Inside the Spirit Train, all the prominent n masters looked at Su Yen attentively. They weren''t foolish enough to believe that Su Yen had allowed them to sit together for sightseeing purposes.
Though they were excited by the novelty of the Spirit Train, they needed to face the reality, and it was important. Su Yen observed the seriousness on their faces and was pleased. "Do you know how many times we''ve circled the city?" he asked.
Huang Yin gazed outside the window, but everything passed by too quickly for her to get a glimpse of their surroundings. As for the others, they didn''t bother looking since they couldn''t see a thing.
"We''ve circled the city three times, and we''re now in the south," Su Yen stated slowly.
"What!" Their jaws dropped to the ground.
To them, it had only been a matter of minutes, but they had traveled around the city three times. From inside the Spirit Train, Cloudweaver City, thergest of the four cities, now seemed norger than a small vige.
Su Yen understood their shock but continued to speak calmly. "This is the future, but to be part of it, you must y your role diligently."
The sudden shift in his tone sent a shiver down everyone''s spine inside the train. The only two individuals who didn''t show fear were the Pagoda Church priest and Huang Yin. Nheless, they both had serious expressions on their faces.
Su Yen continued, "We are surrounded by enemies, both known and unknown. The only thing we can do right now is be stronger as quickly as possible, and that means having better weapons and transportation, both onnd and at sea."
"We have solvednd transportation, and the sea can wait for a while. Now, we need to strengthen what we already have. This brings me to my conclusion: I need eight strong military barracks."
"Four main barracks will guard against our natural enemies, which are the Dreadshade Forest, the Southern Sea, the Endless Mountain Range, and the Northern Desert," he paused to gather his thoughts. As for the others, they had solemn expressions on their faces. They understood what Su Yen was trying to convey and couldn''t help but shiver when they realized they were in the midst of deadly threats.
"Some of you may have heard rumors or stories about the four ces I mentioned. What you heard was true, and it might even downy the threat. The dangers in those ces could annihte the entire barrennd in a day if we''re not careful enough."
Hearing this, everyone in the train took a deep breath. Despite the cooling array of formations within the train working perfectly, they couldn''t help but break into a sweat. They swallowed hard as they awaited the continuation of Su Yen''s speech.
"I know some of you are driven by greed, but there must be limits. Your greed can jeopardize the safety of the people. Your deaths would be much worse than the Jin n''s." His gaze shifted from one face to another, sending shivers down their spines.
They knew the tyrant emperor didn''t make empty threats, so they warned themselves not to get on his bad side.
"Back to what I was saying, four of the military barracks will guard against these ces, while the other four will be ced closer to the people in case of emergencies."
"The sect will support you in building your regional military barracks to speed up thepletion of each one. I want each barracks to bepleted in a month," he dered, leaving no room for discussion.
Su Yen saw the dread on their faces, but didn''t care. The sect had been strengthening the barrennd for the past months, and now it was time for the ns to join the effort.
"In addition to that, the intercity Spirit Train tracks and stations must bepleted within two weeks, maximum. You must understand that all intercity tracks must be inside a tunnel with a depth of ten meters."
The master of the Song n almost slumped to the ground, overwhelmed by the workload ced upon them. He had only recently be a city lord, and it felt impossible toplete the project in such a tight timeframe.
With an unsightly expression, he looked at the others and saw that they weren''t any happier. They tried to maintain a calm fa?ade, though it was evident that they were concerned.
As for Su Yen, he didn''t care about their expressions or thoughts as he continued, "With these measures in ce, the barrennd will have a chance to survive whatever challengese our way."
"I know some of you might be wondering why you must do all of this. First, you have no choice. I can choose to annihte all your ns right now and pick another n that willplete the tasks. Second, there is significant profit for your ns."
Hearing the first part of his sentence, their hearts skipped a beat, but when they heard the second part, a faint smile appeared on their faces.
"The profit wille from the Spirit Train. Your n will receive 10% of the monthly profits, while your city will receive 20%."
Upon hearing this, a bright smile spread across their faces. They exchanged joyful nces with one another. While 30% might seem small, it was a substantial share.
With hundreds of millions of people in the barrennd, and each one using the Spirit Train daily, the monthly profit was expected to be substantial, possibly amounting to thousands of spirit stones.
With such an enticing prospect, who wouldn''t be eager to dive into the demanding project and invest all their efforts into its swiftpletion?
Su Yen knew that they had taken the bait and turned his gaze to the priest. "I don''t know why you started the Pagoda Church and everything, but it seems the pagoda is pleased with it," he said slowly.
The priest sat with his back straight, listening attentively. "Do you know how many levels of the pagoda bloodline there are?" Su Yen asked.
Even though he was directing the question at the priest, everyone listened with rapt attention.
"Please enlighten your servant," the priest stood and bowed.
"There are many levels to the pagoda bloodline, but for now, I will share the first three levels with you." Su Yen said slowly, maintaining direct eye contact with the priest, who struggled to avert his gaze but found himself frozen.
His heart raced, pounding heavily against his chest.
"The first level is Elemental-Blood Suppression. The second level is Spirit Restraint, and the third level is Energy Dampening."
Everyone''s jaws dropped when they heard about the three levels of the pagoda bloodline.
They suddenly realized that there was more to their bloodline than they had known.
"Everyone is currently at the Elemental-Blood Suppression level. To advance to the second level, you need to strengthen your bloodline and master the first level. The pagoda has made it easy for everyone, but you of the church have it even easier…"
"How?" the priest inquired.
"Pray with all your heart."
******
[AN: Who know what Su Yen is trying to do?]