Castle of Black Iron

Besides Lu Clan and Gu Clan, Zhang Tie was also familiar with a couple of elders of Yan Clan of Chaoyang Prefecture, Liu Clan of Changshan Prefecture, Ximen Clan of Xingbei Prefecture, Sun Clan of Guide Prefecture in Youzhou Province at present. Of course, there were also some strange faces. However, Zhang Tie was familiar with over 3/4 of the 40-odd knights on the airboat.

Although Gu elders felt complexed, the other clans’ elders didn’t think as much as them; instead, they all nodded towards Zhang Tie with smiles as they came over here to greet Zhang Tie and Mountain Lifting Hermit. Zhang Tie immediately felt like being a moon surrounded by a myriad of stars. As the clan disciples of many knights on the airboat were Zhang Tie’s indoor disciples, of course, they treated Zhang Tie much better.

Not to mention that Zhang Tie was an earth knight. In the knight’s world, people won respect by battle strength. As an earth knight and Qianji Hermit who enjoyed a great reputation among humans, of course, Zhang Tie was especially venerated.

Guo Hongyi was also at present.

Zhang Tie remembered that Guo Clan might only have 3 knights. He had not imagined that Guo Hongyi could come here alone.

Being independent among those male knights, Guo Hongyi was distant, arrogant and pretty eye-catching.

When Zhang Tie looked at Guo Hongyi, Guo Hongyi was looking at him too.

Soon after Zhang Tie threw a glance at Guo Hongyi, his arm had been tightly embraced by Bai Suxian and pasted onto her plump and soft breasts. Guo Hongyi turned around at once.

It took them 2 minutes to greet Zhang Tie.

…

“Qianji Hermit and the other two knights of Iron-Dragon Sect have arrived. 38 knights should arrive; however, 43 people actually arrived. Please take a rest for the time being. We will set for Yanzhou City now!” Zhang Taixuan in provincial governor’s uniform said. Closely after that, the movable cover slowly covered the deck while the airboat left for Yanzhou Province.

As Zhang Tie’s Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory was between Yanzhou Province and Youzhou Province, Zhang Tie, Elder Muray, Elder Muyu, Bai Suxian and Mountain Lifting Hermit boarded the airboat in the end.

Mountain Lifting Hermit and Bai Suxian actually didn’t need to come.

Mountain Lifting Hermit was always alone. Although being an elder of Iron-Dragon Sect, he didn’t have any undertaking in Youzhou Province. Neither did he have any family in Taixia Country. Even if he didn’t come here, nobody would blame him.

Bai Suxian’s another identity was the princess of Lord Guangnan’s Mansion. As Lord Guangnan’s Mansion also responded to the Xuanyuan command by assigning many knights to join the war. Therefore, Bai Suxian didn’t have to come.

Additionally, some clans assigned 3 knights when they only needed to assign 2. With 1 more knight, although it seemed that these clans had contributed more to the war, actually, it was just a method for the clans to protect themselves. Because on the battlefield, 3 clan knights who were familiar with each other could form a 3-in-1 battle formation. Through long-term practice and cooperation, the 3-in-1 formation was far more powerful than average. After forming a 3-in-1 formation, the 3 clan knights could have a much greater viability in the battlefield. That was to say, 3 clan knights could have a greater chance to survive back than 2 clan knights.

After Zhang Taixuan’s words, they all entered the airboat from the deck.

There was also a lobby inside the provincial governor’s airboat. Some drinks and food were put on the tables. This lobby still looked very spacious after holding fewer than 50 knights. After Zhang Tie’s group arrived, all the knights who responded to the Xuanyun command within Youzhou Province had arrived.

If it was in peaceful time, when so many knights across Youzhou Province gathered, they might feel like chatting with each other. However, at this critical moment, of course, they didn’t feel like having a party anymore. It would take them over 3 hours from Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory to Yanzhou City by airboat. After greeting each other and Zhang Taixuan’s brief speech as Youzhou provincial governor, they had taken seats. With closed eyes, they entered meditation with crossed legs or took out earth-element crystals from their portable storage bags and absorbed them.

