Su Li had left, but life still continued. That grand undertaking of the human world was still methodically advancing.
In truth, it was precisely because Su Li had left that there was a chance of success for that grand undertaking, that it could continue.
On the seventeenth day after Xu Yourong brought the Holy Maiden Peak faction to the capital, the Qiushan clan head and the representatives of the noble clans of the south also entered the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Longevity Sect had been closed for three years, and the many sects and sects nominally subordinate to the sect had sent out capable representatives.
In the following period of time, more and more representatives of the southern powers sat at the negotiating table.
The confluence of north and south was no longer a term that existed only in ancient records and imagination. It was getting closer and closer to reality.
To the southerners, the greatest problem they faced was that with the departure of Su Li and the Holy Maiden, they no longer had an expert of the Divine Domain. Whether it was at the negotiating table or elsewhere, like the table of wine, they would always seem somewhat lacking in confidence.
Unexpectedly, whether it was the Great Zhou Imperial Court or the Orthodoxy, they did not use this change in strength to make any unreasonable demands. On the contrary, they displayed an extremely rare magnanimity and openness, making a series of guarantees and promises for the future benefits of the southerners.
Only those truly intelligent people could see the confrontation hidden behind the negotiations, or perhaps before them.
It was a confrontation between Su Li and the Tianhai Divine Empress and the Pope.
With unimaginable wisdom and courage, he had renounced his right to retaliate against those who had tried to kill him on the journey south and left with the Holy Maiden, causing the south to lose all confidence. Thus, this negotiation would never again have the chance to sink into the quagmire that had repeated itself countless times before.
Thus, the Divine Empress and the Pope had to give him a corresponding reward, to give the south abnormally generous conditions.
This reward, or generous treatment, was reflected in the details of the negotiations: after the confluence of north and south, the south would do its utmost to preserve its independence.
This sort of independence had already surpassed the best imaginations of the southern powers.
There was no need to change counties, no need to merge provinces and counties. The local officials could be chosen on their own, and there was no need for the capital's Ministry of Appointments to approve them. They only needed to enter the capital every three years to be examined. They were also given preferential treatment in terms of taxes, and in terms of the transfer of funds from the national treasury, they were greatly biased towards the poorer and weaker counties in the south.
Apart from this, the South had also gained many benefits, especially the Grand Examination and the Imperial Examination. From now on, the South no longer had to rely on the Capital to allocate a portion of the Grand Examination. Instead, like the other provinces and counties, the quota was determined based on the number of registered residents. With the South's recent performance, this would give them a huge advantage in the Grand Examination.
Of course, it was impossible for the southerners to only benefit and not give anything in return. The negotiations were still far from over, and a few matters had already been confirmed. In the future, the army and external affairs would be under the unified management of the capital. The greatest change took place in the northern frontier of the snowy plains that stretched for tens of thousands of li. In the past, the sects and noble clans of the south would also send experts to join the northern fortresses to resist the demon army, but they were all guest officials who listened to orders but did not obey orders. Now, however, these experts would directly join the army, and with the addition of logistical support and other changes, it was likely that the strength of the human army would greatly increase in a very short period of time. And this had always been the most important, perhaps even the only, goal of the confluence of north and south.
As the negotiations for the unification of the north and south gradually progressed towards success, the experts and armies of the human world also increased their vigilance towards the north. Rations and supplies from the south were continuously transported to eleven important border passes, ready to deal a heavy blow to the demon cavalry heading south at any moment. This was because it was very clear that the demon race would not just watch as the human world's unification of the north and south succeeded. They would definitely do something, especially that extremely treacherous Military Advisor Black Robe. Perhaps he had already begun to carry out his crafty schemes.
The situation in the north was a bit tense, and the two sides of the negotiation table in the capital were also a bit tense, but the tense mood was different. Xu You Rong played an extremely important role in the confluence of north and south. It could even be said that on the spiritual level, she was the most important representative, because she was a Zhou citizen and also the Saintess of the south. Naturally, her schedule also became busy. She constantly summoned representatives of the forces in the south, and at the same time, communicated with the Zhou Imperial Court. Fortunately, she lived in the royal palace, so it was very convenient for her to meet the Divine Queen.
Chen Chang Sheng hadn't seen her for more than ten days. He missed her a bit, but he knew that she was doing something extremely important, so he obviously wouldn't have any complaints. As a person who treasured time the most, he didn't waste his time on missing her or waiting. He used the cold of the deep winter to continuously polish his spirit, perceive the five stone pearls, silently memorize the Halving Blade Technique, and occasionally give lessons to the freshmen of the Tradition Academy. Most of the time, he was still constantly studying, but of course, he didn't forget some other important matters.
On a normal winter day with wind and snow, he bought a large amount of food and trinkets from the street market. He held up the Yellow Paper Umbrella and avoided the countless eyes around the Tradition Academy. Under the eyes of the royal guards, he walked to the tree outside of the palace wall. Then, while the wind was blowing and the snow was blinding his eyes, he jumped into the well at New North Bridge.
The most oil-absorbent paper was spread on the ground, taking up half the size of a house. Countless types of hot food were neatly arranged on top, giving off the same steam and different fragrances. There was steamed deer tail, roasted goose, roasted duck, and a dozen or so skewers of rice dumplings, but this time, there was no steamed bear paw … because of Xuan Yuan Po, no one in the Tradition Academy currently ate that.
