Martial Peak
chapter-3033

Chapter 3033, In Full Swing

Yuan Wu’s complexion was greenish. After being helped up by the middle-aged man, he coughed violently and finally said, “I’m fine!”

He glared at Yang Kai hatefully but quickly shifted his gaze away when their eyes met. After experiencing what he went through just now, he no longer dared to challenge Yang Kai; thus, he could only bury the resentment in his heart and hope that he would have a chance at revenge in the future.

Only then did the monkey-faced man breathe a sigh of relief. He smiled flatteringly and said, “Good good, it’s good that you’re okay. We still need your leadership for the upcoming construction of the palace. What would we do if anything were to happen to you? We would lose the very backbone of the group!”

His flattery was so strong and obvious that many people glanced sideways at him, thinking to themselves that he could not be more shameless. Still, it made Yuan Wu’s expression turn for the better as he felt as though he managed to recover some of his pride.

The middle-aged man spoke again, “Sir, if there’s really no other choice, you can leave the mining of the Ice Spirit Snow Jade to me. What do you think?”

“Huh?” Yuan Wu was stunned. He turned his head to look at the middle-aged man, properly looking at the man for the first time.

The others were shocked too, and their expressions were weird. Everybody knew how dangerous mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade was. That was why nobody had been willing to take on that task. They had actively volunteered themselves for all the other tasks because they were afraid Yuan Wu might assign that task to them.

The middle-aged man was in the Second-Order Emperor Realm, so they were sure he knew about the dangers too. [What is he doing? It’s clearly a dangerous task. Why would he volunteer for it? Is he sick in the head? Even if it’s flattery, he shouldn’t joke about a matter involving life and death!] For a moment, they looked at the middle-aged man as if looking at a fool.

However, the middle-aged man seemed oblivious to those looks and just smiled slightly, “Of course, I’m only just saying. You will be the one to make the final decision, Sir.”

As soon as Yuan Wu heard those words, his favorability towards this middle-aged man increased considerably. His ego had been bruised by Yang Kai; the first task he assigned had been brushed off and he had been severely humiliated in the process. That had been a huge blow to his prestige, which was likely to affect his standing in the hearts of these 500 people.

In light of that, how could Yuan Wu not be grateful towards somebody who stood up in support of him at such a crucial moment? Moreover, this man had a smooth way with words and always spoke flatteringly and respectfully towards Yuan Wu.

Looking at the middle-aged man deeply, Yuan Wu asked, “What is your name?”

He did not recognize this man nor did he have the faintest recollection of a person like this in Half-Dragon City. Thus, he couldn’t help finding it strange; after all, such a strange appearance would definitely leave a deep impression on people.

The middle-aged man grinned meaningfully and replied, “My name is Wu Chen!”

“Good! You are very good!” Yuan Wu reached out and patted Wu Chen on the shoulder. It was easy to gild the lily, but it was not easy to extend a helping hand in times of need. Wu Chen had undoubtedly helped him out during a difficult time; therefore, even if the two of them had never met before and were not familiar with each other, Wu Chen’s position in Yuan Wu’s mind was much higher than anybody else’s from this moment on. Nodding, Yuan Wu continued, “Then, I will leave the mining of the Ice Spirit Snow Jade to you. Will 30 subordinates be enough?”

Wu Chen was startled, looking surprised for a moment before he grinned with joy, “Many thanks, Sir!”

When everybody else heard those words, they glanced at Wu Chen enviously and secretly regretted their inaction. [If we had known earlier, we wouldn’t have stood by and watched the show. We would have rushed forward to show some concern for Yuan Wu too.] Wu Chen had become highly valued by Yuan Wu with just a few words. He could be considered a leader among the 500 people present in this place. Moreover, he had been assigned to be in charge of mining the Ice Spirit Snow Jade. It was a stroke of good fortune that just fell into his lap.

Yuan Wu narrowed his eyes and said, “You will be in charge of this matter. You can choose the people you need yourself. Once you’re done choosing, just let me know.” Then, he slowly swept his gaze across the crowd and calmly continued, “If anybody dares to make excuses, tell me. I will deal with them myself.”

“Yes, of course. Many thanks for your graciousness, Sir!” Wu Chen’s expression was practically glowing. It was obvious that he was incredibly elated.

He could conduct himself freely with Yuan Wu supporting him; after all, not everybody had the courage and strength like Yang Kai to dare to challenge Yuan Wu. Even the few Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters present did not have the courage to do so.

With Wu Chen as the precedent, the other Emperor Realm Masters no longer sat around doing nothing. They hurriedly gathered around Yuan Wu, spewing an endless string of flattery with big smiles. They could tell that building the palace was too cumbersome and huge a task and Yuan Wu couldn’t do everything by himself. If he wanted to build a palace within a month, he inevitably had to pick some leaders to work under him to take charge of other matters; therefore, now was a good time to perform well.

In the blink of an eye, Yuan Wu once again tasted the glory of being revered as a leader, like the sun the planets revolved around. The previous humiliation and resentment he felt were swept away in an instant. He glanced in Yang Kai’s direction coldly, hesitating whether he should instruct these people to get rid of Yang Kai; however, that thought had only flashed through his mind once before he shot it down immediately. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Yang Kai, it was just that mentioning it at this time might indicate that he was too eager for success. [I’ll let you have your moment of glory for now. I have a whole month’s time anyway. I’ll kill you the moment I get the chance!]

