[PS: From tomorrow onwards, we will return to our normal schedule, 12 am, 6 pm. Apologies.]
It was New Year's Eve again. It was familiar, yet strange.
The Nian Beast event was still a regular program, but Ouyang Shuo was not interested in it.
The Red Envelope snatching event reached a new peak. As expected, Xing Bing'er, the God Level Lucky Star, had a new reward. She drew a rare accessory, which made everyone envious.
[Star Moon Pendant (Dark Gold)]: Increase cultivation speed by 25, increase True Origin Energy density by 5.
Even Ouyang Shuo was a little jealous when he saw it.
There was something different amidst the liveliness.
The number of talents in Shanhai City was growing.
As the Spring Festival approached, the civil and military officials began to return to Shanhai City. Firstly, it was to continue the tradition of Shanhai City and celebrate the Spring Festival with the Marquis. Secondly, it was for the Marquis' upcoming wedding.
Since that was the case, there was no reason for them to come empty-handed.
Other than Pei Ju, who was still stationed at the Withered Fortress, the other seven county governors were all present. They brought the specialties of each county, such as the strange stones from Zhaoqing County and the sandalwood from Leizhou County.
Ouyang Shuo had already said that the officials could not compete with each other during the wedding, nor could they purposely search for rare treasures from the people to encourage extravagance.
Governing the territory well was the best gift.
After the banquet ended, the civil and military officials returned to their mansions to keep watch with their families.
Ever since the release of the [Rise of the Noble Families] expansion pack, the wilderness had slowly changed. Most importantly, the families of historical figures had been quietly refreshed to their side.
Now, Xiao He, Du Ruhui, Luo Shixin, and the other civil and military officials were no longer alone. There was a large family in their mansions.
It was inevitable that Xiao He and the others would be involved in more conflicts of interest, be it actively or passively. At the same time, because of the existence of their families, these famous officials and military officials were more humane than before.
The wilderness was becoming more and more real.
Countless people, countless interests, were intertwined in Shanhai City. Even Ouyang Shuo, the lord, gradually felt that while this magnificent city was becoming more and more prosperous, it was also becoming more and more unfamiliar.
Some people say that when a person stands high enough, looking down from above, although he can see the canopy of the tree, everything under the canopy has already become blurred.
Ouyang Shuo was currently standing at such a height, overlooking the entire territory while sitting on the defense of Royal City. Everywhere he looked, there was only prosperity.
When he tried to see them clearly, he could only see blurry and unfamiliar faces.
The ancients did not deceive them when they said that they were alone.
According to the ancient customs, on the eve of the wedding, Song Jia would be brought to the Song Residence to stay. She would only be able to see her on the day of the wedding. Only Bing 'er and Qing' er accompanied Ouyang Shuo.
Even Ying You had returned to her clan for the New Year because the entire Cui Clan had moved to Shanhai City. The Southern Border Protectorate headquarters seemed to be bustling with activity, but Ouyang Shuo felt that it was abnormally cold and cheerless.
"In the end, it's still brother and sister?"
Ouyang Shuo leaned against the railing and gazed into the night sky by himself, and there was an indescribable loneliness in his eyes. At this moment, Ouyang Shuo suddenly felt a trace of fear. He was afraid of the passing of time.
Time passed year after year. Ouyang Shuo grew older and older, but Bing 'er grew older and older. He was truly fearful, fearful of the arrival of that day. When the little girl grew up and became a beautiful young lady, would she still be so dependent on her older brother?
Perhaps when that time came, the only ones by Ouyang Shuo's side would be the ice-cold throne and the equally ice-cold Scarlet Night Sword.
As if sensing Ouyang Shuo's thoughts, a thought suddenly entered Ouyang Shuo's mind.
Ouyang Shuo was overjoyed. With a flash of black light, the Sky Demon Spear that had been sleeping for more than three months suddenly appeared in his hand. The Sky Demon Spear became even darker and more profound.
Upon closer inspection, there was a mystical charm that tempted one to look at the spear.
Ouyang Shuo immediately looked at the Sky Demon Spear's attributes.
[Name]: Sky Demon Spear (High-quality Divine Armament)
[Hardness]: 90
[Sharpness]: 88
[Toughness]: 75
[Characteristics]: Blood Devouring (Has a certain chance of devouring the enemy's blood essence to promote the evolution of the weapon)
[Ultimate Skill]: Tyrant's Blood (Infuses the Demon God's domineering aura and attacks with all its might. With an overbearing momentum, it moves forward with an indomitable will. Those hit by it will die. Cooldown Time: 1 month)
[Evaluation]: Forged from extraterrestrial divine stones, nourished by the Demon God's blood essence and the Demon God's soul, it has mutated and become a divine weapon. Drip blood to recognize the owner. Cannot be traded, cannot be dropped, and can evolve again.
