Grinding to Martial Emperor from the Border Army

Chapter 205: Chapter 150: Celestial Ladder

"Several billion... that’s certainly not a small sum. I never thought that Lu Yuan had such tricks up his sleeve. It seems I underestimated him," the Yong Emperor remarked coolly.

But then he continued, "However, these money-making schemes are ultimately trivial pursuits. Several billion silver won’t solve the Northern Barbarians’ predicament. We Cultivators value strength above all else. From now on, do not report any more news about him to Us."

The Yong Emperor said, gripping the teacup in his hand.

His status was simply too lofty. Even with Lu Yuan’s recent performance, it was ultimately beneath his notice. After all, Dayong’s national power was flourishing.

Dayong was now on a completely different level from the struggling Northern Barbarians.

In his eyes, that vast sum of silver was nothing more than fleeting wealth.

Meanwhile, inside the Crown Prince’s Mansion, upon hearing the news, a sinister glint appeared in the eyes of Dayong’s newly appointed Crown Prince.

"That Lu Yuan is like a persistent ghost, always stirring up trouble. Let him earn his money for now. In two years, when our grand army marches into the Northern Barbarians’ territory, the Celestial King Stronghold will help me seize all that silver.

Wealth without the strength to protect it is nothing but a death warrant," the Dayong Crown Prince said coldly.

Standing before him, Zhao Yu hurriedly nodded.

The former Seventh Prince had grown increasingly arrogant since becoming the Crown Prince. Although Zhao Yu’s status as a Personal Guard had risen, he now lived every day on pins and needles.

’It was truly agonizing.’

Lu Yuan, however, was oblivious to all this. He had just left the Prince’s Mansion and arrived in South City. As he surveyed the area, he could see the construction site was just a small part of the whole.

The city was enormous. South City, though underdeveloped, was by no means smaller than the other districts—in fact, it was significantly larger.

Thousands of acres of land was practically nothing here.

Compared to the vast Imperial City, it was merely the amount of land occupied by one of the larger clans.

After all, some clans had existed for millennia. Combined with their long lifespans, their populations had swelled to the hundreds of thousands.

Naturally, their estates were anything but small.

This meant that as long as Lu Yuan wished, the Academy Palace could be expanded indefinitely.

The surrounding clamor pulled him from his reverie back to reality.

Upon Lu Yuan’s arrival, many people bowed in greeting.

Lu Yuan nodded in acknowledgment to each of them. His gaze then fell upon a pair in the crowd ahead. The Xiao matron and her daughter had indeed arrived, though not with any great fanfare.

Instead, they looked like women from an ordinary family on an outing—though of course, the guards by their side were unavoidable.

Besides, nearly every disciple who came to register was surrounded by an entourage, so they didn’t particularly stand out.

As Lu Yuan approached, he saw they were watching the prospective disciples register.

The young people didn’t even blink as they took out their money, handing over thick wads of silver notes without a second thought.

The sight left even the Xiao matron slightly surprised.

Just then, a man carrying a huge sign approached.

He was from Prince Qin’s Mansion. The moment he reached the center of the area, he bellowed, "Announcement! Anyone who wants to buy a house had better buy quickly! The price goes up tomorrow!"

A commotion erupted.

Instantly, a huge crowd surged toward him.

In the midst of the chaos, Lu Yuan found himself beside Xiao Hua.

Seeing him, she covered her mouth and giggled. "You’ve raised the prices so much. I bet you’re about to be cursed to death."

Although the Xiao matron remained silent, her expression conveyed the same sentiment. After all, this was no small amount of silver.

Lu Yuan chuckled. "That’s not necessarily true. Just you wait and see."

Just as he spoke, a thunderous roar of laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Hahaha, the price is going up tenfold tomorrow? I want to buy houses! I’ll take ten courtyard homes!" The voice belonged to a wealthy local merchant of the Northern Barbarians.

He had just purchased a manor, and now he wanted to buy ten small courtyard homes in one go.

The wealthy merchants who had rushed in from out of town were kicking themselves for not bringing enough silver. After buying a single courtyard home, they had no more spare cash.

Still, they turned to their attendants and ordered, "Send a sound transmission home at once! Have them bring more silver!"

For a moment, the entire sales area in South City was in an uproar. Yet no one was cursing Lu Yuan for the price hike. On the contrary, because he had issued the notice in advance, everyone was scrambling to buy property, some even feeling grateful to Lu Yuan for giving them this opportunity.

The Xiao matron had never witnessed such a strange spectacle before. She and Xiao Hua looked at each other as if they had seen a ghost.

However, as they watched chests filled with stacks of silver notes being carried away under the escort of Guards, they were left speechless.

The events of the day had completely shattered their understanding of the world.

"Let’s go see the training grounds," the Xiao matron said softly. "Everything here is already settled."

With that, she started walking ahead.

Xiao Hua followed behind, whispering to Lu Yuan, "Yuan, at this rate, all the houses you’ve started building will probably be sold out by the end of the day.

What will you do tomorrow?"

"Didn’t I buy another ten thousand acres of land? There’s plenty to go around. I’ll just mark out more plots tomorrow and keep selling. As long as I give them a completion date for next year, people will buy. This whole area has been completely revitalized," Lu Yuan said with a chuckle.

"You earn this much just by flipping the land?" Xiao Hua asked, dumbfounded.

Lu Yuan chuckled softly. "Do you think they’re buying houses? They’re buying the right to enter the Academy Palace. Even if I didn’t build a single house, as long as their children are allowed to enter the Academy to practice martial arts...

...they would build the houses themselves.

Just you watch. In the future, South City will become a hub for the world’s wealth. If I manage it correctly, the Northern Barbarians will never have to worry about a shortage of silver again," Lu Yuan said with confidence.

Even the Xiao matron, walking ahead of them, couldn’t help but slow her pace.