MTLNOVEL Chapter 208: Take An Oath
The Hartmann family had undoubtedly spent a fortune building this fairy city. Just constructing a third-level spirit vein alone would have cost more than 10 million spirit stones.
On top of that, they had developed over a dozen second-level spirit veins around Redwood Island, providing space for independent cultivators and small families to cultivate spiritual fields and medicinal herbs.
That was another massive expense.
And yet, the biggest cost of all was the city itself.
Zhang Zhixian could hardly imagine how much the Hartmann family had poured into its construction. Even now, the city was far from complete.
This only reinforced his suspicion—perhaps the Hartmann family had exhausted their entire fortune and were now resorting to this crude method of extracting wealth from the major families in Sea View Fairy City.
Realizing this, Zhang Zhixian quickly saluted and said, "Since this is the law of Sea View Fairy City, my Zhang family will naturally comply."
Seeing his tactful response, Luis nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Brother Zhang is truly straightforward."
"Heh-heh."
Zhang Zhixian breathed a sigh of relief, and the two exchanged smiles, creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding.
After chatting for a while longer, Luis personally stood up to see him off. The gesture alone was enough to leave Zhang Zhixian both flattered and uneasy.
As he watched Zhang Zhixian depart, Arthur, who had been waiting outside, stepped in and murmured, "Just like that? The Zhang family is really willing to pay that many spirit stones?"
Luis smiled. "Willing or not, does it matter?"
"This is my family's territory. The Hartmann family's word is the law here. If they want a foothold in this city, they have no choice but to follow our rules. It's about knowing where you stand."
Arthur glanced at the commanding presence Luis exuded and found himself at a loss for words.
The next few days,
Every day, Luis summoned representatives from various families settling in Sea View City, as well as independent cultivators opening shops, to promote the use of spirit coins.
Sea View City was newly built and still under construction.
Even so, many businesses had already moved in.
While the city wasn't as bustling as Lingzhou Fairy City yet, it was steadily growing more prosperous.
In the world of cultivation, resources were essential. No cultivator—no matter how powerful—could produce everything they needed on their own.
Even large families and sects were no exception.
Because of this, trade was vital to every cultivation force.
In fact, the more prosperous a sect or city became, the stronger its cultivators tended to be.
After all, a thriving economy provided the necessary resources to nurture powerful practitioners.
This was no different from the world Luis had lived in before. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire
Just as he expected, under his authority, no family or individual cultivator dared refuse the use of spirit coins in their transactions.
Of course, this method of forced implementation made the Hartmann family seem tyrannical, overbearing, and greedy in the eyes of many.
But Luis didn't care.
Once a currency takes root, people begin to see its benefits.
For now, they might resist, feeling pressured into using spirit coins.
But after some time, once they experienced the convenience, they would come to prefer them.
In Luis' view, using raw spirit stones as currency was even worse than using gold and silver in ancient times.
At least gold and silver had fixed reserves and wouldn't suddenly vanish without warning.
However, spirit stones were different.
Beyond their use as currency, they played a crucial role in cultivating spirit veins.
Whether it was the Guang'an Immortal Alliance or the Zhou family, building spiritual veins required an enormous amount of spirit stones.
As a result, the large-scale consumption of spirit stones led to a severe shortage in the Guang'an Prefecture market.
This shortage triggered a cash crunch across the entire region.
Many cultivators, unable to acquire spirit stones, were forced to rely on bartering.
But bartering was inefficient—an outdated economic system that belonged to primitive societies.
There was another key reason why Luis insisted on promoting spirit coins as paper currency: the industrialization of Hartmann Island.
As productivity leaped forward, the introduction of industrial goods into the market would only worsen the shortage of spirit stones.
Currently, the Hartmann family's industrial production remained at a moderate level, so the issue wasn't yet obvious.
But if Hartmann Island's industry expanded a hundredfold, even if every spirit stone in Guang'an Prefecture was funneled into trade with the Hartmann family, it still wouldn't be enough.
At that point, industrial growth would be severely hindered.
If industry relied on trade, then currency was the foundation of that trade. But if the currency itself was unstable, economic progress would inevitably stall.
