Chapter 2222: Choosing a Location

Zhao Hai replied, “Right now, it doesn’t matter if we get a good place or not. Our Blood Knife Gang’s name might be resounding in Split River City, but we aren’t much in Demonheart City.”

Liu Zhen nodded, he didn’t dispute Zhao Hai’s words. The Blood Knife Gang might be able to dominate in Split River City, but in Demonheart City, they are still small fries.

Zhao Hai continued, “Judging from Demonheart City’s situation, it won’t be long before people come and live in the outer city. Once more people come, all kinds of forces would follow. If we chose a good spot, we would only attract unnecessary trouble. What will we do if we are confronted by people we can’t offend? Do we hand our building over? If we are forced to hand it over, all of our hard work will go up in smoke. Moreover, the Blood Knife Gang’s reputation will be tainted.”

Hearing Zhao Hai, Liu Zhen couldn’t help but stare. His expression showed understanding as he said, “You mean not only should we look for a not so good place, but it should also be out of sight?”

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “At the very least, the spot we choose shouldn’t be within the choices of the powerful forces. Then, the gangs that would choose our spot wouldn’t be much stronger than us.”

Liu Zhen hesitated, then he nodded and said, “Alright. There is truth in what you said. But I cannot make a decision on this matter. I’ll relay your thoughts to the Gang Master. He’ll make the final decision.” Zhao Hai nodded and no longer said anything.

At this time, the caravan has crossed the fifth city and entered the fourth city. Upon entering the fourth city, Zhao Hai immediately noticed the increase of cultivators on the road. It was also obvious that there were more goods displayed in the shops.

Despite entering the fourth city, the Blood Knife Gang’s caravan didn’t stop. They continued on and entered the third city. As soon as they entered the third city, Zhao Hai was stunned. He could rarely see shops in the third city. Instead, there were huge squares everywhere. Countless cultivators set up their own stalls in these squares and sold goods. The whole city looked like a large market with cultivators bargaining and advertising their goods.

Liu Zhen still didn’t stop. The caravan continued on until they reached the second city. The second city was very different compared to the third city. The second city was very quiet, and the number of cultivators wasn’t large. However, the cultivators in the second city were noticeably more well-dressed than the cultivators in the third city.

Looking at the people around him, Liu Zhen said, “The formidable gangs live in the second city. Of course, there are also independent cultivators living here. However, those independent cultivators are all in the Teleportation Stage. This makes the second city much stronger compared to the cities before.”

Zhao Hai nodded and said, “I can see from their appearance that they’re living pretty well.”

Liu Zhen nodded, “That’s right. People from other cities go to the second or the first city to buy things, but they rarely stay here for too long. Because of the difference in strength, they are afraid of accidentally offending anyone here.”

Zhao Hai nodded. At this time, Liu Zhen stopped in front of a store. Zhao Hai looked at the shop and saw that it was a five-storey building that occupied a moderately-sized plot of land. A signboard was hung outside that read ‘Abundance Hall’. From the aura coming out of the signboard, it was clear that it was made by a master. Sensing the pressure from the characters, Zhao Hai couldn’t help but be surprised.

When the carriage stopped in front of the Abundance Hall, an attendant immediately came out and greeted Liu Zhen, “I didn’t expect Hall Master Liu to deliver the goods personally. Hall Master, please lead the caravan to the back. Someone will meet you there.”

Liu Zhen cupped his fist and said, “Thank you, Brother Lin. If you have time, I’ll invite you over for a drink.”

Brother Lin smiled faintly and said, “Hall Master Liu is too polite. I’ve been very busy these days, so I’ll have to politely decline. But once I’m free, I’ll definitely take your offer.”

Liu Zhen smiled and said, “Then that’s settled. I’ll go deliver the goods first.” Then he cupped his first towards the attendant once more.

The processing or the delivery was very smooth. The carriages didn’t belong to the Blood Knife Gang, so once the receivers confirmed that the carriages hadn’t been tampered with, they immediately closed the task. This mission earned the Blood Knife Gang 10 thousand jade essences.