Chen Chang Sheng used two fingers to pull out a clean handkerchief from his sleeve, carefully wiping off the oil and water on his hand. He raised his head and looked at the Black Dragon, saying: "Tang Tang turned Clear Lake Restaurant into the Tradition Academy's dining hall … I forgot to tell you … but besides blue lobster, I still bought everything else from outside. I feel like they taste better."
In the middle of the floor full of food, there was a small mountain of blue lobster.
When Chen Chang Sheng said these words, he was smiling. His smile was very clean, containing a joy that came from his heart.
To be able to make so many good things for the Black Dragon to eat, he really felt very satisfied.
The Black Dragon's mountainous body slowly descended. An indescribably cold aura instantly suppressed the steam emitted by the food.
Chen Chang Sheng hurriedly unsheathed his sword and slashed. A sword intent faintly imbued with the glow of fire pierced through the air. The food was instantly heated up, not frozen into ice.
He used the Burning Heaven Sword.
A few nights ago, he had comprehended the sword intent in that letter for a very long time. Afterwards, he saw Su Li's Burning Heaven Sword and the Divine Empress' Ebony Phoenix Hairpin battle, so he had improved somewhat.
Although his current path of the sword could not be said to have reached great heights, in his current level of cultivation, it could already be called incomparably perfect.
But … using the Burning Heaven Sword, which was extremely difficult to completely comprehend, to heat up the food, no matter how one looked at it, seemed somewhat inappropriate.
The Black Dragon did not think so. She felt that it was extremely appropriate.
She was very satisfied with the floor full of food and the small mountain of blue lobster that Chen Chang Sheng had spent so much effort to prepare. She was even more satisfied with Chen Chang Sheng's method of using the Burning Heaven Sword to heat up the food, because this meant that in his eyes, letting her eat fresh and hot food was much more important than maintaining the so-called dignity of the path of the sword.
She decided to forgive him for not coming here to see her for almost a month.
A dignified and distant, simple yet incomparably complex dragon cry resounded through the gloomy and cold underground.
Chen Chang Sheng was slightly taken aback. He did not understand why the Black Dragon was not in a hurry to eat, but wanted him to first attend the Dragon language lessons. But then he suddenly remembered that he had already delivered food to the Black Dragon so many times, but he had seemingly never seen her eat anything in front of him …
"Ah …"
"Eh …"
"Eh …"
"Wu …"
"Huu …"
From time to time, the Black Dragon's low and dignified dragon cry would rise up from underground. Chen Chang Sheng clumsily and earnestly learned to speak.
Chen Chang Sheng was extremely focused on learning, even when his voice was hoarse, his sea of consciousness was empty, and his body was extremely weak. But he did not forget to every so often, he would slash down with the Burning Heaven Sword at his side, helping the roast goose and roast duck maintain their original fragrance at the most appropriate temperature.
The Black Dragon's whiskers would also occasionally float up, sprinkling down snowflakes that landed on the small mountain of blue lobsters. It was a very beautiful sight.
After some time, today's Dragon language lessons finally came to an end. The Black Dragon lightly exhaled at his face, and a layer of frost instantly appeared on his face. He stretched out his hand and rubbed away the frost. He only felt a wave of coldness, and his mind was refreshed. All his exhaustion instantly vanished without a trace.
"I'll go over there and take a look."
Chen Chang Sheng didn't forget the most important thing. He flew backwards and saw the two iron chains. The other end of the chains was on the stone wall, held in the hands of those two legendary Divine Generals. Compared to the Black Dragon's mountainous body, these two chains were like two strands of hair, yet they were able to firmly lock the Black Dragon in place.
Presumably, in the past several hundred years, the Black Dragon had tried countless methods to break these two chains, but to no avail.
In the half a year since returning to the capital from the Garden of Zhou, Chen Chang Sheng had thought of many methods, but they had all failed.
The array that Wang Zhice had laid down on the stone wall was far too complex and wondrous, like a sea of stars.
The two Divine Generals, Yu Gong and Qin Zhong, had attached strands of spiritual sense to the stone wall. They were far too powerful and violent, like lightning.
It had been almost a thousand years since the last time the wildflowers had bloomed, but those legends were still legends. Even if they had already transformed into strands of heroic souls, they were still not existences that the current him could contend against. It was not even a domain that the current him could touch — that domain was called the Divine.
Chen Chang Sheng sat at the bottom of the stone wall, quietly reading the book in his hands under the gazes of these legends.
The book he was reading was rather old. Its name was "Illustrated Notes on the Array of the Reverend Sheyang".
No one knew the exact lineage of Wang Zhice's teacher. Back then, that ordinary teacher of the Heavenly Dao Academy had suddenly become a star that illuminated the capital in his middle age, his name shaking the continent. No one knew who his teacher was. He had flipped through several hundred books in the library of the Orthodox Academy, and in Wang Zhice's hometown, he had found an ordinary Daoist priest surnamed Wu.
Wang Zhice's hometown was Sheyang.
That Daoist priest surnamed Wu was the Reverend Sheyang.
… …
… …
(The next chapter, 8 pm)
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