The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

……

Not long ago, at dusk when the evening court meeting had just begun, the afterglow in the sky was like a piece of gradient silk, slowly sinking from brilliant golden yellow to dull blue-gray, setting off the ancient and huge city of Yingdu.

The autumn wind was blowing fiercely. A team of more than twenty elite soldiers, consisting of two rune chariots and a dozen cavalrymen, were performing their duties of patrolling and arresting suspicious enemies. They were traveling through the bluestone roads of the streets and alleys, with the chariots rumbling past and the cavalry following closely behind.

These people are all soldiers belonging to the Imperial Capital Guard. As a secret service agency established by Concubine Zhao Xiang, they have become notorious in recent years and few people dare to provoke them. They are also an important support for her to monitor the inside and outside of Yingdu and suppress the powerful people from all sides.

If Zhao Qing were here, he would recognize that the tall figure leading this team of soldiers was Chu Liuyun, the former owner of the Xiajiang Workshop in Yangshan County. Beside him was the craftsman named Zeng. It seemed that after he provided the information about the "Unlimited Grain Production Machine", he was arbitrarily assigned a job to avoid leaking secrets.

Although there was the problem of selling the Zhenyuan heavy armor privately, due to the obvious kinship between Chu Liuyun and Chu Qifeng of Tiangong Pavilion, he was not punished. Instead, he changed into a set of Scarlet Yao Fire-Swallowing Feather Armor equipped by the Imperial Capital Guards, and transformed from a skinny old man into a giant made of steel.

The armor itself weighs about 660 kilograms, and the surface of the armor is engraved with continuous cloud patterns and feather patterns. The bright red lines are intertwined, like dancing flames and rolling clouds. It is equipped with a feather shield, a three-spear halberd, a lead-core armor-piercing cone, an arm crossbow, a sword net and other equipment, and the total weight is about 730 kilograms.

In order to save energy when walking, Chu Liuyun made personal modifications to the feet of the heavy armor, adding several pairs of retractable rollers, which had an effect similar to skating and was suitable for smoother roads. This was unique among the entire Imperial Capital Guards.

The rest of the people were wearing uniform green scale armor, some holding spears, some wearing swords, and carrying longbows and quivers. They followed Chu Liuyun and the craftsman surnamed Zeng. The clanging sound of their armor colliding was like a dragon's roar, shaking people's hearts.

The two rune chariots, made of a mixture of bronze and iron, are each over 2,000 pounds heavy. Each chariot can carry six people, and inside are placed various weapons and protective gear, including crossbows, heavy crossbows, long spears, large shields, etc., which appear to be full of fighting spirit.

However, in this solemn atmosphere, there is also a hint of warmth - in the middle of each chariot, there is an oven with a blazing fire. The golden flames dance in the cold wind of late autumn, as if bringing a sense of home to the patrol team.

The group chatted as they walked, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

"Captain, the weather is getting colder and colder." A cavalryman wrapped his cloak tightly around himself and sighed, "The previous accidents in the workshops were probably related to the rich and powerful, right? On one hand, people have to pay for a fire, while on the other hand, people are extravagant and commit arson and murder..."

"Two days ago, we were ordered to transfer a batch of workshop inventory materials, and this happened. It's really... I can only say that His Majesty and the boss have foresight!"

"Don't talk nonsense or complain about things without evidence." Zeng, the craftsman, waved his whip and reminded him, "When winter comes, the heating subsidy will be approved, and you won't be left out. In the eyes of the common people, aren't you and I the so-called 'nobles'?"

"It's rare to have such a good job as the Imperial Guard." Another cavalryman nodded and echoed, "But the situation in Yingdu has become increasingly tense recently, and all kinds of rumors are flying around. We don't know which ones are true and which ones are false. Will we make a wrong step and fall into the abyss?"

"I heard that in the list given by the higher-ups, six or seven out of ten powerful families are included. Can we really handle this? Another theory is that we should be prepared to replace a large number of Yingdu officials with new ones and conduct a handover with the other side?"

