Infinite Professions-Chapter 61 - 56: Infamy

Several months later, Wind Thunder Mountain.

On the wide and smooth road, a team slowly approached, all equipped with Spirit Control Armor, Spirit Control Knights in uniform gear, mounted uniformly on Tier Three Elite Species Spirit Beasts, Dragon Scale Horses.

Standardized armor and uniform mounts symbolize status and power; possessing such resources is either a powerful kingdom or a family steeped in heritage with a deep foundation.

Because whether it’s standardized armor or uniform mounts, a spirit beast tribe needs to produce and supply them, and any spirit beast group capable of reaching Elite Species will surely have Spirit Lord Species, or even King Species leaders.

Without sufficient strength, it is simply impossible to possess or cultivate such spirit beast resources.

So, the force behind this team must be a powerful faction.

Over a hundred Spirit Control Knights guarded the surroundings, surrounding a Simurgh Chariot pulled by four dragon horses in the center.

Inside the Simurgh Chariot, a delicate hand lifted the curtain and gazed at the spacious and smooth stone road outside: "This road...?"

After speaking, she shifted her gaze and looked at an elderly man sitting inside the carriage with her.

The Simurgh Chariot was extraordinary, with a vast internal space, where several people sat together at the moment.

Facing the inquisitive gaze, the old man quickly lowered his head and said: "It’s the handiwork of Sand Beast Valley!"

"Sand Beast Valley?"

The inquiring woman muttered, her eyes meeting with several people around her, then continued to ask the old man: "Is this road all constructed by Sand Beast Valley?"

"Indeed!"

The old man, correctly speaking, was the Lei Clan’s Patriarch Lei Xun, nodded: "That master of Sand Beast Valley, Li Qingshan, is exceptionally skilled in breeding Sand Beasts, having not only a Spirit Lord Species Sand Beast King but also cultivating many excellent and even Elite Species Abnormal Sand Beasts.

Ten years ago, he ambushed and killed Luo Yue Guu Yunxiao, then annexed the industries of the Luo and Zhou Families, forming a Sand Beast engineering team led primarily by Earth-type Sand Beasts, assisted by Fire and Water types to construct roads between Sand Beast Valley, Luo Family Castle, and White Water Bay."

"Sand Beast engineering team?"

Such words left everyone exchanging glances.

And next to the woman, a young man clad in silver armor, seated very close to her, muttered to himself: "Using earth-type Sand Beasts to carve roads is theoretically feasible, but..."

Saying this, he too reached out to lift the curtain, looking at the wide and smooth stone road outside, with little dust in the air: "Earth-type Sand Beasts can indeed carve through mountains and stones, but merely creating pathways, how could roads be made so solid and smooth, clearly not paved with stone bricks."

Lei Xun gave a bitter smile: "This is a special material from Sand Beast Valley—concrete!"

"Concrete?"

The young man furrowed his brow: "What do you mean?"

Lord Lei shook his head: "It’s said to be a secret technique developed by Li Qingshan, enabling Earth-type Sand Beasts to harness the Power of the Earth, mixing sand, earth, and lime into a special material, referred to by Sand Beast Valley as cement.

This cement mixed with water, with added gravel and stirred, becomes a peculiar material named concrete, which can be used to build houses and pave roads, drying and hardening to become as solid as rock, and this wide, smooth road was paved with it."

"Cement?"

"Concrete?"

As these words were spoken, everyone furrowed their brows, surprise and doubt apparent in their eyes.

This kind of material is invaluable.

Since ancient times, a dull Monarch has been judged by one criterion, that is, a penchant for grandiose construction, or those who indulge in extravagant construction are usually seen as foolish or tyrannical rulers.

Why?

Because the cost of extravagant construction is too high.

A Monarch wanting to build a palace must first quarry stone from deep mountains, transport the quarried stone to urban areas, have skilled craftsmen polish it, and finally use adhesive materials to pile up these stones into buildings. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

How much time, manpower, and resources are expended in the whole process?

It’s no exaggeration to say every palace and city condenses the blood, sweat, and even lives of millions.

A ruler who indulges in pointless construction must be a foolish or tyrannical Monarch.

Although in this world, Spirit Control Masters and various Spirit Beasts exist, reducing construction costs considerably, the expense remains high, as the strength of Spirit Control Masters and Spirit Beasts isn’t free.

In the Earth Kingdom of the Three Great Kingdoms, this is indeed the main national industry; the Earth’s Spirit Control construction team is renowned across the continent, with many kingdoms and nobles paying high prices to hire the Earth’s Spirit Control construction team for building palaces and cities.

This has greatly benefited the Earth Kingdom, becoming one of its pillar industries, with many Spirit Control Masters developing Spirit Control Secret Techniques and Spirit Beast Combat Skills to solidify their industry position.

But now...

Cement!

Concrete!

Looking at the wide and flat stone roads outside the window, the youth and the others in the carriage fell into silence.

Being from the Earth Kingdom, they were very aware of the value of this material. As long as the cost was not too high, it would definitely threaten the Earth Kingdom’s dominance in the construction industry.

