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Chapter 253: Imperial City

While Chu Tian was successfully returning South Sky City, the Divine Wind Marquis had finally arrived at Imperial City ten thousand miles away.

The Imperial City was the heart of the kingdom, only being a mere three thousand miles from the Spirit Beast Kingdom to the north. There was a vast stretch of land without any natural defenses that if the Spirit Beasts were to launch a secret attack, an elite cavalry group would be able to kill the king in just two days.

It could be imagined how dangerous this place was!

Why would the Imperial City be constructed in such a dangerous place? One had to look at the history of the Southern Summer Country.

The Southern Summer Country's history is divided into the "Northern Summer" and "Southern Summer" portion. The Northern Summer era was the most prosperous era in the kingdom's history, having a population of close to a billion people and an area that was three times the current area. So, it was known as the Great Summer Country.

The kingdom was not randomly named, but rather stressed something.

Human kingdoms had a strict hierarchy, being divided into empires and kingdoms. An empire was a true power, being the ruler in a region, having a population of over ten billion and an area of over ten million square kilometers, letting them be known as an empire. A kingdom's scale, population, and area were all much smaller, so the ruler could only be a known as a king.

The kingdom's ranked in terms of strength were warring kingdoms, large kingdoms, and small kingdoms.

The Great Summer Country was the name of a large kingdom.

The ghost masked old man Chu Tian ran into was from the Great Zhou Country, which was a large kingdom. Their strength was ten times that of the Southern Summer Country, with their currency even being the universal currency of source stones. When they passed through various countries doing trades, it was very convenient for them.

Seven-eight hundred years ago, the Southern Summer Country dared to have the name of "Great Summer Country", which meant that their national strength was close to the large kingdom standards. If they could stabilize themselves, they would have been known as a large kingdom.

Who would have thought that while the Great Summer Country was developing, the Spirit Beast Kingdom would suddenly come down south from the north, creating an unexpected disaster for the Great Summer Country. Their defenses were instantly destroyed by the Spirit Beasts, killing the royal family, and the entire nation almost collapsed.

In this dangerous situation, the Dongfang Family led the Nangong and Shangguan Families to launch a counterattack, taking back half the area of the kingdom. After the war was over, the Dongfang Family supported one of their own as the king and changed the kingdom's name to "Southern Summer".

The first generation Southern Summer King was a bold man, vowing to repay the Spirit Beasts for this blood debt. In order to show his commitment and determination, to inspire morale in the future generation, and to warn everyone of the dangers in times of peace, he placed the Imperial City in the northern side of the Southern Summer Country, just within looking distance of the territory occupied by the invading Spirit Beasts.

Born in trouble, dying in peace.

The seemingly reckless decision of the first generation Southern Summer King had actually become the strong foundation of the Southern Summer Country.

After the Southern Summer Country was formed, they lived under the threat of the Spirit Beasts, stimulating people's instincts to survive. Many geniuses came from the younger generation of the Three Great Clans, charging onto the battlefield to protect the kingdom, occupying superior advantages that made the attacks of the Spirit Beasts fail.

The Southern Summer Country became stronger after being founded because the king was dealing with the Spirit Beasts to the north, allowing the south side grow in a peaceful environment. It created a prosperous area that became a strong foundation for the kingdom.

After the Divine Wing Marquis obtained Chu Tian's pistol, he immediately headed north to the Imperial City.

The Imperial City was the most lively city in the Southern Summer Country, with double the population of Central State's Main City. The walls were overlapping and seemed to be made from iron. When the sunlight shined on it, the cold light shined. In terms of the urban buildings, it was not inferior to Central State. From the baptism of the flames of war, an impregnable fortress of iron was created.

The garrison of the Imperial City far surpassed the eight states.

They had over a hundred thousand of the strongest Storm Cavalry!

These elite cavalry were the nucleus in fighting against the Spirit Beasts. The other main armies were spread across the Imperial City, letting the Imperial City prepare for war at any moment, reacting to any changes on the battlefield.

Every time he came to the Imperial City, the Divine Wind Marquis felt all kinds of emotions.

The Imperial City had lasted for five-six hundred years without falling to the enemy. Every bloody battle made it stronger and after being baptized by the war, the citizens of the Imperial City had strong martial arts and were very powerful.

In the current Southern Summer Country, there were close to two-three hundred million citizens with several million soldiers and the Spirit Beasts were racked with internal fights, giving them no time to head south. It was the time for the Southern Summer Country to rise, taking back this blood debt in one fell swoop!

The Divine Wind Marquis looked at the sealed crystal box. This weapon would be the key to that!

"I am Central State's Feng Yuntian and I have an important matter to see the Calm Martial Ruler about!"

"It's sir Divine Wind Marquis? Quickly, report to the Calm Martial Ruler!"

The Calm Martial Ruler's palace was luxurious, but not extravagant, taking black as a theme, being filled with the cold prestige of the military. Other than the royal palace, this was the largest building in the Imperial City. The Dongfang Family truly deserved to be known as the number one family because not only was the Southern Summer King from the Dongfang Family, they also raised a country protecting pillar known as the Calm Martial Ruler.

The overall strength of the Dongfang Family far surpassed the Nangong and Shangguan Families. Chu Tian's calculations were very correct, there was nothing more powerful than the Dongfang Family.

A blood red robed guard came from the palace, "Reporting to the marquis, the ruler is not in the palace right now!"

The ruler's status is very high.

In some of the large empires, the territory of rulers were considered "monarch kingdoms". The monarch kingdoms were states, but they didn't have autonomy, so they couldn't compare to kingdoms or empires.

The Southern Summer Country was not big and the rulers did not have their own territories, but they were considered "rulers", second only to the Southern Summer King.

The Divine Wind Marquis slightly knit his brows, "Is the Calm Martial Ruler not in the Imperial City?"

The Calm Martial Ruler was the front lines commander in chief, so if there were an urgent report from the battlefield, the Calm Martial Ruler would leave the Imperial City, with this leave being from five-ten days to an entire month. If he couldn't see the Calm Martial Ruler soon, this situation would be bad.

The Divine Wind Marquis had a high status and could see the king, but it was not comparable to the Burning Sun Ruler or the Refined Ruler. If there was a dispute in front of the Southern Summer King, the Divine Wind Marquis could not compare to the two of them.

This matter was very important.

The Divine Wind Marquis trusted the Calm Martial Ruler, so he had to win him over first!

The blood red clothed guard cupped his hands and replied, "The ruler was summoned to the royal palace and still has not returned yet."

The Divine Wind Marquis let out a long sigh of relief.

The Calm Martial Ruler was in the city, then everything would be fine.

...

Southern Summer Royal Palace.

The golden tiles were sparkling under the light of the sun, with two golden dragons on the sides that had golden scales, looking very realistic. They seemed like they were soaring into the sky. There were many guards densely placed around the palace, holding long spears and sharp blades, covering the luxurious palace with a cold killing intent!

Above the nine levels of jaded steps.

The king was sitting in his throne. He looked to be around sixty years old with a head of white hair, wearing a purple royal robe and a dignified royal crown. There was a long sword at his waist releasing a powerful energy. It was the Southern Summer Country's King Sword, passed down from generation to generation of Great Summer Country kings.

At this moment, in the resplendent large hall, the bodyguards had all retreated as three men as powerful as deities walked in.

The person on the left was an old man with a full head of red hair. Although he was old, his back was as tall and straight as a mountain, releasing a powerful aura from his body.

The person on the right was a white robed old man. He had a medium sized stature with a refined look. His hair had all turned white, giving him the aura of an old scholar.

The person in the middle looked the youngest. It was hard to tell how old he was from his appearance, but the hair by his temples was greying. He was wearing a set of dark gold armour with a helmet in his left hand. His cheeks were high and his bones were prominent, with eyes that were like hawk eyes, making him look like he was ready to kill!

"The Three Rulers have been summoned today because there is an urgent matter to discuss. Burning Sun Ruler, you may begin!"

"Reporting to my king!" The Burning Sun Ruler, Nangong Yan's body was covered in burning energy, just like an angry fire god. The concrete floor under him was destroyed by his aura and it became even hotter, "My Nangong Family's senior elder Nangong Zhi brought the royal proclamation to Central State, but he was actually crippled by Chu Tian! This matter is related to the Nangong Family's face, I ask my king to make a decision!"

"Chu TIan?" The Southern Summer King's voice was very deep reverberating in the hall, being full of prestige, "This king has heard this name several times. He has a swollen head and is very arrogant. Not only has he caused trouble in Central State City, he has even annexed the three great families. Doing this, he clearly doesn't place this king in his eyes. He really is bold!"

While the Southern Summer King was speaking, although his tone was very calm, the Three Rulers could tell that the Southern Summer King was enraged by Chu Tian's actions.

The Southern Summer King had ruled for over twenty years now.

He was the highest power in the Southern Summer Country. Even the prestigious Three Rulers had to listen to his orders. What did a little brat from Central State count for?

The Calm Martial Ruler came out and said, "Chu Tian has performed a great merit in Thunder State and is a truly talented individual, he should be used for our Southern Summer Country. I ask my king to be lenient, the Southern Summer Country currently needs talented people!"

"Is our Southern Summer Country lacking in talents?" A sharp voice sounded out. It was the Refined Ruler, Shangguan Cangfeng, "Can he compare to the great scholar?"

The Calm Martial Ruler knit his brows.