After completely devouring and digesting the Demon God's soul, the Sky Demon Spear had evolved again. Its three-dimensional attributes had improved a lot. Not only that, but it had also derived a killer skill.
"Those hit by it will die." Looking at the description, it was extremely frightening.
With five years of adventuring experience in his previous life, Ouyang Shuo was relatively calm about this. The so-called "Those hit by it will die" was not absolute. As long as the other party was strong enough or had other means, they could escape.
Otherwise, with just this move, Ouyang Shuo would be invincible in the world. In addition, the one-month cooldown period was also a very troublesome existence.
However, there was one point that attracted Ouyang Shuo's attention. This was the first time that Ouyang Shuo had seen a "High-quality Divine Armament" level description.
Even the Scarlet Night Sword that was infused with the soul of the Scarlet Dragon didn't have such a description.
From this, it could be seen that even among the Divine Armaments, the Sky Demon Spear was a top-notch existence.
"Long time no see, old friend!"
Ouyang Shuo held the Sky Demon Spear and muttered to himself.
Seeing this, waves of black light flashed on the surface of the Sky Demon Spear.
"Haha, good!"
Ouyang Shuo seemed to understand and was in a good mood. Carrying the Sky Demon Spear, he walked into the courtyard and practiced the Yang family's spear technique.
The bright moon hung high in the sky. The night was like water. In the pitch-black night sky, fireworks were everywhere, dazzling and dazzling. In Shanhai City, it was noisy. The sound of firecrackers could be heard, and people were talking.
In the courtyard, it was silent.
Ouyang Shuo held the Sky Demon Spear and moved back and forth. From time to time, there was a rustling sound. In his hand, the Sky Demon Spear seemed to have a mind of its own.
Unconsciously, the Yang family's spear technique, the Eight Extremes Fist, and the halberd technique that he had practiced in his previous life suddenly merged into one at this moment. There was no distinction between them.
But Ouyang Shuo seemed to be unaware of it. He continued to dance. The more he moved, the more rapid the rustling sound became.
After an hour, Ouyang Shuo stopped. He concentrated and stood alone. A trace of a smile flashed on the corner of his mouth.
A series of system notifications sounded in Ouyang Shuo's ears.
"System notification: Congratulations to player Not Have Clothes. You have entered the state of enlightenment and reached the realm of 'One with the Spear'. You have mastered all your martial arts and formed a unique spear technique. Please name the spear technique!"
"Sky Demon Spear Technique!" Ouyang Shuo did not hesitate.
This spear technique could only be used by the Sky Demon Spear.
There was no doubt that the newly born Sky Demon Spear Technique was a top-notch god-level technique. After advancing, Ouyang Shuo's proficiency in the spear technique did not increase. Instead, it fell to the fourth stage, 'Familiar' realm.
Just at this moment, another series of system notifications sounded.
"System notification: Congratulations to player Not Have Clothes. You have achieved great success in the spear technique. You have officially become a spear master. Reward: 2000 achievement points, 50,000 reputation points."
Unknowingly, Ouyang Shuo's spear technique had improved greatly.
Unfortunately, Ouyang Shuo was not the first spear master in the wilderness. Otherwise, Shanhai City would have long obtained the title of 'Home of the Spear Technique'.
A night of dancing fish and dragons. The lively New Year's Eve passed in the blink of an eye.
On the first day of the New Year, there was the Heaven Offering Ceremony.
This year's Heaven Offering Ceremony of Shanhai City was even bigger, grander, and more complicated.
It only came to an end in the afternoon.
From the afternoon onwards, it was time for Ouyang Shuo's wedding.
The entire Shanhai City had long been decorated.
Red lanterns symbolizing festivity were hung all over the streets and alleys. On the crisscrossing main roads, there was a bell tower or drum tower at every corner. And on every bell and drum tower, there was already a stage set up.
The entire city's stage had been booked by the Protectorate of the Southern Border.
The sounds of rehearsals could be heard intermittently from the various stages. It was extremely lively.
All the people in the city were talking about this unprecedented wedding.
Or rather, they were enjoying this carnival of the people.
The road from the Song Residence to Royal City had already been paved with red carpets, and the Imperial Guards were guarding on both sides of the red carpet.
Not only that, the entire Shanhai City was tightly guarded by the City Guard Division and the Imperial Guards. The two major intelligence agencies, the Shanhai Guards and the Black Snake Guards, were also secretly guarding.
Their goal was to ensure that there would be no disturbances at the wedding the next day.
With the arrival of a happy event, the Heavens were also on their side.
Since yesterday, the sky had begun to clear up. The snow in the city began to slowly melt, forming small streams that flowed into the ditches on both sides of the road. By the afternoon of the first day of the New Year, there was no longer a trace of white.
