Chapter 290: One Month Later

Anyang’s development truly lives up to the phrase “changing with each passing day”; and the force driving this transformation is what people call “capital power.” However, in this immortal domain, at its core, it is actually “luck” and “cultivation.”

Through the circulation of wealth such as gold, silver, and copper, the sparse fortune among the people can gradually be gathered and used to accelerate individual cultivation.

Moreover, the development of Anyang’s technology is a direct force pushing this change.

The Qingyun Valley has been continuously expanding; now, the area of Qingyun Valley spans about three kilometers in radius, extending toward the south and southwest. Around the outskirts of Qingyun Valley, there are more than a dozen large branch factories, all owned by the Brilliant Star Group. These include factories for cement, steel, stainless steel, locomotives, components, fuel, basic low-grade machinery, bicycles, industrial wires, textiles, glass and colored lanterns, watches, and more.

The number of workers belonging to the Brilliant Star Group has already exceeded fifty thousand; and the external sales branches of the group are too many to count.

Now, it has been a month since Anyang and the Jin Kingdom officially signed the agreement, and in this one month, Anyang has become bustling beyond imagination.

As one of the top reporters of the Anyang Daily, Dong Guanwu was once again looking troubled today—his boss had made a snap decision to produce a “Top Ten News Stories.” These are to be the most talked-about, most influential, and most representative events in Anyang over the past two months.

“This really isn’t an easy task,” Dong Guanwu said, both joyful and troubled. With his camera in hand, an iron token for recording information, and a backpack on his back, he began his interviews. It must be explained that this iron token is a new kind of “jade slip,” a new recording artifact produced by the Brilliant Star Group. It is cheaper and has lower usage requirements than traditional jade slips.

The first person Dong Guanwu interviewed was Xie Yuhua, the president of the “Purple Bamboo Conference Center.” During the recent negotiations, Xie Yuhua had risen to fame in one stroke.

When interviewed by Dong Guanwu, Xie Yuhua sat in a chair carved from red coral and cushioned with white snow fox fur. She looked like a celestial court lady, making people afraid to look directly at her.

On the table in front of her sat “spiritual spring water,” surrounded by sea pearls, exquisitely carved jade fairy maidens, and soft, sacred lighting that created an ethereal, dream-like scene reminiscent of a heavenly palace.

Further away were two smaller tables, where two equally beautiful girls were busy working.

Looking at this luxurious office, Dong Guanwu couldn’t help but swallow. “Fairy Xie, Anyang has changed a lot recently. In your opinion, which events have had the most impact?”

Xie Yuhua lazily sat up from the chair and then leaned onto the table, resting her chin in her hands as she blinked thoughtfully.

A ray of sunset light fell on Xie Yuhua’s elegant face, bringing a hint of holy blush to her cheeks, suddenly making her appear even more otherworldly and fairy-like.

Dong Guanwu lowered his gaze, trying hard to suppress his thumping heart. Being in this office gave him the feeling of entering a boudoir… Oh dear, such sinful thoughts…

After a long pause, Xie Yuhua finally spoke slowly. “I think there are a few events that are particularly representative.”

“First, naturally, is the Jin Kingdom’s surrender and its forced signing of the eight-clause agreement, along with the establishment of mutual embassies with Anyang, and the exchange of the Ten-Thousand Sword Grand Formation and the Eight Desolate Six Harmonies Heavenly Gang Formation.”

“Second, the agreement secured substantial benefits for Anyang’s merchants, to the extent that seventy percent of Anyang’s merchants are now doing business in the Jin Kingdom.”

“Third, the alliance with the Dragon Palace and the formal establishment of the ‘Golden Scales Group’ by the Dragon King’s Mansion. Since then, a continuous supply of sea treasures has greatly enriched Anyang’s commerce and cuisine.”

“Fourth, the successful test flight of the supersonic aircraft, reaching speeds up to 1,300 km/h; the shockwave and sonic boom as the plane broke the sound barrier stunned everyone within a hundred-mile radius—truly a miracle.”

“Fifth, Anyang’s official annexation of Lüliang County. Taking advantage of this, the Wise King advanced directly to the Nascent Soul stage. His great talent and bold strategy have earned him admiration.”

“Sixth, various nations established diplomatic relations with Anyang and set up embassies. Anyang’s trade routes now stretch thousands of miles in every direction. From now on, Anyang is no longer merely Anyang County, but a truly independent and rightfully named kingdom.”

“Seventh, Anyang discovered a spiritual spring and opened it for public sale, bringing a ray of hope to this resource-scarce immortal domain. It’s just… the spring water is a bit expensive. If only it were cheaper.”

