Chapter 41: North-South Convergence, the Breaking of the Formation Begins
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Su Li had departed, yet life continued on. That great affair of the human world was still advancing methodically.
In truth, it was precisely because Su Li had left that this great affair had any hope of success, that it could continue.
Seventeen days after Xu Yourong led the Holy Maiden Peak faction into the capital, the representatives of the southern noble houses, led by the head of the Qiushan family, also entered the borders of the Great Zhou Empire. The Longevity Sect had closed its gates for three years, but the numerous mountain sects and schools nominally under its authority sent capable representatives.
In the following period, more and more representatives of southern powers took their seats at the negotiating table.
The convergence of north and south was no longer just a term existing in texts and imagination; it was rapidly approaching reality.
For the southerners, the biggest problem they now faced was that, with the departure of Su Li and the Holy Maiden, they lacked a single expert in the Divine Domain. Whether at the negotiating table or elsewhere, such as the banquet table, they always seemed somewhat lacking in confidence.
Unexpectedly, neither the Great Zhou imperial court nor the state religion took advantage of this shift in the balance of power to make any unreasonable demands. On the contrary, they displayed an exceptionally rare magnanimity and open-mindedness, making a series of guarantees and promises for the future interests of the southerners.
Only those who were truly perceptive could see the struggle hidden behind, or rather, preceding this negotiation.
It was the struggle between Su Li, the Heavenly Sea Empress, and the Pope.
With unimaginable wisdom and courage, he had relinquished the right to retaliate against those who had pursued him on his journey south. By departing alongside the Holy Maiden, he had directly stripped the south of all its leverage, ensuring that this negotiation would never again fall into the quagmire that had been repeated countless times before.
Therefore, the Empress and the Pope had to give him sufficient recompense in return, offering exceptionally favorable terms to the south.
Reflected in the details of the negotiation, this recompense, or favorable treatment, was: after the north-south convergence, the south would retain as much independence as possible.
This independence exceeded the best expectations the southern powers had previously held.
There was no need to change county designations, no need to redraw prefectures or merge commanderies. Local officials could be elected independently, without needing approval from the Ministry of Personnel in the capital. They only needed to go to the capital for assessment once every three years. Tax policies were also extremely favorable, and in terms of the transfer of treasury funds, there was a significant bias towards the relatively poorer counties and prefectures in the south.
Furthermore, the south gained many other benefits, especially regarding the Grand Court Examination and the Imperial Examinations. From now on, they no longer needed the capital to allocate quotas. Instead, like other prefectures and commanderies, quotas would be determined by household registration numbers. Given the south's performance in recent years, this would give them a considerable advantage in the Grand Court Examination.
Of course, the southerners couldn't gain benefits without any付出. The negotiation was far from over, but some matters had already been confirmed. The military and foreign affairs would be managed uniformly by the capital in the future. The biggest change occurred on the northern frontier, the vast snow plains stretching for ten thousand miles. In the past, experts from southern sects and noble houses would join the northern military garrisons to fight against the demon army, but they served as guest retainers, heeding orders but not commands. Now, these experts would directly join the army. Coupled with changes in logistical support and other aspects, it was believed that the strength of the human army would greatly improve in a very short time. This was, after all, the most important, even the sole, purpose of the north-south convergence.
As the north-south convergence negotiations gradually moved towards success, the experts and armies of the human world also strengthened their vigilance in the north. Grain, fodder, and military supplies from the south were continuously transported to eleven key border passes, ready at all times to deliver a heavy blow to the southward-marching demon cavalry. It was clear that the demons could not idly watch the successful convergence of the human world's north and south. They would surely do something, especially that insidious military advisor, the Black Robe, who had likely already begun to weave his schemes.
The situation in the north was somewhat tense, and the atmosphere on both sides of the negotiating table in the capital was also tense, but the nature of the tension differed. Xu Yourong played a crucial role in the north-south convergence. One could even say she was the most important representative on a spiritual level, for she was a Zhou native and also the Southern Holy Maiden. Naturally, her schedule became busy. She constantly summoned representatives from various southern powers while also communicating with the Great Zhou imperial court. Fortunately, she resided in the imperial palace, making it very convenient to meet with the Empress.
Chen Changsheng had not seen her for over ten days. He missed her, but knowing she was engaged in extremely important matters, he naturally harbored no complaints. As someone who valued time above all else, he did not waste his days on longing and waiting. Taking advantage of the deep winter's chill, he constantly tempered his spirit, contemplated the five stone beads, silently recited the Two-Word Saber Technique, occasionally taught classes to the new students of the National Academy, and spent most of his time in relentless study, never forgetting other important matters.
On an ordinary winter day with wind and snow, he purchased a large quantity of food and trinkets from the market. Holding a yellow paper umbrella, he evaded the countless eyes around the National Academy, walked right under the noses of the imperial guards to the tree outside the palace wall, and then, taking advantage of the strong wind and blinding snow, jumped into the well at Beixin Bridge.