"The Refined Ruler's words make sense. The Southern Summer Country is not lacking in talents. Even if Chu Tian has merits, his crimes and merits cancel out. Chu Tian may have talents, but he does not follow rules at all, so he's not suited to being used by the kingdom!" The Southern Summer King's voice was filled with prestige and irresistible might, "If this event of insulting this king was spread across the Southern Summer Country, where would the prestige of the Imperial City go?"

The Refined Ruler could guess what the Southern Summer King was thinking, so he took the initiative to say, "I have a suggestion. We should punish Chu Tian, otherwise he will keep expanding. Once he poisons Central State, it will divide our land!"

"What does the Burning Sun Ruler think?"

"I agree!" The Burning Sun Ruler was a victim already anyway, "He has crippled a senior elder of our Nangong Family, slapping the face of the Nangong Family!"

The Calm Martial Ruler, Dongfang Gan, knit his brows, "My king, please reconsider!"

"I have made my decision!" The Southern Summer King gave his order, "Chu Tian disregards the laws and acts in an arrogant manner, ignoring the royal proclamation, defying his superiors. Even if he has merits, it will not counterbalance these crimes. He will be brought to Imperial City to stand trial and this matter will be left to the Refined Ruler."

"My wise king!" The Refined Ruler revealed a faint smile, "I advise using the Southern State troops and having the Western Marquis leading them into Central State."

The Southern Summer King said, "Fine!"

The Burning Sun Ruler nodded, revealing a look of satisfaction.

"As far as I know, the Western Marquis has a grudge with Chu Tian." The Calm Martial Ruler suddenly spoke up, "If the Western Marquis is to bring Chu Tian back for his trial, then please send the great scholar as well to act as a military advisor. Otherwise, the Western Marquis might take this chance to get his revenge."

The Refined Ruler knit his brows.

He had deliberately given this task to the Western Ruler. This was nothing more than giving the Western Ruler a chance for revenge.

"Alright!" The Southern Summer King did not wait for the Refined Ruler to refute this, "We'll send one hundred royal knights to Qing State for the great scholar to personally command, assisting the Western Marquis complete his task!

The Three Rulers were a little surprised.

The royal knights were being sent?

The Southern Summer King really wanted to capture Chu Tian!

"Alright, this matter ends here." The Southern Summer King was not willing to mention the matter of Central State anymore. He looked over at the Calm Martial Ruler, "What is the situation to the north?"

The Calm Martial Ruler was not satisfied with this.

However, that brat Chu Tian had been too excessive. The Calm Martial Ruler knew the Southern Summer King's personality, so he did not say anything else. The great scholar was going anyway and he was a man of integrity, so he would be able to discover the facts behind this case, protecting Chu Tian's life the greatest extent. If Chu Tian were to die, then that meant his destiny was bad.

"Reporting to my king. The Spirit Beasts still have internal strife and are still killing each other. There is strong internal friction, which might be our Southern Summer Country's chance!"

"Yi? Really!"

The Southern Summer King revealed a look of joy. He discussed this matter into the night with the Three Rulers.

The Southern Summer King was becoming more and more excited, as if not caring about Chu Tian anymore. After all, compared to Chu Tian, the northern Spirit Beasts were the greatest problem, "The military matters will be left to the Calm Martial Ruler, so continue to observe them. Once you find the chance, you must launch an attack!"

Chapter 254: Convincing the Calm Martial Ruler

Chu Tian could not be used!

A person who dared to ignore the royal proclamation meant that he did not place the king in his eyes.

Chu Tian was only a youth who wasn't even twenty, yet he dared to act so arrogantly? If he were entrusted with a task that could increase his position, why would he go against it?

Killing one to warn a hundred!

Otherwise where would the prestige of the Southern Summer King go!

The Southern Summer King had given Southern State Shangguan Hong a royal proclamation to enter Central State and capture Chu Tian.

Just to be sure, he had even sent a hundred royal knights and even moved the great scholar.

The royal knights were the elites among elites of the Southern Summer Country Cavalry, picked out from the Storm Cavalry. This was not only the royal palace's strongest troops, they were also the most loyal vanguards!

The royal knights no longer had to participate in wars. This was a very strong battle force that could also be considered a very strong deterrent, with each member of the team being a top expert in the Southern Summer Country. A hundred royal knights was not a small squad because the royal knights represented the king's prestige!

The Calm Martial Ruler's love of talents was not fake.

However, he understood the Southern Summer King.

The Southern Summer King also agreed with the Calm Martial Ruler's view and had even added an extra layer of protection. With the great scholar's wisdom and strength, as well as the extra hundred royal knights, Chu Tian could only surrender!

This king was not lacking in ambition and he had a strong hold on the kingdom, so he did not allow those who were unruly and could not be controlled by him. So even if Chu Tian had skills that weren't below the great scholar's, the Southern Summer King still had to assign this task.

The Calm Martial Ruler could only do this much.

Whether he lived or died depended all on Chu Tian's luck.

Of course, whether it was the Southern Summer King or the Calm Martial Ruler, or even the Burning Sun Ruler and the Refined Ruler, they didn't care that much about Chu Tian. This was just a talent from a small area and the Three Great Clans were filled with people, how could they be lacking just a single genius?

As for the matter with Thunder State?

Actually the Southern Summer Country hasn't had a lack of troubles in recent years.

There would be demon beast outbreaks, plagues, and landslides. The matter in Thunder State was solved so quickly, so Imperial City just thought of it as a normal local disaster, so there was nothing strange about it.

The Divine Wind Marquis and the Golden Arrow Marquis both gave this credit to Chu Tian, but the two marquises were very close and the Divine Wind Marquis cared about Chu Tian, so there was no guarantee that there weren't emotions involved.

The Southern Summer Country only had a single true hidden danger!

That was the Spirit Beast Kingdom to the north – The War Hound Tribe!

War Hound was not the name of the kingdom, but rather the name of a famous tribe. They were a large group of wandering dog and wolf based Spirit Beasts, so they named themselves the War Hound Tribe, with their prairies being named the War Hound Plains.

The War Hound Tribes were the same as all Spirit Beasts, not having ethics, rules, or morals. They had no fixed abode and plundering was second nature to them, so they had a strong aggressive personality. The ones that attacked the Great Summer Country before and ransacked the kingdom was an army formed from the twelve strongest War Hound Tribes.

The leader of this alliance was known as the "Fang King". Humans called him the "War Hound King"!

In every generation, the Fang King was always the strongest war god of the twelve tribes, leading his armies to sweep through everything. They had hit the Southern Summer Country so hard that it could not breathe.

With the Spirit Beast's frail social system, the War Hound Tribes could not be prosperous for long.

After each generation of Fang King dies, the War Hound Plains would be filled with internal strife because the various clans wanted to compete for the Fang King title. This inevitably lead to contradictions and war.

In fact, for the past hundred years, the War Hound Tribes had been equally matched and were unable to elect a Fang King. Without a qualified ruler, the various War Hound Tribes could not work together. If a tribe were to rob the humans, not a single other tribe would help, but rather they would hold a knife to their backs.

It was because of this that the War Hounds have only robbed a group of people in the Southern Summer Country in the past few years. It had been a long time since war had occurred...This gave the Southern Summer Country a chance to fight back!

The Calm Martial Ruler and the Southern Summer King had been observing them the entire time.

The fiercer the internal strife was, the more of a chance the Southern Summer Country had. When the time came, the Calm Martial Ruler would personally lead his troops to attack the War Hounds Plain and take back the nine hundred year old blood debt!

War Hounds Plain!

The Southern Summer Country would inevitably swallow it!

For fights in other states, it was best to completely eliminate them, not letting them harm the main situation.

When the Calm Martial Ruler came back to his manor, it was already late in the night.

"Reporting to the ruler!" The Calm Martial Ruler had picked up the latest report from the War Hounds Plains when a guard came in to report, "Central State's Divine Wind Marquis is requesting an audience."

"Divine Wind Marquis?" The Calm Martial Ruler slightly knit his brows, "Is he here to plead for Chu Tian? Since he dared to cause this trouble, then he should think of the consequences. Tell the Divine Wind Marquis that he can go back."

The Calm Martial Ruler did not care about human relations.

Actually the Divine Wind Marquis shouldn't be in the Imperial City at his moment. The Southern Summer King had given his decree and could not recall it. If the Divine Wind Marquis was in Central State, with the great scholar, perhaps he could protect Chu Tian from death when the Western Marquis arrived.

If the Divine Wind Marquis came to the Imperial City, then who would fight the Western Marquis?

"Ruler, the Divine Wind Marquis will not leave. He says he must see you!"

"This Feng Yuntian!"

The Calm Martial Ruler slammed the report on the table and his eyes revealed a sharp glow. He hated people that didn't know what was good for them. If he should do something, then he would naturally do something. If he shouldn't do something, then what use was pleading with him?

"Alright, then call the Divine Wind Marquis in!"

The Divine Wind Marquis walked into the ruler manor's main hall and respectfully bowed down, "Feng Yuntian greets the Calm Martial Ruler!"

"No need for courtesies!" The Calm Martial Ruler looked at him with no emotions, "The Divine Wind Marquis has come back so soon. Travelling ten thousand miles to the Imperial City, you wouldn't be here to plead for Chu Tian, right!"

"The Calm Martial Ruler is truly smart!" The Divine Wind Marquis hid nothing, "Chu Tian is not a normal person, he cannot be treated normally!"

