“Looks like you aren’t interested in buying my sword! You only hope to purchase a sword worth 8000 taels!”
w.a.n.g Chong shook his head.
“Does gongzi not think that your own sword is worth 8000 gold taels?”
Zhao Fengchen chuckled.
w.a.n.g Chong simply shook his head smiling, not arguing with him over the matter.
“I’ll still say the same words. You aren’t allowed to view or touch it. If you wish to buy it, you can take it for 4800 gold taels. By tomorrow, the price won’t be just this anymore! …”
After saying these words, w.a.n.g Chong flung his sleeves and left without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, he had already walked out of the room.
“Lord, what do we do? That lad doesn’t seem to be interested in negotiating at all!”
After w.a.n.g Chong left, the a lanky member of the Imperial Army beside Zhao Fengchen couldn’t hold back his complaints any longer.
“Let me think it.”
Zhao Fengchen frowned and contemplated quietly.
8000 gold taels was more than ten times higher than w.a.n.g Chong’s initial offer. Yet, w.a.n.g Chong rejected his offer without any hesitation. His decisiveness was truly beyond Zhao Fengchen’s imagination!
This was something Zhao Fengchen never expected before coming over.
“Lord, why should you argue so much with that fellow? If he refuses to agree to it, we can just fetch the sword hanging on the Bluebottle Pavilion by force!”
The lanky Imperial Army member proposed. w.a.n.g Chong’s prior att.i.tude had left him dissatisfied. They were from the Imperial Army, and the fellow was being way too arrogant.
“No! The Bluebottle Pavilion belongs to the Duke of Wei. Other people may not be aware, but don’t you know it? After so many days, have you seen anyone trying to steal the swords here?”
Zhao Fengchen rejected his proposal without any hesitation with a stern look.
“Besides, don’t you care about the reputation of the Imperial Army? If such a thing were to happen, how do the rest of our brothers uphold their dignity?”
“But about Lord Huang…”
The lanky Imperial Army member protested, but the moment the words escaped his mouth, he realized that he had misspoken. He quickly covered his mouth, but it was already too late. Turning his head over to look at Zhao Fengchen, he saw that the other party’s complexion had already turned awful.
“There’s no need for you to worry about Lord Huang. I’ll handle it myself!”
Upon hearing the words ‘Lord Huang’, Zhao Fengchen became visibly irritated. His interest in the matter had already dampened greatly:
“I will leave this sword of mine with you. When they return, get them to hang it on the pavilion! ——Since I’m unable to buy the sword, I’ll join in the duel gamble as well.”
Zhao Fengchen removed the ancient silver sword from his waist and threw it over. Then, he left the Bluebottle Pavilion with large strides.
…
At the same time, outside the Bluebottle Pavilion, w.a.n.g Chong and Wei Hao were walking side by side.
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I thought that he was generous. To think that he is just like everyone else!”
Ever since they had walked out of the Bluebottle Pavilion, Wei Hao cursed nonstop.
If not for w.a.n.g Chong’s question, he would’ve never known that Zhao Fengchen had such a condition behind his purchase of the sword for 8000 gold taels.
“There’s no need to blame him. Rather, it would be weird if he bought such an expensive sword without getting the chance to see it’s quality for himself.”
w.a.n.g Chong shrugged, not paying any heed to the matter.
In his previous life, Zhao Fengchen treated his money as though dirt. He offered more than hundred thousand gold taels for a single Wootz steel weapon, which left many people thinking that his wealth had gone to his head and that he was simply flaunting his money.
But the truth was the exact opposite. Through w.a.n.g Chong’s encounter with Zhao Fengchen just a moment ago, he could tell that even though Zhao Fengchen didn’t think much of money, he only bought the objects that he found valuable.
As for those ‘worthless’ objects, Zhao Fengchen shunned them more than anyone else.
In fact, if one were to think about the matter, how could the future marshal of the Imperial Army be a fool?