The most oil-absorbent rough-edged paper covered an area half the size of a house on the ground. Countless types of steaming hot food were neatly arranged on it, emitting the same hot steam but different aromas. There were steamed deer tails, roast goose, roast duck, and over a dozen skewers of zongzi. But this time, there were no steamed bear paws... because of Xuan Yuan Po's influence, no one at the National Academy ate that anymore.
Chen Changsheng used two fingers to pull a clean handkerchief from his sleeve, carefully wiped the grease from his hands, looked up at the Black Dragon, and said, "Tang Tang turned Cheng Hu Tower into the National Academy's cafeteria... I forgot to tell you... but apart from the blue lobsters, I bought everything else from outside. It tastes better."
In the very center of the food spread on the ground was a small mountain of blue lobsters.
As Chen Changsheng spoke, he was smiling. His smile was clean, filled with genuine joy.
Being able to get so many good things for the Black Dragon to eat truly made him feel satisfied.
The Black Dragon's mountain-like body slowly descended. An indescribable chill instantly suppressed the steam rising from the food.
Chen Changsheng quickly drew his sword and slashed. A sword intent faintly carrying a spark of fire pierced through the air, instantly warming the food and preventing it from freezing into ice.
He used the Liao Tian Sword.
A few nights ago, he had spent a long time contemplating the sword intent within that letter. Later, he witnessed the battle between Su Li's Liao Tian Sword and the Empress's Black Phoenix Hairpin, which further enhanced his understanding.
His swordsmanship now, while not yet at its peak, could be described as perfectly harmonious and unparalleled within his current realm.
It was just... using the extremely difficult-to-comprehend Liao Tian Sword to heat up food seemed somewhat inappropriate, no matter how one looked at it.
The Black Dragon did not think so. She found it very appropriate.
She was very satisfied with the food spread on the ground that Chen Changsheng had painstakingly prepared, and with the small mountain of blue lobsters. She was even more satisfied with his use of the Liao Tian Sword to warm the food, because it showed that in his eyes, ensuring she had fresh, hot, good food was far more important than maintaining the so-called dignity of the sword.
She decided to forgive him for not coming to see her for nearly a month.
A majestic and far-reaching, yet simple and infinitely complex dragon roar echoed in the dark, cold underground.
Chen Changsheng was momentarily stunned, not understanding why the Black Dragon wasn't eager to eat but instead wanted him to start the dragon language lesson. The next moment, he suddenly realized that he had brought her food so many times, yet he had never seen her eat in front of him...
"Ah..."
"Er..."
"Yi..."
"Wu..."
"Xu..."
From time to time, the Black Dragon's low and majestic roar sounded from underground, along with Chen Changsheng's clumsy but earnest attempts to mimic the sounds.
Chen Changsheng studied with intense concentration until his voice became hoarse, his sea of consciousness felt empty, and his body was extremely weak. Yet he never forgot, at regular intervals, to slash a Liao Tian Sword strike beside him, keeping the roast goose and roast duck at the perfect temperature to preserve their original aroma.
The Black Dragon's whiskers would occasionally drift, scattering flakes of frost and snow onto the small mountain of blue lobsters, creating a beautiful scene.
No one knew how much time had passed. Today's dragon language lesson finally ended. The Black Dragon gently breathed onto his face, and a layer of frost immediately appeared on it. He reached up and rubbed the frost away, feeling a wave of coolness, his mind refreshed, and all his fatigue vanished instantly.
"I'll go take a look over there."
Chen Changsheng did not forget the most important matter. He leaped backward and saw the two iron chains. The other ends of the chains were embedded in the stone wall, held in the hands of the two legendary divine generals. Compared to the Black Dragon's mountain-like, colossal body, these two chains were like strands of hair, yet they could firmly lock her here.
It was believed that over the past few hundred years, the Black Dragon had tried countless methods to break these two chains, but none had succeeded.
In the more than half a year since returning to the capital from the Zhou Garden, Chen Changsheng had also thought of many methods, all of which had failed.
The formation Wang Zhice had laid on the stone wall was too complex and exquisite, like a sea of stars.
The strands of divine consciousness that the two divine generals, Yu Gong and Qin Zhong, had attached to the wall were too powerful and violent, like thunder and lightning.
The last era of blooming wildflowers was nearly a thousand years ago, but those legends remained legends. Even if they had turned into wisps of heroic spirits, they were still beyond his ability to contend with, or even to touch. The name of that domain was the Divine Domain.
Chen Changsheng sat at the base of the stone wall, under the gaze of these legends, quietly reading the book in his hands.
The scroll he was reading was somewhat old, titled "A Study of the Formation Diagrams of the Archery Sun True Man."
No one knew Wang Zhice's specific lineage. That ordinary instructor at the Heavenly Dao Academy, who in his middle years suddenly shone like a star over the capital and shook the continent, no one knew who his teacher was. Chen Changsheng had flipped through hundreds of scrolls in the National Academy's library and found a common Taoist priest named Wu in Wang Zhice's hometown.
Wang Zhice's hometown was Archery Sun.
That Taoist priest named Wu was the Archery Sun True Man.
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(The next chapter at eight in the evening)