Dragon Gate Valley

Three days later, in the back hall of Zhong Manor, Master Zhong leaned on his Dragon Head Cane, looking at his eight excited foster sons.

"Have all the matters been clearly arranged?" Master Zhong asked.

"Yes, Foster Father," everyone immediately nodded excitedly.

"Everything in the manor will proceed in an orderly manner, Foster Father, please rest assured," Zhong Tian said.

"Mm," Master Zhong nodded, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes. He looked at his seven foster sons who had reached the Peak Acquired Realm again, and finally nodded with satisfaction.

Gently, Master Zhong tapped the floor of the hall with his Dragon Head Cane in a rhythmic manner.

"Clack clack clack clack"

To the surprise of the foster sons, a section of the hall's floor actually split open, revealing a path leading underground.

Seeing this scene, the foster sons were all astonished. Even Zhong Tian, who had always served Master Zhong, showed a look of shock in his eyes. How many secrets does Foster Father still have?

"Let's go," Master Zhong walked ahead, stepping onto the stairs and slowly descending.

The foster sons exchanged glances, but no one dared to ask more questions.

The further down they went, the wider it became. At the bottom was a large hall, a massive underground hall.

On the wall was a wolf head carving. Master Zhong gently rotated it, and the passage that had opened above closed again.

The foster sons looked down in surprise. This underground hall was too big, and very, very deep. Moreover, at the edge of the hall was a passage, a huge passage, seemingly leading to an infinite distance. Outside the passage were lamps, illuminating it. At the same time, at the edge of the passage, was there a huge iron house?

The entire passage was filled with countless iron bars, two of which extended to an infinite distance.

In front of the iron house stood over a dozen people. Seeing Master Zhong arrive, they all bowed deeply, clearly arranged by Master Zhong beforehand.

Looking at the iron house, Master Zhong sighed with emotion. What is this? A train from my previous life, the most primitive steam train.

Zhong Shan, in his memories from his previous life, although he didn't know how to make many technological things, he knew the general information about using coal to heat water vapor, forming high pressure, and using the high pressure to drive pistons, making the earliest steam trains run.

Fifty years. He found many skilled craftsmen, spent nearly twenty years, and finally, he still managed to research the steam engine. Then, he let those skilled craftsmen explore on their own, and finally, the most primitive train appeared.

However, Zhong Shan did not make it public. It was enough for him to know alone.

Therefore, he built a railway underground.

Master Zhong was rich, very rich, so he naturally didn't care about this small expense.

Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, let alone Master Zhong?

"Let's go, get in." Master Zhong led everyone into one of the carriages. In the eyes of the eight foster sons, there was full of curiosity. What is this? Aren't we going to the Dragon Gate Meet?

After closing the door, Master Zhong said to the outside, "Depart."

"Yes," the dozen or so people outside immediately said.

Then, sitting in the incredibly luxurious carriage, the foster sons suddenly felt that this iron house was actually moving.

Moreover, a huge roaring sound came from the front.

"Rumble, rumble..."

The steam train, underground, was rapidly heading towards Master Zhong's destination.

The foster sons were filled with questions. Looking out the glazed window, the lights rapidly receded, and they knew this iron house was moving quickly.

The foster sons looked at each other in surprise, then turned towards Master Zhong.

Master Zhong, at this moment, was leaning on his Dragon Head Cane, sitting there with his eyes closed, as if resting. Therefore, the foster sons didn't disturb him, merely burying the confusion of the moment deep in their hearts.

Three days, a full three days, the train traveled. After traveling for three days, the eight foster sons knew they had left Zhong Manor very, very far behind.

For three days, the roar of the train, which had initially surprised the foster sons, slowly became something they accepted.

It wasn't until the third day that the train slowly came to a stop.

It was still underground, still at the edge of a large hall. Led by Master Zhong, everyone got off the train and walked up along the same passage as before. The ground above was also a large hall.

"This is at the foot of Heng Mountain. This manor is my private property. You will rest here for two days and adjust your condition to the best. Two days later, we will go to Dragon Gate Valley to participate in the Dragon Gate Meet," Master Zhong said.

"Yes," the foster sons immediately responded.

Then, leaving the hall, everyone saw that, indeed, this was also a huge manor with many servants. Seeing Master Zhong arrive, they all bowed. After Master Zhong gave some instructions, the foster sons were led to their respective guest rooms by a person who looked like a steward.

After seeing off the foster sons, Master Zhong also came to a small courtyard. This was also Master Zhong's residence in this manor. Gently pushing open the door, the interior was spotlessly clean.

Inside, there was a large bed and some high-end cabinets. On the wall opposite the large bed, however, hung a portrait, a framed portrait.

The paper of the portrait was very old, clearly indicating that the portrait had existed for a very long time.

Master Zhong entered the bedroom and slowly walked to the portrait, carefully looking at it, studying it intently.

In the portrait was a woman, a woman of extreme beauty. Starry eyes and pearly teeth, black and lustrous hair, an extremely well-proportioned figure, dressed in a red fur robe, extending a slender jade hand, holding a very beautiful flower, bringing the flower to her nose, and with a gentle sniff, revealing a faint smile. This smile seemed to make the world lose its color.

