The Thunder God Novel - Chapter 37
Chapter 37 Great Hongdong City (1)
The Great Hongdong force was a medium-sized force in this wilderness. It had a city and hundreds of human settlements. It covered an area of nearly 40,000 kilometers. This land was very large, but it was sparsely populated. At most, it had a few million people. The environment was extremely harsh, and there were also a large number of barbarians gathered in the territory.
Hunter settlements like Tiger Cliff Fort and Eagle Collar were numerous in this area. Generally speaking, these hunter settlements could control a radius of a hundred kilometers. No matter how far away they were, there were almost seven to eight thousand such hunter settlements within the Great Hongdong’s sphere of influence.
The Great Hongdong faction had the authority of an emperor in this land. It was up to them to decide whether to fight or not. The Great Hongdong was divided into inner and outer gates. There were the most Hundred Lun Masters, Thousand Lun Masters, and Myriad Lun Masters outside. Milun Masters could already guard one side. As for the True Ring Body and Milun Master, they were all high-end martial artists outside.
The inner sect cultivated more disciples and had the right to manage the Great Hongdong.
Out of the 40,000 square kilometers, Great Hongdong City was the only city. All of Great Hongdong’s inner gate management agencies were in Great Hongdong City.
This was also the first city XinFeng had ever seen in his life. Standing in front of a city wall that was a hundred feet tall, XinFeng and XinYao raised their heads. XinYao said, “Brother, what is this? It’s taller than the cliff of our Tiger Cliff Fort!”
Lei Xingfeng said, “This … should be the city wall. Damn it, why is the city wall so high?”
Elder Thunder said, “That’s because of the war with the barbarians. Without the protection of the city walls, it would be very difficult to resist the barbarians.”
Grandpa and grandson braved the heavy snow to arrive at Great Hongdong City. Accompanying them was Du Hongchen and his apprentice, as well as a team of 20 Thousand Wheel Masters. This time, they had also arranged for two giant camels. This was the first time XinFeng had seen such a thing. Its appearance was very similar to a one-horned rhinoceros in his previous life. Of course, its size was completely different. The camels were eight meters long and three meters tall.
There were camel compartments on the back of the camel beast that could carry things and people. This kind of camel beast was very precious, and it wasn’t something that wealthy and powerful people wouldn’t be able to possess.
The journey from Huya Castle to Great Hongdong City took about 17 days. The speed of the camels was quite good, and they arrived at Great Hongdong City without any twists and turns.
The city wall was made of bluestone bars, the city gate was tall, and teams of Hundred Lun Masters were patrolling. The inspection at the gate was very strict. Fortunately, with Du Hongchen, the outer sect elder of the Great Hongdong, there wasn’t much delay at the city gate when two camels and a team of Thousand Lun Masters entered the city.
After entering the city, Lei Xingfeng and Lei Xing Yao’s eyes were not enough. This city was exceptionally prosperous. One had to know that there were more than 40,000 square kilometers of this city. Large caravans brought large quantities of goods here, and then they were trafficked by countless small caravans to all directions. This was a place where commerce gathered and goods were stored.
XinFeng found it difficult to adapt to so many people, let alone XinYao. The little girl had never seen such a dense crowd before.
In fact, Lei Xingfeng had seen a crowd countless times denser than this in his previous life. He had only lived here for a long time and was used to seeing three or two kittens. He suddenly saw a lot of people and was not used to them. However, he quickly adjusted.
Countless stall vendors stood by the roadside, Along the way, All sorts of people, and all sorts of things, They were all placed on long tables. Each vendor erected a large beast hide awning. However, this was not a shade of the sun, but a cover of snow. There was still light snow in the sky. Each vendor had large bronze basins, burning red charcoal, shouting, bargaining noise, hot air from the charcoal fire, and white fog. The entire street was bustling with activity.
The road was paved with large bluestone strips. The crowd was bustling with people and cars. XinFeng’s group was very eye-catching because they had two very precious camels. This kind of camel beast was not something that wealthy people could not afford. This was a symbol of their status.
There were many people on the road, so everyone’s walking speed naturally slowed down. XinFeng and XinYao had already left the camel carriage. They held hands and followed the old man Lei Bao.
The old man sighed with emotion, “Border Town is still so charming.”
Lei Xingfeng suddenly opened his eyes wide and said in surprise, “Barbarians? Barbarians!”
The old man said, “Don’t be surprised, barbarians can also come to Great Hongdong City.”
Lei Xingfeng was puzzled, “Aren’t the barbarians our mortal enemies? How dare they come to our city?”
Du Hongchen explained with a smile, “What’s so strange about this? Of course, the barbarians are fighting to the death in the wilderness. However, it must be known that barbarians also produce a lot of things that are needed by the big merchants. Moreover, the various kinds of prey they bring are better and more precious. It’s useless for them to stay in their hands, so they came to trade for some necessities.”
XinFeng suddenly remembered when he was fighting the barbarians. The steel spears in their hands said, “Could weapons also be traded with them?”
Du Hongchen said, “Of course, weapons are also traded. However, if they exchange for a steel spear, they need to take out a lot of things. They are at least three times or even four times more expensive than us.”
