Just as Wang Sheng and Zhu Xiao were about to make their move, the next day, intelligence agents at Yuelai Inn received the news that forces of Overlord Level had acted.
The intelligence had already been organized, and Zhu Xiao brought it to Wang Sheng to see.
“Ming King, Wu King, Cang King, and Eastern King ordered their Martial Artists to set out in tens of thousands, sixty Grandmaster Level Martial Artists, to go to various places for famine relief. In addition, there are several hundred thousand troops escorting the grain—so much grain that it’s hard to count. It’s roughly estimated that it can help the people get through at least three months of difficulty.
Many people have already received aid and the corresponding grain. Countless citizens are grateful to the four Overlord Level forces, some even offering Longevity Tablets…
Below are accurate figures, Ming King sent over twenty thousand Martial Artists along with the grain…”
There was a lot of information in the letter, but the advantage of the intelligence from Yuelai Inn is that it highlighted the main points directly, so Wang Sheng quickly understood the basic situation.
Basically, it was that after the people had suffered from natural calamities for two months, the four most powerful forces had acted.
Wang Sheng looked at the grain they had prepared—it was astronomical, almost impossible to count. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible to sustain so many people for three months.
“You’re amazed, right? The quantity of this grain is beyond imagination. I originally thought that my Yuelai Inn, with its reach across all of Great Zhou, had astonishing resources. But compared to them, we are just a small show to a great display—even missing the mark by a long shot!” Zhu Xiao had seen the intelligence too, and when she first got it, she had been surprised. The sheer volume was astounding, and nearly every party was stronger than them.
After his initial amazement, Wang Sheng calmed down and said, “I’ve looked at the detailed data, and even though the grain is preserved in a special way to ensure it’s edible, much of it is old grain. This indicates that these grains have been prepared for a long time. Such a massive mobilization of grain—and nobody knew about it?”
“For Overlord Level forces, hiding such things is very simple, especially after the passing of the Master of Destiny. Moreover, with so much grain, there has been no significant purchasing activity on the market other than my own. So, where did all this grain come from?”
Yuelai Inn is fundamentally a commercial organization, extremely sensitive to market affairs. Zhu Xiao was very clear; there had been no such large transactions by any force.
If it wasn’t from buying, then it was either grown personally or stolen.
“The Four Families, before this, didn’t have that many people to claim kingship; it’s a recent development. There’s so much grain that it’s basically impossible that they grew it themselves. That leaves stealing and looting, but again, logic dictates that such large quantities of stolen and looted grain should have been discovered. Thus, only one way remains that allows for stealing and looting openly without raising suspicions!”
“Taxation!” Wang Sheng followed Zhu Xiao’s train of thought and spoke out.
Indeed, only taxation could acquire so much grain in a legitimate manner and escape suspicion.
“But the taxes in Great Zhou, before its downfall, had been collected far into ten, even dozens of years into the future. The people aren’t fools, right?”
“So in essence, the act of stealing and looting are the same,” Zhu Xiao said somberly, “The officials of Great Zhou used the grain tax to loot the grain, but what does that have to do with my Overlord Level forces?”
Wang Sheng had an epiphany; he hadn’t thought of this point before.
The officials and the army of Great Zhou collected the grain tax—what does that have to do with the Four Kings?
But there was one important point: such a massive stockpile of grain must have required preparation years in advance. At that time, was the grain really collected by the Great Zhou dynasty?
That wasn’t necessarily the case!
Neither of them spoke; it wasn’t an easy topic to discuss without any evidence.
However, they both adjusted quickly; since the Overlord Level forces had acted, there was no need for them to force the issue. At least for now, the outcome looked positive.
“Compared to the grain, I’m more curious about whether the Four Kings knew in advance that such a Catastrophe would happen, seeing that the stockpile was clearly prepared for this particular Catastrophe!”
“They knew!” Zhu Xiao answered directly, “In fact, after seeing the situation, I had the same suspicion, so I went and asked the Clan Elders, and they confirmed it. There was bound to be such an event during the collapse of the dynasty, the reason unknown. But for someone like me, who doesn’t intend to compete for power and would naturally support the people regardless, it didn’t really matter, so I didn’t speak about it.”
That’s the logic; the Four Kings clearly aimed to win people’s hearts with these acts, and Zhu Xiao, not interested in power struggles, would perceive knowledge as inconsequential.
Of course, there was another important point; she hadn’t inquired about this matter before.
Wang Sheng cleared his throat lightly as he remembered the last inquiry; he had only asked for what he wanted, missing such crucial information.
The Overlord Level forces foreseeing this event indicated a problem.
“So, does that mean such Catastrophes have occurred in cycles many times before?”
“Yes, in fact, after every dynasty’s destruction, such things happen, but no one knows why.”