The entire city was drowned in the festive red color.
In the afternoon, the people who came to watch the wedding arrived one after another.
The first to arrive were the allies of Shanhai City.
Bai Hua, Feng Qiuhuang, Dragon Seeking Acupoints, Xie Siyun, Sword Qi Thunderous, and so on. The members who had just participated in the alliance conference gathered in Shanhai City again.
Every one of them brought a big gift.
"The Lord of Lingxi City, Bai Hua, presents a string of top-grade agate pearls."
…
"The Lord of Dragon Seeking Acupoints, presents a string of East Sea pearls."
…
"The Master of Sword Qi Thunderous of the Rain Listening Tower, presents a catty of top-grade agarwood."
…
The sound of the announcement was endless.
Zi Su, the manager of the Internal Affairs Department, had specially chosen a side hall to store the gifts.
Those who came on the first day were all people close to Ouyang Shuo.
The second day, which was the real auspicious day, was the real auspicious day. There was an endless stream of people who came to congratulate him.
The most important one was the imperial court.
The four imperial courts of Xianyang, Luoyang, Dali, and Quanzhou all sent special envoys to congratulate Marquis Lian Zhou's wedding.
There was no one else other than Ouyang Shuo who had such an honor.
Dali and Quanzhou had a close relationship with Shanhai City. Ouyang Shuo's position as the Southern Border Governor was jointly bestowed by the two imperial courts.
As for Xianyang and Luoyang, they had a different origin.
In fact, it was the special envoys of these two imperial courts that made others envious. It was because the masters of these two royal cities were Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han.
It was extremely difficult to get their approval.
The reason was that in Shanhai City, there were several important ministers and generals from the Qin and Han Dynasties.
Those who had a relationship with the Qin Kingdom were Wei Yang, Bai Qi, Wei Ran, Zhang Han, Wei Zhang, Jing Jian, and Baili Shi. Those who had a relationship with the Han Dynasty were Xiao He, Han Xin, Huo Qubing, Xiahou Ying, Huo Guang, and Zhao Bonu. The two groups together accounted for more than one-third of the historical talents of Shanhai City.
The two groups were the mainstays of Shanhai City.
Shen Buhai had already reported to Ouyang Shuo that he had to be wary of these two groups to prevent them from forming an alliance. Otherwise, once the alliance was established, it would definitely cause trouble.
Ouyang Shuo could only wait and see what would happen.
Other than the congratulatory gifts, the special envoys of the imperial court also brought a special gift.
The four imperial courts jointly decreed that Song Jia, the wife of the Marquis of Lian Zhou, would be conferred the title of First Rank Madam.
During the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the wives of the feudal lords were called 'Madam'. Their status was equivalent to that of the Princess of later generations.
Song Jia's title was equivalent to that of Ouyang Shuo's Marquis of Lian Zhou.
Just this alone was worth a lot of gold.
Ouyang Shuo married Song Jia at a later age, not only because he wanted to give Song Jia an explanation, but also because he wanted to establish Song Jia's status in the territory and gain the support of the citizens.
Song Jia's title far exceeded Ouyang Shuo's expectations.
Other than the special envoys of the imperial court, there was also a group of players who came to congratulate Song Jia.
Among them, there were lords and leaders of guilds who were invited, and there were also commoner lords who came uninvited. They said that they came to congratulate Ouyang Shuo, but their real purpose was to build a relationship with him.
The popularity of the Bank of the Four Seas made Shanhai City the hottest place in the world.
Especially for the commoner lords, they had automatically put themselves in the same camp as the [Alliance of Mountains and Seas].
Ouyang Shuo's wedding was the best opportunity to get close to him.
The gifts brought by these people with ulterior motives were naturally of great value.
Ouyang Shuo didn't refuse any of them.
Speaking of which, the Bank of the Four Seas was able to absorb a large amount of deposits because of his identity as the spokesperson of the commoner players.
In the game, commoner players made up the majority. Although they couldn't exchange large amounts of gold like the children of big families, it was still a considerable amount.
In terms of total number, commoner players made up the majority.
Depositing money into the Bank of the Four Seas was a very normal choice for them.
Using the Bank of the Four Seas to expand Shanhai City's influence to all commoner lords was one of Ouyang Shuo's goals.
Other than these players, there were also some special existences.
The most special ones were the Battle Wolves and Xiong Ba. Although the two of them didn't personally come to Shanhai City to congratulate Song Jia, they arranged for their trusted subordinates to bring gifts.
Everyone knew that the [Alliance of Mountains and Seas] and [Yan Huang Alliance] were mortal enemies. Under such circumstances, the actions of the Battle Wolves and Xiong Ba were too thought-provoking.
Ouyang Shuo, on the other hand, didn't care much about this.
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