In the past few days, Tang Yu had settled into a routine that encompassed just three locations.
Castle, Research Institute, Training Camp.
Though he hadn't succeeded in creating a potion that could heal injuries quickly, his study of Winnie's professional spells had led to the production of a few low-grade healing spell scrolls.
At the training camp, within the Lord-exclusive mode of the Spirit Space, he had entered a more advanced stage, unlocking several new positions—cough, skills!
Tang Yu sat cross-legged in the Gravity Room, circulating the Cultivation Skill inherited from the Demon Swordsmen.
His palm faced upward, summoning an orange flame while simultaneously condensing a blue-white frost.
Tang Yu opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of white mist.
The mist sprayed out a distance of two or three meters, lingering without dispersing.
He had been stuck at the Fifth Tier Peak of Awakening for some time now, and although the quality of his physique had reached its limit, the enhancement of his combat power had not ceased.
The Demon Swordsman inheritance was too profound.
When he first accepted the inheritance, he had been able to use several signature combat skills of the Demon Swordsmen successfully. However, the information contained in the inheritance was far more extensive.
Many details were imprinted in his mind, but only by reaching a certain level could he unlock the information of the next level.
Tang Yu closed his eyes and then suddenly opened them.
If he were to look in a mirror now, he would notice that his pupils had turned a dark red.
The fog of ice in his right palm had dissipated, and his dark red eyes fixed on the pulsating orange flame in his left palm.
Below the flame, strands of Source Power faintly visible could be seen flowing from his arm to his wrist, and from his palm, they burst forth. During this process, the nature of the Source Power changed, transforming from attribute-less Source Power to a violent Fire Attribute Source Power.
He increased the output of Source Power, and the flame rose, growing more and more ferocious.
Tang Yu raised his fingers upwards, making a grasping motion. The Source Power strands shifted from linear to rotational, and the flame's erratic bouncing began to smooth out, shaping into a scorching fireball.
A fireball the size of a soccer ball!
"I've done it!" Tang Yu's face lit up with joy.
With a flick of his hand,
The nearly spherical flame began to bounce irregularly once again.
In the nick of time, Tang Yu hurled the fireball, and it struck the thick wall of the Gravity Room.
A loud explosion sounded as if the entire Gravity Room shook with it.
"No panic, not a big problem! My development of the Fireball Technique has no issues!"
Tang Yu gauged the remaining Source Power within his body, ready to have another go.
A WeChat... contract notification chimed in his mind.
"Lord, the first phase of the construction is complete, and the Martial Arts Hall can open for business at any time," Shay said from afar in Luoxia. "We're just waiting for you to come and preside over the opening ceremony—"
On this once abandoned plot of land, rows of buildings had been erected.
The first thing that caught the eye was a large, five-story building that covered a vast area.
It was created by connecting five second-tier training camps and customizing the décor, altering the appearance of the building to some extent...
At first glance, the first impression was grandeur.
The second impression, lavish—
At this moment, some of the survivors standing not far from the building were engaged in animated discussions about the Martial Arts Hall.
"Who knows which big boss built such a grand Martial Arts Hall; it must've cost a fortune!"
One survivor said mysteriously, "I have a friend whose uncle's neighbor's brother is a minor leader in the construction team. I heard from that friend that this grand Martial Arts Hall was built in less than a week. Think about it, with such a construction speed, the labor costs must've been astronomical."
"I heard that the mysterious owner of the Martial Arts Hall employed several thousand survivors, divided them into more than a dozen construction teams; they not only worked in shifts but also divided the work by area, to complete the construction of the Martial Arts Hall and some other buildings in such a short time."
Apart from the Martial Arts Hall, this area had clearly been transformed into a commercial district; most of the shops had 'For Rent' signs hanging up.
Many people admired the strength behind the project, but some shook their heads.
"Ever since the incident at the Zhentian Martial Arts Hall some time ago, the Martial Arts Hall industry has been in decline. At such a time, why would someone choose to open another Martial Arts Hall instead of doing some other kind of business?"
"Yeah, I heard that since that incident, Zhentian Martial Arts Hall went into a steep decline, and other Martial Arts Halls have also been greatly affected."
"And how! Zhentian really dragged the other Martial Arts Halls down with it this time. Many small Martial Arts Halls can't attract customers and can't afford the high rent, so they've had to dissolve. The guards have no choice but to become mercenaries. Some thought about working at other Martial Arts Halls, but who's hiring right now? It's good enough if they aren't cutting staff."
"It's said that even the five major... well, now it should be the four major Martial Arts Halls have been impacted. Several planned training sessions have been canceled. If it weren't for the fact that these four have so many members who are reluctant to forfeit their already paid membership fees, they would probably also..."
The well-informed survivor continued, shaking his head, "But when it comes to the worst off, it's still Zhentian Martial Arts Hall. Now Zhentian is not only facing the pressure from the students' families, internally, even their guards, and even the Martial Arts Hall Teachers, are jumping ship. If the Master of Zhentian hadn't been labeled with the Martial Arts Hall's brand and was also the main person responsible for the incident, he might also be tempted to leave."
"In this climate, it wouldn't be hard for the new Martial Arts Hall to recruit teachers and guards, considering there are now so many unemployed guards from other Martial Arts Halls. For the Martial Arts Hall to make money, the key lies in the students and the tuition fees collected from them. But given the current situation, I'm afraid they can only swindle some survivors who don't know any better."
"Let's just forget it. Why worry so much? Let's take our fruit and leave," a companion of the survivor said, eyeing the crates of fruit being moved out of the Martial Arts Hall and licking his lips.
The new Martial Arts Hall was opening and distributing fruit for free.
This news swept through most of the Sanctuary in a short time.
Just like Lindong, Luoxia had too many survivors unable to find work, barely making ends meet with the rations provided by the Sanctuary. Under such circumstances, free fruit was more precious than gold.
Even if the news might be false, many people arrived here early in the morning.
By the time the Martial Arts Hall opened its gates, crates of fruit were being brought out, and many survivors' eyes lit up with excitement.
When Tang Yu arrived, he saw a bustling crowd.
These people weren't his target clientele, but creating a buzz was essential, and these survivors could also serve as messengers, quickly spreading whatever happened at the opening ceremony through their discussions.
As long as the reputation was established, he wouldn't have to worry about customers.
All it cost him were the fruits, which were of little value to him.
Incidentally, it was also an invisible promotion for the supermarket that had just opened next door to the Martial Arts Hall.