, especially liked gold. Generally, large clans also stocked up on gold to use as their endowment.

This made the amount of gold on the continent become sparse.

Thus in the present day, it was publicly accepted that one tael of gold could be exchanged for up to a hundred and twenty-six taels of silver. Some places could exchange up to even a hundred and thirty taels of silver!

“Boss, forty taels of gold.” Old Wang held two large bars of gold with both hands. Each gold bar weighed two Jin.

“Administrator Mu.” Teng Qingshan handed over the two gold bars.

“Good, things can be considered settled.” As Mu Wan said this he took these two bars of gold. He actually felt slightly moved. “Two Jin per gold bar, and such large gold bars at that. It ought to be the gold some large clan smelted and hid in their homes. This Teng Qingshan, exactly what is his background?”

Not to mention the gold bars which were two Jin each, within Teng Qingshan’s chest of gold there were still numerous large gold bricks!

They weighed even more! Those were all the gold bricks the Liu Clan of the Dark Steel River had reserved for a return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dongshan.

(TL note: “To return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dongshan” is an idiom. Metaphor for a comeback after a loss)

“Since things have been settled, then I won’t trouble you further.” Teng Qingshan smiled as he finished speaking, then hauled the fierce beastial youth with one hand as he walked out.

The fierce beastial youth was utterly unable to resist Teng Qingshan, but as before, he turned his head to stare at Mu Wan, the Administrator. Although the fierce beastial youth had low intelligence, the rules of beasts allowed him to be understand very well that... within this army before him which was escorting slaves, that old fellow was one of the important people.

“Wait a moment, Teng Qingshan.” A rugged voice sounded, precisely the burly man who carried a giant machete on his back. His eyes burned with a fiery blaze.

“Mister Fu.” Mu Wan promptly said, “We still haven’t finished discussing our business.”

He knew quite well the temperament of this Martial Saint, Mister Fu. When he met a powerful expert, he would definitely challenge them!

Mister Fu hesitated for a moment, then as he watched Teng Qingshan get on the carriage, he said speculatively, “He’s traveling in the direction of Nanshan City, and the carriage isn’t fast. In a moment I will be able to to catch up to it.”

“Administrator Mu, let’s head into the large tent to continue talking.”

......

The sky was completely dark. Teng Qingshan and his group had stopped to rest for the night twenty Li or more from where the Rising Sun Trading Company’s army was stationed.

“Ah Shou, next time don’t cause a ruckus.” Little Ping handed one of the roasted lamb legs which were done to the fierce beastial youth.

“Luckily that Rising Sun Trading Company’s Administrator took into account Boss’ strength. Otherwise, there’s no way the Rising Sun Trading Company would let things go so easily,” Old Wang chuckled. When he laughed, even though he had one eye, he still appeared rather amiable.

Teng Qingshan’s brows knitted, and he looked at the path ahead on the official road. “Someone’s coming!”

Li Jun and the rest each turned to look.

The Whole Gale Eagle that was presently on the roof of the carriage looked towards the south as well.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

The sound of galloping thudded, and a figure riding a one-horned War Hou rushed over at an extremely fast speed.

“Brother Teng!” That figure leaped down from the War Hou.

“It’s you?” Teng Qingshan looked at the person in front of him.

“Ah ah~” The fierce beastial youth fixed his eyes on the approaching person, and an ominous glint flickered within his eyes. The fierce beastial youth remembered very clearly.... Just recently, that bigshot old fellow who was amongst the army treated this burly man who carried a giant machete on his back with an extremely differential attitude. As the fierce beastial youth saw it—

This burly man should be a big shot with an even higher standing than that old fellow in the army!

“Mister Fu?” Teng Qingshan smiled faintly. “I’m not sure for what purpose Mister Fu has come here?”

“Brother Teng, this one’s name is Fu Dao!” This burly man, with messy hair hanging down loosely, and a gaze reminiscent of thunder and lightning, said with a resounding voice, “Earlier, without a sound or movement, Brother Teng made the earth tremble and split open. If I guess correctly... Brother Teng is at the very least a True Dan Innate Expert. Perhaps even a Golden Dan Innate Expert! Walking the land under the heavens, the thing I, Fu Dao, like to do the the most is learn from other experts by competing with them. I’m not sure whether it would be possible for Brother Teng to spar with me?”

Teng Qingshan glanced at Li Jun beside him.

The current Teng Qingshan really did not care for Innate Experts. All he was doing now was painstakingly cultivating with the thought of striding into the Emptiness Realm!

“Fu Dao!” Next to him, Old Wang cried out in surprise, “You are Thunder Blade Martial Saint ‘Fu Dao’?”

“Thunder Blade Martial Saint?” Teng Qingshan looked to Old Wang. Old Wang immediately explained, “Boss, in this world there are quite a few Martial Saint Experts. However, there are those with excellent reputation, and there are those with poor reputation. Amongst them is Mister Fu, whose full name is Fu Dao. His cultivation is the same lineage as the Thunder Blade Deity from those years, and he has been titled the Thunder Blade Martial Saint. He is definitely an expert at the Golden Dan Innate level, and all the powers in the world hold Mister Fu in high esteem.”

Teng Qingshan smiled then.

Golden Dan Innate Expert?

Right, the whole of Duanmu Continent only had a population of two to three hundred million people—equivalent to one of the prefectures of the Nine Prefectures. The number of Golden Dan Innate Experts probably did not exceed ten, and any one Golden Dan Innate Expert was a big shot that was able to make Duanmu Continent quiver for a moment. But Teng Qingshan was unaware that... the Heavens were just. For Duanmu Continent, where natural disasters were extremely many, the Heavens would also bestow some favors to Duanmu Continent.

With the ability to have two great Omnipotent Experts, Yu the Great and Duanmu Yu, this Duanmu Continent was really not as simple as he thought.

“You want to fight me?” Teng Qingshan watched him.

“Yes.” Fu Dao gazed at Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qing picked up the Reincarnation Spear beside him, and walked to the spacious and empty spot to the left, then said indifferently, “Then come, quickly.” Teng Qingshan was not even a little bit excited about fighting a Golden Dan Innate Expert.

Fu Dao’s brows furrowed slightly.

He felt like the person before him was a bit too arrogant.

“Careful now.” Fu Dao gave a deep-sounding shout.

“Clang!”

Watching from the sidelines, all Old Wang and Li Jun saw was a cyan thunderbolt soaring upwards from the scabbard on Fu Dao’s back. Following which, Fu Dao’s figure had become indistinct, and a cyan light directly shot towards Teng Qingshan, incinerating the earth into nothingness where it passed.

Faintly, the heavens and earth echoed with the sound of thunder.

“Good blade art!” A resounding voice rang out.

“Clink!”

A crisp sound resonated.

They only saw Fu Dao quickly retreating more than ten paces. His face was flushed and at the corner of his mouth there was a streak of blood. Fu Dao looked at Teng Qingshan, frightened. He then lowered his head to examine himself; the skin on the palm of his right hand had split open from the impact.

“How can it be? One move and merely one move?” Fu Dao recalled that moment from earlier, not daring to believe. In a moment, however, Fu Dao’s eyes shone with a radiance, and his face revealed a slight expression of ecstasy. “So it’s like this, it was ike this!”

Immediately afterwards, Fu Dao promptly bowed, appearing to be a disciple bowing to his teacher. “Thank you for the pointers, Mister!”

“You being able to Comprehend is based upon your own comprehension. No need to thank me.” Teng Qingshan waved his hand indifferently, and immediately walked towards Li Jun, Old Wang, and the rest. Suddenly, Teng Qingshan looked at the fierce beastial youth with some amazement.