Chapter 997 - 846: Extraordinary Vision and Talent

If the issue of rising grievances can't be solved, then just endure it, since the group won't dare to directly rebel.

However, the reputation of the newly appointed Domain Master quickly became tarnished, much to Manxi's displeasure, making the situation incredibly frustrating.

The Eastern Commander Dongguo Shou could only grit his teeth and endure it, he tried borrowing money from the sect but was denied, no lending and repaying either!

Borrowing money from the sect to pay the Heavenly Court's payroll, how could you think of that, is your mind muddled, or do you want to show that the Carefree Sect is more competent than the Heavenly Court? Dongguo Shou received a furious scolding.

As expected by Manxi, when the people from the Southern, Western, and Northern Regions returned from vacation, the Commanders were indeed unsuccessful in reclaiming the overpaid salaries.

Some people get arrested and imprisoned for a reason, who would be so honest, once they hear about money collection, they immediately claim the money's been spent, exactly as Shi Chun anticipated.

Since you've spent it, I'll look to others for collection, and when others hear that saying the money's spent means no trouble, they naturally say they've spent it too, after all, the law doesn't blame the masses.

In the end, it's not retrieved, and everyone was informed of the reason for the collection attempt, orders from above must be obeyed.

Therefore, the people from the Southern, Western, and Eastern Regions held grievances against Domain Master Manxi, secretly cursing or backstabbing him.

Shi Chun and his group reported truthfully that brothers said the money was spent and couldn't be recovered.

Following that, Domain Master Manxi went silent on the matter, and it was left as is.

However, grudges indeed formed.

What infuriated Manxi the most was that the Qiankun Sect went insane, actually allowing the Southern, Western, and Northern Regions to rack up debts, which amounted to hundreds of billions!

The key point is that Shi Chun's people even killed the disciple sent by Qiankun Sect to participate in the Battle of Great Pardon.

Fine, if he'd known this, he would have taken on debt himself.

Now, it's a mess, Shi Chun and his group gained fame and fortune, accomplished their tasks, while he, the Domain Master, ended up feeling worthless both inside and out.

Upon hearing the news, Eastern Commander Dongguo Shou sat quietly in his cave for a long time before sighing deeply, inwardly concluding, as a disciple of a Great Sect, he should timely connect with the other three regions, no longer holding the airs of a Great Sect disciple.

When first participating in the Battle of Great Pardon, he truly hadn't taken Shi Chun seriously, but now thinking of working long term with Shi Chun's group, he had intentionally requested the sect to collect detailed information on Shi Chun and his people to send over.

Reading it left him quite moved, not to mention their glorious achievements, they had led a group in battle when in the Land of Exile, proving to be more adept in leadership compared to himself now.

At this moment, another message arrived, he took it out to check, it was news from those he sent to the Southern Region.

Once things escalated, he realized he needed to learn, so he dispatched people to guard over Shi Chun's, Wu Jinliang's, and Tong Mingshan's territories, to promptly assess situations for early communication.

Being on equal footing, he couldn't expect Shi Chun and his group to report timely, he had to observe proactively.

Even though the message was routine, Dongguo Shou discovered a hint of surprise, standing up slowly.

The routine message stated that the activities of opening offices and establishing cities in those three regions were unfolding vigorously, with various industries arriving at designated city areas for location selections, some shops had already begun construction.

What puzzled Dongguo Shou was the swift occupancy by various industries, he abruptly called out: "Someone come here."

Soon someone responded, entering and saluting, "Master, what are your orders?"

Dongguo Shou directly asked: "Our planned city, how is the occupancy of various industries?"

"Various industries?" The person was stunned, thinking, aren't you stating the obvious, thus cautiously replied: "Master, the city walls haven't been completed, the ground isn't even leveled, and nothing's there yet, talking about occupancy seems premature?"

This was precisely Dongguo Shou's point of concern, despite nothing on their side, Shi Chun's side saw rapid occupancy by various industries, it was inexplicably swift.

No matter the suspicion, he truly couldn't sit still anymore, previously his situation was already precarious, prior events warranted criticism, but falling behind in city establishment was unacceptable.

Spending actual money yet falling behind those using credit was embarrassing, it made him seem incapable if spread out.

He couldn't sit still, decided to leave, and see for himself.

Therefore, he set aside recovering his severed arm for now, gave orders, brought a few people, and headed straight for the Southern Central Hub.

With the Eastern Commander's personal visit, Shi Chun, being the Commander here, naturally had to personally receive him, as Dongguo Shou intended to tour around, Shi Chun had to accompany him.

No attendants were allowed to follow; the two men strolled along a section of the towering city wall that had already been completed. Dongguo Shou occasionally stopped to look at the figures bustling about with construction within the 'city'. In some places, even the structures were halfway built.

Indeed, as the messages had indicated, various industries seem to have moved in swiftly.

Shi Chun, however, was puzzled, unable to comprehend what this man truly wanted. He didn't believe the man was simply here to casually view the construction site. Unable to wait for the other to speak up, he proactively asked, "Brother Dongguo, have you come with any instructions?"

Dongguo Shou shook his head, "Just here to take a look, to learn from Brother Chun, to see how to manage the affairs of setting up the city and starting the domain more appropriately."

Shi Chun was skeptical; all matters of city establishment and construction were entrusted to skilled craftsmen, the same everywhere, merely adapting to local circumstances. What experience was there to learn? If there were, he sure would have learned it by now.