"Not caring about laws and acting unruly, dominating everything in this matter, this ruler has rarely seen this before. Colluding with pirates to create chaos in Central State, swallowing the three great families, and crippling the Nangong Family's senior elder delivering the royal proclamation, which one of this isn't going against the kingdom? This kind of arrogant person, even with his knowledge, he cannot become one of the pillars of the kingdom. If he was treated normally, he would have died ten times already!"

"These words aren't correct." The Divine Wind Marquis argued back with reason, "Imperial City has only received reports from one party. The chaos in Central State wasn't caused by Chu Tian, but rather the Chu, Luo, and Ye Families. As for the Four States Lake pirates, they had been a hidden danger, but they have become Chu Tian's subordinates, working for the kingdom. Doing this was rather a large merit."

"What about Chu Tian taking the possessions of the three great families and harming the royal envoy?"

"These two things are indeed wrong." The Divine Wind Marquis admitted Chu Tian's wrongs, but then his voice change, "But the attacks of the Chu, Luo, and Ye Families have caused great damage to Chu Tian and destroyed most of the Central State City. Chu Tian did indeed take their possessions, but he used that money for the citizens and stabilized the chaos in Central State. As for heavily injuring Nangong Zhi, it was Nangong Zhi's fault. He tried to take something for nothing, swallowing Miracle Commerce, so he angered Chu Tian. Although Chu Tian was wrong, compared to his merits, he should not be punished!"

"Is the Divine Wind Marquis truly a fool or pretending to be a fool?"

"This subordinate does not understand!"

The Calm Martial Ruler laughed, "This ruler will not play around, why can't the Southern Summer King accommodate Chu Tian? In addition to all the above, the most important thing is Chu Tian's from a common birth, but he controls the entirety of Central State. As well there is his arrogant manner. Central State is the center of the Southern Summer Country and once Central State changes, what will be the consequences?"

Indeed.

Beyond the superficial reason, there was a deep seated contradiction.

Why was Central State named Central State? It was because it was in the center of the Southern Summer Country and was the relay point to various locations!

The Divine Wind Marquis had entered seclusion for many years and the Four Great Families had established their own regime which was caused by the Imperial City. Central State had to have a power balance, otherwise if it were filled with chaos, it would cause many difficulties for the Southern Summer Country.

Chu Tian's disposition made it impossible for them not to worry.

If this unruly fellow created chaos at a critical moment, it would have a terrible effect on the Southern Summer Country!

"Chu Tian is not a person who will create chaos!" The Divine Wind Marquis had thought of this, "This person has a shocking talent and should be encouraged rather than impeded. If he could be allowed to develop, Central State will become the head of the eight states in just three years!"

"Words are no guarantee."

"Feng Yuntian will use my life as a promise. If Central State is incompetent in three years, then I will willingly stretch my head!"

The Calm Martial Ruler was a little surprised, "Divine Wind Marquis, I really cannot see through you!"

"Chu Tian's arrogant disposition is not false, but he knows how to repay debts and keep grudges. If the Calm Martial Ruler helps him in these difficult times, he will naturally return this favour a hundred times to the Southern Summer Country."

Strange!

Was this brat worth the Divine Wind Marquis doing this?

"Empty words are useless!" The Divine Wind Marquis continued, "If the Calm Martial Ruler really wanted to protect Chu Tian, then he would be safe even if no one came to convince you. If the Calm Martial Ruler does not want to protect Chu Tian, no matter what I say, the Calm Martial Ruler will still not change his mind."

"It's good you understand." The Calm Martial Ruler asked in an interested voice, "However, the Divine Wind Marquis already knew this and still came to the Imperial City to convince me, so does that mean you have confidence in succeeding?"

"Chu Tian has prepared a gift for the Calm Martial Ruler." The Divine Wind Marquis raised a crystal box, "I ask the Calm Martial Ruler to look at it."

Gift? This really was absurd!

The Calm Martial Ruler gave a few secret cold laughs. He had given the Divine Wind Marquis face and that's why he met him, otherwise he would not meddle in this matter.

The Calm Martial Ruler was very straightforward, not liking to deal with politics, matching one's thoughts with one's superiors. This man who had thrown the country into chaos was now sending a gift.

He had thought this was a talent he could use and he could bring him into the Imperial City. So he chose to help him keep his life.

However.

How had this person convince the Divine Wind Marquis to send a gift?

The Calm Martial Ruler's opinion of him fell!

"I will use my life to guarantee that the Calm Martial Ruler will not regret this." The Divine Wind Marquis looked around, "Only, this matter is very important, so I hope that no one else will hear it."

If it weren't the Divine Wind Marquis, the Calm Martial Ruler would have immediately sent him away.

The Calm Martial Ruler clearly understood the Divine Wind Marquis' personality. Among the eight marquises, this person cared the least about fame and fortune, so he wouldn't bow to a youth for benefit. If he dared to swear like this, there must be a reason.

Fine.

Then he would have a look first!

Chapter 255: The Calm Martial Ruler's excitemen

Chapter 255: The Calm Martial Ruler's excitement

The Divine Wind Marquis was a person that didn't care about fame or fortune. Since he even helped Chu Tian all these times as well as using his life as a guarantee, he must have his reasons.

The Calm Martial Ruler gave a snap, "You can all leave. No one is allowed to come in without my orders!"

The guards all left.

The Divine Wind Marquis carefully opened the crystal box where a silver pistol and six Source Energy Batteries were currently lying. The Calm Martial Ruler's eyes focused on this. This item was not very precious and as a gift, it was too lacking.

"This is a new weapon created by Chu Tian!" The Divine Wind Marquis held the box in front of the Calm Martial Ruler, "It is called the Source Energy Pistol. I ask the Calm Martial Ruler to have a look."

"Source Energy Pistol? What kind of weapon is this!" The Calm Martial Ruler's mind filled with doubts, "Give this ruler a demonstration."

"Alright!" The Divine Wind Marquis too out the silver Source Energy Pistol and then took out a Source Energy Battery, "Please observe it carefully, Calm Martial Ruler!"

With a kacha sound.

The magazine was placed in the gun.

The arrays on the silver gun instantly released a light from being activated.

"Yi?"

The Calm Martial Ruler's eyes slightly opened as a light flashed through it.

There were dense amounts of runes and arrays on this weapon itself. The most incredible thing was that these arrays were activated by this energy block!

Just on this point, it was definitely a very interesting invention.

Source energy arrays needed spirit energy to be activated, so during alchemy and symbol array processes, a person could not stop controlling it. If a person could leave and the source energy arrays could be automatically activated, this would be a large improvement on the process.

The Divine Wind Marquis aimed at a pillar.

The Calm Martial Ruler could clearly feel that as the runes on the gun light up, the source energy arrays were performing a function where a large amount of energy was being taken from the energy blocks, condensing it at high speeds in the muzzle.

"This is….."

The Calm Martial Ruler was stunned for a bit.

Peng!

With a flash of light.

A ball of light was released that passed through the metal pillar, creating a large hole!

It was unknown what this silver pistol was made from, it was made of stronger material than the test product. Although the muzzle had turned red, it was not like the test product where the muzzle had been melted by the energy ball.

The Divine Wind Marquis put down the gun and looked at the Calm Martial Ruler, "What does the Calm Martial Ruler feel about this?"

What haven't the Three Rulers seen before?

But seeing this scene in front of him, the Calm Martial Ruler was completely stunned, only feeling his heart almost jump out of his chest! What kind of weapon was this? How could it instantly release this kind of strong energy?

"Calm Martial Ruler, Calm Martial Ruler?"

The Divine Wind Marquis had never seen a ruler this stunned before and could only feel joy in his heart. After calling good a few times in his heart, the Calm Martial Ruler came back to his senses. The Calm Martial Ruler did not say anything, quickly coming back to his senses. He sat in his seat and waited for the Divine Wind Marquis to continue explain.

He really was the Calm Martial Ruler.

In front of this era changing weapon, he could remain this calm. It really wasn't easy.

"Like you just saw, when I was shooting this weapon, I did not use any spirit energy at all. Like this, even those that do not have any spirit energy or even a child could instantly kill an initial stage Awakened Soul Cultivator with this destructive might!"

Letting a child kill an Awakened Soul Cultivator with just one hit?

"It really is a bit interesting!" The Calm Martial Ruler's face was calm, but his hands could not help shaking. He quickly asked, "The production cost shouldn't be low."

The Divine Wind Marquis revealed a mysterious smile, "How much does the Calm Martial Ruler think this costs?"

"It is a genius design, with a strange energy source, and profound runes…..If I had to come up with a price, it would be one million. No…..It should be over five million gold coins."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!" The Divine Wind Marquis broke out in laughter, "The Calm Martial Ruler also has times when he's wrong!"

The Calm Martial Ruler knit his brows, "Five million is still not enough?"

In all fairness

This weapon was indeed not bad!

Although it couldn't threaten someone of the Three Ruler's level, for people of the Awakened Soul Layer, it was a very powerful and fatal weapon. Even if it was worth three-five million gold coins, there would still be a large amount of people that bought it. Only with such an expensive item, it was hard to popularize.

Who knew that from the Divine Wind Marquis' tone, it was not just worth five million. The price was too high. For a large price of ten million, there was no one that would want to use this new invention because it was too expensive. Ten million was enough to buy a soul item.

The Divine Wind Marquis stretched out a finger, "It's production cost is around this much."

"It's really ten million?"

The Calm Martial Ruler felt some of his strength leave him. He had been filled with expectations previously, but he found that this weapon was all just for show, this was too much of a gap for him.

This is fine!

This item really is not normal.