To outsiders, Luis' actions might seem reckless, but in reality, he was preemptively removing obstacles for Hartmann Island's industrialization.
A few days later.
Inside the main hall of the Western Defense Zone Allied Forces Headquarters.
Ten captains, each commanding ten thousand soldiers, sat with Luis in the hall.
For a long while, no one spoke.
Finally, Wei Lidao of the Wei family stood up and said hesitantly, "Your Excellency Commander, tomorrow is the day to distribute military pay, but… our army's spirit stone reserves seem to be..."
He trailed off, feeling the pressure from Luis but not daring to finish his sentence.
Luis lifted his gaze slightly, a faint smile on his lips.
"Since tomorrow is payday, I suppose I should say a few words."
His tone was calm, but there was an unmistakable weight behind it.
"Everyone knows that while our Western Defense Zone has a military budget of 80 million spirit stones, that number—though it seems large—doesn't stretch as far as one might think.
Weapons for soldiers, cultivating spirit veins, constructing fairy cities, distributing salaries—
Military funds are already tight.
And yet, even in this situation, some people still have the audacity to embezzle military funds."
Luis' voice grew heavier.
"Tell me, can our Western Defense Zone coalition—
From the highest commander to the lowest soldier—
Tolerate such corruption?"
Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their gazes, remaining silent.
But they all understood—since Luis had spoken, someone was bound to face consequences.
Suddenly, Lei Zhen stood up and shouted, **"Our soldiers in the Western Defense Zone have worked tirelessly to build the Immortal City and patrol the entire region. We barely sleep at night, and our own cultivation is delayed!
And yet, despite all this, such scum still exists in our ranks? How could we tolerate such corruption?"**
"Yes! General Lei is right!"
"We can't let this go unpunished!"
"This must be stopped immediately!"
The hall erupted with agreement.
Zhou Mucheng remained silent, while Wei Lidao looked visibly uneasy.
Then, Luis' voice boomed through the hall.
"Xia Hong, step forward!"
The words struck like thunder in the ears of a mid-stage Foundation Building cultivator.
Xia Hong's face darkened.
He slowly stood up and asked, "Commander, may I ask what you want from me?"
Luis sneered. "Do I need to list all the 'good deeds' you've done in front of everyone?"
Xia Hong's expression shifted again. His hands trembled slightly, and resentment filled his eyes as he spoke in a shaky voice.
"I hope the commander will clarify his accusations."
Luis ignored him and instead asked, "According to the military laws of the Guang'an Prefecture coalition forces, what is the punishment for embezzlement of military funds?"
Zhou Mucheng, a fellow commander of ten thousand soldiers, finally stood up.
"According to the coalition's laws," he stated, **"punishment varies based on the amount embezzled.
Those who steal less than 10,000 spirit stones are dismissed from their posts and punished with flogging and branding.
Those who embezzle over 100,000 spirit stones face dismissal and the nailing of their bones.
And anyone who steals more than one million spirit stones... is sentenced to death."**
The hall fell silent.
Luis waved his hand, sending a signal outside. "Bring it in."
Moments later, a squad of soldiers entered, carrying fifteen large boxes—each as tall as a man.
A soldier stepped forward and saluted. "Commander, these are the spirit stones found in General Xia's spirit palace."
Luis nodded. "Understood. You may leave."
"Yes, Commander!"
As the soldiers exited, Luis walked to the first box and casually waved his hand.
The lid flew open.
Inside, the box was filled to the brim with spirit stones.
Luis turned to Xia Hong. "Do you have anything else to say?"
"Framed! This is a setup!"
Xia Hong's face twisted in rage. His eyes turned red, and his body tensed like a beast ready to strike.
"You did this! You couldn't recruit me, so you resorted to this filthy trick to frame me!"
Luis chuckled coldly. "Oh? You're just a mid-stage Foundation Building cultivator. Why would I personally bother to recruit you?"
His gaze sharpened. "You claim this is a setup? Then swear an oath—if you're innocent, let the heavens bear witness. Take an Oath"
Xia Hong's expression changed again, his heart beat like thunder, but the resentment on his face became even stronger, and he refused to swear, as if he had suffered a great humiliation.