I Became The Legendary Emperor Throughout the Ages After I Started Giving Away My Territory - Chapter 122.1

Chapter 122: He is no foolish emperor but a shrewd merchant!

On the 4th and 5th days, the number of people kept increasing.

There were already more than 5,000 ordinary martial artists, and as for Innate-level experts, it was now impossible to count them all, but a conservative estimate put the number into the double digits.

The soldiers of Great Xia guarding this place were feeling an increasing pressure.

……

Inside the Great Xia imperial palace.

“Report to Your Majesty, the number of martial arts masters who have come in search of the sword has now reached a massive 5,000! Among them, the Innate experts are feared to have reached double digits. Our troops are limited, should we send more reinforcements?”

Lin Beifan shook his head: “There’s no need! In three days, the divine sword will be born! By then, even more martial arts experts will rush here! The reason they haven’t made a move yet is that the divine sword has not yet appeared! If the divine sword is born, even if we dispatch 200,000 or 400,000 soldiers, we absolutely won’t be able to hold them off!”

Eunuch Liu was anxious, “What should we do then?”

Lin Beifan said, “Let them in!”

Eunuch Liu turned pale with fright, “Your Majesty, if we let them in, we might not be able to protect our divine sword!”

“Are we able to protect it now?” Lin Beifan retorted.

“This…”

“Better to release than to block! If we keep blocking, our troops will suffer heavy casualties! To sacrifice our own troops for the sake of a sword is not worth it! However, we can’t just let them benefit from this for nothing!” Lin Beifan’s eyes flickered with determination.

An hour later, Eunuch Liu arrived with an imperial decree.

“The emergence of the divine sword is a grand event that occurs only once in a hundred years! Therefore, His Majesty has specially issued a decree to allow passage, permitting martial artists from all over to ascend the mountain and witness the grand occasion of the divine sword’s forging!”

All the martial artists cheered.

“We can finally go up the mountain!”

“It seems that the Emperor isn’t so muddle-headed after all!”

“Would he dare? Is he not afraid that we, so many martial artists, might revolt? Can his mere 100,000 troops hold us back?”

“That’s why I say his move is clever, he’s wisely admitted defeat!”

“This is good too, no need for violence!”

Everyone was excitedly preparing to climb the mountain.

However, they were stopped by Liu Eunuch: “Hold on, brave men!”

“Is there something else? Weren’t we told we could proceed?” Everyone was puzzled.

Liu Eunuch smiled slightly, pinching his fingers delicately and said, “Indeed, His Majesty has granted passage, but he didn’t say you could ascend the mountain for free! This mountain is the sacred ground of our Great Xia, and this divine sword belongs to His Majesty. If you wish to climb the mountain and witness the emergence of the divine sword, you must agree to three stipulations!”

“What are these three stipulations? Let’s hear them!”

“First!”

Liu Eunuch raised a finger: “After all, there are many experts here and the crowd is complex. If a fight breaks out, it would be very difficult to settle down! So our first condition is: everyone must exercise restraint and not resort to violence! If anyone violates this rule, we will have no choice but to use force to escort them out!”

Everyone listened and nodded in agreement.

“That’s right! We’re here to witness the birth of the divine sword; it’s best if we can avoid fighting!”

“I fully support this rule with both hands and feet!”

“And what’s the second condition?”

“Second!”

Liu Eunuch raised two fingers: “Master Ouyezi is at a critical juncture in forging the sword, so while everyone is welcome to watch, you must absolutely not disturb the master during the sword-making process!”

Everyone nodded in agreement once again.

“Well said! Indeed, we must not disturb the master swordsmith!”

“We will definitely watch quietly and not disturb the master!”

“What’s the third condition?”

“There’s one last condition!”

Liu Eunuch raised a finger: “You must pay to go up the mountain, a thousand taels of silver per person!”

The martial artists present were mentally blown away!

“What? You actually want to be paid?”

“I’ve traveled far and wide for many years, and this is the first time someone has had the audacity to demand money from me!”

“A thousand taels of silver for a single head!? Why don’t you just rob me?”

“I won’t pay! Absolutely not!”

Eunuch Liu’s smile remained unchanged: “Honorable heroes, you must think this through carefully! What’s more important, money or the divine sword? After all, the appearance of a divine sword is a rare event that comes once in a millennium. It would be a pity to miss this opportunity!”

“His Majesty has been gracious enough to allow you all the chance to witness the divine sword. You should be content with that!”

“Of course, you heroes can try to force your way through, but we have an army of 100,000, as well as three powerful Innate masters. They’re not to be trifled with. It’s up to you to see if you can break through!”

“Why not spend a little money to solve the problem? Losing your precious lives would be regrettable, wouldn’t you agree?”

The faces of these rivers and lakes folks turned shades of green and white.