Ten thousand essences might sound a lot, but it wasn’t much in Zhao Hai’s opinion. One must know that the Blood Knife Gang sent around a hundred people to complete the task. Therefore, on average, each person only got a hundred jade essences. Earning 100 jade essences in 15 days wasn’t a worth transaction in Zhao Hai’s mind.

After completing the mission and getting the reward, Liu Zhen led Zhao Hai and the others out of the second city and returned to the fifth city. Constructing the gang’s headquarters in the fifth city was an important matter, naturally they didn’t dare to slack off at all.

Upon arriving at the fifth city, they first looked for a place to temporarily stay in. There weren’t a lot of inns in the fifth city. Moreover, the accommodations were quite ordinary. But for Zhao Hai and the others, it was enough.

After settling down, Liu Zhen didn’t immediately go out to choose a place. Instead, he took his communicator out and contacted Wang Da.

Wang Da was handling the move, so when he saw Liu Zhen calling him, he immediately answered, “Zhen, did something happen?”

Liu Zhen shook his head and said, “There’s nothing wrong. Gang Master has nothing to worry about. However, I have something I need your advice on.”

Wang Da raised his brows and said, “What is it? Tell me.”

Liu Zhen nodded and explained what Zhao Hai said. He also mentioned that the idea came from Zhao Hai.

Hearing this, Wang Da frowned. He thought about it for some time before saying, “Zhao Ling is right. We should choose a place that isn’t too eye-catching. Although I have reached the Teleportation Stage, my strength can’t reach far in Demonheart City. There are too many powers and people we can’t offend. If we choose a good location, it might cause us trouble in the future. Go choose a remote place, but make sure that it is big.”

Hearing Wang Da, Liu Zhen immediately complied. After putting the communicator down, he turned to Zhao Hai and said, “The Gang Master has agreed to your suggestion. It seems like the Gang Master really trusts you.”

Zhao Hai smiled, “Thanks for the auspicious words, Big Brother Liu.”

Liu Zhen laughed and then led Zhao Hai and the others out of the inn.

Demonheart City was truly big. Actually, the fifth city already has a large population. But because of its size, the city looked empty.

Liu Zhen and the others went around the fifth city a few times and looked at a lot of potential locations. However, Liu Zhen was still unsatisfied. What surprised Zhao Hai was that although the fifth city was sparsely populated, plenty of the good locations have already been taken. Boundary stones have been seen on some plots, which meant that they were already owned.

After looking around for one hour, the group finally found a remote location in the fifth city. It was near the walls, but it was in a remote corner. There were no boundary stones in the area, making it quite desolate.

Liu Zhen gave a satisfied nod after looking around. The place was around a hundred mu, enough to build the Blood knife Gang’s Main Hall.

Liu Zhen nodded and said, “Let’s pick this place.”

Zhao Hai also nodded, “This place is good. Brother Liu, we should go find someone from the Forbidden Path Sect. Let’s book this place down first.”

Liu Zhen nodded, then he turned to the others and said, “Ten of you come with me and the rest follow Zhao Ling.” Everyone nodded. Then Liu Zhen took ten people and left.

When Liu Zhen left, Ma Ling and Liu Cai went to Zhao Hai. Then Ma Long whispered, “Junior Brother, now that we’re in Demonheart City, should we begin gathering information? What is your plan?”

Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Don’t worry, if we want to gather information in Demonheart City, we only need to go to two kinds of places. The first one is the Mission Halls, and the second one are the inns. Especially those in the third and fourth cities. Let’s not be too anxious, or else we’ll reveal ourselves. Let’s gain a firm foundation in the Blood Knife Gang first.”

Ma Long and Liu Cai nodded. Then Zhao Hai added, “Don’t think about it too much. Go and help everyone. Gain some favor so that we can fit in more.” The two complied and immediately helped the others.

In the past, the Blood Knife Gang had been too domineering. But after what just happened, they restrained their tempers. They were now easier to command.