On the battlefield, if they could have a bit greater battle strength, they would have a bigger chance to survive themselves. On this occasion, of course these human knights wouldn’t like to waste their time. Only the personages Zhang Taixuan and Lu Dingzhi seemingly shared the same interest as they felt like playing the game of go.

Mountain Lifting Hermit and Bai Suxian also found a place to sit down respectively. Under the “admiring” looks of those people, Mountain Lifting Hermit took out a water-element crystal from his portable space-teleportation equipment and started to absorb it.

After finding that all the others were cultivating with crossed legs, Zhang Taixuan and Lu Dingzhi left the lobby too. Zhang Tie called Elder Muray and Elder Muyu out of the lobby by a secret means.

They didn’t feel strange when the 3 people left. After all, Zhang Tie was the grand elder of Huaiyuan Palace. It was too normal for a grand elder to talk something to two elders of the same clan.

After being far away from the lobby, Zhang Tie drew the two people into a mini-conference. The moment they entered the room, Zhang Tie had pretended to fumble something in his coat before taking out something and putting an item on each elder’s hand.

“Erm, we’re all elders of Huaiyuan Palace…I got these items from Earth-element Realm by good fortune. I will…lend it to you. You could have a greater chance to survive on the battlefield with it. When you come back and don’t need it…you could give it back to me then!”

After saying that to the two elders, Zhang Tie directly opened the door and left before the two elders made any response.

At the sight of the item in their hand, Elder Muray and Elder Muyu were shocked greatly, mentally and spiritually…

“This is…” Elder Muyu swallowed his saliva forcefully as he looked up at Elder Muray.

Elder Muray’s hand also quivered as he said, “There is something inside it…”

In the two space-teleportation finger rings, there were various medicaments, food, water and over 200 earth-element crystals, which could enable a knight to survive 10 years in Taixia Country without any supply. Additionally, there was a brilliant silver secret longsword which was used for close combat floating in the space of each finger ring.

Except for Zhang Tie, only Zhang Taixuan the clan head of Zhang Clan obtained a provincial governor’s space-teleportation finger ring when he took the chair of Youzhou provincial governor.

Zhang Tie gifted 2 space-teleportation finger rings for one time; additionally, there was a silver secret item in each space-teleportation finger ring. What a generous deed!

Elder Muray and Elder Muyu had not imagined that Zhang Tie could give them such a rarity after calling them out.

“Qianji Hermit could always bring us surprises…” Elder Muyu sighed with emotions as he was completely convinced by Elder Mushen…

“Put it away, it’s Elder Mushen’s sincerity…” Elder Muray also sighed with feeling.

As this equipment could bring them a greater chance to survive themselves on the battlefield, of course, the two people would not decline it.

The moment Elder Muyu was going to put on the finger ring, he found that Elder Muray directly strung it onto a mithril rune necklace before hiding it under his clothes carefully. Elder Muyu became hesitated for a second before taking off the finger ring from his finger and hanging it over his neck with a necklace.

Being low-key was always good!

If a black iron knight wore a portable space-teleportation finger ring, it would be too eye-catching as only some powerful elites in very few super clans and top 7 sects of Taixia Country could wear it.

After putting on the finger ring, the two elders smiled at each other before opening the door and returning to the lobby…

…

Zhang Tie and the two elders of Huaiyuan Palace had not noticed that the finger of Zhang Taixuan which wore a colorful finger ring slightly moved when Zhang Tie took out the two space-teleportation equipment from Castle of Black Iron.

Besides Zhang Taixuan who was walking, nobody else had noticed that.

“Brother Lu, here we are…” Zhang Taixuan pushed open the door of the silent room, revealing one table and two cattail hassocks which were folded with each other.

“Hahaha, it’s my first time to play the game of go with brother Taixuan, brother Taixuan, hope you do not reserve your skills…” Lu Dingzhi laughed.

“Brother Lu must have a great psychological diathesis as you’re still interested in playing the game of go before going to fight demons on the battlefield in the west border of Taixia Country. Through having “hand talk” with brother Lu, I’m also learning how to be quiet in the chaos and nourish my vital spirit like you…” Zhang Taixuan said modestly.