It turned out that they could have banded together, combining their strength to break the blockade and storm up the mountain.

But now, Lin Beifan had revealed a loophole—paying money could grant access, and this instantly dissolved everyone’s fighting spirit.

If money can solve the problem, why risk your life?

This is a very simple multiple-choice question!

Although 1,000 taels of silver are expensive, it’s nothing compared to a divine sword.

For these martial artists, making money is not a difficult task.

“Isn’t it just 1,000 taels of silver? I’ll pay!”

“At worst, after descending the mountain, I’ll just kill a few more corrupt officials to make up the money!”

“Drink less, and the money will be made up!”

So, everyone began to take out their money and lined up to ascend the mountain.

It must be said these martial artists were indeed very wealthy. Each person took out 1,000 taels, and with over 5,000 people, that added up to more than 5 million taels, allowing Lin Beifan to make a hefty profit.

Some of the martial artists were green with envy, wanting to seize this enormous sum of money for themselves.

Unfortunately, with so many experts around, there was no opportunity.

Liu Eunuch, looking at the money filling more than a dozen hemp sacks, was full of admiration for Lin Beifan.

“To earn 5 million taels of silver so effortlessly, His Majesty is truly wise!”

Thinking of the strategies that would follow, he was even more impressed, to the point of prostrating himself in admiration.

By this time, the group of martial artists had already started making their way up the mountain in groups.

But after reaching the mountain, they saw nothing.

They only saw a cave entrance that seemed to lead down into the mountain, from which the clanging and banging of hammering iron could be heard.

So, they all rushed towards the cave entrance.

Wine Sword Immortal stood at the entrance, drinking wine and blocking everyone: “No entry allowed!”

“Why not? We’ve all paid!” Everyone was furious.

“I’m well aware!”

Wine Sword Immortal said while drinking: “Master Ouyezi is inside forging a sword, and it’s at a critical moment! If so many of you go in, what if you disturb the master’s sword forging? Can you bear that responsibility? And if it causes the divine sword to fail, can you bear that sin?”

“This…” Everyone exchanged glances, hesitating greatly.

“But we’ve already come all this way; we can’t just stand at the door and see nothing, right?”

“Don’t worry! His Majesty has shown mercy and given you a way!”

Wine Sword Immortal said with a beaming smile, “For just 3000 taels of silver, you can go inside and look around for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!”

The group of martial arts experts were once again blown away by their emotions.

“Why do we have to pay again? And this time it’s 3000 taels of silver!”

“Do you guys have a hobby for exploiting people or what?”

“Do you really take us for fat sheep to be slaughtered?”

The Wine Sword Immortal said with a smile, “This is His Majesty’s decree. If you want to blame someone, blame him! Please note there is a limited quantity, with only 100 spots available each day. Purchase quickly, or you’ll miss out—once you pass this deal, there won’t be another offer like this!”

“No! We absolutely refuse!”

“If there’s a first time, there will be a second, and if there’s a second, there will be a third. We can’t let ourselves be slaughtered at will!”

“We must all stand together, we can’t let them take even a penny more in their greed!”

“You’re right! We can’t compromise this time!”

Everyone began to protest loudly.

Wine Sword Immortal bellowed, “Enough with the noise! Shut your mouth! What if you disturb Master Ouyezi while he’s forging his sword? Can you bear that responsibility? So, do it quietly if you want to protest!”

Everyone was scolded and felt extremely stifled.

Just then, someone pulled out a stack of silver notes and stuffed them into Wine Sword Immortal’s hand, “There’s a total of 3,000 taels of silver here, can I go in now?”

Wine Sword Immortal glanced at the notes, saw that the amount was correct, and smiled, “Go on in!”

“Thank you, Wine Sword Immortal!” And with that, the person excitedly rushed inside.

The first person had paid, setting an example, and the second was already too impatient to wait.

“Here are 3,000 taels of silver, please verify!”

“That’s correct, it is indeed 3,000 taels of silver. The money is sufficient; you may go in!”

“Thank you!”

Then came the third person, the fourth person…

The crowd continued to stream in without end.

The others were dumbfounded; there really were people paying to go in…

In just a moment, nearly 20 people had paid and entered the cave.

Everyone was afraid of falling behind, rushing to pay their dues.

“I want to go in too, here’s 3000 taels of silver!”

“Wine Sword Immortal, please accept this, it’s my 3000 taels of silver, may I enter now?”

“I was here first, no cutting in line!”

“Let me go first, haven’t you heard of respecting the elderly and caring for the young?”

Wine Sword Immortal soon found his arms could no longer accommodate the influx of silver notes, and with a wave of his hand, he declared, “Alright, that’s enough people for now. Let’s wait until tomorrow! We will continue then!”

The crowd, though reluctant, had no choice but to disperse.