Flying Sword Cutting

"Half a year is far too long."

Chen Daoxuan shook his head.

He looked at the silent Chen Beiwang, thought for a moment, and said, "Forget it. I'll go take a look at your Stone Processing Workshop later."

"Yes, Young Clan Leader."

Hearing this, Chen Beiwang let out a sigh of relief.

After giving instructions to Chen Yuancao, who was in charge of constructing the family's public buildings, Chen Daoxuan turned to Chen Liangyu, the former Mine Overseer of the Red Copper Mine.

Seeing Chen Daoxuan turn his gaze toward him, Chen Liangyu wore a fawning smile.

"Steward Chen, how is the mine doing now?"

When Chen Daoxuan mentioned the mine, the smile on Chen Liangyu's face collapsed.

In a slightly complaining tone, he said, "Reporting to the Young Clan Leader, all work at the mine has stopped, and the workers have all gone home to rest.

"Oh, right. The Red Copper Mine ore that was extracted has all been stored in the ore storage room. I've personally stood guard over it this entire time, so I can guarantee there won't be any problems."

After hearing this, Chen Daoxuan merely nodded.

This was Twin Lakes Island, where everyone living on the island was a member of the Chen Family. Moreover, Red Copper Mine ore was useful only to cultivators, so ordinary clansmen naturally would not steal it.

Still, seeing that Chen Liangyu had remained at his post even after the Red Copper Mine had shut down, Chen Daoxuan was quite satisfied with his attitude.

With that thought, his gaze softened somewhat.

"Steward Chen, you've worked hard during this time."

Chen Liangyu immediately put on a deeply humbled expression. "It is all for the family. I dare not accept the Young Clan Leader's praise."

After pondering for a moment, Chen Daoxuan continued, "How about this? I have a new assignment for you. If you handle it well, it certainly won't be any worse than serving as overseer at the Red Copper Mine in the future."

Chen Daoxuan saw through Chen Liangyu's thoughts at a glance and smiled. "What do you think?"

Hearing that he had been given a new assignment, Chen Liangyu nearly jumped for joy.

He forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and said in a trembling voice, "Chen Liangyu is willing to brave boiling water and tread on blazing fire for the family, without hesitation!"

"You won't need to brave boiling water and tread on blazing fire."

Chen Daoxuan waved his hand with a smile, then his expression turned solemn. "I want you to select a group of males from the family between sixteen and eighteen years old. They must be literate, clever, and quick-witted.

"Pick fifteen people first. Have them gather at the family's Earth Fire Chamber tomorrow morning."

"Understood!"

Chen Liangyu cupped his hands, his voice filled with excitement.

Watching Chen Liangyu leave, Chen Daoxuan looked at Chen Beiwang, who had been waiting nearby, and said, "Let's go. We'll first take a look at the Stone Processing Workshop."

"Yes, Young Clan Leader."

Changping County, Stone Processing Workshop.

As the only Stone Processing Workshop in Changping County, the stone bricks produced here came in three varieties.

They were Red Stone Brick, White Stone Brick, and the finest-quality Blue Stone Brick.

Along the way.

The old craftsman Chen Beiwang introduced the place as they walked. "This is the family's Stone Material Workshop. Every household in Changping County gets its stone bricks from here."

This workshop was only a few hundred square meters in size, and there were merely a dozen or so craftsmen at work. Though every one of them was drenched in sweat, their efficiency was still appallingly low.

Chen Beiwang continued, "The stone here must first be quarried from the mountains by stonecutters, then processed by the workshop into finished bricks like these."

As he spoke, Chen Beiwang picked up a finished blue brick from a basket beside the craftsmen and handed it to Chen Daoxuan. "Young Clan Leader, please take a look."

Before him.

The blue brick was about seven inches long, three inches wide, and two inches thick. It was entirely blue in color, with a faint jade-like gleam. It looked less like stone and more like jade.

This was the finest stone brick the Chen Family could produce.

Compared to ancient Earth, the Chen Family of Twin Lakes Island apparently had not mastered the method of firing clay bricks.

Of course, that was also because resources in this cultivation world were far more abundant than on Earth.

Mortals simply had no need to fire bricks. Stone and timber of all kinds were inexhaustible.

They were also attractive and practical, making fired bricks seem utterly superfluous.

Seeing the work efficiency of these craftsmen, Chen Daoxuan finally understood why building a factory required half a year.

It was not that the builders were slow; the supply of raw materials was insufficient.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Daoxuan turned and asked, "Can the Quarry supply enough raw stone?"

Chen Beiwang did not react at first. After a long moment, he nodded sharply. "It can! The Quarry's work is all brute labor, so it's easy to find workers."

At last, there was some good news.

Chen Daoxuan instructed, "You have half a day. Go find Chen Zhi and have him organize the clansmen to transport all the raw stone from the Quarry back here."

Though he had no idea what medicine Chen Daoxuan was selling in his gourd, Chen Beiwang did not dare defy the Young Clan Leader who had just taken control of the family.

Very soon.

Chen Zhi, who was organizing an investigation into the family's population, received a new order from Chen Daoxuan.

Chen Zhi did not dare delay in the face of Chen Daoxuan's command.

He immediately organized more manpower and sent them to the Quarry to transport raw stone.

Fortunately, most of Twin Lakes Island's mortals were Martial Artists of the Mortal Realm. In a single afternoon, more than three thousand cubic meters of raw stone were transported by the Chen clansmen back to the courtyard of the Stone Processing Workshop.

That afternoon.

The area outside the Stone Processing Workshop's courtyard was packed with watching clansmen.

They were all temporary workers Chen Zhi had organized to transport stone.

No one knew what this Young Clan Leader was planning to do.

Inside the courtyard.

Chen Daoxuan looked at the mountain-like pile of Blue Stone Material before him and sighed inwardly. Time to be a laborer again.

He slightly raised a breath of Dantian True Qi, and the blue stone material floated into the air under its control.

Immediately after.

The Crimson Shadow Flying Sword flew out of the Storage Bag, spiritual light gleaming from its blade.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sword light flashed in every direction throughout the Stone Processing Workshop's courtyard.

In the blink of an eye.

The enormous Blue Stone Material, each piece a full zhang square, was cut into small bricks by the Flying Sword.

"Th-This..."

Outside the courtyard, the Chen clansmen all looked as though they had seen a ghost.

Although they knew cultivators possessed immense strength, this immortal-like sight still exceeded the limits of their imagination.

Under Chen Daoxuan's Flying Sword Cutting, the Blue Stone Material in the courtyard dwindled while the pile of blue bricks grew larger and larger.

In just one afternoon.

All three thousand cubic meters of stone had been cut by Chen Daoxuan alone into well-formed Blue Stone Bricks.

Gulp!

Standing in the courtyard, Chen Beiwang swallowed unconsciously.

He finally understood why the Chen Family's Clan Leader could only be a cultivator and never a mortal.

Even if every stonemason in the Chen Family worked day and night without rest, it would take at least several months to process all that stone into bricks.

Yet now, in no more than three hours, the Young Clan Leader had processed every bit of it by himself.

How could mortals possibly compare to such ghost-and-god power?

With that thought, Chen Beiwang grew even more reverent and awed toward Chen Daoxuan, the Young Clan Leader.