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"What a change. Weren’t you acting tough just now?"

Fang Yuan shook his head at the sight of the grovelling Hei Zhong.

"Never mind...I can see that you’re well built and would make a good slave. You would probably fetch a good price!"

"No...you’re the only one I’m willing to serve. I won’t submit to anyone else!"

Hei Zhong rolled his eyes and shouted out again.

"I think...you must be hatching another scheme, am I right?"

Fang Yuan could see through his little tricks and exposed them curtly.

"Your life is in my hands and yet you want to bargain?"

"I’m not a common slave. If you would use me, I will acknowledge you as my master! Your wish would be my command!"

"Then you are going to learn my divine techniques secretly?"

Hei Zhong’s face turned red after Fang Yuan uncovered his true motive.

"You are a realm energy practitioner. I accept my loss and will become your slave with no regrets. I have no intention of learning anything without permission!"

"Forget it...you are a fool that can’t even lie properly! You may rise!"

Fang Yuan waved a hand.

"Imparting martial arts to you isn’t out of the question. Fine, I’ll take you in as my slave."

"Thank you so much, master!"

Hei Zhong clambered to his feet happily. Ever since he had learnt that Fang Yuan was a realm energy practitioner, he had made up his mind to beg for this person’s acceptance. After all, this was a path towards immortality! It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

When Meng Kuo entered the tent, he was surprised to see Hei Zhong sitting down and chewing on a leg of lamb.

"This..."

Meng Kuo’s eyelids twitched as he looked towards Fang Yuan.

"Jie...you’ve already taken him in?"

"Mmhm. His name is Hei Zhong and he volunteered to serve me."

Fang Yuan nodded his head.

"Meng Kuo, what brings you here today?"

"To bring you to go see Senior Fang!"

Meng Kuo gave a grim smile.

"You’ve made a major contribution. Whether Senior Fang likes it or not, he will have to reward you. You’ll definitely receive a noble title. In all likelihood, you will become a yeoman of the first class. After you return to the Shang capital with us to meet with the King, you might even get promoted to the rank of gentleman-bureaucrat of the third class."

Meng Kuo was well aware of the great respect the feudal states accorded to people who were well-versed in mysterious techniques.

Given Jie’s abilities, he could attain at least the rank of gentleman-bureaucrat with no trouble. After all, he was the man who had captured Hei Zhong.

Meng Kuo felt a lump in his throat as he spoke and bowed slightly.

"I did not know that you, Jie, had remarkable skills. Do forgive me for my ignorance."

Meng Kuo, like the other nobles, was now acutely aware of Fang Yuan’s potential.

"No need for that...to be honest, I still don’t have a good idea of how my divine technique works..."

Fang Yuan waved a hand. He seemed unwilling to talk about it.

Upon hearing this, Meng Kuo concluded that Fang Yuan was a lucky person who had acquired his skills through a chance encounter.

"Anyway...the promotion will have to wait until we return to the Shang capital and meet with the King. It will have to be registered!"

Meng Kuo spoke matter-of-factly and ordered some men to carry bronze, weapons and sundries into Fang Yuan’s tent.

"These are the rewards for your meritorious service. You will be given twenty servants as well!"

The yeomen, gentlemen-bureaucrats and the gentlemen-ministers were part of the nobility. They could own lands, recruit aides and even build their own army! They were no different from the lesser lords and had to be treated with respect.

Even the lowest-ranked yeoman had to be registered with the royal court.

The nobles stood out from the commoners from birth and their descendants would all be given at least a yeoman rank. They enjoyed higher starting positions in both the civil and military services. Thus, the admission of a person into the nobility brought honour and glory to his family.

"The Shang capital? Yes, I would like to visit the place!"

Fang Yuan’s eyes twinkled.

Putting aside talk of celestial dao, the god dao relied on people dao to thrive. It would probably be incarnated in the lands surrounding the capital city.

"I will accept these gifts and meet Senior Fang later. Please help me decline all the other invitations!"

Fang Yuan waved a hand.

Meng Kuo did not have any objections. In the past, even a warrior who could fend off a hundred men would incur the wrath of the nobles if he acted like a snob. However, things were different now.

It was to be expected that a person with extraordinary talents would be restrained and arrogant.

Meng Kuo bowed once more and left the tent respectfully.

Fang Yuan regarded the scene calmly.

’Indeed...power speaks the loudest in every world...’

......

On the second day, the Shang army set off for the Shang capital city.

Fang Yuan moved among the soldiers and quietly observed the passing landscape.

The blood of the witches in his body was growing stronger by the day and supplied him with a continuous stream of power.

"At this rate, I will be able to agglomerate the Ultimate Witch Body and regain much of my power by the time we reach the Shang capital..."