Just the automatic activation of the source energy array was enough to bring a huge change into the industry. Just based on this, Chu Tian was worth training.

"Of course it's not ten million!" The Divine Wind Marquis loudly replied, "It's at most one thousand!"

Pa!

The Calm Martial Ruler's chair snapped to pieces!

A strong pressure filled the entirety of the ruler's manor!

Even though it was the Divine Wind Marquis facing this pressure, he couldn't help taking a few steps back as his heart secretly filled with surprise. This was the strength of a ruler level expert? It really far surpassed the Awakened Soul Realm!

"Just one thousand is enough?" The Calm Martial Ruler's eyes turned a bit red, like a wolf staring at a lamb, "You wouldn't be lying to me, right! This is impossible!"

When the Divine Wind Marquis said this, he even suspected that he was in a dream!

This weapon that even a child could use to handle an Awakened Soul Cultivator was only worth at most one thousand gold coin? To train an Awakened Soul Cultivator would cost several millions and to train an Illustrious Soul Cultivator would take tens to hundreds of millions. Now it only costed one thousand gold coins to waste an Awakened Soul Cultivator!

How could people accept this?

One for one thousand.

Ten for ten thousand?

A hundred for one hundred thousand?

A thousand for one million?

If this weapon could be popularized, then it would change the kingdom itself. Large families could train a whole group of people and purchase large amounts of these weapons, easily dominating the enemy.

If a thousand of these weapons shot at the same time, it could instantly disintegrate an army!

Even if it was an expert of the Eight Marquises level, they still could not withstand the simultaneous attack of several hundred Source Energy Pistols!

Just a million gold coins would be enough to kill a expert on the level of the Eight Marquises! What did one million gold coins count for? In the Imperial Capital, a rich merchant could buy a beautiful maid servant with this money!

Of course.

Although this weapon was strong, it did not demonstrate its true strength. Even if a hundred people had pistols aimed at the Divine Wind Marquis, he would not stay there taking the shots. With his strength and speed, there wouldn't be a chance to fire.

But no matter what, to demonstrate this shocking effect with this inexpensive cost was truly a miracle!

"Of course, this is the production price." The Divine Wind Marquis was very satisfied with the Calm Martial Ruler's response, "With Chu Tian's personality, if it was sold to outsiders, each Source Energy Pistol would cost ten-twenty thousand gold coins."

"Ten-twenty thousand?"

"Does the Calm Martial Ruler feel this is too expensive?"

"What expensive? This is too cheap!" The Calm Martial Ruler said in a somewhat angry voice, "If it is really this cheap, then any family will be able to store these weapons!"

The Calm Martial Ruler was worried that this weapon were too expensive, but now he was worried that it was too cheap.

Now he understood why the Divine Wind Marquis worked so hard to protect Chu Tian.

Chu Tian alone could defeat a million!

The Calm Martial Ruler's eyes suddenly lit up, "The Divine Wind Marquis is very close to Chu Tian, do you have the design for this pistol?"

Naturally.

Wouldn't he be most assured having this in his hands?

If Chu Tian really gave the design away, then he would really be in danger!

"This Source Energy Pistol was just invented by Chu Tian and is still in the test phase. Even if we give you the designs, you would only be able to make imperfect products."

"Is that so?"

"Not to mention the fact that the Source Energy Pistol is the basic Source Energy Weapon. Chu Tian will create even more advanced Source Energy Weapons. This subordinate thinks that one should form alliances with Chu Tian. This person should not be wronged or threatened."

The Calm Martial Ruler instantly understood Chu Tian's thoughts.

After all, the enticement was too big. If they could control Chu Tian, it would only be a matter of time before they controlled the War Hounds Plains. But with Chu Tian's disposition, this person was only to persuasion and not coercion. Threatening him had no use and if they provoked his anger, then it would create a hidden danger.

"Chu Tian has also thrown in a personally written letter. Please have a look, Calm Martial Ruler!"

The Calm Martial Ruler opened an envelope that was not sealed which contained only a few hundred words. It was the letter that Chu Tian had the Divine Wind Marquis deliver to the Calm Martial Ruler.

The Divine Wind Marquis had not read the contents and didn't know what Chu Tian wrote inside.

This fellow couldn't be measured with common sense, so he hoped that he wouldn't cause any trouble!

"Good Chu Tian!" The Calm Martial Ruler said in a somewhat angry voice, "Since he has brought this business to this ruler, he wants to invite this ruler to Central State to discuss the details of working together on military goods business?!"

What?

Inviting the Calm Martial Ruler to Central State!

Was Chu Tian crazy? For a person like the Calm Martial Ruler, he would not easily leave the Imperial City!

The Calm Martial Ruler did not anxiously make a decision, "What does the Divine Wind Marquis think about this?"

"That Chu Tian is too bold!" The Divine Wind Marquis first reprimanded Chu Tian before saying, "But thinking about the good of the kingdom, I think it would be good for the citizens for the Calm Martial Ruler to represent the kingdom to work with Chu Tian. The Calm Martial Ruler does not have to personally go to Central State, this matter can be left to a trusted subordinate."

"This ruler will personally go!" The Calm Martial Ruler hesitated for a bit, "The Refined Ruler has contacted the Western Marquis today and will perhaps move against Chu Tian soon. This ruler cannot leave the Imperial City immediately and must make some preparations, but the Southern State troops must also pass through the Four States Lake. Since it's like this, we can only ask the great scholar to help us. This ruler will leave for the front lines in two days and secretly make a trip to Central State."

With the Calm Martial Ruler personally making a move, this trouble would be solved.

But calling the Calm Martial Ruler to Central State to negotiate, was this a smart move?

The Calm Martial Ruler was too strong and in this situation with a difference in strength, negotiations would put Chu Tian at a disadvantage.

...

After two ours.

In the Refined Ruler's manor.

A Shangguan Family's senior elder quickly came to find Shangguan Cangfeng, "Reporting to the ruler, the Calm Martial Ruler has sent a secret letter to Qing State!"

The three rulers competed with one another and the Calm Martial Ruler could fight, but he wasn't skilled in politics. Every letter from the Calm Martial Ruler's palace could not escape the Refined Ruler's grasps and the Calm Martial Ruler knew nothing about this.

"The letter is here."

The Refined Ruler directly ripped apart the Calm Martial Ruler's letter and revealed a cold smile.

This letter asked the great scholar to protect Chu Tian with all his might. Not letting the Shangguan Family hurt him and to stall for as long as possible.

"This Calm Martial Ruler, he really can't fix his old problem!"

The Refined Ruler did not place Chu Tian in his eyes at all.

However, Chu Tian had repeated offended the Shangguan Family. First he crippled Shangguan Ming, making the Shangguan Family lose face. But since Shangguan Ming disobeyed his royal orders, the family could not do anything to avoid causing severe damage to their prestige. However, the second time had been too excessive. Chu Tian had directly crippled the Western Marquis' successor, Shangguan Feichen and had caused the countless citizens of Thunder State to chase away the Western Marquis.

In the long history of the Southern Summer Country.

There had never been a time where citizens chased out a marquis.

This matter could not be concealed. Not only was the Western Marquis one of the Eight Marquises, he was also one of the most important branches for the Shangguan Family. Now that the Western Marquis' prestige had been lost, how could the Shangguan Family not be affected?

In the Refined Ruler's eyes.

Chu Tian was like an ant. To use the ruler's position to crush this ant, it would not take much effort at all. However the Refined Ruler cared about his prestige and disdained moving against a small junior like Chu Tian. Since he had the chance, he would properly make us of it.

"Do you want us to cut off this letter?"

"Why cut it off! Just change it a little and sent it out."

This elder certainly understood the Refined Ruler's meaning and immediately made the changes to the letter. He put it back into the envelope and sent it off to the great scholar in Qing State.

Chapter 256: The great scholar's rage

Qing State City.

When the Green Wood Marquis was on the road after finishing calming the west side, he received great news that the Green Dragon Trail had been opened.

He did not dare believe it and rushed back to the Main City, finally confirming this news.

The trouble in the Green Dragon Trail that had defeated the Green Wood Marquis several times had actually been solved by his son. It was because of this merit that Mu Xuan received the strong support of the Qing State citizens which to the Green Wood Marquis was an even greater joy!

Qing State City gathered a large army in just several days who moved out from both the west and east side. Over a hundred thousand troops entered the Green Dragon Trail, eliminating all the residual threat and completely clearing the path.

The Green Wood Marquis wanted to prevent this matter from occurring again.

Qing State began to build camps in hills, filling the Green Dragon Trail with watchtowers. There were an entire thirty thousand elite soldiers transferred to the Green Dragon Trail.

The resource fields of the Green Ridge quickly recovered and production began once again. Those people that had sold stocks or resource fields to Chu Tian wanted to cry but had no tears.

Chu Tian had invested six hundred and fifty million into the Green Ridge. Even if he did nothing now and just sold all the resource fields and stocks he owned, he would be able to instantly double his investment!

In just a few days, after the situation in the Green Dragon Trail had been stabilized, the value of these resources began to sharply rise!

If one wanted to purchase these resource fields in normal times at this price, it was simply the dream of a fool!

Chu Tian had cut the price in half and bought most of these hard to buy resource fields, creating a stable resource supply for Miracle Commerce.

This business was really a large fortune!

Mu Xuan returned to the marquis palace, "Reporting to father, the Green Dragon Trail has been cleared and the watchtowers are being built. After consolidating our defences in the Green Dragon Trail, this matter will not happen again."

