Yuan Wu's face was ashen. After being helped up by the middle-aged man, he coughed violently for a moment before managing a hoarse voice: "It's fine!"
He shot a venomous glance toward Yang Kai, but the moment his eyes met Yang Kai's gaze, he quickly looked away. After what had just happened, he no longer dared to provoke Yang Kai. He could only suppress his hatred deep in his heart, vowing to settle the score in the future.
The middle-aged man finally let out a sigh of relief and ingratiatingly said: "Good that you're fine, good that you're fine. The construction of the palace still needs you here to oversee it, sir. If something were to happen to you, what would we do? We'd all be without a leader."
He heaped on the flattery so thickly that quite a few people shot him sideways glances, thinking to themselves how shameless this fellow was.
But it worked — Yuan Wu's expression improved noticeably, and he felt he'd recovered a bit of face.
The middle-aged man then added: "Sir, if there truly aren't any other candidates, then leave the mining of the Ice Soul Snow Jade to me. What do you think?"
"Oh?" Yuan Wu blinked and turned to look at him, studying this fellow seriously for the first time.
Everyone else wore stunned expressions, their faces twisted with disbelief.
Just how dangerous the mining of Ice Soul Snow Jade was — everyone knew it full well. That was precisely why no one had volunteered for the task just moments ago, instead eagerly offering to take on other assignments. They were all afraid Yuan Wu would assign it to them.
The middle-aged man was, after all, a cultivator at the second level of the Emperor Realm. Surely he understood this too.
But what was he doing? It was obviously dangerous, yet he was actively volunteering? Was something wrong with this guy's head? Flattery was one thing, but surely no one would joke with their own life over it. In that moment, everyone stared at the middle-aged man as though he were a fool.
The middle-aged man seemed utterly oblivious to their gazes and smiled faintly: "Of course, I'm merely suggesting it. The final decision is yours to make, sir."
As soon as these words left his mouth, Yuan Wu's opinion of the middle-aged man soared. His reputation had already taken a beating from Yang Kai — the very first task he'd been assigned had been thrown back in his face, and he'd been thoroughly humiliated. That was a devastating blow to his authority and could very well affect his standing among these five hundred people.
And yet, right at this moment, someone had stepped up to support him. How could Yuan Wu not feel grateful? Moreover, this fellow spoke with perfect propriety, giving him plenty of face.
Yuan Wu studied him deeply and said: "What's your name?"
He didn't quite recognize the man and vaguely recalled that there was no such fellow in Half-Dragon City. He couldn't help but feel somewhat puzzled — after all, with such a bizarre and distinctive appearance, this was not someone who would be easily forgotten.
The middle-aged man chuckled: "Your humble servant is Wu Chen!"
"Good, you're very good!" Yuan Wu reached out and patted Wu Chen on the shoulder. It was easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to send charcoal in the snow. This Wu Chen had undoubtedly sent him charcoal in the snow. Even though the two had never met before and were not acquainted, from this moment onward, Wu Chen's standing in Yuan Wu's mind had jumped a good distance above everyone else. He nodded and said: "Then the task of mining the Ice Soul Snow Jade — I shall entrust it to you. Will thirty hands be enough?"
Wu Chen was taken aback, showing a look of surprise, and then became overjoyed: "Thank you, sir!"
The others heard this and stared at Wu Chen with naked envy, inwardly cursing their own stupidity. Had they known this was all it took, they wouldn't have just stood around watching — they'd have rushed over to offer their concern and flattery. But now Wu Chen had earned Yuan Wu's favor with just a few words, already establishing himself as a minor leader among the five hundred, and had even been assigned to oversee the mining of Ice Soul Snow Jade. It was practically a gift dropped from the heavens.
Yuan Wu narrowed his eyes: "Since this matter is now in your hands, you may select whoever you need. Once you've chosen, report to me." At this point, his gaze swept slowly across the crowd as he said evenly: "And if anyone dares to refuse or shirk their duties, report that to me as well. I'll deal with them personally."
"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for your generous trust, sir!" Wu Chen's face was practically glowing with delight.
With Yuan Wu backing him up, he could naturally act as he pleased. After all, not everyone had Yang Kai's nerve and strength to stand up to Yuan Wu so defiantly. Even the several third-level Emperor Realm cultivators present wouldn't have had the nerve for that.
With Wu Chen's precedent set, the other Emperor Realm cultivators could no longer sit still. They swarmed forward, surrounding Yuan Wu, showering him with compliments and flattering smiles.
They had figured it out — the construction of the palace was far too complex and massive for Yuan Wu to handle everything himself. If the palace was to be completed within one month, he would inevitably need to appoint minor leaders to oversee various other tasks. This was the moment to make a good impression.
In the blink of an eye, Yuan Wu once again tasted the sensation of being surrounded by a crowd of admirers. The humiliation and resentment from before were swept clean away in an instant. He shot a cold glance in Yang Kai's direction, his mind toying with the idea of ordering these people to deal with Yang Kai first.
But the thought lingered only briefly before he dismissed it.
It wasn't that he feared Yang Kai — he simply felt that raising the matter at this point would seem too rushed and opportunistic.
Go ahead and enjoy yourself for a while. There was still a whole month. Once the right opportunity came, would he still hesitate to destroy you?
Yuan Wu allowed himself a cold, private smile and set the matter of Yang Kai aside, proceeding directly to assign tasks.
From his earlier inspection, he already had a fairly good understanding of what needed to be done over the coming month. The priority was to send people out to mine the materials required for the palace's construction. Otherwise, once the materials in the storage rings ran dry, it would be too late to start mining then.
He pointed out over two hundred people in quick succession, dividing them into seven or eight teams and sending each team to mine different materials.
However, Yuan Wu was careful — apart from Wu Chen, he did not appoint any other leaders. He was grateful to Wu Chen for helping him save face and wanted to return the favor. The others had done nothing of the sort just now.