The blue sky was like a mirror, white clouds drifting lazily. Above Ping Province, one of Great Xia's nine great provinces, a golden flying boat over seven thousand meters long sailed slowly through the heavens like a giant whale. Its enormous shadow, cast upon the earth by the sunlight, resembled the shadow of a cloud. As the flying boat moved through the sky, that vast shadow crossed hills, rivers, villages, and cities below, drawing countless people to raise their heads in awe and reverence...
Those familiar with Great Xia knew that its flying boats were generally divided, from smallest to largest and lowest to highest, into three grades: Azure Cloud, Purple Cloud, and Heavenly Cloud. There were strict rules in Great Xia regarding who could use what kind of flying boat. Azure Cloud-class flying boats were generally the mounts of provincial governors and officials of similar rank, and were also commonly owned by powerful clans and great households in every province. Purple Cloud-class flying boats were exclusive to officials of the governor-general rank; Great Xia's Nine Ministers and several major sects also possessed quite a few. Heavenly Cloud-class flying boats, meanwhile, could only be ridden by the Three Dukes, Six Kings, or certain individuals deeply favored by the Emperor. In Great Xia, Heavenly Cloud-class flying boats were already as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Yet even the longest among these three grades did not exceed five thousand meters. Across all of Great Xia, there was only one grade of flying boat that could surpass seven thousand meters in length: the Xuanyuan-class flying boat.
Xuanyuan-class flying boats were exclusive to the Great Xia Imperial Family and already fell within the category of ceremonial treasures. Ordinarily, only the Emperor Xuanyuan could ride a Xuanyuan-class flying boat, and only when the