After all, the Earth Kingdom’s advantage in the construction industry lies in having a large number of earth-type spirit beasts and Spirit Masters, but the other party directly produces materials using Sand Beasts, a low-tier spirit beast, drastically reducing both labor and material costs.

By that time, what advantage would the Earth Kingdom have, and how could it continue to hold its leading position in the construction industry?

Seeing the silent crowd, Lei Xun was secretly pleased and seized the opportunity to speak further.

"Relying on this cement concrete and the Sand Beast engineering team, in just a few months, Li Qingshan constructed easy-to-travel cement roads between Sand Beast Valley, Luo Family Castle, and White Water Gully.

Moreover, he also engaged in quarrying, establishing many breeding bases similar to Sand Beast Valley within and outside the Wind Thunder Mountain Range, breeding Sand Beasts, Pheasant-tailed Chickens, Green-headed Ducks, and other edible spirit beasts.

He somehow used a secret technique, and the edible spirit beasts he bred not only had a high production yield and fast growth rate but their meat quality was also astonishingly good.

Relying on this and the advantage of convenient transportation provided by the cement roads, he aggressively initiated a price war, capturing the meat market around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range.

As of today, the meat markets around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range, including Wind Thunder Town, are firmly under his control. He even boasted that without his consent, no one around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range could eat a single piece of Sand Beast meat."

"Bang!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a loud bang as a middle-aged man slapped the table and stood up: "Too arrogant!"

"Who wouldn’t agree?"

Seeing this, Lei Xun was secretly delighted but still appeared to sigh: "To monopolize the surrounding meat market, he even forced various parties to donate money to fund his cement roads, facilitating transportation so that his meat business could permeate the major towns around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range."

"What?"

"Forced?"

"Donate?"

Hearing this, the woman and the youth sitting together frowned, and the middle-aged man who had slapped the table in anger spoke up: "How was he forced?"

"Just like the incident with the Luo Family in the past."

Lei Xun said solemnly: "Anyone who disagrees with his road construction plan will have their survival space squeezed by his price war leveraging his capital advantage, then he incites the populace under them to rebel and flee to his Sand Beast Valley, even directly seizing population.

If anyone dared to retaliate, he would use it as an excuse to lead his Sand Beast army, wiping out families and industries. Over the past decade, many powers around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range have been annexed by him, everyone living under his oppressive influence, struggling to survive under the tyranny of the Sand Beast King!"

"Is such a thing possible?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man and others were both appalled and enraged, indignantly questioning: "That’s absolutely outrageous, isn’t there anyone who can restrain him?"

"How?"

Lei Xun chuckled bitterly: "Ten years ago, the Luo Clan and Zhou Clan joined forces, even hiring the Spirit-level Spirit Master, Ghost Wolf Guu Yunxiao at great expense, to seek justice from him.

But they were ambushed and slaughtered by him leading thousands of Sand Beasts, including Patriarch Luo, Luo Yue. Nine upper-level Spirit Masters, dozens of intermediate Spirit Masters, and hundreds of Tier Two and Tier Three spirit beasts, all became beast food for his Sand Beast Army.

Even Guu Yunxiao, a renowned Spirit-level Spirit Master, was killed in one strike by his King’s Combat Skill. Sunx Shubo also feared his power, allowing him to seize the Luo and Zhou Families’ assets, further stretching his influence into Wind Thunder Town."

After recounting, Lei Xun sighed deeply and emphasized again: "Ten years ago it was already like this, let alone ten years later. He controls the meat market across dozens of towns around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range, breeding millions of Sand Beasts, Pheasant-tailed Chickens, Green-headed Ducks.

He selects the superior and elite species among these edible spirit beasts, led by Spirit Lord Species or Tier Four Sand Beasts, Pheasant-tailed Chickens, Green-headed Ducks, forming several spirit beast armies.

In addition, he has formed a Spirit Control Master Guard Team, selecting loyalists from the civilians under his control, entirely obedient to his orders.

It’s even rumored that within the Wind Thunder Mountain Range, he has hidden many unknown powers and numerous powerful Tier Four Spirit Lord Species spirit beasts, combined with his own terrifying power and King’s Combat Skills capable of obliterating Spirit-level Spirit Masters..."

Under the solemn gaze of everyone, Lei Xun spoke with a heavy heart: "Around the Wind Thunder Mountain Range, across dozens of towns, no one dares to defy his will, even figures like Sunx Shubo can only bow and endure before him, allowing oppression."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The words rendered everyone silent, falling into a brief quiet.

"Ha!"

Yet soon, it was broken by a light laugh, emanating from the silver-armored youth beside the woman.

With a playful look in his eyes directed at Lei Xun, he asked, "Is it truly like this?"

"It is truly so!"

Facing the young man’s gaze, Lei Xun’s heart tightened, quickly bowing: "If the Chapter of Guardian does not believe me, you are welcome to inquire from the four directions. Should there be any falsehood, the entire Lei Clan including myself will be at your and His Highness’s disposal!"