Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 422 Current Situation

In the study.

Zhuge Liang sat on the left, waving a feather fan in his hand, smiling and looking very confident.

Yuan Tiangang sat on the right, his hands tucked into his sleeves, expressionless, as if he had everything under control.

Li Chunfeng sat at the lower end, holding a compass in his hand, turning it around and muttering to himself, seemingly calculating something.

Upon seeing Lin Chen enter, the three of them stood up simultaneously.

"My lord."

Lin Chen waved his hand, walked behind the desk, and plopped down in a seat:

"Sit down, sit down, don't be so formal, we're not strangers."

The three of them sat down.

Zhuge Liang was the first to speak, waving his feather fan:

"My lord, please rest assured about the situation in the capital. Everything is fine at the Prince's residence, and I have arranged all the daily affairs properly."

Liang has been keeping an eye on what's happening in the court, but he can't cause any trouble.

Lin Chen nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly: "Of course."

Yuan Tiangang sat forward a little, pulled his hands out of his sleeves, and his expression became serious:

"My lord, everything is normal in Songshan City."

More and more people came from Zhongzhou, and the five major sects were relatively well-behaved and did not cause any major trouble.

The head of the guards is keeping a close eye on things; anyone who dares to cause trouble will be immediately pinned down.

"However—" He paused, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Recently, a group of independent cultivators have come to the Eastern Region. They are not under the supervision of any sect, and they are used to being free and undisciplined, so they are not easy to restrain."

The Foreign Affairs Bureau has already arrested several troublemakers, but they can't catch them all; it's like playing whack-a-mole—you suppress one group, and another pops up.

Lin Chen waved his hand: "If we can't catch them all, we'll catch them slowly."

The rules are there, and anyone who breaks them will be punished without hesitation.

"Make an example of them by killing a few big ones; the rest will behave themselves."

Yuan Tiangang clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes."

"Anything else?"

Yuan Tiangang continued, "The Tianyuan Chamber of Commerce approached me several times, saying they wanted to cooperate with our lord and expand their business throughout the Eastern Region, but I refused each time because our lord was not present."

"Good that you refused!" Lin Chen frowned slightly.

With our current capital, we don't need to cooperate with anyone.

The established rules stipulated that people from Zhongzhou could only do business in Songshan City; it seems they're being a bit dissatisfied.

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table.

After knocking for a while, he suddenly laughed:

"When they come looking for me next time, bring them to see me. I want to see what this Central Plains No. 1 Chamber of Commerce is up to."

"Yes!" Yuan Tiangang nodded and continued:

"The number of people who have come from Zhongzhou so far is more than three thousand."

There were independent cultivators, disciples from small sects, and outer disciples from several large sects.

Most of them came to the Eastern Region to try their luck; there weren't many with real strength, but it can't be ruled out that there were spies with ulterior motives mixed in.

Lin Chen frowned slightly: "Can you tell the difference?"

Yuan Tiangang's lips curled up slightly, revealing a rare smile:

"We have a way to deal with the bad apples. Let them run wild for a while, and when the time is right, we'll take them all out at once."

Lin Chen chuckled and said, "Alright, you handle it."

After Yuan Tiangang finished speaking, Li Chunfeng quickly continued:

"My lord, the array at the Dongshan Villa has been fully activated. With our spirit stone reserves, it should be able to operate for a hundred years without any problem, however..."

Li Chunfeng paused, his expression turning serious:

"The great change in the world is getting closer and closer, and the current formation is not enough."

I am currently carrying out a second round of reinforcement on the entire Dongshan mountain. It is expected that in another two months, the defenses of Dongshan will be upgraded to another level.

"Oh!" Lin Chen asked with some curiosity, "What level can it withstand?"

Li Chunfeng thought for a moment: "Reaching the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm should be no problem, but beyond that... it's hard to say. My current cultivation level is the best I can do."

Lin Chen nodded: "That's enough. Once your cultivation improves, we'll continue to reinforce it. Money's no object."

Li Chunfeng smiled: "Don't worry, my lord, there will be enough materials."

Lin Chen waved his hand dismissively: "Enough is enough. You can allocate any resources from the entire Prince's mansion as you wish."

Li Chunfeng's eyes lit up, and he quickly clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, my lord!"

At this moment, Zhuge Liang interjected, "My lord, besides these, there are a few other pieces of good news."

Lin Chen perked up: "What good news?"

Zhuge Liang pointed with his feather fan: "There's news from Dugu Qiubai's side."