Looking at this extremely beautiful woman, a hint of complexity flashed in Master Zhong's eyes.

"Bao Er, have you forgotten me? Why haven't you returned yet?" A sigh, a hint of heartache, appeared on Master Zhong's face.

Master Zhong stood silently in front of the portrait for an hour before sighing slightly, shaking his head, and sitting on the bed.

Gently placing the Dragon Head Cane he held in his hand at the head of the bed, and easing his mood, Master Zhong also closed his eyes and sat cross-legged to adjust himself. Next was the Dragon Gate Meet, and he had to be in the best possible state to welcome it.

Two days later, outside the manor, Master Zhong led the way, followed by the eight foster sons.

The direction they were heading was the large mountain north of the manor. The mountain path was rugged, with no road at all. If they weren't all martial arts experts, they wouldn't even be able to enter the mountain. The mountain was also full of poisonous plants and insects. If Master Zhong hadn't had decades of experience, he might have been poisoned as well.

Looking at the environment here, the eight foster sons' hearts tightened.

Master Zhong's cane had been held by the youngest foster son, Zhong Shijiu, early on. Except for the eldest foster son, Zhong Tian, everyone else was at the Peak Acquired Realm. The mountain path was rugged, but they could still keep up quickly. Only Zhong Tian was a bit slower, but Master Zhong still slowed down and waited patiently.

At night, they found a place to rest. Everyone had to adjust to their best state, while Zhong Tian was doing the guarding work, watching the surroundings, and guarding against fierce beasts and poisonous insects.

Zhong Tian was relatively simple and honest. Although he was Master Zhong's eldest foster son, his cultivation speed was not very fast. Late Heaven Eighth Stage, only Late Heaven Eighth Stage. Zhong Tian didn't hold much hope, he just wanted to see the legendary Dragon Gate Meet.

Master Zhong certainly couldn't let him keep watch at night. As for the other seven foster sons, Zhong Tian always felt they were very snobbish. They only respected him as the eldest when they were young. More often, they seemed to be putting on a show for their foster father. However, Zhong Tian was simple and honest and didn't pay much attention. After all, their cultivation was much higher than his.

Walking the mountain path was arduous. Although they didn't encounter fierce beasts, they encountered poisonous insects, poisonous plants, and miasma. However, Master Zhong could always take out corresponding medicinal materials to deal with them, and each time they narrowly escaped danger.

Seeing the items their foster father carried, the foster sons could easily guess that their foster father had definitely walked this path many times and was very familiar with it.

Five days later, everyone finally crossed many large mountains and arrived outside a valley.

Outside the valley, at this moment, there were some other people arriving from different directions. Most of them were unfamiliar, but there was a group of six people that everyone recognized at a glance.

The Zhao Family, one of the four great families of the Great Kun Kingdom?

"Is that the Zhao Family Head?" The foster sons were clearly taken aback.

Leading them was a man in white robes, who appeared to be only forty or fifty years old. However, the foster sons knew that this was the Zhao Family Head, whose age should be similar to their Foster Father Zhong Shan's. His youthful appearance was due to his cultivation reaching the Innate Realm.

"Zhong Shan?" The Zhao Family Head recognized Master Zhong, who was holding the Dragon Head Cane, at a glance, and a hint of disbelief flashed in his eyes.

"It truly is a small world. Zhao Family Head, how have you been?" Master Zhong said with a faint smile.

Behind the Zhao Family Head, five Zhao family disciples looked at Zhong Shan's eight foster sons with a hint of disdain in their eyes. However, when they saw Master Zhong, a hint of respect flashed in everyone's eyes. After all, Master Zhong's legend in the Great Kun Kingdom was something that even their thousand-year-old family couldn't help but marvel at.

Master Zhong was a legendary figure. Although he didn't have much background, everything he had accomplished was praised by everyone. As for these foster sons, they were merely basking in his glory.

"Haha, I didn't expect you to know about this place as well. You are not simple," the Zhao Family Head said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Zhong Shan.

"I'm just bringing a few juniors to broaden their horizons. Zhao Family Head, which Immortal Sect are you planning to enter this time?" Master Zhong asked.

"Enter an Immortal Sect? Heh, you and I are the same age, I'm already eighty. Even if there are family members above, it's impossible for me to get in. This time, I'm just bringing some talented juniors to try their luck," the Zhao Family Head said, shaking his head and smiling.

"In that case, I wish the Zhao Family Head good luck," Zhong Shan said.

"Mm, likewise, I also wish that someone from your Zhong family can enter an Immortal Sect," the Zhao Family Head said, narrowing his eyes and glancing at the eight foster sons.

"Mm," Master Zhong nodded.

"Farewell," the Zhao Family Head said.

"See you at the Dragon Gate Meet," Zhong Shan nodded.

Following that, the Zhao Family Head naturally left first. Standing outside the valley, watching the Zhao family members enter, Zhong Shan's expression also became serious. He narrowed his eyes and pondered for a while.

"Let's go, enter," Master Zhong said, leaning on his Dragon Head Cane.

"Yes," the foster sons immediately nodded.

Then, following behind Master Zhong, they slowly walked towards the interior along with the various forces.