Chapter 1132: Returning to New City: A Sea of Flowers, Jade Roads, Golden Bridges

Lu Ding returned to the small courtyard.

Looking at the Grandmaster who was calmly drinking tea, he said, "Grandmaster, let's go. To my territory."

The Grandmaster set down his teacup and stood up. "Alright, alright, alright. Let's go to your territory. Let's go see Xiao Lu's domain."

The two flew out.

They saw the Lü Mountain Flying Vessel already departing.

But this time, not everyone went back.

A small group of disciples stayed behind to look after Great Han, ready to provide support at any moment and relay information back to Lü Mountain.

This was also to reassure Lu Ding as he prepared for his diplomatic visit to Lü Mountain.

......

The new city.

Although Lu Ding hadn't returned for quite some time now,

His fearsome reputation still hung over the new city like a constant shadow.

The western region's development had already reached a point that the other three regions—east, south, and north—couldn't even dream of catching up to.

Its prosperity was unstoppable.

Add to that the constant stream of news about Lu Ding lately, from Nanshan Kingdom and from Hanjing, and the entire western region had been plunged into absolute frenzy over him.

It made the special envoys, locals, local powers, and local 749 bureaus of the other three regions burn with envy.

The special envoys could only hate that they weren't Lu Ding.

The east, south, and north regions of the new city could only hate that they didn't belong to Lu Ding.

The local powers could only hate that they weren't under Lu Ding's wing.

Look at those once-miserable families in the west—now every single one of them was riding high.

They walked around like they owned the place.

Before, when people talked about the western part of the new city, they called it a poor bastards' nest.

Now, when they talked about the west, it was all about wealth, power, and strength.

Every major power in the new city was voluntarily jumping in, actively investing and spending money in the west—and they were fighting tooth and nail for the privilege.

Everyone wanted to move into the west.

Unfortunately, the entry ticket to the west was astronomically expensive; every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. This very change had turned many of the west's former poor, who had barely enough to wear or eat, into overnight millionaires.

Because they sold their homesteads.

Sure, that land was precious in the west, but if they couldn't cash in on it right now, selling was actually better. Otherwise, they'd just be beggars holding golden bowls—useless.

Add to that the constant stream of news about Lu Ding lately, from Nanshan Kingdom and from Hanjing, and the entire western region had been plunged into absolute frenzy over him.

Under Lu Ding's influence, the west had completely eradicated any kind of corruption, bribery, or favoritism.

Because the Grand Guardian's soldiers would actually come after you!

Man, if anyone tried to cause trouble, they'd get beaten until they howled.

Any undercurrents of chaos were also kept in check by Yuwen Longyuan, who would occasionally send reports to Zhan Tingzhou and Bai Hemen, whom he'd met, so they could carry out their missions efficiently.

Apart from the necessary act they put on for Wuwang, no other force could infiltrate the west.

If they did, Yuwen Longyuan would rat them out, and then they'd get taken out!

And because he was leading the charge, Wuwang became the only scorpion's shit in the west that could stir up trouble, which in turn elevated his standing within Wuwang.

Everything was getting better.

Until the notice came that Lu Ding was returning.

Man, the White Ridge 749 went all out—decorations everywhere, thorough cleaning, spending money like crazy. The west had money, and it was all above board, so no one could say a thing.

They did it even better than what the Hanjing 749 Director-General had done a while back. The whole point was to hold the fort for Brother Lu. Brother Lu cared about his face, and they were absolutely not going to lose it.

The main thing was, they were willing to spend, and the GDP was going up.

All those barren plots of land, before they were even developed, had countless people fighting tooth and nail to invest in them voluntarily.

No exaggeration—if you grabbed a handful of dirt, gold wouldn't even be a little brother; it'd be a great-grandson.

At the entrance of White Ridge 749.

Fu Xinghe, Yan Feifan, Bai Hemen, Huangfu Lingyun, Zhan Tingzhou, Qin Jinghao (who had come back after paying respects at the sect), Zhou Chu, Shen Qixue, Xing Xing, and others—all dressed in their finest clothes—were eagerly looking forward to Lu Ding's arrival.

Until, on the horizon,

At the edge of their vision, the slow-moving Lü Mountain Flying Vessel appeared.

A smile spread across everyone's face.

Yan Feifan shouted the loudest: "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Turn on the custom fireworks we ordered express delivery for, and all those flashy but useless performance arrays! I mean ALL OF THEM!!!"

Instantly, fireworks erupted in unison.

Arrays sprang to life.

Snowflakes filled the sky, each flake reflecting a person's shadow, a paradise between heaven and earth.

Sweet rain fell, moistening everything silently, bringing spring to the west.

A sea of flowers, a jade path, a golden bridge—a spring breeze fairyland, a jade capital in the white clouds.

Lu Ding stood on the flying vessel, and he felt just two words: PRIDE!!!!

The west as it was now, he had built it with his own hands. Nothing was more satisfying than this.