"In my opinion, these rumors are not normal... If they leaked the news of the brutal attack in advance, wouldn't they be afraid that someone would leak the secrets? Where can we find new people to replace the officials? Most of the so-called 'newcomers' are from wealthy families. Can they really be much more 'innocent' than the original batch?"

"Feeling that a storm is coming, are you afraid of danger?" Chu Liuyun turned slightly, slowed down and slid to the side of the cavalryman, and replied with a smile: "Then try to find some safer patrol areas, don't compete for merit, stay away from the intrigues and dangerous houses of the rich and powerful... Who doesn't know how to live a carefree life?"

"Having said that, as the imperial guards, we are here to protect the capital's safety. How can we be so afraid of death and really avoid danger when something happens?" The cavalryman said solemnly, holding the halberd in his hand.

"Haha, you have guts! Don't worry, if you really run into any trouble that you can't solve, just try to stay close to me, and I'll cover you when the time comes." Chu Liuyun patted the other person's shoulder and said, "The area near the Moju Academy where we are patrolling now is one of the safest areas in Yingdu City."

"It has no interest in any of the major forces. There are only some worthless miscellaneous books in it. There are quite a few powerful practitioners in the academy. How could there be a bored thief coming here to cause trouble?"

As they were talking, the group had already arrived at the gate of Moju Academy.

The academy is located in a corner of the block. The architectural style is simple and elegant. A huge plaque is hung at the door with four large bird-and-insect seal characters "Moju Academy" written in gold lacquer. The font is slender and exquisite.

The bluestone path is lined with lush green pines and cypresses, appearing peaceful and solemn.

"Captain, look, the students have finished their classes." A cavalryman said, pointing at a group of young students walking out of the academy.

Chu Liuyun looked in the direction the cavalry pointed, and saw a group of young men and women in blue school uniforms, full of youth. Some were chatting and laughing, while others were thinking with their heads down. They were carrying book boxes and holding lanterns, and were walking out of the academy gate one after another.

Some of them were picked up by servants and taken to horse-drawn carriages, while others walked together along the bluestone path to the nearby markets and inns, integrating into the bustling nightlife of Yingdu City.

"Lao Liang, your child goes to school in this academy, right?" Chu Liuyun suddenly asked.

In the team, a man in his forties with a simple and honest face smiled proudly upon hearing this: "Yes, Captain, my boy was admitted to Moju Academy this year, majoring in mechanical engineering. His mother was very happy, as a scholar has appeared in the family."

"That's great. If you study hard and gain knowledge, you will become a great man in the future."

Chu Liuyun nodded, glanced at a few students who were staying in front of the snack stall and buying some pies, and smiled approvingly: "After this patrol is over, we will go to see you and bring him some delicious food."

"Speaking of which, I do miss the days in Bian County." Master craftsman Zeng sighed at the side, not knowing what he was thinking of: "Although I haven't been away for many days, staying in this flashy and bustling Yingdu City, the figures of chickens, ducks, dogs and pigs playing in the countryside seem to have been hidden deep in my memory."

"Junior brother, what you said makes sense. Sometimes, I also think back to the tranquility and simplicity of Yangshan County." Chu Liuyun said, with a barely perceptible sense of loss in his voice: "The rice fields, streams, muddy dirt roads, and the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs all make people feel particularly at home."

"When people get old, they always miss the past." He smiled and shook his head, thinking that the reason why he suddenly faded the impression of running the Xiajiang Workshop in those years was because Zhao Qing's demonstration of grain production that day was too shocking and completely disrupted the fixed life trajectory of the two brothers.

No one knows where this extraordinary woman, who seems to have made more and more big moves since arriving in Yingdu, is busy at this moment? What kind of legendary "grain-producing machine" can be officially put into production?

Just as Chu Liuyun was preoccupied with thoughts, wondering when he would get accurate information from his uncle Chu Qifeng, and how he would get rid of this transitional position that he had obtained due to being "conscripted", he suddenly caught a glimpse of a strange aura from the corner of his eye.