Lei Xingfeng said, “What if the barbarians kill people in the city?”
Du Hongchen smiled and said, “No way. Look around the barbarians … they are all Hundred Lun Masters and Thousand Lun Masters. Let them watch. Haha, barbarians don’t dare to act recklessly.” Then he added, “Not all barbarians can come. It’s only barbarians from a dozen or so large tribes who have the qualifications. They have already made an agreement. It’s normal for them to fight against barbarians, and it’s normal for them to trade with them. There’s no need to be too strange. There are also extremely powerful experts among barbarians.”
A few barbarians drove a few bulls over to Lei Xingfeng’s team. The bulls had a gentle temperament and were completely different from the bulls. They were good animals used by humans and barbarians for camel cargo and trailers. The back of the bulls were piled with a large number of fur and leather bags, and they did not know what was contained in the leather bags.
This barbarian was a bit different from Lei Xingfeng. He dressed more like a human. Of course, they were still tall and sturdy. The smell of blood was still very strong, and their expressions were rather arrogant. Each of them curled their mouths and tilted their eyes. They looked like you were weak and I was very powerful.
Lei Xingfeng couldn’t help but say, “This barbarian owes me a lot.”
Du Hongchen said, “Very normal. In the wilderness, they are top hunters, not cultivators. They are simply unable to defeat them. It is normal for them to be arrogant. They are familiar barbarians, and they are already much better than unfamiliar barbarians.”
This was the first time Lei Xingfeng had heard of a familiar barbarian. He said, “A familiar barbarian? A barbarian?”
Wen Yan rolled her eyes and said, “The barbarians are even more barbaric. They can’t communicate with us. The familiar barbarians can communicate with us and have a lot of communication. Of course, in the wild, regardless of the familiar barbarians, just kill them. They won’t be polite to us either.”
Lei Xingfeng suddenly realized that humans needed the barbarians’ harvests, and barbarians also needed all sorts of daily necessities to make contact between the two, so that he could see the barbarians in Great Hongdong City.
After taking a few turns, the flow of people on the street gradually decreased. Lei Xingfeng found that they had already arrived at the residential area. There were no more stall vendors on the side of the street. Instead, there were quite a few shops facing the street. Along the street, they passed an arched gate. At the gate stood several Hundred Lun Masters.
A Thousand Wheel Master from the team stepped forward and said a few words before letting him go. Du Hongchen explained, “This place is considered as entering the inner gate of the Great Hongdong.”
Lei Xingfeng found that there were many children on the road, Most of them were thirteen or fourteen years old. Du Hongchen, a dignified outer sect elder, became a full-time commentator. He said, “These children are all preparatory disciples. Once they reach sixteen, they can start cultivating. At this time, they are all in the learning stage. Of course, they have all been tested and have potential and aptitude to cultivate.”
“This batch of disciples are relatively talented, so we have quite a few reserve disciples in our outer sect. Every year, we have to take in a lot of disciples.”
XinFeng smiled and said, “You came to Tiger Cliff Castle to let me learn?”
Du Hongchen smiled bitterly and said, “You have senior’s guidance. Of course, you don’t have to come here to learn. From the beginning, I didn’t have any malicious intentions.” He found an opportunity to explain himself, fearing that he would leave a bad impression on the family.
Little buildings were hidden in the snow. Soon, they arrived in front of a stone building. It was a two-storey stone building with a very strong structure. There were a few servants at the entrance. Du Hongchen said, “This is a guest room for distinguished guests. Senior, you will stay here today.”
Old Man Lei Bao nodded and said, “Alright, let’s settle down first.”
Du Hongchen asked his servants to come over to pick up their luggage. Du Hongchen and Wen Yan personally brought them in. As he walked, he said, “There is a small market behind. They are all people from the inner sect. There are many good things. If you want to go, just ask a servant to bring them along.”
This was a large suite. It had three rooms and a very large living room. The room was very warm. It was much better than the home of the Tiger Cliff Castle where XinFeng used to live. XinFeng was surprised to find glass windows here, so the room was very bright.
The furnishings in the living room were a bit strange, but they were still within XinFeng’s comprehension. The hexagonal table, half-waist seat, thick animal hide on the ground, a very large glass bottle at the corner, and a few wintersweet sticks inserted into the corner. A faint fragrance came from it.
The sleeping room was a very large kang, which occupied half of the room. There was a screen in front of the kang, and there was a low table on the kang. It was very exquisitely made.
What surprised Lei Xingfeng the most was that there was actually a bath room in this apartment. Moreover, the bathtub was not boiling water, but a hot spring. Although the house he lived in was smaller, it was more luxurious than he had imagined. This made him very satisfied.
Xinyao felt even more curious. XinFeng still had memories of his previous life, but she had never seen anything. She had already felt very good about Tiger Cliff Castle’s home. She had never thought that there would be such beautiful furniture. Such a bright room with luxurious beast hides on the floor. This was too exaggerated. When she entered the room, she began to cry out in surprise.
Wen Yan couldn’t help but show a trace of disdain. People in the mountains were rare.