Fang Yuan could not help but smile as he thought about it.

The Shang men around him were all joyful as well.

"Sigh...I wonder if the corn in the Shang capital has ripened yet..."

Meng Kuo moved up to Fang Yuan’s side. He was in a pensive mood.

The Shang army was not made up of professional soldiers and the men were primarily farmers. If they did not make it back to the Shang capital in time for the harvest, it would lead to a famine the following year.

Meng Kuo’s words reminded Fang Yuan of the small pieces of land he owned as well as the few field-tending servants that he had. This was all that Jie had left behind in the world.

’Other than tending to their own fields, farmers now have the added responsibility of working in the communal fields as part of the well-field system...this is similar to the manorialism practised in Europe...’

Fang Yuan was deep in thought for a moment.

Of course, it was fortunate that he was a citizen who had land of his own as well as some political power.

The peasants who lived beyond the city walls, and the slaves beneath them, were the ones who led hard lives.

"Thump! Thump!"

"Thump! Thump!"

The ground shook suddenly and violently.

A humongous black figure appeared from behind a mountain and trotted on.

"Ah...what a gigantic beast!"

Mayhem ensued among the troops. Meng Kuo and the other officers tried their best to maintain order and restrained soldiers who were acting rashly out of fear.

"Thump! Thump!"

An earthquake had been triggered. The black figure was approaching and Fang Yuan could see the purple patterns on its black hide.

The beast had the head of an ox but had only one leg. Lightning and thunder broke out overhead as the beast advanced. It was like the god of thunder.

"The Kui Ox?"

Fang Yuan combed his memories and found a classic image.

"Master, don’t make a sound!"

Hei Zhong was flustered.

"I’ve seen this beast before. It is gentle by nature and only attacks when provoked."

"Thump! Thump!"

Amidst the thunder and lightning, the Kui Ox glanced at the scattered army before moving away into the distance. Before long, the beast had disappeared beyond the horizon.

Meng Kuo and the other officers mopped the sweat off their brows and began to gather their men for a headcount.

After a few hours, the truth was out. A few hundred men had gone missing. Meng Kuo was alarmed but helpless.

’An appearance by the Kui Ox managed to inflict more losses than a defeat in battle. This is something!"

Fang Yuan shook his head.

The Shang era was a time where the supernatural coexisted with mankind. The borders that would one day keep supernormal forces away from the human world had not yet solidified. Not only could supernormal people impart knowledge to mortals like Hei Zhong, the beasts from mythology often appeared in the human world and could be hunted down by humans!

’Sounds like the early periods of human civilisations have similar myths...the legends from early Europe featured mortal men killing giant beasts and ascending to godhood too...of course, reports of these legendary occurrences faded over time, both in the East and the West."

Fang Yuan had come to a conclusion.

"Perhaps...civilisations that have come into contact with the radiation will have to go through this process?"

"Move on!"

The Shang army started off again.

Fang Yuan summoned Hei Zhong and made him lay bare his white mist technique for Fang Yuan to study.

"Divine technique...this is a simple technique! It is not divine at all! Was it because he was not fortunate enough, or was he not talented enough?"

"I can learn quite a bit from this technique though. I can use it to derive other techniques..."

Fang Yuan glanced at Hei Zhong from the corner of his eye. He was an excellent guinea pig. This was exactly the reason Fang Yuan had taken him in as a slave.

Things tended to fall into place for Fang Yuan after all.

"However...the movement of such a large Kui Ox would displace other beasts from their dens!"

Fang Yuan examined Hei Zhong before turning to warn Meng Kuo.

"Be careful. As the Kui Ox makes waves along its path of travel, it might have triggered other beasts."

"Exactly...this is why we are trying so hard to leave this place quickly."

Meng Kuo gave a bitter laugh.

Just as he finished speaking, he heard the roar of a tiger coming from behind him.

"What is happening?"

Meng Kuo calmed himself down and looked towards the rear of the army.

A white tiger had appeared and charged towards the soldiers. In a flash, it had snatched a slave over.

"I was spot on. Am I a jinx?"

Fang Yuan scrutinised the white tiger.

It had a body that was more than 20 feet long and had jaws that could swallow a man whole.

The white tiger moved like the wind and a white shimmering light protected its body. This was a monster who had gone through some degree of cultivation! It was here to feast on humans!

The white tiger seemed confident that the army would scatter and leave the old and weak behind for it to savage.

"How dare it! Surround the tiger and get your bows ready!"

Senior Fang issued his order. He was ready to overwhelm the tiger.

The appearance of the Kui Ox previously was a calamity and there was nothing that anyone could have done about it. However, this white tiger was far less threatening!