Pay and Return

　　“Giddyup! Giddyup! Giddyup!”

　　A few dozen War Hous galloped on the official road outside Nanshan City, kicking up dust and gravel along the way. The Second Elder, a fat, bald man with a bulging tummy, the Sixth Elder, a skinny, silver-haired old man, and a cold-looking, middle-aged man carrying a big machete on his back were the three people leading.

　　“Eh?” Riding on the War Hou, Administrator Mu looked afar and hastily shouted, “Second Elder, Sixth Elder, the carriage ahead should be Teng Qingshan’s carriage.”

　　The Second Elder immediately raised his right hand high and the few dozen War Hous reared back, their front hooves up in the air, as they stopped.

　　“Elder Sister Jun, those people are heading towards us.” Little Jun said as she stood beside the carriage. Yet Li Jun appeared very calm as she gazed at the group of people coming towards them on the official road. Next to her, coachman Old Wang also watched with caution. He immediately saw Administrator Mu amidst the group and asked, “Lady Jun, isn’t that old man the Administrator Mu we met when we were outside the city?”

　　“Yes! That’s him!” Li Jun recognized him with just a glance.

　　“This must be Mister Teng’s carriage, right?” Administrator Mu said with a smile as he followed beside the two Supreme Elders and the cold-looking, middle-aged man. Suddenly, he was startled.

　　“Hisss~~” Teng Shou glared at him with eyes flashing an ominous glint.

　　Administrator Mu really felt terrified of this ferocious teenager.

　　“We are part of the Rising Sun Trading Company,” Administrator Mu said with a smile. Beside him, the skinny, silver-haired old man, the Sixth Elder, spoke, “I am the Sixth Elder of the head office of the Rising Sun Trading Company and the one beside me is the Second Elder of the head office. Can we know where Mister Teng is? We have come here specially to meet Mister Teng!”

　　LI Jun stared at the group of people before her eyes and answered, “Big Brother Teng is not here. He’ll be back later.”

　　“Not here?” The Sixth Elder scrutinized the exterior of the carriage.

　　“If you want to meet Big Brother Teng, please wait patiently,” said Li Jun.

　　Li Jun faced this group of people with caution. Of course, she wasn’t scared, because… Blue Luan and Whole Gale Eagle soared in the sky. If Li Jun screeched, Blue Luan would swoop down.

　　The people of Rising Sun Trading Company could only wait silently for Teng Qingshan.

　　……

　　Godly Axe Mountain, the high mountain with a long history, was covered with weeds and vines. It has been deserted for years, putting the mountain road out of sight. Trees and underbrush grew everywhere. The entire mountain would be very hard for ordinary people to climb.

　　Teng Qingshan appeared to be walking slowly on the mountain, but he was in reality moving fast.

　　In the blink of an eye, he moved few dozen Zhang.

　　“This is the Godly Axe Mountain! The place the Emperor Yu once lived. It was on this Godly Axe Mountain that Emperor Yu unified Northern Sea Continent, the system of writing, currency, and the art of the cultivation of inner strength.” Teng Qingshan stared at this great mountain. He seemed to have gone back to six thousand years ago when the Northern Sea Continent was boundless and the population was sparse.

　　During that time, Emperor Yu descended from the heavens.

　　The propagation of a civilization and the dissemination of the cultivation of inner strength allowed the people of the Northern Sea Continent to possess the power to protect themselves against the natural disaster! The powerful inner strength allowed the people of the Northern Sea Continent to expand their land. As the population increased, the Northern Sea Continent flourished.

　　However……

　　The sacred land in the past has become desolate!

　　“The status of the Godly Axe Mountain is special. Although the heart of the mountain has been emptied and the mountain is dwellable…. Probably none of the clans dare to live on the Godly Axe Mountain.” Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly. The Godly Axe Mountain was the residence of the Godly Axe Deity ‘Yu the Great.’ If any clans dared to dwell here, that would be bringing destruction to themselves. The clan that dared to dwell on the Godly Axe Mountain would be attacked by other clans.

　　However, Nanshan City was different. Although Nanshan City also had a special status, it was a major city with a population of five million people. Which clan wouldn’t want to take control of it? As for the Godly Axe Mountain, it was just a desolate mountain. Taking control of the Godly Axe Mountain had no substantial benefits, and instead, brought a heap of trouble.