"Good work!" The Green Wood Marquis felt his body relax as the dark haze that covered his heart for the past few months finally disappeared, "This issue that has troubled Qing State for these past few months had been solved! Come, I want to personally thank Mister Qiu, thanking the hero of Qing State City!"

"Father, although Mister Qiu did quite a bit." Mu Xuan hesitated for a few seconds, "The one with the most merit is….."

"Mu Xuan." The Green Wood Marquis' face turned stern, "Just pretend Yu Changge did not come. You are this marquis' successor, you understand my meaning, right?"

Mu Xuan looked a little pensive, "Wouldn't doing this be….."

"What does a foreign merchant need merits for?" The Green Wood Marquis snorted and said, "Not to mention he already took the reward he deserved!"

"The five hundred million gold coins?"

"You think he only took five hundred million?" The Green Wood Marquis flew into a rage, "Most of the stocks in the Green Ridge has been bought up by him, this loss doesn't stop at just one or two billion! Although he was taking advantage of the situation, he only owns stocks for most of the resource fields and do not control them, so this marquis can only tolerate it for now!"

No wonder!

This fellow was truly deceitful!

Chu Tian's plan took a lot of practical value and he took a large amount of funds, destroying Qing State's plan for mutual benefit. The Green Wood Marquis not investigating this matter was already him showing him favour and that he should owe the Green Wood Marquis a favour.

No one in Qing State knew this person.

Everyone placed most of the credit on Mu Xuan.

This honour was worthless towards Mister Qiu or the mysterious mister Yu. However, for Mu Xuan, it was something that could never be bought. As the Green Wood Marquis' successor, he would one day inherit his father's Green Wood Marquis title. If he had the people's worship and respect from this merit, it would make it much easier for Mu Xuan to govern Qing State.

Mu Xuan said with a puzzled look to his father, "I can't understand one thing. Mister Qiu is not a normal person, so why has no one in our Southern Summer Country heard of him before? Could it be…..he is a foreign scholar?"

"Mu Xuan, you actually know Mister Qiu's identity, but you don't dare believe it."

"What does father mean?"

"Mister Qiu is just an alias for operating undercover." The Green Wood Marquis said this and then his voice changed, "This marquis was not certain at first but after careful investigation, I can be sure. This Mister Qiu is our Southern Summer Country's number one scholar, the first minister of the Dongfang Family – Gu Qianqiu!"

Mu Xuan almost fell down in shock.

Mister Qiu's real status is the great scholar, Gu Qianqiu?!

When Gu Qianqiu was young, he spent over twenty years wandering out of the country, visiting various other countries and many respected masters. When he returned to the Southern Summer Country, he was the most knowledgeable person in the country, having pupils everywhere.

In the eyes of the Southern Summer Country scholars, he had the same prestige as the king. Mu Xuan never would have dreamed that this low key and stern old scholar would actually be the number one scholar in the Southern Summer Country!

That's right though.

Of the first class scholars in Southern Summer, there were only the great scholar Gu Qianqiu and the Yun Sect's Yun Tianhe. When Mister Qiu arrived in Qing State with knowledge not inferior to Yun Tianhe and perhaps surpassing him, everyone should have thought of Gu Qianqiu, but no one dared to believe this!

For the great scholar to secretly come to Qing State, he must have his own thoughts.

After all, the great scholar's prestige was too big, which would create a huge stir if he openly came to Qing State, which would interfere with Gu Qianqiu's research. Moreover it would definitely be a challenge to solve the Snake Scorpion Beast's poison even for Gu Qianqiu. If he perfectly solved it, people would think it was natural, but if he could not solve it and was stuck for a long time, it would be a large blow to the morale of Qing State.

After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

If even the great scholar could not solve this, then who had the ability in the Southern Summer Country? The Qing State citizens would lose faith in the country and once their faith was lost, there would be large amounts of citizens escaping, which was a very bad thing for Qing State.

But the matter was already solved.

So Gu Qianqiu no longer needed to hide his status. For such a large character to come to Qing State, the Green Wood Marquis and his son had to personally greet him and express their gratitude.

"Is the great scholar still in the laboratory?"

"Yes. Since that night, he hasn't come out in three days already."

After that large battle with the Snake Scorpion Beasts, Gu Qianqiu had not appeared in the subsequent clean up battles. He just locked himself in the laboratory, fully focused on studying the diagram for the Four Directional Lightning Array.

There was too much wisdom contained within this array diagram!

Gu Qianqiu was like an explorer that had just discovered hidden treasure. Under his excitement and fanaticism, he had spent three days without sleep, creating three notebooks covered in notes.

"The Green Wood Marquis Mu Rong greets Mister Qiu!"

Gu Qianqiu was interrupted by the Green Wood Marquis and his eyes flashed with a trace of unhappiness. He immediately closed his book and walked out of the laboratory, "Since the Green Wood Marquis is personally here, then you should know who this old man is."

The Green Wood Marquis did not play the fool and said with a face filled with deep respect, "For the great scholar to come to Qing State to solve our problems, it is Mu Rong's fault for not recognizing your venerable self, so I came to make up for my mistakes. Mu Xuan, why haven't you taken out the gift yet."

"No need for this kind of common item." Gu Qianqiu did not even take a look at it and gave a sigh, "Solving the problem of Qing State is not my credit, it is not my credit!"

Qu Qianqiu had spent several days studying the diagram.

The more he studied it, the more awe he felt. Just a single detail from this array was enough for Gu Qianqiu to study for several days.

Just who was that youth?

Mu Rong saw the great scholar did not want to accept the gift, so he didn't force him, "The Green Ridge is open once again and Qing State is filled with vitality. This marquis wants to host a large banquet and hopes that the great scholar will attend."

As Gu Qianqiu was about to speak.

Suddenly a loud screech was heard. When they looking into the sky, they saw a hundred giant flying demon beasts. They had light yellow feathers that were the same colour as the sun. The golden brown lion half of the beast completely clashed with the golden yellow hawk head. It was very big and powerful.

On the back of each griffin was a knight wielding a spear.

"The Griffin Knights? It's the royal knights!"

"Imperial City has arrived?"

For a small country like ths Southern Summer Country, airborne mounts were considered rare. Most griffins were imported from other countries, so while the Griffin Knights were very strong, there weren't enough to create an entire troop. They were mainly used for scouting, delivering letters, or protecting the royal palace.

A man with a full beard fell down to the ground and respectfully kneeled down, "I am the royal knight's third squad leader, Cao Bao. I greet the great scholar and the Green Wood Marquis."

The Green Wood Marquis asked, "For the royal knights to take action, could something big have happened?"

"My group has come to Qing State with an imperial order to go with the great scholar to Central State for a mission." Cao Rong held a confidential letter in both hands, "This is an urgent letter sent to the great scholar from Imperial City, I ask the great scholar to read it!"

Gu Qianqiu swept his eyes over it.

His brows tightly knit together and his face turned dark.

"Humph, what a wild brat! You're angering this old man to death!" Gu Qianqiu angrily threw the letter to the ground, "How could the Southern Summer Country tolerate the arrogance of a fellow like this!"

The Green Wood Marquis asked in a surprised voice, "What has happened for the great scholar to be this angry?"

"There is a brat that doesn't know the height of the heavens or the depths of the earth that appeared in Central State. Not only did he shame my honorary disciples and my fame, he also used my name to challenge me! The most despicable thing is that he was the one that caused the chaos in Central State, causing several tens of thousands of people to die."

"There was such a matter that happened?"

The Green Wood Marquis was very surprised and looked over the letter.

Information was hard to spread in this era. Qing State couldn't even maintain itself in the past few months, so the Green Wood Marquis was not focused on affairs of the nation. Seeing this scared him. This letter was filled with crimes of this youth named "Chu Tian", making him sound like a true villain.

Not only did this person insult a previous student of the great scholar, he even insulted the great scholar. If this was spread, then it could easily shock the Southern Summer Country.

What was even worse was that he had created a stir in Central State. He had eliminated the three great families and installed himself as the leader of Central State.

It wasn't just that!

Although he had committed all kinds of crimes, Imperial City did not immediately punish him and sent an imperial envoy to investigate. The result was? After travelling tens of thousands of miles to Central State, before he even got to sit down, he had been crippled!

For an arrogant and unreasonable attitude like this, it was rarely seen in this era!

"With the Divine Wind Marquis in Central State, how could it become this messy?"

"Divine Wind Marquis?" Gu Qianqiu was dissatisfied with the Divine Wind Marquis, "He has already gone into seclusion and did not manage Central State properly, that is how such a wild person appeared! Since this old man is already here, then how could I not see this evil spawn. I'll personally pay a visit to Central State!"

The Green Wood Marquis said, "This marquis is willing to lend the great scholar a helping hand."

"In the Southern Summer Country, no one dares to move against me, even the Three Rulers have to give me face. What does a trivial Central State City count for? Not to mention Southern State's Western Marquis has also received this order and will arrive in Central State soon. This old man will head over first and investigate everything."

The Qing State military had already been exhausted and was not suited to take action.

"This is also good!"

Gu Qianqiu did not waste any more time in Qing State. He immediately mounted Cao Bao's griffin and headed to Central State.

While the lush green lands of Qing State was passing by underneath them, Gu Qianqiu couldn't help thinking of the youth named "Yu Changge". He did not know where this peerless talent came from and didn't know when he would have a chance to learn from him again.

Gu Qianqiu hated the fact that his face couldn't be thicker and he should have stubbornly insisted with the other side. Now he was gone and it was unknown where he went.