"Hmm?" As a practitioner of the Divine Mind Realm for many years, Chu Liuyun was sure that he was not having an illusion, so he turned his head and carefully looked at the Moju Academy, which had become quiet due to the departure of the students.

Then, he caught a glimpse of thousands or tens of thousands of green talismans rising from the height of the courtyard and spreading with the wind. The next moment, the talismans began to disintegrate and turn into dust. Dense, seemingly chaotic, thick and thin green-black lines appeared out of thin air and covered an area of ​​several miles in radius.

It was like a huge bird's nest was quickly built above the dozen or so academies here, trapping tens of thousands of teachers and students who had not yet traveled far in this suddenly evolved cage.

……

Unlike the conventional ancient feudal society, thanks to the development of productivity, the literacy rate of major dynasties today, measured by a more relaxed standard, is no less than 35%. If only males are counted without counting females, the literacy rate can increase to another level.

In major metropolises such as Changling, Yingdu and Linzi, the literacy rate could even reach 80% to 90%. Citizens could generally recognize the signs of stalls and restaurants, the names and prices of goods in stores, read and understand many types of notices, and perform mathematical calculations at the elementary school level.

There were academies and schools of all sizes scattered all over the place, allowing people nearby to buy ordinary books printed in batches at low prices or even borrow them for free. Even ironclad ships were built, so printing was naturally a technology that had been widely used for a long time, at least since the You Dynasty.

These teaching institutions mainly train low-level officials and legal advisors, and play the role of screening and delivering talents to high-level academies and medium-sized and large workshops, so that ordinary people with potential qualifications for cultivation have the opportunity to read and write, so as to better transform them into formal practitioners.

People like Ding Ning, who disguised himself as a poor man in Wutong Lane, but was obviously well-read and even had a lot of common sense in the cultivation world, were not suspected by anyone. This was because the common people in Changling City did have the channels to spend time to obtain this information.

Those high-level academies, although called "academies", are actually no different from places for cultivation. However, they do not cultivate ordinary practitioners, but candidate officials with certain cultivation and higher political ceilings, and true scholars with extensive knowledge, outstanding abilities, and specialized expertise.

In general, it is a special place for practice that is different from traditional sects where disciples mainly digest it internally.

Therefore, for the imperial court officials, any formal and high-level academy will receive strong support and protection, and no hostile forces will be allowed to interfere with or disrupt its normal operation. This is why Chu Liuyun chose to patrol near Moju Academy.

But he never thought that someone in the world would dare to take the risk of the world's disapproval and attack the academy that symbolizes the face of the court and the future of the country! And judging from the power of the magic array constructed by these talismans, the one who arranged it is obviously a true master of the seventh realm, and there are even more than one!
"It seems to be the work of the Yanjing Prisoner Sect. If a battle breaks out, we can only hide and save our lives."

Chu Liuyun immediately put away his foot rollers, held the shield and the halberd in both hands, and waited for battle. He muttered to himself: "This should be a deliberate conspiracy and even a large number of hostages were taken!"

Not only those within the range, but also those young students whose cultivation is only at the first or second realm, the surrounding vendors, merchants, and parents of students who have no cultivation at all, including their team of ordinary Imperial Guards who are only at the fifth realm at most, are also part of the hostages this time!

……

"In order to create a diversionary effect, they intercepted me in the academy area and attacked me, hoping to hinder my moves and avoid killing or injuring innocent people? Such a cowardly and fearful act would be better if they found a piece of tofu and killed themselves!"

At the same time, Zhao Qing flew away from the Qingluan under his seat, holding a sword in his hand, and coldly looked at the pairs of eyes hidden in the dark corners of the talisman formation. His green clothes rustled in the night wind, stained with the color of the stars and the moon, looking cold and dazzling:
"Yan, Qi, Chu, Qin, seven masters from four dynasties joined forces, but they didn't have the courage to face the enemy head-on. Haha, have you finished your discussion? Which guy do you want to die first?"