　　“Forbidden Area!”

　　Teng Qingshan walked before one of the entrances to the heart of the mountain. There were two big bloody red words on the mountain wall.

　　The two big words seemed rather different from the characters of the Northern Sea Continent today. Instead, the words looked very similar to the characters of the Nine Prefectures. Thus, Teng Qingshan recognized it with just a glance.

　　“Perhaps this is the place where the thirty-six stone inscriptions are carved?” Teng Qingshan’s figure blurred and he disappeared into thin air. He was already in the cave.

　　……

　　He strolled around the forbidden area. Many wooden frames had rotted, and there were many marks of axes on the ground and walls.

　　“Half of this wall has been removed.” Teng Qingshan looked at mountain wall, which had a height of five or six Zhang and the length of a few dozen Zhang. “If I guess correctly, it is reasonable to say that… the thirty-six stone inscriptions were on this wall.” After Teng Qingshan walked throughout the entire Forbidden Area, he felt that this wall before his eyes was where the stone inscriptions were located.

　　“Unfortunately…”

　　Teng Qingshan shook his head as he left the forbidden area.

　　Standing beside the cliff, Teng Qingshan gazed at the great earth.

　　“Emperor Yu, you asked me to come to the Northern Sea Continent to care for your descendants! I have arrived. The thing that attracted me here was your 《Thirty-six Splitting Mountain Forms》, but now, even the thirty-six inscriptions were gone. The forces of the Godly Axe Mountain that were under the control of your descendants have already collapsed a long time ago and there is no news of your descendants.”

　　“If I found your descendants, I would care for your descendants so that your descendants can continue flourishing.”

　　“If I can’t find them, then there’s nothing I can do.”

　　Teng Qingshan sighed and said. Even though he was powerful like Emperor Yu and stood above all humans, but—

　　Emperor Yu can’t control what happens to his descendants. The Emperor Yu’s Hall in the land of the Nine Prefectures did fine; they flourished for a long time and have always been in existence. However, the Godly Axe Mountain has already fallen apart.

　　“The future generations have their own fortune. Why care so much?”

　　Teng Qingshan looked back at the the two words on the mountain wall, Forbidden Area, and grinned. He then jumped off the cliff.

　　Whoosh!

　　Whoosh!

　　Teng Qingshan could even turn while he was falling in mid-air. Whenever he touched the mountain wall with the tips of his feet, his falling speed immediately slowed down. Looking down from the high mountains, Teng Qingshan was descending rapidly like an illusion. After touching the mountain wall several times with the tips of his feet, Teng Qingshan arrived the bottom of the mountain.

　　“Eh?” Teng Qingshan looked down and saw the few dozen War Hous beside the carriage.

　　Whoosh!

　　Teng Qingshan swooped down like a male eagle. The tips of his feet sprang off a tree branch and he lightly descended on the ground.

　　“So terrifying!”

　　“This… how is this possible…”

　　The few dozen people of the Rising Sun Trading Company stared at Teng Qingshan. Although, they didn’t see the moment Teng Qingshan jumped off the cliff. However, they noticed when Teng Qingshan was falling off the cliff. The first one who noticed Teng Qingshan falling off the cliff was the cold-looking, middle-aged man carrying a huge machete on his back.

　　“That was one-thousand-Zhang high cliff, and he just jumped off!” The cold-looking, middle-aged man was astounded.

　　“How could it be that simple?”

　　The other people were shocked.

　　The Second Elder and the Sixth Elder glanced at each other. Both of them could see the shock in each other’s eyes! It was impossible for even a Golden Dan Innate Expert to jump off from a thousand Zhang high cliff. The innate experts have powerful Innate True Origin but they do not have powerful physique. The huge impact produced by jumping off from a high altitude would cause their organs to burst and that would be the end of their lives.

　　“Little Jun, why are they here?” Teng Qingshan’s voice sounded from the front.

　　“Big Brother Teng, they said they specially came to see you. They want to talk to you,” Li Jun answered.

　　Previously, the Second Elder and the Sixth Elder were hesitating, because they never saw the match between Fu Dao and Teng Qingshan. However… due to the scene of Teng Qingshan jumping off the high mountains, the Second Elder and Sixth Elder no longer doubted. The expert beside them didn’t dare to act arrogantly as he stared at Teng Qingshan with respect.

