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Chapter 212 - Holy Rod Artifact
🕑 Added 2025-01-06 07:00:07 +0000 UTCThis information shocked the entire Bara City.
To them, the Multi-Element Sect was a gargantuan existence! For a city where the strongest cultivators were only in the Core Formation realm, the presence of multiple Soul Formation experts was almost mythical.
"How did City Lord Layla manage to get herself a backer of this level?" one merchant whispered to another, his tone a mixture of amazement and disbelief.
"She's incredible," another replied. "To think we have someone like her leading Bara City. We're truly fortunate."
"Sigh... I still remember when she was just a receptionist at the Treasure Pavilion years ago. I should have tried to flirt with her back then. If I had, maybe I'd be her husband now."
"Hahahaha! I just heard the funniest joke today. You? If she were with you, you'd just drag her down! Back off, clown! Only someone with godly eyes for people like Lord Leyvi can gather outstanding women around him and make them soar to greatness! Mark my words, all of his wives and concubines will become some of the most legendary women in the history of our continent!"
"Who is this guy, making such a bold claim?"
"I know him. He's part of Leyvi's Fan Club. They have been growing in numbers lately."
"I see. But I heard that his fan club members have great manners. Why does he seem arrogant?"
"He's a new member. After a while, he will become more humble. They call it the Leyvi's effect!"
Now that she had a strong backer, Layla finally had all the important chess pieces under her control, and she could proceed to the next step by directly warning the bad actors behind the scenes, ordering them to stop whatever illegal activities they were doing or face dire consequences.
She also demanded that every group that had been playing tricks since she became city lord pay all the taxes they were supposed to pay. This would be the last chance she gave them, or they would be removed entirely.
Layla's aggressive threat was extremely effective. She had proven to them multiple times that she had the capability to uncover their crimes, and now with the backing of multiple Soul Formation experts, if she targeted them, there would be nothing they could do. Her precision in dismantling their operations had already become the stuff of legends among her allies and enemies alike.
So, most of the criminals left Bara City, knowing it was too risky to operate there from now on, and the bad actors who played tricks on her previously immediately paid everything they owed. At least it was much better than being entirely removed from managing all the resources.
Due to this, the Leyan Family's wealth increased tremendously, and the absence of an illegal market improved the economy of Bara City greatly, leading to more prosperous living conditions for the citizens.
Layla's great achievements caused the citizens to describe her as the greatest city lord they had ever had.
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In a certain hall,
"Sect Master, I think we should stop what we're doing and pay the taxes properly. That City Lord Layla is not a simple woman. I don't know how she did it, but she seems to know everything we're doing."
The Sect Master tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, clearly thinking about the issue raised. His face was a mask of calculated calm, but those who knew him well could sense the storm brewing beneath his composed exterior.
After a few minutes of silence, he suddenly slapped the table to the side, smashing it to pieces. The loud crack echoed through the hall, startling everyone present. The wooden shards scattered across the floor seemed to symbolize his shattered patience.
"Dammit! I can't think of anything! Where the hell did those people come from, appearing out of nowhere to support her? Everything is ruined! Many of our underground partners decided to leave as well. We can't bribe their people, and sending people to infiltrate them also ends up failing. Shit! We can't do anything!" the Sect Master lashed out, frustrated. His subordinates exchanged nervous glances, unsure whether to speak or remain silent.
"So... what should we do now?"
"Hmph! Pay back all the due taxes first. We will play obedient for now. Once there's a chance, I'll eliminate all these troubles!"
"Sect Master is wise!"
------
Two years later, Leyan Family mansion:
A few months ago, all the constructions within the Leyan Family land were completed, and the mansion became bigger after another one of the same size was built and connected to the original mansion.
Apart from the new connected mansion, there were also two new buildings on the Leyan Family land. One was Layla's City Lord Office building, and the other, much bigger building located further behind, was Sawi's creation workplace. Well, part of the building, since Layla also included workspace for the other ladies.
Layla named it the Leyan's Miracle Factory. The Miracle Factory was a combination of a smithy, alchemy room, artisan workshop, array formation ground, seamstress studio, special kitchen, and more spaces that were empty for now.
