Chang'an City passed the year 1518 of the Sea Circle Calendar in a subtle calm, poised for action. The clamor of the Military Examination and the aftermath of Lü Bu and Guan Yu's earth-shaking duel were like a boulder cast into a lake: after the ripples had spread to every corner of the West Blue, the surface gradually returned to a profound stillness. Yet within the great beast that was Hua Country, the forging never ceased. The muffled thuds within the gravitational fields and the furnace fires of the Academy of Natural Philosophy were the steadiest pulse beneath that tranquility.
Abroad, the fog of "weakness" Guo Jia had woven had collapsed of its own accord after Lü Bu and the others displayed their awe-inspiring might, but a new, more complicated fog was forming-there was no longer any need to feign weakness; "unfathomable depth" had taken its place. The "anti-Hua alliance" of Bara Wood and other nations had sunk into an eerie silence amid overwhelming shock and fear. Secret envoys traveled back and forth ever more frequently, yet they remained unable to form a unified new response. Intelligence feedback from the World Government had also become ambiguous. Only the traces of Cipher Pol Agency activity in the West Blue had become still more secretive and elusive, like ghosts.
At home, the foundations of the new policies grew ever deeper under Xun Yu's management. Talented men of humble birth selected through the Imperial Examination began filling prefectural and county offices, bringing fresh vitality and loyalty; the Imperial Road network carried the kingdom's strength to the frontiers like spreading blood vessels; and the clear voices reciting texts within the Imperial Academy bore witness to the passing of civilization's torch. This was a crucial period of consolidation, turning military victories into institutional and cultural