Angel Wheel

The next morning, Ming Shu continued to wander around with Old Zhao, primarily heading towards several areas he knew might be forbidden zones for imprisoning and refining Ghost Spirits, investigating the surrounding environment.

In case he needed to fight there, he could make some preparations in advance.

As for the matter of communicating with the noble families in the city, it could only be left to the Sky-Toppling Observatory, or rather, the Demon Hunter organization under them, as they had the foundation to converse with the noble families on equal footing.

Ming Shu didn't have that status now; even if he went, they wouldn't see him, let alone listen to what he had to say.

Regarding his visit to Earl Ying's residence last night, it was because Earl Ying had discovered Ming Shu first, making him worthy of a small investment. Even if the investment failed, it would only be a minor loss for Earl Ying.

Moreover, he wasn't even the earliest investor, as the Sky-Toppling Observatory had already made a seed-round investment.

Looking at the people around Ming Shu, there wasn't even a single person from the Imperial Clan Court, let alone the Emperor's secret guards.

After the new Emperor ascended the throne, the power transition within the imperial city and the subsequent purges would still take some time to complete.

Even with King Chu fleeing to the south and feverishly preparing for outright rebellion, the Emperor hadn't yet dispatched troops, which showed how chaotic the imperial city was right now.

As for Ming Shu, who was already a commoner, he was naturally overlooked.

Earl Ying didn't know what specific arrangements the Sky-Toppling Observatory had made behind the scenes to help Ming Shu, nor what their purpose was.

Just the fact that the Sky-Toppling Observatory had entered the game was enough for Earl Ying to follow suit.

Especially since he was about to abandon the family business he had managed for decades to start anew in the south. Compared to that, investing in some promising young people with what he couldn't take with him seemed like a good option.

Recently, Earl Ying had invested in quite a few people in the eastern and northern neighboring prefectures, trying to pick those who were inconspicuous. Offering help in times of need was more important.

As for Qing Shui County, it was merely another bargaining chip in his hand.

He needed the Sky-Toppling Observatory to know how dangerous this situation was, so he could obtain more chips.

He also had to maintain that delicate balance, not letting it explode too early. If it exploded too soon, he might even get seriously injured.

Maintaining distance was essential.

Earl Ying had already left Qing Shui County before dawn. A large amount of documents and books had been secretly transferred long ago.

Separated into groups and batches, he had started transferring his wealth more than half a month ago, when the previous Emperor in the palace secretly sent news of his potential critical illness.

He wasn't just making arrangements in the south; he also had plans in the western borderlands. It was just that he hadn't expected that in the end, there would be two legitimate princes left, one ascended the throne, and the other managed to escape to the south.

Without the intervention of the Daoist Sect and the tacit approval of several other major families, how could such a situation have occurred?

The thousand-year-old Immortal Dynasty was finally coming to an end.

The original cake was no longer enough to share. The existing rules restricted the upward mobility of some people, and these people, in turn, blocked the hope of advancement for those below them.

There were no eternal enemies, and Earl Ying was someone who had nowhere left to retreat.

Too many people were eyeing his piece of the cake. If it weren't for his grandfather's shrewd planning in the past, outliving his father, and then, at considerable cost, directly passing the noble title to him.

Today, his noble title would have been reduced by another rank.

This method was a last resort.

Because of the rules agreed upon when the Immortal Dynasty enfeoffed nobles with the noble families, the noble title had to be reduced by one rank with each succession.

Everyone was eyeing this cake.

Those with higher noble titles were waiting to take a bite out of what you had in excess.

With the reduction in rank, the regulations in various aspects would have to be lowered accordingly. Even the number of guards you could keep had a maximum limit.

Not to mention the most important thing: land.

And below, there was a large crowd desperately trying to climb up.

The Ximen Family was Earl Ying's biggest rival in Qing Shui County. And the Ximen Family was actually supported by his grandfather.

He then handed this sharp blade to the Immortal Dynasty, making them feel that they could maintain balance in the region and prevent any one family from becoming too dominant.

Sometimes, local officials sent by the Immortal Dynasty would borrow the power of the Ximen Family to jointly suppress the Earl Ying's family, and sometimes, they would do the opposite, using the Earl Ying's strength to curb the Ximen Family.

These were all his daily affairs for decades, and who knows how many more arrangements he had made in secret.

And it was Earl Ying who secretly connected the Ximen Family to the northern route. Under normal circumstances, he couldn't break free from the existing restrictions. He needed a sudden, accidental, large-scale upheaval to help him achieve complete freedom.

To move from the open to the hidden.

The chaotic times would begin.

To transform from a chess piece into the one holding the pieces.

Earl Ying had never revealed his true strength to outsiders. The [Scholar's Realm] of the third stage of a scholar seemed to have no practical combat power.

Only his most trusted confidants knew that the Earl was also a master of martial arts.

Moreover, his first wife came from a prestigious family with a background from Dragon Tiger Mountain.

These were the foundations accumulated over generations of his family, and now, they could finally be leveraged.

Farmland was static, and gold and silver wealth was also static. Only by making them play a role could they form a continuous source of power, pushing him forward.

His family had also considered entering academies and the Imperial College in the past, and through becoming a noble scholar, entering a new channel of advancement.

But, that group of scholars went too far, directly excluding those of us whose ancestors relied on military achievements to become nobles.

This is also an indirect reason why those nobles, who originally held a bunch of good cards, eventually all declined.

In this regard, the emperors of all generations and the people of the Academy were natural allies.

However, the emperor also wanted to use the nobles' eyes to keep an eye on the scholars and local officials in various regions, and he wanted to maintain balance.

In the end, it was bound to become unbalanced. The factional struggles within the scholarly circles were already as chaotic as the Seven Kingdoms.

Beyond the intricate kinship ties, there were also master-disciple relationships, and it was common for disciples to betray their teachers and step on their senior disciples to enter the cabinet.

When it comes to ruthlessness, who can compare to those scholars above the Immortal Dynasty? To enter the cabinet, they would even bring down their own teachers.

Earl Ying had seen too many such things over the decades.

He was completely disillusioned with the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty and had long seen through their decadence, ignorance, and foolishness.

They only fought for empty titles. Let's see how long they can last in the coming chaotic times.

Those scholarly officials who actually did practical work were suppressed by them, unable to rise.

Coupled with the constant natural disasters among the populace, those gentlemen only knew how to boast, and they were also greatly depleted of national strength and destiny by the Immortal Emperor in his final years.

It is very difficult for this wall not to collapse.

All parties are waiting for it to collapse so they can redistribute the cake.

Not long after Ming Shu left the Earl's Mansion, the entire mansion was already empty.

He decided to detonate it in advance, considering it a small gift for the Sky-Toppling Observatory and young Ming Shu.

Anyway, he did not want the conspiracy from the northern barbarians to succeed.