“Eighth, the Brilliant Star Group further released technical knowledge—basic machine tool technology and firearms technology have now spread far and wide across the land.”

“Ninth, Anyang’s legal system has become more firmly established, and a society based on law is taking shape. Each day, countless envoys from various countries come to study it.”

“Tenth…”

Xie Yuhua drew out the tone.

Dong Guanwu looked up and saw Xie Yuhua gazing at him with bright eyes.

Seeing him raise his head, Xie Yuhua blinked and said, “Master Dong, do you think you could write the tenth item as ‘Bright future for the Conference Center—Purple Bamboo Conference Center hosted 323 meetings and negotiations within one month’?”

Dong Guanwu immediately shook his head when he heard that. “That’s not for me to decide. I need to report all the suggestions to my superiors.”

Xie Yuhua did not give up. “If… if… I mean if, okay… if you can incorporate this information, or the Purple Bamboo Conference Building’, into your article, then the Purple Bamboo Conference Building will always welcome you for interviews in the future.”

Dong Guanwu gave in. “I… I’ll do my… best…”

After saying that, Dong Guanwu fled in panic.

After Dong Guanwu left, Xie Yuhua suddenly put away her smile, sat up straight, tried hard to show a touch of authority, a hint of sarcasm, and a smile on her face. After adjusting for a long time, she suddenly asked the two young girls beside her, “Xiaoyue, Xiaozhu, how do I compare with that Dragon Princess now?”

The two girls immediately responded in unison: “Your Highness is much more beautiful than the Dragon Princess. Hee hee…”

“Seriousness, do you understand what that means? Be a little more serious.”

……

After Dong Guanwu left, he wiped off a cold sweat while secretly feeling a little pleased. But he still did his job diligently, continuing to interview people along the way — from street vendors, to shop owners and clerks, to workers, and so on.

Everyone had their own opinions.

Some said that Dongyuan County and Nanyang County voluntarily admitting fault and seeking peace with Anyang on Jin Kingdom’s terms had the most impact, showing that Anyang could now “subdue the enemy without fighting.” This is the highest realm. Of course, the reparations were only about one-tenth — asking for more would be pointless as they couldn’t afford it anyway.

Some said that the official launch of maritime transportation in Anyang, with new sea routes to both Jin Kingdom and Liu Kingdom, was of great significance and expanded the horizons of humankind.

Some said that Li Xian being given the honorary title “Virtuous King” by the East Sea Dragon Palace seemed to be more symbolic.

Some said that the emergence of banks was highly representative; now banks handled nearly 90% of Anyang’s internal wealth exchange.

Some said the public sale of Foundation Establishment Liquid had the greatest impact, proving that Anyang had found an alternative to Foundation Establishment Pills — a development of far-reaching significance.

Public opinion varied widely and was inconclusive; but everyone was enthusiastic, excitedly discussing Anyang’s strategies and eagerly imagining the future.

Of course, there were also some criticisms of certain phenomena — for example, the overemphasis on commerce leading to a restless and impatient society; some vulgar behaviors by low-quality merchants; and the rise of new phenomena like “gold-digging women and cuckolded men.”

These diverse opinions made Dong Guanwu alternately happy and furious. After a full day of interviews, he worked overnight to organize his report:

What the public was most interested in was the public sale of “Spirit Spring.” In this era of scarce resources, the fact that Anyang could sell Spirit Spring openly — and at a ‘reasonable’ price — was considered a commendable act of generosity.

What was the deal with this Spirit Spring?

The official statement was that it had been discovered underground in the northeastern part of Anyang — the area where the first naval artillery test had been conducted — in the transitional zone between human territory and the land of magical beasts.

The internal truth, however, was that it was created by mixing liquid spiritual energy, a small amount of cultivated bacterial elixir, and 99% “deep underground spring water.” The selling price — ten taels of gold per liter.

Next was the Foundation Establishment Liquid, said to be a concentrated and ‘deep-processed’ product derived from the Spirit Spring — priced at 100,000 taels of gold per bottle, and it was always sold out immediately.

In the world of cultivation, anything related to cultivation was the most important. The reason Xie Yuhua reversed the order was simply because she was a merchant at heart.

Third in popularity was the supersonic aircraft — or more precisely, the concept of “using advanced aircraft to transport people directly to the Immortal Realm.” The appearance of supersonic aircraft gave people hope and proved that Anyang was genuinely working toward that goal.

And this too, was related to cultivation.

Only after that came the defeat of Jin Kingdom and the signing of the treaty, Anyang’s annexation of Luliang County, the alliance with the Dragon Palace, the further release of industrial technologies, and the establishment of formal diplomatic relations with the Liu, Qi, Chen, and Cai Kingdoms.

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