Chapter 556: Open Conspiracy
Translator: Irene Editor: Lucas, TYZ
An Chouchou faced the mirror, looking at the figure in it. A look of satisfaction flashed across his face.
He had come forward personally, not hesitating to take risks, in order to express his sincerity. To form an alliance with Central Pine Valley was, for Newlight City, a game of chess, of life and death. To date, despite Newlight City’s development, it was unable to get rid of its status as a big but powerless city. It had the most people but lacked powerful players. It had the most craftsmen, but they weren’t highly skilled.
Everything was related to new citizens. In the past, in Avalon of Five Elements, new citizens were of lower-middle class. While they had a great number, they lacked accumulation. Aristocrats were the exact opposite. They were small in number but wealthy, had inheritance and profound accumulation.
And Central Pine Valley was like an enormous treasure chest!
Be it pagoda cannons, snow lava, or the Pinwheel Sword, they all had An Chouchou drooling with desire.
Especially snow lava. If he could just get its recipe, Newlight City would undergo a complete transformation and it would be able to make up for its biggest weakness.
As long as Central Pine Valley became Newlight City’s ally, the latter would be in control of the situation. Central Pine Valley was powerful indeed, but they had too few people. In time, Ai Hui and gang would find themselves being outnumbered, ultimately needing to join Newlight City to become new citizens or lose their controlling power.
It was an open conspiracy.
Because Newlight City was Ai Hui’s only choice.
Forming an alliance with Skyheart City? The disparity in abilities of both parties was simply too huge, such that Skyheart City could effortlessly swallow up Central Pine Valley. An Chouchou was even convinced that if Master’s Glory was a success, the first batch of Masters would be ordered by Madam Ye to first target Central Pine Valley and not Newlight City.
Destroying Central Pine Valley and gaining ownership of snow lava would mean that whether she threw it aside or used it, Madam Ye would be able to sleep peacefully at night.
An Chouchou had even more inside information. He knew that Master’s Glory was Madam Ye’s real foundation. For it, she had even put her own son inside. Anything that could threaten Master’s Glory in the slightest was a thorn in her flesh.
Ai Hui, who was able to create snow lava, should be buried in the loess.
An Chouchou studied Ai Hui before. No matter the time, Ai Hui was able to recognize the state of affairs. It seemed that he was especially able to seek opportunities amid despair. He never pinned his faith on luck and his hope on others.
This was an intelligent and pragmatic young man.
An Chouchou pushed open the windows and saw a descending Pinwheel Sword.
He walked out, full of confidence.
Those in the Pinwheel Sword, which had just landed, were absorbing the sights of Fishback City. In all honesty, Fishback City was small and ugly, but there was only respect on their faces.
Because this city was built single-handedly by an earth elementalist.
Just this fact alone was sufficient to evoke veneration and admiration.
Wen Yongmin and the other reporters started recording. They hadn’t forgotten about their job and definitely weren’t going to waste such a rare opportunity. No one knew what was up with Ai Hui and why he would actually invite them over.
Some adaptable reporters were already wondering if they could get a chance to apply for a tour around Central Pine Valley.
In Beyond Avalon, Central Pine Valley was simply too mysterious, and it was said that even Qiao Meiqi hasn’t been inside. It was a restricted area.
Some people were admiring the galaxy of talent within Central Pine Valley and the fact that yet another earth elementalist Master had been born. Central Pine Valley was like a treasure land with good feng shui, consistently producing capable talents.
"I heard that they’re all survivors from Central Pine City."
"Sometimes we really gotta admit that marvelous things do happen. Look at them. Survivors of Central Pine City uniting to form a pool of great talents."
"Yeah. Ai Hui, Shi Xueman, Qian Dai, Wang Xiaoshan, and Lu Mingxiu. Five Masters… heaven really is spoiling the Central Pine Faction."
"One is bound for good fortune upon surviving a great disaster."
...
Ai Hui heard people gasping from afar, and in that instant it was as if he’d been isolated from the world. To those people, they were already being regarded as talents. In the past, who would have thought that Fatty, who was lazy, unreliable, and needed Lou Lan to supervise his daily training, would’ve accomplished this much. Also, other than playing with mud, Wang Xiaoshan had no other skills, and he even felt guilty for not being able to contribute to the team.
Iron Lady had always been that brilliant and lofty Iron Lady.
And himself? He was a pauper who had to clean up the training hall and even owed his mistress a large sum of money. He made daily visits to the Suspending Golden Pagoda to temper his body and would be very happy whenever he managed to earn a little bit of money. At that time he hadn’t known Lou Lan for long and Teacher and Mistress were still alive…
His thoughts grew further and further away into the olden days of the gentle and warm sunshine.
"Boss, the people are here."
Gu Xuan’s words pulled him back to reality. Behind that fresh, red crystallic sheet, a faint trace of tenderness and sorrow flashed across his eyes before he regained calmness.
Qiao Meiqi came over, asking, "What happened exactly, my boy? Why such a big troop?"
Ai Hui smiled slightly. "You’ll know soon."
Coincidentally, An Chouchou came over and called out with a smile, "Mayor Qiao!"
Somewhat puzzled, Qiao Meiqi asked, "This is?"
Ai Hui introduced, "Newlight City, An Chouchou."
