My name is Huang Tian, ​​what the hell is this "Heaven is dead" nonsense?

Chapter 72 Plot
The carriage soon stopped at Qinghui Garden in Baoqingfang.

The three of them got off the plane and looked up at the vermilion gate with its two imposing stone lions. Aunt Qin whispered, "Goodness, this house isn't cheap!"

Huang Tian smiled and led the two of them through the door. As they entered the house, they were dazzled by the carved beams and painted rafters, the flowers and trees, and the pleasant sounds of nature.

After taking a casual stroll around, Huang Tian said to Aunt Qin, "The house is big and needs someone to manage it. You should take the lead for now and go find some helpers to bring some life to the house."

Aunt Qin said with some worry, "I have no experience in managing affairs, I'm afraid it won't work."

"It's alright. Managing things is about managing people. If anyone doesn't listen, you can just fire them and hire two or three more clever people to help you. You can manage the whole courtyard. If it really doesn't work, you can always step down."

Although Aunt Qin didn't have much formal education, she could read and write, so managing miscellaneous tasks was no problem for her. In Huang Tian's opinion, the most important thing in employing people was loyalty and not engaging in underhanded tactics; everything else was secondary.

"As for Heng'er, do you want to learn martial arts or literature?" Huang Tian asked.

"I only wish to serve Si Lang," Heng'er whispered, clutching her green skirt.

Huang Tian was speechless. “These things don’t conflict. Besides, only by studying can you manage the affairs of the courtyard and serve me better. Otherwise, you’ll just be a lowly maid for the rest of your life.”

"Then, let's study."

“Alright,” Huang Tian said. “There is a Qingnu Academy in Baoqingfang, where all the teachers are female. Tomorrow, have Aunt Qin go there to invite a tutor to come to the mansion and teach you and the servants in the mansion to read and write.”

"Mmm." Heng'er nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling.

After settling everything, Huang Tian told the two of them to go about their business. Then he went to the hexagonal pavilion in the backyard, stood among the flowers swaying in the breeze, practiced his boxing stances, and continued to hone his qi and blood.

However, it wasn't so easy for Huang Tian to cultivate in peace. Ever since the news of his breakthrough to the eighth-grade martial artist in just twenty days reached outside Zhenwu Guard, people have been bringing him cartloads of congratulatory gifts.

Gifts were being delivered by the cartload, and at its peak, there were even hundreds of carriages blocking the gate of the mansion, completely clogging the street!

Fortunately, Aunt Qin acted quickly and recruited more than a dozen strong servants in half a day; otherwise, she would not have been able to stop the enthusiastic wealthy merchants from sending gifts.

As for these congratulatory gifts, Huang Tian only accepted some that were not too valuable, and returned all the overly expensive ones. He did not want to owe favors. Ordinary congratulatory gifts were just a token of his feelings, and accepting those that were too valuable would only cause him trouble. Anyway, he had the support of the Zhenwu Guard Commander Bai and did not lack martial arts resources, so he would not need them.

Even though he refused so many congratulatory gifts, he still received gifts worth two thousand taels of silver on the very first day! If he hadn't refused them, the value would have been ten times higher.

To refuse those who offered gifts, Aunt Qin and the others were truly busy all day, panting heavily from exhaustion. But despite their exhaustion, everyone's face was beaming with pride.

In this vast city, every well-informed wealthy and powerful family sent gifts and invited him to an audience, all displaying an eager demeanor!

Huang Tian didn't seem to care much about this and focused on his cultivation, refusing to see anyone representing powerful families or wealthy merchants.

The following morning, Luo Chan arrived at Qinghui Garden with a beaming smile and invited Huang Tian to a banquet at Hexiang Tower. Huang Tian had already agreed and naturally did not refuse, so he followed him to Hexiang Tower.

There were more than 30 people at the banquet. All the ninth-rank martial arts students from Wei Xue except Huang Rui were present, along with some of Luo Chan's relatives and friends. It was a lively and joyous occasion, with everyone enjoying themselves.

After the banquet, the manager of Hexianglou seemed to have learned some news and wanted to offer to waive the bill on behalf of the patron behind the restaurant. However, Luo Chan refused, knowing that he didn't have the influence to ask for a free meal. The manager of Hexianglou was only doing this because he wanted to get back at Huang Tian.

Luo Chan didn't want to incur Huang Tian's favor or cause him trouble. Besides, it was just a banquet, and he could easily afford it himself. There was no need for a waiver. After paying, everyone happily left. Huang Tian returned to Qinghui Garden and devoted himself to practicing martial arts, occasionally pondering whether he could further enrich and perfect the Five Elements Five Symbols Cloud Dragon Scattered Hand technique.

Several more days passed, and just as Huang Tian's internal energy and blood were nearing perfection and he was about to break through the third transformation of energy and blood, Xia Hong, who had led the men to capture Zhang Yu, finally returned to the county town.

However, his expression was very unpleasant, and his subordinates also all had dark faces.

No other reason than that they didn't catch anyone!
Not only did they fail to catch him, they didn't even see a trace of Zhang Yu. They made a wasted trip to the county below and spent more than ten days in the dust.

"Those bastards, their intelligence is completely inaccurate, yet they dare to confidently tell me to arrest people!!"

Xia Hong cursed a couple of times and walked into the Zhenwuwei government office with a dark face. As soon as he entered, the people he bumped into all bowed and congratulated him, leaving him completely bewildered.

Finally, he grabbed one of his colleagues, a commander of a thousand, and joked, "Brother Wang, what's going on? I didn't even see a trace of Zhang Yu on this trip, so why are you all congratulating me? You can't be implying something, can you?"

Commander Wang looked on with envy. "You're so lucky! Such a promising talent has come straight to your command. How come I never have such good fortune!"

"A promising talent?"

Xia Hong was stunned. He had only one promising talent under his command recently.

"You mean Huang Tian?" he asked, somewhat puzzled. "What happened to Huang Tian? I've only been gone for a little over ten days. What big thing has he done?"

Commander Wang clicked his tongue and sized up Xia Hong for a couple of seconds, until Xia Hong became impatient and about to explode. Only then did he pat the latter's shoulder heavily, "Huang Tian, ​​you've broken through!"

"A breakthrough?!"

Xia Hong was immediately stunned.

'I was only gone for about ten days, how could he have broken through? Am I dreaming?!'

Commander Wang exclaimed, "His talent is terrifying. As far as I know, no one in the lower three ranks has progressed faster than him. Now, several of us commanders are guessing how long it will take him to break through to the seventh rank..."

Xia Hong felt as if an enormous gold brick had smashed into his head, leaving him dazed and confused.

"No wonder you all congratulated me. With Huang Tian's current talent, as long as he doesn't die, becoming a Grandmaster is a sure thing! I actually personally mentored a Grandmaster?!"

He laughed loudly several times, making Commander Wang's forehead turn black with exasperation. "You're laughing too smugly. This is an official residence. Don't disturb the Commander!"

Xia Hong then stopped laughing, but the smile on his lips remained.

Commander Wang sighed, "Ah, I really envy you. Not only did you introduce Huang Tian to the Imperial Academy, but you also promptly gifted him elixirs, making your relationship even closer. As for me, I didn't even have time to react before he broke through to the eighth rank! I didn't even have a chance to curry favor with him!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong's eyes darted around. He pulled Commander Wang aside to a secluded corner and whispered, "As far as I know, Huang Tian's relationship with the Huang family is extremely bad. His birth mother was driven to her death by the Huang family, suffering from a chronic illness. If we..."

(End of this chapter)