Chapter 285 - 275: Brass Furnace Dragon
The Shang Xun family fortune was originally built on a peculiar business: a traveling theater troupe.
His grandfather, Shang Bei, founded the "Wild Theater Troupe," recruiting extraordinary performers like Fish People, Blazing Chickens, Bully Locusts, and Cannibal Crabs. They toured various cities, performing and selling tickets.
Compared to the legitimate plays of the Beer Theater, the Wild Theater Troupe’s scripts and performances were far cruder.
However, the troupe featured performances by Extraordinary Beings, something the theaters lacked. Furthermore, as they toured, Shang Bei continuously made improvements and innovations.
Eventually, the Wild Theater Troupe began to focus on ferocious Extraordinary Beings and beautiful, amorous young women. They adapted bizarre folktales, evolving into a kind of sensational performance not seen in the cities.
Later, due to the actresses’ overly revealing costumes and the Extraordinary Beings being covered in blood-red berry juice, the ferocious and lewd scenes were deemed an offense to public decency. Yao City officially banned the Wild Theater Troupe from entering.
This ban, paradoxically, made the Wild Theater Troupe notorious.
Many similar troupes sprang up like mushrooms, all imitating them. They used "Beauty and the Beast" as their selling point, with even more risqué and bizarre performances emerging one after another.
At this point, the Wild Theater Troupe wisely decided to quit while they were ahead.
Shang Bei disbanded the troupe. Its fame had made it a target, and he had only ever seen it as a business, having little interest in theater itself.
He took the money he had earned, went north, and settled in Crystal City. There, he bought some shops and began to enjoy his life.
After Shang Bei passed away, the family fortune fell into the hands of Shang Xun’s father, Shang Nan.
Unlike the hardworking Shang Bei, Shang Nan had never wanted for anything. He impulsively invested all his money in the grain business, suffered heavy losses, and quickly squandered the family fortune. The house and shops were all sold to pay off his debts.
During a drunken brawl, Shang Nan got into a fight, hit his head on some glass, and died.
Thus, by the time it came to Shang Xun’s generation, only his name hinted at his family’s merchant past; in reality, he lived in poverty.
He grew up in Crystal City making glass, growing and selling flowers, and doing all sorts of odd jobs to make money. Being clever, dexterous, diligent, and remarkably handsome, Shang Xun rarely went hungry.
Later, he joined a team of Archaeologists. He started as an apprentice and gradually became a young Archaeologist himself.
While this line of work wasn’t as impoverished as his past, it was by no means a profession that would make him rich.
Shang Xun didn’t join the Archaeologists out of any great passion for the world underground. He did it because Archaeologists could ride the Earth Traveling Boats for free.
The Wuzi Race was very friendly toward Archaeologists; it was their way of showing goodwill and respect.
What Shang Xun loved was the Earth Traveling Boat.
He had always wanted to pilot one of these magnificent and marvelous land ships. Unfortunately, only the Wuzi Race could control and power the vehicles. Without the ability to manipulate the Crow Element, an Earth Traveling Boat was just an immobile stone ship.
When Philos, the King of White Bones, revealed the Fire Steam Furnace to the world, everything changed. The furnace and fire were used to reconfigure and construct many new devices and artifacts.
An idea sparked in Shang Xun’s mind.
Could the Earth Traveling Boat be modified with a Fire Steam Furnace? Could it be powered not by the Crow Element, but by a Fire Steam Furnace that anyone could use?
’If that were possible, I could pilot an Earth Traveling Boat myself.’
Shang Xun would never forget the time he rode in an Earth Traveling Boat. The shuttle-shaped vessel executed a high-speed turn on the ground, its sideways drift so stylish and sharp. He remembered the force of its insane acceleration and the heavy push of the stone seat against his back.
That short journey was like a dream.
He had never experienced anything like it on any other Earth Traveling Boat since.
He later found out that the pilot had been the famous Hero, Mr. Uluu.
Uluu was an incredible Archaeologist who had studied under the late Fabiani, the founder of Archaeology. He built upon his mentor’s work to develop the field of Geology, prospecting and discovering coal and Fire Wells, which greatly increased the Yao Race’s fuel reserves.
But what few people knew was that among the Wuzi Race, Uluu was most famous for his wild and aggressive piloting skills with the Earth Traveling Boat.
He was the fastest Earth Walker, so fast that the Wuzi People elders often gave him physical examinations, suspecting parts of his body had melted, turning him into a dangerous element.
Many people thought of a certain phrase when they spoke of Uluu.
—The Flower Boat is an extension of Crystal City.
But very few knew his true motto.
—If you’ve never flipped an Earth Traveling Boat, you’re not driving fast enough.
This line completely won Shang Xun over.
He tried every way he could think of to visit Uluu and discuss the possibility of this modification, but he always missed him by a hair’s breadth.