Qiao Meiqi’s face changed. He was overwhelmed with shock, countless thoughts rolling within his mind. Even though he had been doing business for a long time and was extremely experienced, his mind went black and he actually forgot to greet An Chouchou.
An Chouchou chuckled without getting angry. He was somewhat pleased.
He raised his head slightly, a confident smile appearing on his face.
An Chouchou’s identity was quickly revealed to the rest, and those present cried out in surprise. They looked doubtfully at An Chouchou and Ai Hui, wondering to themselves what was going to happen that day.
Wen Yongmin and the other reporters were busy recording. They had a feeling that a piece of sensational news was about to arrive!
Central Pine Valley, a few miles away from Fishback City, was in a frenzy at that moment.
The members of Sword of Lightning and all the children had been mobilized. They were working hard under the command of mini Lou Lans, who covered the mountains and plains. Mini Lou Lans waved their little flags, running here and there and occasionally shouting in their high voices.
"Go, go! Everyone go!"
Some had stern faces as they stood at the end of a moat, gesturing and instructing in a serious tone.
"Here, here, not aligned!"
"Not deep enough, a foot short!"
Others floated in the sky, forming different words made of sand.
"Work harder, everyone, we’re about to finish!"
"Thanks for the hard work, everybody!"
A white light ray, unique to White Cluster Flames, illuminated Blind He’s expressionless face. The eye on his palm emitted a golden light that shot onto the materials that were piled like a mountain. By his feet lied a freshly casted component. Its red glow had yet to fade and it was emitting hot steam.
Su Qingye asked in a low voice, while burying his head in work, "Know what this is for?"
Hua Xiaoyun bit her lips, answering softly, "No idea. Teacher Dou refused to answer! You got news?"
Among the many children, Teacher Dou doted on the sensible and adorable Hua Xiaoyun the most and was much more strict toward boys. Mischievous ones would definitely get caned, but when Hua Xiaoyun made a mistake, he would just laugh it off.
Zhou Wen added, "Why do you ask so much? Just do what you’re told."
Su Qingye knew Zhou Wen’s character well. Without getting angry, he said, "From what I see, something big’s about to happen! What do you say, Little An?"
Wei An was brought back by Ai Hui and could be considered his student. Wei An was naturally cautious, different from the three kids who had been following Ai Hui for many years. Ai Hui didn’t have time to guide him, so Wei An felt slightly lost. "I… I don’t know."
"Don’t bully Little An!" Hua Xiaoyun glared at Su Qingye. Wei An’s awkwardness and uneasiness had evoked the kind-hearted Hua Xiaoyun’s sympathy. She added, "Only Skyheart City would dare to find trouble with us."
Su Qingye rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his fists. "Skyheart City’s looking for death!"
The kids had already gotten used to the valley’s power. To them, Central Pine Valley was the world’s most powerful and safest place.
"Everyone, have a break! Elemental soup is here!"
When Lou Lan’s voice was heard, cheers followed. All problems and doubts were thrown to the back of their minds.
There wasn’t anything Lou Lan’s elemental soup couldn’t solve. If there was, then it was a sign that another bowl must be served!
He Min had been out of it for the past few days as the gory scenes from the mirage bean pod appeared in his mind from time to time. Not only him, his classmates were in a worse state. Quite a few timid students had been absent from training. Even the teacher had been feeling slightly depressed these few days.
The weather that day was pretty good, the bright sunlight providing them with much needed heat. The atmosphere had lightened up a little. For the past few days, even the sunlight couldn’t warm their cold bodies up.
It was a pity the Spear of Heavy Cloud never recruited members here, or else He Min would definitely apply.
On second thought, He Min felt he was indulging in fantasy. Countless people were trying to squeeze their way into the Spear of Heavy Cloud, so he would never get his turn.
As he was passing by the mirage bean pod shop, He Min stopped.
He had very little change with him, but he still ran over to ask, "Do you have the latest mirage bean pod of the Spear of Heavy Cloud, Boss?"
"There are some Masters’ analyses of that battle, do you want it?"
He Min clenched his teeth. "Yes!"
Surprisingly, He Min didn’t feel much of a heartache for having spent money on it.
He was very curious as to what the Masters had to say about the battle.
He looked at the time. It was still early, so he found himself a remote place to enjoy the clip.
"In that battle, it can be said that the Spear of Heavy Cloud’s performance was perfect. There were a few key areas. First would be the disposition constructed by Master Wang Xiaoshan. In past battles, while earth elementalistal masters were of significant use, Master Wang Xiaoshan was completely different from them. According to our materials, he used to be very good at building camps. And constructing battlefields is a new discovery and development for earth elementalists. Master Wang Xiaoshan’s quicksand paste played a huge role in delaying the enemies’ attacks. Second would be Shi Xueman’s outstanding performance. On fighting Xing Shan one on one, she didn’t fall into a disadvantageous position at all. Plus, after a few crucial collisions, she had greatly boosted the team’s morale. But the most crucial parts would be the pagoda cannons’ execution and Qian Dai’s breakthrough. It’s no doubt that him becoming a Master was a chance occurrence, but pagoda cannons are undoubtedly the most powerful weapons to deal with the blood elementalists!"
He Min continued viewing only to find more promotion about the pagoda cannon. He was somewhat disappointed.
He wasn’t a fire elementalist, so he couldn’t become a pagoda cannoneer.
He shut the clip off and jogged toward the training hall.