Castle of Black Iron

At 6:00 am, June 23rd, after one day’s tense atmosphere due to curfew, the first passenger liner had been fully crowded by passengers who were leaving Hidden Dragon Island. After several hours’ travel on the sea, Zhang Tie finally arrived at a wharf in Jinhai City.

After more than half a year, when he landed in this city once again. Zhang Tie felt really gloomy and irritated this time.

He landed in Hidden Dragon Island on Dec 5th last year. After half a year’s practice in the Hidden Dragon Palace, Zhang Tie had become totally different.

As Zhang Tie expected, after one day’s curfew and capture, Hidden Dragon Palace and Long Wind Business Group finally gained nothing at all. All those who tried to assassinate Zhang Tie seemed having been killed by the old man in the Dragon Cave. Even though everybody knew that those people who died underground had accomplices outside the Dragon Cave, nobody could find out their accomplices.

When those assassins arrived at Hidden Dragon Island, they were scattered and entered Hidden Dragon Island by teams; each team only contained a couple of people. They were so strictly organized that when any part of them was in trouble, the others would automatically leave the control of the organization. It was similar to geckos which would break their tails when they in danger.

In this case, only by arresting all the outsiders on the island and interrogating them all could Hidden Dragon Palace and Long Wind Business Group find the accomplices of those assassins.

However, even though Long Wind Business Group was that powerful to arrest all the outsiders in this island, they would not do such a stupid thing. Because there were tens of thousands of outsiders on the Hidden Dragon Island, who came from everywhere, it would be very difficult to arrest them all; additionally, it would definitely cause great turmoil.

In such a case, after one day’s curfew, Hidden Dragon Island had recovered its original order. Therefore, Zhang Tie finally gained freedom that he had expected for a long time——the freedom for him to access Hidden Dragon Island for free.

After balancing the benefits and shortcomings between gaining large-production of all-purpose medicament and allowing Zhang Tie to access Hidden Dragon Island freely, they decisively chose the prior.

Of course, big figures always dealt with things very considerably. They had to consider the faces from all sides. They would not directly cross the red tape of Hidden Dragon Palace without any concern. Therefore, if you had access to look up the students archive under the management of that set of differential machine in Hidden Dragon Palace, you would find a new task for Zhang Tie at the bottom of Zhang Tie’s personal archive.

The information was as follows:

Name: Zhang Tie!

Task Acceptance Time: June 22th, 890 of Black Iron Calendar.

Quality of the Task: Class S, appointed by Zhang Clan.

Content of the Task: As a partner of Long Wind Business Group, Zhang Tie should provide mass batches of all-purpose medicament for the latter...

Reward: 3000 clan contribution points each year.

Duration of the task: Long term...

Task guarantee measures: As this task is of supreme priority, during the period of this task, the executor could carry out the principles of uniqueness and exclusiveness as are regulated in the task guarantee items and refuse to accept other tasks.

Special remark: during the completion of the task, for the sake of the completion of this task, responding to various emergencies and guaranteeing the safety of the executor, Hidden Dragon Palace especially grants Zhang Tie with the right to access to Hidden Dragon Island for free. His own traffic tool could freely access the surrounding sea and territorial air space of Hidden Dragon Island.

...

Beside the requested clan contribution points which were only satisfied by 60%, all the other requirements from Zhang Tie had been satisfied by those big figures of Zhang Clan in terms of a simple task appointed by Zhang Clan. Additionally, nobody could find a loophole of it. Zhang Tie became pleasant while Hidden Dragon Palace’s authority was also maintained.

For this, besides being amazed that those big figures were cunning, Zhang Tie really didn’t know how to comment them.

By now, Zhang Tie had become the first clan member of Huaiyuan Palace who was able to freely access Hidden Dragon Island before completed all his courses in Hidden Dragon Palace.

Zhang Tie gained his freedom, the real freedom! It indicated an adjustment of the relationship between Zhang Tie and Huaiyuan Palace and Zhang Clan and that Zhang Tie determined to master his own destiny.

On the way back to Jinhai City, Zhang Tie kept retrospecting himself since he entered Hidden Dragon Cave half a year ago. During the past one and half years, Zhang Tie felt that he had improved rapidly——from a LV 5 warrior to a LV 7 fighter. He had already realized a round of evolution of the throwing skill and formed his Iron-Blood Battle Qi; besides, he had improved greatly on all aspects including diving skill; however, compared to these improvements, Zhang Tie felt that the great improvement that he had made was that he had recognized the road that he needed to walk on in the future with the help of Castle of Black Iron and that miraculous Manjusaka Karma Fruit Tree.

