Chapter 2: The Water Village Tycoon (Part 2)

  Zhong Geng's great disciple, Wu Zhen, a hundred-wheel master, was just one step away from being promoted to a thousand-wheel master. He was Zhong Geng's most proud disciple and at the age of 28, he had the potential to break through to a thousand-wheel master by the time he was thirty. Reaching the level of a thousand-wheel master at this age also meant that in his lifetime, it was very likely that he would enter the realm of a mysterious wheel master. A mysterious wheel master could absolutely be called a king or overlord in a remote place.

  Wu Zhen discussed with his master for half the night yesterday, and the only conclusion they came to was that they should try their best to get along with him. For a young man like Lei Xingfeng, as long as he is not provoked, he should not be hostile towards them. What makes them feel at ease is that such a genius will absolutely not stay in this place for long, and this place is just his temporary residence, which means he cannot threaten their local power.

  So Wu Zhen came over in the early morning to invite him.

  Lei Xingfeng did not refuse, but instead took Zhou Xin with him. As for Zhou Tongshu, he was unwilling to go. For a straightforward person like him, socializing with others was indeed a difficult thing to do.

  He brought Zhou Xin along, and Lei Xingfeng had his own ideas. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay in the area for long, so he wanted Zhou Xin to meet Zhong Geng, a powerful local snakehead who would be beneficial for Zhou Xin's future development.

  Along the dock back to the market.

  The morning water market is extremely beautiful, with a faint mist, a few water birds flying by leisurely, and the soft sound of water. The houses seem to be floating on the surface of the water. The wooden streets already have many people starting to set up stalls, all kinds of food stalls. The edge of the wooden street is just the waterway, with small boats rowing by one after another. After entering the market, the noisy sounds rush forward.

  Wu Zhen smiled and said: "This market is the most lively place on the water's surface nearby, other places rarely have so many people gathering together to live, and when it rains, there are even more people."

  "Rainy season?"

  "Uh, the rainy season is not suitable for going out to catch fish far away. The fishermen will gather here, especially in the two months with the heaviest rainfall. At that time, almost all the fishermen outside will come back and hide from the strong wind and rain."

  Lei Xingfeng was not very familiar with the local climate, he had always lived in the mountains, where there were warm seasons and cold seasons, different from here, which also has two seasons, but it's rainy season and dry season. In the dry season, a large amount of land will appear, and in the rainy season, the whole area is water, the previously exposed land will be submerged again, forming a vast swampy lake surface, so local people are all fishermen, there are no land residents.

  As they went further, the three of them soon arrived at a residential area behind the market, with rows and rows of stilt houses over water.

  Wu Zhen let out a whistle, and a small boat rowed over. A sturdy fisherman said, "Young master." After the greeting, he held the boat steady, waiting for the three to board.

  The three of them sat down in the boat, and the fisherman said, "Sit tight." With that, he used his strength to push off with the bamboo pole, then grasped the oars and began to row, heading along the waterway.

  In a moment, they arrived at an independent water pavilion, with a very large wooden platform. Zhou Xin exclaimed: "Lei brother, look quickly, that alligator is on it!"

  On the platform, a huge alligator gar had been divided into several sections, its skin also split open. A gigantic fish head stood upright on the platform, with teeth exposed in its mouth, each one as big as a palm, emitting a faint white glow, like jade stone.

  Zhou Xin was really curious, and after getting on the platform, he ran to take a look. Wu Zhen immediately ordered someone to follow him, in case someone rushed into the child. He now knows that Lei Xingfeng is not ordinary to Zhou Xin, letting someone follow Zhou Xin, and he personally accompanied Lei Xingfeng into the room.

  Lei Xingfeng noticed that the houses here were built very delicately, completely different from the market houses. The market houses were rough and simple, as long as they could satisfy living and life, while the houses here were more delicate, with carved doors and windows, glazed tiles on the roof, and a string of wind chimes hanging high above the eaves, making a crisp sound in the gentle breeze.

  On the massive wooden pillars, various aquatic animals were carved. The wooden floorboards were extremely thick and solid, and as soon as you stepped on them, you could tell that they were completely different from the wooden floorboards on the market streets. The market's wooden floorboards would creak with every step, but here there was not a single sound. It's easy to imagine how much material was used underneath, just by looking at it, you can tell that this is the work of a wealthy person. With Zhong Geng's abilities, in a small place like this, he must be a very rich man.

  Carved railings, exquisite carpets, light gauze floating, corner corridors, all have various green plants and flowers, there are not a few ordinary servants, seeing Wu Zhen immediately pay their respects, calling him Young Master.

  Lei Xingfeng couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion, he was a Mi Lun Shi, and had never been treated this way before. Before his training, he even had to worry about three meals a day, and after his training, there were continuous battles, experiencing who knows how many more than this young master, but if it came down to quality of life, he couldn't compare to Wu Zhen no matter what.

  The largest house is in the central water courtyard, after passing through several ring corridors, to the central house, which is a large house with four open sides. Due to the warm climate of this place, whether it's rainy or dry season, the weather is very warm, so many rich families' rooms are also four-sided hollow, only using light gauze to ward off mosquito harassment. This room has an area of over 300 square meters, supported by only a dozen giant pillars, with a large number of green plants placed around it.

