Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Heilong-yuan(Black Dragon Wall)
Heilong Bay (Black Dragon Bay)
Heilong Ridge (Black Dragon Ridge)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
…
Yin Jixue looked down at the letter in her hand. "Premium textile? Should I agree to this trade?"
Lou Zhao nodded. "This one's worth considering. It's a unique weaving technique from the Azure Luan Clan's weaving maidens—completely impossible to replicate."
Yin Jixue hesitated. "But they want a discount. And not a small one. Do you even want to wear clothes made of premium fabric?"
The Black Dragon Clan could be self-sufficient in almost everything, but when it came to other clans' specialty treasures, the prices were dictated by the suppliers.
Lou Zhao didn't seem concerned. "I'm fine with whatever. This kind of fabric suits you more. It keeps warm in winter and cool in summer—perfect for clothing."
He had once traded for premium fabric in Yuling City and given it to Yin Jixue, only for her to turn it into pajamas.
Yin Jixue asked curiously, "Didn't we get premium beast hide last time too? It kept me warm in winter, but would it be cool in summer?"
Lou Zhao looked at her like she was an idiot. "Do you seriously think beast hide would feel cool to wear?"
Yin Jixue recalled how, when she first arrived at Black Dragon City, everyone wore beast hides, with limbs and torsos half exposed.
"In that case, let's put the premium fabric trade on hold. I just can't accept such a low discount. A 25% markdown wouldn't even cover the cost of raw materials. Then there's labor, shipping… It's just not worth it."
She counted on her fingers, calculating away. The more the Black Dragon Clan developed, the more meticulous she became with budgeting—in other words, stingy.
Lou Zhao comforted her. "Then don't trade. We've got down jackets and cotton coats for winter, silk for summer. If you had to wear premium fabrics in winter, you probably wouldn't be used to it anyway."
No matter how good the fabric was advertised to be, the Azure Luan Clan barely had enough for themselves. How much could they even sell? Probably not worth the trouble.
Besides, he liked seeing her bundled up in fluffy coats. His little wife, all wrapped up in winter clothes, was just too cute.
When Sixth Princess received the reply, she was in disbelief—Black Dragon City turned down her offer.
How could this be?
The premium fabric was reserved for the Azure Luan Clan's empress and her direct sisters. The output was extremely limited, making it extraordinarily valuable.
There were many types of premium demonic fabrics, but only the Azure Luan Clan's was truly priceless.
Sixth Princess immediately dialed her son's spirit communicator.
"Son, what kind of clothes are you wearing right now?"
Qingyuan was completely baffled by the question.
"I'm wearing the standard-issue staff uniform from school. Why?"
Sixth Princess probed further. "Do you know what the most valuable fabric in the Black Dragon Clan is?"
Qingyuan thought for a moment. "No idea. I think the queen wears clothes brought from the human world. As for the Demon King, I never paid attention. We dress for comfort here. No one cares about how expensive something is."
The Sixth Princess's eye twitched at his response. Her son had only gone to Black Dragon City to study—how had he already adopted their way of thinking?
Still not giving up, she asked, "Don't your friends ever think about wearing really expensive clothes?"
Qingyuan shook his head honestly. "No. Mom, only our Azure Luan Clan obsesses over how beautiful clothing looks. But here in Black Dragon City, I've realized that beauty comes in many forms. It doesn't have to be made of premium fabric. The clothes I wear here are made of something called cotton. It doesn't shine, but I find it comfortable."
Sixth Princess hung up in frustration. The Azure Luan Clan's one advantage—its premium fabric—had just been casually dismissed.
Her head started to ache. She had hoped the fabric would get her a discount on road construction, but now she'd have to pay in full after all.
Because the Black Tortoise Clan had scored the biggest discount, their road project was prioritized first.
The only silver lining: the project wasn't being handled by the Shadow Demon Construction Crew—they had been assigned to build something else in Black Dragon territory.
The Sixth Princess had been curious. Wasn't Black Dragon City already fully connected by road? What else was there to build?
As it turned out, the Shadow Demon Construction Crew was undertaking a massive project, deploying nearly all their forces, leaving only women and children in their city.
It was an ambitious initiative. If successful, transportation within Black Dragon Clan territory would reach unprecedented speeds.
That's right—they were laying rail tracks.
The route had already been scouted out by Lou Zhao himself, carefully avoiding areas with high-level monster activity. Overall, it was the safest path possible.
The Shadow Demon Construction Crew only needed to follow Lou Zhao's markers and build the tracks, linking five major cities.
Once completed, transportation between the cities would become vastly more efficient.
Currently, there were long-distance buses, but very few people traveled far for leisure. Just the journey itself took two days, and a round trip plus three days of sightseeing would eat up an entire week.
As a result, most workers only vacationed locally, visiting Heilongkou for a one-day getaway—leave in the morning, return the next evening.
But once the railways were finished, they wouldn't be running ordinary trains. Powered by magic crystals, these trains would have to run at twice the speed of high-speed rail, enabling true "Five-City Day Trips" in Black Dragon Clan territory.