Chapter 340 - 165: "This Is a Colossal Waste.

Chapter 340: Chapter 165: "This Is a Colossal Waste.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

The Domain Lord’s orders were clear.

Make fifty thousand hoes.

The supply of Earth Gold was unlimited.

More Earth Gold was on its way, and it would keep coming until he told them to stop.

Using Earth Gold to make hoes.

He’d never imagined something like this in his life. The term "extravagant waste" didn’t even begin to cover it. Before this, the most wasteful thing he could think of was skipping Ghost Stones across water, and that was already plenty extravagant.

But now...

He realized that skipping Ghost Stones was actually quite cost-effective. A few hundred Ghost Stones could keep you entertained for a whole day, until you got tired of it.

But forging a single one of these hoes... that would cost far more than a few hundred Ghost Stones.

Just a moment ago, over the Sound Transmission Talisman, he had tried to explain that Earth Gold was rather light and might not feel right when swung, hoping to save this batch of precious metal. In response, the Domain Lord had simply asked, "You can’t do it?"

That shut him up.

’Can’t do it?’

’That’s an insult to an Artifact Refiner!’

’Fine, I’ll do it!’

’Of course I can do it!’

After taking a deep breath, Zhao Shengping’s mind raced, figuring out how to forge hoes from Earth Gold. First, they would indeed be too light. A hoe needed some heft. He would have to add some weight, but he wouldn’t need to add anything special—just some Bone Shards refined from Ghost Bones would do.

They added weight and were completely free.

In the past, Ghost Bones would have been considered a cost. After all, they were a type of Ghost Material and not something you could just find lying around.

But ever since the New Continent was discovered...

...Ghost Bones were no longer considered a Ghost Material in the Mortal Realm.

They could be used freely.

The supply was endless.

The apprentices behind him also wore extremely complicated expressions. On one hand, they were happy to finally be doing proper work instead of making that damn stew. On the other hand, their hearts ached.

’Isn’t this the definition of extravagant waste!?’

’Oh, well.’

’At least we have work to do. Who cares what it is!’

Let’s get to it!

The Celestial Artifact Pavilion was soon bustling with activity. This time, however, they weren’t busy making stew. Instead, a group of shirtless men swung their hammers, striking away with fiery enthusiasm.

It was like an assembly line.

As time passed...

High-speed Rail cars loaded with Earth Gold pulled up, one after another, in front of the Celestial Artifact Pavilion. The Domain Lord had specially extended the High-speed Rail line by a few dozen meters just for them. Now, the line from the Port to the Mortal Realm ran directly to their doorstep.

And in turn...

...High-speed Rail cars loaded with hoes departed from the Celestial Artifact Pavilion, traveling along the Undersea Tunnel toward the New Continent.

There wasn’t much time for breaks.

During his breaks, Zhao Shengping would quickly prepare the stew. After all, it wasn’t just a hobby anymore; the Beast Pavilion’s food supply depended on him, and Hey Hey was waiting to be fed.

...

Time passed quickly in this state of tranquility.

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.

The dark clouds scattered, and the rainy season came to an end.

During this rainy season...

...not a single person in the Mortal Realm had died.

Everyone survived.

Well, "survived" might not be the right word. They got through it with ease.

On the first day after the rainy season...

...Jiangbei slowly began to return to its usual bustling state.

"..."

Chen Fan leaned on his Jade Staff, standing atop the City Wall of the Rainy Season Defense Line. He gazed at the long-awaited, clear blue sky and looked out over the distant Jiangbei Wilderness, a faint smile on his lips as he remained silent.

The rainy season was over.

Over the past month, the Mortal Realm had developed at an incredible pace, free from any interference.

The mining progress on the New Continent was also promising.

Shortly after dawn, personnel from the Logistics Pavilion had already taken the High-speed Rail out of the Mortal Realm to inspect the lines for any necessary repairs. If any were found, he would have to go and fix them himself.

However, this rainy season hadn’t arrived early, so the Ghost Objects hadn’t been particularly rampant. Most of the stations were completely unscathed.

In a few days, he could head south to the Guanxi Plain.

A large number of Ghost Stones were waiting for him there. He needed to contribute to the Jiangbei Defense Line. His reasoning was simple: his Jiangbei Defense Line protected Jiangbei, and it also protected the Guanxi Plain. Therefore, it was only right for him to take some of their Ghost Stones.

On the second day, the Logistics Pavilion finished inspecting all the High-speed Rail lines. Some sections of the underground Copper Pipes had been damaged. In addition, three Mortal Realm stations had been breached by Ghost Objects. However, at the camp where the Signal Tower was located, the City Wall’s Level was extremely high, and it remained undamaged.

The damage wasn’t too extensive.

After Chen Fan spent another day repairing everything that needed to be fixed...

...the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail line officially resumed operations.

On the third day after the end of the rainy season, the Four Areas Jiangbei returned to their former lively state. Groups of people took the High-speed Rail, traveling once again throughout the four areas.

People from all over began to appear in Mortal City as well.

The merchant guilds were once again on the move.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan, who had been busy all day yesterday, returned to the Mortal Realm. He was now sitting on the City Wall of Cave No. 1, lounging lazily in his rocking chair and swaying gently.

He actually preferred the City Wall of the Rainy Season Defense Line.

It was higher.

But with so many people coming and going in Mortal City, it would be unseemly for him, the leader of a major power, to sit on the City Wall of the Rainy Season Defense Line all day. He’d look like a lunatic.

’Better to just stay here on the wall of Cave No. 1 on Nameless Mountain.’

"Domain Lord."

Wang Kui stood beside him, reporting, "Domain Lord, during the thirty days of the rainy season, progress on the New Continent was excellent. Defense Line No. 1 has been mostly mined out."

"The current Ghost Stone reserves in the Mortal Realm Warehouse stand at 189 million."

"And that number is still rising steadily."

"Excellent."

Chen Fan smiled. It seemed the fifty thousand auxiliary members sent to the Mortal Realm were quite effective.

「One year ago.」

After the last rainy season ended, he had made a plan.

Four years. Three hundred million. Defend Jiangbei!