  Lei Xingfeng couldn't help but praise: "A very good building." He was also a worldly person, and although the building was exceptionally beautiful, his expression remained calm.

  Wu Zhen nodded to himself, only people with a lot of experience would have such an expression. He had seen many local landlords come in here, and they all looked stunned. Zhong Geng came out to greet him, smiling and saying: "Welcome, haha, it's a bit simple."

  Lei Xingfeng said: "It's already quite good."

  Zhong Geng's bodyguard is Han Xiu Bao, as for Tian Da Bing, he didn't show up at all. Yesterday, Tian Da Bing's performance made him extremely disappointed. If it weren't for the Tian family still having some influence in this area, he would have kicked this guy out immediately, it's simply bringing trouble to his master.

  Four people sat down, and a servant brought up breakfast. Lei Xingfeng said: "Give a portion to my younger brother."

  Zhong Geng gave an order and immediately a servant went to the platform to wait on Zhou Xin for breakfast.

  The breakfast was very rich, with rice, porridge, various fried fish pieces, and many pickled vegetables. Leixing Peak could recognize only a few of them, which were all local specialties, and the taste was quite good. He was very satisfied with this meal.

  After finishing breakfast, Zhong Geng began to probe Lei Xingfeng, hoping to understand which school of thought Lei Xingfeng belonged to and why he had come to this remote place.

  Lei Xingfeng would not tell the truth, he simply said that it was a requirement of the sect to come here and temper for a period of time, there was no special purpose.

  Although Zhong Geng was half-believing and half-doubtful, he also put his mind at ease. He saw that Lei Xingfeng had no malicious intentions. The disciple's experience was a common practice among all major sects. Any sect's disciples would go out to gain experience for various reasons and undergo strange experiences. This point did not arouse any suspicion in him.

  Han Lingbao didn't say a word, she curiously looked at Lei Xingfeng, she really couldn't understand how someone so young could cultivate to be even more powerful than her master. A Mysterious Wheel Master was an extremely formidable existence, and up until now, she had only seen one in her life, who was at least 70 or 80 years old. It was truly a rare sight, and she never thought that a youth could also cultivate to become a Mysterious Wheel Master. She really didn't know how this person cultivated.

  Zhong Geng said: "Lei younger brother, since you have come here to practice, from now on, just live in my place, it's more comfortable than living on the boat."

  Lei Xingfeng flatly refused, he didn't want to live here, it was inconvenient for cultivation. He said: "This won't do, I'll still live on the boat, but there's one thing that needs Mr. Zhong's trouble."

  Zhong Gengdao said: "Please speak, as long as I can help with it, there will be no problem."

  Lei Xingfeng said: "I need a small boat, yes, I can pay for it." He thought that if the rainy season came, he would have to go out and practice, and thunderstorm days were his golden training season. He needed to quickly improve his strength here, so he had to go out alone, and couldn't bother Uncle Zhou again. Moreover, going out on a rainy day was very dangerous, especially on a thunderstorm day. Uncle Zhou was an ordinary person, and he couldn't withstand lightning.

  Zhong Geng was surprised: "Want to buy a small boat... uh, no problem, I have one here, directly send it to you, hmm, do you want a servant?"

  Lei Xingfeng said: "No need to send, I'll buy it myself, and don't bother with servants."

  Zhong Geng smiled and said: "It's just a small boat, really no need to buy it, haha, the boat is not worth much money locally."

  Lei Xingfeng thought for a moment, and that was it. For him, a small boat really wasn't anything. He nodded and said, "Alright, thank you then." Saying thanks was still necessary.

  Zhong Geng burst out laughing. He was very satisfied with Lei Xingfeng's attitude, and immediately ordered his subordinates to prepare a good ship.

  Communicating with He Zhong Geng, Lei Xing Feng obtained a lot of information that he couldn't get from Zhou Da Shu. This place was indeed very remote, a small corner of Wan Hu Zhou that didn't stand out. It's said that after walking for half a year, one could reach Ju Man Zhou, which was where Lei Xing Feng came from. As for the distance to the central region of Wan Hu Zhou, it would take at least over ten years of travel. Of course, if cultivators used the ancient wheel passage, they wouldn't need that much time.

  Compared to the desolate continent, the Wanhu Continent is much more lively. Not only are there many cities with large populations, but also numerous cultivation sects. Even in remote areas, there are quite a few cultivators present. However, this world is too vast and sparsely populated. In a small area, even if there are cultivators, their numbers won't be too great, and their levels will generally be relatively low. A single Wanlun Master or even a Qianlun Master can control an entire region.

  Many cultivators who have no hope of advancing will eventually choose to return to their hometowns to develop, or find a remote place and become a local tyrant, occupying a place that is enough to support the development of a small family.

  Zhong Gengdao: "Lei younger brother, have you been free these past few days?"

  "Is there something?"

  Zhong Geng smiled and said: "Yes, it's a good thing."