Chapter 583: The Opening of Lin’s Amusement Park

That very night, Ling Weifeng delivered the news to Lin’s Inn. Of course, this time the information wasn’t as accurate as before. Aside from the top restaurants planning to team up for a fierce competition and the fact that there was no cost involved in establishing a new large restaurant, every detail had changed.
The reason, naturally, was that it was Ling Weifeng who had spent a great deal of effort to bring those top restaurants together for this competition, and it was also he who proposed building the new large restaurant. He played a crucial role in this collaboration. Without him, many of those top restaurants might have chosen to withdraw, giving Lin’s Inn a greater competitive edge.
If he were to foolishly pass this information on to Lin’s Inn, Ling Weifeng feared that Manager Lin, in a fit of rage, would immediately reveal the relationship between Ling Chenyue and Zi Han.
In fact, Ling Weifeng was wrong. Even if Lin Dong learned that Ling Weifeng was manipulating those top restaurants to buy time, he wouldn’t get angry. In the stock-sharing battle, Lin’s Inn had already dealt those top restaurants a severe blow, and he was confident he could keep pushing them further into trouble.
The difference was simply that if those top restaurants gave up resisting, Lin’s Inn would dominate the capital sooner; if they continued to fight desperately, its dominance would be delayed. This difference wasn’t enough to make Lin Dong angry. As for the relationship between Ling Chenyue and Zi Han, once he learned that Zi Han was behind the recent assassinations of the two princes, he would definitely not spread that news.
It wasn’t out of respect for the third prince or Ling Chenyue, but for Liu Xiu’s sake.
Now, in the struggle for the throne, the only ones capable of inheriting it were the crown prince, the third prince, and Liu Xiu. Given the third prince’s tendency to commit assassinations, the next target might well be the crown prince, who was stronger than Liu Xiu.
If the crown prince were also assassinated, then only Liu Xiu and the third prince would remain in the race for the throne.
Lin Dong had met with Liu Xiu once. According to Liu Xiu, Emperor Qianwei now valued blood relations greatly. Although no one could prove the third prince’s actions, in Emperor Qianwei’s eyes, he was surely already viewed with disdain.
Calculating the timeline, if things developed as the third prince predicted—after the crown prince was assassinated, it would be less than three months before Emperor Qianwei died—

As long as Liu Xiu can escape Zihan’s next assassination attempt, it is likely that Emperor Qianwei will designate him as the heir to the throne. At that time, if Liu Xiu’s forces can withstand the court officials controlled by the Third Prince and successfully secure the succession, and if the army under his command can firmly control the capital after Emperor Qianwei’s death, he will once again become a prince in the history of the Great Han Dynasty who overcame greater odds to seize the throne.

Although these challenges are all difficult, with Liu Xiu’s current strength, he is not without the ability to fight. Therefore, overcoming the first hurdle of escaping assassination is essential.

Whether intentionally or not, as long as Lin Dong does not reveal the relationship between Ling Chenyue and Zihan, Ling Chenyue and the Third Prince will never suspect that Lin Dong knows Zihan is the murderer who has killed two princes, nor will they suspect that Liu Xiu is also aware of this. In this way, Ling Chenyue and the Third Prince’s plans may be exposed, and it is even possible for Zihan to directly try to seduce Liu Xiu. After all, unlike the other princes, Liu Xiu is only in his twenties, at the height of his vigor, and being the last target, using seduction would be more effective and convenient.

Even if Zihan does not directly try to seduce the other princes, if Liu Xiu knows that the ultimate killer is Zihan, he can still find clues in any situation requiring him to go outside. While it may not guarantee 100% safety, his chances of escaping assassination are much higher than those of the other princes.

In fact, Lin Dong has a way to ensure Liu Xiu’s safety. With his current strength, although Zihan wields terrifying poisons and dares not act personally, sending just a few guards is enough to capture this powerful enemy at the Eighth Stage of Xin Ni.

The average strength of the guards at Lin’s Inn is currently the Eighth Stage of Xin Ni. This average refers to the nearly 100,000 guards at Lin’s Inn. The first batch of 5,000 guards sent after Lin’s Inn expanded across the Great Han Dynasty and those who passed the trials had an average strength of the Fifth Stage of Xin Ni.

The more than 500 guards trained by Lin’s Inn in Lingnan Commandery have an average strength of the Eighth Stage of Xin Ni.

In a few more months, by providing these guards with the necessary spiritual materials for cultivation as soon as possible, it will be possible to train over 500 warriors at the Ninth Stage of Xin Ni. Adding 25 Breakthrough Pills will result in an additional 25 peak-level warriors.

The reason Lin Dong has been delaying is to wait for the guards who can take the Breakthrough Pills and reach the ranks of peak warriors to appear.

