Chapter 152

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Chapter 152: Frontier Stronghold

Wilderness, a very deep place.

Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua, along with twenty skilled workers called Building foundation, were traveling to the heart of Wilderness on a flying boat. Along the way, they could see countless magical beasts. Some were hiding in the darkness with frightening eyes, while others were large in size and flying through the sky. There was danger lurking everywhere.

"We’re only thirty miles away."

Zhang Shuhua compared the map in his hand and said to Lin Jiang.

"This place is over three thousand miles away from the Five Elements Sect’s base. The courage of these Martial Uncles is bigger than I expected. This kind of frontier base, as long as we can hold on for twenty years, we will definitely make a fortune."

Lin Jiang said. The idea of establishing a new base was his, but the courage of the three golden core members of the Five Elements Sect was greater than he expected because they chose the most advanced base.

What is a frontier base? It is a base that goes deep into the territory of the magical clan, with no human clearance around it. Magical beasts are everywhere. It may be directly established on the territory of a powerful magical beast and could be attacked at any time by magical beasts, or even by a beast tide.

This kind of frontier base is very rare to last for thirty years because it is very dangerous. There is a possibility of being attacked by terrifying monsters, so only a few outcasts among the independent cultivators would choose to do so.

"We don’t need 20 years, 5 years is enough. But as cultivators, we must fight against fate. How can we advance without taking a chance?"

"I regret giving this suggestion. Initially, I just wanted them to establish a base about a few hundred miles away from the Five Elements Sect’s stronghold."

"A few hundred miles doesn’t matter much. Independent cultivators would rather travel a few hundred miles to our Five Elements Sect’s stronghold than go to a small base. Alright, we’re almost there."

Zhang Shuhua casually said, then he activated a token. In front of them, a cloud of mist dispersed, revealing a golden core cultivator flying out.

"Greetings, Martial Uncle Zou."

Lin Jiang and Zhang Shuhua quickly bowed. This person is one of the three Martial Uncles with a golden core, Zou Yu.

"Come in quickly."

Zou Yu led the way, and their flying boat entered into the mist. As they went in, everything became clear. Inside, there was a mountain range with a building located on top. The terrain was very treacherous, difficult to attack but easy to defend.

"Uncle Zou, it looks like we can open in half a month."

"We’re just waiting for this batch of materials. We’ve been busy for two months and put all our resources into it. We’re relying on this gamble."

Zou Yu said. Three months ago, he and three senior brothers came to Wilderness. Among them, three people accepted Zhang Wanjing’s advice and established a frontier outpost after their careful investigation and decision to take a great risk.

For more than two months after that, they were busy recruiting people and looking for a location for the outpost. In the end, they chose this place, which used to be an abandoned frontier outpost. Many things were still here, so the amount of work was reduced a lot. Otherwise, it would have taken at least a year to establish.

"Martial Uncle, the supplies have been delivered."

"Does Senior Brother Zhang have anything else to say?"

"My father said that if they encounter a strong enemy, they can retreat to the Five Elements Sect outpost. My father will send someone to help, even if it’s a fourth-level monster beast."

"Senior Brother Zhang is thoughtful."

"Martial Uncle Zou, what about the other two Martial Uncles?"

Lin Jiang asked. There are a total of three Martial Uncles with golden cores. Besides Zou Yu, there are also Wei Yunshen and Yu Wanke.

"They went to monitor a nearby group of third-level monster beasts. Once the outpost is completely built, we will find a way to completely eliminate them. With that done, the outpost will be safe for the next three years."

"Mighty Uncle"

"Mighty my foot, we’ve been attacked by beasts hundreds of times in the past two months. It costs us a lot to maintain our formation. If we don’t kill them, we won’t be able to afford it."

"Haha, Mighty Uncle is joking."

"I’m not joking with you. Put down your things and leave quickly. There are many beasts here, don’t get attacked."

"Okay."

"So, young apprentice Xiao has set up a brewery in the Five Elements Sect’s stronghold, right?"

"Yes, Mighty Uncle."

"In the future, we’ll send a batch of supplies to Medicine City every month. Prepare a batch of spiritual wine, and I’ll pay you a normal price for it."

"Thank you, Mighty Uncle, for taking care of the business."

Lin Jiang quickly thanked him. This is called reciprocity. Actually, they could have bought it near Medicine City. The spiritual wine made by cultivators in remote villages is not expensive.

"If we have wealth, let’s all share!"

"Then we’ll leave first."

"We won’t see you off, we’re too busy. Next time you come, I’ll treat you to demon beast meat."

"Goodbye, Martial Uncle."

Lin Jiang and the others unloaded their supplies and quickly set up the flying boat to leave. Without the supplies, their speed increased, and they disappeared like a passing shadow, while the defensive formation of the headquarters closed swiftly.

They moved quickly without encountering any demon beast attacks. That’s how the Wilderness is. If you keep moving, you rarely get attacked by demon beasts. But once you stop, there’s a chance of being targeted by them.

The cultivators’ long years of hunting demons have created a deep-rooted enmity between them and the demon beasts. They can even draw their swords at each other with just a glance.

And in the Wilderness, the biggest danger for cultivators comes from other cultivators. If they hadn’t been flying the Five Elements Sect’s flag, they would have likely been attacked.

········

The first year at Wilderness Point has passed, and after conducting an audit, Zhang Wanjing found that this year’s income has increased by over thirty percent compared to when they first arrived.

"Xiao Yi, you did a great job."

Zhang Wanjing called out Xiao Yi’s name, giving him credit for the increase in income. It was mainly thanks to Xiao Yi’s efforts in putting an end to corrupt practices, such as free eating and drinking.

