Protect Our Clan Leader

Chapter 755: Chapter 1 My Great Grandfather is Wang Shouzhe_3

Anyone conducting trade within Zun City only needed to pay five percent of tax to the government and five percent to the prominent family. Moreover, only transaction tax was required, with no need for customs duties.

If someone went outside Zun City to trade, they would have to follow the Daqian Law and pay twenty percent transaction tax. When entering the pass, an additional ten percent “customs duty” had to be paid to the Changning Wang Clan as a reward for the establishment of the pass by the Wang family.

This rule existed so unless an item was truly valuable, most independent cultivators would choose to directly sell it within Zun City.

As a result, Zun City blossomed into an extremely bustling trade center and distribution hub. Every day, countless independent cultivators would come and go, setting up stalls to sell goods. Many representatives of prominent families also came to purchase supplies.

Even in the entire New Peace Town, there were few places busier than here.

Noon.

The dazzling sun hung high in the sky, emanating scorching heat. The shadow cast by Shouzhe Pass only covered a small section of Zun City, with most areas exposed to the sunlight.

This was the time of day when Zun City was the warmest and least populated.

Independent cultivators who had been busy for most of the morning took a rare break, closing their stalls and gathering in groups to chat.

“This ‘Shouzhe Pass’ is truly extraordinary,” a round-faced independent cultivator with big ears mused, using an oilcloth to wipe his sharp steel sword, “I’ve stayed here for more than thirty years and witnessed four beast surges. The way we hold them off is just too easy. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe that beast surges could be repelled so easily.”

“Isn’t the beast surge itself not that large?” another independent cultivator responded nonchalantly, “I heard that it only took ten years to construct ‘Shouzhe Pass’. How sturdy could it really be, considering how quickly it was built?”

“Heh, do you really think I’ve never seen a beast surge?” the big-eared independent cultivator rolled his eyes dismissively at him, “In terms of scale, the most recent two beast surges each had over a hundred fierce beasts. They weren’t small in scale at all, and yet they didn’t even manage to break through the city gates. If that’s not sturdy, what is?”

“Moreover, the fierce beasts involved in these beast surges were of no low grade. I saw three or four level five fierce beasts with my own eyes. If this was anywhere else, it would be a big deal.”

With these words, he couldn’t help remembering the past.

“During the most recent surge, I was standing on the city wall. I watched as a Level Five Earth-splitting gigantic tiger roared and pounced towards the city gate. I was holding a bow and arrow given by the Wang family, I was completely terrified, I even forgot to hide.”

“Then I saw a figure descending from the sky. With just a light flutter of a sword, the Level Five Spotted Tiger was frozen solid into an ice sculpture, then sliced in two.”

As he spoke, he gestured animatedly, completely immersed in his vivid recollections of the thrilling and shocking event.

At first, the independent cultivators beside him were skeptical, but seeing his sincere and emotional recitation, they began to believe him.

However, a realization suddenly struck a few of the independent cultivators: “Ice-bloodlines are rare, and the ability to freeze a Level Five beast in one swing is even rarer. Could it be that the one you saw was the Old Ancestor of the Changning Wang Clan?”

“That Old Ancestor?”

“Who else could it be but Ancestor Longyan?” roused by gossip, the independent cultivator’s enthusiasm was piqued, “You guys may not know, but this Ancestor was severely injured back then. Many people said she wouldn’t live for much longer. But guess what happened during that period? Master Shouzhe of the Wang family….”

Just as the conversation was heating up.

A young master, with some guards, appeared in the independent cultivator’s market.

This young master was extremely generous, directly buying any good stuff he saw without bargaining, and then threw it into his bottomless storage ring.

Apparently, a big spender had arrived.

The independent cultivator vendors all stopped their chatter, hastily bringing out their best goods, crowding around the young master and enticing him, “Young Master, this is the unique horn of a four-stage Moon-Viewing Savage Rhino, a gem for crafting spiritual artifacts or for alchemy. It costs only four, no, three thousand Qian gold.”

The independent cultivator initially wanted to shout out an inflated price but after a glare from the Spiritual Platform Realm head of household next to the young master, he immediately retracted the falsehood and gave a relatively honest albeit slightly high price.

The moment he finished speaking, the young master took the Savage Rhino horn and put it away. Then, another servant stepped forward to pay.

In a short span of time, he had already bought several tens of thousands of Qian Gold’s worth of goods. However, he was still worried about grabbing more good alchemy ingredients for his great grandfather’s alchemy session.

Gifts for his maternal grandfather were taken care of, but what about his great grandfather’s…sigh, what a headache.

There were a bunch of relatives in Longzuo County, didn’t he, the seventh young master, need to bring gifts when visiting them? Not to mention, which visit didn’t involve bringing a portion of gifts and receiving even more presents back?

Not far away, several independent cultivators in the Spirit Platform Realm with somewhat ferocious expressions watched the spectacle. After exchanging a glance, it seemed that they had made a certain decision.

“Young master, this is a six-stage Water Spirit Bird—Primordial Water Spirit Crane’s egg that we picked up riskily in an outer-territory lake… Since it’s meant for you, we will only charge you three hundred thousand Qian Gold.”

These independent cultivators were apprehensive, but they were determined to pull off this job and then leave New Peace Town as quickly as they could, never to return.