“… However, didn’t you leave too fast? You didn’t leave any leeway at all. No matter what, it was 8000 gold taels! To be capable of offering such price, he was a potential buyer.”
Walking alongside w.a.n.g Chong, Wei Hao commented in pity. He found it a shame that they simply get such a big fish escape.
“Don’t worry, he’s still on the hook. He’ll return soon.”
w.a.n.g Chong smiled.
Zhao Fengchen’s relations.h.i.+p with Wootz steel could be almost termed as destiny. It was impossible to sever the relations.h.i.+p between the two. w.a.n.g Chong believed that when he unveils the black cloth and showcased the Wootz steel weapon for the first time, Zhao Fengchen would definitely feel the summon of the weapon.
“Zhao Fengchen… Zhao Fengchen…”
w.a.n.g Chong muttered. Suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind and he recalled something.
In his previous life, Zhao Fengchen was a legend. Regardless of whether it was his story with Wootz steel, that cultivation of his, or how he fought to his death with those foreign invaders, the entire world remembered his name clearly.
But compared to the outstanding position he held later on, the current Zhao Fengchen was still an unknown figure. Even though he was a leader of the Imperial Army, there were many of his equals within the Imperial Army.
Based on the memories of w.a.n.g Chong’s previous life, Zhao Fengchen would remain in the same rank for six to seven years, and the reason for this was because of a nemesis of his.
“Huang Xiaotian!”
A name flashed across w.a.n.g Chong’s mind.
Given that Zhao Fengchen was able to become the publicly recognized three greatest legends of the history of the Imperial Army was proof of the incredible talent and strength he possessed. Yet, for such an outstanding person to only become a marshal in his forties was inconceivable.
He only made his name for himself in the latter part of his life.
And the reason for that was because of another outstanding and talented Imperial Army commander.
That person was known as Huang Xiaotian.
Although he failed to match up to Zhao Fengchen’s accomplishments eventually, Huang Xiaotian definitely wasn’t much inferior to him.
In the Imperial Army, other than the current marshal, he would definitely rank into the top few in terms of strength.
As the saying goes ‘a mountain didn’t allow for the presence of two tigers’, two people of similar interest could become friends, but two people with identical personalities could only become enemies.
It was impossible for Zhao Fengchen and Huang Xiaotian to ever become friends!
It was because of Huang Xiaotian that Zhao Fengchen was stuck in as a captain for six to seven years. Eventually, due to his outstanding contribution and the talents he had displayed, Zhao Fengchen soared ahead, pulling the distance away from Huang Xiaotian. From there on, he forged his own legend!
The origin of the grudge between the duo came from an important Imperial Army general selection. Back then, Huang Xiaotian and Zhao Fengchen were strong compet.i.tors for the position.
But eventually, in the duel, Zhao Fengchen lost to Huang Xiaotian and this precious opportunity slipped past his fingers. After which, Huang Xiao Tian made use of his position as his superior to suppress Zhao Fengchen in his position, keeping his rank stationary.
Judging from the date, the Imperial Army selection should be around now.
Weng!
When the thought flashed through w.a.n.g Chong’s mind, he fell into a daze. Suddenly, w.a.n.g Chong understood why Zhao Fengchen had come to look for him.
“w.a.n.g Chong, what’s wrong?”
A voice echoed in his ear. Wei Hao stared at w.a.n.g Chong in shock, unable to comprehend why his friend had suddenly stopped halfway.
“Ah! It’s nothing.”
w.a.n.g Chong recovered from his daze and shook his head. Opening the carriage doors by the street, he and Wei Hao stepped in. With the cracking of a whip, the carriage started moving into the distance.
“Gongzi, wait a moment!”
Suddenly, flurried footsteps could be heard from behind.
w.a.n.g Chong and Wei Hao turned around, only to see a member of the Imperial Army rus.h.i.+ng over in a panic.
Speak of the devil. Wei Hao turned around to look at w.a.n.g Chong with his mouth completely widened, seeming as though he had met a ghost. They had just spoken of the matter, and the other party came right after that. Could it be that w.a.n.g Chong’s words had caused them to change their mind so quickly? If that’s the case, w.a.n.g Chong was simply way too incredible.
