Settling In!

"Let me have a look."

The voice from outside the crowd made Old Man Wine, who was panting hard, light up.

The people around him turned to look.

"An Xiantian Lifeform!"

"An officer from the Xiantian Battalion!"

The men blocking Zhou Hao hurriedly bowed with respect and stepped aside.

The blue armor, decorated with flood-dragon patterns, could only be worn by Xiantian Lifeform experts from the Xiantian Battalion. No one else in Jade Dragon City was allowed to wear it.

It was a symbol of status.

"Fifty pieces of Dog-Head Gold, right? I'll take it." Zhou Hao casually flipped his hand, and a piece of gold shimmering with a blue light appeared in it. He tossed it straight to Old Man Wine.

"Thunder Gold!?" Old Man Wine hastily caught it.

The Thunder Gold was only about the size of a thumb, yet its weight dragged heavily at his hand.

Old Man Wine first stuffed the Thunder Gold into his waistband, then respectfully offered the metal statue to Zhou Hao with both hands.

"My lord."

"Mm." Zhou Hao took the statue, regarding Old Man Wine with a faintly amused look.

He had seemed to slip the Thunder Gold into his waistband, but in truth, he had tucked it into a Mustard Stone sewn inside his belt.

Would an old man who claimed he couldn't make ends meet and survived by selling things at the roadside have such a rare treasure as a Mustard Stone?

A single Mustard Stone would fetch more than ten jin of Thunder Gold at the Cultivation Market in East City.

As if afraid Zhou Hao would question him, Old Man Wine turned as soon as he handed over the statue, squeezed out through the crowd, and hurried off into Jade Dragon City.

"My lord, Old Man Wine is a notorious drinker and gambler. He never tells the truth. Who knows where he stole that thing from? It isn't worth that much gold."

"That's right. He spent several days trying to sell it in East City without success, so he came to West Gate Market to swindle someone."

"I doubt that thing's worth even one piece of Dog-Head Gold."

Some people around them plucked up the courage to offer a warning, and the rest immediately chimed in.

They lived in Jade Dragon City and had seen plenty of Xiantian Lifeforms, even though they were a rare sight in ordinary tribes. They knew their stuff, and of course they recognized Thunder Gold.

That little piece of Thunder Gold was enough to keep a family comfortable for more than a decade. Wouldn't he be taking a huge loss in exchange for a useless statue?

"What status do officers of the Xiantian Battalion have? A few jin of Thunder Gold is a fortune to you, but to my lord, it's pocket change." The burly slave trader beside them spoke up loudly.

It was obvious he was saying it on purpose for Zhou Hao to hear.

When Zhou Hao looked his way, he immediately bowed and scraped with a fawning smile. He even remembered to quietly tell the pretty slave girls beside him to lift their heads.

Zhou Hao smiled without replying, stored the metal statue in his Mustard Stone, and turned to leave.

He wasn't a saint. He couldn't save everyone.

As for Old Man Wine, he had lived in Jade Dragon City for many years, and plenty of people knew him.

Once Zhou Hao discovered what was unusual about the metal statue, he could look for him again.

Outside the restaurant.

Xiangcao and Iron Pillar stood there, gazing into the distance toward the western gate of Jade Dragon City.

Several torches stuck into the wall brightly illuminated the entrance. Xiangcao's face was flushed; who knew how long she had been waiting there?

Seeing them, Zhou Hao quickened his pace.

"It's Uncle Zhou Hao! Uncle Zhou Hao's back!" Iron Pillar spotted Zhou Hao in his armor from far away and shouted excitedly. "Uncle Zhou Hao's wearing armor—the Green Flood Dragon Army's armor!"

Zhou Hao scooped Iron Pillar up and carried him toward the restaurant, asking Xiangcao as he went, "Where's everyone else?"

The Iron Ox Tribe members, who had been preparing to camp temporarily on the empty lot beside the restaurant, were nowhere to be seen.

"It was Commander Cao Rong." Xiangcao followed behind Zhou Hao. "He sent someone over this afternoon. They said you were in the barracks studying cultivation techniques, so he helped us find a place to stay. My brother and the others have already gone over to get settled."

Zhou Hao nodded.

At least Cao Rong hadn't only been thinking with the lower half of his body.

But if he knew Zhou Hao was "studying," why hadn't he come to rescue him sooner?

"Lord Zhou is back." The restaurant owner, Zhu Da, came out to greet him. "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Have something here before you head over. Brother Iron Ox and the others only just went to settle in. They surely haven't had anything prepared."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Boss Zhu."

