On the fifth day of the sixth month of the Great Xuan calendar, after Zhang Yu had settled all the matters in the academy, he steered the flying boat towards the Qian Region alone.
Because Daoist Wan Ming hadn't sent back any news, he decided to look for Fan Lan, Qi Wu, and the others. He wanted them to bring their disciples to the World Gap so that he could start searching for the Outer Continent as soon as possible.
Sitting in the flying boat, he was also thinking about his cultivation.
With his current progress, by the end of this month, he would be able to obtain enough Divine Essence from the Gold Sealing Bracelet to view the second level of the visualization diagram. As for the seal that he didn't recognize, he could try to find it during this period of time.
Once he entered the second layer, he would be able to obtain two more divine abilities, which would greatly increase his battle prowess.
Two days later, the flying boat arrived at the Moon Province's Gaoping County. Because Yan Tai Academy was located here, he decided to stop here for a while and pay a visit to Liu Guang and Elder Lu.
Because the Moon Province was located in the heart of the Qingyang Upper Continent, it could be said that it was the hub of all the provinces. Therefore, although Yan Tai Academy wasn't related to the military, it still had a floating boat. This saved him a lot of trouble as he didn't need to find another place to dock. He directly landed in the academy.
After getting off the boat, he planned to go to Liu Guang's residence first. However, when he found the boundary, he was told that Liu Guang and two other teachers had gone to the Outer Continent to study. Therefore, he could only leave behind a letter and pay a visit to Elder Lu.
Elder Lu's reputation in the academy was quite great. Just by asking around a little, a warm-hearted young female student brought him to a pavilion by the neighboring lake and sent someone up to make a report.
After a while, Ye Silan came out to welcome him. She bowed and said happily, "Mister Zhang, I didn't expect you to come. Please come in."
Zhang Yu thanked the female student who brought him here and followed Ye Silan into the pavilion. After passing through the front hall and entering the guest hall, he saw Elder Lu sitting on a chair. He bowed and said, "Mister Zhang, this old man's body is unwell. Please forgive my lack of manners."
Zhang Yu also bowed. His gaze fell on the soft blanket covering his legs and asked, "Elder Lu, what's wrong?"
Elder Lu smiled bitterly and patted his leg. He sighed and said, "I don't know why, but I suddenly couldn't walk a few days ago. I asked a doctor to take a look at me and used many medicines and moxibustion techniques, but there was no improvement."
After taking a few glances, Zhang Yu could immediately tell that there was a mystical energy in Elder Lu's body that was blocking the blood vessels in his lower limbs. After some thought, he asked, "Elder Lu, have you come into contact with any antiques recently?"
Elder Lu smiled and said, "I deal with antiques all day long, so how can I ever let them go? But if you want to talk about something special, well …" He thought for a moment and continued, "Recently, I found a stone slab with unknown characters recorded on it. Unfortunately, this stone slab was sent to an old friend for appraisal. If it were here, I wouldn't be able to let Mister Zhang take a look."
At this time, Ye Silan suggested, "Elder Lu, you can let Mister Zhang stay here for a few days. Elder Li won't be able to look at it for long. I think he'll return in a few days."
Elder Lu thought for a moment and nodded. He looked up at Zhang Yu and said, "If Mister Zhang doesn't mind, why don't you stay here for a few days? I'm also very interested in the ancient country in the Eastern Court that Mister Zhang mentioned last time. "
Zhang Yu said, "Thank you, Elder Lu. This time, I'm passing by and can't stay for long. I'll have to find another opportunity next time."
Elder Lu said regretfully, "That's a pity."
Zhang Yu saw that Elder Lu's body was unwell, so he didn't stay for long. After chatting for a while, he got up and left. Before he left, he left behind a bottle of medicinal pills and took a brush to write down a set of breathing techniques. He said, "Elder Lu's body actually doesn't have any major problems. He's just been infected by evil energy. Use this medicinal pill to coordinate with breathing. If you're fast, it'll take three to five days; if you're slow, it'll take ten days.
Elder Lu was a person who couldn't stay idle. These days, he had been cooped up in a chair. It was a kind of torture. Now that he heard that he could walk again, he couldn't help but feel excited. Solemnly, he immediately ordered the servants behind him to put away the chair. Then he said, "Silan, see Mister Zhang off for me."
Zhang Yu walked out of Elder Lu's residence and said goodbye to Ye Silan at the door. He went back to the Heavenly Boat's dock and boarded the boat. Then, he continued to drive the boat northeast.
After traveling for another day, the flying boat entered the territory of Qian Prefecture. This was the northernmost part of Qingyang Upper Continent that was close to the sea. The entire prefecture was relatively high, and it was like a watchtower that guarded the sea gate to the northeast of Qingyang Upper Continent.
Dingzheng Academy was located in Qianzhou's Zhitaichang County. After parking the boat at the dock, it took less than half a summer to find the entrance to the academy.
The academy occupied a vast area. Along the central axis were rows of halls with double eaves resting on top of mountain peaks. They were all located on the periphery of the steps. The corridor walls on both sides were tall, and there were even large black pagodas in front of the door. The layout was grand. The surroundings were also surrounded by green pine and cypress trees. The branches and leaves were luxuriant and lush.
There was an old man sweeping the fallen leaves in front of the door. Seeing him come over, he hurriedly put down the things in his hands and bowed. "Greetings, sir. Are you here to cultivate or to visit the Dao?"
