Chapter 12

"Extracting spirit veins?" Tang Rong immediately responded to Li Xian's idea, "Young Master, spirit veins cannot be extracted; they are attached to jade and cannot exist independently.

Furthermore, if you're talking about silk threads, perhaps some demon beasts' silk threads can meet the requirements. For example, the silk threads of Heavenly Silkworms and Jade Silkworms, or the silk threads of human-faced spiders. Also, it is said that there is a kind of sea soul silk in the sea that has such capabilities."

"Damn, then what are we waiting for? Let's buy them quickly!" Li Xian jumped up at the suggestion. The role of conductors in industry is like that of blood vessels in the human body; they are indispensable! If they had conductors, it wouldn't just be possible to shrink the engine to a foot, but even to the size of a fingernail!

"This..." Tang Rong sighed regretfully, "Young Master, these things are very rare, and their quality varies greatly, from good to bad. Most importantly, the price... is very high. To buy these spirit materials, you can't use gold; you must use spirit stones."

Splash...

A bucket of ice water was poured over Li Xian's head.

"I knew there wouldn't be anything that simple in this world," Li Xian sighed and finally went to Xu Ren for advice; this time, Li Xian truly recognized the importance of a strategist.

"What's so difficult about that!" Xu Ren smiled indifferently, "Young Master, for those demon silkworms and demon spiders, these silk threads are plentiful and are stored in their caves, unused. They love items from the human world the most.

Young Master, send a trade caravan with mirrors, colored lights, fabrics, and other items, and trade directly with these demon beasts. They are happy to exchange. The so-called high price is just due to scarcity and merchants inflating the prices.

However, we need to be cautious and act carefully, so as not to make it widely known."

"Let's send people now," Li Xian couldn't wait a moment longer.

"Don't rush, Young Master. Haste makes waste. Moreover, Young Master should focus on developing more looms and use a large amount of fabric to build more connections, forming your own network. This is the right approach."

"Oh, you're right, Mr. Xu. I was too hasty." Li Xian immediately adopted Xu Ren's suggestion, instructing the research department to temporarily slow down the research on miniaturizing the engine and instead focus on increasing the engine's output power. An engine three feet long was barely acceptable.

"Young Master, it's time to return to Wuyang City. Your opportunity should be coming soon."

"What opportunity?"

"The opportunity to leave Wuyang City openly! More specifically, you'll know when you get back." Xu Ren left it at that.

"Alright."

The two got into the carriage and leisurely returned to Wuyang City.

Speaking of Li Xian's status in Wuyang City, he was more like a hostage, not allowed to leave the city at will. Moreover, Wuyang City was not a good place for development, with too many officials and the Great Xia Empire already in turmoil. Leaving the capital was necessary—when a building is about to collapse, one must run far away.

As they approached Wuyang City, Li Xian was stunned. In just a few days, the city walls of Wuyang City were already hung with the recently produced searchlights; many Foundation Establishment cultivators were still flying in the air, installing them.

"So fast!"

Xu Ren chuckled, "Young Master, you don't know, but because of your unified pricing and the return of excess goods, more people have started to accept the colored lights. In recent days, they have been sold out every noon."

"Oh, I see. The production is still not up to par. Once the conductor problem is solved, production will truly surge." Li Xian's mind was now completely occupied by the conductor issue.

Not long after returning home, Shangguan Yong and the other three came over, praising Li Xian greatly. As expected, following Li Xian's advice, they found significant benefits. Now, the three were working with Li Youwei of the Li family, dividing the Great Xia Empire into four regions, each responsible for one region. They opened chain stores in the same style, and business was booming, often running out of stock.

"Even the palaces of neighboring countries have sent people to purchase!" Zhang Quan, the little fatty, was so proud that he was almost floating. After doing business for so many years, he had never felt so relaxed and respected—being respected was more joyful than making money for these people.

"It will be even better in the future," Li Xian smiled and concluded.

Suddenly, a commotion came from outside, and Yang Zhong's voice rang out, "Young Master, Young Master, quickly go to the front hall to receive the imperial edict."

Xu Ren laughed, "Young Master, the opportunity has come!"

Li Xian, confused, walked forward, with Yang Zhong explaining some precautions along the way.

Arriving at the front hall, he saw the grand royal entourage, with the emperor's personal guard captain reading the imperial edict. The edict was simple, without much formal language, probably due to the environment of the Immortal Realm.

The guard captain handed the edict directly to Li Xian, "Li Xian, by the emperor's command, in recognition of your contributions, you are granted the rank of Sixth Rank Zhenwei Commander and appointed as the City Magistrate of the Northern District of Wuyang City, responsible for the security of the Northern District."

"General, you have worked hard. Recently, the workshop forged a precious sword; please do not disdain it."

A sword in a box was presented to the guard captain. Upon opening it, his eyes narrowed immediately; he hadn't even seen the sword, but the gems on the blade and hilt were already visible; it was indeed a "precious" sword.

In a good mood, the guard captain became much more amiable, "Mr. Li, in the northern part of Wuyang, there is a Wang family you must absolutely not provoke. Noble Consort Hua, well, that's it, I'm leaving."

Noble Consort Hua, was she the noble consort by the emperor's side during the last audience? So, Noble Consort Hua is from the Wang family! Li Xian understood. With the emperor's favor, the Wang family was certainly not to be provoked.

Then Li Xian became excited, "Oh, I'm going to be an official, a Sixth Rank official!"

When Li Xian met Xu Ren, Xu Ren suddenly said, "Young Master, don't speak yet. Let me guess, are you the City Magistrate responsible for the security of Wuyang City?"

Li Xian regarded Xu Ren even more highly, "Is this the opportunity you mentioned?"

"Yes. Which district are you in charge of?"

"Northern District."

"Northern District? Excellent! There is a perfect target for establishing your authority in the Northern District!" Upon hearing the Northern District, Xu Ren was visibly delighted, as if he had won a grand prize.

"Target for establishing authority?"

"Yes, establishing authority! Young Master, you need to establish your authority now. You were just a spoiled son, and no one in the world knew your name. Even with the colored lights, others only saw them as clever tricks, which made you look even more insignificant.

So, Young Master, for future development, you must establish your authority. And to establish authority, you must choose a big target."

"Choose a big target, Mr. Xu, you... you don't mean... the Wang family, do you?" Li Xian was speechless, wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

"You're smart, Young Master, you get it right away!"

"But... but... the Wang family can't be provoked!" Li Xian was speechless! The guard captain had kindly warned him not to provoke the Wang family, and now Mr. Xu was telling him to use the Wang family to establish his authority. Was the difference... a bit too great?

Xu Ren smiled confidently, "Young Master, it's precisely because they can't be provoked that you must provoke them; it's precisely because they can't be provoked that we can leave Wuyang City."