The shortcut to gain privilege and social status was not to seek for a powerful reliance, but to express his own value and ability so that he could turn himself into a giant tree or a robust leg that could be relied on.

It was not wrong for Zhang Tie to decide to enter Hidden Dragon Palace. The only mistake he had made was that he lacked deep understanding about himself and his real ability. He failed to exert his ability to the utmost. He didn’t realize that with the help of Castle of Black Iron and that small tree he was different from all the other people.

He didn’t consider the difference between him and the other people seriously before; however, after thinking for a short while, Zhang Tie soon got the answer——his difference depends from others depend on how special Castle of Black Iron was and how many kinds of fruits the Manjusaka Karma Fruit Tree could bear.

For instance, when he was chased by that LV 10 douchebag, his own threat to that guy was his handbolts. Zhao Yuan, Zhang Tie’s master told him that although his handbolts could realize sonic boom, its speed was only between 1.2 and 1.3 Mach. If he could raise the speed of his handbolts to 2 times of the sound speed, he would have killed that LV 10 powerful fighter with only one handbolt.

Like the development process of the kinetic energy weapons that were invented before the catastrophe, high speed was the most terrifying weapon. Even though it was just a copper coin, as long as it could fly at the speed above 20 times of the speed of sound, its momentum would be extremely destructive.

It was almost impossible for others to raise their throwing speed by one time in a short period because one’s strength had to increase gradually; however, for Zhang Tie, there was a shortcut for him to realize 2 times that of sound speed for his handbolts——to eat 9 huge wolf seven-strength fruits.

Sitting on the ship, Zhang Tie had determined to make his handbots throwing skill as his trump card before he reached LV 8. By then, he would be able to explode the head of a LV 10 powerful fighter by throwing his handbolt twice or thrice that of sound speed in a split second.

...

”Dear passengers, may I have your attention, please, we will arrive at the harbor right now. Please carry your personal belongings and get off the liner to go through the gangway ladder orderly against the deck!”

On the passenger liner, the waiter inside the cabin had repeated the same words three times. After arriving at the wharf, with a slight shake of the liner, the engine of the liner powered off before the sirens sounded which indicated that passengers could get off the liner, everybody in the cabin then stood up from their seats and prepared to get off the liner in an order.

Zhang Tie kept his eyes closed since the liner moved. Not until all the passengers beside him had disembarked did Zhang Tie open his eyes and stand up from his chair. At the end of the line, he followed them off the liner silently.

The liner was anchored at a wharf of Jinhai City. This wharf lasted several miles where anchored various ships such as passenger liners, cargo ships and fishers. In a relatively elegant place, there were two rows of white private yachts. Although Jinhai City was not as prosperous as Yiyang City, it was also a big city.

It was noon while the sun was hanging in the sky like a ball of fire. Under the schorching sun, many workers and sailors on the wharf only wore a pair of short pants, sweating all over.

Fishery was very developed in Jinhai City. There were also many ice plants. When in summer, many people would buy ice from ice plants to do small businesses. On the street outside the platform of the ticket entrance of the wharf, Zhang Tie saw many small booths on triology which sold iced fruit juice and taxis and carriages which were waiting for passengers.

Most of passengers getting off the liner would buy a cup of iced fruit juice by hand to relieve summer heat.

Eyes slightly narrowed, Zhang Tie watched those persons exiting the ticket entrance. Accomplices of those assassinators might mix with them. It was impossible if the curfew on Hidden Dragon Island yesterday didn’t pose stress on them. After the curfew was cancelled off, some of the assassinators would definitely leave Hidden Dragon Island today; but Zhang Tie didn’t know whether they were in the first passenger liner.

If not his life was much more worthwhile than those guys, Zhang Tie really wanted to pick off his mask and have a look at who among these passengers would look disappointed at the sight of him.

’According to the Fatty Donder, in this case, no matter how they look at this moment, as long as those whose pupils suddenly contracted at the sight of me, they would have known whom I am. Additionally, for those who are malicious about me, their pupils would expand and contract from time and then which reflected their true moods and feelings.

”Do you want a cup of iced mango juice? 6 copper coins a cup without ice, 1 copper coin more for some ice...” At the sight of Zhang Tie, an old man who was selling ice water with her wife in tidy clothes on the roadside yelled towards Zhang Tie.

”2 cups, with ice, please!” Zhang Tie walked towards them and said in a slightly hoarse voice.

The Mrs. then got 2 cups of iced juice for Zhang Tie rapidly.

Zhang Tie bottomed them up at once before chewed up the ice cubes and swallowed them, causing a crispy sound.

After that, Zhang Tie felt a bit cooler. He then put his hand into his pocket. In a split second, a silver coin was taken out of Castle of Black Iron. Zhang Tie then threw that silver coin into the old man’s small barrel which was used to hold money, making a crispy sound, ”Keep the changes...”