The closest he ever came was in the Divine Valley. Shang Xun had heard from his colleagues that Uluu had found rose seeds in the ruins of the underground Rose Kingdom and was therefore taking them to Lord Apostle Pinkman in the Divine Valley.
But when Shang Xun arrived, he learned that Uluu had discovered a strange mire deep underground and had entrusted someone else to deliver the seeds.
Disappointed, Shang Xun met a young woman there.
Her name was Hongye, and she was a gardener in the Rose Garden.
The two quickly fell in love.
But Shang Xun quickly came to his senses.
’Compared to the dreamlike fantasy of speeding in an Earth Traveling Boat, the love between a man and a woman seemed far too bland and fleeting.’
’Even if I were to get married and have children, it would have to be after I’ve piloted an Earth Traveling Boat.’
’I have to pilot that boat, no matter what.’
He told Hongye, "I will return in an Earth Traveling Boat to marry you. Wait for me."
But to modify an Earth Traveling Boat, he first had to own one.
The number of Earth Traveling Boats was increasing, but they were still firmly in the hands of the Wuzi Race.
Uda City would not sell Earth Traveling Boats publicly, nor would they allow any to fall into outside hands—the Crow Element contained within the boats could cause explosions and was extremely dangerous without a Wuzi operator.
Even if a stray Earth Traveling Boat did appear on the market, the price would be astronomically high. There was no way Shang Xun could afford one.
Just as he was at his wit’s end, things suddenly took an unexpected turn.
The five major cities jointly issued a bounty, inviting anyone with experience in relevant fields—such as Magic Potions, Medical arts, pharmacology, engineering, Refining, casting, forging, construction, Stone Working, carpentry, and more—to come to the White Castle and help the Scholars solve a major problem.
As soon as Shang Xun heard about the high reward, he rushed over without a second thought.
The Scholar who received him described the problem.
Shang Xun was a bit surprised. ’There’s clearly a better way to solve this problem, yet the Scholars are insisting on using the most complicated method...’
The White Castle’s goal was to use the Dragon Language to perform Magic, allowing people to engage in Casting just like the Dragon Race.
Shang Xun was baffled.
’People are people, and Dragons are Dragons. Making a person comparable to the Dragon Race might be possible for a select few, but it’s impossible for most.’
’Most people wouldn’t be willing to endure the pain and dizziness of blood loss, nor the wounds from cutting their own skin.’
Then, a thought occurred to Shang Xun.
’This is actually very similar to my idea of building a Fire Steam Furnace-powered Earth Traveling Boat.’
He voiced his own idea.
The Scholar, who had looked impatient just a moment before, had a complete change of expression in an instant. He grabbed Shang Xun and pulled him into the White Castle.
Inside, Shang Xun met a series of legendary figures.
The King of White Bones, Philos, was just as the rumors described. It possessed a ferocious and terrifying skull, yet it spoke in a gentle and pragmatic manner, with no air of superiority.
The Dragon Descendant Prophet, Longg Ji, had a pair of impressive, bat-like wings and mysterious, scale-like tattoos on his body. He appeared calm and reserved.
Prophet Shi Bao had his usual unhurried demeanor, patiently listening to everyone and taking notes in his book with a quill.
The Dwarf Artisan, Chui Wujing, was usually silent, but when the conversation turned to professional matters of crafting, he instantly became passionate and extremely detail-oriented.
...
Shang Xun finished explaining his entire idea.
The grand hall of the White Castle fell silent.
After a long moment, Philos said to him, "From now on, you are a Life-Long Scholar of the White Castle. Name any request you have."
Shang Xun immediately replied, "I want an Earth Traveling Boat... to modify with a Fire Steam Furnace."
"No problem."
Philos clapped its skeletal hands together, making a CLACKING sound. "Everyone, if there are no objections, we will begin experimenting with the new proposal! Get to it!"
The Scholars changed course and began to break off into groups to discuss.
...
Luh Yao got out of the shower and was drying his hair when a notification popped up on the simulator.
[The Yao Race has created the Brass Furnace Dragon.]
[The Brass Furnace Dragon has caused a huge reaction among Extraordinary Beings.]
[Awed by the appearance of the Brass Furnace Dragon, Extraordinary Beings have developed a fanatical worship for you. Your Faith has increased dramatically.]
The upper-right corner showed that Faith had increased by 320,175. Combined with recent earnings from the Fire Seed Artifact, the total reserves of Fire of Faith reached 21,230,000.
Luh Yao did a quick calculation.
’Extraordinary Beings are still a minority among my Believers. They can generate more Fire of Faith, but even so, it shouldn’t be on this scale.’
’In other words, the Brass Furnace Dragon’s main impact was on external Extraordinary Beings. They must have been deeply shocked, and offered up their Faith as a result.’
’Well, I’ll be. An artificial dragon, huh? This skewed branch of the Extraordinary Technology tree is full of surprises.’
Luh Yao quickly looked at the screen.