If it weren’t for the fact that several materials required for the Breakthrough Pill still couldn’t be cultivated on a large scale, all of these more than 500 guards could have reached the rank of peak warriors. Of course, even without enough Breakthrough Pills, twenty or thirty peak warriors, along with over 500 warriors at the Ninth Stage of Heart Reversal, and nearly a hundred thousand other warriors, could sweep from the east to the west of the Great Han Kingdom with overwhelming force. Unless the major sects united, no force could stand against such an army. The combined power of those thirty or so peak warriors, aided by over 500 warriors at the Ninth Stage of Heart Reversal, could destroy a major sect in just the time it takes to burn incense. With such a terrifying force at Lin’s Inn, giving Lin Dong a few more months would be enough for him to ignore any opposing forces. The reason Lin Dong hadn’t sent his guards to capture Zi Han was that he wanted to obtain the poison in Zi Han’s possession. After returning that day, Lin Dong had asked Yun Lan, and the poison was named Bai Chi Xiang, a ninth-tier spiritual flower. Bai Chi Xiang was colorless and odorless, yet its fragrance could travel a hundred feet. If one inhaled it from a distance of a hundred feet, anyone except a peak warrior would be affected by the fragrance, causing part of their spiritual energy to freeze. The closer one got, the greater its power; if inhaled up close, even a peak warrior’s spiritual energy would freeze instantly. With such ruthless toxicity, it was no exaggeration to call Bai Chi Xiang the most deadly flower in the Great Han Kingdom. This poisonous flower posed a significant threat to Lin’s Inn as well. After all, since Bai Chi Xiang was colorless and odorless, no matter how strong Lin Dong and the guards of Lin’s Inn were, they couldn’t hold their breath every day, leaving them vulnerable to ambushes. The only way to eliminate this threat was to find a antidote for Bai Chi Xiang. According to Yun Lan, the antidote for Bai Chi Xiang was also Bai Chi Xiang itself. By using its petals to create a pill and taking it, one could reverse the freezing effect of the fragrance on spiritual energy. Since Bai Chi Xiang was extremely rare, obtaining it—or even seeds that could be planted—naturally fell to Zi Han and the others. Lin Dong had already sent people to monitor Zi Han, the Third Prince, and Ling Chenyue constantly, hoping to find clues about Bai Chi Xiang from them. Capturing Zi Han first was certainly not a wise move. Thus, Liu Xiu had to take the risk.

On the third day after top restaurants planned to jointly build a new restaurant, before they had even chosen a location or acquired the land through connections, Lin’s Inn posted another announcement. Lin’s Amusement Park was officially launched, along with the news that Lin’s Inn would add ten guest rooms filled with special spices that aided sleep and, combined with the scent of floral scents, also had health-enhancing effects. Lin’s Amusement Park was a subsidiary project that Lin Dong had begun planning in Lingnan Commandery, later moving it to the capital city; now, the first one was finally ready for operation. The area covered by Lin’s Amusement Park expanded from the initially estimated 1,000 hectares to over 5,000 hectares during its development. Its scope also grew significantly—from the original concept of a three-in-one park to one including a children’s playground, zoo, aquarium, aviary, botanical garden, and more than twenty themed parks. Given the underdeveloped tourism industry in the Great Han Kingdom, Lin Dong had no doubt that once launched, Lin’s Amusement Park would be so attractive that no visitor would want to leave within a month or two. The results matched Lin Dong’s expectations. Taking advantage of Emperor Qianwei’s visit to Lin’s Inn, along with admission fees of just ten coins for the main gate and each park, a large number of commoners and nobles flocked to Lin’s Amusement Park as soon as the announcement was made. At first, they came just to show support for Lin’s Inn, but once inside, they were so overwhelmed that none wanted to leave. Lin Dong stood at the entrance of Lin’s Amusement Park all day long—countless people entered, but none left. Within just a few days, Lin’s Amusement Park became famous throughout the capital, with an endless stream of visitors. Its popularity exceeded even Lin Dong’s highest expectations. With such immense success, Lin’s Amusement Park naturally had a significant impact on Lin’s Inn. According to Lin Dong’s plan, aside from selling snacks, there were no restaurants inside the park, and the surrounding areas were also purchased by Lin’s Inn and left vacant. Hundreds of carriages were also acquired so that any visitors returning to the city could ride them free of charge to Lin’s Inn’s entrance. If visitors got hungry or were far from the northern exit and needed accommodation at night, their only option was to go to Lin’s Inn.

Of course, with Lin Ji Inn’s current scale, it’s naturally still unable to accommodate such a huge and terrifying number of guests and residents. Lin Dong didn’t implement this plan right away; instead, he first asked Ma Chun to find a way to buy the land near Lin Ji Inn. Buying the land was obviously to use it for expanding Lin Ji Inn. The reason Lin Dong set the ticket prices for Lin Ji Amusement Park so low—so low that even high visitor numbers couldn’t cover the costs of raising and maintaining various spiritual beasts, materials, flowers, and birds—was entirely for the future of Lin Ji Inn. The lower the ticket prices at Lin Ji Amusement Park, the greater the number of visitors, and thus more tourists would come to Lin Ji Inn. Once Lin Ji Amusement Park became famous throughout the Great Han Kingdom and attracted tourists from all over, Lin Dong had no doubt that even if Lin Ji Inn reached hundreds of levels, it wouldn’t lack enough guests and residents. That was what truly mattered.