　　“You guys came to find me?” Teng Qingshan looked over with a smile.

　　Seeing Teng Qingshan walk over, the Second Elder and the Sixth Elder hastily came forward while smiling pleasingly.

　　“Mister Teng.” The Second Elder cupped his hands as he smiled and said, “I am the Second Elder of the head office of the Rising Sun Trading Company. This one beside me is the Sixth Elder.”

　　“Oh?” Teng Qingshan looked at the two in shock and asked, “I wonder why you two came to find me?”

　　“Let’s talk here.” The Second Elder smiled and led Teng Qingshan to a place farther away.

　　Teng Qingshan, the Second Elder, and the Sixth Elder were together.

　　“Tell me what do you two need?” Teng Qingshan asked directly.

　　The Second Elder cupped his hands and remarked as he sighed in admiration, “Mister Teng possesses an exceptionally powerful ability. Yet the Rising Sun Trading Company knew nothing of it…… Mister is so talented and power, but still willing to be like a normal person. I truly admire you.” Next to him, the Sixth Elder smiled and said, “Second Elder, Mister Teng possesses such powerful ability. If you showed just a bit of your ability, your name would be known in the whole world.”

　　Teng Qingshan listened at the side.

　　Seeing that Teng Qingshan was not answering, the Second Elder immediately said, “Mister Teng, the Rising Sun Trading Company would like to invite you to be the Deus of my Trading Company. I am wondering if you will accept my request.”

　　TLN: 供奉 ← I called it Deus/Dei, because calling it God is weird….In this context, it actually means a certain being that accepts offering from someone, just like a god. It also means offering. (sorry for long tln :bow::skin-tone-1:)

　　“Deus? I still have other things to do.” Teng Qingshan couldn’t be bothered to pay any attention to these things.

　　Last time, Fang Clan had also invited him, but Teng Qingshan did not want to serve these clans and forces.

　　“Oh. No, no.” The Second Elder hastily shook his head while saying, “Mister has thought wrong. The Deus of the Rising Sun Trading Company is different from the Deus of the other clans!

　　Those clans fight against each other, thus, their Dei need to battle and serve the clans. However, the Rising Sun Trading Company is a peaceful force that attracts wealth. Our business has spread throughout the continent and the guard army of the Rising Sun Trading Company is in all thirty-six major cities!”

　　“The Rising Sun Trading Company doesn’t contend for hegemony and no clan would go against the Rising Sun Trading Company.”

　　“Therefore, the Deus of the Rising Sun Trading Company doesn’t need to do anything.”

　　The Second Elder smiled and said, “You will be just like the Thunder Blade Martial Saint. You can travel the world and cultivate the Martial Way arduously. Fu Dao has been the Deus of my Trading Company for more than a dozen years, but the Trading Company has never made him do a thing.”

　　Hearing this, Teng Qingshan was astonished.

　　The Second Elder continued saying, “Unless it’s a life or death crisis, there is no need for a super expert like Mister to make any move! The Rising Sun Trading Company already has a history of several thousand years. The number of times we encountered a crisis of life or death is very few! If Mister becomes the Deus of the Rising Sun Trading Company, you can still do whatever you want. Also, Mister can obtain information through the restaurants, which can be found throughout the continent. If something troublesome happens, the Rising Sun Trading Company can solve it for Mister. All we need is that Mister be our friend and help the Rising Sun Trading Company in times of crisis.”

　　Teng Qingshan’s eyes brightened. He looked at the Second Elder as he sighed in admiration, “The Rising Sun Trading Company is smart!”

　　The Rising Sun Trading Company pays without asking for anything in return.

　　This is enough to draw in many powerful experts afraid of trouble. As the saying goes, gifts blind the eyes. If the Trading Company encountered a crisis, how could these experts not do something?

　　“Alright, I have agreed to this,” Teng Qingshan thought and replied with a nod. In Teng Qingsha’s opinion, it would be a lot easier to find the stone inscriptions if he become the Deus of the Rising Sun Trading Company.

　　Second Elder and the Sixth Elder couldn’t help showing a sense of joy.

　　“I would like to ask: Do you two have any information about the《Thirty-six Splitting Mountain Forms》 left by the Godly Axe Deity ‘Yu the Great’?” Teng Qingshan asked.