Zhou Hao was genuinely hungry. Master Jingzhi's lectures didn't have any breaks.

"What trouble is that?" Zhu Da said with a smile, setting down a basin of cooked Zhilong Meat. "With Lord Zhou's strength, I expect you'll be a commander by tomorrow. Just look after my little restaurant in the future."

"Boss Zhu sure gets the news quickly," Zhou Hao said with a smile.

Tomorrow, the Green Flood Dragon Army was holding a martial competition, and everyone from the Xiantian Battalion stationed in Jade Dragon City had to attend. He had only received the military's orders that afternoon.

If Master Jingzhi hadn't let him in on it beforehand, he would have known only that a martial competition was taking place tomorrow. He wouldn't have known they were also creating a new unit in the Xiantian Battalion.

How had Zhu Da already heard news like that?

"Lord Zhou must be joking. I don't have any other skills; all I have is this cooking. Commander Cao and the other officers of the Xiantian Battalion all like my food. The more often they come, the more I hear, and the more I learn."

Zhu Da laughed as he explained, "Word of tomorrow's martial competition has spread all over the city today. The city lord will attend as well, and they'll be adding a new unit and selecting a fifth commander."

"No wonder." Zhou Hao nodded.

That made sense. Even Zhao Hu already knew, so the news was hardly a secret anymore.

"Go ahead and eat, Lord Zhou. Just ask if you want more. I'll go check on things in the kitchen." After a few more words, Zhu Da turned and left.

Zhou Hao wolfed down his food.

He had finally gotten a cultivation technique from the Xiantian Battalion. Even without tomorrow's martial competition to prepare for, he couldn't wait to start cultivating.

"Boss Zhu Da is a good man. He had his servants help us get settled, and tonight he even sent meat over for my brother and the others." Xiangcao brought Zhou Hao another basin of meat. "Slow down."

"Mm. He's a good man, and pretty warmhearted."

At least he was better than those three, Cao Rong and the others.

After eating his fill, Zhou Hao left Zhu Da two pieces of Dog-Head Gold, then left the restaurant with Xiangcao and Iron Pillar.

Although he resented Cao Rong a little for leaving him behind today, the residence he had arranged was quite nice.

It was in the northwest of the outer city of Jade Dragon City, not far from West Gate Market. It was also easy to reach the barracks by entering through the northern gate of the outer city.

The two courtyards, one large and one small, had more than a dozen rooms. It was a little cramped with the entire Iron Ox Tribe staying there, but still far more comfortable than camping outside.

"Tomorrow I'll go find a suitable place to establish the tribe's camp." After receiving the Tribe Decree, Iron Ox was full of drive.

At last, they could settle within Jade Dragon City's sphere of influence. Zhou Hao also gave Iron Ox the Divine Arm Ape Demon Body cultivation technique he had obtained from the Mustard Stone Space in Yuan Lie's possession, making it the Iron Ox Tribe's legacy technique for future generations.

They now had both a camp and a cultivation technique. This made Iron Ox certain that everything in the tribe would keep getting better.

After thinking it over, Zhou Hao still offered a warning. "It's best not to choose a place too far away."

The Black Hand Tribe was still a potential threat. And Yuan Lie had been an Xiantian Lifeform of the Fire Worship Sect, the only power in the Wilderness World that dared challenge Jade Dragon City. The sect was said to have a cultivation sect backing it as well, and to be no weaker than the Jade Dragon Sect.

"Look for a place within a thousand li of Jade Dragon City." Zhou Hao had heard from Master Jingzhi that the family tribes of Xiantian Battalion commanders could receive more than just a Tribe Decree and Jade Dragon City's protection. They could also receive a Signal Talisman.

With this talisman, if they crushed it anywhere within a thousand li of Jade Dragon City, the Green Flood Dragon Army's headquarters would receive a distress signal and send Xiantian Lifeforms to their rescue.

But only family tribes of Xiantian Battalion commanders were eligible to receive one.

"All right. We'll look within a thousand li." Iron Ox had no reason to disagree.

"Brother Zhou, now that you've joined the Xiantian Battalion, you don't need to worry about the tribe's affairs.

"Once I choose a location tomorrow, I'll take everyone to build our camp. With the Thunder Gold you gave us, it won't take many years for the Iron Ox Tribe to become a large tribe."

"Mm. Go ahead and do as you see fit, Brother Iron Ox." Zhou Hao smiled.

Compared with building up the tribe, what he longed for more was to cultivate the Way of Immortals.

Especially in this Wilderness World: without strength, where could one find peace?