There was silence between heaven and earth, and no one was in the mood to chat with her. Only an arrow came from the west, countless times faster than the sound, and in an instant pierced through the air barrier of hundreds of thousands of feet, and shot straight towards where Zhao Qing was.

If the arrow was just made of ordinary material, at such a terrifying speed, it would have heated up rapidly and melted, turning into a metal jet or even a plasma jet.

But in fact, this dark blue arrow made entirely of pure gold, wrapped in thousands of golden lights, was not damaged at all.

The archer who launched this attack should be a pure Chu person. Only Chu people can forge such powerful bows and arrows and master such earth-shaking archery heritage.

When the entire sky was illuminated as bright as day by a ray of arrow light, a drizzle began to fall on the highest tower of Moju Academy, which seemed to be able to dissolve the changes in the atmosphere.

An old bamboo hat appeared in the rain, and a slightly hunched gray figure emerged quietly like a ghost. This was a plain-looking man in his fifties with a sad and bitter expression, looking like an ordinary farmer.

He stretched out his hand in the distance, his figure became ethereal and faint, but a spring rain sword intent that moistened things silently and infected everything naturally emanated from his body. At the same time, he launched a fatal attack from another direction, trying to cut off Zhao Qing's possible escape.

Balls of dark green flames fell from the sky one after another, dragging long flame tails, but revealing a cold golden light inside - this is "Tianlu", a powerful talisman equipped only by the elite main force of the Chu Army, with enough power to burn to ashes an area of ​​hundreds of feet in radius.

Between the tiles of the low-altitude eaves, clusters of red-gold needles spun at high speed and accelerated out. The runes on the needles disintegrated in the turbulent vital energy, quickly stimulating and guiding heat, melting their inner cores from beginning to end into molten metal with an extremely high temperature.

The two deformed and elongated dark green and light blue flying swords, which shrunk to a fraction of their original size and had a gloomy and concealed aura, were mixed in among the many flying needles and were difficult to distinguish. However, judging from their shape-changing characteristics, they were undoubtedly the natal swords of the Seventh Realm Grandmaster.

The last thing that seemed to be the finale was a pitch-black giant that broke out of the ground, formed by a huge amount of evil energy, and was dozens of feet tall. Inside the giant was a controller of normal size, with thousands of threads of true energy flowing out from the center of his eyebrows, connected to the outer body.

This old master who has practiced the rare secret art of "incarnation" holds a curved black horn about two feet long in his hand. The surface of the horn is shiny and looks like it is covered with thick black oil. There are no runes on it, but there is a heart-pounding ancient aura exuding from it.

Assuming that Zhao Qing's judgment on the identity and number of the enemies was correct, then in addition to the Yan Youqiu Sect's Grandmaster who was outside using talisman formations to seal the sky and lock the earth, there was another Grandmaster left who had not actually taken action and was still waiting for an opportunity to strike.

But even though there were only six seventh-level masters who attacked at the same time at this moment, this attack on Zhao Qing alone was an unprecedented massacre in the world in the past ten years!

After all, this time she was determined to wipe out the corrupt industrial chain of the Da Chu Workshop, eradicating the internal troubles and eliminating all the evil in one fell swoop. The major forces whose interests were violated were not just the Qin Dynasty.
……

The arrow is approaching.

Gazing from afar at the vacuum channel that seemed to penetrate the sky and earth and was left by the arrow, and at the other end of the long "thin tube" where there was a tall and thin archer in green clothes, Zhao Qing did not move, as if he did not care at all about the many powerful attacks that were about to hit him.

A faint smile began to appear on her face, as if she was not trapped by the enemy, but the enemy had walked into the trap. Then she gently raised her hand, pointed in the air, and sighed leisurely: "There is no sword in the world, and it will be buried in the tomb of my heart."

(End of this chapter)