Once this matter in Central State was solved, he had to properly investigate.

Chapter 257: Great scholar entering the city

The Griffin Knights were too conspicuous. If they openly entered Central State City, wasn't that telling everyone that Imperial City had sent an army? If Chu Tian made an extreme move, then even the citizens would be implicated!

It would be best to secretly capture Chu Tian, not causing any disturbance in Central State.

"Don't alert the enemy, so hide your mounts. We'll sneak into Central State City and find Chu Tian's whereabouts before capturing him in one fell swoop!" Gu Qianqiu gave their arrangements to Cao Bao, "After Southern State's Western Marquis appears, we'll hand Chu Tian over to him and help him escort him to Imperial City!"

"Then great scholar..."

"Just take care of grabbing him. I will be in charge of investigating Chu Tian's crimes."

"Yes!"

"Chu Tian is very arrogant, so he might have an expert by his side. Even the Nangong Family's True Soul Realm expert was crippled by him, so you must be careful with this mission!"

"Please be assured great scholar, we will definitely complete this mission!"

"Then go!"

The royal knights all had harsh requirements for being picked. Not only were they the country's strongest knight group, they were all elites that could fight with various strategies. Any member could be sent into the elite Storm Cavalry group and could be made a thousand man commander.

This was the Southern Summer Country's special elite force. How difficult could kidnapping a person be?

Cao Bao led the other royal knights forward, immediately blending into Central State City.

Gu Qianqiu entered through the Central State docks because normally, wandering scholars entered a city through the docks. However, when Gu Qianqiu entered Central State City's docks, he was shocked by the scene.

Of the eight Southern Summer states, which one had Gu Qianqiu not gone to?

The Qing State harbour was the largest because Qing State was the resource supplier of the country, developing their resource transportation. There were over two hundred ships in the dock at all time, creating a magnificent scene.

He was shocked when he entered Central State City because the Central State docks was twice that size. There were at least three-four hundred large ships with ten-twenty thousand people working, creating a shocking scene!

What was even more astonishing was the fact that the Central State docks were still expanding. In just another month or so, it would double in size!

This was like the picture of a rich shipping environment!

When did Central State become this developed?

There were countless factories actively working near Central State City, with beast carriages going in and out, carrying all kinds of products. It was a very lively and powerful picture.

Strange, strange.

Not even half a month had passed since Central State's chaos.

Not only did Central State show no degradation, it even became more lively, which was a truly unimaginable picture. While Gu Qianqiu was in a daze, the sky suddenly became a bit darker. When Gu Qianqiu looked up, his chin almost fell to the ground.

What was this thing?

There were three circles in the sky that seemed like three giant egg monsters, moving quickly in one direction. Gu Qianqiu had never seen this thing before. It was like a hot air balloon, but it was not like a normal hot air balloon because this thing was moving very quickly, clearly having a powerful system in it.

There was a basket hanging underneath each giant egg.

Gu Qianqiu silently watched the "giant eggs" descend outside Central State City, stopping over a single warehouse before slowly descending. When it was less than three meters from the ground, the basket suddenly opened up and two people walked out, throwing bags of heavy ores onto the ground in front of the warehouse.

The three "giant eggs" had a shocking capacity, being able to carry a small mountain.

When the unloading was down, the giant egg once again slowly ascended before slowly heading off in a direction.

Gu Qianqiu was so shocked that he could not say a thing. At the same time, as a scholar, he was always curious about new things.

He arrived in front of the warehouse to see many workers moving about. He asked in a curious voice, "Little brother, what was that thing flying in the air?"

"You must have just come to Central State City!" A fine dressed worker had a cigarette in his mouth as he proudly said, "This thing can only be seen in Central State City. It is called the Miracle Airship, having a carrying capacity equal to a small ship!"

"That's right! These ores were just sent over from South Sky City. They were called….."

"Hidden Image Stone!"

"Right, right, it was called that."

"This Miracle Airship flies right to the mine and then delivers it to Central State City."

"You have to know, this mine is in the remote mountains that even beast carriages can't go to. It would take a lot of effort to deliver from the mine to South Sky City, not to mention from South Sky City to the far Central State City. It would take at least seven-ten days and it would be filled with danger! However with this Miracle Airship, the mining and transport efficiency has increased ten fold!"

Too shocking!

This was definitely an important air carrier tool!

This era was too rich in resources, but for a kingdom and a small kingdom at that, there weren't many that could be mined. The majority of resources were blocked by geographical and environmental factors and could not be tapped into.

Just like Qing State's Green Ridge.

It was the largest resource sector in the Southern Summer Country!

However, the resource currently surveyed was less than one percent. Why was that? It was because the mountains were high and the rivers were deep. It was hard to enter and hard to transport, so they could only look and not mine!

"With this airship, we could replace ships in transporting."

"No it won't work. The airship's capacity is not small, but it's far from being able to compare to a large ship. Moreover, the airship's travel distance is limited, only suited for travel across states and not transcontinental travel."

Another worked suddenly interrupted, "What are you worried about? Miracle Commerce has just invented the airship and there are only three in the world. Even if it can't right now, couldn't it do so in the future?"

"You're right, you're right."

"What can't Miracle Commerce do?"

While the workers were talking to each other, their faces were filled with worship towards Miracle Commerce.

Gu Qianqiu fell into silence. This airship actually had quite a bit of significance. Although Chu Tian and Miracle Commerce were filled with evil, they did have some skills!

Gu Qianqiu took this opportunity to ask, "I heard that Central State was recently filled with chaos, what happened?"

"Chaos? Bullshit!" These workers all stared at him, "Central State was filled with chaos before, with the nobles pressing down, making it hard for us to breathe. After Miracle Commerce eliminated the three great families, Central State has become much calmer and even the small and middle sized nobles are all nicer now. In just half a month, our wages increased three times!"

"That's right! My son can now go to Central State Academy all because of the stipend the Miracle Commerce charity fund provides!" Another middle aged uncle's face filled with joy, "The school fees are taken care of by Miracle Commerce and all the money earned belongs to us, so our lives have become much better. Once my son finishes his education, he will go work for Miracle Commerce, bringing honour to our family!"

"Old mister, we still have work to do. If you have nothing else, then we'll be on our way!"

"That's right, that's right. Miracle Commerce has given us such high salaries, we need to work hard to repay them."

Gu Qianqiu was a bit stunned.

From the eyes and expressions of these workers, their words were from the bottom of their heart.

It was completely different from what Gu Qianqiu expected!

The Central State chaos had casualties in the tens of thousands and the three great families were destroyed. With the balance of power destroyed, Central State should be filled with panic right now. The various powers should be fighting with each other for control and Central State should be in chaos.

Not to mention the fact that Chu Tian brought pirates into the city!

These pirates had occupied the Four States Lake for a long time, killing and plundering, having no morals. Would they commit no crimes after entering the city? Wasn't this just nonsense!

Who would have thought that Central State City would not be filled with chaos and would even be more lively. There was no disturbance with the citizens and their quality of life was even better.

Could there have been a discrepancy with the information provided?

No matter what, Chu Tian let the pirates into the city and caused Central State to fall into chaos. He destroyed the three great families and even crippled the Imperial City envoy! This was enough for him to die a hundred times!

He also insulted my, Gu Qianqiu's disciples and my name itself. This was nothing more than provocation towards the great scholar!

No matter what, he had to be caught before things were discussed!

Cao Bao has already moved out, so they'll be able to catch Chu Tian soon. The Western Marquis will reach Central State soon, so I have to take this chance to gather evidence!

Gu Qianqiu no longer wandered around outside the city, but entered the city to gather evidence.

At dusk, Central State City began to dim.

Strange, why were there no crystal lamps?

When Gu Qianqiu swept over the large streets and small alleys, he found the crystal lamps in the Main City was gone. They had all been demolished and replaced with a strange pole like object.

The pole was three meters tall and had a large glass ball in it.

Did Central State City not have lamps?

Humph, good Chu Tian, even breaking the lamps. Wouldn't that make it unsafe for the citizens? He clearly did not care about the citizens!

Write it down, write it down!

Actually for a flaw with the city, how could it be related to Chu Tian. Wasn't this the mayor's job? Gu Qianqiu thought that it was Chu Tian harassing Central State City, so he destroyed the public equipment, which counts as being related to him!

Before Gu Qianqiu wrote it down.

Suddenly, light surrounded him. The entire Central State City lit up, lighting up all the streets like it was still daylight!

Gu Qianqiu moved ten meters back in fright, "What is this?"

"Ha, ha, where did this country bumpkin come from!" An adult was walking with a little girl through the streets. The little girl was quite amused by Gu Qianqiu's appearance, "Not even knowing an electric lamp, so embarrassing!"

The adult revealed a look of disdain, but still said, "Little girl, don't you know how to be polite? You have to respect the elderly, don't you know this? It's not as if every place has electric lights."

Gu Qianqiu revealed an awkward expression, "What are these electric lights?"

"This is something Miracle Commerce invented and is very inexpensive. Other than South Sky City, it is Central State that has the most." This citizen proudly said, "Ir order to change the citizens' lives, Miracle Commerce will install five thousand lamp posts in the city. Even the common citizens have them. Our lives are much easier now."

The adult and child disdained talking to this country bumpkin, so they continued their walk.

Gu Qianqiu stood there in a daze. This bright light that lit up the city actually came from the glass ball in the tall towers. This light was much brighter than the crystal stones and was much more stable in comparison!