"Master, what do you plan to do with this money?"

"This money belongs to the sect, so don’t even think about it."

"It’s not about me having ideas, but about considering what’s best for the master."

"Go ahead, tell me what nonsense you’ve come up with."

"Ahem, master, if the income increased by thirty percent this year, what if the sect demands another thirty percent increase next year, and the year after that? Can the income keep growing endlessly?"

"No, but that’s not a reason for you to encourage me to keep the sect’s property for myself."

"I didn’t say keep it for myself, we can distribute it to everyone, it’s called profit-sharing. Ask Senior Brother Zhang, how many cultivators have caused trouble in the past year, how many have been injured, and how many have stayed up all night guarding the stronghold. Does Master think the sect’s meager salary is worth working so hard for?"

"That’s an absurd argument."

"If it increases by more than thirty percent, we can contribute half or even one percent to the sect. Then we can distribute the remaining rewards to everyone based on merits. Everyone will be satisfied and feel that their hard work hasn’t been in vain. Isn’t that wonderful?"

Lin Jiang continues to deceive; he understands how leaders work. If your performance increases by thirty percent this year, and only twenty percent next year, people might think you’re slacking off and have complaints about the sect. That won’t do. Next year, you must increase it by at least another thirty percent. The top makes the decision, and the bottom has to run tirelessly to achieve it; that’s how it works.

"Father, Junior Brother makes a valid point. Among independent cultivators, there are some who earn more than the Martial Uncle guarding the stronghold. It makes people envious. If our income doesn’t increase, no one will want to do this job anymore. They would rather take risks. The stronghold won’t be able to grow without higher income. Only with higher income can we attract people to come and guard it."

"Shuhua, have you been bribed too?"

"Of course not, I’m telling the truth."

"But I can’t make the final decision."

"Master can’t make the decision, but Martial Uncle Chen Xuanhua can. He’s one of the senior elders of the sect and also in charge of the base."

Lin Jiang immediately said, this was also part of his calculations. Zhang Wanjing couldn’t handle the sect, but Chen Xuanhua could. He’s a Nascent Soul Elder, the highest level of the sect, and still has some authority.

"Alright, I’ll discuss with Martial Uncle Chen. He’s currently at the base these days."

Zhang Wanjing said, since Chen Xuanhua arrived, he took charge of the base and had been there for less than a month. Now is the perfect time.

The next day, Zhang Wanjing went to find Chen Xuanhua and told him about the matter.

"Wanjing, how much money is there?"

"If we keep 20 percent, we will have over two million spirit stones."

"So many?"

Chen Xuanhua was shocked. He had been guarding the stronghold for many years, but he had never paid attention to such things. After all, he wasn’t a specific steward.

"The spirit stone won’t make mistakes."

"Damn it, those bastards from before must have been pocketing it for themselves."

"Martial Uncle, take a look."

"We’ll split it. I want one million spirit stones, and you can split the rest. If the Sect Leader or other elders ask, I’ll take responsibility."

"Is this against the rules?"

"The rules of the Five Elements Sect are set by the elders, and I am one of the elders. Tell me, is it against the rules or not?"

"Understood. In a few days, no, I’ll have it delivered this afternoon. Martial Uncle, please sign here first."

"Stop being so talkative."

Chen Xuanhua made a comment. He’s really clever. I bet he won’t go back on his word. But he still signed it. One million spirit stones, that’s more than what he gets from hunting monsters.

Zhang Wanjing saw Chen Xuanhua sign the paper and was very happy. Over a million spirit stones were left, and they would be divided according to cultivation level and position. Zhang Wanjing would definitely get a lot. Chen Xuanhua nodded, this was a fair and legal income.

In the afternoon, news spread and the disciples of the Five Elements Sect in the stronghold became excited. However, Lin Jiang was in a difficult situation. He had to stay up all night to calculate how to divide it and how much each person would get.

"Chen Xuanhua’s Martial Uncle has already taken his share. Now it’s our turn. The master will take 200,000 spirit stones for himself, and the rest will be divided into different tiers. The three town guardians, me, Zhang Shuhua senior brother, the leader of the guard team, and the manager of Xingyuan Building will be in the first tier. The rest of the Building foundation disciples will be in the second tier. The remaining disciples will be in the third tier, and the lowest tier will receive only 2,000 spirit stones. What do you think, master?"

"How much can we get in the first tier?"

"Around 120,000 spirit stones."

"What about the rest?"

"The second tier will get around 30,000 spirit stones, the third tier will get 15,000, and the fourth tier will only receive 2,000."

"Isn’t the gap too big?"

"Master, I have already calculated it. I have taken into account the average annual income of ordinary disciples. For example, an ordinary Building foundation disciple can earn around 10,000 spirit stones in a year in the sect, Medicine City, or other places, if they don’t have skills like Pill, Talisman, Item, and Formation. The reward of 15,000 spirit stones is equivalent to an extra year’s income. When combined with salary and other rewards, their actual income will be three to five times higher than that of ordinary Building foundation disciples. This is already quite reasonable."

"Okay, let’s do that. Leave a small amount leftover and we’ll have a meal together when we divide the money."

"Yes, Master."

Lin Jiang nodded. This year, he had a great harvest. His income for the whole year had already exceeded three hundred thousand spirit stones, with one-third of it created by Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao.

Every month, Lin Jiang would take a break. It was a regular vacation. As soon as he took a break, he would go outside the base and release Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao to hunt. While they ate meat, he would collect materials like fur, bones, and blood.

"Wilderness, I’ve come to the right place."

Lin Jiang sighed. With the support of the sect, there was not much danger, but his income had skyrocketed. This time, he had made the right decision.