Wind Wushang led his men into the South Wasteland Temple, and even herded all the treasure hunters who’d already arrived straight inside as well. Unlike Jin Jiupang, who wore his arrogance on his sleeve, Wind Wushang always had that polite, cultured smile plastered on his face, and even his words sounded courteous—if you ignored the fact that every "request" was actually an order. It was the kind of politeness you get from a king telling his servants what to do: it sounds nice, but you’d better not say no.
Even if not everyone knew exactly who he was, just the sight of those three Innate Kings together was enough to scare the pants off anyone. Once Silverblade King and his crew started acting like Wind Wushang’s loyal lackeys, none of the lesser martial artists dared to step out of line.
Wind Wushang’s orders were simple—just one, actually: Go down. Scout ahead.
So, a whole bunch of people grabbed a couple chunks of gold—half unwilling, half scared out of their wits—and rushed down to the next level. Meanwhile, Wind Wushang and his three companions strolled along behind them, taking their sweet time, looking for all the world like royalty on a sightseeing tour. Talk about walking with style.
When they reached the third level, even Wind Wushang’s crew couldn’t help gasping. There was so much gold, it had to be at least ten thousand tons. Ten thousand tons! Just think about it: one gold coin weighs about fifteen or sixteen grams (about the size of a regular coin), so a kilo holds sixty coins. Ten thousand tons means six hundred million coins! Six hundred million! It was like an ocean of gold, stretching out as far as the eye could see—enough to make anyone’s heart skip a beat.
Forget about the martial arts world, where productivity’s stuck in the Stone Age—even on modern Earth, ten thousand tons of gold would cause a global financial meltdown. Sure, Earth’s economy isn’t on the gold standard anymore, so gold’s just a backup for the banks, and its real purchasing power’s a bit discounted. But here in the martial arts world, gold is cold, hard cash, and its buying power is several times higher than back on Earth!
Ten thousand tons of gold—six hundred million coins—laid out right in front of you, all for the taking. Who wouldn’t be over the moon?
The fact that Wind Wushang and his three buddies managed to get their cool back after a couple deep breaths—that’s some serious self-control. Only an Innate master could survive that kind of wealth shock without fainting.
“No wonder the South Wasteland’s ancient dynasty didn’t leave much loot when it fell—turns out they stashed it all here! Looks like I’m the lucky one today.” Wind Wushang swept his gaze over the endless sea of gold, his pupils flickering between round and vertical, betraying his barely contained excitement.
“Congratulations, Your Highness, on securing this fortune!” Iron Spear King, ever the military man, gave a crisp, no-nonsense salute. His flattery was just as practical: “With this treasure at your disposal, Your Highness is sure to achieve greatness!”
Silverblade King chimed in right on cue: “Royal Uncle, this South Wasteland Temple is loaded with treasure, but the real prizes are still ahead. The South Wasteland’s weapon forging is second to none—if we can get our hands on their blades and armor, that’ll be worth more than all this gold. When the time comes, Your Highness will rally the banners and sweep the land! I’ll congratulate you in advance for your inevitable victory!”
Faced with this chain of flattery and grand visions, Wind Wushang didn’t lose his head. He suppressed his giddy joy and peered deeper into the temple. “That fat guy from Tienjin Pavilion is a fool—no eye for the real experts. But you lot aren’t clueless. There are more Innate masters in this ancient temple than just us. Sandlord and Lady Simone are probably already deep inside. We need to eliminate any threats. By the way, Silverblade King, I hear you’re acquainted with Lady Simone. Care to explain?” Wind Wushang shot him a look, deep and unreadable.
“Uh…” Silverblade King’s handsome face turned red, and he quickly bowed his head. “You see right through me, Royal Uncle. It’s true, I’m… old friends with Miss Ouyang. She came here at my invitation, just to help you achieve greatness—nothing more, I swear!”
“Old friends, huh? Haha, well, well—my nephew’s quite the charmer.” Wind Wushang didn’t comment further. “If you’re not a little wild when you’re young, you’re wasting your youth. I’ve had my reckless days too. This temple’s full of treasures, but most of them are for military use. What’s a woman going to do with them? Let her take some gold and jewels, I’m not stingy. But—” Wind Wushang strode forward, a flash of murderous intent crossing his face. “As for the Wedding Dress Divine Skill—nobody touches it. No one. Got it?”
“Yes, Your Highness! I’ll remember!” Silverblade King bowed respectfully, a bead of cold sweat on his forehead.
The four of them kept heading down. Wind Wushang ambled along like a king inspecting his domain, nodding in satisfaction at everything he saw. Even the odd empty patch didn’t bother him—he figured nobody was going to "steal" anything important. Most people here were just small-time adventurers, and what could they carry out by hand anyway? Besides, even if someone did manage to swipe some loot, it’s not like they’d take the whole rack with them. He guessed this was just how the treasure was arranged from the start.
But once they reached the fifth level, Wind Wushang and the others started looking a lot more serious.
A ton of rare minerals—gone!
“Where’s the stuff? Where did it all go?” Silverblade King was freaking out—genuine panic and shock. “You lot, get searching! Turn this whole floor upside down!” He personally directed the search, grilling everyone to see if anyone was pocketing things on the sly. The boss approved of his work ethic, but the results? Not so much.
“Nothing?! How can there be nothing? Search again!”