Electric light, a completely automatic illumination tool?

Gu Qianqiu could not find any signs of how it was operated, but he was certain that it was started based on the intensity of light. Not simple, this really wasn't simple…..When did Central State City have so many interesting things?

But, this was no use at all.

This was just a replacement for the crystal stone lamps!

Gu Qianqiu did not believe at all that with Chu Tian's large crime, he wouldn't be able to find a trace of evidence.

There had to be one!

Chapter 258: Press conference

Even though this era's information system was not good, for such a giant change in Central State, it was impossible for Imperial City to not know about it at all!

Unless, these changes all occurred in a short period of time and the Imperial City did not have enough time to care about it. So, Gu Qianqiu knew nothing about this.

The streets of Central State City made a person feel like they had entered another world.

Both sides of the street was covered in street lights. Even the shops were covered in ornaments that were releasing lights that made a person walking by dazzled.

"Special sale!"

"The Miracle Group's Southern Cloud Commerce's new Stone Armour Talisman. It has a low consumption, quick effects, and does not affect one's movement. This high level defense will guard against physical attacks, acid, and even energy based damage. It's easy to use and cheap, it is a necessity for journeys! The Miracle Group will only sell high quality products, so please quickly buy them!"

"..."

At the front gate of a talisman shop, there was a loudspeaker shouting advertisement.

Gu Qianqiu found that the advertisement was being repeated time and time again. Whether it was the intonation, speed, or tone, they were all the same. This was clearly not a person shouting this, but rather using a method of storing sound to repeat it time and time again. This was to achieve an effect of attracting people's attentions to the shop.

How could this loudspeaker automatically repeat words like this? Gu Qianqiu wanted to tear this speaker apart and study it, but he didn't have time to waste on this thing. He had to find evidence of Chu Tian's crimes.

The hotel was a good place to ask for details and Gu Qianqiu wanted to find a place to rest.

There was a beautiful large hotel in front of him that was covered in lights. There was a giant sign that used golden sparkling lights to create the eye catching "Miracle Grand Hotel" words.

"Strange, why are there so many people!"

The hotel was completely occupied. There were many people lining up in the street and they were mostly cultivators.

No other way, he had to go and find a decent hotel instead.

"Welcome to our store." The service staff quickly came up to greet him, "Do you need a private room or do you want to go to the main hall?"

"A private room."

"Alright. What do you want?" The service staff led Gu Qianqiu into a private room and then warmly recommended, "Our hotel has recently ordered some canned food from Miracle Commerce. It is an affordable price and is sure to satisfy you."

"It's another thing from Miracle Commerce?"

"This old mister seems to be new to town, so you should definitely give it a try. Miracle Commerce's canned food is all the rage in Central State, only the aristocrats of other states have tasted it. Even the restaurants in our Central State City run out quickly, so this is a rare opportunity."

"Then give me a few portions!"

The service staff then said, "Our hotel has opened a radio system. If the old mister wants to listen to the broadcast during your meal, you just need to give a service fee."

"What is the radio system?"

"This old mister really is an outsider. Miracle Commerce has built the first set in our Central State City and could be the first set on the entire continent. It can let the entire city's people listen to their favourite content no matter where they are."

"There really is something this miraculous?" Gu Qianqiu was filled with a bit of disbelief, "Then this old man wants his eyes opened!"

The service staff turned on the large radio inside a cabinet and a melodious tune sounded out along with the beautiful sound of a young girl.

"Welcome everyone back to Miracle Broadcasting. We have a beautiful love story which was brought by was wandering poet from another country...."

This was a girl's voice that was very magnetic, making a person feel very calm. Adding in the gentle music and the winding story, it gave a person a truly unprecedented feeling.

Gu Qianqiu was a person that was already a hundred years old, of course he wasn't attracted by some love story. This mysterious broadcasting ability of the radio however made him stunned.

"How is this done?"

The service staff said with a faint smile, "Old mister, this is one of Miracle Broadcasting's channels. The one speaking in the broadcast right now is the Divine Wind Marquis' daughter, the one that is very popular in Central State City, young miss Feng Caidie! If the old mister does not like this broadcast, you can change the channel for yourself. Whether it is the latest news or music, you can find everything. Of course, we only have the public channels and do not have any of the paid channels."

Loudspeaker?

Miracle Broadcasting?

Gu Qianqiu felt completely stunned!

What was the principle behind this technology?

If the electric lamp and airships were improvements on small flaws, then this broadcast system was a completely large invention. If this broadcast was spread across the nation, would communication be as difficult as it was right now?

If it could spread across the continent, wouldn't one be able to know what was happening in the Elf Kingdom?

Not only did this increase the standard of living, encrypted signals could be used for military use or sending secrets.

"Your canned food is here, please take your time."

Gu Qianqiu ate the canned food while listening to the radio. This canned food was clearly made from demon beast meat, so it seemed like Miracle Commerce had grasped the method of cooking demon beast meat. This was a blessing for countless cultivators and mercenaries! This invention could also change the lives of many people!

An hour passed by without him even knowing it.

The sound from the radio did not have any static or pauses, maintaining a stable sound the entire time. The main broadcast had news, music, stories, information, and various commercials in between.

This was really incredible!

How many strange inventions did Miracle Commerce have?

Gu Qianqiu's view of Chu Tian and Miracle Commerce was slowly being changed.

"Welcome back to Miracle Broadcasting." At this moment, Feng Caidie's voice flowed out like water, "I have just received some exciting and good news. The researchers at Miracle Commerce's Yun Sect has just made a breakthrough and have created a brand new invention. Perhaps it will be able to change the era?"

"Of course, this technology is not complete yet and Miracle Commerce is just in the testing stage."

"Isn't everyone very curious? In order to satisfy everyone's curiosity, we will be conducting a public trial in the Central State City square, letting the citizens have a sneak peek. There is still an hour before the test, so people that are interested, please don't miss it!"

"..."

Feng Caidie's voice did not even fall.

The entire hotel was thoroughly roused.

"What?"

"There is another new thing!"

"Can we still wait? Pay the bill, pay the bill now! I want to take a look!"

"Pay what bill, can't you see the service staff is gone? Let's go now or else we'll be late!"

Gu Qianqiu placed a gold coin on the table and jumped out the window. His slim body was like an ape, flying through the air, finally landing in the Central State City square.

Didn't just a few minutes pass?

The Central State square was already filled!

Gu Qianqiu once again realized the effect of the radio on people. It was much faster than the newspaper and the conventional media sources!

A short tower appeared in the center of the square.

It was merely three meters tall, but its structure itself was very complex. Even as knowledgeable as Gu Qianqiu was, he could not decipher its mysteries. Everyone began to cheer, not knowing what new strange thing Miracle Commerce had made now!

The Miracle Commerce array masters checked everything. The time was right and the test was about to start!

"Hei, hello everyone. Long time no see!"

A white robed young man came out, "I am Yun Xiao, but I will save the tedious self introduction since I am considered a well known person in Central State City. I'm sure there wouldn't be many people that don't know me!"

The crowd began to fill with laughter.

To say that one didn't recognize Yun Xiao in Central State City, there weren't many people like that.

Yun Xiao had a mixed reputation. He was the playboy that only knew how to eat and sleep, but in just one-two months, he had undergone a giant change that made everyone look at him differently now.

"Everyone be quiet for a bit!" Yun Xiao raised one hand and then used the loudspeaker to say, "Today, at this location, there is a new Miracle Commerce invention that will be announced!"

Miracle Commerce rarely openly demonstrated their inventions to people.

Since today was going against that, then this invention had to be abnormal.

"I want to ask everyone." Yun Xiao walked back and forth, "Is this world big?"

"Yes!"

"Isn't this nonsense?"

"The world is very big, almost infinitely so!" Yun Xiao said this and then gave a sigh as he said, "However, it is regretful that for everyone, including me, we will be unable to take a single step out of Southern Summer in our lives. In this lifetime, it is very hard for us to even see one billionth of the beautiful world with our own eyes!"

Everyone fell silent.

Who didn't know the world was big and Southern Summer was very small.

Humans established themselves in states and there were several billion people. The Southern Summer Country only had two hundred million so saying that the Southern Summer Country was a small area was not an exaggeration at all.

Gu Qianqiu's feelings were even more profound. After spending twenty years wandering, he realized he had only see the tip of the iceberg. This world was truly just too big!

"Large empires with tens of billions of people and large empires stretching across several hundreds of thousands of miles, how magnificent they are!" Yun Xiao revealed a face of indignation, cursing destiny for being unfair, "Can we fantasize about these things with our limited imaginations?"

"Elves, Spirit Beasts, Dragons, the races of legends that have intelligence not inferior to human. What kind of world they live in and what kind of culture they have, doesn't everyone want to personally see it once?"

"Ancient divine beast, ancient life forms, countless forbidden areas of the continent, the oddities of the world, the endless wonders, why can we not personally see it?" Yun Xiao was quite good at acting, becoming more and more hot blooded as he spoke, "Beyond the heavens and below the abyss, what kind of space is it? Don't you all want to know?"

"After tens of thousands of years, after the flow of time, whether it is an expert or a normal citizen, they will be forgotten in the rivers of history. Is our era doomed to be forgotten by people?"

The views Yun Xiao expressed rippled in everyone's minds.