Yuan Wu laughed coldly in his heart. Afterwards, he no longer thought about Yang Kai as he started assigning tasks to the rest. During the previous investigation, he had gained a little understanding of what needed to be done in the next month. For now, the plan was to send people out to obtain the materials needed to build the palace. That was an urgent matter as it would be too late by the time the materials they had on hand were completely used up.

He consecutively selected more than two hundred people and divided them into eight teams. These eight teams were to go and obtain the various materials they needed for the construction; however, Yuan Wu was very careful with his selection. Aside from Wu Chen, he did not appoint another person to be in charge directly. He was grateful to Wu Chen for helping him save face, so he wanted to repay the favour in kind. On the other hand, the others had done nothing just now. [You want me to value you? Good, show me your attitude first!]

Although each material was produced by the islands of Dragon Palace, they were scattered across different Spirit Islands. Yuan Wu explained the tasks and pointed out the direction of the respective Spirit Islands. Then, more than two hundred ‘helpers’ reluctantly took flight under the cover of the night. Time was running out so there was not a moment to delay or rest. Therefore, there was no room for dissension even though they held some resentment in their hearts.

With that, the number of people remaining was halved all of a sudden.

After that, Yuan Wu began to assign different tasks to the remaining people. The Dragon Clan might have planned out the site, but that was only a rough mapping of the area. The rest of the details had been left to these 500 people to figure out.

Building a palace was not a simple matter. It involved many different aspects. Fortunately, the remaining three hundred people were not completely useless. Many of them had some experience in this, so Yuan Wu gathered them together for a brief discussion. Following that, he issued various orders to them.

Waves after waves of people flew off, each embarking on a different task. They began to make preparations for the construction of the palace on this island. In an instant, the entire island became bustling. Despite how late it was, the sounds of people moving about and working continued without end.

As dawn approached, most of the tasks had been assigned to these people. Only Yang Kai, Lu San Niang, and her daughter remained standing there without moving. Yuan Wu clearly had no plans to provoke Yang Kai anymore. He even ignored both Lu San Niang and her daughter as a result. Glaring at Yang Kai’s back coldly, he snorted and turned to leave.

The moment he left, Lu San Niang immediately looked at Yang Kai and helplessly asked, “Little Brother Yang, what should we do now?”

How things played out had been rather unexpected. She initially thought that it would be difficult for her daughter and her to escape from Yuan Wu’s clutches; thus, she had mentally prepared herself to resist to the bitter end. She did not expect that nothing would happen at all.

It was all thanks to Yang Kai that they could be so leisurely at this time. At the same time, she finally understood why Li Jiao had left without any worries whatsoever. He didn’t even tell her anything before he left. He clearly knew what Yang Kai was capable of and that was why there was no need to say anything at all.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you, Elder Sister Lu.” Yang Kai turned his head to look at her.

“Just ask away.” She looked at Yang Kai with some restraint, no longer daring to treat him as an equal. The reason she had been able to relax in front of him before was that she had believed they were both First-Order Emperors; however, after seeing his strength, she immediately understood that he was not someone she could ever hope to compare with. Besides, respecting the strong was an unchanging principle of the Martial Dao, so she was slightly in awe of him.

He seemed oblivious to the changes. Pondering in silence for a moment, he said, “You have lived here for a long time. Have you ever heard of a Dragon Clan member named Zhu Qing?”

“The Zhu Clan of the Dragon Clan?” She was startled.

“Indeed!” He nodded gently.

“I’ve never heard of that name before.” She shook her head, “Although I have lived here for 200 to 300 years, I have never left the place where I lived, so I don’t have much of an understanding towards the affairs within Dragon Palace.”

“I see…” Yang Kai seemed a little disappointed. He thought that since Lu San Niang has lived here for so long, she might know something about the internal workings of the Dragon Clan. At the very least, he thought she could point him in the right direction or something. Who could have known that she was basically a prisoner here the entire time, so he couldn’t rely on her to help at all?

She seemed slightly surprised, “Little Brother Yang, do you know a member of the Dragon Clan?”

[I don’t just know one, we even have an intimate relationship!] Naturally, he did not say those words out loud and simply answered, “I’m going to go out for a bit. Do you want to come along, Elder Sister Lu?”

She became frightened upon hearing those words and exclaimed in horror, “Go out? Go where?”

“I’m just taking a walk around!”

“You can’t!” Lu San Niang’s expression changed abruptly. She glanced about their surroundings to make sure there was no one else around before she whispered, “Brother Yang, I know you are strong, but this is Dragon Palace. This is where the Dragon Clan lives. If you are discovered by the Dragon Clan…”

Yang Kai smiled, “So many people have gone out. It won’t matter even if we were discovered by a member of the Dragon Clan.”

Earlier, more than two hundred people had scattered in different directions in eight different teams. They were all heading towards different Spirit Islands to obtain the materials needed for building the palace, so it was the perfect cover for Yang Kai.