”Argh, thank you. Do you want 2 more?” The old man asked passionately. As many people coming back from Hidden Dragon Island were rich, the old couple chose to sell fruit juice here.

Zhang Tie waved his hands and walked towards those taxis. Seeing Zhang Tie drop a silver coin for 2 cups of juice, a steam-driven taxi hurriedly parked towards him while a 40-odd baldheaded driver put his head ouf of the window, ”Buddy, do you need a ride?”

After glancing at his slippery look, Zhang Tie directly pulled open the door and sat on the back seat without saying anything.

The driver then gazed at Zhang Tie’s average face of about 20 years old and asked with a smile through the rearview mirror, ”Where are you going, buddy?”

”Are you familiar with Jinhai City?”

”I’ve lived in Jinhai City over 40 years. Of course, I’m know it well. I’m not bragging, I know every place in Jinhai City, eating, drinking, entertainment, wherever you want!” The baldheaded driver boosted as he slowly started the car.

”I’ve missed my ID certificate in the Dragon Cave of Hidden Dragon Island. I was told there would be much inconvenience in Huaiyuan Prefecture if you have no legal ID certificate. Therefore, I want to get an ID certificate. Do you know where I can get it?” Zhang Tie asked calmly.

After hearing this, the driver shrunk his neck as his hands on the steering wheel shook, ”I might be sent into the prison, even be chopped off my head if I help you get an ID certificate in Huaiyuan Prefecture. I don’t know about this place; you’d better find someone else!”

”I’m not from Huaiyuan Prefecture, Jinyun Country, I don’t want a fake ID certificate in Huaiyuan Prefecture; I only want a certificate that could help me live in a hotel!”

Hearing this, the baldheaded driver looked better as his eyes rolled twice towards the rearview mirror, ”If so, I know a place where you could get an ID certificate. But it would be a bit expensive concerning a long distance and the counseling fee; at least...at least 1 gold coin!”

Zhang Tie puffed inside, ’he really wants to rip me off by taking me as an idiot. It’s just a fake ID certificate. Such ads are pasted everywhere in the railway station of Blackhot City. This industry was one of the oldest for mankind. In Donder’s words, as any old prostitute who could serve you twice for a silver coin could tell you everything that you want to know.

”Here are 10 silver coins. No crap. If not, you can only get 5 silver coins.” Zhang Tie glared at him and swore in a hoarse voice, ”f*ck, you really think that I make money so easily? I tell you, it only takes me 2 silver coins to find a woman who will take me there. 1 gold coin? with 1 gold coin, I could get 10 fake ID certificates!”

The driver ridiculed, ”You are really informed. I’m wrong. Just 10 silver coins, take it easy, brother...”

...

Half an hour later, when Zhang Tie thought that driver would take him to a gloomy corner, the taxi parked in front of a 4-floor building which was a bit obsolete.

Below that building were some average hotels, which were selling stretched noodles with seafood and teppanyaki with squid. Besides, there was a board which was so frightening.

——Holy Golden Orchid Empire’s Embassy in Jinyun Country.

Sitting on a back seat in the taxi, Zhang Tie looked at that wooden plate marked ”Empire”, lacquer on which had severely faded away and that board marked ”Wang Defu’s Teppanyaki with Squid” which was polished, Zhang Tie started to doubt whether who was playing a joke here.

’Is that an empire’s embassy? F*ck! Even the public toilets in Breaking Heavens Department are much more senior than it.’

Zhang Tie then slightly rubbed his jaw with his hand, ’Is that driver that audacious? How could he play such a joke with me? Or ”Come on, cheat me” is written on my face?’

After noticing that Zhang Tie gradually look gloomy through the rearview mirror, the driver hurriedly explained, ”You can really get an ID certificate here. I swear it is true! This is the Holy Golden Orchid Empire’s Embassy in Jinyun Country. I remeber that when I came here last time, there were 2 guardians outside the gate. Where’re they now? They might be taking a nap!”

When Zhang Tie almost lost his temper, another person suddenly slipped out of the stretched noodles hotel. After sucking a piece of spaghetti inside, he started to look around, ”Who wants an ID certificate? Who wants an ID certificate?”

Thus, he caught sight of the taxi parking outside the gate. He then instantly ran towards here. After wiping off the soup stains over his mouth corners, he pulled open the back door in a very professional way, ”Sir, do you need an ID certificate? Philip, the senior commerical counsellor of Holy Golden Orchid Empire’s Embassy in Jinyun Country is glad to serve you!”

This was Zhang Tie’s first time to be treated so politely by a non-Chinese ever since he was born.