He still suspected that the other had another purpose in coming.

In order to get a clear view, Dongguo Shou indeed harbored doubts in his mind and thus directly flew up, landing outside a courtyard that was halfway completed within the 'city'.

A flamboyant woman, unfamiliar with the two men, passed by them with a handkerchief covering her mouth and nose to block the dust, twisting her waist while cursing at the accompanying supervisor, "The new paint must be mixed properly; once the courtyard is completed, I'll immediately open for business. There should absolutely be no irritating smell to suffocate the customers; quality must be good, good, good, and the construction must be fast, fast, fast. The longer the delay, the more money I lose every day, which I cannot tolerate..."

Dongguo Shou, overhearing this, was somewhat amazed. Wanting to do business so urgently?

Unable to contain his curiosity, he stopped a craftsman passing by carrying stone materials, "Friend, may I ask what kind of shop is being built here?"

The craftsman chuckled, giving him an ambiguous look, "A brothel."

"..." Dongguo Shou was dumbfounded on the spot, instinctively surveying the rundown environment. In this desolate place, the first to be built was a brothel, which somewhat exceeded his understanding.

He then flew to the construction sites of other buildings, inquiring one by one, finding that the results were either restaurants or various shops. He discovered that industries, indeed, were sprouting like bamboo shoots after a rain in this barren, desolate land, growing crazily and unreasonably.

After repeatedly confirming the facts, he finally paused, took in the undulating barren terrain, and remarked, "Brother Chun, over at my place, even the city roads haven't been planned out, while you have already started building shops here. Truly rapid progress."

Shi Chun waved his hand dismissively, "No, no, the city roads haven't been planned well here either. Currently, there is no certainty about recruiting people, making it difficult to plan."

Dongguo Shou was taken aback, then pointed at the scattered construction sites, "Brother Chun, why deceive me into thinking you don't know? If even roads haven't been planned, how could you build shops everywhere? Without proper roads at the front, how would business be conducted?"

Shi Chun responded frankly, "Brother Dongguo misunderstood. It truly hasn't been planned well. I let them choose freely where to build. Whoever arrives first gets to choose first. The area within the specifications is free according to the rules, and for exceeding specifications, they just need to pay Heavenly Court the fee according to the excess area. Once they have constructed all their buildings, the roads will be planned based on their location. The division of large and small areas thereafter will also rely on the presence of various industries, making it convenient to introduce and accommodate populations for easy living."

Dongguo Shou understood now, realizing the true purpose of his visit. "Brother Chun, with both places being desolate, why have various industries rapidly settled in here? Could you provide some guidance?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun also had a sudden insight, finally understanding the visitor's motive.

The concern was a misunderstanding of the visitor's intention; knowing the intention made it easier to deal with. Owning three of the four divisions themselves, facing the remaining division, Shi Chun did not mind doing something to establish his own credibility. He immediately waved his hand broadly, gesturing around, and boastfully said, "It's all about profit, my friend. Why do you think I advanced five years' salary? Resolving the immediate needs of brothers is just one aspect. With money in everyone's hands, collectively it's hundreds of billions! A large business involving hundreds of billions - who wouldn't want a share of food, clothing, housing, and transport? Thus promoting the prosperity of various industries, facilitating the living of brothers, and making it easier to introduce populations for convenient living..."

Dongguo Shou listened with a somewhat dumbfounded gaze, truly appreciating the other's brilliance in lavishly distributing money.

When his eyes returned to focus, looking again at Shi Chun, who was eloquently directing plans, he felt a newfound respect, all previous biases due to the other's background from the Land of Exile disappeared. Before Shi Chun, he felt a sense of shame comparing a grain of rice to the radiance of the moon.

Now fully understanding the affairs associated with this man, he realized why this individual always managed to excel. He truly possessed extraordinary abilities, hence one had to acknowledge him!

Gazing once more at the bustling construction surroundings, Dongguo Shou inevitably sighed silently, thinking even if he came personally, knowing the reason wouldn't help - having no money couldn't be mimicked.

After leaving with regret, Shi Chun also turned and flew toward his own cave dwelling.

Landing there, Feng Chi, who had been waiting, approached and asked, "Did the visitor have bad intentions?"

"He has a background where he could sleep soundly and stay unaffected, just seeking trouble for himself." Shi Chun sneered.

Accompanied by Feng Chi, who glanced at the nearby mountain top and asked, "San is still perched up there. Do you want to bring him down?"

Shi Chun paused, also glanced over, and saw San still on the mountain, gazing at the sky like a stone statue, neither eating nor drinking for several days.

The reason was simple; San awoke to find himself changed, aware it was due to ingesting the Dragon Ball, then broke down, feeling he had tainted the bloodline of the Qilin Clan, leading to self-torment by exposure.

"Also just seeking trouble for himself, leave him be." Shi Chun snorted, striding inside while instructing, "I'll be going out for a while, take care around here. Bring that head-shaking, wobbling little fellow over."

Things were already on track here, Manxi's fist was also pressed down and couldn't be dropped for a while. He had to attend to some serious business, Although introducing new populations was difficult, he couldn't just sit idly self-destructing. Regardless of success, he had to try his best, seek ways to resolve it.

His perspectives were limited, so he'd find people with insight to help. Miao Dingyi was his primary person to visit. As for Lan Qiaoyan, he also sought to 'return gloriously'.