Wang Sheng looked up at the sky.
“Unexplained Catastrophes, they truly are mystical!”
“Related to that so-called ‘Heavenly Father’?”
“Unclear, but it’s possible. After all, such Catastrophes are too strange; it’s indeed different in various regions, but simultaneous occurrences of drought, floods, snowstorms, and tempests on the land of Great Zhou is impossible unless there is external intervention.”
Wang Sheng had studied the climate of Great Zhou when researching “Beckoning the Wind and Summoning the Rain;” it couldn’t be natural, there must be some external force at play.
“What’s the benefit of doing this?”
Zhu Xiao didn’t really understand. There seemed to be no benefit in doing this.
“But that’s not necessarily true, look, some people have gained quite a bit from it!”
The power of the Four Kings, after this event, had garnered no small benefit.
“The Four Kings shouldn’t have the ability to change such a massive celestial phenomenon, right?”
“That’s why I find it strange!”
Wang Sheng and Zhu Xiao stopped talking and looked up at the sky together. The more they knew, the more they doubted such matters.
In the end, Zhu Xiao sighed and said, “According to what the Clan Elders said, this kind of Catastrophe usually lasts about three to six months. No matter what, with the support of these Martial Artists and food, there shouldn’t be any problem getting through it.”
The Catastrophe had been going on for almost two months. The resources provided by the Four Kings were enough for all the people to get through the remaining time without much trouble.
In the end, Zhu Xiao left. The influence of the Four Kings had been extended, and her Yuelai Inn wouldn’t stop either.
After all, the Four Kings didn’t send their food to the places she had been supporting before. Her Yuelai Inn still needed to continue delivering food. It was thanks to the scale of her family’s business; otherwise, she couldn’t have sustained such generosity.
However, Wang Sheng also knew that Zhu Xiao wouldn’t give up.
During previous conversations, Zhu Xiao mentioned that she had spent a long time away from her family. That’s when she set up the first Yuelai Inn. Back then, it was the specially attentive care she received as a young girl in business that allowed her to rise eventually, and the business of Yuelai Inn kept growing.
Therefore, most of Yuelai Inn’s business catered to the affordability of ordinary people, which was also Zhu Xiao’s way of giving back.
There is no such thing as unprovoked kindness. The cause of the past leads to the fruit of the present.
After Zhu Xiao left, Wang Sheng continued with his own Cultivation.
Although Sword Flight and the Breakthrough in forging were pleasing, the most important thing was still his own strength, and that required time.
Inner Core Skill and Ba Duan Jin were the core of his Cultivation.
Time slowly passed by, and in just over two months,
Wang Sheng’s strength gradually increased. Nowadays, his daily routine mainly consisted of practicing a few Cultivation Techniques and allowing his flying swords to absorb metals to improve their quality.
The quality of his two flying swords was nearly the same, having absorbed metals for so long, they could be said to be made of top-notch materials in the world.
His flying swords also became more powerful.
The Black Dragon Spear and the Fire Transformation Pearl were also being refined, but their quality couldn’t be improved anymore. They just became more handy to use.
Then there was the Military Formation.
Although the power of “Incense Fire Faith” he was receiving daily had significantly decreased, the force of “Incense Fire Faith” he had suppressed before hadn’t lessened at all. It was still plentiful, so studying the Array was necessary.
Of course, despite the gradual improvement in the level of the Military Formation, the Array he envisioned was still far from reality. He had a feeling that he would need to suppress the power of “Incense Fire Faith” for a while longer.
“Take it slow!”
It was his first time to know that the power of “Incense Fire Faith” was so “troublesome.” He clearly didn’t want it, but he couldn’t easily get rid of it.
There was no qualitative change in his Cultivation, but the situation in the outside world changed rapidly.
First, there was the Catastrophe. As two months passed by, the effects of the Catastrophe gradually weakened. It was no longer as violent as in the beginning, and the lives of the people had improved significantly. Thanks to the manpower and food from the Four Kings, although numerous people died unknowingly in between, at least they were gradually getting through this disaster.
Then there was Huangtian, the person Wang Sheng had been paying attention to.
Now he had two sources for gathering information, one was from the Three Great Families and the other was from Yuelai Inn.
This time, the information came from Yuelai Inn.
In the central five states, which the Four Kings had not yet touched, a force called Taiping Sect had risen.
And the Sect Hierarch of the Taiping Sect was named Huangtian, he even had a title—Heavenly Master.
The heavenly-guided force, directing everyone towards an ideal world.
“Why does this seem off?”
It looked like a scam, but the information Zhu Xiao got about Huangtian was quite positive, even somewhat supportive.
The emergence of the Taiping Sect meant that Huangtian was formally stepping onto the stage.
“It looks like he must have reached the Grandmaster Level, let’s see if you can withstand the pressure!”