“I’m overpraised; my ability to nourish my vital spirit is far worse than that of the late sages of Taixia Country. Hope you do not laugh at me!”

The two people laughed as they started the game of go…

…

This time, Zhang Tie didn’t mean to show off his wealth by presenting two space-teleportation equipment and two silver secret items to Elder Muray and Elder Muyu; neither would like to draw the two elders over to his side. He just did that for his conscience. On the battlefield between humans and demons, even knights would be killed easily. As a member of Huaiyuan Palace, Zhang Tie just expected that the two elders of Huaiyuan Palace could have a greater chance to survive on the battlefields on the premise of his own ability. If Zhang Tie didn’t give any favor to the two elders of Huaiyuan Palace and the two elders finally died on the battlefield, Zhang Tie might be conscience-stricken for the rest of his life.

Zhang Tie knew that Elder Muray had a silver secret longbow; however, the longbow was only suitable for long-distance combat; instead of close combat. Therefore, he directly left a weapon that was suitable for close combat in each space-teleportation finger ring.

Only in a few days, Zhang Tie had gifted 4 space-teleportation equipment. However, he still had a lot of space-teleportation equipment. Others would definitely be shocked greatly if they knew that.

After gifting two space-teleportation equipment to Elder Muray and Elder Muyu, Zhang Tie also returned to the lobby and sat next to Mountain Lifting Hermit with eyes closed. He visualized dozens of abacuses in his mind and started to calculate at the same time.

In the next 1 minute, Elder Muray and Elder Muyu came back too. They also sat somewhere with common looks and started to cultivate quietly.

After a short while, the lobby had been quiet although over 40 knights were inside it.

…

Zhang Tie was carrying out four arithmetic operations by 27 abacuses at the same time in mind.

After coming back from Ice and Snow Wilderness, Zhang Tie’s spiritual energy roared once again. As a result, Zhang Tie could do 27 tasks at the same time.

However, Zhang Tie felt that he had reached the upper limit of “thousands of beads mental sutra” and his multi-tasking ability. After reaching this step, even though he could visualize more abacuses at the same time, he couldn’t operate the 28th abacus at the same time.

27 was a miraculous figure.

Hua people said that 9 was the extreme of numbers. 27 was three times that of 9. 27 was also the cube of 3. 27 was a natural number, odd number, composite number and the 7th number of Lucas Sequence. 1/27 was an infinite number of circles whose repetend was 037…

Like that the numbers of fruits bore by the small tree were limited, Zhang Tie knew that multi-tasking skill was also limited.

Through constant attempts, Zhang Tie could also visualize over 1,000 abacuses in his mind at the same time, even more. Zhang Tie felt that he still had surplus spiritual energy. However, no matter how much he tried, he could only manipulate 27 abacuses independently at the same time. He could have all the other abacuses move; however, he could only calculate 20 kinds of equations by all the other abacuses at the same time instead of doing independently.

After trying it for quite a while and confirming that he couldn’t operate 28 abacuses independently at the same time, Zhang Tie finally gave it up. The moment Zhang Tie prepared to eradicate those abacuses in his mind, the scene that over 1,000 abacuses gathered with each other suddenly reminded Zhang Tie of something.

Zhang Tie ran his spiritual energy while over 1,000 abacuses in his mind moved at the same time.

However, this time, Zhang Tie didn’t use those abacuses to do any arithmetic calculations; instead, he gathered those abacuses and turned them into some huge walls being covered with beards of abacuses…

These huge walls immediately reminded Zhang Tie of those dense calculation gears like sugar-coated haws on sticks in those steam computers…

They were so similar.

‘What if I could visualize those round beards as gears and all the other components of a steam computer? If so, I could visualize a steam computer in my mind.’

An enlightenment flashed across Zhang Tie’s mind…

…

“We’re arriving at Yanzhou City…”

Before Zhang Tie tried it, a voice had sounded…

Over 3 hours had passed so fast…

Zhang Tie opened his eyes at once…

…