The news of the arrival of Ikasa in Zhong Xi’s house had spread throughout the residential complex of the Herb Garden. People began to come outside their houses to catch a glimpse of their young boss.

Even the crowd outside Zhong Xi’s door doubled and tripled in numbers. Everyone wanted to know what their benefactor looked like.

They wanted to confirm with their own eyes whether he had six arms and three eyes!

The commotion outside did not escape Ikasa’s notice. He had not left immediately as he had not yet settled the matter of compensation for Zhong Xi.

Eying the crowd outside, Ikasa decided to turn it into a small ceremony to boost the morale of his people. He told Chu Kuang about his idea and the bald man went into action straight away.

Soon, Ikasa and Zhong Xi were standing in the open space at the center of the residential area of the Herb Garden. The large Honeygold Tree served as the perfect backdrop for the two men.

Thousands of eyes watched them from the doors and windows and the balconies. Ikasa skipped the introductions and straightaway started to talk about Zhong Xi.

“Zhong Xi, you got injured when you bravely stepped forward to save Commander Feng.”

Ikasa spoke with a loud voice. His magnetic voice reached every person in the audience.

“Even when the opponent was an Advanced Sense Trainer, you did not hesitate in your action.”

These words made the Gold Heart Guardians and their families gasp. They looked at the one armed teen with gazes full of awe and respect.

“For your immense courage and for your sacrifice, Zhong Xi, you will be awarded 300 gold coins and a house of his choice.”

The rewards blew the minds of the audience. They began to look at each other with disbelief, wondering whether they heard things correctly. They erupted into chatter as their hands clapped for Zhong Xi.

“Did he say, three hundred gold coins not silver coins?”

“Yes. Gold coins. That brat Zhong Xi is rich now!”

“More importantly, he also has the right to choose a house!”

The rewards made many people salivate.

One of the wives looked at her husband accusingly, asking with her eyes, “Why didn’t you lose an arm trying to save Commander Feng?”

The husband of this wife was left speechless.

‘Damn woman! Just because you want a bigger house you want me to lose my arm?!’

He cursed in his heart and blamed his mother, wondering what kind of toxic wife she found for him.

On the second floor of the complex, a few of the maidens nearing the age of marriage were watching the ceremony downstairs. They were looking at Ikasa with dreamy eyes but now the subject of their attention was Zhong Xi.

The prize money and praise Zhong Xi received made their eyes shine. When they heard he would also be receiving a house, suddenly he became very appealing.

“Now that I think about it, he is not so bad looking.”

“Yes. His missing arm is also a mark of bravery!”

“He would be a great husband.”

In their minds, Ikasa was a celebrity far out of their reach but Zhong Xi was a much more realistic target.

Their gazes became hot when looking at the one-armed teen. A few naughty ones also winked in his direction.

Sensing their hot gazes, Zhong Xi’s ears turned red. Quite a few of these girls had rejected Zhong Xi because of his one arm. Yet, today they were eager to throw themselves at him.

This was all possible because of Ikasa. The one armed teen looked at Ikasa with gratitude. His voice was choked up because of emotions.

Overwhelmed, he turned to look in the direction of his grandmother and father.

A proud smile graced their lips even as a few tears of joy escaped from their eyes. They clapped the hardest, with wide grins.

Ikasa gently wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the overwhelmed teen and handed him the heavy money bag filled with gold.

“When we reach Elm City, you can find a house for you.”

Ikasa whispered, lightly pushing Zhong Xi towards his father and grandmother. He was heartened by the looks of joy and genuine gratefulness in the eyes of this family.

The misgivings he had of his employees being ungrateful were also dissolved. When the sound of applause gradually came to halt, Chu Kuang came to his side.

“Uncle Chu, is it possible?”  Ikasa asked Chu Kuang about something he had mentioned in Zhong Xi’s house.

Chu Kuang nodded and stepped back, letting Ikasa make the announcement. The spectators immediately became quiet as they saw Ikasa open his mouth to speak.

“It has come to my notice that these rooms are not big enough for many of your families. Hence, there will be a few changes in the current contribution point system.”

“The veterans of the Gold Heart Guardians will be given a discount of 20% when buying houses on the Monstrous Flame Peak. Those with larger families will be given priority.”

“A veteran of Gold Heart Guardian who retired due to permanent disability will only have to pay 50% of the amount when purchasing a house.”

This brought out another gasp. A few wives looked at their husbands critically, wondering without which body part they would still find their husbands appealing.

The pressure in their gazes was so heavy that their husbands shivered. These poor men had no place to vent their grievances. They silently cursed Ikasa and their wives in their hearts.

“Any employee of the Gold Heart Business Group can also get a house on the Monstrous Flame Peak.”

The eyes of every employee and their families trained on Ikasa and their ears perked.

“You only need to pay 20% of the amount at the start. A set amount of Gold Heart points will be deducted from your salary every month until the cost of the house is paid in full. You can contact Manager Chu Kuang for more details.”

Ikasa was basically introducing  home loans to this world! Except in this case he himself was the bank and the builder!

His naive and ignorant employees fell for his ploy. Their eyes shone as praises for Ikasa flowed continuously from their mouths.

With this single impromptu event, Ikasa had won the hearts of every Gold Heart Guardians and their families.

And best thing of all, it cost him almost nothing!

Amidst the cheers of his subjects, Ikasa departed from the Herb Garden.

—–

In the only smithy of Birch City, a joyous cheer of a middle aged man resounded from the furnace room.

“Finally! My first Veined weapon!”

Gu Dan had just finished sharpening the edge of his shining longsword.

The blade of the sword was slightly longer than his arm. It tapered towards the tip which was as pointed as an arrow head.

“Beautiful!”

Gu Dan exclaimed as he saw the piercing cold light glinting off from the sharp edge of the sword.

After studying it carefully, he decided to test the sword. The blacksmith placed a thick rectangular  wooden block on the anvil and stepped back.

He gripped the handle of the sword with both his hands and focused on the wooden block.

“It is the moment of truth.”

Gu Dan mumbled as he chopped down. The sword cut through the block without any effort! Not only the wooden block was cut cleanly in two halves, but the strike also left a shallow mark on his iron anvil!

The blacksmith was incredibly happy with the results. He looked at the sword with joy and contemplation. He eyed the metal ores piled in one corner.

Picking up one of the larger ones, he placed it on the anvil.

“Haiyah!”

Gu Dan brought down the sword with little more force, expecting it to be stuck in the ore. He was proved wrong. The Sword got stuck, but not in the ore. It cleanly sliced the ore and half of the anvil.

The forger was shocked by his own creation. He removed the sword and checked its edges to see whether they were chipped.

Except a very minute dent, the sword was not damaged at all!

“This is a great sword. As my first veined weapon, I will call it the yijian Sword.”

Gu Dan mumbled as he lovingly traced the spine of the sword until he reached the crossguard. He was proud of every aspect of the sword and this crossguard as one of them.

It was shaped like a horizontal C with the open side facing outwards. If a weapon struck the blade near the cross-guard, the wielder of this sword could hook the attacking weapon and yank it out of his opponent’s hands.

Gu Dan had never made such a crossguard before but the manual helped him optimize and explore new paths.

The Blacksmith then carefully sheathed the sword inside a red scabbard with purple stripes. This scabbard was made from the hide of a Spiritual Beast and this alone had cost him 200 Gold!

Once the sword was sheathed,

Gu Dan hurriedly cleaned up and rushed to the Villa, excited to show off his creation to the Brothers and Boss!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep