Buying Land and Building a House

As the bell marking the end of court rang out, Huang Tieyi feared his grandfather, Huang Batian, would rope him into building the Body Academy. He fled at once.

After leaving Spirit Hall, he went straight to a real estate agency in Spirit City. He knew exactly where he stood: His Holiness the Pope intended to marry, and a hot-blooded, handsome young man with money like him could easily spark unwanted rumors. Moving out before the Pope's wife moved in was the sensible thing to do.

Everyone knew Spirit Hall was one of the continent's foremost Soul Master powers, but few knew the Spirit Hall Grounds formed a vast Palace City whose grand scale rivaled the imperial capitals of the two great empires.

The Palace City was divided into orderly districts. Most of the palace complex to the east belonged exclusively to the Offering Hall, where its members and their families lived amid a crisscrossing maze of winding corridors. To the west, the palaces of the Elder Council rose in tiers when viewed from above. And the most exalted Papal Palace held not only the main hall where court assemblies convened on the first and fifteenth of each month, but also the Papal Study, the Imperial Bedchamber, the Private Training Grounds, the Private Garden, and many other areas.

In truth, Spirit Hall had not been founded merely as an organization where Soul Masters gathered. Its founders had intended to establish a nation, which was why its Palace City had gradually grown to its present scale. Even without getting lost, an ordinary person would need a year to walk every road inside it.

But Qian Daoliu had abandoned that ambition entirely when Spirit Hall was at its strongest under his command.

Before inheriting the papacy of Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu had traveled the continent and studied the political structures of the two great empires. He had seen through the foundations of their rule and the constraints at their roots. He knew a worldly dynasty could never be secured by force alone. Its foundations were entwined with noble factions, class interests, and industrial holdings—a tangle of competing interests, checks, and entanglements at every turn.

If Spirit Hall founded a nation, it would be forced into the shackles of a worldly dynasty's rites, institutions, and interests, betraying the Soul Master world's core principle that the strong reigned supreme. By then, if Soul Masters found no difference between serving the two great empires and serving Spirit Hall, why would they join Spirit Hall at all?

For that reason, Qian Daoliu gave up the idea of founding a nation and laid down an iron rule: Spirit Hall would never become one.

Spirit City's North District had once been a slum. Today, its residents received a visitor unlike any before.

Led by a real estate agent, Huang Tieyi arrived at a continuous stretch of uninhabited land in the North District. The place was filthy and foul-smelling, with low ground where rubbish mingled with stinking rainwater.

"Young master, do you really want this place?" the agent asked, studying Huang Tieyi carefully to make sure he was not joking.

"Of course. I'll take this whole area," Huang Tieyi said lightly. "Didn't you say it costs only ten Gold Soul Coins altogether? Where else would I find a better bargain?"

"But the conditions here are awful. Making it habitable would take a great deal of work, wouldn't that cost even more?" the agent asked, baffled.

"You're an ordinary person. You don't understand what Soul Masters can do. Some jobs that look terribly expensive to you can be settled with just a few Soul Skills," Huang Tieyi said with an easy air.

"That's true." The agent nodded in agreement.

Huang Tieyi soared into the air and looked down over the deserted area. After assessing it carefully, he landed. "On the horizontal side, I'll buy one row less. On the vertical side, I'll buy one row more..."

The agent handed him a map, and Huang Tieyi marked out the exact area he wanted as he spoke.

"Young master, that comes to twelve Gold Soul Coins in total. Shall we go back and handle the paperwork now, or should I go and do it for you?" the agent asked.

"Here are twelve Gold Soul Coins. Go handle it. Make sure the land deed is properly and legally registered, then bring it to me," Huang Tieyi said. "This extra Gold Soul Coin is for your trouble..."

"Yes, young master. I'll take care of it right away." The agent accepted the coins and left with a delighted smile.

Huang Tieyi rose into the air. The black Seventh Soul Ring beneath him, tinged with red, lit up. He dropped straight into the center of the deserted land he had chosen. "Earthquake Fissure..."

The ground shook. Cracks split open one after another like gaping mouths, swallowing the area's mud huts and the dead plants in their yards until nothing remained but a vast empty lot.

Satisfied, Huang Tieyi took to the air again and landed on Spirit City's main road. He went straight to the Strength Clan's camp. At this point, the Four Single-Attribute Clans had not yet turned away from Spirit Hall because of the Clear Sky Sect.

When Tai Tan saw Huang Tieyi, he greeted him warmly. "Young Master Huang, are you planning to build a house?"

"How did you know?" Huang Tieyi asked, puzzled.

"Young Master Huang, I'm right next door to the real estate agency!" Tai Tan replied, somewhat speechless.

"Oh, I see. I was focused on my errand and didn't notice," Huang Tieyi said. "I've already cleared the land. Now you just need to build the house to my specifications."

"Young Master Huang, do you have plans?" Tai Tan asked quietly.

Huang Tieyi immediately took a set of plans he had designed many years ago from his Space Ring and handed them to Tai Tan.

Tai Tan stared at the plans in astonishment. He had never seen anything like the design drawn on them, because Huang Tieyi had created it for himself back when he was on Earth.

"What? Is it too difficult?" Huang Tieyi asked when Tai Tan fell silent.

"No. I've simply never seen a design like this before," Tai Tan said, shaking his head.

"That doesn't matter. Just make sure you build it exactly as shown," Huang Tieyi said. "I trust the Strength Clan is among the very best at construction. If you can't do it, I can always go to the Mammoth Huyan."

"Young Master Huang, what are you saying? There's no house the Strength Clan can't build, and build well," Tai Tan protested. "The Huyan are mere little brothers compared with us when it comes to construction. I'll take the job..."

"Well said, Clan Chief Tai Tan. Now, please write down my detailed requirements..." Huang Tieyi said with a smile.

Tai Tan nodded and fetched paper and a pen. Huang Tieyi listed his requirements, and Tai Tan wrote them down carefully. But as he kept writing, he grew utterly bewildered and looked up at Huang Tieyi...