If any of the ladies decided to start something later, they could pick any of the empty large rooms and begin their plans.
Nala was so happy she started crying after being informed about the seamstress studio by Layla. Layla had kept it a secret from Nala the entire time. To repay Layla, Nala immediately designed and created a wardrobe full of sexy lingerie for her, utilizing the new seamstress studio.
As for Sawi, after her workplaces were completed, she managed to speed up the production of the Holy Rod Spirit Artifacts and finished them just a week ago. The process, which had been painstakingly slow before, now unfolded with remarkable efficiency thanks to the state-of-the-art facilities.
The version 1.0 Holy Rod Artifact had a similar size, texture, and heat to the original one. Using spirit stones as the source of power, the array films Sawi integrated into it could emulate Leyvi's harmless detonation technique and the Qi Vortex, although not to the full extent. She hadn't reached the level where she could make the Holy Rod Artifact freely adjust the Qi Vortex output like Leyvi could yet.
When she completely digested her ancestor's legacy and practiced creating other things in the future, she would come back and create the improved version of the Holy Rod Artifacts.
Leyvi finally felt relieved after his Holy Rod replica was finished because every time he had a night battle with Sawi, there was always something she wasn't satisfied with, and she kept repeating the measurement and calibration processes. He should be free from all that now. The endless adjustments had tested his patience, but now, seeing Sawi's satisfied smile made all the effort worthwhile.
Sawi distributed the Holy Rod replicas to all the available ladies and let them test them for a few days, including herself. After that, she read their anonymous reviews of her first product.
"I came. Not bad."
"It feels similar to the original, but obviously, doing it with the husband felt way, way better overall."
"Good for training!"
"Not bad, but I still prefer Darling!"
"Great invention! Recommended if the husband is unavailable."
"Enough to satisfy our needs while Leyvi is away. Looking forward to the next improvements."
"I can feel some improvement after using this. My performance in the next night battle campaign will increase. Thank you."
Sawi felt very satisfied after reading the reviews. Although her first product wasn't perfect, it was good enough for now since the ladies liked it. For her, these reviews were not just feedback—they were motivation to refine her craft further and aim for perfection in the next iteration.
Every year, Vivian would come to visit the Leyan Family with her son, Jojori, for a week. The cute little guy was over two years old now and could already walk, run around, and speak some words.
Leyvi gifted a bunch of toys to him each time they came. However, instead of the toys, Jojori liked to play with Scarlet's daughters, Rosy, Ruby, and Revy, the most.
The three baby red foxes from the past had fully grown into three beautiful red foxes like their mother. They would play around the mansion most of the time.
In the basement training room.
Five different colored balls of Qi the size of a head were orbiting around Leyvi at the same speed. Sometimes the orbit would slow down, and sometimes it would accelerate, the balls maintaining perfect harmony despite the changes in speed. Each orb moved as though responding to Leyvi's will, following precise trajectories that formed intricate patterns in the air.
The balls of Qi represented the five elements—fire, water, wood, earth, and metal—in their respective colors. In the past two years, Leyvi had been practicing how to control and balance them without letting one Qi overwhelm the others.
It took him two years, but he finally got the basics down. Of course, he wasn't practicing this all the time. As promised, he spent a week each month with his ladies.
To be more efficient with his time, Leyvi used his dual mind benefit as he saw fit. One mind controlled his body to cultivate, absorbing the spiritual energy from spirit stones or natural liquid Qi, while the other mind controlled his body to practice balancing the five elements of Qi through other unused meridians.
He could now simultaneously adjust the quantity of Qi of each element as he wished, control their movements however he wanted, and ensure they did not interrupt each other.
Since he learned how to control and manipulate his Qi more efficiently, Leyvi was now able to conjure ten vines simultaneously without the help of his dual mind. It was a huge improvement for him, compared to previously when he could only create two vines while using his dual mind. With more vines under his control, the night battles would be much easier.
Leyvi opened his eyes and laughed, "Hahaha! This is a piece of cake now. I can finally start learning the three-element martial skill."
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Leyvi felt an aura surge from somewhere in the mansion.