But contrary to the expectations of the duo, the Imperial Army member asked about another matter.
“Gongzi, may I ask about the metal mountain outside the Bluebottle Pavilion? Is that for sale?”
The Imperial Army member asked while pointing to the metal mountain which was almost tall as a human.
The Bluebottle Pavilion wasn’t too far away from the royal palace. The events that occurred here had long caused a commotion in the Imperial Army. There wasn’t anyone else who loved swords more than the Imperial Army.
The duel gamble conducted by the Bluebottle Pavilion had long attracted the attention of the Imperial Army; otherwise, they wouldn’t have appeared today.
It was one thing for no one to know of the sword hanging on the pavilion. However, the purpose of the huge ‘metal tower’ at the door, or rather, the ‘metal mountain’, still remained a mystery.
Within the royal palace, all kinds of conjectures had been proposed by the Imperial Army members, and there were even people gambling on it.
This Imperial Army member was also overwhelmed by curiosity. Taking this opportunity, he quickly asked about the matter.
“Hehe!”
w.a.n.g Chong understood what was going on and he chuckled:
“Why don’t you try guessing!”
Leaving behind these words, the carriage left the Bluebottle Pavilion.
…………
Returning from the Bluebottle Pavilion, w.a.n.g Chong quickly devoted his efforts to his martial arts practice once more. Judging from the time, the selection for the Three Great Training Camps should have opened already.
From the very start, the criteria for entering the Three Great Training Camps was high. Furthermore, it would only increase in the future. Without sufficient skills and the required cultivation realm, it was impossible for one to enter.
Other than this, w.a.n.g Chong also had to contemplate over the matter of his grandfather’s birthday.
The core of the entire w.a.n.g Clan, as well as the most authoritative person in the clan, was never his father, w.a.n.g Yan, or his big uncle, w.a.n.g Gen, and even less so, his big aunt and uncle.
There had only been one core to the w.a.n.g Clan, and that was his grandfather!
As a prestigious clan of generals and scholars, the w.a.n.g Clan possessed an enormous amount of resources. However, usually, it was impossible for the other members of the w.a.n.g Clan to notice these resources.
In terms of fortune, the w.a.n.g Clan was unable to match up to those smaller clans like the capital’s Zhang Clan. In terms of authority, it was unable to compete against the Yao Clan. In fact, the amount of resources which Yao Feng’s had access to far exceeded the amount which w.a.n.g Chong had.
Even so, the w.a.n.g Clan was still considered as a top-notch prestigious clan of the Great Tang Empire!
As for the reason for this bizarre sight, it was because only the clan members whom w.a.n.g Chong’s grandfather acknowledged would be granted a large slice of the resources.
This was the reason why Big Uncle w.a.n.g Gen could join the royal court, and why Father w.a.n.g Yan could become a general. The same held for big aunt and uncle as well!
Thus, in his previous life, when grandfather pa.s.sed away and big uncle chose the wrong faction to stand with, the w.a.n.g Clan fell from grace swiftly!
‘The w.a.n.g Clan doesn’t tolerate sub-par talents’, that was his grandfather’s ideology.
As such, until a w.a.n.g Clan member displayed sufficient capability and received the approval of his grandfather, he was actually no different from the son of an ordinary clan.
If w.a.n.g Chong wanted the resources of the clan to the diverted to him so as to change destiny, he had to receive the acknowledgement of his grandfather first!
Furthermore, the Four Quarters Emba.s.sy was a building built by His Majesty for w.a.n.g Chong’s grandfather and the others. As it was a place for conferences and governance, it was guarded by the Imperial Army. Even the members of the w.a.n.g Clan only had one opportunity every year to enter that place!
And that was during grandfather’s birthday!
This was the only chance w.a.n.g Chong had this year!
w.a.n.g Chong had to carefully contemplate over how he could receive his grandfather’s acknowledgement!
…