His injuries have healed, and his cultivation has improved considerably. He is currently in seclusion somewhere in Zhongzhou, preparing to break through to the Celestial Immortal realm.

Lin Chen's eyes lit up: "This old man is really tough!"

Yuan Tiangang smiled, a rare occurrence:

"He's really tough. Anyone else would have been crippled long ago with his level of skill, but he just gets stronger the more he fights."

"Anything else?" Lin Chen pressed.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "There's also some movement from Guan Yu's side. He's been in seclusion for several months and recently there have been signs of a breakthrough. It should be soon."

Lin Chen chuckled: "Is Lord Guan preparing a powerful move?"

Zhuge Liang nodded: "Given his personality, he won't emerge from seclusion until he breaks through to a higher level."

Li Chunfeng chimed in from the side, "My lord, it's not just these two; the men below have also made progress."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Li Chunfeng counted on his fingers: "The Thirteen Protectors have all broken through to the Grandmaster level."

Of the thirty-six Heavenly Guardians, twenty-eight are already Celestial Beings, and the rest are in seclusion, striving for breakthroughs.

Of the 108 Hidden Dragon Guards, more than sixty have broken through to the next level, and the others are also steadily improving.

Lin Chen's eyes widened in surprise: "So many?"

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "Not only that, but many people in the Great Snow Dragon Riders, the Bad Guards, and the Heavenly Gang Guards have also broken through their original realms, and their combat power has increased several times."

Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, looking at the roof beams, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"So, while I was away, you were all secretly embezzling?"

The three of them laughed at the same time.

Zhuge Liang waved his fan: "Our lord is busy traveling, so we can't just sit idle, can we?"

Lin Chen laughed heartily: "Alright! Roll them all up! The rolled up the better!"

He stood up, took a few steps around the study, and suddenly turned back:

"By the way, your training can't stop either. We'll still need high-end combat power in the future."

Zhuge Liang lightly waved his feather fan and replied:

"Rest assured, my lord, our cultivation has improved somewhat. When the world undergoes a great change, we may be able to catch the wave and even reach the threshold of becoming celestial immortals."

"Very good!" Lin Chen couldn't stop smiling.

Zhuge Liang chuckled and continued:

"My lord, there is one more thing. Recently, someone in Zhongzhou has been probing our strength."

Lin Chen frowned: "How did you test me?"

Li Chunfeng continued, "Some unfamiliar faces have appeared near Dongshan, and divine sense has been scanning over them."

The method was very subtle, and most people wouldn't be able to detect it, but it couldn't escape the array I had set up.

"Have you found out who it is?"

Li Chunfeng shook his head: "The person escaped and we didn't catch them, but judging from their aura, they should be from Zhongzhou. Their cultivation level is not low, at least at the Land Immortal Realm."

Lin Chen paused for a moment, then chuckled softly:

"Let them touch it; the clearer they see, the less they'll dare to move."

Zhuge Liang nodded: "That's what I meant too."

There are always people in Zhongzhou who are unwilling to accept this and want to probe our strength, but our strength is not so easy to find out…

The group discussed their conversation in the study until evening. Lin Chen stood up and stretched.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Report back anytime if anything comes up."

The three of them stood up and took their leave.

Zhuge Liang spoke first:

"My lord, you've just returned. Please rest well for a few days. If there's anything, I'll handle it."

Lin Chen nodded: "Alright, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zhuge."

Zhuge Liang smiled, turned around and left.

Yuan Tiangang then said, "My lord, I will keep a close eye on Songshan, so please rest assured."

Lin Chen nodded gently: "Thank you."

Yuan Tiangang nodded, said nothing, and strode away.

Li Chunfeng concluded by saying:

"My lord, please rest assured about the formation. As long as we have the resources, I will reinforce it myself."

Furthermore, setting up formations also benefits the cultivation of subordinates.

Lin Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Li. Just tell me what you need, and I'll try my best to meet your needs. Even if the Prince's Mansion doesn't have it, there are still those people in Zhongzhou, aren't there?"

Li Chunfeng chuckled, cupped his hands in farewell, and prepared to continue reinforcing the formation.

The study fell silent.

Lin Chen stood by the window, looking at the sunset outside, and went through the things the three of them had said in his mind.

The capital is safe.

Songshan City is safe.

Dongshan Villa is safe now.

The people under my command are all making progress.

The enemy is watching and waiting.

The situation is excellent.

Lin Chen took a deep breath, turned around and walked out of the study.

It's getting dark; I should go check on the backyard.

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 422 Current Situation, reading address.