"I don't know how you all feel, but I am not willing!" Yun Xiao tightly gripped his fist and said, "Even if I am tiny, I want to see the prestige of the giant dragons. Even if I am vulgar, I want to personally see the beauty of elven women. Even if I am lowly, I want to see the profundities of the world of the abyss. Even if I am incompetent, I want to be remembered by the future generations, never being forgotten by the people!"

"Does everyone think I am crazy?"

"That's right. If there was no Miracle Commerce, then everyone would think that I am crazy!"

Gu Qianqiu was stunned hearing this. This brat really knew how to talk, but he had some skills, touching everyone's interests, making them unable to not be fascinated. It made them even more anxious to know just what Miracle Commerce would bring out.

"Even with tens of thousands of words, seeing it would explain things quicker." Yun Xiao felt the time was right and immediately move to the side. He then waved both hands, "Please bring out Miracle Commerce's newest invention!"

Chapter 259: Use of the Hidden Image Stone

Yun Xiao was very exaggerated, but his eloquence was not bad. This exquisite speech had tempted everyone's appetite, making them excited for Miracle Commerce's newest invention!

Two Miracle Commerce workers immediately pushed out a rectangular object. Only there was a black cloth over it, so no one could see what it was.

"I ask everyone to witness this together!

Yun Xiao very naturally pulled off the black cloth.

Everyone reached out their necks, only seeing a mirror that was completely blank. This mirror was as tall as a person with a giant source energy array on its back, releasing waves of spirit energy.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Isn't it just a mirror?"

Everyone let out their dissatisfaction.

Yun Xiao had raised their expectations like this and the results were? Taking out a mirror in the end? Wasn't this just making fun of them!

Gu Qianqiu observed it with full attention for a few seconds.

"Mind's Eye!"

"Open!"

Gu Qianqiu opened his Mind's Eye to observe it. If observed with the naked eye, then it would just be a mirror, but when observed with the Mind's Eye, it wasn't as simple as a mirror.

This item was made purely of metal, creating a smooth plate that was less than one millimeter thick. Gu Qianqiu couldn't tell what the material was, but it was reflective enough to make this kind of mirror, so it wasn't just an ordinary mirror.

"Silence! Silence!"

Yun Xiao shouted a few times into the loudspeaker.

Everyone stopped discussing and fell into silence.

"I know that everyone has many questions about this!"

"Then just say it!"

"No need to rush. Actually for this press conference, I'm not the main character." Yun Xiao said this and then loudly shouted, "Now, we invite Miracle Commerce's vice chairman – young miss Meng Qingwu!"

Meng Qingwu had personally come?

Everyone was shocked!

Impossible, if Meng Qingwu had come, then how could they not notice her. With Meng Qingwu's peerless beauty, no matter where she went, she would attract the gazes of countless people. If Meng Qingwu was here, it was impossible for them to not notice her.

"Everyone look!"

"The mirror is changing!"

The calm mirror slowly began to release a soft light. The mirror that was completely clear seemed like it contained steam, being covered by a layer of mist.

There was a trick to this mirror!

The light coming from the mirror became stronger until water ripples appeared on the surface, releasing an invisible energy. Everyone had a strange feeling that the mirror surface no longer existed and there was another space inside the mirror.

"Ah!"

"Look!"

Several people called out in alarm as a person appeared inside the mirror, going from a fuzzy image to a white dressed beautiful woman. With a perfect body and noble temperament, calm and serious. Who else could it be but Meng Qingwu?

"My god!"

"Chairman Meng Qingwu is actually in the mirror!"

"What is happening! How did she get in the mirror!"

The glowing mirror began to clear up. Meng Qingwu was sitting on a mahogany bench in the Miracle Commerce headquarter's main hall with a jade tea set on the table beside her, looking solemn and graceful. With a head of jet black hair and skin like jade, that beautiful smile revealed an indescribable charm. It was like a peony in full bloom, beautiful but not sexy, glamourous but not flashy!

Too incredible!

Meng Qingwu was sitting in the Miracle Commerce headquarters, but she could also see the people in the square. It was like she was right in front of them, being able to touch her just by reaching out.

Meng Qingwu revealed a smile that was elegant and beautiful, passing through everyone like a spring breeze. Meng Qingwu then took up a perfectly round microphone and said, "Hello everyone!"

Her voice came from the loudspeakers from both sides.

Seeing this strange sight, the eyes of the great scholar had already become like the eyes of a dead fish, completely subverting his views of the world!

Miracle Commerce could transmit sound and picture alone, but right now, they couldn't do both at the same time. It was a very complicated technique that wasn't just one plus one. Even Chu Tian couldn't think of a way to accomplish this.

Meng Qingwu was using the new communication device Miracle Commerce invented, not using the broadcast system, but directly sending her voice over. This was something that others could not notice right away.

"I am very happy that I could talk to everyone like this, thank you all for your support."

"After hard work and a lot of research, Miracle Commerce has found a use for the Hidden Image Stones. What you can see is the mirror projected image from the Magnetic Image Tower."

Everyone's eyes were wide open with not a single sound made.

"As the name suggests, the Magnetic Image Tower is like the Magnetic Sound Tower, only it sends a different kind of signal. These receiving mirrors work just like the radio, but they receive different signals. This invention will change everyone's lives."

"Other than that, we have also invented the Hidden Image Plate which work like the Hidden Sound Plates, being able to store images. This means that images can be stored, whether it is humans, demon beasts, places, or all kinds of other things. These can be stored in a library to help people see the world, having an effect on how we remember things, how we teach, how we innovate, and even our daily lives."

Meng Qingwu had a unique aura. It was noble but not arrogant, solemn but not lacking in familiarity. It deeply immersed the crowd in her words.

Everyone remembered Yun Xiao's words and their blood began to boil!

Perhaps it could all become real!

Even if they couldn't leave Central State City, they could still see the outside world's civilizations and lands. People did not need to become super strong to see the elegance of giant dragons. They could also keep their appearances, letting the future generation remember them.

"Right now, I'll give everyone a bit of news." Meng Qingwu continued to say, "We have already finished the first prototype, a kind of two dimensional picture capturing device that can perfectly capture a scene."

"Do you want to keep your youthful appearance forever? Do you have a significant moment you want to preserve? Now the opportunity is here. Miracle Commerce will open our store tomorrow and you will only need to spend a little to remember something forever. I welcome everyone to have a look!"

"Thank you for your support!"

She ended with this!

This broadcast system was not very stable and so Meng Qingwu did not continue, otherwise she would lose face if it went wrong. So she ended the special press conference here!

"Dad, mom, I want to go, I want to go!"

"I want to keep my youthful appearance. When I'm older, I'll be able to see my old appearance."

"Dear, let's go!"

"..."

When Meng Qingwu disappeared from the mirror, the light from the mirror slowly dimmed and it turned back into a normal mirror. The people on the scene all had different reaction. There was peasant surprise, shock, deep thought, and joy…..and even more!

"Damn it!" Gu Qianqiu gave a long sigh, "Why couldn't this thing be made fifty years ago when I was still a handsome and elegant young man. Damn, damn! I can't see my youthful appearance anymore!"

No matter what!

How could he let this opportunity go?

This old man was determined to be in the first group to experience this!

Gu Qianqiu did not even think before running to line up, completely forgetting why he even came to Central State City.

Who didn't want everlasting youth? This was almost impossible, but Miracle Commerce had given everyone a different method of keeping their youth!

...

Miracle Commerce was very busy.

"Good, good!"

"Take the filler lights away."

"Take all of these things."

The main hall was very noisy with Chu Tian directing everyone in the center. The Miracle Commerce staff were holding electric lights and other things, quickly running out of the main hall.

Meng Qingwu gently patted her tall peaks while her head was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Not looking as her calm as a well appearance, this young miss' heart was filled with nervousness! This kind of broadcasting to various people in the square was an unprecedented experience for Meng Qingwu.

"Wipe away your sweat. It's been hard on the young miss!"

Chu Tian walked over, personally holding a white handkerchief to wipe Meng Qingwu's sweat off.

"Pei! Take your hand away!" Meng Qingwu was a little embarrassed. Looking away from everyone, she said in a slightly disturbed voice, "Was everything find just now? The sound and image were sent separately, so would there be a problem!"

"I say, young miss, do you not believe me? You really hurt my heart!"

Meng Qingwu's face turned red, "Do you even have a heart?"

"There will be no problem with me here." Chu Tian put down the jade like mirror, "Wait and see. This thing will spread like fire across the kingdom and then the continent."

Meng Qingwu nodded and touched the jade like mirror, "This is really incredible. How does this material have this kind of ability? It can actually send a image of a person to another location."

"You won't understand this! The Hidden Image Stone's ability is the same as the Hidden Sound Stone." Chu Tian smiled and said, "The Hidden Sound Stone can store sound waves and this Hidden Image stone can stored light beams. As long as we find the right method, we can use these two materials for our needs."

"Look at this source energy array." Chu Tian turned the mirror around and said, "This is a light attributed light image array. The Hidden Image Stone can store light beams, but it is not very stable and cannot form a proper image, but this source energy array assists in forming the image. I'll teach you the technique later. After Miracle Commerce grasps the sound and image transmitting techniques, then we will be able to combine the two."

Meng Qingwu's heart filled with expectations.

"Chu Tian, elder sister Qingwu!" Nangong Yun quickly rushed in, "YIngying and I have prepared everything and we're just missing the two of you!"

Meng Qingwu asked in surprised voice, "To do what?"

"Of course we're taking a picture!" Nangong Yun said with a look of excitement, "We'll have the first four collaborators of Miracle Commerce take the first picture on the continent!"

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