Zhang Yu raised his hand to return the greeting. "I'm here to visit a few fellow Daoists."
The old man asked a few questions. When he heard that he was looking for Fan Lan and Qi Wu, he suddenly said, "So it's Sir Fan and Sir Qi. They're here, they're both here." He leaned to the side and pointed behind him. "The two of them are in the third hall."
Zhang Yu thanked the old man and walked inside. There were clearly not many people here. He could see that apart from a few recruited servants, most of the places were still empty.
He walked all the way to the outside of the hall and saw Fan Lan preaching the Dao inside. Qi Wu sat on the other side, and there were over sixty disciples seated below. Most of them were Xuanfu disciples from the Eastern Court. There were also a few people he didn't recognize.
After so much time had passed, Fan Lan and Qi Wu had already entered the third chapter and could be considered upper-middle level cultivators. However, if the two of them weren't limited by their lack of progress in the past, they would've entered this realm long ago.
Because he didn't disturb the two of them, he stood outside and waited.
After about half a summer's time, a bell rang out. Fan Lan and Qi Wu dismissed the students and walked out leisurely. However, just as they crossed the threshold of the hall and looked up, they saw Zhang Yu standing there with his sleeves behind his back. They couldn't help but reveal expressions of pleasant surprise. "Junior Brother Zhang?"
They straightened their clothes and cupped their hands in greeting. "Xuanzheng greets you."
Zhang Yu returned the greeting. "Senior Brother Fan, Senior Brother Qi, there's no need to be so polite in private."
Fan Lan was very familiar with him. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Then we won't be so polite with you."
He invited Zhang Yu inside and ordered someone to prepare tea. Afterwards, he invited Zhang Yu to sit down. "Junior Brother Qi and I heard that you received the Xuanting's imperial edict and were appointed as Xuanzheng. We were happy for you and should've come to congratulate you, but we thought that you must be busy, so we didn't disturb you."
Zhang Yu chatted with the two of them for a while, then said, "Just now, I saw quite a few unfamiliar faces among the disciples. Are they the two senior brothers' new disciples?"
Fan Lan said, "Quite a few of them are the younger generation of the laborers here. Sixty years ago, they also worked for the Education Palace, so I allowed them to attend the lecture together. There were also some children of the fishermen nearby. Qianzhou was originally a military province, so there were very few schools among the people. These children found it difficult to enter school, so they were sent here. Among them, there were a few who were quite intelligent."
Zhang Yu thought for a while, then said, "When I came here, I saw quite a few people evacuating outside. Is this the arrangement of the two prefectures?"
Fan Lan nodded and said, "Qianzhou is adjacent to the Northeast Sea. Right now, it's said that war is about to break out in the north. Because they're afraid that after the war, there might be gods and monsters coming from the sea, so the people of Qianzhou are gradually evacuating inland."
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. It was no wonder that Qianzhou, such a grand Education Palace, was so easily taken back. It seemed that the people behind the scenes also knew that war was about to break out. If this place was caught in the flames of war, then nothing would be left.
He said, "Since that's the case, if I ask the two senior brothers and the disciples to move to another place to stay, would the two senior brothers be willing?"
Fan Lan and Qi Wu looked at each other. Fan Lan cupped his hands and said, "Junior Brother Zhang, if you have any instructions, please let us know. We'll do our best."
Qi Wu also nodded.
Zhang Yu briefly explained the matter of the World Gap, then said, "This World Gap is related to Xuanfu's communication with the outside world. However, the situation in the continent is a little complicated now. Although I have many people by my side, I lack reliable people. Therefore, I'd like to ask the two of you to station yourself in the World Gap and explore the other side to see if you can find another continent. I'll also record these things according to your merits and list them in the Xuanfu Book of Merit. "
To be honest, now that the war was about to break out, if the disciples of the East Court stayed here, they would inevitably be involved in the war.
However, in reality, there was no lack of people like them here. They could go to other places to continue preaching or search for other continents in the World Gap. They could play a greater role than staying here.
Fan Lan's expression became serious, and he said, "So that's what it is. Since Junior Brother trusts us, we'll go."
Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Very well, then this matter is settled."
While they were talking, the sky suddenly darkened. It looked like it was about to rain. The elder outside the door looked up and muttered, "In a place like Qianzhou, there's so much seafood that we can't finish it. It's just that the weather is always changing."
At this time, Zhang Yu suddenly heard a rumbling sound in the distance. His eyes moved, and he turned to look outside. Then, he shook his sleeves, stood up, and walked out of the hall. Fan Lan and Qi Wu looked at each other, then stood up and walked out together.
At this time, another rumbling sound was heard.
Fan Lan frowned and said, "Something's wrong with this sound."
Qi Wu said uncertainly, "Is it thunder?"
Zhang Yu looked in a certain direction and said, "No, it's the sound of dark weapons striking."
Just as he finished speaking, another rumbling sound was heard. Fan Lan and Qi Wu looked up and saw that above the clouds, one after another, flying boats were flying toward the north. One batch after another, the rumbling sound in the distant sky was accompanied by true thunder. Moreover, it was becoming more and more frequent.
Zhang Yu gazed at the northern horizon and the waves of flashes in the thick clouds, and said, "The war has begun."
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