With Fu Xinghe's policies in place, everything was brought into the open and onto a standardized footing.

The flying vessel came to a stop.

Lu Ding stepped onto the golden bridge formed by the arrays.

"All you Junior Uncles, Senior Uncles, and Outer Grandmasters,"

Finally, Lu Ding clasped his hands to the Grandmaster: "Grandmaster."

"Welcome to the new city. Welcome to the west. Please."

The Grandmaster stepped forward, surveying the brilliant scenery: "Xiao Lu, you've really opened your Grandmaster's eyes. When it comes to management, this is truly the highest level I have ever seen in my life!"

He swept his gaze across, his spiritual sense extending.

The people of the entire western region were practically bubbling over with happiness. Every single one of them was immersed in a warm, cozy sense of contentment.

Emotions like these couldn't be faked.

The Grandmaster had already learned about the west's previous situation through his divination arts. Compared to now, the difference was like night and day. The people's happiness had skyrocketed to an almost exaggerated degree.

Because it was rare to see everyone harboring no other emotions, only pure happiness.

Even Hanjing didn't have this.

Prosperity was one thing—it could be just a surface sheen—but happiness couldn't be faked.

The Lü Mountain crowd followed Lu Ding, stepping across the golden bridge in the sky. Below them, the people of the west stood like a sea, each one voluntarily holding flowers, waving and shouting.

"Grand Duke Lu!!!"

No other words. They knew Lu Ding might not hear them, but each sincere call struck straight at the heart.

Thinking back to the kind of bitter lives they used to live...

The local 749 didn't care about anything. The wealthy families and local gentry squeezed them mercilessly, in all sorts of open and hidden ways. Bullies ran rampant. Even at this point in history, there were still people who couldn't get enough to eat.

Until Lu Ding arrived—with thunderous methods, decisive slaughter. He was like a plow, no, even more exaggerated than a plow. He went over it again and again, from top to bottom. His methods were brutal, leaving almost no survivors, but goddamn, it felt GOOD!!!!

He truly gave them a chance to vent their pent-up rage.

Those forces that had been leeching off the people—the very, very, very worst outcome was direct exile. And it wasn't just being kicked out; it was getting beaten the hell out and thrown out of the west, out of the new city. If you moved too slowly, you'd get a notice in the morning, and if they still saw you there by noon, they'd just chop your head off!!

So satisfying!!!!

Lu Ding also single-handedly spurred economic development, forming alliances on multiple fronts, pushing massive construction projects, and creating jobs. He ensured the elderly had support and the young had care. Young people didn't have to leave their hometowns; they could find good jobs locally. He even aggressively opened up recruitment slots for the local 749.

Damn it, when had they ever lived such a good life before?

Even those who were truly hopeless in every way—when they hit rock bottom—could quickly, under the western 749's policies, sell their houses and land for a large sum of money, move to the other three regions—east, south, or north—and live a life of abundance, instantly transformed, with food and clothing worries behind them.

How could they not be grateful? How could they not be happy!?

The Grandmaster's eyes were constantly busy taking everything in. "Wonderful, wonderful. This is truly a world full of living people........"

"If only........ If only........"

The Grandmaster, deeply moved and seeing a sight that touched an old wound, couldn't help but wipe away his tears.

Back in his day, he, too, had ascended from below. In the Grandmaster's era, if you could live a good life, who would be willing to send their child off to be a temple boy?

It was because they genuinely couldn't survive. They had no choice.

And it wasn't like sending a kid to a Taoist temple guaranteed they'd learn earth-shattering skills. The temples had the skills, but they kept them hidden, not revealing them. Why would they teach you for free? You had to endure, to slowly endure.......

Only after enduring those tough, bitter years could you be considered fated, have the right temperament, be deemed suitable for this path, and barely qualify to be guided. Only then could you learn about the true sect.

Bitter.......

The Grandmaster wiped his tears. If he had been born in a place like this back then, maybe he wouldn't be the Grandmaster of Lü Mountain today. But he would have been happy, because he would have had a warm home, warm parents.

He wiped the corner of his eye.

"Xiao Lu, pardon my display."

Lu Ding took the old man's hand: "Grandmaster, I wasn't laughing. But I saw it clearly. At your age, and you're still dropping little beans."

The Grandmaster smiled: "Let's not talk about it."

As he spoke, he looked ahead, at the rows of young men and women waiting for Lu Ding.

Suddenly.

The Grandmaster's eyes widened.

What did he see!!!!?

Beams of light, invisible to ordinary people, shot straight up into the sky, piercing the clouds!!!!

Each of them bore the features of someone who could stir the winds and clouds, fortune itself was weighing down on them, one beam thicker than the next.

Although he had done some divination on these children before, to understand Lu Ding's situation, divination couldn't go too deep under Lu Ding's interference. Now, seeing them in person—so dazzling, so bright!!!!

So blinding!!!!

....